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Ueli Maurer causes a stir with a statement. On Saturday, he gave a speech at the virtual assembly of SVP delegates, broadcast live on the Internet. In an excerpt the SVP posted on Facebook on Sunday, Maurer talks about the alleged intolerance in dealing with views on the crown crisis:
The Federal Council says it saw a video the day before. “The police took an older man who was demonstrating.” Maurer winces, shakes his head and says:
Does Ueli Maurer believe that people are being “locked up” in Switzerland because they do not agree with Corona? And what kind of arrest are you talking about? When asked, Maurer’s spokesman only said: “We will not go into detail about the statements made by Federal Councilor Maurer at the SVP delegate assembly.”
These statements refer to:
The video Ueli Maurer saw appears to be a recording of Ebikon in the canton of Lucerne last Thursday, even if Maurer’s spokesperson does not want to comment. An older man screams like a stick when two policemen handcuff him. The atmosphere is heated, but no police misconduct is observed. The clip has been circulating on social media for days and has nearly 400,000 views on Facebook alone.
About 50 adults demonstrated in a school building Thursday against a supposedly applicable mask requirement for fifth and sixth grade students, which was never decided. The demonstration in front of the school was not approved.
Christian Bertschi, communications chief for the Lucerne police, tells what happened in Ebikon: “Since the demonstration was not authorized, the police verbally warned the protesters several times, wrote down people’s personal details and gave instructions.” Each of the police officers defines an area that the evicted people can no longer enter for a few hours. Bertschi says: “Despite repeated requests to leave the place, the person did not comply, so they were temporarily detained.” The man was released that afternoon and appeared before the prosecution.
Bertschi says: “The arrest had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the Lucerne police would not tolerate dissenting opinions.” Also: “The point is the lack of a permit. The organizers could have applied for a permit from the local authority without any problem. “
Maurer’s speech is spreading like wildfire on Facebook. Since the SVP turned it on on Sunday, there have been over 3,000 likes and 500 comments in twenty hours. The clip was not only distributed through official channels. Maurer is cheered on in the telegram chats of the so-called crown rebels. These are the same channels that a few days ago a montage of images of the Minister of Health, Alain Berset, with a gun to his head, was posted, and in which they talk about “dictatorship.”
The man (name known to editors) who was arrested in Ebikon is a well-known figure among the “crown rebels.” He doesn’t live in Lucerne, but about an hour’s drive from the show site. The man has previously appeared as a speaker at coronavirus demonstrations.
