Massive counter-demo dwarfs PEGIDA’s Austrian debut rally

A counter-rally has dwarfed PEGIDA’s debut march in Austria with around 5,000 people showing up in protest to the right-wing anti-Muslim and immigration movement.

The anti-PEGIDA protesters gathered on the streets of Austrian capital Vienna on Monday to counter a rally held by some 400 supporters of the German-born group.

The counter demonstrators were chanting, “Down, down, down with PEGIDA!"

According to police spokesman Roman Hahslinger, some 1,200 police officers were deployed to keep the opposing protesters separated.

Apart from the exchange of verbal insults, no incidents of violence were reported.  

PEGIDA -- which loosely translates as, "Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West," --has sprung offshoots in other European countries including Denmark, Switzerland and Spain.  

Counter protests

On January 27, PEGIDA protests were overwhelmed by counter-rallies across Germany and a rock concert.

Over 22,000 Germans took part in an anti-PEGIDA rally and a concert held by German rock groups in Dresden, where the far-right group has been holding weekly rallies since October.

Over 15,000 anti-PEGIDA demonstrators gathered in Frankfurt to outnumber the 70 PEGIDA protesters, Reuters reported.

On the same day, more than 2,300 demonstrators showed up to an anti-PEGIDA rally in Munich against an 800-man PEGIDA gathering.

And in Berlin, 500 pro-PEGIDA protesters were met with over 1,000 counter-protesters.

The PEGIDA movement, which is a staunch opponent of Muslims and asylum seekers, began to launch rallies in October.

Leaders resign

On Wednesday the group was thrown into further disarray as it lost its second leader in one week. 

Kathrin Oertel and another board member resigned, the group announced on its Facebook page.

Oertel said she was quitting "due to the massive hostility, threats and career disadvantages," adding, "Even the strongest of women has to take time out when at night photographers and other strange figures are sneaking around outside her house."

According to the group, the other board member was dealing with massive problems because his business was losing public contracts.

The group’s founder and initial leader, Lutz Bachmann, a convicted thief, resigned in January, following public outrage over a front-page photo of him posing as Adolf Hitler, published in the German daily Bild.

The picture, which was taken two years ago, showed Bachmann looking vengefully into the camera while wearing a toothbrush mustache and having combed the bulk of his hair to one side as used the German despot.

The number of group’s supporters started to subside following the revelations about Bachmann with the number of people attending weekly protests dropping from 25,000 to 17,500.

SRK/NT/AS

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