“Demo participants are currently on the Nibelungen Bridge. It’s not possible to get through. Please give way and avoid the city center,” tweeted the Linz police on December 1, 2021. Around 1,500 opponents of the measures – many without protective masks – had gathered on this Wednesday afternoon, creating traffic chaos in the center of Linz was the result. In addition, several demonstrators attacked a cameraman.
According to the police, Linz and Steyr have become hotspots for corona rallies in Upper Austria. Since January 1, 2022 alone, there have already been 20 demos in the state capital, and tomorrow the 54th “walk” since November is to take place in Steyr.
“Tens of thousands of commuters and residents of Linz have already had to put up with massive disruptions in traffic, foreign schoolchildren missed their bus, public transport came to a standstill. A boundary must be drawn here,” the social democratic city manager is convinced. It cannot be “that a minority decides how the majority manages their everyday journeys”. According to the current legal situation, neither the police nor the health authorities have the right to “influence the place, time and course of the demonstration” when registering a rally. According to Luger and his party colleague, Steyr Mayor Markus Vogl, this must change.
“Are the Voice of the Many”
Both are calling for an amendment to the law so that demos no longer paralyze an entire city. An amendment to the constitution is not necessary because the implementing provisions on freedom of assembly are regulated by simple law. The authorities should be able to help shape marching routes, meeting places and the duration of registered rallies.
“We see ourselves as the voice of the many. It must be possible to weigh up interests. There should be no right to demonstrate anywhere, anytime,” Vogl summarizes the demand. The fact that the Linz demonstration on New Year’s Eve lasted longer than the statutory curfew was “provocative”, according to Luger.
- Upper Austria Today: The police should have a say in demos in the future. The mayors of the country’s two rally hotspots are now demanding this: Linz and Steyr.
Both emphasize that the freedom of assembly, which was “hard fought for over decades”, is “clearly secured under constitutional law”. In a “liberal democracy” this should not be shaken. Vogl is particularly concerned about the growing aggression of some demonstrators. Four police officers were recently injured during a “Corona walk” through Steyr when they checked the mask requirement. You have to make it clear to the participants that “rights are also associated with duties,” said the Steyr city manager. More police officers are also needed for the controls, says Mayor Luger.
Linzer FP is “shocked”
Linz FP parliamentary group leader Wolfgang Grabmayr said he was “shocked” by the demands made by the red mayors. “Openly and without scruples” the SP supported the “compulsory vaccination, although here too fundamental rights are clearly trampled underfoot”.
Source: Nachrichten
