The campaign organization Campact and climate activist Louise Neubauer want to take part in protests against the AfD conference in Erfurt next weekend. This is stated in a joint statement published in Spiegel magazine. In it, Campact managing director Christoph Bautz and Neubauer said they would take part in “peaceful sit-ins” organized by the Resistance alliance to “delay the party conference as long as possible.”
As justification, they cite a report from the Society for Civil Rights that the AfD is “manifestly unconstitutional” and could take over government in Saxony-Anhalt within months. Civil society, which has “learned from the darkest hours of our country’s history,” must defend itself against partisan attempts to attack the constitution.
At the same time, Bautz and Neubauer call on the “democratic center” to take part in the protests. Resisting right-wing extremists “should not be understood as a purely left-wing issue” but is a common task for all Democrats. “There is so much at stake that we cannot afford passivity and indifference,” the statement said.
The AfD conference will take place on July 4 and 5 at the Erfurt Trade Fair. Several civil society alliances called for protests. The Resistance Alliance says it is planning a blockade to completely prevent the party conference from taking place. He is supported by the Left Party; Several left-wing deputies of the Bundestag also want to take part in the actions.
Security authorities are preparing for a serious situation. As WELT AM SONNTAG reports, citing internal police documents, authorities expect at least 35-50 thousand counter-demonstrators. In addition, internal police estimates indicate that there are up to 2,500 left-wing extremists willing or seeking violence.