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 

 

Tumultuous days for the police

     The days around the G8 summit were a strain for all people involved. The inhabitants of the area around Rostock had to accept the blocked roads, busses full of demonstrators and many police cars waiting in the streets for their orders.

     Already weeks before many police officers came to Rostock to prepare themselves for the summit. The actual beginning was on Saturday June 2^nd with the first big demonstration in Rostock-City. 30 000 people demonstrated peacefully in the streets. They had colourful posters with “Peace“ written on them and the police officers were also impressed by the creative ideas of the demonstrators. Their slogan was: “Another world is possible“ and some of them had travelled to Rostock even from foreign countries.      

     But the atmosphre of the demonstration changed after a small group of activists, which were wearing black masks and hoods, attacked the police with bottles and Molotov cocktails. They threw stones, destroyed windows and burned a car. The police also resorted to drastic methods such as tear gas and water cannons. They stormed through the streets with helms and clubs. The result of the excesses were 433 injured police officers and an unknown number of hurt demonstrators. In addition to that march other demonstrations in Rostock, Laage and around Heiligendamm followed. A few demonstrators even succeeded in outsmarting the police and crossing the security zone.    

      But apart from all the negative headlines, there were also good events like the “Anti-Poverty-Concert“, which was organized by Herbert Grönemeyer. It took place in the IGA-Park in Rostock and stars like Bono, Bob Geldof or bands from Africa sang against the proceedings of the G8 and demanded more financial aid from the industrial countries. 

written by J. M., 11.06.2007 

Security in Heiligendamm

     The week of the G8 summit has been one of the most exciting weeks for the residents of Rostock. It was the biggest event in Rostock this year. This event required a lot of security measures.

   It has been the biggest police operation in Germany ever. 16.000 policemen were stationed in Rostock. On June 2^nd the biggest demonstration of the G8 summit started. The demonstrators were escorted by a lot of security squads. They walked down to the harbor. There was a concert presented by “Attac” and about 70,000 people celebrated peacefully. But by mid-afternoon some members of the so called “black block” began to riot at the harbor. They threw stones against the police. Altogether the demonstration claimed 1000 injured people: 500 policemen and 500 demonstrators.

      On Saturday the police followed the “de-escalation tactic“. They tried not to be involved in the demonstrations. But this failed on June 2^nd. After this disastrous day the police began to act faster against rioting demonstrators. On Saturday and the following week they were much more attentive. All over the place you saw only green police uniforms. There were so many policemen. I couldn’t believe how many they were. All in all they coped with the situation.

      The second big security action, the fence, was also a big “success“. The demonstrators were not able to break down the fence. Only some members from Greenpeace tried to overcome this security installation. One day a hot-air balloon turned up in the sky. The demonstrators tried to get into the barred zone of Heiligendamm. The police forced the demonstrators to land the hot-air balloon. The second incident was a motorboat which attempted to get over the barriers in the sea. They were triumphant until they were picked up by a huge motorboat from the police. That was one of the most exciting moments in the G8 week for me.

      All in all the security measures were really effective. The police did a good job and reacted as fast as possible in fuzzy situations. Owing to a lot of police operations the charges for the G8 summit could be about 30 million euros more some politicians said.

written by F.L., 11.06.2007

Eyewitness reports

     After a week filled with the excitement and the anxiety of being at the centre of the world’s attention, everyone seemed to enjoy their return to the chores and pleasures of everyday life. We have also been busy catching up on our routine so that you can finally read our eyewitness reports.

 

Your G8-blog team!

Expensive security during the G8-summit

     MV has to ensure the security during the G8-summit. The costs for this summit are financially irresponsible and unbearable for the federal state. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has to pay approx. 33.6 million euros. That is three times the amount which was estimated for that event in Heiligendamm.

 

      But the situation has changed, as usual. 17 000 policemen and women are deployed while the 8 richest countries have their big meeting at the Baltic Sea. The costs for this action are enormous. This deployment is going to cost another estimated 34.3 million euros. The policemen will also come from other federal states (not just MV). It is understandable that these federal states don’t want to pay the 35 million euros. It seems to be a risk-summit, because nobody knows the real sum of costs which MV and the Federal Government will have to pay.

 

      Doubtful is also the question if the overall costs will “only” be 92 million euros or if it has to be feared that the sum will rise to 110 million euros. It seems as if MV has to spend and invest the biggest part of the costs, especially for security. To find a solution and a helpful agreement between state and federal government is precious and necessary. But what wouldn’t we do for security?!

written by A.K., 22.05.2007

Tracker dogs for more security

     For the G8-summit in Heiligendamm, the police have found a new way to secure the region; they use tracker dogs.

      For decades the use of dogs has been a common method to identify suspicious persons. According to scientific findings, every person has got a unique and special body odour. Even after taking a shower or with the best personal hygiene, everyone still has his or her own trace of smell. It consists of skin scales which every person loses every second, whether walking, sitting, or standing. Those skin scales get decomposed by bacteria developing a gas which the dogs can smell with their sensitive noses.

      If somebody is regarded as a militant demonstrator, the police are able to take a smell sample of that person. The samples are taken with an iron stick. The summit opponents have to take a special iron rod in their hand which absorbs their body’s sweat. The rod has to be kept in the hand for a few minutes, after that it has to get conserved. Now, with the help of these samples, the specially-trained dogs can recognize the offenders everywhere.

      In court, the recognizing of an offender by a tracker dog is regarded as a real piece of evidence and in some cases three different dogs have to smell independently of each other to make sure that the results are right. The police dogs which will work at the G8 summit and its surroundings have been specially trained at the police department of Holte-Stukenbrock in Western Germany.

written by J.M., 28.05.2007

Security at the Baltic Sea

      During the G8 summit there will be a high level of security. The fence in Heiligendamm, thousands of police officers and secret service agents are some of the measures which are used for making the summit peaceful and safe. But there is another important area, which must be controlled by the police: the water.

 

      Heiligendamm is at the Baltic Sea and that’s why there will be a high level of security at sea, too. Two warships of the US-Navy (Ticonderoga and Arleigh-Burlee Class), sea hawk helicopters and big weapons will secure the waters near the G8 summit with a crew of 370 seamen per ship. Divers will search for terrorists and bombs under the water level. The exact security system of the US-Navy at the Baltic Sea is top secret.

 

      11 km round the beach of Heiligendamm the water is a high-security area and nobody is allowed to go in there. No ships and no swimmers, that is no person at all is allowed to be in this area at sea. A net in the water makes the water round the beach more secure, too. If a ship tries to get past the net, the propeller will be destroyed by it. So the ship can’t navigate anymore and the Navy can catch the intruders.

 

      As you can see, the government of Germany does very much for making also the Baltic Sea around Heiligendamm very safe. For the eight richest countries our state pays lot’s of money, American ships guard our coast and the water near Heiligendamm is now safer than some German jails.

 

 

written by J.S., 22.05.2007

Maintaining security with ban on demonstrations during the G8-week

      The G8 summit in Heiligendamm will be held in June. The location was chosen because it is normally very quiet – especially in comparison to former G8 towns such as Rome, Düsseldorf… But now it is over: Heiligendamm is not as idyllic as it used to be. Gigantic precautions were taken for the security of the G8 visitors, such as a fence of several kilometres which is used for sealing off the terrain.

      Opponents of the summit are not permitted to protest in the security zone of 1 kilometre around the fence. The decision provoked a storm of protest and for example the organisation “Attac” is willing to take legal action against this policial injunction. The ban on demonstrations concerns the days from May 30^th to June 8^th in a distance of 200 meters from the fence and around the airport Rostock-Laage. The reason for it are protesters threatening to block G8. Because of the prohibition the “Sternmarsch-Bündnis” will make a complaint at the constitutional court. Their argument is that the freedom of demonstration is a basic element of democracy.

      This reaction shows the dimension of the security measures. Angela Merkel supports the freedom of demonstration as long as the protest is peaceful. Any regulation against the freedom of demonstration is a prediction of danger that states that the public safety may be endangered. In this case, an infringement of the ban of demonstration will be regarded as violation of the order. The media call for peaceful protests to avoid serious acts of violence like in Genua, where the protests claimed the death of one person.

 

written by S.K., 22.05.2007

Here we are!

It’s only some days to go until the G8 summit starts in Heiligendamm. But people have been busy preparing for this special occasion weeks and months before. So have we. Here are the first articles that have been written by pupils of the advanced course English 3 in year 12 on different aspects of this event.

Have a look and feel free to ask questions and to tell us your opinion.

 

Your G8-Blog team!

G8-wall around Heiligendamm

      18 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Frank Neumann and his team are putting finishing touches to their biggest commission. The fence they have to build is 7.5 miles long and 2.5 metres high.

     It is a steel fence which is topped with barbed wire, movement detectors and video cameras. The construction is made of enough steel – 500 tonnes – to build a ship. This barrier is transforming the beach resort of Heiligendamm on Germany’s Baltic coast. The access through the fence is controlled by flying x-ray machines. Only people with passes will be allowed to pass the wall. The fence will be taken down after the G8 summit. The building costs 12 million Euros and is meant to protect the members of the G8 summit from demonstrators and other people.

      The police can intervene in only three minutes. A reporter who took a ladder to get a better view of the area behind the wall was surrounded by two policemen after only three minutes. They controlled his ID card and they checked it on their PCs. Michael Benett, a student from Offenbach, writes his exam paper about the fence in Heiligendamm. His record is five controls in one hour. He always has to show his ID card in spite of the fact that the policemen already know the student of photography. He just wants to make some photos for his exam paper.

      A lot of people criticize the wall and the fact that for each resident three policemen are encouraged and say the 12 million Euros are wasted money. “They’re trying to create a democracy-free zone in there and showing a lack of taste by building a barrier like this in a country that had a bad experience with walls”, says Monty Schädel of the German Society for Peace.

      But even the wall is no guarantee of safety during the G8 summit, there have to be much more security measures to warrant a safe summit.

written by F.L., 22.05.2007