On the night of May 1st, minor riots broke out at a left-wing women’s demonstration in Berlin-Kreuzberg. There were attacks on the police, participants threw bottles and firecrackers, as reported by a dpa photographer and the police. At least one woman was arrested. According to the police, around 3,300 demonstrators were present under the title “Take back the night. Queer-feminist demonstration”. The police are now preparing for larger protests on Monday evening.
The atmosphere on Sunday evening was aggressive, especially in the front part of the event train. There were chants like “All of Berlin hates the police” and firecrackers were set off. Bengal fire was also burned. A left-wing demonstration through Wedding with around 650 participants in the afternoon, on the other hand, went peacefully.
At the same time as the protest, on the evening of Walpurgis Night, the police primarily kept an eye on the full parks. A helicopter was even used for observation. In the Viktoriapark in Kreuzberg, the police ended “an unauthorized concert by a rapper”. Music was also played in other parks such as Mauerpark, Gleisdreieckpark and Treptower Park, where smaller parties were celebrated on the lawns.
On the traditional Labor Day Monday, the police pay special attention to the evening with the annual left and radical left “Revolutionary May Day Demonstration”. From 6 p.m., the demonstrators will move from Neukölln to Kreuzberg – under the new police station in an overpass at Kottbusser Tor. The police expect 10,000 to 15,000 participants.
In previous years, there were repeated outbreaks of violence at the demonstration in the evening, mainly by left-wing rioters. But that changed quickly last year.
Police President Barbara Slowik said that this year there will be “again those who are ready to use violence, ignite pyrotechnics or perhaps throw bottles and stones”. As a deterrent, the police had previously warned suspects of the New Year’s riots of the riots in so-called dangerous speeches.
Slowik referred to bans on the demonstration in the evening, such as balaclavas and protective equipment for masking. The glorification of violence and anti-Semitic statements as well as hate speech against Israel were also forbidden.
According to their own statements, the police had 6,300 officers on duty throughout the long weekend, many of them from other federal states.
Berlin’s new governing mayor, Kai Wegner, is hoping for demonstrations without violence: “I hope that we can all experience a peaceful May Day.” Wegner and Interior Senator Iris Spranger (SPD) want to visit a fire station in Neukölln and a police base in Mitte in the afternoon and evening to get an overview of the operations.
On Monday afternoon, left-wing groups want to go through the villa district of Grunewald with satirical actions and demonstrations. Monday morning begins with the traditional trade union demonstrations through the city center to the Rotes Rathaus. The previously popular Kreuzberg “MyFest” with tens of thousands of visitors and completely overcrowded streets in Kreuzberg does not take place because of the burden on the residents.
