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The attempted storming of the Reichstag building by far-right protesters on the sidelines of the demonstration against Corona’s measures sparked widespread outrage. “Nazi symbols, Reich citizens and imperial flags have no place at all in front of the German Bundestag,” criticized Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz on the online Twitter service.
According to the police, several hundred protesters stormed the steps of the Reichstag building on Saturday night. Local officials pushed the protesters and also used pepper spray, a police spokeswoman said. There were several arrests, the exact number initially unclear.
The black, white and red imperial flags used by the imperial citizens could also be seen on the protesters. Videos circulating on the Internet show people standing at the Reichstag gate. Only three policemen stood in his way.
Police spokesman Thilo Cablitz explained: “We cannot always be present everywhere, it was precisely this gap that was used to scale the barricade, go through and then climb the stairs in front of the Reichstag.”
SPD Secretary General Lars Klingbeil declared that it was “completely legitimate to demonstrate against politics, ask questions and criticize things. This is part of democracy,” Klingbeil said “live.”
But it infuriates him and surprises him “when I see Reich citizens and Nazis trying to enter the building with other protesters.” He thanks the police, “who got in the way and prevented worse things.”
Green politician Katrin Göring-Eckardt called the images “shocking.” In front of the Reichstag building, the protesters tried to attack democracy. “That they do not achieve it, not today, never, is our mission,” he appealed on Twitter.
CDU politician Norbert Röttgen called the images “shameful”. “On the west portal of the Reichstag building is written ‘Dem deutscher Volke’. The absolute majority of Germans do not want to see the Reich flags on the steps of their parliament,” Röttgen said on Twitter.
Previously, the federal interior minister, Horst Seehofer (CSU), had been shocked by the events in front of the Reichstag building. He told “Bild am Sonntag” that “diversity of opinion” is a “trademark of a healthy society.” Freedom of assembly, however, “has its limits where state rules are trampled on.”
The Reichstag building, as the place of activity of parliament, is “the symbolic center of our liberal democracy,” Seehofer explained. “That chaos and extremists abuse it for their own ends is unbearable.” The Interior Minister thanked the police “for saving us quickly and consistently today.” The state must “take action against those people with zero tolerance and constant toughness.”
Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) wrote on the Twitter online service: “The Reich flags in front of the parliament are a disgrace.” Everyone has the right to discuss how to deal with the coronavirus pandemic and demonstrate their opinion. However, no one should persecute right-wing extremists, endanger the police and expose many to the risk of infection, the minister wrote.
The head of the Association of German Criminal Investigators, Sebastian Fiedler, warned of the possible consequences of the crown protests. “These demonstrations are an ideal environment for radical movements to win over more and more people to their ideologies,” Fiedler of the “Rheinische Post” said. . “
