The organizers spoke by their own count of around 10,000 participantsthe police numbered several thousand, an APA estimate gave around 5,000 participants in the marching column at the main bridge.
According to the police and organizers, there were no incidents; the event ended with a sea of lights.
The first participants arrived at Europaplatz at the main train station before 3 p.m. After a short time around 2,500 people had already gathered, with a constant influx. At around 3:45 p.m. we marched from the train station across Annenstrasse to the main square, where many people were already waiting.
When questioned, the police said there were several thousand participants. The manifestation was registered for around 5,000 people. Around 135 clubs and organizations had joined forces in the alliance as of Saturday lunchtime.
In the “Action Consensus” goals and calls to the participants were defined: “There are many of us. We are building a firewall in Austria against racism, xenophobia and right-wing extremism. We are defending democracy.”
In spring-like temperatures and sunshine, a striking number of young people and a considerable number of older students gathered – all of them extremely disciplined. When the police made an initial loudspeaker announcement at the main train station to draw attention to their audio and video recordings, the conversations immediately stopped.
APA/ERWIN SCHERIAU
The participants had a number of self-made banners with messages such as “You are good the way you are”, “Remigrate to your knees” and “I am so angry, I even have a sign with me”.
Some posters were explicitly directed against FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl, such as “Kickl away”. However, most of them were designed to be humorous. The father of probably the youngest manifestor, an infant in a stroller, had a poster: “My 1st demo against the right.”
Among the participants in the demo were z. B. Fridays for Future also includes a number of cultural initiatives, from smaller clubs such as the European Literature Circle Kapfenberg to the large opera houses, the Schauspielhaus and Next Liberty. These are joined by the festivals Diagonale, Elevate, La Strada, Styriarte and steirischer herbst.
Participation from the political side
From the political side, the KPÖ mayor, among others, attended the demo Elke Kahr and City Councilor for Finance Manfred Eber (both KPÖ) and deputy mayor Judith Schwentner and state parliament club leader Sandra Krautwaschl (both Greens) with.
APA/ERWIN SCHERIAU
During the speeches on the main square, representatives from “Grandmas Against the Right” and the Solidarity Alliance, among others, addressed the people. “We grandmothers against the right are the generation that was still able to ask their parents how things got to this point.
The danger to democracy comes slowly, but there is enough evidence in advance – such as the denigration of people who do not belong to one’s own group,” said the representative of “Grandmas Against the Right.”
The police accompanied the manifestation with a corresponding contingent of law enforcement officers. A police spokesman told APA that no incidents had occurred during initial assessments of the situation. The organizers provided their own steward service and did not report any disruptions or incidents.
2024-02-03 19:01:47
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