“We want more order”

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Masked protesters throw stones at police officers. Emergency services in riot gear with rubber shot and pepper spray. Throughout Switzerland there is an increasing willingness to use violence during demonstrations. But also of disproportionate police action.

Trigger, very often: dissatisfaction. frustration. “Politicians,” “kingdoms,” “corporations,” and “their capital”—demonstrators often raise their voices against a superior power deemed reprehensible, seeing themselves as David fighting Goliath. Sometimes it’s frustration over a lost football game or skirmishes between hostile fan groups.

In Bern, during the pandemic, there were, among other things, riots at demonstrations against the corona measures. Police fought back with water cannons, irritants and rubber bullets.

Broken infrastructure, shop windows and car windows

Lucerne has to deal with football fans – through riots with the police, the use of pyros or destroyed infrastructure.

Also in Zurich sprayed facades, smashed shop windows, burning containers. Outraged by the evacuation of the Koch area, which had been occupied for ten years, hundreds of people marched through the city. Including countless violent hooded. They sometimes used stones against emergency services. The result: major material damage.

In the most recent riots in Zurich on Saturday, left-wing extremists destroyed shop windows and car windows during an unauthorized demonstration.

In Basel, several demonstrations and the associated police actions got out of hand in recent weeks. The ‘revolutionary climate demo’ in February, for example. Or the rally for International Women’s Day in March. Emergency services used rubber bullets against protesters.

The left-wing parties in Basel demanded the immediate resignation of the responsible police commander, Martin Roth (58). Even Amnesty International got involved. The organization wants the incidents in Basel to be investigated independently. She also wants to prohibit the police from using multiple bullets.

SVP wants to get rid of “chaotic” in Zurich and Basel

The SVP Basel-Stadt also became active. Without further ado, she launched a dual initiative – against “chaotic people” and the “demo flood” in the city. Your demand: “Demo-chaotic” must pay the cost of the missions and damage on the one hand. On the other hand, public space and public transport should be given more attention when granting permits for demonstrations.

Those responsible for extraordinary police operations in the canton of Zurich must also bear the costs in the future. That’s what the government wants. The Young SVP is demanding even more with their anti-chaotic initiative: they also want to sue the organizers for damage to property. The Security Department of government councilor Mario Fehr (64) has not responded to several questions from Blick on this subject.

Basel Security Director Stephanie Eymann (43), on the other hand, shares the thrust of the initiatives. “We want less unauthorized demos and more order,” she tells Blick. You have to find solutions that can also be implemented. Hard work that doesn’t promise overnight success.

More dialogue, more respect

In principle, almost all demonstrations were peaceful, says Eymann. Her recipe for avoiding escalations in the future is: “More dialogue.” It is clear to the Basel security director that all parties from left to right must clearly distance themselves from violent demonstrators – and that in advance. The safety director also wants more respect for emergency services.

A demand shared by Adrian Wüthrich (42), president of the Bern-Canton Police Association (PVBK). He says: “We are concerned about the violence against police officers.” Many chaotic people who “go to war against the state” are unaware that there are people behind the emergency services.

Wüthrich says appropriate political support is needed here. Because: during regular large-scale operations, the police reach their capacity limits. This was recognized in the canton of Bern by a push from Wüthrich. The corps there must be expanded by a total of 360 troops in 2029.

In addition, a lot can be achieved with good organization and infrastructure, Wüthrich explains. For example with fan corridors. The fence at the Wankdorf stadium in Bern has already relieved many staff.

Wüthrich is convinced that there is still more to come. He explicitly speaks out against bans on demonstrations, as they apply in other countries. But he demands: “We want the violence to stop. The emergency services want to return to their families unharmed in the evening after an operation.”

Source:Blick