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Karin Rykart will only allow opponents of abortion a permanent demonstration in Zurich in 2021. The green councilor explains that safety cannot be guaranteed.
In 2019, opponents of abortion marched through Zurich; on the way, the demonstration was attacked by violent groups.
Furthermore, in 2021 there should be no “bar march” in the center of Zurich; the authorities only allow opponents of abortion to hold a permanent demonstration. This was announced by security chief Karin Rykart (Greens) at a press conference on Thursday. The entire city council shared their concern about being able to fully protect a movement that was attacked by violent groups. On Wednesday night he rejected the organizer’s objection to the security department’s decision.
Rykart: content doesn’t matter
Already this year and last year, the city council had prohibited the association “March for the Labe” from holding a protest march. The reason given at the time was that the risk of people being injured was considerable. Karin Rykart in particular was criticized for this. The city council only approves of protest marches that appeal to it politically, he said. On Thursday Rykart stated: “I am not denying permission for the ‘March for the Labe’ for content reasons. We evaluate all applications according to objective criteria. ”
There are also other groups in Zurich that have demonstrated against abortion. You have to move around Zurich every year because, as with most demonstrations, there are no security concerns, says Rykart. And: “I am also personally responsible for the freedom of expression and assembly guaranteed in the Federal Constitution.”
According to Rykart, between 2012 and 2015 the “March for the Lord” took place every year in various places in Zurich. The events were increasingly attacked by opponents. Therefore, in 2019, it only allowed a standing rally in the turbine square. The cantonal administrative court then, as is well known, pushed back the town hall and granted permission to the second instance opponents of abortion. Their reasoning: a ban unnecessarily restricts freedom of expression and assembly.
In fact, there were violent riots during the protest march, which was still approved. It was a big and difficult mission, said Rykart, who was there herself. Police officers who wanted to protect the “march to the bar” were repeatedly attacked with bottles and stones by participants in an unauthorized counter-demonstration. The attacks on firefighters who wanted to put out a fire on the moving route were particularly disturbing to the chief of security. Today’s risk assessment for the protest march in September 2021 is based on these concrete experiences, he said.
Blumer: dynamics cannot be calculated
From an operational point of view, Daniel Blumer, the city’s police commander, justified his request for a mere stand-up demonstration: in the run-up to the move, left-wing extremists had called for the demonstration to be interrupted and stopped. . For a short time, known violent exponents had taken over the coordination of a gathering of about 400 people in Josefswiese. Many families and passersby were also there.
When the unauthorized demonstration began to move, the city police detained it without violence. The participants separated to “advance in different axes” and the first stones against the police flew. She deliberately uses martial vocabulary, Blumer said. “A crowd of 400 violently moving apart shows a dynamic that is no longer predictable. 400 people correspond to a force of four companies “.
According to Blumer, a police operation promotes a dynamic that also causes injuries to passersby and damage to property. From the point of view of the police commander, the right of opinion is fulfilled “one hundred percent” with a mere rally. He describes a movement as a “pure movement” with an attractive character, whose importance is diminishing in the digital world. So risking an unpredictable situation with injuries is untenable for him. In static rallies, one hundred percent protection can be guaranteed. “At mobile rallies, we would have to cordon off entire districts of the city.”
Karin Rykart is convinced that the public and the media will also notice a permanent rally. Their task is to weigh freedom of expression and other interests, and the basic right to physical integrity must also be at stake. In the end she said: “It is bitter for me that groups of people who are willing to use violence succeed in blocking a peaceful and harmless movement. It is undemocratic. I condemn the actions of these groups. ”
The rally is scheduled for September 18, 2021 at Turbinenplatz. The organizers of the “March for the Lord” can appeal the decision to the governor. In 2020 they dispensed with it. But now they want to take legal action again, as they say. If necessary, this will lead back through the administrative court. In a statement, the FDP is shocked that “the head of security can no longer guarantee the rule of law in the city of Zurich and that certain violent groups have a de facto veto on who can and how not to express their opinion.”
During the last “March for the Lord” in 2019, there were attacks on emergency services (police, fire brigade), road blocks and property damage in these parts of the 5th district of Zurich.
