Protests against the corona measures are escalating in Australia, “lateral thinkers” from Kassel are said to have their fingers in the game. Is that really true?
Kassel – “A German-based conspiratorial group contributed to a series of anti-lockdown protests in Australia in which dozens of people were arrested and fined hundreds after violent clashes with the police” – this is the beginning of a recently published article of the British Guardian. The group reported by the renowned newspaper does not come from Berlin, Hamburg or Munich. But from Kassel in northern Hesse. Allegedly the “Free Citizens of Kassel”, a collective within the “lateral thinking” movement, are supposed to cause an uproar internationally.
There had been violent scenes at the Corona demonstrations in Sydney, Australia. Protesters in the country’s most populous city threw bottles and flowerpots at the security forces on Saturday (July 24th, 2021), reported reporters from the AFP news agency. According to the police, there have been numerous arrests.
Riots in Australia: “Unconventional thinkers” from Kassel involved in international protests?
The organizers had titled the protest as a “freedom” rally and made it known in online networks that are often used to spread false news about vaccines and conspiracy stories – this can also be observed with “lateral thinkers” in Germany, who usually exchange ideas Telegram off. The messenger service is hardly regulated and is a collecting tank for everyone who is blocked on large platforms such as Facebook, Youtube or Twitter.
Australian leaders were surprised after the riots. Australian MP Stephen Jones described the demonstrators as “selfish, ruthless idiots”. Police sympathized with “freedom of expression and peaceful assembly,” but the protests were against health regulations.
Corona demos: Connection between “Free Citizens Kassel” and “Worldwide Demonstration”
But what do the “Free Citizens of Kassel” have to do with rallies at the other end of the world? The group “Worldwide Demonstration” aggressively advertises corona protests around the world on the Internet. The group has 45,000 subscribers on Facebook and more than 70,000 on the main Telegram channel.
Behind the group are the “Free Citizens of Kassel”, according to the British newspaper. “Worldwide Demonstration” is largely controlled from Germany, so the tenor of the report.
At the request of the German press agency, the Hessian constitutional protection agency announced that it was “attentively” registering that the grouping “Free Citizens of Kassel” was advertising meetings outside of Germany via social media. For example, with regard to events in March and July of this year in Kassel, calls for parallel, worldwide meetings were found, according to the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution (LfV).
“Querdenker” from Kassel describes report as “crude conspiracy theory”
In the greater Kassel area, in addition to the “Free Citizens”, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution is aware of the groups “Not without us – Kassel”, the “Corona Rebels Kassel” in the context of the opponents of the measures to combat the corona pandemic, the state office announced. The groupings are not objects of observation. The group “Free Citizens Kassel” is known as the organizer of various rallies in Kassel, including the large demonstration on March 20, in which right-wing extremists also took part, explained the LfV. It is constantly checking to what extent extremists are trying to instrumentalize protests.
Compared to the newspaper Hessische Niedersächsische Allgemeine, a “free citizen” * called the Guardian report a “crude conspiracy theory”. Numerous people around the world would agree on the organization and dates. “The only idea came from Kassel and the surrounding area, but nobody takes on a leadership role there in any way.” On the “Worldwide Demonstration” website, however, under “Organizers”, the homepage “https://freiebuergerkassel.de” is given.
“Thinking outside the box”: Are the “Free Citizens of Kassel” right-wing extremists?
Christopher Vogel, social pedagogue with the mobile advisory team against right-wing extremism in Hesse, does not have enough evidence to show that the “free citizens” play an important international role. “One can only speculate about that,” he told the HNA. Vogel believe them that they are “not extremely right-wing. You have not yet appeared politically. You don’t know what they want. ”However, the movement is“ open to the right ”.
According to media reports, the “Free Citizens” were angry with Telegram. One user spread the conspiracy story that the author of the HNA text belonged to the “Merkel dictatorship”. Another accused journalists of not even being able to do proper research. (Tim Vincent Dicke) * hna.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
