BERLIN, Aug 29, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Thousands of coronavirus sceptics are set
to descend on Berlin on Saturday for a mass protest against pandemic
restrictions that was allowed to go ahead after a bitter legal battle.
Police said they will turn out in force and strictly monitor compliance
with mask-wearing and social distancing, with Berlin police chief Barbara
Slowik warning that if the demonstrators do not adhere to virus safety rules,
police will clear the area “very quickly”.
“We will not be able or willing to watch tens of thousands assemble and
create infection risks,” she added.
Berlin city authorities had previously decided not to allow the Saturday
demonstration to go ahead, fearing that the estimated 22,000 protesters would
not keep a distance of 1.5 metres apart or comply with face mask
requirements.
The ban sparked outrage from organisers and their supporters who flooded
social media with angry messages vowing to protest anyway, with some even
calling for violence.
But on the eve of the demo, Berlin’s administrative court sided with the
demonstrators, saying there was no indication that organisers would
“deliberately ignore” social distancing rules and endanger public health.
Around 3,000 police officers, including 1,000 federal police, will be
deployed for the demonstration, alongside specialist equipment including
water cannon, Slowik said.
The rally comes as coronavirus cases continue to rise in Germany, with
daily new infection numbers reaching highs not seen since April.
At a press conference on Friday, Chancellor Angel Merkel said confronting
the virus will become more challenging in the coming autumn and winter
months.
Merkel and the leaders of Germany’s 16 federal states on Thursday
introduced tougher coronavirus restrictions to curb the pandemic, including a
minimum 50 euro ($59) fine for people caught not wearing face masks where one
is compulsory.
“We will have to live with this virus for a long time to come. It is still
serious. Please continue to take it seriously,” Merkel warned.
– Counter demos –
The court decision to allow the protest shines a light on the battle lines
being drawn up between those who are content to follow government-mandated
protection measures and those who believe that governments shouldn’t be able
to dictate how people live.
At the start of August, a similar “anti-corona” march in Berlin took place
with 20,000 protesters, a mixture of the hard left and right, anti-
vaccination campaigners, conspiracy theorists and self-described “free
thinkers”.
Police broke up the protest early after participants repeatedly flouted
Covid-19 safety regulations.
The far-right welcomed Friday’s court ruling allowing the latest demo to go
ahead, with Leif-Erik Holm, a lawmaker for the anti-migrant AfD party,
calling it “a victory for freedom”.
But several groups intend to stage counter-demonstrations to the main
protest.
Anne Helm from the left-wing party Die Linke and an MP in Berlin’s
parliament, said: “There must be no tolerance towards racists, anti-Semites,
right-wing extremists and Nazis. That is why I call on all Berliners to take
part in the counter-events.”
Meanwhile, the German Hotel and Restaurant Association reported that hotels
in the capital recorded noticeably more bookings for the weekend.
“We assume that the rooms were booked in connection with the
demonstration,” Thomas Lengfelder, the association’s local leader, told the
Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper.
Several countries around the world have seen protests against coronavirus
restrictions and lockdown measures in recent months.