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"You're absolutely right": Mayor in Saxony expresses understanding for right

2023-01-20T18:50:12.451Z


280 people came to the community center, some bawling and with flags of the »Free Saxony«. The mayor of Laussig apparently doesn't think anything of it: he too is against the planned accommodation for refugees.


Enlarge image

Protesters in front of the community center in Laussig, Mayor Lothar Schneider (at the window): "I think it's bad that I'm not allowed down to you"

Photo:

Twitter

The situation is noticeably charged: Mayor Lothar Schneider (independent) is repeatedly interrupted by heckling, and it is difficult to understand him, even through a megaphone.

"You're absolutely right about that, we don't all want that," he calls out to a crowd of people in the dark from the community center.

He apparently means the accommodation of asylum seekers.

The video was posted by Kerstin Köditz (left), member of the Saxon state parliament, on Twitter.

In another video of the same situation, with the symbol of the right-wing extremist group "Freie Sachsen" displayed, he becomes even clearer and speaks several times of "asylums": He has learned that they are to come to a local school the next day.

He leaves no doubt about his attitude: "I think it's bad that I'm not allowed to come down to you." It's no use to him, after all the crowd, including people from the atmosphere of the "Free Saxons" chanted: "Resign."

How do these people get there?

And why does a mayor say something like that?

A police spokeswoman tells SPIEGEL that the elevator was an unauthorized demonstration.

Around 125 people wanted to demonstrate in front of the community center against a planned accommodation for asylum seekers.

There, Schneider and district representatives spoke at a meeting about the accommodation of asylum seekers.

Eventually, a meeting leader was subsequently found and registered the demonstration.

At the top there were about 280 people at the meeting.

After the official end, Mayor Schneider spoke to the remaining participants from the window.

A SPIEGEL inquiry as to why he finally took the floor - and more importantly - why he expressed himself as he expressed himself was left unanswered by Schneider until Friday afternoon.

Accordingly, he did not explain whether he was aware that people from the environment of the right-wing extremist "Free Saxony" were present.

"There were definitely people there who felt they belonged," the police spokeswoman told SPIEGEL.

And the videos and photos of the elevator also suggest this.

The "Free Saxony" have been the focus of the Saxon Office for the Protection of the Constitution since the summer of 2021, which classified them as right-wing extremist and anti-constitutional efforts.

The state office for the protection of the constitution announced at the time that the party was being observed by the intelligence service.

Saxon local politicians repeatedly make headlines with statements about refugees.

In December, Bautzner district administrator Udo Witschas (CDU) said in a Christmas speech that he had no intention of occupying gymnasiums to accommodate asylum seekers.

"It is not our intention to let sport, whether school or leisure, bleed for this asylum policy." know«, would be accommodated in multi-family houses or in vacant apartments.

For this he would not accept “the endangerment of social peace”.

Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer then supported Witschas.

His statements were taken out of context.

Sol

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2023-01-20

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