Campaign for European elections Demonstrations at AfD event in Bonn

Bonn · On Friday, a hundred police officers secured an AfD event at the Haus der Bildung in Bonn and counter-demonstrations. Employees of the Volkshochschule protested against the use of their rooms by the political party.

According to the German Constitution, everyone has the right to express and disseminate his opinion freely. All Germans have the right to assemble peacefully without permission. Two opposing camps made use of those two fundamental rights on Friday. The police showed a strong presence and reported in the evening: No violence, no special incidents.

The municipal House of Education used the Alternative for Germany (AfD) for an election campaign event for the European elections on May 26, almost 80 listeners accepted the invitation of the opponents of the Euro and immigration. Outside, on two sides of the completely closed Mülheimer Platz, several hundred people gathered for a counter-demonstration called by various left-wing groups, church organisations and trade unions.

It was necessary to "oppose the racist party at every point", but also to talk to those who, out of pure dissatisfaction, were looking for a political alternative, said Diakonie chief Ulrich Hamacher, one of the speakers on the stage of the group "Bonn crosses the line". In the passage between Karstadt and Cassiusbastei, mainly young counter-demonstrators chanted slogans against the AfD. Their visitors were led by the police via Münsterstraße to the Haus der Bildung.

Compared to the outside scenes, the atmosphere was quite calm and concentrated inside the hall. Hans Neuhoff, deputy AfD district chairman, spoke about the "construction errors of the EU" before the external guests, Christian Loose and Sven Tritschler, members of the state parliament, also had the opportunity to speak. In the beginning, Neuhoff thanked the Haus der Bildung and the city for making the event possible.

As reported, there had already been discussions in the run-up to the event about the young right-wing party, which represents the largest opposition faction in the German Bundestag and hopes for a two-digit election result in the European elections. At first, the AfD criticised the city administration because of alleged unequal treatment with the letting of urban areas. Mayor Ashok Sridharan (CDU) rejected the accusations: "Of course the city of Bonn treats the AfD like all other admitted parties", the Mayor told the General-Anzeiger.

While the case seemed solved for the time being for the administration due to the neutrality obligation, the controversy went on. Still, on Friday a group of lecturers of the adult education center expressed their protest against the AfD meeting in the rooms in which they teach regularly German and which they use themselves with much commitment for tolerance, cosmopolitanism, and integration. Values which the AfD stands programmatically against. They expressed their concern in a letter to the VHS management. But there were also other voices in the debate about the event. CDU Council member Nikolaus Kircher, for example, clearly rejected the call for the closure of municipal buildings to selected parties: "The dispute should be conducted politically and not by denying rights", said the Christian Democrat.

(Original text: Rüdiger Franz, Translation: Mareike Graepel)

Meistgelesen
Neueste Artikel
Zum Thema
Aus dem Ressort