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Less than two weeks after protests by so-called crown deniers in Leipzig, which were overshadowed by violence, the next big march is looming, this time in Berlin. In social networks, through the messaging service “Telegram” and in events of the “lateral thinking” initiative, calls are made nationwide to block the Bundestag next Wednesday. There is also talk of a new takeover of parliament.
Observers warn of the mobilizing power of the hundreds of thousands of calls read and the breadth of their senders. In addition to vaccine opponents, conspiracy theorists, citizens of the Reich and members of the AfD, far-right organizations such as the NPD and the Identity Movement are also mobilizing towards Berlin. There is talk of a dangerous situation and it is feared that politics and the police will again underestimate the dynamism of the protest.
Berlin Police President Barbara Slowik told the House of Representatives Interior Committee on Monday that planning for the deployment was ongoing and that her authority was in close contact with the Federal Police and the Bundestag Police.
For Wednesday, a demonstration entitled “Stop the Infection Protection Act” was announced on Platz der Republik, the forecourt of the Bundestag, with 500 participants. There are also two counter-protests in the vicinity of the Bundestag. A total of six meetings with 5,000 participants are recorded.
Slowik indicated a more consistent approach than in the case of violations of protection against infection in previous demonstrations. However, he also noted that police options were limited. Police will enforce crown requirements such as distance rules and mask requirements by all means allowed, he said.
The police want to “solve as soon as possible” the demonstrations in case of violations of the crown
Slowik spoke literally of “clear measures”, but did not name them specifically. “We will do everything in our power not to allow gatherings without mouth and nose protection,” Slowik said. “It’s not that easy. If it came to that, of course, it should be resolved as quickly as possible.”
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Photographs such as the one on Saturday a week ago in Leipzig or in August before the Reichstag should be avoided. “We will think and we must think of other measures than the usual ones.” It is about stopping the spread of the virus and enforcing the state monopoly on force.
Berlin police adhere to their de-escalation principle, Slowik said. The police chief made it clear that large gatherings could not simply be dissolved, even in the case of massive violations of distance rules and protective mask requirements. Interior Senator Andreas Geisel (SPD) said that the police would punish the crimes. The use of water cannons, as in a crown demonstration at the weekend in Frankfurt / Main, contradicts the de-escalation requirement.
“We shouldn’t be fooling ourselves. Tens of thousands of people who refuse to leave and do not accept political measures will not be able to be separated in a very short time, ”Slowik said. Violent resistance is to be expected.
Chief of Police: a demonstration upper limit of 100 to 500 people is needed
As before, Slowik called on the police union (GdP) to limit the number of participants in the pandemic from 100 to 500 demonstrations. Only with this low upper limit is it possible for the police to break up demonstrations and rallies as quickly as possible in the event of violations of Corona rules. Anyway, the lawsuit comes too late for Wednesday. The step could not be incorporated into current law so quickly.
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And the chief of police pointed out the problems that a tougher approach brings. The support of politics and society is necessary for “clear measures”, “so that such a clear approach is also supported”.
A large part of the population participated in the demonstrations: citizens, families, but also Reich citizens, right-wing extremists and hooligans. “We often have people in meetings who break the rules. But in the Corona demonstrations there are thousands of people who do not obey the rules. That’s something we don’t know, that’s what’s special, ”Slowik said.
Protesters make a comparison with the Enabling Act
The reason for the planned protests by the Crown deniers is the deliberation of the bill for the “Third Law for the Protection of the Population,” the so-called Infection Protection Law, scheduled for Wednesday in the Bundestag. This involves distance requirements, contact restrictions, mask requirements, store closures, and event bans.
In numerous appeals, the bill is compared to the “Enabling Act” of 1933, claiming that the bill seals Germany’s path to dictatorship. The “TagX”, which has been propagated by right-wing extremists for years, arrived on Wednesday, legitimizing the use of force against the state and its authorities, it continues.
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Observers believe the situation is explosive. The Mobile Council Against Right-wing Extremism (MBR) said Sunday that “all the ingredients for a dynamic and potentially violent course of protests” are in place. There is a threat of another attempt at the failed storm in the Reichstag in late August or its blockade. A spokesperson for the MBR considers a four-digit number of participants to be “realistic.” Other observers expect even more participants.
AfD members also share the call
Funny: Even individual members of the AfD parliamentary group like MP Karsten Hilse shared the call. Hilse last appeared in the Bundestag wearing a lateral thinking initiative shirt. In one of the numerous calls for protests, it is said that the perpetrators received “inside information from a member of the German Bundestag”.
Martina Renner, an expert on right-wing extremism in the left-wing parliamentary group, later expressed the fear that members of the AfD could “show protesters the way to the entrances to the Bundestag.” The call was also supported by the Berlin MP for AfD Gunnar Lindemann.
More recently, the case of a prosecutor involved in the sometimes violent protests against the crown’s measures made headlines in Berlin. The woman had participated in several demonstrations and shared content with a theoretical background of conspiracy on social media.
