European Minister Manfred Pentz | "He apologized for the tone, not for the racism"

Manfred Pentz (r.) and Justice Minister Christian Heinz (both CDU). What does a European minister actually do when he isn't racist on Instagram? Photo: dpa/Arne Dedert Mr. Ibrahimkhil, you wrote on Instagram about a “genocide-supporting, racist and authoritarian milieu in the Union” that must be fought politically down to the smallest village. What had happened?

A video from European Minister Manfred Pentz was shown in my timeline. When he spoke of “migrant violence,” it made me angry because, in my view, they generally portray people with a migration history as a homogeneous group and attribute collective responsibility to them. I see this as an example of political rhetoric with which the Union is increasingly trying to win support on the right-wing fringe. I consider this development to be dangerous because it deepens social divisions and increases prejudices against people with a migration background.

My pointed choice of words arose against this background.

Do you know each other? Or did Pentz apparently use your name as a reason for his postings?

We don't know each other personally. We are not talking about any CDU member here, but about a Hessian state minister in Boris Rhein's cabinet. Anyone who holds such an office has a special responsibility to treat everyone in our society with respect. That's why this process has a completely different political significance for me.

Sahak Ibrahimkhil, born in Afghanistan and raised in the former Yugoslavia, has lived in Germany since the early 1990s and has been active at Volt since the beginning.

Pentz first replied to you, "Why do you talk like that?!" and then to your reaction: "I don't speak, I write." He deleted these postings on the same day. He had “mistaken his tone”.

This formulation trivializes and relativizes the racist content of his statement. He made racist comments and then didn't even show the courage to admit it and ask for forgiveness. My impression is that the Union's shift to the right in recent years, including under Boris Rhein in Hesse, has created a political climate in which he obviously felt safe to write something like this publicly. Maybe he didn't expect that I wouldn't accept it and would immediately defend myself against it.

Such attacks can cause people to withdraw and give up their political work. When people are forced out of political debate through racial vilification, that is a problem for our democracy. That's why it was important to me to defend myself and set a clear boundary.

CDU General Secretary Leopold Born speaks of a “definitely inappropriate reaction.” You really can't put it any more bluntly than that. Born accuses you of “regularly placing yourself outside of respectful democratic discourse” with your positions. What history is this about?

This is a typical perpetrator-victim reversal. This isn't about a backstory - it's explicitly about how a Hessian minister reacted to a person whose name didn't sound German. And that could have happened to anyone. Many people with a visible migration history have different life experiences than Mr. Leopold Born.

I have been confronted with racism and everyday racism for 30 years. These experiences shape my perspective and also the way I talk about sensitive topics such as racism or war. This can be acute, especially when human suffering is involved. For me, war, expulsion and racism are not abstract debate topics, but part of my own life story.

At the same time, I repeatedly notice massive personal attacks on other politicians on the CDU and CSU Instagram accounts, some of which I find deeply derogatory. Anyone who calls for respectful democratic discourse must also apply this standard to their own party's communication.

You had already gotten into trouble on social media because you posted a photo of the former President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Hans-Georg Maaßen. You were then supported in this matter by the Gegenrechtsschutz association. How did that end?

You did not contact your law firm again after the lawyer, who was kindly provided to me by Gegenrechtschutz, responded to your law firm. Apparently they were expecting me to just sign and pay.

Pentz apologized to you personally. May I ask what that sounded like? And do you accept the apology?

He apologized for the tone, not the racism. That's why I don't accept the apology and call for his resignation. This is not just an attack by a minister against me as a person, but also against people whose last names also do not sound German.

What does a European Minister actually do? Why does this post exist in Hesse and what has Pentz noticed so far?

Since I didn't know him before, I only got to know his work after his racist behavior. Almost two years ago he called for aid payments to the UN aid organization UNRWA to be stopped. Anyone calling for such cuts must also deal with the humanitarian consequences for the Palestinian population. In my opinion, this demand demonstrates either a lack of knowledge of the living conditions on site, which raises doubts about his suitability for his current position, or a willingness to consciously accept a further worsening of the humanitarian emergency. I consider both to be politically irresponsible.

They also call the Union “proponents of genocide.” Why?

With this I wanted to identify the political responsibility for Germany's support of the Israeli government. I am referring to the assessments of human rights organizations, independent UN experts and commissions as well as international and Israeli genocide researchers who assess the actions in Gaza as genocide. My criticism is directed against a German foreign policy that maintains the extensive support of the Israeli government despite the massive allegations. I expect that human rights and international law will consistently be made the benchmark for political action. This must also apply to the Israeli government.

In your original posting you demanded that Germany must be “de-unionized.” Do you have a plan for this?

Yes, by politically fighting and replacing the Union right down to the smallest village with good programs and progressive politics. So that it can find time again to realign itself and develop a policy that does not endanger social cohesion. It cannot be the case that the CDU's current policies primarily serve the interests of wealthy people and corporations in Germany, while putting a burden on young people and the socially disadvantaged. That's why many young people are now taking to the streets. They deserve answers, not racism.

If Manfred Pentz does not resign voluntarily, the Prime Minister of Hesse, Boris Rhein, will have to fire him. I am particularly disappointed with the SPD in Hesse. Before I became a member of Volt, my family and I voted for the SPD because, for me, it naturally stood for anti-racist and anti-fascist politics. Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Kaweh Mansoori has commented on the incident via his private Instagram account. I am happy and grateful that he spoke out, but unfortunately his statement lacks political consequence.

I'm not a fool and I know the importance of coalition loyalty. But when it comes to racism and other forms of discrimination, this loyalty must have its limits. The Hessian social democrats cannot simply sit out such an incident, which has also caused enormous media coverage. I expect her to focus on her own values, take a stand and finally demand that Manfred Pentz resign.

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