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In Berlin, several thousand opponents of the crown policy of the federal and state governments have taken to the streets since 12 noon this Sunday. 5,000 participants registered for the demonstration in Prenzlauer Berg, known as the “silent march”.
At around 12.30pm, however, only about 400 people reached the starting point of the demonstration on the Bornholmer bridge. The police currently assume about 1,000 participants and about a hundred counter-protesters, a spokeswoman said.
Meanwhile, the train continues on Greifswalder Straße. Most of the participants wear masks and keep their distance. Police tweeted that they were on duty for the demonstrations announced today with around 600 officers.
Our Tagesspiegel reporter on the scene reports that there is a heavy police presence in the neighborhood. There are also massive protests by local residents against the protesters. On Bornholmer Strasse and Schönhauser Allee, residents drummed pots to disrupt the protest. A loud concert of whistles and horns can be heard.
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At the corner of Schönhauser Strasse and Bornholmer Strasse, around 200 counter-protesters have positioned themselves behind a barrier. “You should be ashamed of yourself!” it’s on a banner. The counter-protesters are made up of local residents, some with children, and part of the left-wing spectrum; the black block is also visible.
As the protesters march down the street, the counter-protesters are on the sidewalk. They are only separated by a row of parked cars.
According to a police spokeswoman, there have been isolated arrests as counter-protesters took to the streets to block the protest march. But the police stopped them immediately.
Participants want to “speak” and “protect the Basic Law”
The protesters demand with a sign: “We have to talk.” Because you have to sit together at a table, explains a participant in the so-called silent march. Now it’s about “protecting the Basic Law,” says the protester. In any case, the corona measures are “scientific nonsense.” When asked what he thinks of the fact that Reich citizens and right-wing extremists also participate in these demonstrations, the protester replies: “There are always people who want mischief, but shouldn’t we go out on the street for that?”
One resident sees it differently: he is horrified that “so many people follow stupid slogans,” says a man who has stopped with a sign on the side of the road. There are many more counter-protesters than skeptics of Corona in the place.
There are similar calls for anti-corona demonstrations in various German cities, including Eberswalde and Cottbus. Therefore, the initiators point to peaceful demonstrations.
The demands include more self-determination in the fight against the pandemic, fewer restrictions by government regulations and a vaccine exemption. The initiators speak of “permanent fear campaigns” and express doubts that the science on the Corona issue works independently of the government.
The demonstration ends around 4 pm on Alexanderstrasse.
There was a similar lift at Kurfürstendamm in October. The initiators of a counter-demonstration from the spectrum of the left see it as a “staging of victims” in which recognized neo-Nazis participated. They had already announced in advance that they would loudly interrupt the “silent march.”
The meeting point of the demonstration registered under the name of “Silent March Against Discrimination and for Human Rights” was the S-Bahn station on Bornholmer Strasse. The show was booked by an individual. This had shortened the route a bit on its own, as announced by the police. It now passes through Schönhauser Allee, Danziger Strasse, Greifswalder Strasse and Otto-Braun-Strasse and ends at 4 pm Alexanderstrasse, where the rally will also take place. It should have originally led to the Great Star.
On Wednesday, several thousand people protested against the crown policy at the Brandenburg Gate. There were 365 preliminary arrests and 77 police officers were injured. (with dpa)
