Rallies against right-wing extremism: thousands on Linz’s main square

After tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Vienna against right-wing extremism and racism at the end of January, this time the events are taking place in a “decentralized” manner on the initiative of Fridays for Future. Lights will be lit in front of municipal offices, town halls and landmarks in more than 30 locations across the country.

In Linz, the main square filled up quite quickly from 5 p.m. 2,000 people were registered, the police even spoke of 4,000 people. People were asked to refrain from using party symbols and national flags, and this was apparently adhered to. At the beginning the band played Free Willy, then author Thomas Baum took the lectern: What happened in Potsdam was an attack on fundamental rights and democracy. Without mentioning FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl by name, he recalled that he had described the Identitarian Movement, whose leader Martin Sellner had outlined his remigration plans in Potsdam, as a “project worth supporting”.

In the Upper Austrian capital, the sea of ​​lights under the title “Defend Democracy” was carried by Fridays for Future Linz, Yes we care – Linz, the Omas gegen Rechts, Ar-Mut, Black Voices, and the Migrare association. In several other places in the state – Braunau, Vöcklabruck, Vöcklamarkt, Schardenberg and Zwettl an der Rodl – people were also invited to rallies and seas of lights. Rallies are also planned in other state capitals such as Salzburg, Innsbruck and St. Pölten as well as in Vienna. Protests had already taken place in Klagenfurt on Friday evening. Unlike the end of January, the organizers on Sunday are not concerned with the size of the individual demonstrations but rather with “showing strength across the board”. Another larger rally is planned in Vienna for mid-March.

Trigger for the “Defend Democracy!” initiative were revelations by the research center “Correctiv” about a meeting of right-wing extremists in November in Germany, which was attended by, among others, AfD politicians and the former head of the right-wing extremist Identitarian movement in Austria, Martin Sellner. According to the report, plans for mass deportations of millions of people were discussed.

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