BERLIN: Germany's official in charge of fighting anti-Semitism called Saturday for Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters to be held accountable after the singer donned a Nazi-style uniform at a Berlin concert.
Previous legal proceedings had “gone in Waters’s favour, even though he spreads anti-Semitism and allegedly incites hatred”, Felix Klein told the Funke media group.
Berlin police said Friday they were probing Waters after images of the Pink Floyd co-founder circulated on social media, showing him wearing a long, black coat with red armbands on stage at the Mercedes-Benz arena last week.
Law enforcement was investigating the “suspicion of incitement to public hatred because the clothing worn on stage could be used to glorify or justify Nazi rule”, a police spokesman told AFP.
Klein called on authorities to be “vigilant” following the incident.
“Concert organisers should consider whether they want to offer conspiracy theorists a platform,“ he said.
Waters is a well-known pro-Palestinian activist who has been accused of holding anti-Jewish views. He has floated an inflatable pig emblazoned with the Star of David at his concerts.
Waters has played in several German cities in recent weeks as part of his “This Is Not A Drill” tour.
But it has been hugely controversial with some city officials even trying, unsuccessfully, to ban him from performing.
The “Another Brick In The Wall” singer denies the anti-Semitism accusations, saying he was protesting against Israeli policies and not the Jewish people.
At the same Berlin concert, Waters also flashed the names of several deceased people on a large screen, including that of Anne Frank, the Jewish teenager who died in a Nazi concentration camp.
Also named was slain Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, prompting criticism that Waters was relativising the Holocaust.
Waters is due to play his final German concert in the western city of Frankfurt on Sunday evening, and protesters are planning to demonstrate outside the venue.
Frankfurt city authorities sought to stop the concert but a court ruled against them, citing artistic freedom. - AFP
