German state searches for "anti-G8 terrorists"
ya basta - 10.05.2007 05:44
In the dawn of Wednesday, May 9, more than 1.000 police and more than 20 German federal prosecutors searched more than 40 social centeres, workplaces, an alternative internet provider, a bookstore, houses and appartements. They seized many computers and other things.
The coordinated wave of searches in Berlin, Hamburg, Bremen and places in 3 other federal regions was done on behalf of the German central public prosecution agency (GBA). They presented a list of 21 anti-G8 militants against whom they have opened cases of inquest because of "creating a terrorist organization" according to § 129a of the German law. A GBA speaker told the media that the searches were done in order to investigate a couple of attacks against G8-related companys and institutions in the past two years as well as to obtain possible information about attacks planned during the Heiligendamm G8-summit in June. He as well told, that nobody would be arrested at this stage of the investigation.
Anti globalization groups and even parts of the media reported, that they qualify this attempt of the German state to put the activities against the G8-summit in line with terrorism as an attempt to hamper the activities against that summit and to intimidate people form joing the protests. More than 30.000 German police and a wall of 25 km shall protect the summit, some 50.000 to 100.000 protestors are expected to join the demonstration in Rostock on June 2 and the days of action later in the week.
The response to the attempted criminilization of parts of the movement were fast. Already during the searches (some of them lastet for hours) people concentrated in Berlin and Hamburg in order to protect some of their centers. In some instances they were attacked by police troopers. Later in the evening spontanenous demonstrations against the criminalizing took place in more than 20 towns all over Germany. Though there were only a few hours for mobilizing, 5.000 people took on the street in Berlin, 2.000 in Hamburg and another couple of thousands in the other towns. Some of the demonstrations were attacked by police, leaving several people injured. More demonstrations are announced for saturday in Germany as well as in several other places.
It is quite obvious that the German state is getting nervous in respect to possible protests as the summit approaches. The same day the searches took place, the German minister of the interior told the media, that the Schengen treaty will be suspended during the summit. This means, that the German police can (and propably will) search people crossing the German border by land, sea or plane and may possibly send some of them back. We as well came to know, that all hotels and holiday flats in the Rostock region were ordered by the police to tell them the names and other data of people who will book in during the summit.
Protests against the criminalizing as well as against the summit will continue. The massive media campaign on behalf of the central public prosecution agency, making the seizes the cover story for every German newspaper, made a lot of people change their mind and convinced them to attend the protests.
! Basta ya !
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