Nickdfresh
06-02-2007, 11:51 AM
Violence as 30,000 join G-8 demos
ROSTOCK, Germany (AP) -- Masked demonstrators hurled stones and flagpoles at police during a demonstration Saturday by tens of thousands of people against the upcoming Group of Eight summit in Germany, creating chaotic scenes near the harbor of the northern port of Rostock.
Officers in helmets and full body armor at one point had to back off before a hail of stones, while other officers chased down fleeing protesters.
Police marched in a line through a harborside street to scatter demonstrators, and were pelted with stones from behind. One of the organizers pleaded for calm from a loudspeaker.
"The police are heading back so we can hold our protest in peace, that is what we want," he said. (Watch standoff between police and protestersVideo)
Police spokesman Cordula Feitchinger said one officer was slightly injured but remained on duty. She had no immediate total for arrests.
"There are massive assaults on police officers at the city's harbor right now," Feichtinger said. "The situation is currently very chaotic and we have to get it under control before I can tell you how many people have been arrested."
Police put the size of the demonstration at 25,000; organizers said it was 80,000.
The officially permitted march precedes the three-day summit beginning Wednesday in the seaside resort of Heiligendamm, where German Chancellor Angela Merkel hosts the leaders of the other G-8 nations -- Britain, France, Japan, Italy, Russia, Canada and the United States. The leaders are expected to discuss measures against global warming, the fight against AIDS and poverty in Africa, and the world economy.
The march began without violence, and most of the demonstrators remained peaceful, gathering to listen to speeches from a stage in a large square near the waterfront.
But some taunted members of the 13,000-strong police detachment from around Germany, and several hundred wore bandanas across their faces with sweat shirt hoods pulled down low to obscure their identities. They pulled up paving stones to hurl at police.
The protesters from around Europe and the world gathered at two locations early in the day for rallies, then marched in two groups along 4-kilometer (3-mile) routes to converge on the harbor for the main demonstration.
Police lined the path through the city, and helicopters flew overhead. Most shops and cafes were shuttered.
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. "We want to protest against this and show the alternatives."
Dozens of different groups, including communists, anarchists and environmentalists, were taking part and messages were mixed: Some urged action from the G-8 countries in the fight against HIV/AIDS, African poverty and climate change, while others questioned the legitimacy of the G-8 meeting itself.
Protester Kay Stenzel got up at 3 a.m. to drive in from the eastern city of Bautzen with four friends to voice his discontent with the G-8 leaders.
"They want to impose their wills upon the poor nations," he said at the meeting point outside Rostock's main train station.
He waved a red flag onto which he had painted a black cat, an animal he chose because it was "unruly."
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."
They added, however: "This may be different with the actions following later in the week of protest."
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Link (http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/06/02/g-8.protest.ap/index.html)
ROSTOCK, Germany (AP) -- Masked demonstrators hurled stones and flagpoles at police during a demonstration Saturday by tens of thousands of people against the upcoming Group of Eight summit in Germany, creating chaotic scenes near the harbor of the northern port of Rostock.
Officers in helmets and full body armor at one point had to back off before a hail of stones, while other officers chased down fleeing protesters.
Police marched in a line through a harborside street to scatter demonstrators, and were pelted with stones from behind. One of the organizers pleaded for calm from a loudspeaker.
"The police are heading back so we can hold our protest in peace, that is what we want," he said. (Watch standoff between police and protestersVideo)
Police spokesman Cordula Feitchinger said one officer was slightly injured but remained on duty. She had no immediate total for arrests.
"There are massive assaults on police officers at the city's harbor right now," Feichtinger said. "The situation is currently very chaotic and we have to get it under control before I can tell you how many people have been arrested."
Police put the size of the demonstration at 25,000; organizers said it was 80,000.
The officially permitted march precedes the three-day summit beginning Wednesday in the seaside resort of Heiligendamm, where German Chancellor Angela Merkel hosts the leaders of the other G-8 nations -- Britain, France, Japan, Italy, Russia, Canada and the United States. The leaders are expected to discuss measures against global warming, the fight against AIDS and poverty in Africa, and the world economy.
The march began without violence, and most of the demonstrators remained peaceful, gathering to listen to speeches from a stage in a large square near the waterfront.
But some taunted members of the 13,000-strong police detachment from around Germany, and several hundred wore bandanas across their faces with sweat shirt hoods pulled down low to obscure their identities. They pulled up paving stones to hurl at police.
The protesters from around Europe and the world gathered at two locations early in the day for rallies, then marched in two groups along 4-kilometer (3-mile) routes to converge on the harbor for the main demonstration.
Police lined the path through the city, and helicopters flew overhead. Most shops and cafes were shuttered.
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. "We want to protest against this and show the alternatives."
Dozens of different groups, including communists, anarchists and environmentalists, were taking part and messages were mixed: Some urged action from the G-8 countries in the fight against HIV/AIDS, African poverty and climate change, while others questioned the legitimacy of the G-8 meeting itself.
Protester Kay Stenzel got up at 3 a.m. to drive in from the eastern city of Bautzen with four friends to voice his discontent with the G-8 leaders.
"They want to impose their wills upon the poor nations," he said at the meeting point outside Rostock's main train station.
He waved a red flag onto which he had painted a black cat, an animal he chose because it was "unruly."
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."
They added, however: "This may be different with the actions following later in the week of protest."
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Link (http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/06/02/g-8.protest.ap/index.html)