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City Councillors: Because They Don’t Want You to Know What They’re Doing!The city council meeting in Weißenfels on November 7, 2024, was in parts quite strange. One might even say it was indicative of the current situation in Germany and the "understanding of democracy" held by some politicians. NOTE: THE VIDEO OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HAD TO BE TAKEN OFFLINE DUE TO AN EMAIL FROM A LAW FIRM ACTING ON BEHALF OF THE CITY COUNCIL. MORE ON THAT HERE! NOTE 2: THE VIDEO HAS BEEN MADE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE AGAIN. READ THE REASON HERE! It was likely the very first city council meeting to be recorded on video in this manner, and it made some councillors uncomfortable. A request was made to me to edit out some councillors who raised their hands at the beginning of the meeting. Strangely enough, this included the entire CDU faction, three SPD members, and Mr. Horst Ziegler. The following names were provided as orientation for editing: Christopher Hesselbarth, Beatrix Schierhorn, Michael Spengler, Angela Braune, Beate Schlegel, Walter Wolter, Heidi Föhre, Jana Loth, Mike Koch-Frischleder, Jörg Riemer, Sandy Scheunpflug, Ekkart Günther, Silke Krause, Johannes Kunze, and Dr. med. Burcin Özüyaman, as well as the aforementioned Horst Ziegler (BfW/Landgemeinden faction). I sought legal advice, as there can be a conflict between public interest and the personal rights of council members. However, case law clearly states that public interest outweighs personal rights in such public and political events. I therefore did not cut anything out. It is once again astonishing that those who earlier this year stood united against the far right, against the oft-labeled undemocratic AfD, who campaigned for a strong democracy, and claimed that democracy must be defended, would display such undemocratic behavior in a city council meeting by revealing their lack of interest in transparency – a core pillar of democracy. The citizen, the voter – or as some would say, the sovereign – is apparently not meant to know who said what in the city council. It’s worth noting that Mr. Jörg Riemer is the principal of the vocational schools in Burgenlandkreis. According to the School Law of Saxony-Anhalt, §1 on educational and instructional duties states: The mission of the school is determined by the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Constitution of the State of Saxony-Anhalt. However, the Basic Law and the state constitution do not appear to be of primary importance to Mr. Riemer. The School Law further states: In fulfilling this mission, the school is particularly obliged to educate students to respect human dignity, to exercise self-determination in responsibility toward those who think differently, to recognize and adhere to ethical values, to respect religious beliefs, to use freedom responsibly, and to maintain a peaceful mindset, prepare students to take on political and social responsibility in accordance with the liberal democratic order. Everyone can form their own opinion about Mr. Jörg Riemer’s suitability for holding the position of school principal. It should also be mentioned that on October 14, 2024, Mr. Riemer stated that he felt disturbed during a district committee meeting due to my discussion with the district administrator, when the latter prohibited recording the public meeting with audio and video. It strongly appears that press freedom and transparency do not align with the "understanding of democracy" of some political figures. Invitation to All Defenders of DemocracyAttentive citizens likely noticed long before the declaration of the “pandemic” that quite a few people in the political class feel entitled – I won’t go so far as to say presume – to re-educate the voter, the citizen, the sovereign, in other words, grown adults. There seems to be a prevailing view in some quarters that holding political office gives one the right to govern over the heads of the people more or less at will.But it's actually very easy to educate elected representatives in city, municipal, and district councils about democracy. All it takes is a video recording device. I hereby invite all defenders of democracy to do as I do – after all, I can't be everywhere at once. Attend public sessions of committees, municipal and city councils, as well as district council meetings, and record them in full – preferably unedited. Such unfiltered, uncommented, and unclassified documentation is the best kind of journalism, as anyone watching it can form their own opinion. It is advisable to notify the council that the meeting will be recorded. This can be done via email, for example, or you can inform the session leader before the meeting begins. Important: This is a notification, not a request or plea for permission. Therefore, no approval is required, and the recording cannot be prohibited. If such a prohibition is attempted nonetheless, it should of course be made public, e.g., here, and legal steps can also be taken against it. If asked for a press card, one might provocatively ask whether we’re back in the times of the Third Reich or the GDR, when such a card was required to engage in journalism. A press card is not a prerequisite in the Federal Republic of Germany. Don’t let yourself be intimidated on this matter. These recordings can be published on the Bürgerstimme channel or on your own channel. Such footage provides a solid basis for further articles, especially since the video evidence exists. So Don’t Despair: Dare More Democracy!Democracy thrives on participation. That’s a message often proclaimed by those who in truth want no participation, no transparency, and no citizen involvement. But let’s take them at their word. And if we, the democracy-defenders, remain persistent, we will succeed in educating those with a sometimes limited understanding of democracy toward more democratic behavior.Author: AI-Translation - Michael Thurm | 08.11.2024 |
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