The 2007 Group of Eight (G8) Summit will occur in Heiligendamm, Germany from June 6-8, 2007. Representatives from member nations- the United States, Russia, Germany, France, Japan, Great Britain, Canada, and Italy-will meet at the Kempinski Hotel in the Baltic Sea resort town. In the lead up to the event, German security officials have been placed on high alert. The specially created “Kavala” police directorate assigned to protect the summit has come under harsh criticism for its unorthodox methods – specifically the employment of East German-era, “scent profiling” and perceived harassment of potentially violent anti-G8 protestors. Militant left-wing anti-globalization organizations as well as radical right-wing/neo-Nazi groups plan to stage large-scale demonstrations in the days prior to and throughout the summit. These demonstrations will likely lead to violent clashes with police.
Radicals Wage Attacks as G8 Nears
With less than two weeks until the G8 Summit commences anti-globalization militants continue to wage attacks against perceived symbols of capitalism, fascism, and imperialism. On Wednesday, May 23, 2007, alleged anti-globalization militants targeted German media personality and conservative archenemy, Kai Deikmann. Deikmann’s car was set ablaze outside of his home. The incident is the latest to occur in recent weeks. Other personal attacks include the burning of cars of Thomas Mirow, a well-known economics researcher and the vandalism of the house of a senior Lufthansa airline executive. In Berlin a reported 51 politically motivated cases of arson have occurred, so far none have left casualties.
German Authorities Crackdown on Suspected Violent Activists
In years past violent anti-globalization activists have targeted the G8 Summit. As the current holders of the G8 rotating presidency, Germany is keen to prevent any such incidents. German authorities are employing a wide-range of seemingly unorthodox methods to prevent and detain possible violent protestors from attacking the summit. In a widely criticized throw-back to communist-era East German tactics, German authorities are using “scent tracking” to keep tabs on possibly violent protestors against next month’s G8 Summit. Purportedly police have obtained scent samples from an undisclosed number of people believed to be a possible threat to the upcoming summit. The use of scent samples was widely known to be practiced by East German secret police, the Stasi, who used the technique to track dissidents. The method involves collecting scent samples in advance from selected targets and then passing them to police equipped with sniffer dogs who are able to pick the individuals out amid a crowd. German Interior Minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, has defended the authorities’ decision to employ the tactic saying it is a useful tool to identify suspects.
In another proactive tactic, in early May 2007 police raided the offices and residences of 40 alleged left-wing radicals in Berlin, Hamburg and elsewhere. Several directly affected organizations and supporters took to the streets in vehement protest citing the raids were a violation of privacy and basic human rights. Prosecutors defending the action claim they were investigating more than 18 individuals suspected of planning terrorist attacks to include fire-bombings aimed at hindering or preventing G8 leaders from attending the summit. Additionally, a spokesman for the federal prosecutor has confirmed that scent samples were gathered from five people who were detained during the May 2007 police raids.
Large-Scale Rally and Anti-G8 Rock Concert Planned
In what is being billed as the largest anti-globalization protests in recent history, left-wing radicals are staging a large-scale protest and a follow-on rock concert on June 2, 2007 and June 7, 2007 respectively. The main rally will be held in the Baltic port-city of Rostock, along the coast of the sealed-off summit venue in Heiligendamm. Anti-G8 organizations such as Dissent, the Interventionist Left, and the Revolutionary G8 Alliance, are leading the opposition against this year’s summit. Trade unions and Christian groups have also joined the protests. German authorities are expecting as many as 100,000 protestors to attend the events.
Several organizations such as Attac, are organizing trains and buses to carry protestors to the protest and concert sites. Outside of Germany, European supporters are also mobilizing. Trains have been chartered from Austria and Switzerland, and Finnish leftists will be sailing by ship.
Information regarding the protests is widely available on several anti-globalization Internet websites. According to antiG8.tk, from June 1 -8, there will be protest camps in Rostock, Redderich, and Wichmansdorf featuring films and discussions centered on class warfare and anti-imperialism.
As part of Germany’s preemptive crackdown, protesters must seek prior approval to hold demonstrations within five kilometers of the welded-mesh security fence surrounding the summit venue. All other demonstrations must be held outside of the designated area. The June 2, 2007, Rockstock demonstration and follow-on June 7, 2007, anti-G8 rock concert are set to occur outside the restricted areas. Media sources suggest left-wing radicals may shift the battleground from the Baltic Sea resort to Hamburg if security surrounding the summit, including the fence constructed for the specific purpose of shutting them out, prove impenetrable.
Violence Likely at This Year’s Event
Despite continued violence by radicals leading up to the G8 Summit, major left-wing anti-G8 groups insist the summit protests will be peaceful. German police however are preparing for widespread violence, focusing a majority of their efforts on the summit itself as well as keeping a watchful eye on the protest planned four days prior to it.
As we previously reported, Germany’s right-wing/neo-Nazi organizations pose a substantial security risk to the anti-G8 demonstrations. It is likely these groups will seek to infiltrate the left-wing led protests and possibly steer otherwise peaceful protesters in a violent direction. Violence has marred past G8 summits, particularly in 2001 when police and protesters clashed for days in Genoa, Italy.
Historical precedence and the mass media attention the event has already received indicate violence is likely at the 2007 G8 summit.
