Berlin police ban further COVID-septic demos after weekend violence
The Berlin authorities have banned three demonstrations planned for Monday to protest measures to control the coronavirus pandemic following weekend violence, police in the German capital said. The bans were imposed on two marches along a main thoroughfare leading through the large Tiergarten park. The organisers had said there would be 10,000 participants, and a […]
The Berlin authorities have banned three demonstrations planned for Monday to protest measures to control the coronavirus pandemic following weekend violence, police in the German capital said.
The bans were imposed on two marches along a main thoroughfare leading through the large Tiergarten park.
The organisers had said there would be 10,000 participants, and a gathering at the central Potsdamer Platz under the rubric “Free Living, Free Love,’’ where 1,000 were expected.
On Sunday, almost 600 people were arrested or temporarily detained for police to take personal details during protests involving about 5,000 demonstrators.
Many were linked to the Querdeenken (Lateral Thinking) movement opposed to the coronavirus restrictions.
The Police were deployed in large numbers, seeking to control the protests with water cannon at the Victory Column in the centre of the Tiergarten.
They also used helicopters to monitor the protest.
Police have justified the ban on these demonstrations, while taking a more liberal approach to others, on the grounds that the Querdenken protests deliberately flout the social distancing measure still in place.
