Image: (APA/TOBIAS STEINMAURER)
The ban is “permissible and necessary,” said Police President Gerhard Pürstl at a short-term press conference at the Vienna State Police Directorate. It was necessary to proceed in this direction in order to prevent “the violent conflict in the Middle East from being carried onto the streets of Vienna,” said Pürstl. Despite the ban, more than 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered at Stephansplatz in the evening.
The atmosphere was described by witnesses as very heated. The demonstrators loudly shouted slogans, but the police did not break up the meeting despite repeated announcements. The crowd later tried to move towards Schwedenplatz, but was stopped by the police. At Stephansplatz, the police continued to surround the protest participants.
“In the spirit of proportionality”
Shortly before 9 p.m., the police asked the participants to leave the demonstration. However, only some of the protesters followed the request. Police spokesman Markus Dittrich initially spoke of some identity checks. The police said they had proceeded “in the spirit of proportionality” when asked why the actual prohibited meeting had not been broken up for so long. The Vienna State Police Department announced at around 9:30 p.m. that an “outflow” was gradually becoming apparent. At 10 p.m. the operation was still underway.
“Clear calls for violence”
Pürstl previously referred to recent intelligence findings, according to which the event, which was originally registered as a vigil, could have resulted in “clear calls for violence” towards the State of Israel. In advance, invitations to the vigil had been distributed on the Internet using codes used by Hamas that endorsed or propagated a free Palestine and the complete annihilation of the Land of Israel. The organizer of the rally did not distance itself from it, which is why after “very careful consideration” they decided not to let the event take place.
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Only hours before had happened Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) said he didn’t see anythingThere is a reason to ban the rally – such as in Berlin. The police are well equipped, he said after the Council of Ministers. Karner, like Justice Minister Alma Zadic (Greens), invoked freedom of assembly. If any incidents occur, action will be taken accordingly demo dissolved.
The Vienna police in particular are “very tried and tested, very sensitive and extremely consistent,” emphasized the Interior Minister. It is important to assess each registration for a rally individually. According to Karner, the right to assemble is “one of the greatest goods in a robust, free democracy.” Zadic, who explicitly condemned Palestinian terror, argued similarly. The right to assemble is a valuable asset that cannot be given up so easily. The Justice Minister also reminded that symbols of the terrorist organization Hamas are banned in Austria.
The “Vigil for Palestine in memory of the victims of Palestine” should have taken place on Wednesday evening at Stephansplatz in Vienna. Among others, “BDS Austria”, an organization that advocates “sanctions against Israel until the end of apartheid and occupation in Palestine,” called for this.
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Source: Nachrichten
