The opposition and anti-immigration advocates in Germany have put the blame on the gruesome Berlin truck attack to Chancellor Angela Merkel describing the unfortunate 12 casualties as “ Merkel’s Dead.” A new revelation may give the opposition and anti-immigration groups more reason- and rage- to hit Merkel further and exact accountability for Monday’s deplorable terror act.
The Islamist State, also previously known as ISIS and ISIL, has claimed responsibility for the deliberate crush that left 12 people dead and 48 others injured. The suspect who carried out the crime for the terror group’s “beliefs” remains at large, armed and dangerous. He has been identified as 23-year-old Tunisian Anis Amri, an asylum seeker.
While it remains to be established how this fact connects to the crime and the big picture, the latest revelation might be used against Merkel who prior to the terror act has been suffering from declining public support due to her stand on immigration. It was disclosed that just last September, mere few months before the dastardly act, Merkel pushed hard for a plan that would allow refugees to be trained and hired as lorry drivers.
Merkel justified the move by saying companies should "consider hiring and training refugees as lorry drivers" while they are awaiting their asylum procedure as there is a big shortage of lorry drivers in the country."
The German leader also lobbied for a change in some existing rules to make applying for a license cheaper for the asylum seekers and make it faster to exchange their Syrian license for a German one. Merkel called her plans as “practical solutions”. And the benevolent leader went a step further by proposing a loan program for the refugees so they can get the money to pay the license fee of 500 euro, and just pay it back once they start earning.
The Organization of German Professional Lorry Drivers (BDBK) vehemently opposed the plan. The group reasoned that driving a lorry should be done by professionals who have undergone thorough and “qualified” education. The members felt the refugees are not up to the job yet and warned then that “you cannot let everyone drive off in a 40-ton lorry.”
Anis Amri is suspected of hijacking a lorry and killing the driver before executing Monday’s Berlin terror attack.
The GPS in the hijacked lorry used in the Christmas market attack showed that the lorry was driving in an "uncontrolled manner."
