A so-called peace festival in Friesack, Brandenburg, called the protection of the constitution into action. The Ministry of the Interior warns that extremists could also be agitating there. The organizer rejects these accusations.
A “Pax Terra Musica” festival planned in Friesack in Havelland is being closely monitored by the Brandenburg Ministry of the Interior. The organizers speak of a peace festival and call for peace accordingly, the ministry said. “However, he equates Russia as the cause of the aggressive war with Europe and other countries,” the statement said. “Such relativizing statements basically form a starting point for extremists and conspiracy believers.”
The “Potsdamer Latest News” reported on the planned festival on July 18 and spoke of a meeting place for lateral thinkers, opponents of vaccination and Putin supporters. According to the ministry, individual workshops and items on the program gave reason to expect that the event would be attended by extremists. “Their spectrum ranges from constitutional protection-relevant delegitimizers of democracy to right-wing extremists to Reich citizens and glorifiers of the GDR.” However, this only affects an excerpt from the numerous events, “most of which are not relevant to the protection of the constitution.”
The organizer defends itself against these assessments. The organizers had no contact with lateral thinker structures and deliberately excluded the topic of Corona from the contributions, explained Managing Director Malte Klingauf. “On the one hand, people are sick and tired of it and on the other hand, this topic has been dividing society for two years now and we want to set a sign of reconciliation with our peace festival.”
At the previous festivals, neither Reich citizens nor right-wing extremists were among the visitors, Klingauf assured. “And if they did, they didn’t identify themselves.” Rather, the majority of the visitors are more likely to be assigned to the left spectrum of society, said the managing director. “It’s about life in community, the human family and charity.”
Klingauf expects 1300 to 1500 participants. In 2019 there were around 1000 and the year before around 850 guests. The Ministry of the Interior urged vigilance: “Overall, an alert, critical and, above all, democratic eye is the best advice for visitors and organizers.”
Friesack’s mayor Christoph Köpernick knows about the allegations against the festival, but doesn’t want to share them. He explained to the “Tagesspiegel” that there were “no abnormalities” with the last “Pax Terra Musica”. And further: “The open-air stage was also left clean and tidy.” This year’s festival started today, Thursday, in the Friesack open-air stage and will run until Sunday.
