Anti-vaxxers, far-Right and parents protest over German curbs
TENS of thousands of protesters descended on central Berlin yesterday, demanding an end to coronavirus restrictions.
The crowd was a quixotic mix, from anti-vaxxers to parents angered by school mask-wearing rules and civil liberties advocates. Inescapable too were the black, white and red striped flags of the Kaiserreich, a symbol for the modern far-Right.
Police announced they would disband the demonstration after midday, but protesters continued to walk the route without hindrance from officers.
“Unfortunately, we have no other option,” Berlin police said on Twitter, adding people had failed to comply with the safety conditions of the march.
The controversial protest only took place after a Berlin court on Friday quashed an attempt by the city to ban it. Berlin justified the ban by saying it did not want the city to be “misused as a stage” for conspiracy theorists and Right-wing extremists. Several protesters expressed surprise that so many far-Right flags were on show, but also anger that the protest had been characterised in the media as extremist.
“I certainly wouldn’t call myself farRight, I’m a liberal,” said Michael Fischer, a 63-year-old consultant who had travelled to the capital from Bonn. “There are extremists here but they are at the fringes.”
Mr Fischer claimed that the virus was not dangerous enough to warrant the continued restrictions of personal freedoms. “The government created a sense of panic in the spring and now they are afraid of losing face,” he claimed.
Germany, where 9,299 people have died from the coronavirus, did not implement the tough lockdowns seen in Spain and Italy. Concerts and large parties are still prohibited, however, while face masks are required in shops and on public transport.
Several of those The Sunday Tele
graph spoke with claimed the coronavirus was no more dangerous than flu. Others said that face masks were unproven as protective gear.
“I work with elderly homes and the nurses there tell me that the virus hasn’t arrived at their workplace at all, they say it’s all exaggerated,” said
Adrian, a paramedic from Berlin. A large police presence was visible at the edge of the protest, with 3,000 officers on duty. Authorities had said they expected violence after far-Right groups called on their supporters to attend.
Police reported that some protesters had thrown bottles at them and that they responded by using pepper spray.
The number of cases of coronavirus in Germany has risen sharply in recent weeks. Some 9,200 new cases were reported last week, up from 2,400 in the second week of July.