2024-02-14 15:41:13
Farmers block Green Party meeting – police officers injured
Updated on February 14, 2024 – 3:49 p.mReading time: 3 min.
Massive protests by farmers have thwarted the Greens’ political Ash Wednesday. Due to the aggressive atmosphere, the event had to be canceled.
The Greens have canceled their political Ash Wednesday event in Biberach, Baden-Württemberg. The chairman of the local district association, Michael Gross, cited aggressive moods at demonstrations in the area as the reason. In the run-up to the event there were massive protests and blockades, including by farmers. According to police reports, several officers were injured.
According to its own information, the state farmers’ association in Baden-Württemberg neither called for the protests nor supported them in advance. A co-organizer of a rally on the Gigelberg in Biberach distanced himself from the blockades.
Farmers in Biberach had been protesting and blocking roads since the morning. Dozens of tractors were parked on the access roads to the town hall. A large pile of dung was dumped in front of the hall. Loud horns and music could be heard.
Protesters break vehicle windows
The protests also included an incident in which police used pepper spray on demonstrators to clear the path for two vehicles. The two vehicles then drove away from the town hall. A window on a vehicle was smashed. According to unconfirmed reports, the previously damaged vehicle belongs to Federal Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir’s convoy, reports the “Schwäbische Zeitung”.
Protesters had previously blocked the street with paving stones and sandbags. According to the police, objects were thrown at police officers and they also used pepper spray and batons.
“In the end, a solution can only be found at the table”
Özdemir appeared at a rally at Gigelberg ahead of his planned visit to the Ash Wednesday event. In an interview with t-online, their organizers distanced themselves from the blockades in front of the town hall in Biberach. The co-organizer and farmer Klaus Keppler told t-online that they had made clear calls in advance to refrain from blockades.
Farmer Gerd Neidlinger, who had registered the rally, also emphasized that they wanted to create a place for dialogue – and that was achieved at the rally. The farmers, craftsmen and freight forwarders present were dissatisfied with the current policy, Neidlinger told t-online and emphasized: “In the end, a solution will only be found at the table.” On stage, a speaker thanked the protest participants for being “so fair to Özdemir” – “as it should be and as he deserves it.” However, cheers broke out among rally participants when it was announced that the political Ash Wednesday event had to be canceled.
The Green Bundestag member Marcel Emmerich, who represents the nearby Alb-Donau district in the Bundestag, strongly condemned this. With regard to the blockade, he told t-online: “This is a bad day for democracy.” He emphasized: “You can discuss a lot about agricultural issues, but there needs to be a constructive exchange.” The blockades in front of the town hall were not about agricultural policy, but about “policy bashing.” “This is not a good political culture.”
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