Mecklenburg: Again protests against container village plans in Upahl

The planned construction of a container village for up to 400 refugees in the 500-inhabitant town of Upahl has again led to protests in north-west Mecklenburg.

Mecklenburg: Again protests against container village plans in Upahl

The planned construction of a container village for up to 400 refugees in the 500-inhabitant town of Upahl has again led to protests in north-west Mecklenburg. A demonstration took place on Friday evening in Grevesmühlen under the motto "Upahl must fight back, today we, tomorrow you!" several hundred people. The police spoke of around 600 participants, the organizers of around 800.

A citizens' initiative had called for the action. At the same time, around 30 people took part in a rally for solidarity and tolerance in the small town. According to the police, both events were "fundamentally trouble-free".

A spokesman for the citizens' initiative had previously emphasized that the protest was not directed against refugees, but against the size of the project and against the insufficient involvement of the community itself in the planning. At the beginning of March, the administrative court in Schwerin issued an interim order that stopped work on the container village that had already begun. From the judges' point of view, the district did not adequately consider the community's right to participation when deciding on the location.

The country wants to create more initial reception places

At the end of January there were tumultuous protests against the construction of the accommodation. 700 people demonstrated during an extraordinary district council meeting in Grevesmühlen. There have also recently been protests against refugee shelters in other communities in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

The state government in Schwerin reacted cautiously this week to the ongoing protests against the construction of large collective accommodations in villages in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. After a refugee summit with the leaders of the municipal associations, Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD) announced on Thursday evening that the country would create more places for the initial reception of refugees.

Northwest Mecklenburg District Administrator Tino Schomann (CDU) welcomes this, but said on Friday that he would have liked to have heard specific facts, figures and timetables at the refugee summit. The accommodation remains the most urgent problem, speed is necessary, according to the district administrator.

NEXT NEWS