[Gipfelsoli Newsletter] March 24th, Heiligendamm

[International Newsletter]

- Convergence Center Hamburg
- Welcome to the mass demonstration against the G8 Summit on 2.6.2007 in
Rostock!
- G8-Germany International Preparatory Meeting for the international
Demonstration 2.6. in Rostock
- International Day of Direct Action against Climate Change and the G8.
- Call for action against G8

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Convergence Center Hamburg

dear people,

in the context of the mobilisation against the G8 summit from the 6th to the 8th
of June in Heiligendamm we plan to set up Convergence Centers ("places to
gather") in Rostock, Berlin and Hamburg. In addition to the camps we want to
create solid spaces for those arriving and a platform for open participation of
activists from other cities and countries.

Why do we need a convergence center in hamburg during the of 26th of may and the
10th of june 2007? Since the Worldbank summit in Prague in 2000 Convergence
Centers have been set up by local structures to support protests against events
of symbolic concentration of power.

Expecting the G8-Meeting close to our city a local anti-G8-structure developed
during the last years (particularly after the G8-summit in 2005 in Scotland)
and led after the Camp Inski in summer 2006 to the idea of a Convergence Center
in Hamburg in the Rote Flora. Based on the concept of decentral actions as well
as the countrywide demand to use the anti-G8-protest for putting local
political struggles into a global context, the Convergence Center Hamburg (CCH)
can be another step towards a local political continuity, which enhances
structures in Hamburg and transnational networking even beyond this year's
summit. Activists can arrive from the week prior to the summit to get organized
and be mobilized to Heiligendamm for the days of the summit. Because of the new
police law of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern we cannot eliminate the possibilty of
"Gebietsverweise" (being expelled of the area), which could force many
acitivists back into Hamburg or Berlin. Therefore the CCH will not close with
the end of the summit, but stay open for a few more days and enable a wrap-up
of the days of protest. Of course we hope that the Convergence Centers
generally offer spaces to react solidly on repression.

An important factor for choosing this time-period is also the ASEM-meeting of
EU-mininsters of foreign affairs with their counterparts from 16 asian
countries, which will take place in Hamburg on th 28th and 29th of May. This
meeting - like other EU-meetings- is directly connected with the G8-summit,
which amongst other things can be seen in the topics of the meetings:
Privatisation, extension of the fortress europe, preparation of wars, cutback
of data protection, patents and and the renaissance of nuclear power. Fitting
into the context of local struggles and anti-G8-protest, the planned days of
action in Hamburg and a big demonstration in those days can also be understood
as a warm-up for the G8-summit.

As part of the Anti-G8-Mobilisation there will be several caravans passing and
stopping in Hamburg. The bicycle-caravan will already arrive in the CCH on the
23th/24th of May.
So how will it look like here? An infopoint connected with Rostock and Berlin
will inform you about actions, camps and demonstrations. You can find places to
sleep in the beds-bourse, have food for action in the 'vokü', recover in a
relaxation room and find First Aid support.
Furthermore there will be several workshops of which "paramedic" and "legal
support" are already organized. Indymedia will supply technical equipment to
spread and translate news and interpreters of preferably many languages will
provide information and plenaries for everyone.

For all of this we need your advice, contacts, ideas and help from now on. The
preparation takes a lot of energy and work and it has become clear that
criminalization cannot be ruled out. Even more important it seems to us, is
that many different political groups and individuals join this project.

The Convergence Centers play a basic role in the coordination of protests. They
are not only a solidary contribution especially for international activists,
but are themselves spaces in which protest and another form of collectivity can
be experienced. The legitimate resistance against the G8-policies has a global
claim and cannot be halted through local repression. As an open space organised
autonomously and democratically the Convergence Center offers room for
discussions on chances and problems of the protest-movement, motivation and
direct exchange with people we cannot meet every day.

We still need:
* Action-Food-Groups
* Interpreters (for internet and during the summit)
* places to sleep
* donations of material (textiles, pencils, colours, umbrellas, dishes, bicycles
etc)
* Transport for Shuttle to Mecklenburg Vorpommern
* people to placard and spread flyers * Workshops for the CCH
* Donations of money on the account: Netzwerk Selbsthilfe e.V., Konto 740 388
7000, BLZ 100 900 00, Berliner Volksbank IMPORTANT: Subject "Convergence
Center"

Please contact us
* www.hamburg.dissentnetzwerk.org
* Email: convergence-hh[AT]nadir.org
* Or put messages in the CCH-Postbox in the Rote Flora

Every 2. sunday of the month the Anti-G8 Info-Café takes place in the Hafenvokü
(Hafenstraße). Different themes and forms of protest concerning the G8 are
introduced and discussed, there is an information-wall of the CCH and there is
space for exchange whilst having coffee and cakes.

So join in and contribute, help us with the preparation, ask us, be solidary and
come together...

good night G8!

[www.hamburg.dissentnetzwerk.org]


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Welcome to the mass demonstration against the G8 Summit on 2.6.2007 in Rostock!

On 2 June, many thousand people from throughout Europe will travel to Rostock to
protest in a mass demonstration against the G8 summit in Heiligendamm. We are
standing up against the politics of the G8 - against climate change and
illegitamate debts, and say instead that "another world is possible".
The eight most powerful industrial countries use the G8 summit as a forum for
their interests. With our mass demonstration, we want to give the movements in
Germany, Europe and the whole world the chance to protest against the politics
of the G8 and to make their own demands.

Get involved! Come to Rostock and send this appeal to everyone you know!

We invite all organisations and networks that are part of the movement for
social justice to join the protest - from the East and the West, from the North
and the South.

* Support the international mass demonstration against the G8 summit. Enter your
name and the name of your organisation in the list of supporters at
www.heiligendamm2007.de.
* Send this e-mail to other organisations and networks and tell them about the
demonstration in Rostock.
* Come to the third international action conference from 13-15 April in Rostock.

Information about the mass demonstration in Rostock is attached.

In the name of the participants of the international preparatory meeting for the
mass demonstration against the G8 summit.

Sabine Zimpel and Christine Buchholz p.p. Demo-Workinggroup

office at heiligendamm2007.de
www.heiligendamm2007.de


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G8-Germany International Preparatory Meeting for the international Demonstration
2.6. in Rostock

10.03.2007 Hamburg

On Saturday, June 2 , there will be a huge demonstration against the G8 Summit
in Rostock.
You can be part of a very big movement! Tens of thousands of people will come
from different countries and different political groups: From the radical left
to the churches, from environmentalists to trade unionists. All together we
want to build a big movement. At this moment a big part of the work is done!
Now we need you to mobilise!

Here is a summary of the informations given in the meeting

1. Demonstration is the event, where most people will come to Rostock. All
groups and parties work together. The demonstration will be a peaceful event of
solidarity and unity.

2. Schedule: We will have 2 demoroutes, because there hopefully will be 100000
people, who need place and time for the route. One start will be in the west of
Rostock, the other at the main railway- station. Both routes are ending at the
harbour. At 11am is the beginning with an interlude, at 12 o'clock the speeches
will start, at 1pm is the start of the demonstration which ends around 4pm at
the harbour, until 6pm there will be speeches and music, until 10pm music and
speeches. Please don't book your transport back before 7pm.

3. We want many of you to stay in Rostock, because a Week of Action will follow
the next days. The second important day is Wednesday: start of the summit!
There will be massblockades to throw sand in the wheels of the G8-summit. There
will also be a countersummit. On Thursday a "Sternmarsch" to Heiligendamm is
planned: people go to Heiligendamm from 4 starting points. And there will the
church bell ringing around Heiligendamm, it is called: "Heiliger Damm des
Gebets" / "Holy dam of pray". We plan also a final demo or action on Friday, at
the end of the summit.

4. Mobilisation: first posters and leaflets are already printed. There will be a
second wave with more supporter signs on the call. The call is open for
everybody and all organizations to sign! It costs 20- 500€ for financing, it
depends on the size of the organization. Please also contribute financially. We
have to pay all the demo-logistics from the participation groups and
organizations. There is no money from the state for the demo.

FAQ from the international guests/ answers:
* The slogan for the demo is: Another world is possible.
* We want a broad and colourful protest. We will have good communication in the
demo*teamleaders to support each other in case police may provoke.
* We are still working on the speakers list
* We work very hard on the question of accommodation for international guests.
There will be place for tents. We may have a few big tents, but please bring
your own tent!
* There will be an whole actionweek, its very good to stay after the big demo
* There are special trains. For questions: g8-proteste at attac.de
* We are also trying to organise meeting-rooms for international guests
* We are trying to organise support for visa problems for international groups
we are trying to get in touch with the police for questions of controls at the
border
* It is very important to be very early in Rostock. Planning to arrive at 12
o'clock is too late. The longer the journey, the longer the stops, the longer
the delays. So: please take the time and be there early in the morning. There
are always unforeseeable incidents. It is good to plan to in Rostock at 8 or 9
am.

We have to work in two directions. We need to know about your mobilisation and
your plans about Rostock. This is also a strong motivation for our mobilisation
in Germany. We need patience for some of the questions mentioned above. We will
inform you as soon as possible.

Come to Rostock III International Action-Conference (13.-15. April)
It's the third action-conference in Rostock to prepare the G8-protests.
Everybody of you is asked to offer workshops.
Program: Friday, 13.5.: Opening Panel; Saturday: 14.5.: Opening Plenary //
Workshops on thematically questions // Workshops on practical questions (demo,
camp, blockades) // Big Panel with experts on climate change; Sunday, 15.5.:
final plenary & decisions
We are working on consecutive translation in the workshops.

For further information: There is no special newsletter, our main communication
is running on www.heiligendamm2007.de.
Email: office at heiligendamm2007.de

Sabine Zimpel and Christine Buchholz p.p. Demo-Workinggroup


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International Day of Direct Action against Climate Change and the G8.

The 8th of June International Day of Action Against has been called by the
International Rising Tide Network. This is a call for autonomous, decentralized
actions appropriate for your town, city, or local area.
Direct Action for Climate Justice - Resistance is Self Defense!
We all know the terrifying statistics: a million species extinct by 2050, 19 of
the 20 hottest years on record since 1980, Greenland and Antarctica melting,
droughts, floods, famines ... the G8 have had over 30 years to address climate
change and only succeeded in providing trillions in subsidies to the very
industries that are destroying our planet and our future. And while the G8
continues to line their pockets, island states disappear and hundreds of
thousands die as a result of the freak weather conditions caused by their
irrational and uncontrollable obsession with never ending economic growth.
We have a ten-year window to act. As the megalomaniac G8 leaders meet in
Germany, masked behind a barrier of fences and soldiers, intent on leading us
further towards catastrophic and irreversible climate chaos, we must shout,
scream and roar 'no more'. Now is the time to take direct action and shut them
down, them and their climate criminal industry friends!
Use this international day of action to support local struggles against oil
refineries, gas pipelines, strip mines and coal-fired power plants. Disrupt the
financial backers of the fossil fuel industry. Organise workshops to spread
sustainable post-petroleum living skills. Find a weak point in the
infrastructure of resource exploitation and throw a literal or symbolic wrench
in the works. It's time to visit your local polluters and give 'em hell!
We already know of actions planned across the UK, North America, Germany, Canada
and Australia and that's just the start! By 8th June actions will be planned
around the world. Pass this call out on to all environmental justice, climate
action, radical sustainability and related movements in all the G8 countries
and the Global South.
Rising Tide will create a collection of outreach and agit-prop materials
(including this call out in five different languages) that can be used by
groups around the world to organise locally. These materials will be
downloadable from www.risingtide.org.uk and http://risingtidenorthamerica.org.
Direct action and civil disobedience are the rational response in this time of
crisis. Support the 8th of June International Day of Direct Action against
Climate Change and the G8! Tell us about planned actions for climate justice
being planned in your community. Contact us - info at risingtide.org.uk and
contact at risingtidenorthamerica.org
In June 2007 the G8 will understand the meaning of rebellion, revolt and
revolution. Their recipe for catastrophe will be met with our worldwide
resistance!

Rising Tide

Homepage: http://www.risingtide.org.uk

[http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/03/365930.html]


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Call for action against G8

Palestine: No wars - no Walls

In the first week of June the bosses of the 8 economically most powerful nations
of the world will meet for a nice cup of tea in the German resort of
Heiligendamm, close to Rostock. To guarantee the security of the cosy meeting,
the place will be surrounded by a security fence 2 1/2 meters high, 1 meter
deep into the ground, and 13 kilometers long, using 12.5 million Euros worth of
barbed wire and cement.
Just like the rich in the metropolises of the world, like the exploiting North
against the exploited South, like the US-occupant in Baghdad, like the Israeli
occupation in Palestine - in the era of neoliberal capitalism, oppression needs
walls and fences, racist laws and ethnic cleansing, discourses of exclusion and
"clashes of civilizations" in order to defend itself.

To control the key resource, oil, the issue of strategic control is essential in
Palestine as in the whole region. A region of puppet regimes - considered as the
"moderates" - is emerging who are willing to do the dirty business of oppressing
their peoples. This is what the project of a "Greater Middle East" is all about.
Like any other colonial project, it considers tribal and religious identity as
essential, it relies on separation, racism, and the alleged incompatibility of
cultures. It builds ideological walls and walls of concrete, in Palestine a
wall that separates farmers from their olive groves, students from school and
university, workers from their jobs - a wall that doesn't serve anybody's
security, but is rather designed for landgrab and making people homeless.

G8, walls, wars and exclusions go together. That is why thousands from the
region, from all over Germany, Europe, Israel, and Palestine will come to
Rostock to protest against the meeting of those who rule the world without
being legitimized:

- on the international demo block "Palestine - no wars, no walls", June, 2nd ,
in Rostock
- on the day of blockades against militarization, wars and occupations on June,
5th around Rostock-Laage airport

The participants of the summit will land in Rostock-Laage. This airport is
partly used by the military, partly for civil purposes. It has become the most
important miltary air base in Northern Europe and will be further enlarged as a
central military base. It serves as an airfield not just for cheap tourist
flights but also for Eurofighters. These are of essential significance for the
German military as well as for the NATO Response Force, in other words for
international military interventions. As in the case of this airport, as in the
case of the summit talks and in general, when strategies of global power are
being dealt with, civil matters and military matters merge and become
indiscernible from each other. The political and social spheres are penetrated
by and subordinated to the demands of a vague and all-encompassing idea of
"security" - the security of the few against the many. Wars are no longer being
fought between armies, but they are fought - without being declared - against
civil populations and stay as bloody occupations - in Palestine for the last 40
years. Civilians, sovereign states, territories, international accords and human
rights are overrun and bombarded, as in Iraq, in Lebanon, in Afghanistan, in
Palestine.
Zones excluded from any rule of law, torture centres, prisoners' camps are
everywhere, even in the wealthy regions of the world. Enjoying the most basic
rights has become a privilege, that is being defended fiercely, just as
prosperity, security and the access to resources is being defended fiercely
against those "outsourced" by global neoliberal economy.

The "War against Terror", explicitly declared as a never ending, pre-emptive
global war, aims at pushing and securing the interests of global players. It is
waged in many ways: as annihilation of civil rights and extension of the
surveillance state, as undermining of the right of asylum and the right of
residence, as fortification of the islands of prosperity, as export of
democracy and human rights - actually impeding self rule and undermining human
rights. If juridical, diplomatic, and political manipulations don't work, or if
those aimed at dare to resist - it is the sheer violence of war and torture that
is being used against them. This happens in Palestine and in different forms and
degrees in many places all over the world.

The orchestra of global imperial rule needs regular tuning - that's what the G8
summits are all about. And that's what our resistance is about, as part of the
global resistance and protest movements

- on 2/6, against war and racist segregations
- on 5/6, against the military component of neo-liberal globalization - in
Palestine and everywhere

Palästina - Solidarität gegen G-8
Palestine - Solidarity against G8
Palestine - solidarité contre G-8

Contact: nowars-nowalls at so36.net

Websites: www.g8andwar.de
www.heiligendamm2007.de
www.gipfelsoli.org
www.dissentnetwork.org
http://g8-2007.de
http://antig8.tk
www.g8-germany.info
www.attac.de/g8

[v.i.S.d.P.: Rachel Corrie, Jerusalemerstr.1, 10117 Berlin]