Thousands of opposition protesters block neo-Nazis in Mainz
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NOS . News•
About 3,000 people have stopped a neo-Nazi protest march in the German city of Mainz, according to reports Sueddeutsche Zeitung. About fifty members of the Neue Stärke Partei (NSP) planned to walk downtown.
Police stopped the group on the outskirts of the city “due to strong counter-protests”. The group of anti-racist demonstrators consists of thousands of members of anti-racist and anti-fascist parties, sects and unions.
Mayor Michael Ebling gave a speech at Central Station. He said there was no place in Mainz for people who publicly made Nazi statements. “You have to pack your brown bag and go home,” he said. He said there must be a clear end to the anti-democratic and anti-fascist forces.
Use pepper spray
About the number of protesters, he said: “It doesn’t matter if the number is ten, twenty, fifty or a hundred. It also started with small numbers in the 1920s, and ended with barbarism and bringing millions of people to the gas chambers.”
When the police wanted to stop the Nationalist Party, some unrest arose. A police spokesman told the newspaper that many people wanted to break the siege. Pepper spray was used to stop the group. Several protesters had eye problems and had to be treated.
A local journalist at the time of the unrest was:
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Police return ‘Neue Stärke Partei’ protesters in Mainz -
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Counter-demonstrators raise flags during a demonstration for “Neue Stärke Partei” in Mainz
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