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Demonstrations against federal and state crown policy scheduled for Saturday in Berlin are likely to take place. The Higher Administrative Court (OVG) Berlin-Brandenburg confirmed overnight “essentially” two urgent decisions of the Berlin Administrative Court on Friday, as stated in a message. This meant that the Berlin Police Chief’s two assembly bans were temporarily suspended.
The Berlin administrative court had previously lifted the police ban on demonstrations. The police had filed a complaint against this, but it was unsuccessful.
The Saturday demonstration can take place, but subject to conditions.
On Friday evening, the administrative court also approved the planned demonstration against crown policy in a new decision. The police ban order was also overturned here on Friday night. The lateral thinking initiative published the decision on the Internet. A court spokesperson confirmed overnight that all disputes had been resolved in the first instance.
According to the court, the demonstration march should take a different route than planned and go through larger streets: from Leipziger Strasse to Tiergarten, through Tiergartenstrasse and Hofjägerallee to Großer Stern and then towards Strasse des 17. Juni.
According to the decision of the administrative court, the organizer must fulfill a series of conditions to maintain the minimum distance. They are mainly related to the design of the scenic area, where grilles must be mounted so that there are no crowds. There must be a minimum distance of 300 meters between the video walls. The organizer must constantly and repeatedly ask the participants through the loudspeaker to maintain the minimum distances. The decision is not final yet.
Stuttgart’s 711 lateral thinking initiative had registered 22,000 participants for Saturday’s rally in Berlin on the Strasse des 17. Juni, near the Brandenburg Gate. The authority of the police assembly banned this large demonstration and nine other minor events on Wednesday.
The administrative court justifies the decision by stating that there are no prerequisites for a ban.
The reason for this step, police said, 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.
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According to the spokesperson, the Berlin Administrative Court justified its decision by stating that there were no prerequisites for a ban. There is insufficient evidence of an imminent threat to public safety. The organizers had presented a hygiene concept. The country could not demonstrate that this should not be met. The requirements for the demonstration had not been properly verified.
The initiator of the demonstration Michael Ballweg described the ban on demonstrations in a statement as a “hostile attack on the Basic Law.” In addition, lateral thought had announced that it would legally defend itself against the prohibition of demonstrations by all possible means and, if necessary, appeal to the Federal Constitutional Court.
Ballweg assessed the court’s decision as a success for “our fundamental rights, which we have and which we do not have to be approved,” he said. She stressed that the demonstration on Saturday must be peaceful. “Those who incite violence are not ours.”
The Federal Vice President of the FDP, Wolfgang Kubicki, had asked the Berlin Senate after the ban was lifted to waive an appeal against the administrative court’s decision. “Contrary to what the interior senator from Berlin believes, our free-democratic basic order can also support extreme positions without making common with them,” Kubicki told the “Tagesspiegel”.
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During protests, political standards should never be used, said Sebastian Czaja, chairman of the FDP parliamentary group in the Berlin House of Representatives. It was foreseeable that the reasons given by Interior Senator Andreas Geisel (SPD) for canceling the demonstration would not be legally upheld. “The assembly authority must now demand clear conditions and hygiene standards,” Czaja said.
Sebastian Schluesselburg of the Berlin left-wing parliamentary group also finds the decision understandable. Before the ban was enacted, the assembly authority should have tried to find a cooperative solution with the organizer, the deputy said. But this did not happen. “Bans cannot be imposed simply on the basis of alleged violations of hygiene requirements.” The decision also refutes the thesis of the crown deniers that they would live in a dictatorship. “It is now important for civil society to counter this mix of concerned citizens, conspiracy believers and right-wing extremists,” Schluesselburg said.
The AfD demanded the resignation of Interior Senator Geisel. Their “blatant attempt” to suppress the freedom of expression guaranteed by the Basic Law failed miserably, said the leader of the AfD parliamentary group, Georg Pazderski. “If he has any decency in him, he must resign now.” The Basic Law should not be undermined “by old party politicians obsessed with power.” “Now we have to repair this damage by leaving Geisel.”
Police: more than 5,100 registrations for replacement demonstrations
After the planned rally was initially banned, the Berlin police reported on the bans and measures on Friday afternoon; at this time, the court decision was not yet publicly known. Police had already put up numerous barriers in the government district on Thursday.
According to the vice-president of the police, Marco Langner, eleven meetings have been banned, six urgent requests have been submitted to the administrative court and more than 5,100 registrations have been received for substitute demonstrations. “We are inundated with records with the goal of making our job more difficult,” Langner said. The open will to use violence on social media is a new dimension.
Barriers with a total length of nine kilometers are ready
The more than 5,100 demo registrations at the assembly authority were made with text modules with the goal of enforcing replacement demos, explained Vice President Langner. Also, the camp in front of the Chancellery must be finished by 1 pm, then it must be quickly vacated.
Berlin police wanted to avoid the initially banned demonstration against crown policy on Saturday with a large contingent of 3,000 police officers. However, if permitted by the courts, strict regulations must be issued and enforced for participants to protect themselves against corona infections. Operations manager Stephan Katte announced this Friday at the press conference. If the protesters do not respect the rules of distance and masking, the demonstration will dissolve “quickly”.
Director of Operations Katte said more than 3,000 agents will be deployed, including forces from various federal states and the federal government. Barriers with a total length of nine kilometers are ready. Heavy equipment like water cannons are also an option. Police are also increasingly deployed on the Spree.
The Berlin police are in contact with police in other countries and have a list of bus companies that have been booked for trips to the demonstration, Katte said. Should the ban persist, the police in the other federal states have been asked to prevent the trip. The police also monitor the main roads in Berlin.
Slowik: Parts of the right-wing extremist scene are also mobilizing in Europe
Police President Barbara Slowik said the demonstration would mobilize across Europe, also from parts of far-right scenes. The mobilization is taking place in Belgium, France and Spain, including in corona risk areas. If the rally is allowed to take place and the organizers do not adhere to protective measures such as distance and mouth-to-nose protection, the police will evacuate very quickly and emphatically.
Police Chief Barbara Slowik said it was difficult to say exactly how many people were expected. She spoke of a maximum of 30,000 protesters. However, the ban may prevent the arrival of many. Katte called the number from 10,000 to 20,000 protesters. Most of the other 5,100 registrations for demos so far are intended for “alternate events” and are therefore also prohibited.
In view of the heated dispute over the ban on the planned demonstration against Corona’s policy, the Berlin police chief called for non-violence. “Please act responsibly and sensibly. There is nothing that can legitimize violence,” he said, speaking of “the calls for violence spread on the Internet.” The Berlin police basically speak to everyone who is willing to speak. “In general, we are well prepared,” Slowik said.
The organizers ask for participation in many channels.
Organizers continue to call for participation on many channels. “A demo does not need a permit, it is our basic right to be able to mount,” wrote the initiators of the Stuttgart-based 711 lateral thinking initiative on the messaging service Telegram. “The demonstration is taking place.”
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There were numerous requests for such records as a substitute for the banned online demonstration. Demonstrations can be registered informally and quickly on the website of the Berlin police assembly authority. The organizers of lateral thinking wrote: “It is impossible to cancel all these demonstrations in general.” Therefore, Berlin is always worth a trip.
The police gave the reason for the ban that the gathering of tens of thousands of people, often without mask or distance, posed too high a risk to the health of 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. The Senate and the police are under pressure due to the ban and much criticism. (with dpa)
