Merkel apologizes to families of victims of neo-Nazi gang

Feb 23, 2012, 11:04 GMT

Berlin - German Chancellor Angela Merkel publicly apologized Thursday to the families of the victims of a murder spree allegedly undertaken by members of an underground neo-Nazi gang for the mishandling of the investigation by police into the killings.

In addition to the murders of eight Turkish men and one Greek between 2000 to 2006, members of the so-called National Socialist Underground (NSU) also are thought to be responsible for the killing of a policewoman, the injuring of another police officer as well as at least 14 bank robberies.

But Merkel said that the police's 'wrong suspicions', which had linked some of the victims to organized crime had added to the sense of suffering faced by the relatives.

'I apologise to you for that,' Merkel told the family members, who were among the 1,200 people attending the memorial ceremony in Berlin.

At the ceremony, Merkel lead a minute's silence to honour the victims, telling those attending that the crimes were 'without precedent in our country.' A national minute's silence was also to be held Thursday.

Also attending the ceremony were the nation's state premiers, the leaders of all major parties as well as the head of the country's top court.

In her speech, Merkel named each of the victim and spoke about their lives in Germany and their families. On the stage were candles - one for each of the victims.

The killings, which were unresolved for years, were 'a disgrace for our country,' Merkel said.

The involvement of the NSU in the killings and robberies only emerged last November when two of the members of the cell - Uwe Mundlos and Uwe Boehnhardt - were found dead in a burning caravan in an apparent murder-suicide.

Another alleged member of the group, Beate Zschaepe then set fire to the apartment in the east German town of Zwichau where the three lived. The 37-year-old Zschaepe later gave herself up to the police.

Investigators later found the murder weapon - a Ceska 83 gun - in the burnt-out remains of the apartment.

The activities of the NSU have also once again shed light on the foothold that radical rightwing movement have gained in parts of eastern Germany since the fall of the Berlin Wall more than two decades ago.

The revelations about the NSU have also exposed a series of missteps by the police in their investigation into the killings initially known as 'kebab murders'.

Despite several relatives claiming that those murdered in the killing spree had been victims of right-wing terror, police investigators pursued inquiries into the possibility that the families and relatives were involved in the deaths.

Two parliamentary inquires have since been established to look into the killings and why the alleged perpetrators could avoid detection for so long.

The German government has now offered each of the victim's families compensation of at least 10,000 euros (13,240 dollars).

Merkel told the victims' families that the authorities would do everything they could to track down and prosecute those who were also behind the killings.

Five people, who it has been alleged assisted the NSU group in helping them to acquire weapons and ammunition as well as providing financial support, have now been arrested.