德国不应对暴力事件作出极端反应

Four attacks that killed 10 Germans and injured dozens in the space of a week demonstrate that Germany is no safer than other European countries from the scourges of political terror and random outbursts of extreme violence. Given that two of the attacks involved recent migrants who appear to have been inspired by Isis, the militant Islamist group, the demand for a firm reaction from the German authorities is understandable. Yet Germany has a special responsibility to strike a prudent balance between the imperatives of law and order, civil liberties and international legal obligations to refugees in a manner that will set an example for Europe as a whole.

德国在一周之内发生了4次袭击事件，导致10名德国人死亡，数十人受伤。这表明面对政治恐怖主义灾难以及极端暴力事件的意外发生，德国并不比其他欧洲国家更安全。鉴于其中两次袭击牵扯似乎受到伊斯兰武装组织“伊拉克和黎凡特伊斯兰国”(ISIS)鼓动的新移民，要求德国政府作出坚决回应是可以理解的。然而，德国肩负着特别的责任，要在法律和秩序、公民自由、对难民的国际法律义务等重要事项之间找到谨慎的平衡，为整个欧洲树立榜样。

Germany opened its doors last year to more than 1m refugees, largely from conflict-ravaged Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. The German government’s generous initiative drew criticism from some European allies, and the latest attacks will make it no easier to forge a common European response to the refugee crisis. But the “welcome policy” also aroused increasing concern in sections of German society, stoked tensions in the centre-right political bloc led by Chancellor Angela Merkel and contributed to rising support for Alternative for Germany, a rightwing populist party defined by its strident anti-Islamic, anti-immigrant attitudes.

去年，德国向超过100万名难民敞开了大门，多数来自冲突不断的阿富汗、伊拉克和叙利亚。德国政府的慷慨举措招致一些欧洲盟友的批评，最新的袭击事件不会让欧洲就难民危机达成统一回应变得更容易。但“欢迎政策”也引起了德国社会部分群体日益严重的担忧，引发了由德国总理安格拉•默克尔(Angela Merkel)领导的中右翼政治联盟内部的紧张，并导致德国新选择党(Alternative für Deutschland)的支持率上升，该党是一个右翼民粹主义政党，持强硬的反伊斯兰和反移民立场。

The task that faces Ms Merkel and her coalition government is to allay the anxieties of many citizens that the welcome extended to the refugees risks becoming a colossal blunder that will destabilise German society. The sexual assaults and robberies in Cologne and other cities on New Year’s Eve were early signs that this task will not be simple. Moreover, German security officials are alert to the danger that Isis might have smuggled operatives into the country under cover of the refugees, and that jihadi networks are identifying migrant youths for recruitment.

默克尔及其领导的联合政府面临的任务是缓解很多公民的如下担忧：针对难民的欢迎政策可能会铸成破坏德国社会稳定的大错。科隆以及其他城市在新年前夜发生的性侵和抢劫活动是最初的迹象，表明这项任务并不简单。另外，德国安全官员正警惕一种危险，即ISIS可能以难民为掩护让自己的成员偷偷溜进了德国，同时“圣战”网络正把年轻移民作为招募目标。

Horrific though the latest violence in Germany has been, it is on a smaller scale than the attacks in France and Belgium of the past 18 months, not to mention Spain and the UK in 2004 and 2005. The most murderous incident, in which an 18-year-old Iranian-German born and raised in Germany shot dead nine people in Munich before killing himself, appears to have no connection with recent migrants or Islamist terrorism. There is evidence for such a connection in the attack which saw a Syrian refugee blow himself up in the Bavarian town of Ansbach, injuring 15 others, but this man also had a history of suicide attempts and mental illness.

尽管德国最新的暴力袭击事件令人恐惧，但它比过去18个月法国和比利时发生的袭击规模要小，更别提2004年和2005年西班牙和英国的袭击活动了。死亡人数最多的事件——一名18岁、在德国出生并长大的伊朗裔德国人在慕尼黑枪杀9人，随后自杀——也似乎与最近的移民或伊斯兰恐怖主义没有关联。有证据表明存在此类关联的袭击活动是一名叙利亚难民在巴伐利亚州安斯巴赫市自爆，造成15人受伤，但这人也有自杀和精神疾病史。

The German government deserves credit for the proportionate nature of its response so far. The interior ministry has stepped up the police presence at airports and train stations and ordered more stop-and-search operations close to Germany’s frontiers. To the extent that this might inhibit the flow of weapons across Europe’s border-free Schengen zone, it is a sensible move.

德国政府迄今的回应是恰当的，这值得赞扬。德国内政部在机场和火车站增派警力，并下令在靠近德国边境地区加大盘查。从可能阻止武器在欧洲自由通行的申根区流通这个意义上来说，这是明智的举措。

The government, however, is not yet emulating France and Belgium in deploying thousands of soldiers on the streets of big cities. There are strict constitutional restrictions on the use of the armed forces at home. In the absence of a more pronounced national emergency, Ms Merkel’s government is correct to hold back. The former West German state fought a long battle, primarily in the 1970s, against far-left terrorism in the form of the Red Army Faction. At times the authorities were heavy-handed, curtailing civil liberties more than necessary. Modern Germany is a mature democracy whose determination to protect its citizens, their rights and the vast majority of refugees who have arrived there in peace merits the support of all Europe.

然而，德国政府仍未像法国和比利时那样，在大城市的街道上部署数千名士兵。德国宪法严格限制在国内动用军队。在国家没有陷入更严重的紧急状态的情况下，默克尔政府保持克制是正确的。前西德政府针对极左翼恐怖主义组织“红军旅”(Red Army Faction)打了一场旷日持久的战争（主要是在上世纪70年代）。有时当局手段强硬，不必要地限制了公民自由。现代德国是一个成熟的民主国家，它保护公民、公民权利以及绝大多数和平抵达德国的难民的决心值得全欧洲支持。