ROSTOCK, Germany, June 2, 2007
German G-8 Summit Protests Turn Violent
Police And Demonstrators Clash On Eve Of Meeting By G-8 Nations' Leaders
-
-
A hooded demonstrator throws a stone towards German police officers during clashes after a protest march of tens of thousands of people against the upcoming G8 summit in downtown Rostock, Germany, June 2, 2007. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
-
Protesters carrying models of the G8-leaders take part in anti-G8 protests, June 2, 2007 in Rostock, Germany, as tens of thousands of protestors marched through this north-eastern German port town to show their opposition to next week's G8 summit of the world's wealthiest nations. (Getty Images/Jens Koehler)
-
Black smoke from burning cars mingled with the sting of tear gas in the harbor-front area of the northern German town of Rostock, where tens of thousands of people had gathered peacefully at the start of the day. The clashes broke out among hundreds of stone-throwing demonstrators and police on the edges of the crowd as the rally progressed.
Some 146 police were hurt, 25 of them seriously. Police said they made 17 arrests.
It was an unruly start to what is expected to be a week of rallies against the three-day G-8 summit beginning Wednesday in the fenced-off coastal resort of Heiligendamm, 14 miles from Rostock.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will host the leaders of Britain, France, Japan, Italy, Russia, Canada and the U.S. for discussions on global warming, aid to Africa and the global economy. The summit, like past ones, is attracting protesters opposed to capitalism, globalization, the war in Iraq and the G-8 itself.
Police have surrounded the summit site with a seven-mile-long fence topped with barbed wire, and closed the surrounding waters and airspace, fearing terrorism or disorderly protests like the ones that marred at 2001 summit in Genoa, Italy, where police and protesters clashed for days and one demonstrator was killed. Protests near the fence have been banned.
In Rostock, the officially permitted demonstration began peacefully Saturday with two groups of marchers gathering at the waterfront. Clashes broke out near the end of the scheduled four-hour rally, as some people pried up paving stones and broke them into smaller pieces.
Eventually, five large green police trucks with twin water cannons mounted on top moved in to blast the rioters. A police car was destroyed and several parked cars burned, spreading black smoke over the area. Protesters also torched a large blue recycling bin.
Police spokesman Frank Scheulen estimated the number of violence-minded demonstrators at about 2,000. Police put the size of the demonstration at 25,000, while organizers said it was 80,000.
Werner Raetz, an anti-globalization activist with Attac, one of the organizing groups, distanced himself from the violence: “There is no justification for these attacks.”
As for the demonstrations planned over the next few days, Raetz said both sides should try to get the “emotional situation” under control.
There are several camps in the area for protesters, and marches and other events are planned. Some protesters say they intend to try to block roads leading to the summit site.
Peter Mueller, who was among the demonstrators, had tears streaming from bloodshot eyes after the tear gas was released. “As long as the police were in the background it was OK, but as soon as one took a step closer, it went out of control,” he said.
He shrugged. “What can you do? So ends the peaceful protest.”
The protest was organized by several dozen groups under the motto “another world is possible.”
“The world shaped by the dominance of the G-8 is a world of war, hunger, social divisions, environmental destruction and barriers against migrants and refugees,” organizers said in leaflets handed out on the streets.
"For the member nations of the G8 summit, there are so many controversial issues — including the delay in getting agreement on climate change, the war in Iraq and global terror — that the demonstrations against the meeting are a 'perfect storm' of different intersecting protest groups," said CBS News Foreign Affairs Analyst Pamela Falk. "For an organization that relies on consensus, the Germany summit is already complicated because of serious tension this year between the U.S. and Russia on arms development, and differences among the eight nations on how to deal with Iraq and Iran."
"President Bush's climate change proposal, going into the summit, is being seen as both good news — an acknowledgment that his administration recognizes the problem — and bad news for getting something done on the already-existing Kyoto Protocol," Falk added.
On their Web site, organizers emphasized that they wanted a peaceful protest.
“There is no reason to be afraid to come to the big demonstration in Rostock,” they said. “We do not expect major problems with the police.”
Anti-globalization protests have plagued similar summits in recent years, especially meetings of the World Trade Organization. In 1999, 50,000 protesters shut down WTO sessions in Seattle as police fired tear gas and rubber bullets. There were some 600 arrests and $3 million in property damage.
At subsequent WTO meetings in Cancun, Mexico, and Hong Kong, smaller protests also disrupted meetings.
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
More From World
Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie."
- 1
- 2
- next
See all 26 CommentsPosted by FeelFree1 at 03:46 AM : Jun 03, 2007
..........
I'm not saying that protesting is a bad thing. In fact, it's a great excercise in the freedom of speech. However, yelling at the top of your lungs and carrying picket signs has been proven fruitless over the course of history compared to the all-powerful governments in the respective countries of the protests, unless ALL of those protestors put their griefs to work at the voting booth.
The Vietnam War continued on for years after the height of the anti-war movement in the late 60's. The Iraq war (sadly) has continued and will continue on for many years eventhough mass protests were held well before the first 'shot' was even fired.
The only protest that has ever been effective is the quiet protest at the ballot box, otherwise known as VOTING!
These so-called activists are only hypocrates if they do not put their vote(s) where their mouths are!
Protests may call attention to a problem, but voting is the best vehicle for change.
"Rostock, Germany (dpa) - German police Sunday counted 433 injured officers and around 60 demonstrators seeking hospital treatment, following an anti-G8 rally in the northern city of Rostock that erupted into a full-scale riot."
I can't wait until the G-8 pirates arrive!!!
Again, good luck demonstrators, and stay safe!!!
Re: "Globalism is not an economic theory but a hard-fought, incremental political process now well underway, thanks to a pliant group of G8 and other governments. These governments, whose principal membership is heavily involved in oversight/enabling bodies for multinationals, pave the way for corporations to do as they please with the rest of the world-- especially in developing nations."
Dead on.
###
It sounds like the demonstrators are defending themselves fairly well. In reaction to the pig riot attack against these demonstrators, nearly 150 officers have already been wounded, and the conference hasn't even started yet. There are already as many as 80,000 demonstrators there.
I think they have a very good chance of shutting this Corporate pirate conference down, just like we have seen in the past.
www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21841159-663,00.html
I wonder if the pigs will kill anyone this time around, as they did in Genoa, in 2001?
Best of luck to the demonstrators, and thank you!
Be safe!
Globalism is not an economic theory but a hard-fought, incremental political process now well underway, thanks to a pliant group of G8 and other governments. These governments, whose principal membership is heavily involved in oversight/enabling bodies for multinationals, pave the way for corporations to do as they please with the rest of the world-- especially in developing nations.
An excellent critique of globalist doctrine is "Global Trade and Conflicting National Interests", by Ralph Gomory and William Baumol. Gomory, president of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and a former IBM senior VP, helped make IBM a global presence. Baumol is former president of the American Economic Association. The authors are uniquely positioned to describe a process more threatening to our quality of life than global terror, itself.
---
Yes, of course, there is always more than meets the eye-- as your comment, itself, demonstrates. Your denials become more interesting as they become more vehement.
Clearly, having 35 percent of the world's proven oil reserves, not to mention fields yet to be "fathomed", is sufficient objective to draw many naive fools.
But for Bush and Cheney, at least, the combination of a seemingly inexhaustible oil reserve and a secure American force-projection base (ten superbases, to be exact) to protect it ranks as an irresistible bauble for neocons bent on making a "new American century".
What the builders of these superbases had not anticipated (of course) was their Iraqi "cakewalk" might fail, and the natives might become restless, instead of pliantly democratic.
Re: "FeelFree1: Agree completely with your posts!"
Thank you, and thank you for the supplemental information.
emhawks, thanks for the information. Its a pity we have to find out about if from the comments part of a supposed news service. While this is being ignored CBS is posting stories about an American Idol finalist debuting her first album. The dumbing down of America continues.
However, there is something we (the American citizen) can do about this! The reading/research I've done indicates that this issue trandscends political parties.
US REP. VIRGIL GOODE (VA), WALTER JONES (NC), RON PAUL (TX) TOM TANCREDO (CO) HAVE INTRODUCED HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 40, TO DEMAND THAT:
(1) US SHOULD NOT ENGAGE IN THE CONSTUCTION OF NAFTA SUPERHIGHWAY SYSTEM.
(2) US SHOULD NOT ENTER INTO A NORTH AMERICAN UNION WITH MEXICO & CANADA.
I urge you to write/phone/email your elected Congressmen/women & demand the passage of
HOUSE CON. RES. 40.
DO THE RESEARCH & READING! THIS ISSUE AFFECTS ALL OF AMERICA!
For more info.:
(1)Worldnetdaily(www.wnd.com)
(2)www.conservativeusa.org
(3)The August Review (www.augustreview.com)
(4)www.informationliberation.com
(5)www.vivelecanada.ca
(6)www.townhall.com
(7)www.informationclearinghouse.info
(8)www.humanevents.com
(9)Bilderberg Group
(10)The Trilateral Commission (globalists; notice who the members are).
(11)Robert A Pastor
SUPPORT H. CON. RES. 40 !!!!!!
The stated target for full implemetation of the NAU is 2010 ("Building a North American Community", Council on Foreign Relations, 2005, p.2).
The NAU plan is headed to Congress this fall by Sept. 30, 2007. A powerful think tank chaired by former Sen. Sam Nunn & guided by trustees including Richard Armitage, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Harold Brown, William Cohen & Henry Kissinger, is in final stages of preparing a report to the White House & US Congress on the benefits of integrating US, Mexico & Canada into one political, economic & security bloc ("Premeditated Merger; NAU plan headed to Congress in fall" by WorldNetDaily @ www.wnd.com).
The final report(in English, Spanish & French) is scheduled for submission to all (3) governments by Sept. 30, 2007, according to the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS). The CSIS boast of playing large role in passage of NAFTA in 1994. Check out CSIS report,"North American Future 2025 Project".
The controversial "Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity & Immigration Reform Act of 2007", which would grant millions of illegal aliens the right to stay in US under certain conditions, contains provisions for the acceleration of the Security & Prosperity Partnership (SPP). I talked about SPP in my previous posts; this is the agreement signed by Bush & his Mexican & Canadian counterparts in Waco,TX on 3/23/2005.
(2)Container ships from China would unload @ Lazaro Cardenas (port named for Mex. Pres. who nationalized all US oil co. in 1938). From there, trucks with Mex. drivers would run fast-lines into US; hauling their cargo to a US customs inspection terminal in Kansas City, MO. From there, the trucks would fan out across America or on into Canada.
(3)First leg NAFTA Superhighway scheduled to begin in 2007.
(4)Beneficiaries of this NAFTA Superhwy. project would be the contractors who built it (remember, a Spanish construction co.), & the importers & outlet stores for the Chinese-manufactured goods that would come flooding in.
(5)Losers would be US longshoremen, truckers, manufacturers & taxpayers.
The latter would pay the cost of building the hwy. in Mexico & US, both in dollars & in the lost sovereignity of our once independent American republic!
This is an outrage!
A visit to SPP website spells out the "wonders" of this parnership in some of the smoothest, most soothing writing I've read in a long time.
The planned 3rd summit (in Canada,I think) of SPP is 6/26/07-6/29/07 or 8/07. At this meeting will be Canadian PM Stephen Harper, Mexican Pres. Calderon & Bush.
NAFTA is the predecessor of the NAU. The NAFTA Superhighway or trans-Texas corridor, is part of the broader plan of the SPP. One principal player in this is a Spanish construction company, which plans to build the hwy. & operate it as a toll road.
In research I've done I've found following info. about this hwy.:
(1)10-lane, 400yd. wide NAFTA Super Hwy. from Mex. port of Lazaro Cardenas ( I think this port's on Mexico's Pacific ocean side), up to & across US border, all the way into Canada.
Within median srip dividing north & south car & truck lanes, would be rail lines for both passengers & freight traffic, & oil & gas pipelines.
Jelly Babies
Spotted D!ck (not the American euphemism, BTW)
Hobnobs
Toad-in-the-Hole
British television (until the new "Doctor Who" series, it was reasonably more intelligent than anything Americans peddled...)
Custard
...
Finally, anyone who claims "America's attempt at world domination for oil!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" is a naive fool. There's more than meets the eye.
And what does Bush have to do with the G8? That's a corporate symposium, not a directly government one. Besides, the way everything's going to China and India, the meetings seem superfluous anyway.
You called them "corporate pirates"; a very true & fitting name!
The corporate pirates are hard @ work in many arenas.
One of these arenas is in QUIETLY working to form the North American Union. As many of you are aware, this is a plan to merge the US with Mexico & Canada to create a "North American Union".
NAU would erase our borders, replace the dollar with the "Amero", lead to unlimited immigration & render the Constitution of the US meaningless.
Name of the effort behind this is the Security & Prosperity Partnership of North America(SPP). It became "official policy" of the US @ a
summit convened by Bush & joined by then Mexican Pres. Fox & Canadian PM Martin, in Waco, TX March 23, '05.
This "partnership" has not been submitted to Congress for its' oversight/concurrence because it's not a treaty. The administration of this "partnership" is buried in the Commerce Dept.
It does have, however, the blessings of the political & corporate elites of the (3) nations. Some corp. in favor of NAU are:
FedEx; Mittal Steel USA; Gen. Motors; Lockheed Martin; Campbell Soup Co.; Gillette Inc.; Merck & Co.; Walmart.
This is an attack on American sovereignty!
Re: "we want america dignity back, and we are going to take it back from the oil nazis one way or another."
Hear, hear!!!
I'm a Brit, but here's a few things I reckon are good, and come from the south:
Coca-Cola, Elvis, fried chicken, Harper Lee, the blues, Mark Twain and bourbon.
Now what more could you want from life? :))
www.indymedia.org/en/index.shtml
- 1
- 2
- next
See all 26 Comments