G20 and Ende Gelände: one opinion
Below is a fairly good summary of what G20 might mean for Ende Gelände, read it as a personal opinion
and not as a cast in stone analysis. We just thought it is good to share that with everyone.
See you all soon! your Ende Geländistas :)
Although it wasn't that much covered in the international press, the G20
summit has lead to a heated debate in the german press, which might have
long-term political consequences, and will impact police behaviour. The
scenario here is the usual: counter-summit and demonstrations - police
brutality on one side, stores damaged and cars burnt down on the other
(mostly away from the organised demonstrations and actions, I should
add) - and finally reactions of the police and of many politicians, to
the tune of "anti-G20 protests = extremism, violence, booh".
Despite the political worthlessness of the ensuing debate, this sequence
is important, because of its consequences on the way the police treats
the german radical Left, and more importantly for us because of the
attitude the authorities have adopted towards civil disobedience. The
police has used this "rioting" to draw attention away from the brutality
of its repression against legal demonstrations (Thursday, July 6th in
the evening) and against the blockades (Friday, July 7th during the
day). The goal of the police is thus to describe these political actions
as, at least, connected to violence and rioting. At worst, blockades
could be seen as violent actions and participants could be criminalised.
Note that Germany has a low threshold regarding what is perceived as
violence, compared to some other western countries (burning cars are not
"business as usual" as in, say, France or Greece).
During the blockades at the G20 counter-summit, there were more "tough"
encounters with the police than there are at Ende Gelände actions.
Mostly because this was happening downtown: a "finger" coming down some
street has to push through police lines instead of flowing around as it
would on open fields. This mostly results in police beating up
protesters. For us, it is therefore important to use the specific,
positive experience gathered over the last two years of Ende Gelände
actions, so as to make very clear that civil disobedience is a
legitimate form of action.
The context at Ende Gelände is perfect to push the debate in the right
direction. Many participants look like harmless tree-hugging hippies,
environmental concerns are much better perceived in the mainstream media
than social protests, and wide spaces allow to reduce police encounters
to a minimum (best-case scenario: only when the blockade succeeded and
the police rounds up and slowly evacuates activists). So we'll have the
chance to carry out our action in a calm and efficient way. Anticipating
the police's strategy is difficult, but they'll have little to gain in
choosing a stronger repression. For our part, we have a very clear
action consensus: we say what we'll do and we do what we said.
I think it is important for all participants to be aware of the
discourse around civil disobedience before they come to Ende Gelände.
And it is now even more so, since we have the chance to make obvious to
everyone that civil disobedience is a legitimate, non-violent form of
action. Not just for us, but to the benefit of all other struggles.
Therefore: come to Ende Gelände, and smile on the pictures!