The Special Rapporteur on environmentalists criticizes state repression in several countries. The Free State is also cited as a negative example because the police “hinder the exercise of the right to demonstrate.” The Interior Ministry disagrees.
What is the status of the right to demonstrate in Bavaria? If you look at the farmers’ protests of the past few weeks, you could say: everything is fine. Farmers in the Free State enjoy a lot of leeway to express their anger about the cut in the agricultural diesel tax exemption, loudly and visibly with tractors. They demonstrate at classic meetings with stages and loudspeakers, at rallyes through large cities and at blockades of motorway entrances. People are honking, whistling and swearing at Berlin with sometimes crude slogans – with the friendly support of the Bavarian state government, whose top staff is happy to take part in the demonstration.