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2,000 to 3,000 protesters instead of the approved dozen, distance rule violations, harassment of passers-by, and all in front of the police: after protests against crown restrictions got out of control over the weekend in Munich and Nuremberg, Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) to avoid similar conditions next weekend.
“I am really horrified by the way these two demonstrations took place in Nuremberg in front of the Lorenzkirche and at a Marienplatz in Munich,” the minister said in the BR interview. He noted that some of the demonstration participants were “influenced by the extreme right-wing scene.” For next weekend he announced “completely different concepts”.
Herrmann: Police have to enforce conditions
The CSU politician emphasized that such “flagrant violations” that endanger the health of protesters and pedestrians in pedestrian areas cannot be accepted. According to Herrmann, the fact that the police did not intervene last weekend was a decision of the respective police tours at the site, “probably in relation to the existing forces” and with a view to the risk of further problems due to possible physical disputes.
“I don’t want to criticize that,” Herrmann said, but made it clear: “I want to say very clearly that this can happen, it should not be repeated.” By next weekend, the interior minister indirectly announced a significantly larger police force: the question of how meeting the requirements for the rally could also be enforced by a “correspondingly strong police operation.”
Police union countered criticism
The police union (GdP) Bavaria described the protests in Munich and Nuremberg as “ignorant, irresponsible and ruthless”. The protesters’ behavior “made us shake our heads like the GoP,” state Vice President Peter Pytlik wrote in a message.
The union is particularly upset that its behavior at the protests was criticized after the fact. The allegations are “incomprehensible” to Pytlik. “If our forces had intervened with the force they called up for this occasion, they would be the first to have immediately accused the police of ‘disproportionality and excessive severity,'” said the GdP deputy state vice president, referring to criticism from green politicians. .
Penalty for violating the rules
Protesters would face punishment if they did not follow the rules, Interior Minister Herrmann said. Herrmann emphasized that anyone who “clearly and deliberately provocatively fails to meet the 1.5-meter distance requirement” at said rally should be prosecuted like any other citizen who violates regulations on public transportation or when shopping. He understood very well if there was irritation among the population that violations of the demonstrations had not been punished last weekend.
Nuremberg had told him that the people who really wanted to buy there “also went in person, they were asked to finally take this absurd mouth protection,” the CSU politician reported. “It doesn’t work at all.” Here you cross a border that has nothing to do with freedom of demonstration. Therefore, it is important to ensure in the future that “the specifications are met and, above all, that other citizens are not in danger.”
Demonstrations could be rescheduled
In this context, Herrmann indicated that comparable demonstrations at the Marienplatz in Munich and in front of the Lorenzkirche in Nuremberg could be avoided from the start. The question arises whether, given the risk of infection, not only for protesters but also for others, it is reasonable that such protests take place “in the middle of a pedestrian zone,” he says. One possibility is to move such events to the outskirts or at least to other places.
The minister complained that, for the second time, the woman who had registered the Munich rally “obviously was unable” to keep the event under control and prevail with her announcements. Therefore, it is questionable “whether that person is reliable enough at all” to be able to carry out such a manifestation again.
Many demos work smoothly
At the same time, Herrmann emphasized that, in addition to the negative examples in Munich and Nuremberg, there were over a hundred additional demonstrations in Bavaria over the weekend where the requirements were met, both the restriction of participants and the distance requirement. In principle, there would be room for demonstrations again in the course of the loosening, which was clearly the expectation of the constitutional courts.
According to Herrmann, there is currently a requirement that generally no more than 50 people can participate in a demonstration. However, in exceptional cases, district administrative authorities at the site may also allow more participants. Events for 80 or 100 people were allowed, with the proper reason. Demonstrations with 2,000 or 3,000 participants, as in Nuremberg and Munich, on the other hand, are currently not justifiable in view of the infection process.
