MOSCOW, May 9 (Sputnik) — Around 500 far-right protesters gathered on Saturday afternoon outside the Central Railway Station in downtown Berlin to demonstrate against the government, media reported.
City guests arriving at the Hauptbahnhof railway station were surprised to be met by a mob of protesters shouting "Merkel Must Go" and "Journalists Protect Salafis," the Tagesspiegel magazine said Saturday.
The radical NPD party leader Sebastian Schmidtke was spotted in the crowd along with members of the "Reich citizens" group, a sect-like organization that claims the German Reich still exists and even issues passports on its behalf.
Hier bei der Elsässer-Demo am Berliner Hauptbahnhof sind alle da: Hogesa,Kameraden aus Brandenburg und NPD aus Berlin pic.twitter.com/LJRs6UGEDf
— Andreas Kopietz (@KopietzAndreas) May 9, 2015
Vom Hauptbahnhof her sind Antifaschisten angekommen und sind laut! Weiter so!!! #9mainazifrei #berlin pic.twitter.com/3MrOjXvohG
— June Tomiak (@junomaerz) May 9, 2015
A rival demonstration by left-wing protesters was staged across the Spree River, the outlet said. A 1,000-strong police force was stationed in the area.
Another demonstration, allegedly to "storm the Reichstag" parliament building, kicked off in the German capital earlier on Saturday. Video footage from the scene showed dozens of protesters strolling in the square outside, and waving German and Nazi flags. They later assembled in front of a make-shift tribune to listen to political speeches.
The rallies in Berlin were timed to the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, associated in Germany with the ever-present debate on the nation's guilt and responsibility that still divides the country.
