Basic

After the massive riots on the sidelines of an Eritrean event in Stuttgart, pressure is growing on the city to ban the next planned meeting of Eritrean clubs next Saturday. Opposition parties are calling for this to be examined. In contrast, the Association of Eritrean Clubs announced that it would organize the next meeting as planned. According to a spokesman, the city is currently examining under what circumstances another event can be banned in advance.

On Saturday, the police had to defend the Eritrean associations' event against violently rioting demonstrators. Opponents of the event attacked participants and especially police officers. 31 police officers were injured. Baden-Württemberg's Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU) spoke on Monday of an angry, violent and armed mob against which the police officers, who were outnumbered, would have had to defend themselves in order to protect the event. The excess of violence came unexpectedly.

In conversations with police officers, he was told about a shower of stones to which the officers had been exposed. A colleague spoke of a wall made of stones, said Strobl. He was convinced that the police had prevented a bloodbath. I was told that there would most likely have been deaths.

The Interior Minister announced harsh consequences for the 228 suspected demonstrators who have since been arrested if the allegations are confirmed. She is being investigated for, among other things, serious breach of the peace and grievous bodily harm. The criminal offenses in question are not trivial, said Strobl. All but one of them had already been released on Sunday.

The SPD and FDP called for consequences from the weekend's experiences. Mayor Frank Nopper (CDU) must decide whether freedom of assembly must be lawfully restricted and the planned event must be banned, said SPD General Secretary Sascha Binder. The state has the task of protecting meetings with the police. However, when it comes to provocations and outbreaks of violence, police officers do not have to be put in danger with their eyes on them, said Binder.

FDP parliamentary group leader Hans-Ulrich Rülke accused the city and the Office for the Protection of the Constitution of not having been sufficiently prepared. It was obvious that there were knowledge deficits beforehand, he said. The police should have been warned. It is known that there can be conflicts between the two Eritrean factions in Germany, said Rülke. If a ban on the upcoming meeting is not legally enforceable, the emergency services must be increased.