German President Condemns Attempt Break-In to Reichstag
Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2020 6:37 am
Police officers push away a crowd of demonstrators from the square 'Platz der Republik' in front of the Reichstag building during a demonstration against the Corona measures in Berlin, Germany, Aug. 29, 2020.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Sunday condemned an attempt by protesters to break-in to storm the Reichstag, Germany’s parliament building, as an "unacceptable attack on the heart of our democracy."
"We will never accept this," Steinmeier said in an Instagram message.
The incident took place on Saturday evening after some 38,000 protesters gathered in Berlin during the day to protest against the country's coronavirus restrictive measures.
After about two hours, police dispersed the protesters, citing disregard of social distancing rules.
The German president called the protesters a "right-wing extremist rabble," while praised the security forces who "acted extremely prudently in a difficult situation."
"The Reichstag building is the seat of our Parliament and thus the symbolic center of our democracy," German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer told the newspaper Bild am Sonntag.
"The fact that sowers of chaos and extremists are abusing it for their own purposes is unacceptable," Seehofer added.