Corona demos at the weekend: “In East Germany, the rule of law is required”

Thuringia’s Interior Minister Georg Maier (SPD) has suggested that Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier visit Saxony and Thuringia before Christmas. “Here in East Germany, the rule of law is particularly challenged, every day on dozens of illegal” walks “,” Maier told the “Editorial network Germany“. Those who enforced the law felt the reactions immediately.

In Thuringia and Saxony, the vaccination rate is the lowest in Germany and the occupancy rate in hospitals is particularly high. At the same time, people are protesting against the measures to contain the corona virus.

More public support is needed for local politicians and police officers who are exposed to hostility in the course of the protests, said Maier. In the past week he himself had received “stacks of hate messages” and a telephone death threat. The Saxon Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) had also been threatened. In front of the house of the State Minister of Health Petra Köpping (SPD), around 30 people were raised with torches, apparently in protest against the corona policy.

In several cities Thuringia there were protests against corona measures again on Friday evening. According to the state operations center, the events remained very manageable with around 290 participants.

Provisional arrests in Brandenburg

Two demos in Brandenburg cottbus According to the police, they were disbanded because of too many participants – but the protest did not end there. The leaders of the gatherings broke up the demonstrations on Saturday because a total of several thousand people took part, said a police spokesman. “In the elevator, we noticed a great number of violations of the mask requirement.” It is estimated that a total of well over 3000 people took part.

According to the officials, the mood was heated, in some cases there was verbal aggression by the participants against the police. Pyrotechnics were also ignited. 15 people who are part of the violent right-wing extremist scene have been temporarily taken into custody, the police said.

Since Wednesday, only demos with up to 1000 people have been allowed outdoors – there is a mask requirement and minimum distance.

Katja Arnold, a physiotherapist from Cottbus who has registered for a demonstration, ends the meeting with a megaphone

Source: dpa / Frank Hammerschmidt

The RBB reportedthat there were calls to “hunt and beat up” the station’s team.

Thousands on the streets in western federal states too

In Germany this weekend, thousands of people are demonstrating against the corona rules in different places, not only in the east.

In Koblenz According to police reports, 1,800 people demonstrated against corona measures and a possible vaccination requirement, as the SWR reported. The elevator was not registered, but was expected by the police. The officials therefore accompanied the march and finally dissolved it in the area of ​​the Peter-Altmeier-Ufer at the Deutsches Eck. Most of the demonstrators complied with the request that it remained peaceful.

In Berlin they gathered despite the ban on a planned demonstration on Saturday lunchtime. The police spoke of a lot “in the lower three-digit range” at the Brandenburg Gate. Among them, however, are numerous tourists who are not there for a protest. “So far we have been able to identify 30 possible participants in the meeting,” said a police spokeswoman at noon. The officials would make sure that no demonstration started.

The Berlin police lead a participant in the prohibited demonstration from opponents of the Corona rules

The Berlin police lead a participant in the prohibited demonstration from opponents of the Corona rules

Source: dpa / Fabian Sommer

Originally 2000 people who wanted to move from the Brandenburg Gate through the government district were registered. According to the state of the police on Saturday lunchtime, the ban would continue to exist despite an objection to the administrative court. The reason was expected violations of corona rules such as the obligation to wear a mask and keep your distance.

The lawyer Nicole Reese, who wanted to hold the demo with the actress Miriam Stein and the initiative #friedlich together, criticized the ban in the “Berliner Zeitung”. “We are shocked about the prohibition, because we have made it explicitly clear in advance that we will adhere to the hygiene requirements such as face mask and distance.” A large AfD demo last Saturday was allowed without being infiltrated by lateral thinkers or the disregard of the requirements was doubted, said Reese.

In Hamburg Around 11,500 people took to the streets under the motto “The measure is full”, as the police announced on Twitter in the early evening. According to the police, the demonstrators in downtown Hamburg mostly adhered to the conditions. There were also demonstrations in Frankfurt am Main, Freiburg, Karlsruhe and Düsseldorf, among others.

More than 25 “walks” in Lower Saxony

for Lower Saxony The Telegram messenger service alone contained calls for so-called “walks” for more than 25 locations. For example, around 1000 people came in on Saturday under the motto “Fundamental rights are non-negotiable” Osnabrück together. Around 200 people took part in a parallel counter rally, as the police announced on Saturday.

The meetings were peaceful, with only verbal arguments when the participants in the demos clashed, said a police spokeswoman. Around 2000 participants were announced for the rally. The police had made it mandatory to wear a mask. According to the spokeswoman, this has largely been complied with.

In Braunschweig the right-wing extremist party “The Right” announced a demonstration. According to the city administration, the participants were to a large extent part of the corona denier and anti-vaccination scene. The Braunschweig “Alliance against the Right” planned two counter rallies with a joint final rally on Frankfurter Platz.

Also in Schwerin gathered about 1900 people gathered in the city center. The meeting has been peaceful so far, said a police spokeswoman. There are many families there. The organizers had expected 1700 participants. A counter rally with 60 demonstrators should also take place.

Protests against the corona measures - Schwerin

Around 1900 people took part in the protests in Schwerin

Source: dpa / Thomas Häntzschel

The state parliament of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania called for peaceful demonstrations on Friday. Personal threat scenarios or attacks of a physical or psychological nature are unacceptable and illegitimate, it said in the parliamentary decision, which was passed without dissenting votes.

On December 6th, an unannounced demonstration marched towards the home of Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD). The police were able to lead him away shortly beforehand.

Police are using spacers in Frankfurt

Around 500 people had already unannounced in on Friday evening Saarlouis demonstrated against the introduction of mandatory vaccinations to contain the corona pandemic. According to the police, they gathered in the city’s Great Market and then walked through the old town. Police said there were many families with children among the demonstrators. The demonstration was not registered. The police announced requirements to protect against infection over the loudspeaker. These were largely complied with, it said in the police report.

In the Frankfurter Several hundred people came together in the city center to demonstrate against the Corona measures. One of the rallies had been broken up by the leader of the meeting, said a police spokesman. Another meeting in the afternoon was still very popular. In order to check that the participants were required to have a minimum distance of 1.50 meters, the police used wooden spacers.

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