Memmingen / Allgäu - While Memmingen apparently lives up to its name as the “City of Freedom Rights” in dealing with the protests against the Corona measures, the “reins are tightened significantly” in Kempten.
Between these two poles, the local government and local police inspections are trying to find a lawful and appropriate way of dealing with the protests.
A look at the German Basic Law shows the legal dilemma of the current situation under Article 8. There it says in the first paragraph: "All Germans have the right to assemble peacefully and without weapons without registration or permission".
In the second paragraph, the restrictions for the current situation are immediately named: "For meetings in the open air, this right can be restricted by law or on the basis of a law."
In Memmingen
, the authorities had already preferred behavior based on the fundamental right of freedom of assembly last year.
Since the beginning of this year, the police have even blocked the entrance to Schrannenplatz so that there is enough space for the protesters and are not endangered by traffic.
Mask requirements and distance rules are required and adhered to there.
(We reported on December 21, 21).
Use of a dog relay
In Füssen
it was still "heated" on the first Monday of the year, as the First Mayor Maximilian Eichstetter told our newspaper. The reason for this was, on the one hand, the deployment of a dog squadron, which obviously frightened the participants, and, on the other hand, inappropriate insults from police officers who tried to identify passers-by and participants. Mayor Eichstetter was there himself and tried to de-escalate. Eichstetter was also in town last Monday evening and tried to get into conversation with demonstrators. To the relief of everyone involved, the action of around 100 people in front of the town hall and in the adjacent streets in a relaxed atmosphere ended peacefully and without incident.
Around 200 “strollers” came together in Immenstadt
and were able to peacefully express their silent protest without much disturbance.
This also succeeded in
Sonthofen
without incident, as participants confirmed.
Strollers surrounded
In Kempten
there has apparently been a rougher wind for all protesting opponents of the measure for some time. On the one hand, the pedestrian zone there is cordoned off by the police from all access routes so that “walkers” cannot even get into the city center. Since then, they have been “walking” in a wide arc on the outskirts of the city. Last Monday, however, according to passers-by, business people and other eyewitnesses, real police hunts for groups of "strollers" took place outside the city center. These were then encircled and their personal details were determined. Those affected now have to expect fines for an administrative offense.
The Lord Mayor of Kempten, Thomas Kiechle, does not know these details, but admits that stressful situations can arise for everyone involved. He sees legal competition between Article 2, the right to the physical integrity of passers-by and the freedom of assembly that protesters claim for themselves. In an interview with our newspaper he stated that it could be a solution if the protest could be made “stationary”, that is, like the way it takes place in Memmingen in a large square. That could also ensure road safety for everyone. Kiechle fears that the protests could escalate if the leeway for opponents of the measure is made too liberal. "That attracts a lot of people from a large area and harbors security risks." He assuresthat for him the freedom of assembly is a very important good in our democracy and he hopes that the division in society can be overcome.
Basic right is a very important good
District Administrator Alex Eder had already stressed in a statement last Friday in
the Unterallgäu : The right of assembly is a fundamental right.
"This fundamental right is a very valuable asset and its protection is also very important to me personally."
There are a few things to keep in mind to ensure that the process runs as smoothly and safely as possible.
(We reported last Wednesday).
This also includes the registration of meetings, for example in Memmingen.
The district office and the police could help at an early stage so that it runs as safely as possible.
“We absolutely cannot and do not want to be able to completely reject or disproportionately restrict the meeting,” said Eder.
However, many protesters fear the latter;
they fear rejection and subsequent criminalization.
Last week, the "walkers" even received an unexpected tailwind from the head of the German Police Union, Rainer Wendt.
In an interview with Focus Online, he said that an unannounced gathering is "not automatically illegal."
The German jurisprudence has set "high hurdles for the police to intervene." According to Wendt, the protesters "see their fundamental rights and democracy in danger and therefore take to the streets."
