Thousands of demonstrators march through Berlin. Peace doves and peace signs can be seen again and again. The “lateral thinking” demonstration also focuses on the topic of Corona.
On the fourth anniversary of the large “Querdenken” demonstration against the Corona measures at the time, thousands of demonstrators once again marched through Berlin. Not far from the Victory Column in the Tiergarten district, they gathered for a rally of the “Querdenken 711” movement under the motto “Freedom, Peace, Joy”. The topic of the pandemic played a role this time too, but overall that was not the only thing that the participants were concerned about.
Peace doves and peace signs
Some called on banners for “coronavirus measures to be reviewed” and “consequences for those responsible.” Other participants waved flags with the dove of peace or held up posters with the slogan “Create peace without weapons,” which was well-known from the days of the peace movement. The peace sign was also seen several times.
Criticism of the traffic light coalition was not only articulated between the lines: “Away with the idiots in the government – for regionality, direct democracy, limitation of power.” Posters of the Die Basis party, which is considered the party-political arm of the “lateral thinkers” movement, read, among other things, “capable of peace instead of war-ready”, a response to the statement by Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) that Germany must be war-ready by 2029.
Police: Demonstration is peaceful
According to the Berlin police, the demonstration and rally were peaceful and without incident in the late afternoon. No arrests were made. However, there were several violations of the requirement not to display posters referring to the magazine “Compact”, which the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution has classified as right-wing extremist and has since been banned.
According to the police, the number of participants could not yet be determined conclusively. According to police estimates, around 9,000 people took part in the demonstration, 5,000 were registered for it and 17,000 for the subsequent rally. According to the police, a total of 500 police officers were deployed. There were several counter-demonstrations parallel to the demo and rally.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
