Schleswig-Holstein
Punks are planning a new protest camp on Sylt
Helmeted police officers during the voluntary evacuation of the punk protest camp on Sylt in 2022. photo
© Bodo Marks/dpa
It all started with the 9 euro ticket on Sylt in the summer of 2022. Now the protest camps on the holiday island are set to enter their third round.
Colorful tents in front of the town hall in Westerland, loud parties and punks in the pedestrian zone: countless punks from all over Germany were there in 2022 with the 9 euro ticket Sylt and, among other things, made national headlines with their protest camp. This summer they plan to pitch their tents on Sylt again – for the third time.
“We actually have a registration for a protest camp on Sylt for the period July 22nd to September 1st, 2024,” said Hans-Martin Slopianka, spokesman for the Nordfriesland district, to the German Press Agency. So-called cooperation talks between the assembly authority, the registrants of the “Aktion Sylt” group, the municipality and the police are planned for the coming week. Among other things, the location, area and number of participants should be clarified.
According to Slopianka, the district assumes that the six-week protest camp will take place. “In principle, there are no reasons under assembly law to prohibit the protest camp. On the contrary, it is the task of the assembly authority to support the assembly in exercising its fundamental rights.”
The town hall is the largest punk bar in the north
The Anarchist Pogo Party of Germany (APPD) also recently announced a punk meeting on the North Sea island from July 24th to August 13th via Instagram. “We, the Appd Berlin, are looking forward to the traditional storming of the paid beach, to a pool party in the Wilhelminen Brunnen, to the dismantling of art installations and to the conversion of the Westerland town hall into the largest punk bar in the north,” says the small party’s post. According to the district, there has not yet been a corresponding registration for an action.
It is still unclear whether the members of the Berlin branch of the APPD will live in the “Aktion Sylt” camp that has already been registered, or whether they will start their own registration. “Both are possible. However, based on the Instagram post, we assume that only ‘advertising’ is to be done for the ‘Aktion Sylt’ protest camp and that the APPD is not planning its own protest camp,” said Slopianka.
Constructive conversations
The community of Sylt appeared calm about a third summer of punk on the island: “We are assuming that the protest camp will be peaceful,” said Florian Korte, spokesman for the community of Sylt. The discussions between the Sylt police, the Nordfriesland district and the Sylt municipality were “very constructive”. The Sylt municipality’s public order office will ensure that the requirements in the camp are adhered to.
The police are also planning to accompany the registered gathering on the holiday island, as Arne Hennig, spokesman for the police department in Flensburg, told the dpa. “The fact that people may follow the APPD Berlin’s call and join the registered protest camp will be taken into account in the ongoing assessment of the situation.”
Last year, a protest camp was approved for around two months on a public meadow in Tinnum near Sylt Airport. The participants and initiators at that time included the group “Aktion Sylt” as well as members of the APPD.
Centrally and in a park directly in front of the Westerland town hall and in front of the St. Nicolai Church, punks protesting against Sylt’s development camped for weeks in 2022. Sylter and vacationers complained about noise, garbage and smell. Ultimately, the camp had to be evacuated following a corresponding court order.
Instagram announcement from APPD Berlin