German police deployed a water cannon and pepper spray to disperse around 500 protesters in Hamburg, ahead of the Group of 20 (G20) Summit this weekend, where advocacy groups say global leaders will continue to support a flawed model for creating a more just world.
Some activists gathered to march on a main street of the port city just before midnight on Tuesday, while hundreds had pitched tents along the Elbe river. Tuesday’s events follow weekend demonstrations that brought at least 10,000 peaceful protesters to Hamburg’s streets and waterways. Tens of thousands more anti-globalization protesters are expected to flood Hamburg over the weekend, as the summit kicks off.
Friday, representatives of the world’s 20 largest economies—19 countries and the European Union—will meet in Hamburg for the two-day summit hosted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Attendees will include U.S. President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
At least 30 groups have registered to demonstrate in Hamburg this week, organizing to challenge the G20’s agenda and the policies touted by nationalists like Trump and Putin, and the liberal European leaders alike.
“The model itself is broken,” said Nick Dearden of Global Justice Now. “This G20 has been hailed as a showdown between the responsible free trade leaders of Europe and the dangerous populist strongmen like Trump, Putin, and Erdogan. But it’s exactly because of these free market policies which have so badly undermined democracy and trust in political institutions that an extremist like Trump is now in the White House. We need a new model to undermine the racism and thuggery of Trump and his ilk—one that values human life before the profits of the superrich.”
Germany will have up to 20,000 police officers on duty during the summit, utilizing technology that includes a fleet of water cannons, and underwater and aerial drones.
“You can be certain that you will see all of the equipment that German police have here in Hamburg,” the city’s police security team leader told The Associated Press. Photos and videos of police using “WaWe10” water cannons on demonstrators Tuesday night have circulated social media:
Hamburg police chief Ralf Martin Meyers expressed concerns about violence to the Guardian: “There is evidence that the acts of violence around the G20 summit that we had expected and feared will take place.” German officials have specifically targeted their concerns at the anarchist “Welcome to Hell” demonstration. However, so far the protests have been peaceful.
Even so, German officials have set up a 38-square-kilometer (about 15-square-mile) “no-protest zone” around the airport where foreign leaders will arrive and the convention center where the summit will take place.
Many groups planning actions for this week, including Greenpeace, have opposed this decision and have emphasized the importance of peaceful demonstrations. Greenpeace International’s executive director Jennifer Morgan told AP: “We’re looking for the G20, and if that’s not possible, then the G19, to go forward with implementing the Paris agreement and maybe doing even more,” adding: “Greenpeace stands for nonviolent direct action—we have peace in our name—and it would be a shame if violence moved the message away from what the G20 should be doing on climate and other issues.”
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License. Jessica Corbett is a staff writer for Common Dreams, where this article first appeared.
Image caption and credit: Hamburg police used a water cannon on G20 Summit protesters July 4, 2017. (Photo: Morris MacMatzen/Stringer/Getty)
Typical ZioNa*i INFILTRATED Left – which is spewing anti-Pres. Putin/anti-Pres. Erdogan propaganda; whilst ignoring the real evil of ZioNazi-controlled NA*O!
We need a TRUE Left movement such as (hopefully) led by Jeremy in the UK and Sinn Fein in
Ireland; especially against the two leading NA*O regimes, US and Germany – which are becoming dominantly powerful in global politics.
In the US; the ever predatory warmongering ZioNa*i-controlled Conserv-Lib Democ hidden alliance is really evil whilst in Germa*y, all the Left’s top leadership has been infiltrated by the ZioNa*is! Thus US & Germany need a real LABOUR party!
Look at ZioNa*i-controlled Germa*y; which has just passed a law to fine $50 MILLION Euro supposedly for online ‘fake’ news on social medias: But it has no problem promoting FAKE news
– as usual against ‘Third’/Muslim world leaders; even to the point of promoting mass murder ofPres. Erdogan; Pres Putin and Saudi Arabia King Salman! Also bashing these protestors outside G-20 meeting and falsely labelling all of them as if violent, in ZioNa*i-controlled MSM!
And as usual, NO Wezztern/Is-ra*l leaders are ever considered as Dictators; despite that they’ve
been going on endless rampage of Genocide, including under ZioNazi-controlled NA*O and their own FAKE terrorist groups, such as CIA/MOSSAD-created Cannibal/Necrophiliac IS/ISIS/ISIL or organ/drug gangs such as Zeta in Mexico – which are mass murdering/raping/robbing the Muslim-Catholic world and their Indigenous Muslim/Catholic population! See –
Turkey condemns Berlin ‘kill dictatorship’ artwork featuring Erdogan
AFP
5 July 2017
……..The installation was set up outside the offices of Chancellor Angela Merkel in
Berlin on Monday…….
they will let a former STASI fill the country of Germany with ME refuse, their women raped. then these capons have a “Welcome To Hell,” event. Hitler worshiped the demon you asses.
Were uZioNa*i born with a head full of filthy refuse sh*t?!!
How about uUSELESS racist ZioNazi-controlled Wezztern INVADERS and DEATH SQUADS leave the rest of humanity alone, like in TRILLIONS of deep sea oil/gas-rich Gaza-Palestine/Lebanon/Libya/Syria/Turkey/Egypt/Morocco/Tunisia/Algeria by the Mediterranean Sea there! Instead of raping/mass murdering/robbing/organ trafficking the Indigenous ARAB Muslims/Catholics there?!
We are witnessing the rise of the 4th Reich.