On Saturday, there were large-scale protests against the planned founding congress of the new far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) youth organization. Thousands of protesters gathered in the West German city of Giessen, where the AfD’s constituent congress was about to begin, euronews wrote.
Protest events called by several organizations, known as “Resist”, are estimated to attract up to 50,000 participants during the day. Up to 30 different demonstrations and groupings of protesters are expected in the city and its surroundings during the day.
Due to the blockades, the convention in Giessen started more than two hours late. A number of the more than a thousand participants could not get to the fair hall in the northwest of the city for a long time. AfD chairpersons Alice Weidelová and Tino Chrupalla, as well as the designated chairman of the new youth organization, Brandenburg MP Jean-Pascal Hohm, finally arrived with police protection. The chairman of the Thuringian AfD organization and the main figure of the ultra-right wing of the party, Björn Höcke, is also participating in the convention.
According to the police, highways, state and local roads were blocked, traffic is “massively affected”. In Giessen itself, the roundabout was also blocked. The police described the situation as active in several places and prepared for the possibility that the demonstrations would turn into violent protests.
I have drones, water cannons and a cavalry unit ready. It is one of the largest police actions in the history of the federal state of Hesse. Giessen hospitals are also on standby. On Saturday morning, police already used water cannons against a group of around 2,000 people who blocked the B49 road, which diverts traffic into the city.
In the meantime, the first participants of the AfD congress entered the hall through restricted routes under police supervision, part of the delegates arrived in security cars, they entered through a side entrance. Around a thousand people are expected to attend. On the agenda, among other things, is the adoption of the statutes of the new youth organization, its statute and the election of executive management.
In recent years, young supporters of the AfD joined together in the association Mladá alternativa (JA), which functioned quite independently and caused numerous controversies. He was considered demonstrably right-wing extremist by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), which has the powers of the civil secret service in Germany, as well as by similar authorities in five federal states in eastern Germany. Because the association was threatened with a ban, the AfD leadership decided to distance itself from it this January. Young Alternative subsequently disbanded. On Saturday, her successor organization is to be formed, which will be much more closely linked to the party leadership. It will be called Generation Germany (GD).
The AfD party is the strongest opposition party in the Bundestag after February’s early parliamentary elections. She won 20.8 percent of the vote. In current opinion polls, her gains range between 24 and 27 percent, and according to some polls, she would now even narrowly win the election. In May, the German civilian counter-intelligence described the AfD as a demonstrably right-wing extremist party. The AfD is defending itself against this in court.
