[ad_1]
Saturday 21 November 2020
In Leipzig, critics of the corona measures meet counter-protesters. With a massive contingent, the police blocked scenes like the one two weeks ago when thousands of “side thinkers” marched unhindered through the streets. The situation was sometimes tense today.
Spontaneous elevators, protesters surrounded: In Leipzig, the police have deployed a large contingent to keep critics of Corona’s measures and counter-protesters away. Hundreds of people gathered for a rally of opponents of Corona’s policy, which was later canceled on short notice. In the city center, the opposing camps met again and again, as the police announced on Twitter. Sometimes the situation was confusing.
Counter-protesters stand in the way of “side thinkers” in Leipzig.
(Photo: dpa)
“The approved meetings were peaceful and quiet. But then a dynamic situation developed in various places in the city center,” said police spokesman Olaf Hoppe. That was a difficult situation for the police. However, by nightfall, the situation had calmed down.
According to the police, there were also attacks on the emergency services, but initially no details were given. According to preliminary information, two people were arrested in the vicinity of the demonstrations. In the city area, 18 crimes were also found during the operation, according to the Leipzig police department. It deals with bodily harm and breaches of the peace. Nine suspects have been identified. In addition, 44 dismissals and 113 complaints were issued for violations of the Protection Ordinance of the Saxon Crown. According to the police, after an attack on a journalist, an ex officio complaint was filed against unknown persons. An officer was slightly injured during the operation.
Water cannons and cleaning armor.
Leipzig Mayor Burkhard Jung spoke of a “cat and mouse game”. However, the situation was completely different from the Leipzig “lateral thinking” rally two weeks ago, which spiraled out of control. This time there was a well-coordinated strategy between the police and the assembly authorities.
The rally announced by critics of Corona’s policy was surprisingly canceled in the afternoon, even though hundreds of people were already there. The meeting leader of the rally in the center of the city withdrew his registration after the assembly authorities had not accepted his “incomplete mask release certificate,” according to police. The police had previously cordoned off the access because the space with 500 people had reached its maximum capacity.
At the same time, several hundred people in the city center participated in various protests against the originally planned demonstration. The action network “Leipzig takes place”, which had announced rallies at three central locations in the city, spoke to up to 4,000 participants during the day. Following the cancellation of the crown demonstration, various groups dispersed through the city center.
The police were in Leipzig with a large contingent from various federal states, they had placed water cannons and cleaning tanks. A police helicopter was also circling over the city. Agents also used barriers to separate the meetings from each other.
Using pepper spray
In the early afternoon there were spontaneous meetings that were not recorded. According to the police, people wanted to participate in the triple-digit range in the market area and Grosse Fleischergasse, as well as Windmühlenstrasse. According to reporters from the German Press Agency (dpa), supporters from both sides clashed. “Our colleagues separate them and prevent such a meeting,” police said on Twitter.
After observing a DPA photographer, the police also used pepper spray. Later, the police finally made the surrounded participants retreat to the train station in small groups: the masks were only used sporadically. In sight of the counter-protesters in the adjacent streets, the police finally cleared a path, the police spokesman said. Left-wing MPs criticized Twitter for not determining his identity. The police spokesman said identity checks had been carried out.
Many of the protesters against the crown measures are once again not wearing mouth and nose protection.
(Photo: dpa)
According to a dpa reporter at the scene, a spontaneous anti-fascist demonstration with around 200 participants took place in the city center in the afternoon. Another meeting on the left field near the Thomaskirche was surrounded by police shortly after.
Police spokesman Hoppe spoke of a “very confusing” situation in the city at times. “It was attempted from the autonomous stage to enter into a physical confrontation with the opponent,” he said. The other side tried to enforce an elevator. There were crowds of people in various places. “However, no meeting was approved,” the spokesman said.
Hooligans and right-wing extremists
According to Jung, there were also “arrival movements” from Thuringia for the rally of opponents of the Corona measures which was canceled. According to the politician, several right-wing extremists, including hooligans and supporters of comrades, had gathered at the main station. Half of them left again. The Saxon Office for the Protection of the Constitution had already reported in advance that camps of extremists from the right and left were being mobilized.
Two weeks earlier, a “lateral thinking” rally in Leipzig had sparked anger and heated political debates. At least 20,000 people from all over Germany came to Leipzig to protest against the crown’s restrictions. Hardly anyone adhered to the mask requirement. The city broke up the rally. After that, people were forced to cross the Leipziger ring. The police tried to stop her but eventually let her go. Critics spoke of “state failure.” The rally that was finally canceled this Saturday was not recorded for “lateral thinking”.
Demonstrations in other cities too
Opponents of the crown measures also took to the streets in several other German cities on Saturday. There were several hundred each in Hannover, Bochum, Göppingen and Pforzheim. More than 900 people participated in a “lateral thinking” demonstration in the capital of Lower Saxony, and more than 300 participated in opposition demonstrations. In the area of the “lateral thinker” demonstration, pyrotechnics were launched, presumably by opponents, but police officers kept the situation under control.
In Bochum, according to the police, around 500 people gathered for a demonstration of the initiative “lateral thinking 234 Bochum”. According to a dpa photographer, around 800 people gathered in Göppingen, and 450 in Pforzheim, according to the police. In Berlin, several thousand opponents of the federal and state government’s crown policy want to take to the streets again this Sunday.
