Rostock: Tens of Thousands against the G8

The Police have estimated that around 30 000 demonstrators gathered in Rostock. The organizers gave the distinctly higher count of 50 000. Initially the police kept a distance from the demo. However during the course of the demonstration the police were increasingly provocative. Riot units often sprinted along the edges of the demo. On a high level of a Sparkasse Bank, officers raised a small guard of honor. However, after the "Black Block" threw bottles at them they retreated.

According to eyewitness reports, the situation dramatically escalated when the riot police attacked the Black Block suddenly and without noticeable reason. The police pressed the protesters into the concert, which had just begun. Dozens of people were running around in the resulting tumult. From first reports there were no cases of serious injury, however many participants expressed their displeasure with the police tactics. The riot police continually attacked the demo, but this resulted neither in a large number of arrests nor could the demonstrators be chased away.

Instead a huge amount of disturbance and riot atmosphere was (deliberately?) generated. Many thousands of Globalization opponents took part in the rioting. The area only calmed down after the police retreated.

Translated from the German article (with pictures) here.