Hundreds of thousands protested at the weekend against the far right in Germany after revelations of a secret meeting between neo-Nazis and the Alternative for Germany party where plans to deport millions of foreign-born Germans were discussed. This was reported by the BNR correspondent in Berlin, Kapka Todorova.
On Saturday and Sunday, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of Germany to protest against the right and in support of democracy. According to initial figures from the police and organizers, a total of at least 300,000 people demonstrated. The protests are massive in Berlin, Munich, Dortmund, Frankfurt, Cologne, Hamburg, Kassel and dozens of other cities, adds the national radio.
At the Hanover rally, Lower Saxony Prime Minister Stefan Weil (SPD) called on people to take a clear stand against the right in their own neighborhoods and stand up for human rights and democracy. “Let’s protect our democracy,” he urged.
Demonstrators carried placards reading “We are colorful” or “Fascism is not an alternative”.
The reason for the protests was a revelation by investigative journalists from Correctiv about a secret meeting that took place in November, where high-ranking politicians from the Alternative for Germany, members of the extreme circles of the CDU and neo-Nazis discussed a plan to revive Germany. A major theme in this plan is the so-called remigration, or the deportation of millions of foreigners and Germans of foreign origin from the country.
Meanwhile, AFP reports that a protest march in Munich against Alternative for Germany has been called off after too many people gathered in the city centre. According to the organizers, about 50,000 people flocked to the demonstration – twice as many as registered for the event. According to other estimates, those willing to participate were even more.
70 thousand gathered today in Cologne, 45 thousand – in Bremen.
Alternative for Germany has denied the allegations, which come as the party’s ratings are on the rise just months before elections in three eastern German states.
