With a view to May 1st, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has called for peaceful forms of protest. “May 1st stands for social justice and social cohesion,” said the SPD politician on Sunday to the German Press Agency in Berlin. “I appeal to all groups to demonstrate peacefully.”
Violence is never a means of democratic debate, emphasized the minister. “The police will very clearly counter riots, riots and violence by left-wing extremists, but sometimes also by right-wing extremists and chaotic people.” Anyone who attacks police and rescue workers must expect severe consequences. The federal police will support the state police “with strong forces”. Faeser thanked the federal and state emergency services in advance for their commitment.
May 1st is again this year the occasion not only for trade union rallies, but also for numerous demonstrations of the left-wing scene. According to their own statements, the police have 6,300 officers on duty in Berlin alone. In previous years there was violence and attacks on the police in the capital as well as in Hamburg on Walpurgis Night, i.e. the night before May 1st. In Berlin-Mitte, rioters demolished numerous cars and window panes on Saturday night.
“This year, for me, May 1st is also particularly about solidarity with the hundreds of thousands of women and children from Ukraine who had to flee their homeland from Putin’s cruel war,” explained Faeser, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “We expect tens of thousands of people nationwide to attend the union rallies, which will send a strong signal for social justice.”
