German protests against the ultra-right continue, organizers say 250,000 assembled in Munich
Extensive demonstrations are continuing in cities throughout Germany against right-wing extremism in response to recent investigative reporting about a meeting last year by representatives of the ultra-right to discuss the mass deportation of foreign nationals. The event in Munich against the far-right populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party even had to be dispersed because so many people turned out.
Authorities announced that about 250,000 people turned out across the country on Saturday. That same number of demonstrators, according to organizers, made it to Sunday’s assembly in Munich.
According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, police estimated attendance in Munich at 100,000 people. The Die Welt daily reported that the situation started to become tense due to the overcrowding, so the organizers decided to disperse the gathering with the aid of firefighters and police.
Demonstrators in Munich carried banners condemning the ideas of the ultra-right. The messages were, for example: “Let’s learn from history instead of repeating it”, “Zero tolerance for intolerance”, or “The AfD is Germany’s nightmare”.
Such demonstrations are continuing for a second week in a row. On Friday the demonstration against the AfD in Hamburg also had to be dispersed because such a large number of people turned out.
Over the weekend, police say hundreds of thousands of people throughout Germany took to the streets to express support for coherence and tolerance in society. Activists convened demonstrations Sunday in dozens of cities, from Berlin to small towns, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
Organizers say as many as 70,000 people turned out in Cologne yesterday. In Bremen, according to the police, an estimated 45,000 people demonstrated on Sunday against the ultra-right and for democracy, and the authorities also said tens of thousands protested in Berlin outside Parliament.
Police said Saturday’s peaceful protests did not involve any notable incidents. The resistance of part of the public towards the AfD was sparked by news of a plan to deport up to 2 million immigrants, as reporting by Correctiv, an investigative group, revealed that AfD representatives and those of other ultra-right associations had met in secret last year to discuss how to achieve that.
Despite the wave of protests against the AfD, it remains the second-largest political force in the country after the conservative unions Christian Democratic Union of Germany/Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CDU/CSU), according to public opinion polls. The anti-immigration AfD is rejecting allegations that the deportation plan discussed at the Potsdam meeting was part of its own program and claims its members who attended the meeting were purely there in their personal capacities, not as party representatives.
