Demonstrations against right-wing extremist movements continue. The next big protest is scheduled to take place in front of the Bundestag. Chancellor Scholz praises her.
Berlin – As part of the mass protests against right-wing extremism, a rally with 100,000 people has been registered for this Saturday (February 3rd) at the Reichstag building in Berlin. A symbolic human chain is planned under the motto “We are the firewall”. Behind the campaign against hate and for tolerance is an alliance called Hand in Hand with more than 1,300 organizations.
Demonstrations against the right: They have been going on for three weeks
Under the same motto, 120 organizations have registered a demonstration in Dresden with 10,000 people. In Hanover there is a similar campaign at the Lower Saxony state parliament. There are also dozens of other campaigns in small and large cities from Brunsbüttel in Schleswig-Holstein to Freiburg in Baden-Württemberg.
For a good three weeks, tens of thousands of people have been taking to the streets all over Germany against the right and the AfD. The trigger was research by the media company Correctiv into a meeting of radical right-wingers with individual politicians from the AfD, CDU and Values Union in November in Potsdam.
There, the former head of the right-wing extremist Identitarian Movement in Austria, Martin Sellner, said he spoke about the concept of so-called remigration. When right-wing extremists use the term, they usually mean that large numbers of people of foreign origin should leave the country – even under duress.
Scholz praises demonstrations against the right: “Against hatred and incitement”
There is praise for the actions from politicians. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), for example, described the numerous planned demonstrations against the right as a “strong sign” for democracy and the Basic Law. “Whether in Eisenach, Homburg or Berlin: In small and large cities across the country, many citizens are coming together to demonstrate against forgetting, against hatred and incitement – including this weekend,” the SPD politician wrote on the platform X (formerly Twitter).
The SPD chairwoman Saskia Esken said this Editorial Network Germany: “Many people in Germany are horrified by the deportation plans of right-wing extremist networks, which the Correctiv research network has uncovered.” It is worrying “how deeply the AfD seems to be integrated into these networks.” This is precisely why we need to strengthen initiatives that promote democracy, diversity and cohesion throughout the country. To this end, the Democracy Promotion Act must be passed by the Bundestag as quickly as possible.
Söder shoots against AfD: “It really shakes me every time”
The federal anti-discrimination commissioner, Ferda Ataman, called for more protection against discrimination. “Many people who experience racism and discrimination are currently very afraid of the future. And they have the impression that politics does nothing for them and does not take their fears and concerns seriously,” said Ataman. Almost nothing comes from the federal government and the democratic parties – “except a few lip service”. The federal government is falling short of its own coalition agreement in both the fight against discrimination and the issue of anti-Semitism.
Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) also described it as “completely right” that the AfD is the addressee of the nationwide protests. “It is a deeply right-wing extremist party. It really shakes me every time I hear these hateful speeches,” emphasized Söder to the Rheinische Post.
The organizers said that the large demonstration in Berlin was part of the protests of the past few weeks. At the same time, it is intended as a start for the Hand in Hand network, which wants to campaign for democracy and human rights in view of the elections this year. “Yes, our democracy is in danger,” says the Berlin Alliance’s call. “But we are determined to become loud and active: for an open, democratic, plural and solidarity society, together against the shift to the right in Germany and Europe.” (bb/dpa)
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