Zurich relaxes demo rules

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The latest riots in the Langstrasse district of Zurich are grist to the mill of the SVP. After another violent confrontation between left-wing chaotic groups and the police last weekend, calls for tougher action against violent demonstrators and more general regulation of gatherings are gaining momentum.

The city parliament of Zurich, on the other hand, wants the opposite. With a very narrow majority, the city council decided last week to relax the demonstration rules. Participants in an unauthorized demonstration may no longer be fined in the future, the city council has decided.

As early as 2021, the city council decided not to subject demos to approval, but only to registration. The change is not yet in effect.

“interference with freedom of assembly”

Both times the left prevailed against the bourgeoisie – and also against security director Karin Rykart (52, Greens). The call to withdraw the fines came from Green Council member Luca Maggi (32) and Moritz Bögli (25) of the Alternative List (AL).

The latter does not want to comment on the advance on a Blick request. Green politician Maggi, on the other hand, defends his claim – despite the recent riots. He thinks that one has nothing to do with the other. Zurich is the only Swiss city where simply taking part in an unauthorized demo is a criminal offence. “This is an infringement of freedom of assembly and freedom of expression,” Maggi argues.

Before Corona, such fines were rarely handed out. In the pandemic year 2021, on the other hand, there were 900 and last year almost 270.

“Leftists don’t want to see the problem”

While the right advocates more repression, the left wants the opposite. Kid gloves instead of a sledgehammer, so to speak.

“It’s free if you say tougher measures are needed now,” says Maggi. For example, if there are attacks on police officers, they can already be punished today. “That’s what criminal law is for. I don’t see what you want to aggravate there.”

The Zurich SVP parliamentary group chairman Martin Prettyr (54), on the other hand, accuses the left of looking the other way. “They don’t want to see the problem,” he says.

SVP wants to reverse easing

The SVP announces a “package of measures” to “effectively combat left-wing extremism in the city of Zurich”. The party wants the decision of the city council to be reversed that demos only need to be reported in the future and no longer need to be approved. “In addition, there should be better coordination between the police of the city and the canton, so that the security forces are better equipped,” says Pretty.

The canton of Zurich will soon vote on the anti-chaotic initiative of the young SVP, which demands that those responsible pay for any damage. The government has prepared a somewhat less far-reaching counter-proposal.

In parliament, demands for a tougher approach to the chaos are likely to remain difficult. The mood of the population is different. In a representative survey by the research institute GFS Bern on behalf of the “NZZ”, almost a third of those questioned thought that demos should be fought harder.

Source:Blick