[Onthebarricades] GERMANY: Rostock, Monday 4 June + updates

[Andy]

NOTE:  As well as aftermath reports from Saturday, there are reports of further demonstrations and clashes on Monday.

As usual the mainstream and pigs are making up stories about this.  I find it highly unlikely that the fighting was started by "foreigners", since this kind of thing is common in Germany (on Mayday, anti-capitalist and anti-Nazi protests for instance).  Not to mention that reports on the ground clearly indicated that police aggression initiated the clashes.

Good to hear, too, that the earlier raids on social centres did not go unanswered.

As usual, "moderate" figures have sold out those who fought back against police.  Why do they respect so much these violent thugs who have banned their marches at the summit?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6682398,00.html

G-8 Protesters, Police Clash in Germany 

Monday June 4, 2007 3:01 PM 


AP Photo PRO107, PRO103, PRO105 

By CLAUS-PETER TIEMANN 

Associated Press Writer 

ROSTOCK, Germany (AP) - Hundreds of protesters clashed with police Monday ahead of this week's Group of Eight meeting, as anti-globalization activists challenged attempts by security officials to keep them away from the summit town of Heiligendamm. 

About 800 protesters demonstrated outside Rostock's immigration office demanding ``global freedom of movement and equal rights for all,'' including refugees and asylum seekers. After a peaceful start, the demonstration turned violent and ``some protesters started to throw bottles at officers,'' police spokesman Lyder Behrens said. 

The Web site Spiegel Online reported that a photojournalist was injured and four people were detained when 400 demonstrators clashed with police. Police could not immediately confirm the report. 

Another 20,000 demonstrators were expected to hold an anti-G-8 rally in downtown Rostock later Monday. 

On Saturday, around 3,000 black-hooded anti-G-8 protesters had pelted police with rocks and bottles in Rostock. Authorities said more than 400 officers were injured, 30 of whom were hospitalized with broken bones and cuts. Organizers said 520 demonstrators were hurt, 20 of them seriously. More than 2,000 protesters were still in Rostock on Monday, police said. 

The situation around Heiligendamm was calm Monday ahead of the three-day meeting starting Wednesday, when German Chancellor Angela Merkel will host the leaders of Britain, France, Japan, Italy, Russia, Canada and the U.S. for discussions on issues including global warming, aid to Africa and the world economy. President Bush left Monday for the summit, with his first stop in Prague, in the Czech Republic. 

Germany is determined to avoid a repeat of the debilitating violence that has marred previous G-8 summits, notably in Genoa, Italy, in 2001, where one protester was killed. It has reinforced its border controls ahead of the summit. 

Anti-globalization activists have complained that security surrounding the three-day summit is excessive. 

Germany's Constitutional Court said an alliance of activist groups had challenged a lower court's ban on protests outside of Heiligendamm. 

That ban came into force last week, when public access to Heiligendamm was shut off. Authorities had said earlier that starting Wednesday, the demonstration ban will be expanded to about 3 miles beyond a 7-mile fence that was built around Heiligendamm. 

It was not clear when the court would rule on the case. 

In a separate decision, an administrative court in the town of Greifswald ruled that only 50 protesters will be allowed to hold a rally directly outside Rostock's airport, where Bush and other leaders are scheduled to arrive. Activists had asked permission for a 1,500-member demonstration at the airport, but the court rejected their claim for security reasons. 

The approved protest will be restricted to a shoulder of a road across from the airport entrance. A bigger group will be allowed to protest at a nearby parking area for buses. 

Bush is scheduled to arrive Tuesday evening. 

The government said 85 people had been refused entry to Germany ahead of the summit and that 15-20 percent of those who were detained temporarily Saturday in Rostock had been foreign nationals. 

Merkel on Sunday deplored the ``terrible, dreadful pictures'' of protesters clashing with police. ``Violence is no way to solve things and shows that the police methods are necessary,'' she said. 

Merkel defended security measures such as pre-summit raids on the offices of protest groups, some of whom have vowed to try to disrupt the summit by blocking roads leading to Heiligendamm. She has also said, however, that peaceful protesters have every right to make their point. 

--- 

Associated Press Writer Kirsten Grieshaber contributed to this report from Berlin. 

http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=94727736&p=947z8x38

Protests continue at G8 summit site in Germany
04/06/2007 - 13:01:28 

Protests against this week's Group of Eight meeting continued for a third day in Rostock, Germany, as anti-globalization activists mounted a legal challenge against a ban on demonstrations outside the summit town of Heiligendamm.

About 800 protesters demonstrated outside Rostock's immigration office demanding "global freedom of movement and equal rights for all," including refugees and asylum seekers. Another 20,000 demonstrators were expected to hold an anti-G8 rally in central Rostock later today.

On Saturday, about 3,000 black-hooded anti-G8 protesters pelted police with rocks and bottles in Rostock. Authorities said more than 400 officers were injured, 30 of whom were admitted to hospital with broken bones and cuts. Organisers said 520 demonstrators were hurt, 20 of them seriously. 

More than 2,000 radical protesters were still in Rostock on today, police said.

"So far the situation in Rostock is tense but not violent," police spokesman Lyder Behrens said, adding that all protests would be followed by a heavy police presence. Authorities also continued spot checks on roads leading to the northern German town of Heiligendamm.

Germany's Constitutional Court announced today that an alliance of activist groups had challenged a lower court's ban on protests outside Heiligendamm.

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/06/372358.html

The Saturday riot in Rostock (1) 
Guido | 03.06.2007 18:24 | G8 Germany 2007 | Globalisation | Repression | Social Struggles | World 

So, at the end of the demo there was a riot. Which has now been widely reported by the corporate media as being deliberately provoked by tooled up agitators in Black. Change the word black for green and you start getting a bit closer to the truth. 
Eyewitnesses have reported that the trouble started when a provocative arrest was made in the road near the rally. You have to ask why the Police would want to kick things off when the demo had been so peaceful? No one had deviated from the route of the march. No banks or corporate concerns had been scrawled on or attacked. In fact nothing illegal had happened at all. So was this just an attempt to justify the tens of millions spent on the Police operation? Or perhaps a useful way of declaring a state of emergency so people could be harassed and detained in the run up to the blockades? 

Unsurprisingly the demonstrators gave a very good account of themselves. The demo had the biggest and most disciplined Black block seen for some time. The Police tactic of charging into the crowds thumping everything in sight only succeeded in recruiting more people who were up for confrontation. The cops usually found themselves beating a hasty retreat under a hail of bottles and rocks that were available in abundance. Not a very smart place for them to kick things off? 

It has to said that their body armour is impressive to say the least. They were barely flinching as large house bricks were bouncing off them. It should also be pointed out that if people are going chuck masonry around they should be confident about their aim first. Rostock hospital was full to bursting last night and many of those being treated were injured by friendly fire. 

Most of those present were trying their best to calm things down. Forming peaceful lines trying in vain to persuade the Police to remove the cause of the confrontation (themselves). Thousands of people were enjoying the concert away from the trouble. The actions of the Police was just recruiting more to the punch up. Batons were being used on anything that moved. Many of the Police looked like they had just indulged in some base speed after a week on the piss. Eventually the organizers of the event managed to negotiate some kind of Police withdrawal and things calmed down. 

For a while. 

Guido 

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/06/372403.html

The Saturday riot in Rostock (2) 
Guido | 03.06.2007 20:52 | G8 Germany 2007 | Globalisation | Repression | Social Struggles | World 

So we've back at the hostel for around an hour and a half after the first trouble when the phone rings. 'The cops are going fucking mad!' we are told so it's back to the rally to see what is going on? A car has been torched since we were last here and the water cannons are out. 

Before we left here earlier things were calm. The Police had withdrawn and most of the people who were fighting them earlier had left before we did. Now the police are forming into units and storming into the crowd of people watching the bands. Nicking anyone that gets in their way. They also seem to be doing targeted arrests, which suggests that they are being directed by plain clothes spotters in the crowd? 

Now that all the brick throwers have left they can pretty much do what they like without being in any danger of reprisals. So those who are left here are being punished just for being in attendance. A teenager in front of me is trying to ask a commanding officer what they are trying to achieve. The cop replies by pepper spraying him in the face. The cops are shooting their chemicals from the hip so that the people are being hit in the face without warning or an opportunity to get out of the way. It also ensures that most of the media do not capture the pepper spray use on film. 

Then without any reason or warning one of the water cannons opens up on a section of the crowd near one of the Police units. One of the cops is too close and gets knocked off his feet along with several of the demonstrators. The water has had a teargas like chemical added to it. So a hit in the face is agonising and everyone gets a light dose of gas as the water evaporates off the ground. 

As the units march through the crowds they make a point of treading over anyone who is sitting on the ground and then stamping on anyone who complains. As they sweep through the crowds anyone who come within range gets punched or kicked out of the way. The batons come out whenever they are faced with numbers that are anything approaching even. Most people run away. You can't blame them for that. At one point a cop jumps on a photographer from a corporate agency for taking his picture. The snapper is made to delete the image in front of him. The cop in question is wearing a riot helmet with a ski mask underneath so his face is not visible anyway. Either he is just looking for someone else to pick on, or he is a complete retard. 

Finally after what seems like an eternity of provocation the crowd finally reacts. A peace line of several hundred people link arms to keep the marauding plods out. A mobile sound system appears and people start to dance in front of them. Meanwhile a unit trapped inside is surrounded by group of around fifty people who start doing the hokey-cokey in a circle around them. They bust out of the circling protesters several times only to be surrounded again. Eventually they withdraw humiliated. 

The passive resistance of the demonstrators was ultimately quite empowering. They kept their dignity. They stayed at their concert till the end. And unlike the Police no one was paying them overtime to be there. 

It should be remembered that Germany is not the only G8 'democracy' where the Police can do what they like without any comeback. Lets not forget the Murder of Carlo in Italy. The behaviour of the Police in Seattle, and the US patriot act. Then there is Russia under Putin, a place where critical journalists get assassinated and opposition supporters jailed. Then there is France where immigrants are routinely rounded up and beaten by the brutal and racist CRS. And lets not forget Britain. A country where you can be arrested and jailed without charge. Where it's illegal to protest outside your own Parliament without permission. Where you can be shot eight times in the head on an underground train for looking a bit foreign with the murderers never being identified, let alone charged. 

I bet China can't wait to join? 

http://washingtontimes.com/upi/20070603-111519-3758

German police blame foreigners for G8 riot
Published: June 3, 2007 at 11:47 AM

ROSTOCK, Germany, June 3 (UPI) -- German police Sunday blamed foreign groups bent on violence for the riot that injured nearly a thousand police and protesters at a German rally against G8 policies. 
Most of the 125 people arrested Saturday in Rostock came from outside Germany, Deutsche Welle reported. 

Police and protest organizers Sunday said those arrested had infiltrated the largely peaceful demonstration aimed at the G8 summit to be held this week about 16 miles away in Heiligendamm. The G8 is a consortium of the world's eight richest industrial nations. 

The protesters who were arrested were from Austria, Bulgaria, France, Japan, Russia, Spain and Sweden, said police, who reported finding tear gas canisters bearing Cyrillic script. 

Police estimated Saturday's protest at 30,000, while protest organizers said at least twice that many were present. The protest continued Sunday and was calm. 

As many as 433 police officers were injured Saturday, 30 of them seriously, by sticks, bottles and stones. As many as 520 protesters were hurt, 20 of them seriously, when riot police fought back. 

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-06/04/content_6192937.htm

BERLIN, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 1,000 people were injured in the riots that broke out Saturday during a demonstration against the June 6-8 Group of Eight (G8) summit, according to German police in the northern city of Rostock and protest organizers. 

    Police spokesman Frank Scheulen said that 433 police officers were injured, 30 of whom suffered serious injuries. 

    Around 520 demonstrators were wounded, primarily by stinging tear gas, and 20 of them were injured seriously, according to the protesters' spokeswoman Sabine Zimpel. 

    A march including organizations such as Greenpeace, anti-capitalist group Attac, Germany's Left Party, church groups and labor unions turned violent after demonstrators in black masks and hoods began to throw stones, bottles and flaming objects at police. The police responded with tear gas, water cannons and batons. 

    "We distance ourselves clearly from these violent people," Zimpel said. 

    Scheulen said most of the riot had ended by the evening, but two cars were set on fire during the night. 

    Police put the number of protestors at 25,000, while organizers said at least 80,000 went onto the streets of Rostock to protest against the G8 summit in Heiligendamm, 25 km from Rostock. 

    Leaders from the G8 industrialized nations of Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Japan, the United States, Canada and Russia, will attend the summit. 

    Germany will deploy about 16,000 police officers from all over the country to prevent unrest before and during the three-day summit.


http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=6d10f5ab-eee0-4e1b-a82b-83c91374094c&k=0

Riots condemned
German organizers criticized violence at anti-G8 demonstrations
Tom Armitage, Reuters
Published: Sunday, June 03, 2007
Organizers of anti-G8 demonstrations and the media on Sunday condemned violent clashes between police and a hardcore group of militants in the German port city of Rostock in which 1,000 people were injured.

A peaceful demonstration involving tens of thousands of diverse protesters was marred on Saturday by the worst street violence seen in Germany for years when hundreds of black-clad activists bombarded police with stones and torched three cars.

Police used water cannon to disperse the militants who left a trail of destruction in the harbour city, just days before Chancellor Angela Merkel hosts the Group of Eight (G8) leaders in the nearby resort of Heiligendamm for their annual meeting.

 View Larger Image 
A protester throws a stone at German riot police in front of a barricade during an anti-G8 demonstration in Rostock June 2, 2007. Protesters threw stones and bottles and attacked police officers with sticks in the German port of Rostock on Saturday after a largely peaceful demonstration against next week's Group of Eight summit. A group of around 500 demonstrators set upon police near the harbour after a series of marches through the city in which police said 25,000 people took part.
REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch
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"This was inexcusable and that is the opinion of all the groups concerned," said Mani Stenner, a spokesman for the organisers of a week-long programme of demonstrations in the port city. "We hope that this situation was an exception."

Police blamed the violence on some 2,000 militants known as the black block'. Some 430 police officers and 520 protesters were injured and police said 128 people were arrested in the clashes at the city's harbour.

The mass-circulation Bild am Sonntag newspaper declared the violence Germany's "G8 Shame!" and carried a large front-page picture of a balaclava-clad militant aiming a stone at police.
"Yesterday images were formed in our country that will damage our reputation across the world," wrote commentator Claus Strunz in a column for the newspaper.

Merkel will host the G8 for talks on June 6, focusing on African poverty and climate change.
At the same time, Rostock is hosting a broad range of protests and demonstrations against globalisation, capitalism, African poverty and human rights abuses.

"We have a lot of work to do to consider how we can prevent these violent events from happening again," Stenner said.

Aid groups and charities condemned the violence and distanced themselves from the militants. "There was no justification at all for these attacks," said Pedram Shahyar, a spokesman for the group Attac.

The violence followed weeks of tension between police and militants in Hamburg and Berlin after street riots prompted by a series of raids last month on premises used by left-wing groups.
Around 16,000 police will be on duty during the summit, the biggest force assembled in recent times in Germany. Protesters are expected to try to block road access to the summit and stage demonstrations at a nearby airport.

A 12 km security fence has been built around the resort itself to keep demonstrators and militants away from the summit.

(additional reporting by Sabine Siebold)

http://de.indymedia.org/2007/06/180923.shtml

Update anti G8 protests today
Dutch Media Bus 04.06.2007 12:38 Themen: G8 
It's action day against the G8 again in Rostock, after the mass demo on 1 June, with the theme Flight and Migration. At 8am we leave from camp Reddelich to the local foreigners office in Rostock. 
Migration Action Day 
Foreigner's Office Demo Report 
Rostock, 4 June 8.00- 10.00 

It's action day against the G8 again in Rostock, after the mass demo on 1 June, with the theme Flight and Migration. At 8am we leave from camp Reddelich to the local foreigners office in Rostock. 

The foreigners office decides who is allowed to stay in the country and who is not, if you will get a passport, residency permit or if you will be deported. The plan for the morning: an occupation of the office. From the moment we leave the camp to our final destination we see many green police busses parked in the forest and at almost every corner on the way. 

Once at the foreigners office, all entrances are already blocked by dozens of demonstrators sitting in front of the doors on the ground. Some have climbed onto the roof and unfolded banners. The organisers urge the demonstrators to stay calm and not be provoked by police like last Saturday because they want to continue the demonstration to another hotspot of racism (see below). The roughly 100 police present are cordially requested to leave: they are not welcome here! 

Police and special forces are present in large numbers: they stand with grim faces around the demonstrators and are filming them. To make clear why we are standing here, the mass shouts " No border, no nation, stop deportation!" and "We are here, we will fight, freedom of movement is our right". Then the demo organisers inform us: a group of demonstrators that came with the tram were stopped and searched. Eventually they are released. After 30 mins the demo with people from the other action camp is Rostock, accompanied by four police vans, is welcomed by us with loud whistling. In total, we are around 1000. 

A few representatives of migrant organisations are taking the floor now, rapping and shouting demands to end police violence, racist treatment of refugee and migrants and deportations. For global social rights and freedom of movement! Then we are treated with a street theatre game show entitled 'Germany is looking for the Super German!' (Deutschland sucht den Super-Deutschen!). A professional show master and his assistant explain the game: 9 figures representing different nationalities and professions (migrant cleaners, black footballers, Indian IT specialists, people married to Germans) that keep popping out of boxes have to be hit with a soft hammer by a volunteer from the audience if they are useless to the German economy or not properly integrated (is the third generation immigrant youth holding a pistol or is it a pen?!). Beware: NEVER hit the German whose blood line is unpolluted and runs German blood only, even if he looks a bit dangerous, otherwise you lose point. And be quick, you only have 30 seconds! Not easy, the volunteers are not practiced as they try figuring out if the figures popping out of the boxes are allowed to stay here or not, are they cleaning or drinking Champaign? The show is funny, but the police is not laughing (maybe they are not permitted to). Then the samba band plays. The police keep storming from one imaginary hotspot to the next, when standing still, the Clown's Army is teasing them, again, they are not amused! What can you do. 

Despite the provocative mass police presence there is no confrontation. With the media bus we are going to the next racist hotspot: Rostock-Lichtenhagen. It was here in 1992 that a racist mob set on fire a high-rise flat where migrants lived, and local residents stood there, clapping and cheering them on. During the high-time of racist pogroms in Germany shortly after the wall came down, police and fire services took 10 hours to respond to the emergency call, the only people that stood defending the people locked in the house were Anti-fascists. 

The Caravan for Refugees and Migrants is walking next to the bus for some of the way. At the same time actions will take place at the Lidl supermarket chain, whose aggressive import strategy forces dumping prices on producers, who exploit migrant labour and massively violate labour rights in Spain, the Netherlands or Morocco in return. Again, on our way to Rostock-Lichtenhagen we only see police vans, water cannons and ambulances on the way. 

Only two and a half days before the beginning of the end of the G8! 

http://de.indymedia.org/ticker/en/

04.06.2007
  a.. 16:00: 
  Rostock: After hard negotiations with the police, the demo has finally started to move towards the harbour, but 'escorted' by lines of police on either side. Some 50 meters later, however, it was stopped again. Approximately 5,000 are on the March. A small spontaneous demo, with some 200-300 participants, has also started and is marching down Wismarsche Str. towards the main march.


  b.. 15:15: 
  Rostock: Police have just announced that the rally and march can carry on as long as people don't cover their faces and carry 'weapons'. The mood is positive and colourful, with a Samba band and clowns dominating the picture.


  c.. 14:50: 
  Rostock: The organisers of the "Global Freedom of Movement and Equal Rights" demonstration have just announced over the sound system that police have declared the rally and march as illegal because there are some "500 potentially violent protesters" and that they will not allow it to continue. Organisers, however, are not accepting this and are trying to negotiate. Music is still playing.


  d.. 14:10: 
  The rally has just started, although the international speakers are still being 'processed' by police.


  e.. 13:50: 
  The Grey Bus from Theaterstraat (a bus carrying protesters from Amsterdam) was stopped-and-searched by cops for about 3 hours at Hamburgerstrasse earlier this morning. Eight people from several countries were arrested and taken to the detention centre in Industrie Str. Charges are probably related to carrying things like caps, gloves and lemons. A 15-minute solidarity protest was held outside of the detention centre. The bus is now on its way to the Migration rally.


  f.. 13:30: 
  Rostock: Between 2000 and 3000 people are waiting at the Fluchtelingslager. Police have just arrived and started checking everyone, including the speakers from Africa. The organisers are waiting for that to finish to start their rally.


  g.. 13:30: 
  A train from Reddelich only goes as far as Bad Doberan. Replacement buses are being used. In Sievershagen, buses are being stopped by police and people's bags are being searched. Buses then continue their way.


  h.. 12:30: 
  On their way back from the Sonnenblumen House demo, protesters were attacked by cops again. Police pushed people onto the train and then hit some of them while they were all inside.


  i.. 12:30: 
  Rostock: People coming from Reddelich going to the migration rally got off at the Thiefelder train station to find a lot of riot police waiting for them. They were put back on the train again to be sent back, then let go a while later and are now heading to the main Migration Rally.


  j.. 12:00: 
  Rostock: A bus carrying protesters was stop-and-searched at Holbeinplatz. Police said they are looking for "weapons". The Legal Team was hindered in its work and told to leave the square. So far three arrests have been been made.


  k.. 11:45: 
  The Sonnenblumen House protest seems to be over now. People are heading to the station, slightly pushed by police.


  l.. 11:35: 
  Sonnenblumenhaus: A protester from Cameron has been seriously injured by cops (probably broken nose). He apparently happened to be standing in the middle of the Black Bloc, so cops charged in and snatched him violently. An ambulance has just arrived and he's been taken to hospital.


  m.. 11:30: 
  Rostock: Violence seems to have died down a bit now. Three or four arrests were made, allegedly because people were covering their faces. A journalist was injured when his camera was pushed violently into his face. Medics and legal observers are on the site. Police CCTV vans have arrived. Police have blocked the road and are standing in groups some a few meters away from protesters. People are not penned in or kettled yet.


  n.. 11:00: 
  Rostock: Riot police started to charge into the protest at the Sonnenblumen House and snatch certain people after filming and observing them for a while. 3 Arrests have been reported so far but the legal observers were pushed away and not allowed to get their details. Police are reportedly being very aggressive for no apparent reason.


  o.. 10:50: 
  Rostock: About 1,500 have already gathered at the Sonnenblumen House in Lichtenhaben to remember the 1992 Nazis attack on the refugee 'reception centre' and a hostel for Vietnamese workers. More people are expected to arrive. Speeches started a while ago and the atmosphere seems to be relaxed.


  p.. 10:00: 
  Rostock: Some 2,000 had gathered at the Immigration Department in Werftstraße (where refugees and migrants are dealt with) since 8am. The atmosphere was nice, with a Samba band and street theatre, who performed, among other things, a show called "Germany looks for the super German". The Department was closed, allegedly for a "sudden software breakdown". People are now heading to the Sonnenblumen House in Lichtenhaben, where a remembrance called "3 Days in August" of the 1992 neo-Nazis attack on the refugee 'reception centre' and a hostel for Vietnamese workers will be held.


  q.. 09:10: 
  Rostock: A fleet of 20 or so police cars, with their sirens and flash lights on, was seen passing by the Rostock Convergence Centre, probably heading towards the Sonnenblumen House, where a rally is supposed to take place from 10am.


  r.. 09:00: 
  Rostock: A group of 200-300 people coming from Camp Reddelich found over 100 cops in riot gear awaiting them at Rostcok's central station. They are now being searched one by one, some having their personal details taken. The hallway, where the process is going on, had been cleared from people so that there's no eye witnesses.


03.06.2007
  a.. 23:15: 
  A group of concert goers were suddenly and, seemingly, groundlessly attacked by a police unit on their way back to Camp Rostock. One person received a hard blow to the head and remained laying on the ground for around 10 minutes without moving, but still conscious until an ambulance came. Meanwhile another person was taken into custody. A journalist was only let through after putting on a lot of pressure.


  b.. 21:20: 
  After being let free a while ago, three German clowns went back into McDonald's to translate for the foreign Clowns but they were arrested straight away. The legal observers don't know what the charges are yet.


  c.. 20:50: 
  The Clowns are being let free, having been held in a police pen for several hours following their action at a McDonal's. They all, of course, had their personal information taken and the rest of it.


  d.. 19:20: 
  Rostock: A new police unit has taken over from the old one, which had assured the protesters at Industrie Str that they can carry on as long as they don't block the road, and gave them 10 minutes to desperse or... The are between 20 and 30 cops and 10 to 15 protesters.


  e.. 17:30: 
  The Star Marsh coalition is tomorrow lodging a constitutional complaint with the Federal Constitutional Court against the general ban on demonstrations around Heiligendamm.


  f.. 17:15: 
  Rostock: All those who had been kettled (surrounded by cops) at the detention centre on Industrie Str. have been freed now. One group was kept for about 2.5 hours and were not given any food or drinks. The reason, police said, was breaching of the law of carrying "disguise objects" (things you can cover your face with). Besides, they said that you breach this law if you carry a cap, a scarf and a hoodie at the same time, but if you have only one of these, then it's OK. Everyone was filmed while being made to wear their 'disguise cloths', and the footage was compared with older police footage.


  g.. 17:00: 
  Rostock: The "Move Against the G8" festival has started at the harbour. There are some 1,000 people. Some 50 cops are stop-and-searching people and taking their personal details if they had anything on them that "could be used as a weapon" (chains, spikes etc.).


  h.. 17:00: 
  Groß Lüsewitz: The Agriculture Day of Action rally has arrived at the biggest GMO test field, just before Groß-Lüsewitz. Most of the 300 or so participants had gone there by bicycles after the demo in Rostock ended. While some stayed behind in the field, others carried on for the rally in Groß-Lüsewitz. Police presence is very high, with dogs and horses. In the morning, a 1,000 square meter GMO field was "harvested".


  i.. 16:15: 
  Rostock: The spontaneous protest in front of the court in Werder Str. drew about 150 participants, who tried to block the court entrance by sitting down. Reports say the protest has ended.


  j.. 15:45: On the B105 road, near Alt-Sievershagen, about 10km before Bad Doberan, some 30 clowns were dancing in McDonald's. A big police unit, with about 30 vehicles and riot gear, are surrounding the clowns and their cars and preventing them from moving. 
  k.. 15:30: 
  Rostock, 15:30: The Agriculture Day of Action day has finished now with closing speeches, with speakers from Brazil, Mali and Nicaragua among others. The demo had grown to about 5,000 participants. Police has been mostly calm, although they have been checking rucksacks. Cops kept running but because people reacted sensibly they didn't give them any excesses for escalation. Some participants are now driving to Groß-Lüsewitz, where a rally is supposed to take place.


  l.. 15:30: 
  Groß Lüsewitz: A protest against Groß Lüsewitz-based AgroBio-Technikum, a centre for agro-biotechnological research opened in 2004, and its controversial GMO research and field trials is taking place. Beside the locals, about 50 activists are present. The rally from Rostock not arrived yet.


  m.. 15:00: 
  Rostock: Police are carrying out stop-and-searches in different places throughout the city on people who look 'suspecious'.


  n.. 14:40: 
  Some 20 'normal' people who were just arriving their to join the protest were stopped by the police and kettled. Negotiations ongoing.


  o.. 14:35: 
  Police got into their cars again and started chasing people in their cars.


  p.. 14:30: 
  Some 15 people are doing a sit-down in front of the court on Neue-Werder Str, where the arrestees from yesterday are supposed to appear before a judge. More protesters are expected to arrive.


  q.. 14:30: 
  Some 10 police cars with lots of cops, all in riots gear, just arrived and started to chase the 'people in black' down the streets.


  r.. 14:15: 
  A group of 20-25 people from Camp Rostock have just joined the solidarity protest in Industrie Str. The cops immediately started to put their riot gear on as most of the new arrivers are wearing black. Protesters, who now number about 60, are standing on the pavement in front of the detention centre.


  s.. 13:30: 
  Rostock: People are starting to leave the solidarity protest outside the detention centre in Industrie Str., some just wandering about. There is still 40-45 people. Cops said as long as they are not blocking the road, the protest will be allowed to continue peacefully.


  t.. 12:30: 
  Rostock: Following a rally at the Faculty for Agricultural and Environmental Science, approximately 3,000 people started marching around the city centre as part of the Agriculture Day of Action. Many big puppets and one huge puppet monster can be seen, and many international banners. A small rally at a Lidl supermarket was held on the way. There is a large police presence but the situation is still quiet.


  u.. 12:25: 
  Protesters have been moved away onto the pavement.


  v.. 12:15: 
  Rostock: The bigger group of protesters joined the smaller one outside the prison's door. More cops with dogs.


  w.. 12:10: 
  Rostock: There are 3 police cars and some 15 cops. A small group of protesters, who arrived before the cops, are standing immediately outside the prison's door, while the rest, who arrived after, are not allowed to go nearer.


  x.. 12:00: 
  Rostock: Some 60-70 people have gathered outside the detention centre in Industrie Str. in a solidarity protests with the people who were arrested yesterday and are still held there. There is some police presence but the situation is still calm.


  y.. 08:30: 
  The Legal Team said 164 people were arrested yesterday, 17 of whom will be charged. Two of cases are said to be fast-tracked.


  z.. 01:50: 
  Rostock: After being kettled for a short while, people have been released and are heading back home.


  aa.. 01:35: 
  Rostock: Cops are chasing people down the streets. They have also broken into the place where the music was coming from, Anker. They are trying to shove people to Doberaner Platz at the end of the road.


  ab.. 01:15: 
  Rostock: A Reclaim The Streets party in Doberaner Str., which was so far going nicely, is being violently repressed by police at the moment. 5 police units in riot gear arrived and stopped the party very violently for no apparent reason, beating the 500 or so party goers with batons.
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