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CRIME

Police officers under increasing attack

German police are being attacked more than ever before, with people showing increasing disrespect for officers, according to a report in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper.

Police officers under increasing attack
Don't hurt them! Photo: DPA

The number of attacks on police officers, and other ‘state officials’ such as fire fighters, rose by nearly 22 percent over the last decade, Uwe Schünemann, state interior minister in Lower Saxony told the paper. “This seems to be a trend across the republic,” he said.

Matthias Seeger, president of the federal police presidium, said, “Respect for police officers has dropped in general, in particular for young people of a migration background.”

He said small altercations held the possibility of escalation, “It can happen that, for example, the demand that a cigarette be put out, can lead to a violent confrontation.”

He said drinking and taking drugs also played a role in increasing the chances of an attack. “In around 70 percent of the attacks, the culprit was drunk,” said Seeger.

Berlin is the most violent cities for police officers, with 3,371 attacks last year. Gerd Neubeck, head of the police in the capital said, “Berlin is sadly the leader in this. The numbers are also rising in other states though.”

The police union suggested that anyone in uniform becomes an object of hate and the problems with what it said were ‘non-German and German multiple offenders with a migration background, were increasingly threatening.

Berlin’s state interior minister Ehrhart Körting said the figures should be interpreted carefully and that the high numbers should be seen in the context of the May 1st demonstrations. The numbers include someone who hurts an officer while trying to avoid arrest, which he said was very different to a considered attack.

And he defended the young people with a ‘migration background’ saying, “It would be wrong to say that a generation of young people with such a background are growing up here to be overwhelmingly criminal,” he said.

BERLIN

Disruption on roads in Berlin as farmers stage fresh protest

Farmers in Germany launched fresh protests in Berlin on Friday to call for the government to support agriculture, resulting in disruption across the city.

Disruption on roads in Berlin as farmers stage fresh protest

Berlin police said there were “considerable traffic disruptions” across the city and the outskirts and especially around Straße des 17. Juni, the government district and the Bundesrat .

Since Thursday morning, Straße des 17. Juni and other streets around the government district in Berlin-Tiergarten have been closed. There will also be closures on Leipziger Straße between Wilhelmstraße and Leipziger Platz through Friday.

A planned rally is due to take place from 12 noon to 5pm on Friday with tractors and lorries around Platz des 18. März, near Brandenburg Gate. 

The action is being held to protest the government’s agricultural policies.

It comes as relief measures – including reduced bureaucracy and tax relief for farmers – went to the Bundesrat on Friday to be voted on as part of the Growth Opportunities Act.

However, farmers are still pushing for their original demand of fully keeping the agricultural diesel subsidy.

READ ALSO: Analysis: Why are German farmers so angry?

Farmers in Germany have been staging similar protests against the policies of the government since the start of the year.

Where are protests taking place?

Here’s a look at the routes farmers are expected to take in Friday into Berlin where disruption will occur:

Frohnau: From the state border via B96 Berliner Straße, Roedernallee, Lindauer Allee, Residenzstraße, Markstraße, Schulstraße, Luxemburger Straße, Föhrer Straße, An der Putlitzbrücke, Stromstraße, Lessingstraße, Altonaer Straße and Großer Stern to Straße des 17. Juni

Lichtenrade: From the state border via the B96 Kirchhainer Damm to Tempelhofer Damm and then via Mehringdamm, Hallesches Ufer, Reichpietschufer, Klingelhöferstraße, Hofjägerallee and Großer Stern to Straße des 17. Juni

Mahlsdorf: From the state border via the B1/5 to Alexanderstraße and then via Karl-Liebknecht-Straße, Unter den Linden, Wilhelmstraße, Dorotheenstraße, Scheidemannstraße, John-Foster-Dulles-Allee, Spreeweg and Großer Stern to Straße des 17. Juni

Staaken: From the state border via B5 Heerstraße to Theodor-Heuss-Platz, Kaiserdamm, Ernst-Reuter-Platz, Straße des 17. Juni and Großer Stern to Straße des 17. Juni.

As we’ve already. mentioned, there will also be road closures on Leipziger Straße between Wilhelmstraße and Leipziger Platz.

Farmers at the Straße des 17. Juni early morning on Friday in Berlin in a demo for better agricultural policy.

Farmers at the Straße des 17. Juni early morning on Friday in Berlin in a demo for better agricultural policy. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Jörg Carstensen

A large police presence was in place around the federal ministries and parliamentary buildings.

“We are taking preparatory measures before the farmers’ rally so that parliamentary work can take place smoothly on Friday,” said a spokesperson for the Berlin police on Thursday. 

During previous demonstrations, tactics – such as throwing manure and blockade attempts – have been controversial. 

On one occasion in January more than a hundred farmers blocked a ferry port as Economics Minister Robert Habeck tried to return from a holiday with his wife on the North Friesian island of Hooge.

According to media reports, some of the protestors tried to storm the ferry that the Habeck and his wife were on, preventing the Green Party politician from disembarking and forcing police to intervene. 

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