At the beginning of the IAA in Munich, opponents protested against the auto show. Now the protests have reached their climax. The police had to intervene with drastic measures – and are criticized for it.
During protests against the IAA Mobility auto show in Munich, there were clashes with the police. The officials used batons and pepper spray against demonstrators several times on Friday. 16 people were arrested during the day. Activists and politicians criticized the practice while the police defended it. The IAA opponents occupied a house that was cleared again, demonstrated on several of the open spaces at the motor show in the city center and temporarily blocked another motorway. The night before, the private home of VW CEO Herbert Diess in Munich was the target of a color attack.
In Karlstrasse, near the old town, activists temporarily occupied a house on Friday. When a protest march stopped in front of the building, according to observers, batons and pepper spray were used. A person who climbed a tree was injured. How exactly and how difficult it is is unclear, said Florian Siekmann, Member of the Green Party, who had accompanied the protests as a “parliamentary observer”. However, an ambulance was in use. According to the activists, the building was evacuated by the police in the course of the afternoon.
The police initially did not comment on possible injuries on the part of the activists, but confirmed that officers were injured in action.
Mass demonstration on the Theresienwiese and road blockade
Already in the early morning there had been clashes between demonstrators and the police, who are on duty with up to 4,500 officers at the fair. According to a police spokesman, IAA opponents are said to have tried to break through a police cordon on Theresienwiese.
The area where Oktoberfest normally takes place is a camp run by IAA critics, from which hundreds of activists and other demonstrators left. The police were there with a large contingent, the number of officers, according to observers, significantly exceeded that of the demonstrators.
Without any direct connection to these events, scribblings were discovered on the house of VW boss Diess, as a company spokesman said in Wolfsburg. The business portal “Business Insider” had previously reported on the case. “Expropriate this” was therefore written on the door. In addition, a note with allegations against a “representative of German auto capital” was stuck on. The manager had filed a criminal complaint.
On Friday there were actions by IAA opponents at the Open Spaces on Königsplatz and Odeonsplatz as well as at a Bosch plant.
In addition, a group of climate activists briefly blocked the special BlueLane lane set up for the trade fair on the A94 motorway, which leads past the trade fair. Activists had already put up banners on several motorways in the Munich area on Tuesday and roped down on some bridges. The highways had to be temporarily closed because of this. The criminal police in Erding are investigating this matter against a total of 15 people.
Police criticized for taking tough action
Overall, the Munich police see their deployment concept confirmed: It is “just right to carry out controls with low thresholds and to be on site with strong personnel,” said a spokesman. They justified the use of baton and pepper spray by saying that in the case of Theresienwiese, breaking the barriers also represented a form of violence. In the case of Karlstrasse, officials were pressed against the walls of the house and had to make room for themselves.
Climate activists, on the other hand, criticized the police’s actions and spoke of “massive violence” on the part of the police, which they “did not want to be intimidated” by.
The debate about the protests has also reached political level: The Green MP Claudia Köhler, who also observed the protests, criticized the police’s actions on Theresienwiese as “inappropriate”. The parliamentary group leader of the Greens in the state parliament, Katharina Schulze, announced on Twitter that the police would be dealt with in parliament.
In contrast, CSU general secretary Markus Blume had already tweeted on Wednesday: “Bridge climbers will remain locked up until the end of the fair! That’s how it works in Bavaria!” On Friday, however, the Landshut district court ruled that five activists should be released. It justified her complaint about the detention. The decision is not yet final. First the “Münchner Merkur” reported on the decision.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
