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Politicians from almost all parties have expressed dismay at the events in the Reichstag in Berlin during the protests against the Crown measures.
“The Reichstag building is the place of activity of our parliament and therefore the symbolic center of our free democracy. That chaos and extremists misuse it for their own ends is unbearable, ”said the Federal Minister of the Interior. Horst seehofer (CSU) the “Bild am Sonntag”. “Diversity of opinion is a hallmark of a healthy society. However, freedom of assembly has its limits where state rules are trampled on, ”said Seehofer.
“The flags of the Reich and the far-right mob in front of the German Bundestag are an unbearable attack on the heart of our democracy,” said the federal president. Frank Walter-Steinmeier. Anyone who is angry at the Crown’s measures or doubts its need can do so, also in public, even at demonstrations. “My understanding ends where the protesters get hooked on the cars of the enemies of democracy and political agitators.”
On Saturday night, several hundred people, apparently from the right-wing extremist milieu, the Reich citizen scene and the AfD “Junge Alternative” offspring, broke a cordon in the Reichstag building and climbed the stairs to the entrance . Police officers pushed people back with difficulty. Subsequently, the police used pepper spray, which sparked fights. Earlier there had been a demonstration in the Reichstag building.
The black, white and red imperial flags used by the imperial citizens could also be seen among the protesters. Later, the police broke up the demonstration. Emergency forces cleared the space in front of the Reichstag building and pushed the protesters away.
Reichstag storm: only three policemen stand in the way of protesters
Videos circulating on the Internet show people standing at the Reichstag gate. Only three policemen stood in his way.
Police spokesman Thilo Cablitz He explained: “We cannot always be present everywhere, it is precisely this gap that was used to scale the barriers, to break through and then to reach the stairs in front of the Reichstag.”
Foreign minister Heiko maas (SPD) tweeted: “The Reich flags in front of the parliament are a disgrace.” SPD chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz wrote: “Nazi symbols, Reich citizenship and imperial flags have absolutely nothing to do with the German Bundestag.”
When asked if it would have been better to ban the demonstration, the SPD Secretary General said. Lars KlingbeilHe was surprised that the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, according to its own statements, had not discovered in advance any evidence that “right-wing extremists are trying to subvert this demonstration.”
The photos of the day showed something else. “You will have to take a closer look at why this information was apparently not available beforehand or was not properly evaluated,” said the SPD politician on “Bild live.” Now it will be necessary to clarify in the Council of Elders of the Bundestag “how were the concepts of security”.
The candidate for chancellor of the SPD Olaf Scholz tweeted: “Nazi symbols, imperial citizens and imperial flags face the Germans. Bundestag absolutely nothing lost. “
Even the head of the Greens Annalena baerbock He commented on Twitter and wrote: “When the flags of the German Reich are flying in front of the Reichstag, then that is not an expression of freedom of expression, but an attack on our democracy. And he has to be able to defend himself. “
Around 38,000 people at the Corona protests in Berlin
According to estimates by the authorities, around 38,000 people participated in the protests in the city on Saturday. As Senator of the Interior Andreas Geisel (SPD) reported at night, around 300 people were arrested during the day, around 200 just in front of the Russian embassy.
They flew, among other things, out of a crowd of around 3,000 of the so-called Reich citizens and right-wing extremists threw stones and bottles at the police, as he said. According to the police, prisoners were also released there. Geisel described the events as predictable. “It was to be expected what happened today,” he said Saturday night at the ARD “Tagesthemen.”
He was also arrested in front of the Russian embassy. Vegan chef Attila Hildmann, who calls himself a “far right” and a conspiracy preacher. Geisel did not comment on the history of Hildmann’s arrest.
[Kommentar zu den Corona-Demonstrationen in Berlin: Unerträglich, bizarr – aber auch legitim]
Over the course of the day, streets were temporarily blocked, barriers broken and a construction container burned, police said. She was on duty with around 3,000 officers.
The Stuttgart initiative for lateral thinking 711 called for a protest, around 22,000 participants were expected, but there were many more. There were also counter-protests, even from the left scene.
Police lead protesters from Friedrichstrasse
American lawyer, environmental activist and vaccine opponent Robert Francis Kennedy junior, nephew of former American President John F. Kennedy, spoke in a speech at the rally against the construction of the new 5G cellular network, warned of total surveillance and attacked in this context. including Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
Police did not allow a planned demonstration march to start at noon because minimum distances to prevent infection were not observed. After lengthy negotiations with the organizers, the police said they were going to disrupt the meeting. “Unfortunately there is no other option.” Later, the police took away the protesters who were left sitting in the street and did not leave voluntarily.
On banners, participants called for the resignation of the federal government and an end to protective conditions and daily restrictions due to the corona pandemic. The posters read “Muzzle democracy without us,” “Stop the Crown’s madness” and “End the Crown’s dictatorship.” Over and over the crowd chanted “resistance” and “we are the people.”
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AfD politicians and other right-wing groups also called for participation. Flags with imperial eagles, T-shirts with Gothic letters and other symbols of right-wing extremists could also be seen at the Brandenburg Gate and elsewhere. An AfD politician was also there when they stormed the Reichstag steps.
In general, however, a wide mix of citizens, including young and old, as well as families with children, gathered at Friedrichstrasse, where the demonstration was supposed to begin, and later at the Victory Column.
“The enemies of democracy mix with the center of society”
The head of the Association of German Criminal Investigators, Sebastian Fiedler, warned of the possible consequences of the crown protests. “These demonstrations are an ideal environment for radical movements to win more and more people for their ideologies,” Fiedler said of the “Rheinische Post.”
“There, the enemies of democracy mix with parts of the middle class, so conspiracy theories can spread faster and faster.”
In reality, the Berlin authorities wanted to ban the meetings. however, they were defeated in court. The decision of the Higher Administrative Court of Berlin against the ban was known on Saturday night.
The police stated that the reason for the ban order was that the gathering of tens of thousands of people, often without a mask or distance, posed too high a health risk for the population. This was already demonstrated by the demonstration against the Crown policy on August 1 in Berlin, during which most of the protesters consciously ignored hygiene rules. (Tsp, dpa)
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