Germany’s Faeser condemns political violence at Ash Wednesday rallies

Germany’s Interior Minister, Nancy Faeser, has condemned aggressive protests against the Green Party, which took place on Wednesday in connection with traditional Ash Wednesday political rallies.
“When a political event is prevented by rabble-rousing and violence when police officers are attacked, and stones are thrown, then boundaries have been massively overstepped,’’ Ms Faeser said.
Ms Faeser said this in remarks published on Friday by media organisation, Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND).
“This aggression has no part in a democratic dispute. This is just as true when democrats are defamed as ‘traitors to the people’, when a whipped-up mob visits politicians at their homes or when those in power are symbolically hung from gallows.
“These are all boundaries crossed that showed a brutalisation and poisoning of the discourse,” said Ms Faeser.
Following massive farmers’ protests during Ash Wednesday, the Green Party cancelled their political rally in the south-western German state of Baden-Württemberg because of security concerns.
According to the police, some officers were injured amid violent behaviour.
In addition to Green Party chairperson Ricarda Lang, Germany’s Agriculture Minister, Cem Özdemir, and Baden-Württemberg Premier Winfried Kretschmann were also due to attend the event.
Mr Lang was later booed, insulted and prevented from leaving at another event in Schorndorf near Stuttgart.
Ms Faeser went on to say that political violence did not come out of nowhere but started with language.
“Those who verbally pander to radicals only strengthen the radicals that we must fight together from the political centre,” she said.
Other states, including Bavaria, saw similar incidents of politically motivated violence.
(dpa/NAN)
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