Islamist terrorism is the biggest challenge facing
Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel has said in
her New Year message.
Referring to the deadly truck attack in Berlin by a
Tunisian asylum seeker, she said it was
"sickening" when acts of terror were carried out
by people who had sought protection.
She said 2016 had been a year of "severe tests".
But she also said she was confident Germany
could overcome them.
"As we go about our lives and our work, we are
saying to the terrorists: 'You are hate-filled
murderers, but you do not determine how we live
and want to live. We are free, considerate and
open'," Mrs Merkel said.
Twelve people were killed when Anis Amri drove a
truck at crowds at a Berlin Christmas market two
weeks ago.
Tough choice between freedom and security
Berlin lorry attack: What we know
Germany attacks: What is going on?
Earlier in the year, a teenage Afghan refugee
wounded five people in an axe attack on a train in
Wuerzburg and a Syrian whose asylum
application had been refused blew himself up
outside a bar in Ansbach, wounding 15 other
people.
The attacks have led to some criticism of Mrs
Merkel's policy of admitting more than a million
refugees and migrants last year.
But in her New Year message the chancellor said
images of the devastation in the Syrian city of
Aleppo, where Syrian government forces have
forced out rebels after months of fighting, showed
how "important and right" it was for Germany to
take in those fleeing the conflict.
"All this is reflected in our democracy, rule of law
and values. They are the opposite of the hate-
filled world of terrorism and will prove stronger
than it. Together we are stronger. Our state is
stronger," she said.
Mrs Merkel also denounced "distortions" that
were leading people to believe that the EU and
even parliamentary democracy were no longer
working.
The EU was "slow and difficult", had suffered a
blow with the United Kingdom's vote to leave and
should focus on the things it "really can do better
than the nation state", she said.
"But no - we Germans should never be deceived
into thinking that a happy future could ever lie in
going it alone nationally," she added.
Mrs Merkel is seeking a fourth term as chancellor
in an election expected in September and has
already said that she expects her toughest
campaign yet.
