Hundreds of counter-actions / According to the police, there were only a few verbal provocations / Strobl: Don’t let them split.
. 120 vehicles took part in a pro-Russian motorcade in Lörrach on Sunday. At the same time, two counter-demos took place; one in the marketplace; there the police counted 350 participants. The other counter-demonstration took place below a motorway bridge, and the parade also drove past the road. According to the police, there were only verbal provocations – especially horns, although this was prohibited. The rally “Against the atrocities of Bucha and the pro-Russian motorcade” was initiated by the German-Ukrainian Society. Around 150 people took part.
The police drew a positive conclusion: the two counter-demonstrations “were absolutely peaceful,” she said. A spokesman for the police headquarters in Freiburg said when asked: “There were no major incidents.” The officials only found a few violations of the conditions at the parade, such as leaning out of the window.
Most of the vehicles in the pro-Russian parade had a Lörrach number plate, but Swiss and French also took part. Cars from the districts of Waldshut, Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, Emmendingen and the city of Lahr were also on display. It is difficult to say how many participants there were; in some cars there were five people, in others only the driver.
The applicant for the parade did not want to give her name to the BZ. The protest only aims to “discriminate, humiliate and insult” people of Russian origin in Germany, she said. She doesn’t care about what’s happening in Ukraine. She did not want to comment on the Russian war of aggression even when asked. She has no problem with the fact that there is also a counter-protest.
The leader of the Lörrach counter-protest, Stefaniia Yakubovych, criticized the fact that the pro-Russian parade had not distanced itself from the war. “That hurts.” She does not deny that some Russians are attacked, but this is exploited by the parade. Motorists not only honked, but showed the middle finger, and according to them, insulting words were also said. For Yakubovych it is therefore clear: “It was a pure provocation.”
A column of cars with Russian flags on the hoods also rolled through Stuttgart. Before the column of 190 registered cars set off on Saturday, the Russian and German national anthems were played and people danced and sang to the sounds of the Russian folk song “Kalinka”. The initiators described themselves as Russian speakers. The motto of the demo was: “Against discrimination against Russian-speaking people”. Two dozen people gathered for a pro-Ukraine counter-demonstration. The police did not register incidents.
The pro-Russian motorcades took place under strict conditions: with a view to the war, showing or wearing certain symbols and badges was prohibited – such as the depiction of the letter Z, which stands for Russian wartime activities in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU) said that the attack on Ukraine should not tear through German society, family and circles of friends. “In our country there are people of Russian origin who have nothing to do with Putin’s war and who should therefore not be placed under general suspicion, discriminated against or excluded,” he said at a meeting with representatives of Russian-German organizations, according to the ministry. The war should certainly not be allowed to continue “on our streets and squares”.
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