[Pressrelease] German Federal State Prosecution Supports Escalation of G8 Protests

[Presswork G8 2007 (english)]

Media G8way 

Pressrelease May 26th 2007 

German Federal State Prosecution Supports Escalation of G8 Protests 

G8 summit protestors harshly criticised the comments of the Federal State 
Prosecutor Monika Harms about the planned G8 protest camps. In different 
media Harms defended the raids of 40 houses and political projects that 
happened two weeks ago with supposed „workshops in the camps that prepare 
people for blockades and militant actions“ during the summit protests. 

„Once again, the state is producing an escalation spiral,“ according to 
Jo Smith of the International Press Group Media G8way. The statements of 
Harms stigmatise all globalisation critics, and follow the logic of 
intimidation and criminalisation of the movement during the past weeks. 
After house raids, permanent controls and observation, she makes the people 
who will live in the protest camps during the next weeks appear to be 
suspected terrorists. 

„The protest camps in Rostock, Reddelich and Wichmannsdorf are finally 
constructed after months of difficult negotiations with the local and police 
authorities. About 20,000 summit protestors are expected to live in the 
three camps,“ explains one of the camp organisers. „After making our 
life hard during the negotiations and preparations, the federal state 
prosecution now claims that these are training camps for terrorists. The 
workshops Harms is mentioning, however, are precisely designed to practice 
de-escalating behaviour towards the police during blockades. Her statements 
lack any reliable knowledge about the reality of the protests.“ 

Similarly misleading are the statements by the Federal Minister of Justice, 
Brigitte Zypries. In the daily news programme „Die Tagesschau“ (The 
Daily Show) she said that the previous raids of the houses of summit 
protestors had nothing to do with the preparations of the summit protests. 
„In the search orders, however, it was literally written that the searches 
are necessary to guarantee Germany’s reliability towards its G8 
partners,“ according to organiser Jo Smith. 

Also, leading officers of the federal criminal investigation department have 
admitted already that the reason of the searches was to know more about the 
anti-G8 protest scene. „Obviously, the anti-G8 mobilisation does not 
provide sufficient reasons for justifying the raids afterwards.“ The 
federal government demonstrates in this way that it does not have any 
interest in approaching the resistance against the G8 summit democratically 
nor through de-escalating measures. „This way, the government brings more 
damage than some burned cars ever could. It attempts to scare demonstrators 
and prevent them from taking to the streets,“ says Smith.  „But we do 
not assume that this strategy will work out. All the attempts to criminalize 
the movement have so far led to an even stronger solidarity and mobilization 
against the politics of the industrialized states. 

All neighbours and journalists who want to get an impression of the camps in 
construction are cordially invited to the Opening Day on Thursday, 31st of 
May, starting from 2pm in Reddelich and Wichmannsdorf, and on Friday, 1st of 
June in the camp at the Port of Rostock. 

-- 
Media G8way does not claim responsibility for the content of the  statements 
it distributes on behalf of the groups or individuals  who use its service. 
Media G8way is an international press service  for individuals, groups, 
networks and (dis)organisations who understand themselves to be part of an 
independent radical left movement against the G8. 

Contact:
Alex Smith +49 16092437902
Jo Smith + 49 015774630348
g8-press-int at nadir.org
http://dissentnetzwerk.org/node/2669