Image: (APA/AFP/LUKAS BARTH)
Some had hung fairy lights, others carried lanterns or flashlights. The organizers spoke of 300,000 participants. The Theresienwiese, the location of the Oktoberfest in autumn, shone brightly – to make people’s minds brighter, said human rights activist Düzen Tekkal. In her speech, she called for unity for democracy and warned not to get lost in individual interests.
- Also read: Thousands protest against right-wing extremist march in Dresden
“Huge sign against right-wing hatred”
“The defense of our democracy, our values and our freedom remains unbroken,” commented Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD). With the rally, the state capital once again sent out a huge signal against right-wing activities, hatred and agitation. “Tonight on Theresienwiese I met people of all ages and from very different social groups. We all have one goal and that’s encouraging.”
Impressive drone footage shows the sea of lights:
Some had brought their children with them, some were pushing strollers decorated with lights. “I’m here because of my children, so that they grow up in a democracy – and democracy is also work,” said one participant. “I want to set an example about the society I want to live in – a society that should remain tolerant and cosmopolitan “as she is,” said another.
“The majority is no longer silent”
The call for the demonstration, which was initiated by Fridays for Future and supported by a broad civil society alliance, said: “We will not allow people in our country to be excluded and persecuted. We defend ourselves against right-wing extremism and disgusting deportation fantasies. The Silent majority is no longer silent!”
More than 100,000 people demonstrated in Munich on January 21st. The event had to be canceled due to overcrowding. At that time, the joy over the large crowds was also mixed with criticism because parties such as the CSU, SPD and the Greens were denounced as right-wing in speeches. This time there was criticism of those politically responsible, but with the point that it was about contentious debate – and that we were still standing together against right-wing extremism. The event also recalled a legendary “Street of Lights” from 1992 in Munich, when more than 400,000 people took to the streets with candles and other lights in Munich after a wave of right-wing extremist violence in reunified Germany.
“Everything is peaceful, everything is calm”
For the event on Theresienwiese, the organizers and the police called for people to refrain from using candles or other open fires for safety reasons. Glass bottles should also not be brought with you. A police spokesman said at the end of the event that everyone had adhered to the guidelines: “Everything was peaceful, everything was calm.”
There were also demonstrations against right-wing extremism in other places in Germany over the weekend. According to the police, up to 4,000 people took to the streets in Itzehoe on Saturday and around 2,500 people in Flensburg. There were also rallies at the weekend in which the police reported a number of participants in the low four-digit range in Sinsheim in Baden-Württemberg, in Werne and Fröndenberg in North Rhine-Westphalia, in Hamburg and in Einbeck in Lower Saxony.
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Source: Nachrichten
