The second of June

     June 2^nd was the day of the biggest demonstration concerning the G8 summit 2007. In the days before this event, the police planned their mission and the public was excited because of the 100 000 expected protesters. The police also started setting up barricades and checking people’s passports. Many people you talked to were really scared and planned to hide away their cars and not to let their children go out.    

     If you have a look at it right now, you know that it was the right decision to set up barricades and to secure windows as big markets did, because of the big fights between the police and violent protesters.Stones and bottles were thrown, cars were burning and many windows were destroyed. The big destruction and the fact that more than 400 police officers were injured were reasons for some newspapers to write that these riots had been the worst in Germany for more than twenty years. Responsible for these bad happenings are many aggressive protesters who were then taken into custody. The harbour of Rostock was the place where the worst scenes happened, for example: a police officer lying on the ground with blood in his face. These fights were taking place the whole afternoon and night and reminded me of pictures of a civil war.    

     But besides these terrible pictures and outbreak of aggression, many peaceful people and a crowd of creative protesters set a peaceful example that Saturday evening in Rostock. This biggest demonstration of that week had many good and bad sides: non-violent and violent people who made that day unforgettable in a sad way. Greatly presented ideas and a powerful crowd of people stood next to these stupid and aggressive guys. 

written by P. P., 10.06.2007