After the protests against the IAA, both the opponents of the trade fair and the police are satisfied. Above all, the demonstration was much quieter than two years ago.
Both IAA critics and the Munich police drew a positive conclusion from the protest events after the end of the trade fair. The organizers of the mobility transition camp spoke on Monday of a “very successful week”, but also complained about “repression” by the police, who had deterred visitors with their massive presence around the camp. Nevertheless, the capacity of the camp, which was designed for 1,500 people, was exhausted and around 5,000 visitors attended events there.
Activists criticize the police
The IAA-critical groups Sand im Gear, SmashIAA and No Future for IAA also criticized the police. But despite an “absurdly large police presence” – according to a spokeswoman for No Future for IAA – they managed to take back at least part of the public space. On Saturday, the group symbolically occupied an empty house and blocked a street.
A spokeswoman for Sand im Gear praised the activities at the open spaces in the city center. Given the police presence, not everything was successful there, but they will continue and ensure that the protest cannot be ignored.
Activists: We’ll be back at the next IAA
The organizers of Sunday’s demonstration said the police there behaved cautiously. Two years ago there were clashes between police and activists during demonstrations. All groups announced that they would become active again in the event of another IAA in Munich in two years.
The Munich police rated their operation as “successful in all respects”. The visitors and exhibitors were able to “visit the trade fair and the open space safely and essentially undisturbed”.
250 reports of criminal and administrative offenses
In total, the police counted more than 250 reports of crimes and administrative offenses in the context of IAA Mobility. 61 times it was about coercion during blockades, 58 times it was about violations of the assembly law, 45 times it was about violations of the city’s general decree, 41 times it was about trespassing and 22 times it was about breaches of the peace. A total of 7,000 people took part in the various meetings.
Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD) was also satisfied on Monday. “The demonstrations and events critical of the IAA were largely peaceful,” he said and thanked the police, who “acted with a lot of empathy and de-escalated.”
Source: Stern
