4 yıl önce

Anti-racism protesters form human chain in Berlin

Thousands of Berliners protest while keeping safe distance for a broader set of aims including end to racism and affordable housing in Germany, organisers say.

AFP

Protesters form a human chain as they take part in a demonstration organised by the "#unteilbar" (indivisible) movement on June 14, 2020 in Berlin.

Thousands demonstrated in Berlin against racism and for broader fairness, including sharing the coronavirus burden, as they stretched a human chain through the German capital on Sunday while keeping safe distances.

Although the German Weather Service (DWD) issued a storm warning for a swathe of the country, people also turned out in other cities like Leipzig and Hamburg after a nationwide appeal from progressive movement Unteilbar (Indivisible).

"Now we will decide whether we manage to put ourselves on the path to an anti-racist society of social and climate justice," tweeted Canan Bayram, Greens party MP for Berlin's lively central Kreuzberg district.

The capital's human chain was slated to stretch from the world-famous Brandenburg Gate past the landmark Communist-era TV tower at Alexanderplatz and down into the ethnically diverse Neukoelln district.

Organisers had registered 5,000 people to show up, while police said they were prepared for up to 20,000.

Reuters

Members of Omas gegen Rechts (grannies against right) group, one of the participants of the so-called "Indivisible" demonstration, gather to form a human chain in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and to protest against the lockdown following the coronavirus disease outbreak, in Berlin, Germany, June 14, 2020.

Broader set of aims

Over 10,000 people gathered in Berlin under the banner of Black Lives Matter last weekend in response to the May 25 killing of African-American George Floyd in Minneapolis, and the slogan was also in evidence on banners and T-shirts Sunday.

But the organisers of the latest demonstration posted a broader set of aims on their website.

Reuters

A person holds a banner reading "Racism is the worst pandemic" in "Indivisible" demonstration in support of the Black Lives Matter movement in Berlin, Germany on June 14, 2020.

Their demands include better working conditions and pay for all including migrants, affordable housing, upholding asylum rights, relaunching the economy along green lines and allowing workers more say in how companies are run.

"Who bears the costs of the global crisis, who will be stronger afterwards and who weaker — that's being decided now," Unteilbar organisers wrote.

Protest amid Covid-19

A map posted online showed how different groups had been allocated responsibility for different sections of the Berlin human chain.

They ranged from political parties like the Greens and Left party to civil society groups like "Grannies against the far right" and the Fridays for Future youth climate movement.

On their website, Unteilbar organisers urged sticking to "a responsible form of protest in times of pandemic and crisis", telling participants to remain three metres apart to minimise the risk of coronavirus transmission.

AP

A picture of George Floyd hangs from a ribbon held by demonstrators during the 'This is solidarity' demonstration of the movement Unteilbar (Indivisible), in Berlin, Germany on June 14, 2020.

Standing against racism

As the human chain got under way, stewards handed out strips of brightly coloured tape cut to the right length as a guide.

"We have to stand strong against racism, exclusion and discrimination. But at the weekend and in the weeks ahead, we have to be considerate and take care of one another" by minimising virus transmission, Berlin mayor Michael Mueller told the Tagesspiegel newspaper ahead of the demonstration.

SOURCE: AFP