Corona: Hundreds of people protest in the Bundestag against the Infection Protection Act

Stand: 10:59 am | Reading time: 4 minutes

METERBefore the Bundestag session began, more than a hundred people demonstrated against the crown’s restrictions on further changes to the Infection Protection Act on Wednesday in the Berlin government district.

According to the police, they gathered in the morning around the closed Reichstag building and the Republic Square in front of it. The mood has been calm so far, a police spokesman said.

It is unclear how many protesters are expected. According to the police, it could be from several thousand to more than ten thousand. There are provisions like wear mouth and nose protection and keeping your distance. 2,000 police officers are on duty, including support from nine other federal states and the federal police.

Berlin police expect a “gigantic task”

Berlin Police Union spokesman Benjamin Jendro told Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg that recent demonstrations in Leipzig and Frankfurt had shown how quickly these demonstrations escalate and how quickly the police can become defenseless. “It will be a gigantic task today. The meeting we are talking about at the moment is a different meeting than the one usually held by the Berlin police, ”said Jendro.

That is why it will be very important to have a talent for improvisation in place. The Berlin police are experienced enough to control the situation.

The Federal Ministry of the Interior banned several demonstrations registered directly in front of the Reichstag building in the so-called pacified district. Therefore, the police extensively cordoned off the area. Apparently, there was police protection for the capital studies of ZDF and ARD. Several Twitter users posted under the hashtag b1811 about the demonstration, some of them also shared or reported photos of police officers in front of the studios of special admission controls.

There were also numerous calls on the Internet not to register the demonstrations in advance, but to spontaneously drive to Berlin and protest in the Bundestag. The police spoke of a “high mobilization”.

FDP chief Lindner turns to Corona’s critics

FDP leader Christian Lindner criticized the planned reform of the Infection Protection Act shortly before its passage.

The bill is “basically a blank check” for the government, as it does not specify “what the government can or can do in a given situation,” Lindner said Wednesday in the ZDF “Morgenmagazin”. Neither “legal clarity” or “state predictability” is created.

Lindner called for clear legal “safety barriers” to government intervention in the event of a pandemic. He referred to difficult discussions between the federal and state governments on Monday, which ended with the postponement of concrete decisions on new corona measures. Such “somewhat chaotic discussions” could be avoided by clear legal requirements.

The FDP also wants to introduce “information obligations” for the government to the Bundestag, Lindner added. The government must periodically explain its crisis strategy.

The head of the FDP rejected allegations that criticism of the Infection Protection Act reform was a grain of sand for crown deniers. “You have to draw clear lines.”

On the one hand there are criticisms related to the content, on the other hand there are statements by Corona deniers, right-wing extremists and Reich citizens. Addressing all critics of Corona’s measures, Lindner said: “Pay attention to which society you are in.” He described the legal reform comparisons to the Nazi Enabling Act as “absolutely excessive and absurd.”

Gregor Gysi of Die Linke was also critical. The wrote on Twitter: “Today I am voting against the Federal Government’s Infection Protection Law. The Bundestag cannot transfer the reins of the action to the Federal Government ”.

Spahn defended the draft of the Infection Protection Act

The Bundestag should vote on the reform at noon. In the afternoon, the Federal Council will also discuss the bill in a special session. Protective measures against the corona pandemic are expected to have a more secure legal basis. The text of the law contains a catalog of possible protection measures against infection, including contact restrictions, business closures, and the obligation to use oral and nasal protection.

Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn (CDU) defended the draft on Bavarian radio. “We are moving from the general clause to a descriptive list, to classification, proportionality issues,” he said. “And that is exactly what critics have understandably demanded in recent weeks, that after so many months of the pandemic, the legal basis must also be differentiated.”