de.indymedia.org | Rostock: Tens of thousands protest against the G8

In the run-up to the G8 Summit next week, tens of thousands of anti-G8 protesters, with several thousands on the Black Bloc alone, took part in the international demonstration in Rostock on 2 June, 2007. With colourful banners and puppets, protesters of different backgrounds tried to draw attention to the bigger problem of capitalism and the 'empire'. Police was very aggressive and provocative, using batons, water cannons and tear gas, not only against the 'bad protestors' but 'normal' ones as well. Violent confrontations were taking place while, on stage, the concert and speeches were trying to continue. Over 100 people were arrested and many injured on both sides.

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Complete Timeline

3rd June 2007

08:30: According to the committee of inquiry 164 persons were detained. 17 of them are to be arraigned. In two cases it should be a summary judgement.
12:00: Rostock: Approx. 60-70 people gather infront of Gesa Industriestrasse for a demonstration in solidarity with the persons detained yesterday. There is police but the situation is calm.
12:10: Rostock: There are three police vans with about 15 officers. A small group of demonstrators who were there before is standing directly before the door of Gesa. The demonstrators who want to join the others are barred by the police.
12:15: Rostock: A bigger group has joined the smaller group infront of Gesa. Police with dogs is there.
12:25: Rostock: The demonstration was forced back from the entrance area of Gesa.
12:30: Approx. 3.000 people are protesting since 12:00 in the city center of Rostock in the context of the action day ‚Agriculture‘. There are a lot of big puppets on the subject agriculture, one big ‚patent monster‘ and many international banners. After the opening rally infront of the agricultural school of the Rostock university in Justus-Liebig-Weg there was an intermediate speach infront of a Lidl store. There are a lot of cops present, but they keep calm.
13:30: Some people left the solidarity demonstration at the detainee collecting point (Gesa) in Industriestraße. 40-45 persons remain. Police says, they will not intervene as long as the demo stays on the sidewalk.
14:15: A group of 20-25 persons from the Rostock Camp joined the solidarity demonstration in Industriestrasse. As most of them wore black clothing police immediately put on its riot gear. The group - now 60 persons - is standing on the sidewalk infront of the detainee collecting point.
14:35: Police begins to follow the people with their cars.
15:00: In the whole inner city and on the surrounding streets, especially at the camps, police is controlling people. They are checking particularly people who look like members of the Black Bloc.
15:30: The demo on the subject agricultre ends with a closing rally with speaches from Brasil, Mali and Nicaragua. At the end the demo was 5.000 persons strong. Police kept more or less calm, they checked backpacks and walked into the demo from time to time. Reactions were cool headed and there were no clashes.
15:30: Groß Lüsewitz: In the center there is a rally against the Agro-Bio-Technikum and its controversial genetic engineering field trials. In addition to residents there are approx. 50 activists. The rally has not yet arrived.
16:15: At the local court Neue Werderstrasse there was a spontaneously announced rally with about 150 participants. Sitting they tried to block the court. The rally is now over.
17:00: The rally on the subject agriculture has arrived at the biggest trial field near Groß-Lüsewitz. After the demonstration most of the approx. 300 participants went to Groß-Lüsewitz by bike. Some stayed at the trial field, others immediately went on to the rally in Groß-Lüsewitz. The police is present with dogs and horses. Already in the morning hours an GMO crop field of 1.000 square meters was ‚harvested‘ in Strasbourg.
17:15: All people who were surrounded in the Gesa Industriestrasse area are free again. A group was held there for at least 2,5 hours. It was not allowd to bring them food or water. The were accused to have items with them to disguise themselves and it was said, this would be the case if one carried a cap, scalf and a hood. One of those items would not be a problem. All persons concerned were filmed and compared with older police video-material. Some of the concerned people had to disguise with their clothing and were filmed like this.
17:30: The Sternmarsch alliance prepared a constitutional complaint against the demo restraint around Heiligendamm. This will arrive at Federal Constitutional Court tomorrow.
19:20: Rostock: A new police force overtook the duty at Gesa Industriestrasse. The old one guaranteed no intervention as long as the street was not blocked. The new troops request the 10-15 activists to stop their activities within the next 10 minutes.
20:40: Groß Lüsewitz: approx. 150 people are dancing on the trial field. Police begins to push them away and ever more police vans arrive. No arrests up to now.
20:50: Rostock: The clowns were released afer beeing held by the police for several hours because of their action at McDonalds.
23:00: According to RAV there were 10 arraignments today following the arrests yesterday. Two persons obtained an arrest warrant. Today at least 34 persons were arrested in Rostock and its periphery. 5 or 6 of this arrests were in the context of the actions against GMO trial fields. Most probably all of the people arrested in Schwerin yesterday are released again. At night a group just released from Gesa was arrested right away because of not permitted gathering.
23:15: A group of concert-goers were attacked by police on their way back to camp Rostock. The cops went by in cars, suddenly stopped and beat them without any given reason. One person was heavily injured on the head and was lying on the ground - motionless but concious - for at least 10 minutes until the amulance arrived. In the meantime more persons were arrested. A journalist could only come to the scene of event in pushing through the police line.

2nd June 2007

12:30: The demo coordination group said that all buses carrying protesters have arrived in Rostock without any police controls.
13:15: The big demo has started to march from the Rostock central train station.
13:45: Demonstrators at the Rostock central station are still preparing to march and will continue to do so for at least another 20 minutes. There are about 40 big puppets and two samba bands at the front of the march. A black bloc of several thousand people are on the march too. It was announced from the rally stage a while ago that Nazis are heading towards Rostock but not to worry.
15:00: Confrontations have kicked off on the Rostock march as it arrived in Am Strande street by the Harbour, where the concert is supposed to be held. Blocs of riot police rushed into the crowd for no apparent reason and split the mass into two parts, hitting people randomly. Some demonstrators reacted back by throwing stones, bottles and sticks. At least 5 injuries and over 10 arrests have been witnessed so far.
15:10: A group of 40-50 riot cops, who had charged into the demonstrators, were surrounded by people putting their hands up peacefully, while pushing towards them, until they drove them out of the crowd, but then the cops turned around and started hitting with their batons again. This hands-up pushing was repeated again a while later.
15:20: An ambulance was seen taking someone with injuries. Several injuries have been reported but no details yet. It is not only the so-called Black Bloc that is being attacked but also other 'normal' protesters.
15:30: Police have retreated to the edge of the harbour along the trees line, but are still charging into the crowd every now and then on that side of the demo. Several more people have been arrested and more injuries.
15:40: The situation seems to be calming down a little. There was an announcement from the stage that the music will be stopped until the police retreat and police have allegedly said they will.
16:10: Riot police units have charged into the crowd near the stage again and are now surrounded by people. Bottles and stones are being thrown at them.
16:15: Some 20 cops were seen at the Bramow train station, near Camp Rostock, and more police cars driving in that direction, presumably to conduct controls or arrest demonstrators coming back from the Rostock demo.
16:40: Police are withdrawing from the harbour area and water cannons are being taken away too.
17:30: Snatch squads in black gear with dogs were seen in Rostock shopping centre following a group of demonstrators who dispersed into the inner city. A 'check point' and stop-and-searches on Rosa Luxemburg St. and other main streets.
17:30: A water cannon and tear gas are being used by cops against the remaining demonstrators at the only exit from the rally area, so people are not able to leave although the speeches and music have stopped.
17:45: The demo organisers say some 80.000 people took part in the international demo today.
18:00: Police are using 5 water cannons in the festival area, and three additional ones in the streets, to extinguish on a burning car and burning barricades (made of garbage containers). A bigger group of people is being pushed away in the direction of the Speicher. The concert on the stage goes on with an audience of several thousands.
18:05: The concert has stopped.
18:15: The situation calms down somewhat. There are bigger groups of people in front of the stage and towards the Speicher. In between, police and water cannons. All roads to the city centre are closed in both directions. Polices forces from several federal states as well as the federal police are involved.
18:25: A cloud of tear gas could still be seen in the harbour area. Two water cannons are still there but not in action. Snatch squads are trying to single out people from the crowd or leaving groups to arrest them. Accesses and exits from the harbour area are only from the front and back, but not the lanes to the city centre any more.
18:40: The concert resumes. A lot of arrests and water cannons in action.
18:45: The concert is interrupted again.
19:20: Irie Révoltés are playing now. People are dancing the police out of the place.
19:35: The concert organisers want to continue with the concert anyway. The situation is calm now.
20:00: According to the Legal Teams, at least 100 were detained on the Rostock demo today.
20:45: Camp Rostock: About 200 people from Camp Rostock wanted to go and hold a solidarity protest at the prison where the people who were arrested earlier today are held. However, they were confronted with police and water cannons a few hundred meters outside the camp.
21:15: Camp Rostock: About 30-40 cops, 4 or 5 water cannons and one sweeping tank outside the camp, but no violent confrontations at the moment.
21:50: Camp Rostock: Police are said to be retreating now.
23:45: At Doberaner Platz a Reclaim The Streets party takes place. Shortly there are a lot of cops present. In general a successful party.

Rostock: Tens of thousands protest against the G8

Complete Timeline

3rd June 2007

2nd June 2007

Pictures

Ergänzungen

police violence against demo-people

Tube watch