Hugs,kisses and singing imprint street festivities held in the aftermath of New Year’s Eve sexual assault incidents Locking arms with neighbours while swaying from side to side, hugging friends and planting pecks on passing strangers’ cheeks, and the women of Cologne on Thursday did their best to banish memories of the mass sexual assault the city saw on New Year’s Eve. During the “women’s carnival” that traditionally kicks off Cologne’s annual carnival,mayor Henriette Reker’s advice to keep “an arms length’s distance” from strangers was widely ignored.
With an unprecedented 3200 police officers patrolling the city centre and special “women’s security points” at central locations, Cologne’s new chief of police Jürgen Matheis said the start of the so-called “crazy days” street festival had been “very peaceful”, and with seven provisional arrests for minor offences. Fewer revellers attended the carnival than in preceding years,which organisers attributed mainly to the rain.
Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com