WORLD NEWS FOR MONTENEGRO DIASPORA
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AUTHOR:M.J. GDNUS
More than 200,000 protesters rallied in Munich on Saturday, February 8, against far-right extremism ahead of Germany's general election scheduled for February 23, AP reports.
The far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD), which is in second place in recent polls, has sparked widespread demonstrations across the country ahead of the election.
The protest at Munich's Theresienwiese, where the annual Oktoberfest is held, drew far more people than expected, German news agency dpa reported.
Event organizers estimated that more than 320,000 people turned out, many of whom carried anti-AfD signs with slogans such as "Racism and hatred are not an alternative."
The protest was supported by activist groups, as well as the Munich Film Festival, churches and Munich football clubs FC Bayern and TSV 1860, among others. Police told dpa that the protests were peaceful.
Similar demonstrations drew large crowds on Saturday in Hanover, Rostock and elsewhere in Germany, mirroring other protests that have taken place across the country in recent weeks.
Last month, at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, a huge crowd booed, sang anti-fascist songs and carried banners denouncing the AfD.
Activists said they hoped the rally would also draw attention to other far-right parties in Europe and the new administration of US President Donald Trump.
Protesters have also recently opposed Friedrich Merz, the centre-right leader and front-runner in the upcoming election, and his Christian Democrats, who last month submitted proposals to parliament for tough new migration rules that were backed by the AfD.
The protesters say Merck and his party have broken Germany’s unwritten post-Nazi pledge of all democratic parties to never pass any rule or resolution in parliament with the support of far-right, nationalist parties like the AfD. Merck insists his position is unchanged and that he has not and will not work with the AfD.
The AfD was founded 12 years ago and entered the national parliament in 2017, building its campaign on opposition to then-Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to allow large numbers of migrants into the country two years earlier.
