Start with fewer people than expected: Demonstration moves from the government district to Alexanderplatz

A demonstration of the “Indivisible” alliance for a just society based on solidarity began early on Saturday afternoon in downtown Berlin. The opening rally started at 1 p.m. on Straße des 17. Juni. In the meantime, the long train, which is divided into various thematic “blocks”, is moving towards Alexanderplatz. A final rally is to take place there. The police are on duty with more than 1,000 officers.

The action alliance had expected tens of thousands of people. The police went in advance of up to 30,000 participants. According to information from an rbb reporter on site, significantly fewer participants gathered at the start. The police then confirmed this impression: Shortly after the start, a spokesman reported that the number of participants was in the lower to middle four-digit range. The demonstration continued in the early afternoon, it was said.

Almost three weeks before the federal election, the demonstrators want to point out various problem areas and threats which, in their opinion, endanger social cohesion and the future of people in Germany and around the world. These are above all climate change, racism, social injustice and one currently looming “humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan”. The alliance is also concerned with the takeover of power by the militant Islamist Taliban in Afghanistan.

In the days before the demonstration, the organizers appealed that the corona protection rules must be observed. Participants should wear masks, preferably with the standard FFP2. The usual distance and hygiene rules also apply. The appeals apparently had an effect: “The applicable hygiene regulations are currently being largely observed”, tweeted the Berlin police [twitter.de]while the train roamed the streets of the capital.

As the organizers announced in the capital on Wednesday, well over 300 organizations from the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), the human rights organization Amnesty International, the climate movement Fridays for Future and the Berlin tenants’ association are participating. Left, SPD and Greens are also in the protest march. Left-wing top candidate Klaus Lederer and the top candidates for the House of Representatives election Franziska Giffey (SPD) and Bettina Jarasch (Greens) are expected.

During the event, DGB board member Anja Piel, Fridays for Future activist Carla Reemtsma and the managing director of the Paritätischer Wohlfahrtsverband, Ulrich Schneider, will speak. An appearance by the whistleblower Edward Snowden, who lives in exile in Russia, is also planned via video link.

The indivisible alliance has been organizing again and again for years large and thematically diverse demonstrations for an open and just society. In 2018, according to indivisible information, around 240,000 people took part in a rally in Berlin. There were also demonstrations before state elections or after the right-wing extremist attack on the synagogue in Halle.

Broadcast: evening show, 04.09.2021, 7:30 p.m.