A memorial takes place in Germany to remember victims, most of whom Turks

BERLIN (A.A) - February 23, 2012 - A memorial took place in German capital of Berlin on Thursday to remember the 10 people including eight Turks who were killed by right-wing extremist group in Germany. A minute of silence was held across the country to remember the victims. Delivering a speech at the memorial at the Konzerthaus in the Gendarmenmarkt square of Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that they considered those murders a disgrace for Germany and appealed to victims' families for forgiveness. The chancellor apologized to the families for the fact that suspicion for the murders had fallen, in some cases, on the victims' relatives themselves. "We mourn with you," she said. Merkel promised to do everything possible to prevent a repeat of the "cold-blooded" murders. The day was devoted to remember 8 Turks, 1 Greek and 1 female police officer killed by the far-right German terror group National Socialist Underground or NSU. The memorial in Berlin was attended by around 1,200 dignitaries, including the family members of the victims, new German presidential candidate Joachim Gauck, deputies, Turkish Ambassador in Berlin Huseyin Avni Karslioglu and members of the Turkish Parliamentary Human Rights Watch Commission led by a Justice and Development (AK) Party deputy from Sakarya province Ayhan Sefer Ustun. NSU is a far-right German terror group which was uncovered in November 2011. The Bosphorus serial murders, a murder series of nine Turkish and Greek immigrants between September 9, 2000 and April 6, 2006, the murder of a policewoman and the 2004 Cologne bombing have been attributed to the NSU. The Attorney General of Germany called the NSU a "right-wing extremist group", who have the purpose to "kill out of xenophobic and anti-state sentiments all citizens of foreign origin".