As of: February 15, 2024, 4:57 a.m
By: Nail Akkoyun, Sonja Thomaser
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Due to massive protests, the Greens in Baden-Württemberg are foregoing their political Ash Wednesday.
Now the demonstrators are being criticized.
Update from February 15th, 4:30 a.m.:
Dozens of disruptors hindered the departure of Green Party federal chairwoman Ricarda Lang after a political Ash Wednesday event in Schorndorf.
According to a reporter from the
DPA news agency,
the politician was booed late on Wednesday evening and received, among other things, shouts of “Get off” and “Ugh.”
She also had to endure harsher insults.
The troublemakers pursued Lang and her bodyguards for around 50 meters until they were stopped by police officers.
The mood in the city east of Stuttgart had already been tense.
Several farmers had demonstrated with tractors near the venue.
One of them later also spoke at the Greens event.
According to a police spokesman, around 90 to 100 people were waiting in front of the hall in which the Rems-Murr district association's political Ash Wednesday took place after the event ended.
Farmer Niko Kalaitzidis (r) visits a Green Party event in Schorndorf for Political Ash Wednesday and speaks with Ricarda Lang.
© Christoph Schmidt/dpa
A nearby intersection was also blocked by trucks, among others.
The police assumed there were 30 to 35 vehicles at the peak.
The protests began as a spontaneous demonstration and were then registered on site, said the police spokesman on Thursday night (February 15).
Further details were initially not known.
Green Party leader warns of violence
Update from February 14th, 6:00 p.m.:
After the cancellation of the Greens' political Ash Wednesday in Biberach, Baden-Württemberg, federal chairwoman Ricarda Lang warned of violence.
“When people are intimidated, city life is massively disrupted and police forces are attacked, a limit is being crossed,” Lang explained on Wednesday.
“Anyone who becomes violent leaves the framework of democratic discourse.
My thanks go to everyone who helped de-escalate the situation, especially the police officers.”
“Critical protest is legitimate and a valuable asset in a democracy,” said Lang.
That's why it's good that Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir had "a constructive discourse with the peaceful parts of the rally."
However, where people are deliberately prevented from meeting for political exchange, this harms the cause.
“All democrats are asked to be open to criticism, but united against those who question democracy,” appealed Lang.
Update from February 14th, 5:27 p.m.:
From the point of view of Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD), the tumult before a Green Party event in Baden-Württemberg represents a border crossing. “If a political event has to be canceled because of mobs and violence, then it is one “The red line has been crossed,” the minister told the
German Press Agency
on Wednesday .
Legitimate protest ends when people are intimidated and threatened.
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“Increased willingness to use violence” during farmers’ protests
Update from February 14th, 4:52 p.m.:
The Baden-Württemberg Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU) sharply criticized the farmers' protests against the Greens' Ash Wednesday rally in Biberach.
“The aggressive behavior of protesters in Biberach is completely unacceptable,” said Stobl on Wednesday in Stuttgart.
“These protesters have done a disservice to the farmers’ cause.”
“Anyone who throws fire at police officers and emergency vehicles and obstructs a democratic party from exercising its fundamental rights is clearly crossing a line,” the Interior Minister continued.
Crimes in this context would be “prosecuted consistently and the criminals would be brought to justice quickly and without residue.” He added: “The police encountered a significantly increased aggressiveness and willingness to use violence.”
Özdemir after cancellation of political Ash Wednesday: “They were individuals”
Update from February 14th, 2:29 p.m.:
Federal Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir has defended farmers after the Green Party's political Ash Wednesday was canceled at short notice in Biberach, Baden-Württemberg.
“Those who have now gone overboard are not German agriculture.
“Those were individuals who behaved like that,” said the Green politician on Wednesday in Biberach.
The demonstrators had done agriculture and agricultural concerns a disservice, said Özdemir.
Update from February 14th, 1:38 p.m.:
Several police officers were injured during the police operation surrounding the Green Party's political Ash Wednesday in Biberach.
A police spokesman said this on Wednesday in Biberach, Baden-Württemberg.
Among other things, the officers were pelted with objects and therefore used pepper spray and batons against the protesters.
One person was arrested.
The spokesman could not say anything about injured demonstrators.
Bayaz calls for criminal investigations against protesters on political Ash Wednesday
Update from February 14th, 1:01 p.m.:
After the cancellation of the Greens' political Ash Wednesday in Biberach due to the farmers' protests, Baden-Württemberg Finance Minister Danyal Bayaz is calling for criminal investigations against the demonstrators.
“Anyone who believes that they can achieve their political goals through violent actions will not only fail, but will have long since left the soil of our democratic community,” the Green politician commented on the tumult around the event hall in Biberach on Platform X on Wednesday. “There should be no tolerance for this type of protest, but there should be constitutional consequences.”
The political event of a party that provides the Prime Minister and a Federal Minister cannot take place because security can no longer be guaranteed.
“Where is this supposed to end?” asked Bayaz.
Update from February 14th, 12:30 p.m.:
Green Party state leader Lena Schwelling has criticized the methods of the demonstrators.
“In front of the hall, no one is willing to have a dialogue.
“It’s just a matter of preventing the event - using methods that are beyond the limit,” said Schwelling.
For example, it is problematic if car windows are broken.
“Aggressive mood” at political Ash Wednesday in Biberach: police use pepper spray
First report from February 14th:
Biberach - The Greens have canceled their political Ash Wednesday event in Biberach.
The chairman of the Biberach district association, Michael Gross, cited the aggressive mood at demonstrations in the area as the reason on Wednesday.
In the run-up to the event, there were massive protests and blockades by farmers, among others, where the police also used pepper spray.
According to its own information, the state farmers' association in Baden-Württemberg did not call for the protests or support them in advance.
Farmers in Biberach had been protesting and blocking roads since the morning.
Dozens of tractors were parked on the access roads to the town hall.
A large pile of dung was dumped in front of the hall.
Loud horns and music could be heard.
Incident during protests against Green Ash Wednesday
The protests also included an incident in which police used pepper spray on demonstrators to clear the path for two vehicles.
The two vehicles then drove away from the town hall.
A window on a vehicle was smashed.
Protesters had previously blocked the street with paving stones and sandbags.
The board of the district farmers' association, Karl Endriß, said that there was no way to get to the town hall because there were demonstrators everywhere around it.
According to Endriß, various groups had called for the protests.
The demonstrators are mainly farmers, but haulage companies are also involved.
The Greens have been meeting in Biberach for years, where a lot of federal celebrities were expected again this year.
In addition to Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir, who is considered a promising candidate to succeed Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann, Federal Chairwoman Ricarda Lang and veteran Jürgen Trittin should take the lectern.
Kretschmann should also be there.
Political Ash Wednesday elsewhere can take place
The political Ash Wednesday of the other parties can take place as usual.
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(Editor with agency material)