Merkel urges Germans: Keep fighting for democracy

BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel says Germans must keep working for democracy, as the country celebrated the 31st anniversary of the reunification of East and West. In what is expected to be one of her last major speeches, the outgoing chancellor said that reunification happened “because there were people in East Germany who risked everything for their rights, their freedom and a different society.” Merkel said the disinformation and incitement observed in public debate were an attack on democracy, adding that it should not be taken for granted. She cited the killing of one of her party’s regional politicians, the assault on Halle’s synagogue, and the recent fatal shooting of a gas station clerk as examples of verbal attacks leading to radicalization in German society.