Hafenecker: “Dealing with government critics at yesterday’s rally was arbitrary in the system!”

“The way the system dealt with government critics in Vienna yesterday can only be described as arbitrary. Even if we libertarians had nothing to do with this rally: the right to freedom of assembly and demonstration is one of the most valuable assets in a democratic constitutional state that must be protected! The aim and task of the authorities must therefore be to ensure that the exercise of this fundamental right by citizens can take place calmly and safely and not to create a state of disorder. It is therefore no wonder that a state police chief close to the SPÖ and an ÖVP interior minister are ultimately responsible for the actions of the executive branch – two system parties that want to stay in power with a losing traffic light by ignoring the will of the voters,” FPÖ practiced today. Secretary General NAbg. Christian Hafenecker, MA sharply criticized the authorities’ handling of yesterday’s anti-government rally at Vienna’s Heldenplatz.

The ban on the two registered demonstrations alone was an arbitrary “attack on the freedom of assembly and demonstration”, the justification for which was the freedom to work and the flow of traffic would represent “a specious double standard”, since demonstrations in Vienna’s city center repeatedly take place on Advent Saturdays could take place, such as in 2016 by the Left against deportations or in 2018 against Black and Blue. “I also can’t remember that the police arrived with a huge contingent of personnel and water cannons at the behest of their black-red leadership when climate extremists regularly illegally blocked roads for over a year, causing traffic chaos and massive economic damage – rather, it was with “We even cooperated with these doomsday nuts,” continued Hafenecker, who also referred to reports from rally participants on social media that there had been encirclements: “If that was actually the case, then it would be a consciously escalating operation that was aimed at repression and the generation of ‘desired’ images – there is an urgent need for clarification here. In any case, what is certain is that the fundamental right to freedom of assembly must apply in full even if the government does not like its content. Our police officers do an excellent job for the safety of our population and must not be used to ‘protect’ those in power from critical voices from citizens on the street.”