Unrest on the veteran day: Protests disrupt reservist appeal in Vechta

Unrest on the veteran day: Protests disrupt reservist appeal in Vechta

On June 15, 2025, the first reservist appeal took place in Vechta for the veteran day, in which around 140 veterans and 70 spectators gathered in front of the armory in the citadel. The event that is open to all former soldiers of the Bundeswehr enjoyed lively participation. Not only are conscripts, time and professional soldiers invited, but also comrades over the age of 65 who want to reaffirm their oath, even though they are no longer available for military law. The event is an association event of the reservist association and not an official official event by the Bundeswehr. A written registration was necessary for the participation, and the participants had to be in uniform or in the possession of a field suit, as can be read on the website of the reservist association reservistappell.de.

At the same time, a rally on the subject of peace was organized in the citadel park, which was visited by around 80 participants. This event, organized by the “AStA/Uni-Links 161” network, did not come from without incident. In the meantime, two male people were spotted, who distributed a color bag over a reservist, which now causes an administrative offense procedure. Two large -scale transparent with disturbing representations were confiscated by the police, and it is checked whether there is a criminal background.

police operation and disorders

The police commitment was extensive that day because there were repeated disruption. About 25 participants in the rally tried to break through a police ban, which was thwarted by the use of simple physical violence and pepper spray. In addition, some foggy pots present and tried to ignite pyrotechnics. There were arrests and 15 people were temporarily stuck and with a meeting exclusion. Procedures for assembly violations have already been initiated.

The assembly is part of the fundamental right to freedom of assembly, as is anchored in the Basic Law. According to Article 8, all Germans have the right to gather peacefully and without weapons. This regulation has been placed in the hands of the federal states since 2006, with North Rhine-Westphalia has its own right of assembly that came into force in 2022. The framework conditions for such meetings are clearly defined to ensure public security and order. This information can be found on lawyer.org.

The police inspection Cloppenburg/Vechta, the Oldenburg police department and the Central Police Directorate in Lower Saxony were intensively deployed to control the Situation and ensure that the events could be prudent. Fortunately, there were no injuries among the participants or the police.