German carnivals give refugees rulebook after mass sex attacks

It comes after sex attacks in Cologne sparked outrage

Maja Hitij/AFP/Getty Images

27 January 2016

The organisers of carnivals in Cologne and Bonn next week are handing out rules for participants to obey after the mass sexual assaults by immigrants against hundreds of women on New Year’s Eve.

Printed in several languages including German and Arabic, the flyers in Bonn read: “People dress up to celebrate, sing and dance together. In the carnival time everyone must deal respectfully with one another and observe the laws.

“Bützen — that means kisses on the cheeks. Sexual approaches are not allowed! Women and men must always be in agreement. No means no!”

A massive police presence, both uniformed and undercover, will be deployed during carnival to try to ensure there is no repeat of the attacks carried out in several German cities on New Year’s Eve.

The number of complaints of sexual assault in and around the main station in Cologne that night now stands at more than 820.

Carnival is bigger than New Year in the Rhineland where cities such as Bonn, Cologne and Düsseldorf hold a week of parades, dances and fetes. A million people are expected on the streets of Düsseldorf on Monday.

In Bonn, carnival chief Christoph Arnold went with representatives of the police and local integration commissioner Colette Manemann to a refugee home to hand out the leaflets — which welcome migrants to the celebrations provided they behave themselves.

The flyers warn: “Swaying to the music also happens during the carnival. For many people drinks and alcohol are part of the carnival celebrations. Please — only in moderation! Urinating in public is forbidden!”

In Cologne, one point raised on its leaflets is about alcohol, which Muslims are not supposed to consume.

It reads: “Many in Cologne will be drinking beer or other alcoholic beverages at carnival time, but of course there is no obligation to do so. Having fun, singing and dancing can all be done as well without alcohol.”

Cologne’s flyers are also in Arabic. One 19-year-old Syrian called Noble, who has been in Germany for four months, confessed to being bemused by the celebrations. “It is not something from my home. People drink alcohol, dress up — this is all very strange,” he said.

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