In St. Georgen im Attergau (Upper Austria) a demonstration has been going on since Wednesday morning, with which the community wants to protest against the tents for refugees in the first reception center in Thalham. The event also became a parade “of the right-wing and far-right scene from all over Austria,” according to police circles. About 1000 participants came to the protest.
Mayor Ferdinand Aigner (ÖVP) and all municipal parliamentary groups had called for the meeting. Identitarians and other well-known people from Austria’s right-wing scene were featured on the “citizen information” in front of the city office, including Identitaire boss Martin Sellner.
When, as agreed, one representative from each city council party – ÖVP, Greens, FPÖ and SPÖ – took the floor, the first whistles were sounded, for example when one of the speakers said that the situation was not yet comparable to 2015/16 . ‘Remigration’ was demanded on a banner. The police spoke of a heated mood.
Calmly draw attention to the problem
Because of the demonstration, Asfinag had blocked the entrances and exits of the western motorway from 10:30 am to 1:30 pm. Blocking the highway itself is prohibited, Aigner said ahead of the meeting at the APA: “At this point, we want to draw attention to our topic peacefully, so we’ve said we will now block the entrance and exit. nothing changes, further measures are certainly being considered.”
The reason for the protest is 17 tents for refugees, which were set up a week and a half ago next to the federal welfare center Thalham – a town in the municipality of St. Georgen im Attergau (Vöcklabruck district). The mayor argued that the municipality was already contributing to the reception of refugees with the western reception. In addition, children and young people from an orphanage in Ukraine were received in a former sanatorium, with a lot of support from the population, he emphasized.
Inhumane tents
The protest is directed against “these 17 inhumane tents that have been set up – without asking us”, according to the local chief. “These are throwing the structure out of the city because there are just too many young men right now. We feel that in the city, the shops feel that, it just doesn’t work.”
State council calls for rapid dismantling
Today support came from the responsible State Councilor Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer (ÖVP): In a broadcast, he demanded that the tents in St. Georgen should be demolished quickly. In October, Upper Austria took in about 35 percent of all asylum seekers transferred from the federal government to the states, and potential departures and properties would be further monitored and put into use.
The State Council expressed understanding for the concerns and concerns of the population, but also emphasized “that it is our humanitarian responsibility to take care of the asylum seekers who are here and to enable them to go through a proper procedure”. Upper Austria fulfills this responsibility, “therefore the tents in St. Georgen must be dismantled quickly”.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
