Queer Life | Authorities give in to rainbow picnic

A huge rainbow flag in front of the Görlitz train station building Photo: DPA/Danilo Dittrich In the dispute over the Görlitz CSD, which is the last to take place in Saxony this year this Saturday, the assembly authority has given in. A concluding “Diversity Picnic” with speeches, performances by artists and information stands will also be recognized as a political gathering. This is what Wojciech M. Urlich, the chairman of the Christopher Street Day Görlitz-Zgorzelec e.V., told the “nd”. This brought an unpleasant dispute to a “positive end,” said the club boss. However, it is very unfortunate for the organizers that final security is only available two days before the event, to which around 1,500 participants are expected. When asked by “nd,” the Görlitz district office also confirmed that the picnic would be “evaluated as a gathering within the meaning of the Saxon Assembly Act.”

The CSD in the East Saxon city traditionally consists of an opening rally, a subsequent parade that also leads to the Polish twin town of Zgorzelec, located on the other side of the Neisse, and the concluding “picnic” on the Obermarkt. Numerous speeches are planned for this. The list includes Sophie Koch, the federal government's queer commissioner, as well as the SPD member of the Bundestag Katrin Michel, the left-wing state leader Anja Eichhorn and Rafael Gronicz, the mayor of Zgorzelec. The mayor of Görlitz, Oktavian Urdu (CDU), has been contacted. The patron of the event is Georgine Kellermann, queer activist and former member of the Bundestag for the Green Party. Musician Danger Dan is among the artists who have announced their participation.

»The conditions for queer political engagement are often much tougher in the countryside than in the big cities.«

In its original decision, the Görlitz District Office, as the assembly authority, had not only imposed numerous conditions for the demonstration, but had also come to the conclusion that this and the picnic did not represent an inseparable unit and that the latter should not be assessed as a political assembly according to the Saxon assembly law, but as an “event”. According to the sponsoring association, this would have resulted in considerable costs for barriers, security and cleaning. “In fact, the main part of the Görlitzer CSD is at stake,” it said in a statement. Urlich described the decision as “absurd.” The speeches and cultural contributions as well as information stands are “not the accessories of our demonstration, but rather its core.” The “demands and messages of the queer community are transported” there.

With its decision, the authority followed up on one from the Saxony State Directorate from early summer. This had instructed the state capital Dresden not to classify a three-day street festival as part of the local CSD as a political gathering, against the declared wishes of the city administration. This has the “character of a public festival with cultural elements.” A lawsuit against this at the administrative court was initially unsuccessful. The Higher Administrative Court (OVG) Bautzen then revised the state management's decision. Nevertheless, the Görlitz district office now took up their argument.

This caused harsh criticism even beyond Görlitz. The left-wing state parliament member Jule Nagel explained: "CSDs are political." Her party stands "on the side of everyone who is committed to queer demonstrations in Saxony, including in Görlitz." Nagel emphasized that the conditions for such commitment “are often much tougher in the countryside than in the big cities,” and noted that CSDs are under political pressure from the right and right-wing extremists. This is expressed in attacks on queer demonstrations as well as in the cutting of funding programs and tightening of laws. According to the Görlitz police department, which is planning a larger operation, there is also a “counter-event” planned there this Saturday in addition to the CSD.

The organizers of the Görlitz CSD also took legal action against the decision of the assembly authority and received support from the “counter-legal protection” of the “Ask the State” initiative. However, the lawsuit was unsuccessful. The administrative court rejected an urgent application for formal reasons. This was directed against a decision that contained no regulations at all on the “controversial picnic of diversity”.

To justify its change of heart, the district office refers to new knowledge as a result of the legal dispute: “The documents necessary for the evaluation of the event were submitted for the first time as part of the urgent application. “Based on the findings that are now available, a new decision was made regarding the nature of the meeting,” said spokeswoman Melanie Rohn. CSD club leader Urlich thinks this is specious; After all, the organizers had already cooperated beforehand and presented extensive explanations: "We have explained which artists should be viewed as activists, and in some cases we have provided excerpts from concerts." The same applies to the speakers and the operators of the information stands. Urlich assumes that the change of heart was brought about by the national public debate.

According to Urlich, this is not complete. There is now security for the CSD this Saturday, but neither for future events in Görlitz nor in other cities. We are therefore considering how fundamental legal clarification can be achieved: "Otherwise we will have to expect this discussion to be repeated with every new CSD."

The »nd.Genossenschaft« belongs to its readers and authors. They are the ones who make our journalism accessible to everyone through their contribution: We are not backed by a media company, not a large advertising customer or even a billionaire.

With your support we can continue to:

→ report independently and critically → address overlooked topics → give space to marginalized voices → counter misinformation → advance left-wing debates

With “Pay voluntarily” you can take part. You help ensure that this newspaper has a future. So that nd remains.