Roger Waters says Nazi-style clothing worn in Berlin is anti-fascist manifesto

Roger Waters says Nazi-style clothing worn in Berlin is anti-fascist manifesto

German police announced on Friday (26) that they have opened an investigation into the musician. Costume has been used by Waters during performance since the 1980s. Poster of the tour ‘This is not a drill’, by Roger Waters, and scene in which the musician plays a fascist character from the film ‘Pink Floyd: The Wall’, from 1982, during the show Reproduction/Disclosure/Reproduction/Twitter Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters claimed on his social media that the Nazi-style uniform he wore on stage at a concert in Berlin, which led German police to open an investigation into the British musician, showed his opposition to fascism and intolerance. The 79-year-old musician said the elements of his performance at Berlin’s Mercedes-Benz Arena that were called into question were “clearly” a statement against fascism, injustice and bigotry. “My recent performance in Berlin attracted attacks in bad faith from those who want to slander and silence me because they disagree with my political views and moral principles,” says the musician in a statement on social media. Footage from a May 17 concert in Berlin, part of the “This is not a drill” tour, showed the famous singer and bassist in a long black trench coat with bright red armbands. The images provoked criticism in Israel. Roger Waters speaks after opening an investigation in Berlin into his performance in the city Reproduction / Twitter The outfit featured a swastika emblem made of two crossed hammers, an iconography that also appeared on costumes in a film based on the hit 1979 album by the Pink Floyd “The Wall”, a critique of fascism. Water’s statement continues: “The elements of my performance that have been called into question are clearly a statement in opposition to fascism, injustice and bigotry in all their forms. Attempts to portray these elements as something different are disingenuous and politically motivated. The depiction of a deranged fascist demagogue has been a feature of my shows since Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’ in 1980.” Roger Waters is in Brazil for the ‘Roger Waters – Us + Them’ tour Giuliano Gomes/PR Press During the event, inscriptions in red letters also appeared on a screen with the names of Anne Frank, the Jewish teenager killed in a concentration camp , and Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American journalist for the Al Jazeera channel, killed in an Israeli raid in May 2022. “I have spent my entire life speaking out against authoritarianism and oppression wherever I see them. war, Anne Frank’s name was often spoken in our household, she became a permanent reminder of what happens when fascism goes unchecked. My parents fought the Nazis in World War II, with my father paying the ultimate price,” says the musician. Roger Waters concerts in Poland are canceled after criticism of Ukraine Roger Waters is booed and applauded in São Paulo after showing #elenão in concert to 45,000 “Regardless of the consequences of the attacks against me, I will continue to condemn injustice and all those who commit.” On Friday, German police said they had opened an investigation into hate speech against Waters. “We are investigating a suspicion of inciting public hatred because the clothes worn on stage could be used to glorify or justify the Nazi regime, disturbing public order,” Berlin police spokesman Martin Halweg told AFP. the investigation. “We are investigating and, after the conclusion of the procedure, we will transmit the information to the Public Ministry for a last legal evaluation”, added the police spokesman. The MP will decide whether the singer will be prosecuted or not. The Israeli foreign ministry said Waters “desecrated the memory of Anne Frank and the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust”. Waters is a well-known pro-Palestinian activist who has been accused of anti-Jewish views. In his shows, he uses an inflatable pig with the Star of David on it. He also advocates boycotting Israeli products. Authorities in the German city of Frankfurt canceled a concert by the musician scheduled for May 28, but the decision was overturned by an administrative court in the name of freedom of expression.



Source link