Whistles and chants again formed the framework for the district council meeting in Grevesmühlen. And even within the Malzfabrik venue, the citizens vented their displeasure. It was - as has been the case several times - about the accommodation of refugees.
Grevesmühlen (dpa/mv) - The meeting of the district council of Northwest Mecklenburg was again accompanied by protests against the current plans for accommodating refugees. According to the police, around 550 people gathered at the top in front of the Malzfabrik meeting place. With loud slogans from megaphones, whistles and chants, the crowd made their displeasure with the district's plans for refugee accommodation clear.
At the meeting, District Administrator Tino Schomann (CDU) appealed to the state and federal government not to leave the municipalities alone in the challenge. "The crucial thing is that we need acceptance in order to be able to integrate," he said. Schomann does not see small-scale proposals to accommodate refugees in individual apartments as expedient. There is no security guard and no close supervision to be guaranteed. He doubts that this will be accepted.
Citizens from the 500-strong town of Upahl, where temporary container accommodation for 400 people is currently being built, spoke again at the meeting on Wednesday. They reacted with incomprehension to the fact that no details on the facility's integration concept were known and that, from their point of view, the suggestions made by a group of mayors were not sufficiently considered by the district.
According to the district administrator, the district must expect to have to accommodate 800 to 1,200 refugees this year. Schomann emphasizes that expanding the capacities in the country's initial reception would create time to find longer-term accommodation options.
With a resolution, the district council backed the district administrator and appealed to the solidarity of the communities to offer accommodation and to jointly develop a perspective for taking in refugees. The text - which was supported by all parliamentary groups except for the AfD - expressly emphasized that the district showed solidarity and support with refugees. The AfD had previously unsuccessfully requested that the municipalities be allowed to stop the distribution of refugees if they felt overwhelmed.
Unlike last Monday, representatives of the right-wing spectrum were also part of the protest. State President Birgit Hesse (SPD) said on the sidelines of the event that this was one of the reasons why she was a guest at the district assembly. A democracy has to endure different positions and protests, but threats like those against District Administrator Schomann and other members of the district council cross a line. Hesse said she was there to show that the state parliament was paying close attention to the discussion about creating new capacities to accommodate refugees.
