Protest over Love Parade tragedy

DUISBURG – Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside city hall in Duisburg, Germany yesterday as anger grew over the Love Parade disaster in which 21 people died.

Protestors chanted “Sauerland go!” in reference to the western city’s mayor Adolf Sauerland, who has come under pressure to resign following Saturday’s tragedy.
Others held placards including “Who is to blame?” in red letters. The crowd later observed a moment of silence for the victims. Some protesters then began a march around the city centre.
Partygoers were crushed to death in a stampede as they desperately tried to escape a narrow tunnel that served as the only entrance to the grounds hosting the techno music festival. More than 500 people were hurt.
An interim police report on Wednesday put the blame on Love Parade organisers, listing a catalogue of catastrophic mistakes in managing the crowd of hundreds of thousands.
The grounds opened nearly two hours later than promised, leading to an initial blockage in the tunnel, said Dieter Wehe, chief of police in the local North Rhine-Westphalia state.
Thereafter, police said organisers were incapable of dispersing the crowds at the tunnel’s exit, partly because there were fewer stewards than promised and partly because there were no loudspeakers to control the crowd.
When the scale of the crush became clear, police ordered stewards to close the heaving access points but this order was not carried out, Wehe said, fighting back tears at a news conference.
The mayor, who has reportedly been pelted with rubbish and who has bodyguard protection, told the Bild daily in comments published on Thursday that he had not “personally signed any permit” or been warned about potential safety flaws.
“It’s hardly the mayor’s job to sign permits ... This was done by one of our best colleagues,” he said.
– Nampa-AFP

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