Rostock (Germany): Violence marred what was supposed to be a peaceful protest ahead of the G8 summit in the German town of Rostock on Saturday. Masked demonstrators showered police with rocks and beer bottles, then were driven back with water cannon and tear gas during a protest march Saturday against the upcoming Group of Eight summit in Germany.
The protesters hurled missiles at the police while authorities replied with charges towards groups of demonstrators engaged in violence. The clashes left smoke from burning cars and the sting of tear gas drifting through the harborfront area in the north German port of Rostock. Some 146 police were hurt, 18 of them seriously.
Security has been stepped up in the port city, with up to 100,000 anti-globalisation activists set to descend upon the city this weekend, ahead of next week's nearby G8 summit.
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.
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."
In what is being billed as UK’s biggest security operation since the second world war, around 16,000 police officers will be on duty in the lead up to the meeting of the world's eight most powerful industrial countries.
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.
Key global issues such as development aid and climate change will be on the agenda at the G8 meeting, which is taking place between June 6th and 8th in the resort of Heiligendamm.
G8 summits have been subject to heavy security since a protestor was shot by police in 2001 following a meeting in Genoa. Demonstrators from across the world have already begun filling up makeshift camps on the outskirts of Rostock, where a range of protestors from aid charities to environmental groups will take to the streets to lament the impact of globalisation and attack the failure of G8 leaders to tackle poverty and climate change.
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