As of: February 16, 2024, 12:09 p.m
By: Peter Sieben
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In Biberach, a farmers' protest escalated - not the first case.
Jochen Kopelke, head of the GdP police union, sees radicalization and warns of a new danger.
Berlin - You can mark the tipping point with your finger on the map: In small Biberach an der Riß, the farmers' protest turned into a riot.
The Greens had to cancel their political Ash Wednesday with Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir in the city in Baden-Württemberg after a demonstration got out of hand.
Farmers blocked roads with tractors and dumped a pile of dung in front of the steps to the town hall.
Some rioters attacked police officers.
For the head of the police union, Jochen Kopelke, this is the last straw.
He demands consequences.
Threats and attacks during farmers' protest in Biberach: New escalation level
Even before Biberach, there were signs that the farmers' protests were not just peaceful.
“The blockade of the jetty in Schlüttsiel at the beginning of the year offered a very bitter foretaste when Economics Minister Robert Habeck was prevented from leaving the ferry,” said Kopelke in an interview with
IPPEN.MEDIA
.
Jochen Kopelke has been federal chairman of the police union since 2022.
The 40-year-old works as a senior police officer at the Bremen Police Department.
© Ingo Wagner/dpa
Now a new level of escalation has been reached, the police union boss sees a clear change: “The large organized protest by the farmers' association has been replaced by partly unpeaceful, unorganized others.
This small group appears disrespectful, delinquent and radical and uses tractors in a targeted manner." This was seen in Biberach, where there were threats, attacks on emergency services and considerable damage to property - "and an event organized by a democratic party had to be canceled as a precaution," said Kopelke.
If tractors are “deliberately used as a weapon” during farmers’ protests, the constitutional state must react immediately.
It is unclear to what extent radicals are hijacking the farmers' protests for their own purposes.
According to police officer Kopelke, protests are fundamentally legitimate and an elementary part of freedom of expression, but: “Those who protest must not only remain peaceful themselves, but also take strict care to ensure that no violent people or groups mix with the peaceful demonstrators .”
Meanwhile, a new potential for danger is emerging.
In Brandenburg, among others, farmers caused dangerous situations with tractor blockades on motorways at the beginning of February.
And near Magdeburg, in Lower Franconia and in other regions of the republic, truck tires and piles of dung burned on the streets during farmers' protests.
“The fact is that tractors and agricultural machinery are large, particularly heavy vehicles that can seriously injure bystanders and the police officers deployed on site to protect the demonstration.
If they are deliberately used as a weapon, the constitutional state must react immediately,” says Jochen Kopelke.
The police must increasingly be prepared for the fact that tractors could be used “for non-peaceful purposes”.
If necessary, you should “request a temporary, situational ban on the vehicles from the assembly authorities”.
Farmers' protest got out of hand: "Politicians' appearances must be protected more intensively"
The union leader sees the protests as a symptom of a general development.
“We have been seeing for some time now that protests are becoming less peaceful.
The demonstrations have noticeably intensified with the PEGIDA marches, and the Corona deniers have escalated further,” said Kopelke.
The result: “Politicians’ public appearances must be protected more intensively.
My colleagues on duty are experiencing increasing aggressiveness towards them.” This means stress for the police officers – the “process of attrition of the police force” is thereby accelerated.
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Demo with over 1000 tractors and trucks in Düsseldorf
Next Saturday we will see how the farmers' protests continue.
Under the motto “Demo 2.0”, farmers and hauliers, among others, are protesting in the NRW state capital of Düsseldorf.
According to the police, over 1,000 tractors and trucks have been registered.
Kopelke makes it clear: “We must not let the enemies of our freedom deny us the great value of freedom of assembly.
However, the fact that so many people have been taking to the streets for our democracy for weeks is a positive sign that is encouraging.”