If it fits the police, people will explain with camera equipment to demonstrators. Photo: Engin Akyurt on Pixabay (Public Domain)
Role of the media in a democracy did not understood? Reporter throw German police, pressing press work massively hindered
It is not always easy for journalists to pursue their work in Germany. Often it was reported if press representatives were tackled at demonstrations of Pegida and Lebonskern. Less often, however, was reported in the past if the police hope for the media their work.
Such a case has gained itself at the beginning of June. Activists of the covenant "End" Protested in Berlin against the further construction of the A100 motorway. In the run-up, they had confessed to occupy a freely access to the sunallee in Berlin-Neukolln – what they did in the morning of that day. You unrolled transparent and shouting speaking choos. The police did not shut off the landscape, but was at a distance and looked at the bustle. Only when the activists were on the country, the officials incremented, first asking journalists and set this party. In any case, the service union described ver.di the incident.
Like Zwolf’s journalists landed in custody
It has met then Zwolf Journalists. They were custody and had received ads due to indoor trial break. Playbacks were pronounced against them, one was even studied. "It is simply one anding that our colleagues, who were already recognizable by their camera equipment as a press representative and ten with the federal test certificate legitimated by the Interior Ministers Conference (IMK) were on the road, with such funds were prevented from exuding their profession", Renate Gensch, state chairman of the German Journalists and Journalists Union (DJU) in Ver.Di Berlin-Brandenburg.
One of the people concerned was Jorg Reichel, country fuel of DJU. According to own information, he was a mediator between police and press on site. In an interview with the magazine "people. Do. media" he said he had on-site "Friendly to the ranked police officers, to meet agreements in the interest of unobstructed reporting". But that did fasted that he too was taken in custody and crashed.
So far, such forcolores are hardly reflected in statistics. Reichel explained opposite Telepolis (TP), the disability of press work is not in the statistics of "Reporters without limits", of the European Center for Press and Media Freedom (ECMPF) or Police Crime Statistics (PKS). "The NGOs only document actual attacks and other offenses".
Since Marz 2020, however, the DJU Berlin-Brandenburg collects these disabilities of the press work nationwide. As a matter of principle, as Reichel, that both police and federal police the press work nationwide in "significant high" hindered. In Berlin, the police claimed, the journalists had "activist" behave and be "Part of the assembly" been. Here, as Reichel, make a clear difference between journalists and activists:
An activist is someone who trends on a demo signs or transparent, clapping or calling a demo to a demo. A journalist behaves passively on a demo and certainly not content, form and alignment of a demonstration.
Reichel continued to explain: "When it comes to why, then the police, Salopp said, always an excuse for the restrictions of journalistic work ready". Let’s keep the route cleared and therefore durfe a demonstration is not photographed from the front; Time one draws the control of the press card beyond the overview; Another time one understood journalists who want to photograph with long lenses, they were unavailable portrait photos, which is why they have to write down their private data.
Preservedly defective trained
A substantial reason for these harpsiches is impressively see that policemen are only defiant in terms of press law. A distanced to opposing attitude to the media is another reason. Also role and meaning of the media in a democracy often have not been understood.
Thus, the presence of the press in demonstrations and events, such as the Land Party Day of the AfD Berlin, become classified as provocation. The officials called on journalists to remove themselves instead of protecting the freedom of the press. "The press is undisputed the right to draw up in a state party day immediately ten meters and to make film and video recordings from the arrival and executing members of the party state", so much. According to the Berlin Association Freedom, the police even have the task of travels to the freedom of press; But the opposite is the case.
In the case of protests against the further construction of the A100 it is about that, "whether the press has the right to enter a foreign country for a short time for the purpose of reporting a strange, here even in the property of the FRG". When a journalist reports, filming, photographed, then thirst for that does not be punishable, as this legitimized both press freedom as well as public interest. "Unfortunately, there is currently no fundamental reference rights, as such procedures are usually set against payment of a few hundred euros." In the interview with the magazine "people. Do. media" Richel had an excuse of the police for her action against media representatives. As he now explained opposite Telepolis, the Berlin police officially announced against the DJU to act in the future – unless the journalists get a permit in the primary student for entering the geland.