Escalation in the demonstration: after the fiasco of the “lateral thinking”, the dispute breaks out on the question of the fault

WContradictory positions on fundamental rights must be adequately balanced with the objective of optimization, this is what the principle of practical agreement in constitutional law says. So, if, for example, a demonstration is registered in the days of the Crown, it is the task of the state authorities to find a middle ground to carry it out, one that does justice to the rights to freedom of assembly on the one hand and protection against the infection by the other in a way that in the end neither is too restricted.

At Saturday’s big rally in Leipzig against the crown measures of the federal and state governments, it went completely wrong. The event escalated. And it was a fiasco with an advertisement. First of all, the Prime Minister of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer (CDU), expressed the fear that the demonstration announced by the “lateral thinking” movement in the center of Leipzig threatened to become a “major crown-spreading event. “.

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The responsible city authority reacted and moved the event to the extensive fairgrounds on the outskirts. The Leipzig Administrative Court confirmed this decision, it was guaranteed an adequate balance of the fundamental rights in question: a meeting yes, but in a place where health protection must be provided.

But the next instance, the Higher Administrative Court of Saxony (OVG) in Bautzen, announced on Saturday morning, a few hours before the start of the demonstration, that the event could now take place in the central Augustusplatz of the city.

As a condition to maintain health protection, the judges issued a restriction to a maximum of 16,000 participants, mask requirement, distance requirement, and that the demonstration must not be carried out, but must be “stationary”, as also required the Crown Ordinance of Saxony.

102 crimes with 89 suspects

However, according to police statements and observations by WELT journalists, these conditions were largely not met from the start. The police had 20,000 participants at Augustusplatz, the investigation group “counted” even 45,000 people. In the crowd, there was no need to think about the gaps; Almost no one wore a mask either.

The police announced several times that they had to comply with the requirements, but did not intervene. Only after two and a half hours did the city announce the dissolution of the event due to non-compliance with the requirements. Then the crowd moved to the inner ring of the city and broke a barrier for this, and they were not prevented from doing so. This also meant that the legal stipulation of “local stability” was no longer applicable.

In the end, the police recorded 102 crimes involving 89 suspects, including attacks on law enforcement officers, bodily injury and property damage. There have been 13 preliminary arrests and 18 detentions. In addition, 140 administrative offenses were recorded for violating the Crown Protection Ordinance and the right of assembly.

Once the dreaded fiasco materialized, state bodies began to cover themselves with guilt.

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The police union (GdP) appealed to the administrative courts so that they “no longer get hooked on the bandwagon of the so-called ‘lateral thinking’ movement.” It was very easy to see that the protesters “never considered” adhering to the conditions, said GdP Federal Vice President Jörg Radek.

Officials would have to pay what others were responsible for, the Saxon President of the GOP, Hagen Husgen, complained. It was completely incomprehensible to him why such a demonstration could be allowed right now.

Saxon Interior Minister Roland Wöller (CDU), as responsible representative of the executive, made a similar statement: He harshly criticized the OVG’s decision: “It is irresponsible to allow such a meeting with more than 16,000 people in times of the pandemic of the crown in the center of Leipzig. “, says Wöller. Meeting the requirements for protection against infections was impossible from the beginning.

The chief of police sees two of the three objectives achieved

Leipzig Police Chief Torsten Schultze initially limited himself to justifying the reluctance of his forces. The mission had three goals: to ensure a peaceful course, prevent possible acts of violence and enforce protection against infections, Schultze said in a video statement.

The first two goals were largely achieved, the third was not. In explaining why police barriers were not being defended against protesters, Schultze also became instrumental. The use of force “was not indicated”: “A pandemic is not fought with police means, but only with the common sense of the people.”

The OVG in Bautzen on Sunday could not be reached for an opinion. To this end, representatives of the Saxon legislature intervened. The left-wing faction in the state parliament announced that it would request a special meeting of the interior committee. The Saxon Greens tweeted that the security organs had “lost all confidence”; The inaction of Interior Minister Wöller “was no longer acceptable.”

Internal policy spokesman Valentin Lippmann said that the Free State of Saxony had presented itself: “An obvious planning disaster has led the State of Leipzig to capitulate to the enemies of democracy and not enforce the right of assembly or effectively counteract attacks against protests, journalists and the police. could.”

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Saxony Economy Minister Martin Dulig (SPD), for his part, directed his criticism more towards the protesters: “The escalation and reckless behavior of the so-called lateral thinkers are shocking. They are chaos. ”

“The police must be able to enforce the rule of law”

Federal politics also got involved. Federal Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) said: What they saw in Leipzig “cannot be justified by anything. The freedom to demonstrate is not a freedom for violence and endangering others en masse ”. Lambrecht condemned the attacks on the police and the press, calling it “the mockery of science and the agitation of the extreme right that we have seen horrible.”

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However, he also demanded that the police defend the state monopoly on the use of force and that “violent marauding criminals must not leave the field.” This situation in the midst of the pandemic should not be repeated. A thorough clarification is required on how the situation could escalate to such an extent.

Thousands together without masks are a peak of irresponsibility and selfishness. “Every day people die from the coronavirus. Those who deny this danger oppose the vast majority of our society, which adheres to the rules to protect themselves and others, ”said Lambrecht. SPD leader Saskia Esken spoke less balanced on Twitter of the “bankruptcy declaration of the Saxon interior minister and the federal interior minister.”

The opposition in the Bundestag also targeted the Saxon executive. “The police must be able to enforce the rule of law,” said Deputy Leader of the FDP parliamentary group, Stephan Thomae WELT. “Obviously that was not the case in Leipzig. The resolution of the demonstration could not be consistently enforced. That must be addressed quickly and avoided in the future. ”

Freedom of assembly is “rightly a very strongly protected basic right.” However, in the event of constant violations of the rules, the police must act and also be able to end a meeting: “To do this, you simply have to ensure that there are enough officials on site.”

Green Party leader Robert Habeck also called freedom of assembly “a great good.” In the same way, however, the freedom of others and the functionality of the health system must be protected. This is a difficult task for the state authorities in the pandemic: “Obviously, the Ministry of the Interior and the Saxon police were not prepared for this task at the weekend and were therefore overwhelmed,” Habeck said. Left-wing president Katja Kipping acknowledged in a less deliberate way “the utter failure of the leadership of the Saxon police.”

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Whoever made mistakes in the details, one thing is for sure: Saxon state authorities have not found the right balance between freedom of assembly and protection against infection.

The OVG judges will have to give a good reason for their decision, which has not yet happened. The Interior Ministry and the police will have to explain why they were not in a position to enforce the law in practice. And the organizers must understand that the right to demonstrate is not an excuse for breaking the law.