At the end of the week, Germany witnessed several controversial demonstrations called by the large Russian-speaking community in the country, which is considered to be the subject of discrimination since the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine.
And on Sunday, about 800 people, according to the police, participated in a demonstration in the center of Frankfurt, raising Russian flags, in a move “against hate and abuse”, according to AFP correspondents.
Gatherings in German cities
Meanwhile, 600 people took part in a similar gathering organized simultaneously in Hanover in the north of the country, which was called by members of the Russian-speaking community, local police told AFP.
On Saturday, two similar demonstrations were held in Lübeck (north), with the participation of 150 people, according to the police, and in Stuttgart (south-west).
In Frankfurt, protesters initially gathered on Bank Street in the city, under tight security.
“I came here because with peace, there are children who are being beaten in schools because they speak Russian, this is unacceptable,” protester Ozan Yilmaz, 24, told AFP.
Participants in the pro-Russian rally marched towards the city’s largest cemetery to lay flowers at the fence in honor of Soviet soldiers who died in World War II.
Diversity of opinions
The march was topped by a large banner that read, “Truth and diversity of opinions, not propaganda.”
“The war did not start this year, it has been going on since 2014, so I consider that talk of Russian aggression” against Ukraine is actually an inaccurate description, said a 25-year-old demonstrator.
While in Hanover, where pro-Russian demonstrators marched in a motorcade under the watch of the police, a corresponding rally was held for 3,500 people under the slogan “Support Ukraine,” according to the police.
Violation of legislation
And Saturday, the security forces in Lubek prevented a similar convoy of about sixty cars from moving forward due to “violating the legislation” in force, especially with regard to “expressing support for Russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine and the use of prohibited symbols,” according to the local police.
The German authorities fear the extension of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict to the territory of the country.
big shame
For his part, Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany Andrei Melnik strongly opposed the green light given by the German authorities to organize the rallies, describing it as a “great shame” for the country.
Melnik said that was a “failure declaration” of the government’s policy toward Moscow, which he saw as ambivalent.
It is noteworthy that there are 1.2 million people in Germany who are descended from Russia or their families, and 325,000 from Ukraine, in addition to at least 316,000 Ukrainian refugees who have arrived in Germany since the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war on February 24.