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Rigaer Strasse in Berlin: After the storm is before the storm

2021-06-19T21:02:10.194Z


Stones flew, barricades burned, police officers were injured - then something like calm returned to Rigaer Strasse in Berlin. But it won't last long.


Enlarge image

Burning barricades on Rigaer Strasse: Thick billows of smoke wafted through Berlin on Wednesday

Photo: Andreas Rabenstein / dpa

There is a smell of burnt rubber on Rigaer Strasse.

Loud chants can be heard from the side street: "Rigaer Straße, Köpi stays, one struggle one fight," shouted a few dozen protesters who have gathered to spontaneously show their solidarity.

On the other side of the police line: a burned-out bicycle, piled-up tires, and barbed wire.

The day before the planned fire protection inspection of the partially occupied house in Rigaer Strasse 94 in Berlin-Friedrichshain, the situation escalated on Wednesday morning.

According to initial estimates by the police, around 200 masked people attacked the emergency services with massive stones thrown from the roofs and the street.

Residents told SPIEGEL that there were far fewer autonomous people, they speak of no more than 50 people.

In addition, masked barricades erected in three places on Rigaer Strasse and set them on fire.

In some cases, the police had to withdraw initially.

The boundaries of the "autonomous zone"

Most of the smoke was removed by 1 p.m.

What remains are the remains of violent excesses.

Construction site barriers, wooden slats, bicycles and car tires pile up on the roadside.

A few hours earlier they were marking the boundaries of an "autonomous zone" on Rigaer Strasse.

From Liebigstrasse to Zellestrasse she was proclaimed on Twitter by the left-wing extremist house project Rigaer94.

Due to the planned inspection, the police had imposed a meeting and parking ban for parts of the street between Wednesday afternoon and Friday evening.

However, a few dozen masked people got ahead of it.

As one resident reported, several barricades were erected between 10 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

The pictures show how hooded people collect and pile up the objects.

The fences and tires create insurmountable barriers, some of which are also garnished with barbed wire.

Even a light blue small car ends up in the middle of a barricade.

As the house project writes in its tweet, an "autonomous zone" will be set up to prevent the Senate from entering the red zone.

Videos show attacks on police officers

Just a few minutes later, thick clouds of smoke are sweeping over Friedrichshain. At 10:50 am both barricades burn. Videos showing attacks on police officers can also be seen on Twitter. An eyewitness reported to SPIEGEL that the police tried to get through to the scene of the fire coming from Liebigstrasse. However, she was thrown with stones and pyrotechnics. 60 officers were injured, according to police reports. At the peak, 400 emergency services were on site, as a spokesman confirmed when asked by SPIEGEL.

The videos show how hooded people throw cobblestones from the surrounding roofs and streets.

As the Berlin police wrote on Twitter, the police and fire brigade did not get through for this reason.

The "taz" reports that parents were asked to pick up their children at the elementary school in Liebigstrasse and a daycare center in the Kiez.

The police only manage to put out the fire at around 11:50 a.m.

According to a spokeswoman, she uses a water cannon for this.

The fire brigade did not get through to the scene of the fire due to the attacks.

As can be seen on videos, a clearing armor pushes the barricades aside at around 12 o'clock.

A protester plays his ukulele

At 2 p.m., a local woman pours her flowers and waves to the assembled demonstrators.

Meanwhile, a green police truck rolls over the glass bottles, and a policeman is hastily moving wooden slats to one side.

The emergency services clear dangerous objects from the courtyards of the surrounding houses.

Before that, they had gone to the neighboring house at Rigaer Strasse 94 with a bolt cutter.

While a protester plays a song on his ukulele, the police clear away the rubble.

"The police are always there, but this morning of all things, they are not," said a local resident in an interview with SPIEGEL.

He is amazed that the barricades were raised and set alight.

When asked by SPIEGEL, a police spokeswoman said that the Berlin police forces observed the developments from the start.

Due to the attacks, however, it was not possible to react immediately, the burning of the barricades was possible.

As the spokeswoman reported, the police had to withdraw due to the stone throwing in order to request reinforcements.

"Biggest action since the nineties"

For years there has been a dispute over the house, which has been occupied since 1990 and is considered a meeting place for the left-wing extremist scene.

"That was the biggest action since the 1990s," says a local resident.

There have been riots several times, for example during searches.

However, there had not been any real fighting with the police for a long time.

On Thursday morning, the fire protection inspection is to take place at Rigaer Straße 94. The residents of the house had tried to defend themselves against the inspection with an urgent motion, but failed on Tuesday before the Berlin administrative court. They achieved partial success before the Higher Administrative Court on Wednesday. The court ruled that the house owner's representatives were not allowed into the house during the inspection. The residents would only have to allow a state-approved fire protection expert and the building supervision to enter the property.

The paving stones are still where they landed a few hours ago.

Loud punk music booms from the partially occupied house.

A local trader clears glass bottles and firecrackers aside.

While he is setting up an overturned trash can, police officers are putting on climbing gear on the other side of the street.

With the observation of some residents, the special forces re-enter the neighboring house.

A few minutes later, the residents wrote on Twitter that the police would take down their chimneys.

As a police spokeswoman clarifies, only exposed stones on the roofs were secured.

This is supposed to prevent them from being used as projectiles again on Thursday.

Source: spiegel

All life articles on 2021-06-19

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