Demonstrations also in other parts of Bavaria
Farmers are also protesting in other parts of Bavaria: a farmers’ demonstration is taking place at the Dillinger festival site in the afternoon. After the rally, farmers want to drive through the city with their tractors.
And the protests are also continuing in the Upper Palatinate: According to a police spokesman, there could be local disruptions in the Neumarkt area in the Upper Palatinate this morning. Protest trips with bulldogs have been announced for the morning in the Amberg and Furth im Wald area. In the afternoon and evening there will be activities in Burglengenfeld, in and around Nittenau, in the Weiden and Waidhaus area and in the Regensburg area.
A slow-moving tractor convoy is traveling on state road 2445 in the Rhön-Grabfeld district. Traffic at the A7 and A71 motorway entrances will also be hindered. A planned blockade of the A3 for several hours was prohibited by the authorities. Protest drives with tractors are also planned in the Lindau area. There may be local disruptions.
Dumping manure and straw is prohibited
The farmers’ association wants to protest “hardly but fairly while maintaining law and order,” it says on the BBV website. The protest is directed at the federal government. “We want to be tough on the matter, but proceed appropriately,” the BBV said to the participants. Accordingly, bringing or dumping manure and straw is prohibited.
During the week of protests since January 8th, there have been repeated possible violations of rights by demonstrating farmers. For example, the criminal police are investigating two farmers in the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district on suspicion of coercion. Their tractors blocked a federal highway for several hours – allegedly due to several technical defects.
BBV distances itself from right-wing extremists
In view of the farmers’ protest week, there were and are fears that right-wing extremists could infiltrate demonstrations and other farmers’ actions. At a rally on Odeonsplatz in Munich, for example, there were several tractors flying the Reich flag, and several right-wing or anti-democratic symbols were also shown. According to the farmers’ association, right-wing participants are unwelcome at the protests.
Federal Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir expressed criticism of the previous government in view of the farmers’ protests. “The cart is so deep in the mud, to put it figuratively, that we should all work together and not do party politics as much as my predecessor did before,” said the Green politician in ZDF’s “Morgenmagazin”. and ARD. Before Özdemir, CDU politician Julia Klöckner was responsible for the agriculture department.
Chairwoman of the Ethics Council calls for respectful cooperation
The Chair of the Ethics Council, Alena Buyx, urged a differentiated view. “Protest is always really important, it’s part of a democracy,” said Buyx in the “Morgenmagazin”. But infiltration by right-wing and anti-democratic groups worried her. She would like to see each other more respectfully. “Ultimately, we are all in this boat of a society together,” says the medical ethicist from the Technical University of Munich. “Anger and indignation are understandable, but they are not what will help,” says Buyx.
Bavaria-wide protest with tens of thousands of participants
All week long, farmers all over Bavaria have vented their dissatisfaction with the traffic light government’s austerity plans with tractor rides, rallies, vigils and convoys, sometimes bringing traffic to a standstill. Already on Monday, tens of thousands took part in the Germany-wide protests throughout Bavaria. But there were also numerous activities on the following days. On Wednesday, farmers protested with more than 1,000 tractors against the federal government’s plans to cut subsidies at a central rally in Augsburg.
More farmer protests threatened
The rally is intended to conclude the first week of protests. But the President of the Bavarian Farmers’ Association, Günther Felßner, has already threatened further intensified protests if the federal government does not make further concessions on agricultural diesel. He promised a “January like the country has never experienced before”. There are “lots of ideas about how the country could possibly be paralyzed,” says Felßner BR24.
The article is continually updated.
With information from dpa, epd