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The Berlin police are trying to break up one of the demonstrations in which tens of thousands of people express their dissatisfaction with the policy of the crown. But the protesters don’t want to leave.
Police officers and protesters clash at the corner of Unter den Linden and Friedrichstrasse.
Berlin police tried to stop the protest before it could actually start. Tens of thousands of people had gathered in Berlin on Saturday due to annoyance over protection requirements against the corona virus. Some of the protesters did not maintain minimum distances to protect themselves against infection and the majority did not wear protective masks. Therefore, the police did not allow a planned demonstration in the city center to start on Saturday afternoon. The police had previously demanded the use of mouth and nose masks.
“Unfortunately there was no other option” but to break up the meeting, said police, who had brought together some 3,000 officials from different federal states in the German capital. The Stuttgart initiative called “lateral thinking 711” called for protest. Around 22,000 participants were waiting for an afternoon rally near the Brandenburg Gate.
“Get out of the meeting area,” police said in loudspeaker announcements. Many protesters did not comply with the request and sat on the street. The journalists denounced hostility towards colleagues and police. There were isolated attacks against the officers. Several protesters were arrested. At the corner of Friedrichstrasse and Hannoverschestrasse, shortly before the police lockdown, the atmosphere was tense, but not aggressive. The NZZ was able to speak to several protesters, some of whom came from southwestern Germany. “If we are already here, here we will stay,” was heard several times. The protesters included teachers, schoolchildren and students, but also doctors and pharmacists.
Apparently a preliminary injunction was requested
According to the organizer, they have requested a precautionary measure against the dissolution of the rally. Now we would have to wait and see how it was decided, it was said from the ranks of the protesters. In the early afternoon, another march formed on the Strasse des 17. Juni. Since the minimum distances were apparently not observed here either, the police are discussing with the organizer whether the demonstration can start.
On banners, protesters called for the resignation of the federal government and an end to conditions and restrictions due to the corona pandemic. “Stop the Madness of Corona” and “End the dictatorship of Corona” were on posters. Over and over the crowd chanted “Resistance” and “We are the people.” AfD politicians and other right-wing groups also called for participation. Flags with an imperial eagle, T-shirts with Gothic script, and other symbols of right-wing extremists could be seen at the Brandenburg Gate and elsewhere.
The Berlin authorities actually wanted to ban the meetings, but they were defeated in court. The police claimed that the reason for the ban order was that the crowd of tens of thousands of people, often without a mask or distance, would pose a high risk to the health of the population. This was already demonstrated by the demonstration against the crown policy in Berlin in early August. The police broke up this demonstration within hours.
