G-8 Protesters Block Roads to Summit

[Joanne98]

Source: Spiegel

Police in Germany experienced a setback on Wednesday as thousands of G-8 protesters made their way through fields and forests to penetrate security lines to demonstrate near the massive security fence erected for the event. Protests had been prohibited from taking place near the fence.

Months prior to this year's G-8 summit in Heiligendamm, anti-globalization activists said they wanted to blockade the event. On Wednesday, despite security precautions the likes of which Germany hasn't seen in decades, they did. With street blockade after sit-in protest after march, thousands of protesters managed to block a number of the roads leading in to the Baltic Sea resort, even succeeding in marching right up to the fence surrounding the venue.

In the end, the authorities had no other choice than to shift to plan B. While the world leaders arriving at the summit flew comfortably to the Kempinski Hotel at Heiligendamm in helicopters, hundreds of journalists were unable to get anywhere near the site. For hours, they waited for streets to be cleared. Even the train intended to take journalists from the press center in Kühlungsborn to the summit venue was blocked. Ultimately, ships were brought in to ferry them the final stretch to the G-8 meeting.

"The plan was civil disobedience and to block access to the G-8," said 38-year- old protester Andreas, shortly after he was dragged from a street just east of the summit venue by riot-gear-clad police. "I think it was a success. It was a clear message that there are many of us who disagree with the G-8 and with their policies."




Read more: http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,487113,00.html