Overview of the Protests Against the G8 Summit
Protest against the G8 Summit in Heiligendamm
From June 6th to 8th the representatives of eight of the most powerful States from the global north are going to meet in Heiligendamm near Rostock in Germany. Without any Legitimacy to decide about global politics they will coordinate their decisions and this way stand for the continuation of the state the world is in which for the majority means hunger, misery, war, and exlusion. International protest is beeing organized since months and is going to start in the weeks before the summit. This article is an attempt to give an overview of the preparation process.
Important websites: Dissent!-Network | Interventionist Left | antig8.tk | Gipfelsoli | heiligendamm2007.de | Alternative Summit | Camps | Infos auf deutsch
Protest
From June 2nd until the end of the summit there will be a broad range of protest activities (Overview). In the weeks before the meeting protest is organized in different cities refering to the Europe-Asia-Summit:
Friday 25th: Opening of the Convergence Centers in Berlin, Hamburg , and Rostock; Arrival of bike caravans and Critical Mass in Hamburg
Saturday 26th: Action Day for Education: International demonstration against the G8 education politics in Berlin and Hamburg
Monday 28th: International Demonstration against the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Hamburg.
Tuesday 29th: Arrival of the No Lager Caravan Tour and decentralized activities against Asia-Europe Meeting in Hamburg.
Wednesday 30th: “Beat Capitalism”: Move your ass for a swinging protest! Rally with Bands and „Spoken Words“ in Hamburg.
Thursday 31st: Activities at the deportation camp Horst.
Friday 1st: Temporary re-settlement of the “Bombodrom”-Area (Call and infos | Dissent! )
Saturday 2nd: International Demonstration in Rostock ( Call ) :: Stop the nazi demonstration in Schwerin ( Infos )
Sunday 3rd: Action Day on Agriculture (Dissent! )
Monday 4th: Action Day on Flight & Migration | Decentralized activities in and around Rostock in the morning, 1pm: Demonstration to the center of Rostock, 5pm: Concert at the place of the final gathering of the demonstration, 7.30pm: Panel discussion, In general: Activities at refugee camps, deportation authorities, etc. (no-racism.net | No Lager | Dissent! )
Tuesday 5th: Action Day against militarism and war | Blockade of the airport Rostock-Laage (Attention: Probably it’s gonna be changed to June 6th, when the state representatives will arrive) (Call | Freie Heide )
From Wednesday 6th on: Mass blockades against the G8 Summit (Call | Block G8 )
Thursday 7th: Demonstration from Nienhagen, Kühlungsborn, Bad Doberan, Kröpelin
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Resistance to the G8 summit in Rostock in June 2007 is taking shape. Capitalism, the imperialist wars of the US – with the active help of the EU -, the Hartz IV unemployment reforms, tuition fees and more all form part of the anti-capitalist protests. The Action Plan for the period between June 2 and June 8 has been carved out. Now, we – or rather, you – have to turn ideas and plans into concrete proposals for action!
Take part in the preparations! Get active!
The main planning meetings for the protests against the G8 summit were two “Action Conferences” that took place in Rostock in March and November 2006. See: www.heiligendamm2007.de. Several hundred people from Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Korea, Nigeria, Poland, Sweden, the USA and other countries gathered at each conference.
The participants were from all areas of the left. There were representatives from anarchist and communist groups, leftist unions, Attac, various NGO’s, environmental and ecological groups, socialist parties (Linke.PDS), anti-fascists, anti-racists and other groups from the social movements.
The conference resulted in the formation of Working Groups (‘Arbeitsgruppen’, or AGs in German), which are preparing specific actions separately. Some of the more important are the following:
1. AG Mass Demonstration – Saturday, June 2, 2007
2. AG G8, Agriculture and Genetic Technology – Sunday, June 3, 2007
3. AG Migration Action Day – Monday, June 4, 2007
4. AG Against Militarism, War and Torture – Tuesday, June 5, 2007
5. AG Mass Blockades – Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Additionally, there are various working groups that are dealing with practical themes, for example the AG Camp(s), AG Nazis/Extreme Right-Wing and the G8, AG Culture/Concerts, AG Alternative Summit.
1. AG Mass Demonstration – Saturday, June 2, 2007
The date for the mass demonstration in Rostock is Saturday, June 2, 2007. We want to create a broad international mobilization and to lay the necessary foundations for it. The mass demonstration should be an element of the summit mobilisation that brings together all participants across the political millues. It should express the multiplicity of the protest and of the resistance against the G8.
Therefore, there should be political and organisational unity in the demonstration, expressing mutual solidarity. On the one hand, this means that we want a demonstration in which everyone – including families with kids if possible – can participate and feel safe. On the other, it means that the demonstration will react together and in solidarity in response to any possible (police) attack against part of the demonstration.
Contact and further information:
www.heiligendamm2007.de
2. AG G8, Agriculture and Genetic Technology – Sunday, June 3, 2007
The working group “G8, Agriculture and Genetic Technology,” expanded at the last conference in Rostock. Here are the planned actions:
· Beginning in March, an Info-Tour will head from Austria to Rostock. In the cities in which the tour stops, actions will take place in public spaces and information events will be held.
· On April 17, 2007, we will participate in the global day of action of “Via Campesina” about land rights.
· On May 22, 2007 we will organize a day of action around the topic of “Seeds and Biodiversity.”
· On Sunday, June 3, 2007, we will call for a day of action. We will mobilise in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern but are also calling for solidarity action in other localities and for an International Day of Action. Actions around the topic of genetic technology have already been planned. We want to harvest the fields of genetically modified produce around Rostock with as many people as possible.
· On Monday, June 4, 2007, actions in front of supermarkets are planned around the topic of groceries.
Contact and further information:
dissentnetzwerk.org/wiki/Arbeitsgruppe_G8_und_Landwirtschaft
www.dosto.de/gengruppe/g8_2007/index.php
www.gendreck-weg.de
3. AG Migration – Monday, June 4, 2007
The following actions are planned:
Before the G8 summit:
– Numerous information tours with activists from Eastern Europe, Africa and the US – Cooperation with EuroMayDay events (Hamburg, Berlin, Hanau and other places) – Thematise the relationship between migration and precarity – Caravan tour starts 1-2 weeks prior to the G8 summit and visits sites of resistanceDuring the protest in Rostock
– Bloc particularly dedicated to migration at the large demonstration on June 2. – Transnational networking meeting on June 3 – Migration day of action on Monday, June 4 – decentralized actions, demonstration and event in the evening – Speakers and workshops at the alternative summitContact and further information:
www.nolager.de
4. AG – Against Militarism, War and Torture – Tuesday, June 5, 2007
A central part is the blockade of the military airport of Rostock-Laage where the politicians, advisers and other participants in the G8 summit will arrive. In the summer of 2006 President Bush already traveled to Rostock through this military airport.
Further dates:
• May 31, 2007 – Arrival at the camp of the “Euro-March” and the “Caravan for the Rights of Immigrants”
• June 1, 2007 – Occupation of the “Bombodrom” land, in connection with the actions at Rostock-Laage military airport. (The “Bombodrom” refers to a very large military base in northern Germany between Berlin and Rostock, which is used by NATO for exercises. It is the largest area in Europe for military training with bombs and missiles.)
Contact and further information:
www.freieheide.de
www.g8andwar.de
www.freieheide-nb.de
5. AG Blockades – Wed., June 6; Thursday, June 7; Friday, June 8 (beginning Wednesday)
The Working Group was prepared by the Block G8 Coalition.
Block G8, first of all, presented the basis for the mass blockades:
The concrete realisation of this is still in process within the Coalition. Independent of the concrete planning by Block G8, the fact remains: Lots of different blockades by different milieus will happen. Block G8 is just one amongst many. As a result, there is a necessity to co-ordinate and network different blockade concepts.
Contact and further information:
www.block-g8.org
