Jue, Oct 19th 2023
In light of the tense security situation in the wake of the war in the Middle East, several cities have imposed bans on demonstrations. In Zurich, no demos related to the Middle East conflict are allowed this week. Basel is banning rallies in general.
The ban thus also applies to a demonstration planned for Saturday by opponents of the Corona measures in Basel, as a police spokesman for the cantonal police confirmed to the Keystone-SDA news agency. A tri-national rally was planned under the name “Demo for Peace, Freedom and Sovereignty,” which was initially approved.
In the neighboring German city of Weil am Rhein, the rally is still registered, a spokesman for the Freiburg police headquarters told Keystone-SDA. In response to this three-country demonstration, AntiFa groups called for an unauthorized counter-demonstration under the slogan “Basel remains Nazi-free.”
In Zurich, seven applications for demonstrations related to the Middle East conflict have been received for this week, a spokesman for the security department told Keystone-SDA.
The general order banning demonstrations will be in effect from 5 p.m. Friday until midnight Sunday. Stand-up rallies and vigils are also prohibited then, police wrote.
It estimates the “probability of personal injury and property damage during rallies as very high”. Therefore, the risk is too great for demonstrators as well as passers-by, police officers and rescue workers, said the communications of the city of Zurich and the canton of Basel-Stadt.
In Bern, there is no such general decree, but no rallies will be authorized there this weekend either. The reason is that the city already has a full agenda with the high-risk YB-FCZ soccer match, the premiere of the light show “Rendez-vous Bundesplatz” and the federal elections, security director Reto Nause told Keystone-SDA. Beyond the weekend, he said, requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, as always.
Police in the city of Zurich last week canceled a Palestine vigil as well as a solidarity rally for Israel. In Basel, too, the police withdrew the permit for an announced Israel vigil and a pro-Palestine demonstration last Friday. The reason was the international call for violence by the Islamist Hamas.
©Keystone/SDA
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