Hundreds of left-wing demonstrators have tried to block people entering a far-right party conference in the German city of Stuttgart.<\/p>\n
The Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) party is expected to re-brand itself as openly anti-Islamic during the meeting.<\/p>\n
Police, who surrounded several hundred protesters, fired pepper spray at crowds. Close to 1,000 officers were deployed.<\/p>\n
The AfD wants to ban the burqa and outlaw minarets in Germany.<\/p>\n
Despite the protest, the conference began as planned on Saturday morning.<\/p>\n
Nearly 2,000 members of the AfD are registered to attend the conference. The party achieved gains in all three states taking part in regional elections last month, claiming almost a quarter of the vote in the relatively poor eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt.<\/p>\n
It had campaigned against what it called Chancellor Angela Merkel’s “catastrophic” decision to accept a million migrants and refugees in 2015.<\/p>\n
In Saturday’s conference, the party must agree a manifesto ahead of next year’s general election.<\/p>\n
Proposals include withdrawal from the euro and the reintroduction of conscription, but there are splits within the party, including between its less hardline wing and the leadership.<\/p>\n
Before the conference, police encircled groups of demonstrators in a technique known as kettling. Some protesters were seen being dragged away, with others chanting ‘Shame on you’ at officers.<\/p>\n
Police did not say how many people were arrested.<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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