德國不應對暴力事件作出極端反應
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.
德國在一週之內發生了4次襲擊事件，導致10名德國人死亡，數十人受傷。這表明面對政治恐怖主義災難以及極端暴力事件的意外發生，德國並不比其他歐洲國家更安全。鑑於其中兩次襲擊牽扯似乎受到伊斯蘭武裝組織“伊拉克和黎凡特伊斯蘭國”(ISIS)鼓動的新移民，要求德國政府作出堅決迴應是可以理解的。然而，德國肩負着特別的責任，要在法律和秩序、公民自由、對難民的國際法律義務等重要事項之間找到謹慎的平衡，爲整個歐洲樹立榜樣。
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，德國向超過100萬名難民敞開了大門，多數來自衝突不斷的阿富汗、伊拉克和敘利亞。德國政府的慷慨舉措招致一些歐洲盟友的批評，最新的襲擊事件不會讓歐洲就難民危機達成統一回應變得更容易。但“歡迎政策”也引起了德國社會部分羣體日益嚴重的擔憂，引發了由德國總理安格拉•默克爾(Angela Merkel)領導的中右翼政治聯盟內部的緊張，並導致德國新選擇黨(Alternative für Deutschland)的支持率上升，該黨是一個右翼民粹主義政黨，持強硬的反伊斯蘭和反移民立場。
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.
默克爾及其領導的聯合政府面臨的任務是緩解很多公民的如下擔憂：針對難民的歡迎政策可能會鑄成破壞德國社會穩定的大錯。科隆以及其他城市在新年前夜發生的性侵和搶劫活動是最初的跡象，表明這項任務並不簡單。另外，德國安全官員正警惕一種危險，即ISIS可能以難民爲掩護讓自己的成員偷偷溜進了德國，同時“聖戰”網絡正把年輕移民作爲招募目標。
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.
儘管德國最新的暴力襲擊事件令人恐懼，但它比過去18個月法國和比利時發生的襲擊規模要小，更別提2004年和2005年西班牙和英國的襲擊活動了。死亡人數最多的事件——一名18歲、在德國出生並長大的伊朗裔德國人在慕尼黑槍殺9人，隨後自殺——也似乎與最近的移民或伊斯蘭恐怖主義沒有關聯。有證據表明存在此類關聯的襲擊活動是一名敘利亞難民在巴伐利亞州安斯巴赫市自爆，造成15人受傷，但這人也有自殺和精神疾病史。
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.
德國政府迄今的迴應是恰當的，這值得讚揚。德國內政部在機場和火車站增派警力，並下令在靠近德國邊境地區加大盤查。從可能阻止武器在歐洲自由通行的申根區流通這個意義上來說，這是明智的舉措。
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，德國政府仍未像法國和比利時那樣，在大城市的街道上部署數千名士兵。德國憲法嚴格限制在國內動用軍隊。在國家沒有陷入更嚴重的緊急狀態的情況下，默克爾政府保持克制是正確的。前西德政府針對極左翼恐怖主義組織“紅軍旅”(Red Army Faction)打了一場曠日持久的戰爭（主要是在上世紀70年代）。有時當局手段強硬，不必要地限制了公民自由。現代德國是一個成熟的民主國家，它保護公民、公民權利以及絕大多數和平抵達德國的難民的決心值得全歐洲支持。
