Germany: Police crack down on pro-Russian demos

Lower Saxony's Interior Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) announced consistent action against violations on the occasion of the commemoration ceremonies at the end of the Second World War.

Hanover - It will not be allowed if the Ukraine war is "glorified", he told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung. It is "completely irrelevant whether it is about showing the Z symbol or the Saint George ribbon". In the current context, the symbols are "clearly to be interpreted as a sign of the violent territorial expansion of the Russian state and can therefore even be punishable".

Pistorius attended a wreath-laying ceremony in Berlin on "Liberation Day" at the invitation of the Ukrainian ambassador Andriy Melnyk. A few pro-Russian events were registered in Lower Saxony for the day of remembrance. Rallies are planned in Hanover.

A car parade is to take place in Haren in Emsland. On May 9, the authorities expect a motorcycle parade with a pro-Russian context to reach its destination in Lohne in the Vechta district. Previous stations include Braunschweig and Nienburg an der Weser.

"It is unbearable when the end of the Second World War, the victory of the Allies and the liberation of Europe are associated with the illegal war of aggression against the Ukraine," criticized Pistorius. On May 8, 77 years ago, the Wehrmacht capitulated.

Source: Der Newsticker

Photo: Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa