Massive Riot Ahead of the G-8 Summit
The Rumble in Rostock
By Florian Gathmann in Rostock, Germany
It was supposed to be a peaceful demonstration. But suddenly, it turned into a war with anarchists battling it out with police. Almost 1,000 people were injured. But what went wrong?
For just a brief moment, the officer seemed unsure about what to do. Next to her, a couple of young protesters were dancing, beer bottles in hand, and smiling. The officer almost seemed ready to start moving to the rhythms herself. But only for a moment -- dressed in full riot gear, she quickly broke off and followed her colleagues. On stage, Judith Holofernes was singing: "We came here to stay here!"
On Saturday evening in the northern German city of Rostock, Holofernes's chart-topping Berlin band, Wir Sind Helden, was doing its best to recapture some of the day's festive mood. Earlier on Saturday, tens of thousands had taken to the streets of the harbor city to protest the upcoming G-8 summit in the Baltic Sea resort of Heiligendamm. It had been a largely peaceful, almost lazy march. And extremely loud. But suddenly, in the afternoon, it descended into violence of the kind Germany hadn't seen in decades.
Police estimate that it was a group of around 2,000 Black Bloc anarchists who transformed the city-center into a battlefield. Chaos quickly took over. Hundreds of police were held in check by a steady rain of projectiles thrown by the black-clad, masked rioters. Elsewhere, police went after the anarchists with Billy clubs. The air quickly became acrid with tear-gas and smoke from burning cars -- and filled with the sounds of the battle: rocks raining down on police riot shields, breaking glass, whistles and shouts from the rioters. And everywhere, the screams on both sides of the many who were hit and injured.
'Brutality Unknown until Now'
The coordinator of the police response to the G-8 summit, Knut Abramowski, spoke of "brutality unknown until now." There was also criticism to be heard -- that the police reacted poorly and too aggressively to the first stone throwers as the march arrived at the harbor in Rostock.
The hollow shell of a burned out car not far from the stage where "Wir Sind Helden" continue playing quickly became the day's charred symbol of anarchist violence. Images of the station wagon in flames have become the Rostock demonstration's legacy, along with the repeated rushes of armored police into the crowds.
A LOOK AT G-8 PROTEST GROUPS
Most G-8 protest groups can be included in the anti-globalization camp. Unfair G-8 trade policies and market liberalization contribute to social and economic inequality, which perpetuates a host of other problems, they say. Attac and Move Against G-8 are two of the larger groups protesting globalization.
Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, Oxfam, Attac, WWF, and Germanwatch are a few of the groups who will be demonstrating for the G-8 to commit to a policy to fight climate change and develop renewable energy. Because they emit the majority of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming, protesters say G-8 countries are responsible for solving the problem.
The Jubilee Debt Campaign and Oxfam are among G-8 critics who say the world trade policies of rich industrialized nations are perpetuating poverty in developing nations. Groups are focusing mainly on debt-relief for impoverished countries, health and education aid, and fair trade policies to ease the desperation in countries they feel the G-8 continues to take advantage of.
FREIeHEIDe, Oxfam, religious groups and others are critical of G-8 country involvement in world conflicts like Iraq and Afghanistan, in addition to their contribution to arms sales. Exporting weapons directly contributes to conflicts which lead to poverty, environmental destruction, human rights violations, refugee crises, and general instability, protest groups say.
The label "autonomen" refers to radical libertarian and anarchist groups in Germany, though it doesn't refer to a specific, organized group. Like many on Germany's well-established, left-wing fringe, the autonomen grew out of the leftist movement in the 1960s and 1970s. They often take part in demonstrations against atomic energy and also frequently join peace marches. They are not always welcome participants in such demonstrations due to their willingness to participate in violence. Indeed, they have also been called the "Black Bloc" because of their tendency to wear all black and to cover their faces with black masks during demonstrations to avoid being identified by the authorities. While autonomen generally recognize that complete independence of social networks is not possible, they reject outside influence as much as possible. The autonomen are considered potentially the most violent of the anti-G-8 activists and were likely behind the rioting on Saturday afternoon in Rostock.
Smaller groups and NGO's who plan to protest and lobby at the summit include anti-racists, anti-capitalists, feminists, trade unions, agrigulture groups, ant-fascists, human rights groups, immigrant and refugee advocates, and religious groups, among others.
Many groups have banded together to create blanket organizations in order to facilitate mass protests of the summit. The largest among these are Move Against G8, Dissent! G8, Block G8, and the Avanti Projekt. While the agendas of the individual groups may differ, every blanket group aims to reject the legitimacy of the G-8 and its policies, often citing the G-8 as the cause of their group issues.
"I am happy at least that I didn't park my car in the city center," says one Rostock resident who has ventured into the old town with his wife to survey the damage. On one street, shards of glass blanket the pavement, and a burned out shopping cart lays stricken on the sidewalk as a reminder of the rapid escalation. It seems ironic, given the day's anti-globalization tenor, that the windows of two American fast-food restaurants nearby remain intact.
'Atypical for German Groups'
On the other hand, though, the image fits -- after all, the anarchists who kicked off the violence in Rostock have little in common with the goals protest organizers had in mind. "There is absolutely no justification for violence against other people," Manfred Stenner, peace activist and co-organizer of the demonstration, on Saturday evening following the riots. He also lamented that the organizers were unable to pull off the peaceful march they had planned.
There was speculation on Saturday evening that the violence had come from anarchists who traveled to Rostock from abroad. Werner Rätz, another co-organizer from the anti-globalization group Attac, said, "in any case, the behavior of many anarchists, in the way they continually chased the police, was atypical for German groups." But, he went on, it remained unclear for the moment who was behind the violence -- and, he said, it is too early to criticize the police for their response.
Others, however, weren't in the mood to be so charitable. Monty Schädel, who registered the Rostock demonstration, is furious with those who ignited the violence, but is also no less irate with the police. "What do you want, you asshole?" one policeman demanded of him, he says, when he sought to intercede. "Then he shoved me away." Looking exhausted, he went on. "There wasn't much in the way of de-escalation to be seen."
A G-8 SUMMIT PRIMER
The Group of Eight (G-8) includes many of the world's most powerful industrial democracies: the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, and Russia. The European Union also participates, represented by the president of the European Commission and the President of the EU, but is not an official member.
Each head of state has a personal representative, with the metaphorical title of "Sherpa," who meet with other delegates throughout the year to prepare policy decisions for the G-8 Summit. The actual summit is attended by heads of state.
The G-8 is an "informal forum of heads of state" without an administrative structure or offices. The summit agenda is administered by the year's president and host.
As this year's host country, Germany has announced an agenda which focuses on climate change prevention and the need for a replacement to the Kyoto Protocol, which is set to expire in 2012. Stabilizing the world economy with sustainable energy policy, development and HIV prevention aid in Africa, anti-product piracy strategy, and security policy are also among topics Germany plans to address.
In the last several years, the high-profile G-8 has become the focus of demonstrations and lobbyists, especially by critics of globalization, who say the G-8 are the cause of the very problems they've set out to solve. Other critics object to the exclusive membership of the group. The concentration of Western powers and the exclusion of countries like Spain and China mean the group no longer represents the world's true economic superpowers, critics contend.
Each year, a different member country assumes the G-8 presidency in January, and hosts a series of high-level meetings for member representatives leading up to the annual summit, which is attended by heads of state. The 2007 summit will be held June 6-8.
This year Germany is hosting the 33rd summit at Heiligendamm, the country's oldest beach resort, which is in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on the Baltic Sea. The entire resort has been blocked off by a 12-kilometer-long razor wire fence to prevent demonstrators from getting too close to the venue.
The G-8 originated in 1973, when the oil crisis and subsequent economic recession prompted the US to host informal meetings for world leaders to discuss relevant issues. In 1975, France invited the US, the UK, West Germany, Italy and Japan to a summit, called the Group of Six, where the countries agreed on an annual meeting and a rotating presidency. Canada joined the next year, forming the G-7. In 1997, Russia joined the group -- a decision which is still contested by some -- forming what is currently known as the G-8.
Together, the eight countries produce more than half of the world's economic production, and represent a powerhouse of political influence. Summit topics have evolved from purely economic concerns to include political agendas such as poverty, terrorism, and climate change.
Rather Be at Home
The casualty numbers for both sides are shocking. Officials say that over 400 police officers were injured in the fracas, some of them seriously including compound fractures. In addition, over 500 demonstrators were injured with over 150 arrests made. Not exactly the headlines the protest organizers wanted to produce. Indeed, a day after the Rumble in Rostock, nobody is talking about the speeches made on Saturday, the debates, the music -- the tens of thousands of marchers who remained peaceful have been forgotten. The only question is: "How could it have happened?"
But luckily there was Saturday evening -- time for at least a little bit of reconciliation. Even the police boats bobbing up and down in the harbor seemed unthreatening. While glaziers work in the city center to replace the window of a bank, the band members of "Wir Sind Helden" were doing their part to de-escalate the situation. The police even allowed the crowd to build two small camp fires in the square.
Late in the night, the last water cannons were finally pulled out of the city center. Police dressed in full riot gear stayed until the bitter end as well. Yes, said one, the music makes it a bit easier to stand around in full uniform. Only his eyes can be seen under the mask. "But I'd much rather be at home."
© SPIEGEL ONLINE 2007
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