Protesters threw stones and bottles and attacked police officers with sticks in the German port of Rostock on Saturday after a largely peaceful demonstration against next week’s Group of Eight summit.
A group of around 500 demonstrators set upon police near the harbour after a series of marches through the city in which police said 25 000 people took part. Police officers used tear gas and arrested a number of people, Reuters witnesses said.
”There was a massive outbreak against police officers. Stones were thrown and they used sticks too,” said a police spokesperson. She could not confirm how many were detained.
Details of injuries were sketchy but one police officer suffered a broken arm.
Organisers said that 80 000 people were present.
Demonstrators gathered in the Baltic port city to protest against the G8 summit in Heiligendamm on June 6 to 8, where Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel will host world leaders for talks on climate change and African poverty.
Earlier, a diverse group of protesters marched through Rostock on a cold, overcast day to the harbour where they were gathering for speeches and a music concert later in the day.
Their anti-G8 slogans ranged from ”Stop Privatisation!”, to ”World Peace Now!” and ”Water Is A Human Right!”.
Many wore face masks of United States President George Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Both will be guests of Merkel in nearby Heiligendamm, around 25km west of Rostock.
Individuals in one group were dressed as medieval kings.
”We are trying to show the similarities between the kings of the dark ages and how the Group of Eight behave today,” said Sigurd Jakobsen, a Danish student who sailed to Rostock on a boat from Copenhagen.
Ships decked out with Greenpeace banners sat in the harbour and floats drove through the streets, including one with a giant inflatable pill calling for medicines for all and another featuring models of starving children.
Church groups, environmental activists, cultural societies and feminists all took part in the demonstrations, joining traditional anti-G8 protesters who say globalisation and capitalism perpetuate poverty in the developing world.
Far-right arrests
About 140 supporters of the far-right National Democrats (NPD) gathered at the landmark Brandenburg Gate in central Berlin after authorities refused permission for a demonstration to go ahead in the northern city of Schwerin.
Police said they arrested about 13 people in Berlin.
In Rostock, shopkeepers in the main commercial district took precautions against vandalism by boarding up storefronts and police officers monitored arrivals to weed out potential troublemakers.
Andreas Wegner, spokesperson for Rostock police, said it did not matter if there were fewer people if they were intent on turning violent.
Demonstrator organiser, Werner Raetz, said stringent checks could anger protesters.
”What we do fear is the police’s actions in the next few days could anger people to the extent that they do things which are not planned,” he said.
A 12km fence has been built around the resort and around 16 000 police officers are on duty this week, Germany’s biggest security operation since after World War II.
Protesters are expected to block roads leading to Heiligendamm during the summit. They may also disrupt the arrival of some delegates with their plan to blockade the nearby military airport at Rostock-Laage early next week. – Reuters