NEWS FROM BERLIN
Many injured and arrested at pro-Palestinian demonstration in Berlin
On Saturday evening, a pro-Palestinian protest in Berlin saw multiple arrests and injuries. Under the slogan “Stop the Gaza genocide,” the demonstration marched from the Rathaus Steglitz underground station via Walther-Schreiber-Platz to Innsbrucker Platz in Schöneberg. It was organised to run from 2pm to 7pm and the police counted around 600 participants. During the rally, the police said bottles were thrown at officers. According to the fire brigade, several police officers were injured, as were eight participants in the demonstration, one of whom severely. Source: rbb
BSW now also in Berlin
Far away from the centre of the capital, in the eastern suburb of Adlershof, the fifth regional association of the BSW was founded on Sunday. A few dozen members met in “Theater Ost,” a small stage in the middle of the newly created “Media City,” to elect the board and other committees. A banner with the slogan “The sun rises in the east” is emblazoned on the façade of the building. The controversial blogger Manaf Hassan, who is regarded as an Assad and Putin propagandist, is among those running for the extended board. Source: taz
When the state fails
In Berlin, four women became victims of femicide within four weeks. The state hesitates in the fight against patriarchal violence due to concerns about data protection. According to the Federal Criminal Police Office’s (BKA) “Domestic Violence” report, there were 155 femicides across Germany last year. “Where is the social outcry?” asks Lilly S. from the “Stop femicides!” initiative. The group has already counted 51 femicides this year, but suspects that the number of unreported cases is high. “The BKA’s statistics are not comprehensive enough,” criticises Lilly S. Besides. The activist also insists that media reporting often contributes to the trivialisation of femicides. Source: taz
NEWS FROM GERMANY
“Disarm Kiel – sink the arms industry”
From 3 to 8 September, antimilitarists from various countries plan a camp in Kiel under the motto “Disarm Kiel – Sink the arms industry.” The action will end with a supra-regional antimilitarist demonstration in Kiel on 7 September. The city is a hotspot for the arms industry today. The spokesperson for the antimilitarist alliance “Disarm Rheinmetall” sees the need to resist this. In recent years, the antimilitarist alliance has organised action camps in front of sites related to the arms industry, each lasting several days, to demonstrate that anti-militarism is possible in theory and practice. The camp was held twice in Unterlüss, Lower Saxony, the headquarters of the Rheinmetall Group. Source: nd
Police officers in racist chat get away with it
From 2014 to 2018, police officers exchanged right-wing extremist and racist content in chat groups. However, the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court does not consider this to be a criminal offence – due to a loophole. The content had not been disseminated, but only posted in private, closed chat groups with a manageable number of people, and some members were very closely connected to each other. The chat group of officers from the 1st Frankfurt police station had been uncovered during investigations into the “NSU 2.0” complex. Source: migazin
How right-wing is Brandenburg?
Statements considered right-wing or extreme right-wing are in some cases very popular in Brandenburg. This is the result of a representative survey conducted by Infratest Dimap on behalf of WDR. Experts say this is a deepening of an existing trend. Based on the collected data, Infratest Dimap concluded that 8% of respondents have an extreme right-wing worldview. Among AfD supporters, these figures are significantly higher: 23% showed an extreme right-wing attitude. According to Roland Verwiebe, professor of sociology at the University of Potsdam, many people are drifting to the right out of insecurity and because they have lost trust in central social institutions. Source: rbb
Germany condemns a plot to assassinate Rheinmetall boss
German politicians are stunned over a report that Russia planned to murder a German arms company boss. US intelligence is said to have uncovered the plot against Rheinmetall chief Armin Papperger. Rheinmetall is among the largest European suppliers of armour technology and artillery shells to Ukraine. On the sidelines of the NATO summit, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) said Russia was waging a hybrid war of aggression in the West, without referring to any plot explicitly. The Kremlin dismissed reports of the alleged assassination plot, claiming that the report relies on anonymous sources and lacks “serious documentation.” Source: dw
Storms, hail, rain, lightning – and a tornado?
Storms caused severe damage in large parts of Germany over the weekend. In Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony and Saxony, there were hundreds of police and fire brigade interventions: around 320 storm-related operations were reported to the police. The main focus was on the eastern and upper Allgäu regions and the west of the Lindau district. In the North Rhine-Westphalian town of Telgte, a tornado-like storm caused severe damage to an industrial estate. Leipzig, in Saxony, was flooded in some places on Friday afternoon. Source: tagesschau
Görlitz-Zgorzelec: on the edge of legality
The bridge between Görlitz and the Polish town of Zgorzelec is not just a bridge – it is a symbol. It was blown up by the Nazis in 1945 and only rebuilt in 2004. On 16 October 2023, stationary border controls were set up for the first time on the bridge, as well as at other points on the borders with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland – initially for three months. Permanent controls would violate the EU Schengen Agreement. Temporary border controls are permitted, but only if there is a “serious threat to public policy or internal security.” The “serious threat” with which the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) legally justifies the controls: the “smuggling of migrants.” Source: nd
