1972 Gleitzmann inauguration protests

1972 Gleitzmann inauguration protests
Part of the protests against Robert Gleitzmann (1972-1980)
Protest group in Laitstadt-Ebersdorf
Date	20 February 1972 – 23 February 1972 (3 days)
Location	Laitstadt and other cities, Besmenia
Caused by	Swearing-in of Gleitzmann as Prime Minister Government participation of the BRP Right-wing politics in Besmenia
Goals	Resignation of the government
Methods	Demonstrations Protests Riot
Status	Continued in further protests
Parties to the civil conflict
Anti-Gleitzmann groups Left-wing groups Supported by: Free Besmenian Citizen's Party Law enforcement Pro-Gleitzmann groups and supporters Far-right groups

The 1972 Gleitzmann inauguration protests was a series of demonstrations in Besmenia in February 1972, mainly in the capital Laitstadt but also in other larger cities, against the inauguration of the controversial right-wing BVP-BRP federal government under Prime Minister Robert Gleitzmann, which was supported by numerous left-wing groups and organizations.

Background

Prior to 1972

During the Besmenian division in the late 1950s, the West Besmenian state party Besmenian National Union (BNU) had made contacts with the East Besmenian right-wing Besmenian Republican Party (BRP). Both parties established friendly relations and cooperation. After the Besmenian reunification and the ban of the BNU, many former BNU politicians joined the BRP, which led to the formation of groups within the BRP that shared views of Ochsenbeinism.

In April 1969, then Mayor and Governor of Laitstadt Robert Gleitzmann was elected party leader of the Besmenian People's Party (BVP). Under Gleitzmann's leadership, the BVP took an increasingly right-wing populist course. This led to the BVP increasingly being classified as a right-wing party and to the resignation of many politicians from the centre-right wing, most notably the former Foreign Minister and future President Erwin Pohl.

1972 federal election

Main article: 1972 Besmenian federal election

After the economic situation in the West Besmenian states did not improve after the Besmenian reunification, Prime Minister Johannes Schmidt was held responsible. As a result, at the 1972 federal election in January 1972, the BVP under Gleitzmann won the election with 39.8%. Forming a government initially seemed difficult. The Social Democratic Union (SDU) and Free Besmenian Citizen's Party (FBBP) were against a coalition with the BVP under Gleitzmann as prime minister. Because the BRP had a result of 10.3% in the election and, together with the BVP, would have had an absolute majority in the Federal Chamber, coalition talks between the BVP and BRP began. The coalition talks between the BVP and BRP were heavily criticized due to the BRP's right-wing position. The planned appointment of BRP party leader Konrad Berger as foreign minister also received strong international criticism.

Course

Laitstadt

20. February

Around 3,300 people gathered in front of the BVP headquarters at 10 a.m. and made a deafening noise. Countless eggs and bags of paint flew at party headquarters. 600 people demonstrated in front of the Federal Chamber building in the afternoon during the joint press conference by Gleitzmann and Berger. They then also moved to the BVP headquarters.

At the same time, a protest group of around 700 people protested in front of the BRP headquarters and threw stones at the building. A left-wing group held a rally in front of the party headquarters and warned against the BRP's participation in the government.

21. February

The swearing-in ceremony of the new BVP-BRP federal government was scheduled for February, 21 at 11:00 a.m. in the Traisenbach Castle. At 11 a.m. around 13,000 people were already present in front of the Traisenbach Castle to protest against the swearing-in. The Traisenbach Castle itself had been sealed off. It was extremely noisy. Firecrackers, eggs, bags of paint, rotten fruit and the odd solid object were constantly being thrown at the President's Office.

After a few hours, around 6,000 people started to demonstrate along the government district. When they reached the Foreign Ministry, which was now in BRP's controll, an attempt was made to storm into the ministry. In fact, about 100 protesters managed to enter the building and occupy several offices. Several other ministries were also tried to enter by the protesters. Some groups threw stones and rotten vegetables through the windows of some ministry buildings. Several hundred police in riot gear were in the government district within minutes pushing and beating people who were attacking government buildings and attempting to break in. In view of the large police presence, some of the squatters preferred to leave the building voluntarily and were sometimes beaten by the police when they left. The occupants of the balcony room wanted to stay longer, but after they heard the others leaving the building, they decided to leave as well. In the meantime, however, the exits had been closed by the police. Meanwhile, everything that was lying around in the area was thrown at the police barriers on the street.

The demonstration was beaten several times - initially only to a limited extent - and the people pushed back. Water cannons were positioned and finally used in the evening. At around 8 p.m. the most massive beating operation to date began. People were scattered in all directions. Those who were caught were thrown to the ground and, already lying on the ground, beaten with rubber batons and kicked. 60-80 demonstrators were injured.

Reactions

International reactions

Quetana: President Leopoldo Rosa, on Gleitzmann's inauguration, said "the government of Quetana looks forward to cooperating with the Besmenian government as we long have, regardless of the leadership," and said of the protests "the expression of disagreement is vital to ensuring a free and fair democracy, but we are greatly concerned about the treatment of some of those demonstrators arrested today."

Pongi: Previous PM Kathy Newlands supported this action, saying that the people have the right to have a good and open government. She is glad and happy to work with the new government, however she also condemned the treatment of protesters and how this could affect the new presidency.