Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters dismisses ‘Nazi’ suit criticism as political

BERLIN – Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters on Saturday slammed the controversy that erupted after he donned a Nazi-style uniform at a Berlin concert as politically motivated.

Mr Waters sparked an uproar after images on social media showed him wearing a long, black coat with red armbands on stage at the Mercedes-Benz arena last week.

The German police said they are investigating Mr Waters, co-founder of the band Pink Floyd, for incitement to hatred.

Germany’s official in charge of fighting anti-Semitism has called for Mr Waters to be held accountable.

Wearing or display of symbols evoking the Nazi era are crimes in Germany. 

In a statement released on Saturday, Mr Waters dismissed the criticism as politically motivated. 

“My recent performance in Berlin has attracted bad faith attacks from those who want to smear and silence me because they disagree with my political views and moral principles,” he said in the statement that was posted on his Twitter account.

Mr Waters is a well-known pro-Palestinian activist.

He has long been critical of Israel and has been accused of holding anti-Jewish views.

He has played in several German cities in recent weeks as part of his “This Is Not A Drill” tour.

But it has been hugely controversial with some city officials even trying, unsuccessfully, to ban him from performing.

The “Another Brick In The Wall” singer denies the anti-Semitism accusations, saying he protests against Israeli policies and not the Jewish people.

“The elements of my performance that have been questioned are quite clearly a statement in opposition to fascism, injustice and bigotry in all its forms,” Mr Waters said in his statement. 

“The depiction of an unhinged fascist demagogue has been a feature of my shows since Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’ in 1980,” he said. 

At the same Berlin concert, Mr Waters also flashed the names of several deceased people on a large screen, including that of Anne Frank, the Jewish teenager who died in a Nazi concentration camp. 

Also named was slain Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, prompting criticism that Mr Waters was relativising the Holocaust.

Mr Waters is due to play his final German concert in the western city of Frankfurt on Sunday evening, and protesters are planning to demonstrate outside the venue. 

Frankfurt city authorities sought to stop the concert but a court ruled against them, citing artistic freedom.

Berlin authorities will have to determine to what extent the display of Nazi-like imagery is protected by artistic freedom of expression.

“Artistic freedom of expression is not a licence to incite hatred,” Mr Nicholas Potter, a researcher with the Amadeu Antonio Foundation in Berlin, a group that tracks neo-Nazism, right-wing extremism and anti-Semitism in Germany, wrote in an e-mail exchange.

“Artistic freedom is often used as an argument to express anti-democratic or hateful views, including antisemitic ones, but that doesn’t always mean it’s applicable – the context is crucial,” he added. Mr Potter attended one of the Berlin shows and wrote about it on the foundation’s news blog.

Mr Waters initially agreed to an interview with The New York Times about the investigation but then declined. A representative wrote: “We are reluctant to comment if the intention is to further sensationalise this fabricated news story.”

A Berlin police spokesperson said investigators would present their findings to the Berlin state’s attorney within the next three months. The state’s attorney will decide whether to indict Mr Waters. AFP, NYTIMES