German politicians slam right-wing anti-Covid-19 strike
AN ATTEMPT by far-right anti-coronavirus protesters to storm the parliamentary Reichstag building in Berlin was condemned by leading politicians yesterday, a day after tens of thousands of people converged on the German capital to denounce Covid-19 restrictions.
The crowds included people from far-right groups, conspiracy theorists who do not believe Covid-19 exists, and anti-vaccination campaigners.
More than a 100 protesters breached a security barrier and stormed the steps of the Reichstag on Saturday evening. Once at the top, they whooped and shouted, waving German, US and Russian flags. The black, white and red imperial flags used by the Reichsbuerger (Reich Citizens) extremist group were also visible.
Three police officers pushed the protesters back after several minutes amid scuffles on the steps of the building that houses the German parliament. The protesters never got inside.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier called the incident an “attack” on democracy. “Reich flags and right-wing extremist provocations in front of the German Bundestag are an unbearable attack on the heart of our democracy,” Steinmeier said. “We will never accept this.”
Steinmeier said people had the right to express their anger about Covid-19 restrictions. But he said: “My sympathy ends where protesters allow themselves to be used by enemies of democracy and political agitators.”
“Reichsbuerger flags in front of parliament are a disgrace,” tweeted Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.
Justice Minister Christina Lambrecht called for a tough response to similar actions. “The unbearable image of neo-Nazis in front of the Reichstag cannot be repeated – not in front of parliament and never inside of parliament,” Lambrecht said. Also Wolfgang Schaeuble, president of the Bundestag, sharply criticized Saturday’s events.
He added that the German constitution protected free speech and also minority opinions seen as absurd, but there was a limit.
“And it lies there, where people deliberately violate legal measures or attack the state’s monopoly on violence, like at the Reichstag building,” Schaeuble said.
The organiser of the Saturday protest, Michael Ballweg, distanced himself from the demonstrators who stormed parliament. Police deployed 3 000 officers and arrested about 300 people
About 38 000 people participated in a demonstration against Covid-19 restrictions in Berlin on Saturday, with a rally in front of the parliament building, despite police efforts to disperse the crowds.
Yesterday, 2 000 Covid-19 protesters gathered at the Victory Column, located in Berlin’s central Tiergarten park. But police said they broke up the gathering, because participants were not maintaining social distancing.