BBC Online :The German interior minister is announcing new anti-terror measures, following recent attacks linked to Islamist militants.Thomas de Maiziere is expected to call for swifter deportation of criminals and greater use of video surveillance.There are also plans to ban public wearing of the burka (full veil) and radical Islamist funding of mosques.A possible ban on dual citizenship and easing of medical confidentiality have already prompted heated debate.”My proposals are limited to the points that can lead to more security rapidly,” the minister said. “Other points will be discussed by the parties. We need a workable consensus in the coalition.”German media report that the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) – coalition partners of the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) – strongly oppose any ban on dual citizenship. The Greens also oppose it.The security issue has become intensely political, as the country prepares for general elections next year and earlier regional elections.The duty of doctors to respect patient confidentiality is enshrined in the German constitution. But there are calls for legal changes to allow doctors to tip off the police if they suspect that a patient is preparing a terrorist attack, or is linked to terrorists.In three cases that shocked German society the perpetrators were found to have been mentally unstable:The Ansbach bomber who killed himself and wounded 15 others at a music festival last monthThe gunman who killed nine people in a Munich shopping mall – also last monthThe Germanwings pilot who crashed an airliner in the French Alps in 2015The deputy head of Bavaria’s intelligence services, Manfred Hauser, has told the BBC the risk of a major attack on German soil is high.He said his agents were investigating hundreds of reports that the so-called Islamic State (IS) group was sending teams into the country disguised as refugees.So far Germany has not witnessed the scale of attack seen in France, where militant Islamists killed 147 in Paris last year and 85 in Nice last month.Mr de Maiziere is expected to attract broad support for creating 15,000 more police posts nationwide and for improving police weapons and other equipment to deal with the terror threat.Germany is also likely to introduce more video surveillance in urban areas, a special police cyber defence unit and powers to investigate suspects as young as 14.Currently Germany has very few restrictions on people’s dress. Few Muslim women in Germany wear the burka.But there are some exceptions. For instance, it is illegal to cover your face in a football stadium in Germany.Burka bans exist in other parts of Europe, notably France, Belgium and some towns in Italy.German doctors who breach patient confidentiality can face up to a year in prison or be forced to pay a fine.Frank Ulrich Montgomery, the head of the German Medical Association, said: “Patient confidentiality protects patients’ privacy and is a basic right under the constitution.”The tense domestic security situation must not tempt us into rash political and legal measures.”
