EAS_Intrepid
MSFC Staff Paramedic
- Joined
- 23 Apr 2006
- Messages
- 2,615
- Age
- 35
The 1st of May is probably not a special day in most countries or even in most regions of Germany.
In Berlin May 1 mostly marks a day in which Police Riot Squads from all over Germany assemble and try to keep the city calm, so to say.
On May 1, a holiday and "Labour Day", quite a big group of people start riots, these people mainly belong to a certain stream in the non-parliamentary left wing. They call themselves "Ancharchists" and "Antifascists". Anarchists they are, about the Antifascist part I am not too sure. I know a good lot of people how say they belong to this group and how they suppress other opinions is very well a fascist manner...
The last year's May 1 was quite calm, the Workers Union did a demonstration which was accompanied by a large number of policemen but nothing really happened.
This May the police fears a major outbreak of violence. People will probably try to get their cars out of the city center or even out of Berlin. Some relatives of me have already booked holidays in Northern Germany to be out of the city...
Reason for the probable violent riots this year might be, that a) the last years they hadn't had the chance, so to say, to put barricades on fire and b) in Strasbourg was the annual NATO-conference and the festivities of the 40th anniversary of NATO. Plus the rioters think that this pointless violence is a "meaningful protest" against the current global financial crisis.
What we expect here is something like events of London of this April, just much much more heated.
Additionally to the "politically motivated" rioters people who just think it is fun to fight the police will have their share.
And since that is not enough, the extremist right wing party NPD (National Democratic Party of Germany, to put it this way: Neo-Nazis) want to conduct a demonstration, too. That the left and right wingers will clash, is no question. The only question is how and how much violence will erupt.
Due to some reason somebody thought it was a good idea to have a basketball finale game at the same day. One of the player teams will be a Greek team, which has a strong fan base under Greek hooligans. These fun-fans will come to Berlin, too.
All of these three parties will stage their demonstrations or gatherings within a relative small part of South-Eastern Berlin. Clashes between these groups will definately happen.
The Union of Police Officers hopes, that this Mayday will not be as bad and heated as it seems now, however they are not very optimistic.
Additionally to the already very large force of Riot Police that Berlin maintains, Riot Squads from the Federal Police, the State Police of several other States send their policemen, too.
The Police wants to try to "deescalate" first, but wants to intervene in full force if that fails or if crimes are committed.
All policemen of the Riot Squads are armed with their standard sidearms, yet they are not allowed to use them UNLESS they are ordered to by the higher powers of the police and government or unless there is no other alternative to defend themselves.
Our SEKs (Spezialeinsatzkommando, think SWAT) will be on standby if anything happens that the Riot Police cannot handle anymore.
Going out on the streets and demonstrating for your political demands is fine by me (it is part of the basis of a democracy, in my opinion.)
Rioting not. I wish all the policemen, firemen and paramedics all the best. To the unvoluntarily invovled civilians, too.
Since I have been accepted into the Red Cross, I bet I have duty that day.
I am just glad I am not a paramedic and belong to the coordinating rear part of the humanitarian operations...
In Berlin May 1 mostly marks a day in which Police Riot Squads from all over Germany assemble and try to keep the city calm, so to say.
On May 1, a holiday and "Labour Day", quite a big group of people start riots, these people mainly belong to a certain stream in the non-parliamentary left wing. They call themselves "Ancharchists" and "Antifascists". Anarchists they are, about the Antifascist part I am not too sure. I know a good lot of people how say they belong to this group and how they suppress other opinions is very well a fascist manner...
The last year's May 1 was quite calm, the Workers Union did a demonstration which was accompanied by a large number of policemen but nothing really happened.
This May the police fears a major outbreak of violence. People will probably try to get their cars out of the city center or even out of Berlin. Some relatives of me have already booked holidays in Northern Germany to be out of the city...
Reason for the probable violent riots this year might be, that a) the last years they hadn't had the chance, so to say, to put barricades on fire and b) in Strasbourg was the annual NATO-conference and the festivities of the 40th anniversary of NATO. Plus the rioters think that this pointless violence is a "meaningful protest" against the current global financial crisis.
What we expect here is something like events of London of this April, just much much more heated.
Additionally to the "politically motivated" rioters people who just think it is fun to fight the police will have their share.
And since that is not enough, the extremist right wing party NPD (National Democratic Party of Germany, to put it this way: Neo-Nazis) want to conduct a demonstration, too. That the left and right wingers will clash, is no question. The only question is how and how much violence will erupt.
Due to some reason somebody thought it was a good idea to have a basketball finale game at the same day. One of the player teams will be a Greek team, which has a strong fan base under Greek hooligans. These fun-fans will come to Berlin, too.
All of these three parties will stage their demonstrations or gatherings within a relative small part of South-Eastern Berlin. Clashes between these groups will definately happen.
The Union of Police Officers hopes, that this Mayday will not be as bad and heated as it seems now, however they are not very optimistic.
Additionally to the already very large force of Riot Police that Berlin maintains, Riot Squads from the Federal Police, the State Police of several other States send their policemen, too.
The Police wants to try to "deescalate" first, but wants to intervene in full force if that fails or if crimes are committed.
All policemen of the Riot Squads are armed with their standard sidearms, yet they are not allowed to use them UNLESS they are ordered to by the higher powers of the police and government or unless there is no other alternative to defend themselves.
Our SEKs (Spezialeinsatzkommando, think SWAT) will be on standby if anything happens that the Riot Police cannot handle anymore.
Going out on the streets and demonstrating for your political demands is fine by me (it is part of the basis of a democracy, in my opinion.)
Rioting not. I wish all the policemen, firemen and paramedics all the best. To the unvoluntarily invovled civilians, too.
Since I have been accepted into the Red Cross, I bet I have duty that day.
I am just glad I am not a paramedic and belong to the coordinating rear part of the humanitarian operations...