Compiled by Ana Ferreira
NEWS FROM BERLIN
More than 100,000 signatures for expropriation in Berlin
The initiative Deutsche Wohnen & Co. Enteignen has now collected more than 100,000 signatures. 175,000 are needed by the end of June for a referendum. Originally the figures were to be published next Monday, but Die LINKE Twitter account published a message early, saying that 55,000 additional signatures have been collected. Internally, the party’s action caused massive unrest. Source: tagesspiegel
Satire demo planned again in Grunewald on 1 May
In addition to demonstrations in Berlin’s city centre and in Neukölln and Kreuzberg, there will be another 1 May protest in the villa district of Grunewald. With a bicycle ride, the demonstrators will travel from Wedding, Lichtenberg and Neukölln westwards to Grunewald at noon and protest there in the afternoon (3 p.m.). Last year, only a small motorcade was allowed because of the Corona pandemic. This year, the MyGruni initiative called on participants to keep their distance, wear masks and take rapid tests. The curfew after 10 p.m., which has been in force since Saturday, does not affect the demonstrations. Source: bz
NEWS FROM GERMANY
Death after detention
Qosay Khalaf was 19 when he was stopped by the police on 5 March. He was taken into custody, the next day he was dead. According to the police, Qosay collapsed in the detention cell in Delmenhorst at around 8 pm. This was seen by video surveillance but not recorded – for reasons of data protection, according to the police. The ambulance service took the 19-year-old to the hospital in Oldenburg. However, witnesses from the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf affirm there was external violence, and that lack of oxygen led to Qosay Khalaf’s death. Source: taz
League of Anti-Fascists now charitable again
For months, the Association of the Persecuted of the Nazi Regime – League of Anti-Fascists (VVN-BdA e. V.) has been struggling to get back on its feet. It was waiting for a decision on the status of its non-profit status. “After a thorough examination”, the Tax Office for Corporations I announced on Wednesday that the non-profit status could be granted again for the year 2019. The decision was met with approval, especially on the left. Several politicians also showed solidarity with the association such as Dietmar Bartsch, chairman of the Die LINKE. Source: nd
“Querdenker” observed nationwide
There have been countless attacks at Corona demonstrations. Now the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution is reacting: it has classified the Corona protests as an object of national observation. Since the Corona protests does no fit into any of the categories used previously by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the Federal Office has created a new collective observation object: “Delegitimisation of the state that is hostile to democracy and/or endangers security”. The agency still warns that with this kind of protest the “Querdenkers” make, making use of conspiracy myths, antisemitic resentment, and can have a “significant catalytic effect”. Source: taz
Constitutional Court: Climate Protection Act does not go far enough
The Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe has announced that the German climate protection law is partly unconstitutional. It lacks sufficient requirements for the reduction of emissions from 2031 onwards. The judges have therefore obliged the legislator to regulate the reduction targets better by the end of 2022. “Virtually all freedom is potentially affected by these future emission reduction obligations, because almost all areas of human life are still linked to the emission of greenhouse gases and are thus threatened by drastic restrictions after 2030,” they declare. To safeguard fundamental freedoms, the legislature should have taken precautions “to mitigate these heavy burdens”. Source: dw
