Germany on Wednesday pledged to “defend itself” against radical anti-vaccination groups in the country. The promise comes after German police conducted a series of raids in Saxony after alleged death threats against politician Michael Kretschmer to defend restrictive measures against the pandemic in the region.
The operation, carried out by the criminal police in the Saxony region of eastern Germany, came after journalists from the public broadcaster ZDF infiltrated a group on the social network Telegram, in which they threatened to kill the minister. Saxony President Michael Kretschmer (CDU Christian Democratic Union) for vaccination.
“Statements by some members of the group suggest that they may have had real weapons and crossbows,” the police said in a statement. The authorities became suspicious of “preparing a violent crime threatening the state” and therefore raided several locations in the region to find those responsible for the threats.
The investigation concerns five men and one woman “suspected of preparing for a serious act of violence” and of “plotting to assassinate” the Saxon minister-president, among other regional authorities, “the police said in a statement, which does not help whether the arrests were made or how many weapons were seized. …
A strong, partly radical movement has emerged in Germany against the health restrictions imposed during the covid-19 pandemic. It is especially strong in Saxony, formerly communist East Germany, one of the regions hardest hit by the virus, and where vaccination rates are lower than the national average.
Although Kretschmer did not initially introduce restrictive measures to combat the pandemic, his position changed when the state of Saxony became one of the regions hardest hit by the covid-19 pandemic in the country. Saxony currently has one of the lowest vaccination rates in Germany: only 61.9% of the population is vaccinated with the first dose, and it also has the second highest infection rate in the territory.
New German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, in his inaugural speech, denounced what he called “a tiny and hated minority that attacks everyone with torchlight parades, violence and calls for murder,” adding that German society will not be divided. Scholz also pledged to pursue a zero-tolerance policy towards these extremist groups. On Monday evening, about 3,500 people marched in the city of Magdeburg, shouting “peace, freedom, no dictatorship.” Street protests against the restrictions take place almost daily and sometimes end in violence.
Compulsory vaccination is a measure to combat a new wave of infections.
The truth is, Germany is hand in hand with a new wave of infections, and records have been broken for daily cases in recent days. One of the main reasons for the uncontrolled growth of the pandemic in the country is associated with the low level of vaccinations in Germany. Only about 69% of the population is fully vaccinated, which is similar to rates in other European Union countries but was once considered low to contain the virus.
German MPs last week approved a law requiring healthcare workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19, the first step ahead of expanding compulsory vaccinations to the rest of the country’s population, which is expected in early 2022. Prove full vaccination on March 15, otherwise they will not be able to work.
* With agencies
