Compulsory masks for demos, “covidiots” deemed acceptable term, Querdenken 711 mulls moving next protest to Konstanz
Anyone attending a demonstration with more than 100 participants must wear a mask, the Berlin Senat has agreed. Previously, outdoor protestors weren’t required to wear mouth or nose protection. At events with fewer than 100 people, masks will be compulsory if demonstrators sing or chant. The announcement follows a tense weekend of anti-lockdown protests, which culminated in hundreds of protestors attempting to storm the Reichstag on Saturday. A Senat spokesperson said the new rule was responding to "the non-observance of distancing rules and hygiene regulations” at those protests.
The office of Berlin’s Attorney General has decided that the term “Covidiot” is permissible after hundreds of complaints were brought against Baden-Württemberg politician Saskia Esken (SPD) for using the word to describe anti-lockdown protestors in early August. “’Covidiot' as an expression of opinion in the political dispute in the Corona pandemic is not punishable and is covered by the constitutionally protected freedom of expression," the Attorney General said on Twitter today.
Querdenken 711, the Stuttgart organisation behind last weekend’s anti-Corona rallies in Berlin, wants to relocate its next protest to Konstanz, a city on Germany’s border with Switzerland. Querdenken 711 leader Michael Ballweg told RBB TV that he wanted to distance the rally, planned for October 3rd, from the right-wing protestors and those who stormed the Reichstag last weekend. "We have nothing to do with the actions at the Reichstag," Ballweg said while asserting that he had no connection to the right-wing extremist elements at the demos.
More gather for anti-lockdown demo at Tiergarten, Education Union demands extra cash for universities, Griessmuehle finds new home
The anti-lockdown rallies aren’t stopping. Around 180 demonstrators gathered at Großer Stern in Tiergarten on Tuesday, but this time the police say those attending were well behaved. Organisers had registered a rally called “Freedom and Democracy” with police, expecting 500 participants. The new mask requirement wasn’t yet in place, as it will only apply from Saturday. RBB reports that many events have been registered for German Unity Day on October 3rd, including from right-wing groups and a 1,000-person demo called “Peace, Freedom, Truth”.
The German Education Union (GEW) has asked for more money to help Berlin’s struggling universities. GEW spokesperson Tom Erdmann said that, due to the Corona pandemic, extra money is needed to support smaller learning groups and the shift between in-person and online learning. More staff must be hired to facilitate the switch to digital. In a letter to State Secretary for Science Steffen Krach, Erdmann also stressed the need to extend fixed-term employment contracts for scientific staff, saying that many of those with temporary contracts were employees with “young families with smaller children who were particularly affected by the closure of the children's facilities and schools.”
We might know the new location of Griessmuehle, one of Berlin’s best-loved clubs. Organisers confirmed a relocation to the Schöneweide area on their website, but haven’t made the exact address public. But according to a report from Tagesspiegel today, the new space will be inside the Bärenquell Brewery, an industrial space that’s been abandoned for more than 25 years. Griessmuehle refused to confirm the new location, instead saying all would be revealed in the coming week. Club organisers were forced to leave their previous location on Sonnenallee when the property was bought by SIAG Property II GmbH, a subsidy of the Austrian Sparkasse Immobilien AG.