G-8 SUMMIT: AFTER A STORM OF PROTESTS

Posted: Sunday, June 03, 2007 11:00 AM

By Andy Eckardt, NBC News Producer

Rostock had the feel of a quiet port city on a Sunday morning. Young couples were strolling along the sea banks, kissing, holding hands, peeking at the burnt-out car that was left behind by violent protesters last night. Even the weather had improved. Despite a chilly sea breeze, the sun peaked through the clouds to light up the picturesque architecture in the old town part of this northern German sea port.

About 1,500 activists from a group called "Global Agriculture" poured into Rostock at mid-day Sunday to demonstrate for their cause. Police had to temporarily block off some streets in the city center, but did not report further violent clashes. During the G-8 week, protest organizers have officially announced the gathering of up to 20,000 activists each day.

Despite a peaceful Sunday so far, security forces are on high alert. Yesterday’s riots give them all the reason to be. Official police reports say that 433 police officers were injured in the violent clashes during the main demo on Saturday. Even though these numbers include small cuts and bruises, 30 police officers had to be hospitalized with more severe injuries.

The international press, gathered and watching on the periphery of the demo grounds, had several close calls too.

No time to seek shelter
Violent clashes, similar to a cat and mouse chase, move quickly. They can change direction and often cause small stampedes involving bi-standers who are trying to escape teargas or water canons. Last night, our team and satellite truck were suddenly caught in the middle of fighting. There was no time to seek shelter. Only a strong sea breeze prevented direct contact with a full sniff of tear gas, a nearby Bratwurst stand gave protection.

After riot police made 128 arrests, the situation remained calm overnight. Yet officials say that violent attacks could flare up anywhere, anytime, before and during the summit. The event is stretching the German police forces to their limit and has made a 50-mile zone around the summit site a high security area. Protesters lost a legal battle over the right to demonstrate near the security fence that is protecting the meeting site of Heiligendamm. The black-dressed militants have disappeared for now. But I am sure they did not go home yet.

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Comments

Riotous crowds at the G8 Conference are the most hypocritical & ignoirant personalities...along with extremist terrorits...in the world. Nothing except 100% aggreement with them is okay...and they cannot reach one agreement amonst themselves. Quit being babies, and do something good.

Craig Beitzel (Sent Sunday, June 03, 2007 12:47 PM)

People are starting to stand up and be heard, speaking up about a New World Order they don't want. Power to the People.

Glen Jones, Arp, Texas (Sent Sunday, June 03, 2007 12:58 PM)

Any time you orginize a peacfull protest, it is possible for violence to break out no matter how good your intentions are. I believe it got ugly, and ended in violence because of the show of force with armed police surrounding the area. Yes the general public have a right to a peaceful demonstration, protesting their dissatifaction with their elected officials. After all remember it is a Democracy. Everyone else in the area have a right for protection against the actions of those who demonstrate with violance as well. The problem comes when the protesters are pushed back and feel that their cause is not warrented. The police become aggresive and it irritates the protesters and before anyone realizes it things start to get out of hand. Our governments have become more of a police force that is out to squash rather than to listen. When the protesters are pushed back and feel they have no buy into the process they become frustrated with the situation and if provoked become violent. It comes from the blatant irrogance of our elected officials. Comments like i'm the decider. What does that tell you. It smacks of irragants. They don't want to think out of the box where most of the masses are. They want you to follow like sheap to the slaughter. People around the world in free societys are getting feed up with out present leaders and want a new direction. The problem is we have no one to unit us only those who divide us.

Bill Logan, Astoria, Oregon (Sent Sunday, June 03, 2007 1:09 PM)

Left Wing Zeaolts and the Terrorost movements have a lot in common, they cannot persuade people because their arguements are not valid so they resort to violence, well those that live by the sword should die by the sword, its only that the politicians are weak and effete that these hooligans can coerce situations, slap them down and do the rest of the World a favour!

Keith Milliner (Sent Sunday, June 03, 2007 1:51 PM)

G-8 SUMMIT needs to stop they have the world all screwwed up allready

Randy P Detroit ,MI (Sent Sunday, June 03, 2007 3:19 PM)

The sloppyness of thought in these messages is parellelled by the sloppyness of writing that jumps out at me. Everyone has strong opinions, but there is little evidence of thought behind those opinions. Our quick-quick society seems to leave little time for reflection and therefore busy people adopt opinions and avocate them while they could not back them with a reasoned explication if they wanted to.

Peter Kooy Eureka, California (Sent Sunday, June 03, 2007 7:35 PM)

Dear Mr. Eckardt, First of all I am happy you and your team were not not hurt by any of the protests. Sometimes these things start out somewhat organized and peaceful, but end up getting out of control. I fully understand why groups can have differing opinions about particular issues, yet it does not mean that innocent people have to get hurt in the process. I hope as the time becomes closer for the G-8 Summit to occur that everything is a bit more calm. Anyway be careful out in that city with you and your team! Peace to all!

Lisa McNeil,Alpharetta,Georgia (Sent Sunday, June 03, 2007 7:39 PM)

Bill Logan is entirely right. German police still think in Nazi terms and should be taught how to control crowds without angering them. People still deserve to be allowed to show their dissatisfaction to power ill used.

Strother Marshall Los Osos CA (Sent Sunday, June 03, 2007 7:56 PM)

Come on guys..the summitt at least warrants the vision to see world peace. We are not fortunate enough to provide quality leadership (U.S.) to make common sense judgments. Let us live. Impeach Bush and his advisers before the world ends.

jon (Sent Sunday, June 03, 2007 7:57 PM)

It's time to bring back the Sacred Feminism into this destructive Mars equation.

Miriam Aguilar, Monterey, CA (Sent Sunday, June 03, 2007 8:49 PM)

What people forget is, that after the fall of the iron curtain and deletion of communism, people thought that their lives would improve. But only a thin strata in all of these countries have benefited. They conclude, that what they got after communism is not the right ideology, either, because the proof of the pudding is in the eating. You are reminded of the saying 'operation successful, patient dead'. Germany also has a lot of corruption (this ex-German being a victim of reunification crime). Put that all together and you have a volatile mix. The idea, to hold G8 in the former East Germany only shows how far removed the rulers are from what matters to so many. People who have jobs and think about which refrigerator to buy do not have time for demonstrations.

Ally Hauptmann-Gurski (Sent Sunday, June 03, 2007 9:00 PM)

Some in this discussion feel that those with differing views on world policy should be silenced. The more voices heard the better I say. Its about time the modern day Supreme Ruler of the World see what is thought of him in other parts of it. After all, they in Germany are a Democarcy, as are we in America arent we. Hard to tell some times. Never know who reading your mail or looking at your bank account, listening to your phone calls. Strange that some see only one path as correct no matter the cost, or result. Our situation in the USA is ripping this Country of ours apart. United States of America. We are anything but that these days. If we cant find a way to stop fighting among our selfs, and find real solutions to the real problems facing us, a house devided will not stand. We may not aggree on the same path to take but there is certainly more than one route to reach our United goal. Right wing Einstein's. Look at the bottom line of your beloved American oil Company's. Look at the bottom line of your Beloved Haliburton's and the like. Companys, and People get rich off war. Now we are about to Grant Amnesty to 12 Million Ilegals, and guess what, your Beloved Right Wing, defend the home land president wont Veto it. He's all for it. Thanks for the memory's. We cant even treat our troops with respect in our rat infested Military Hospitals. Their Familys struggle to make ends meet, but by god our oil Companys will help out Im sure of that. I pray we can stop the blame game and start acting like American's again. Their is plenty of blame to go around but that does not cure any problems or bring back what has been lost in our country. Our greatest losses can never be brought back. God bless our troops, we dont deserve them or their respect right now.

James A Posey, Fort Pierce, Florida (Sent Sunday, June 03, 2007 9:46 PM)

I'm for the protestors of the G8. It is ashamed that some of them resort to violence when the police often start the violence. In fact CIA and other neo-con government forces have often infiltrated peace protestors and incited violence to divide and conquer. Even as bad as the violence of the protestors appeared, their violence is nothing compared to the violence done to the world by the G8 efforts to make MONEY their GOD. Many people have short memories; both Saddam and Osama had CIA connections. The G8 has done nothing to make war less profitable to a few infinitely greedy military industrial CEOs. This Keith, what ever and his uneducated distaste for liberals said one thing right about living by the sword and dying by the sword. Let the chicken hawk war profiteers who lead the puppets Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld who play around with swords be the first ones to walk into the blades.

Ken Driessen, Hayward, Wisconsin (Sent Sunday, June 03, 2007 10:01 PM)

The hypocrites are the 8 leaders "representing the world a the G8. Dissent and action are the proven ways of change around the world, including the founding of American. I would contest that action backed by reason brings about positive change all the time.

Katie Paul, San Francisco, CA (Sent Sunday, June 03, 2007 10:32 PM)

Astoria, Or must be the center of liberal thinking if there's any thinking at all. Mr. Logan has ridden too many fishing boats over the Columbia River bar and is a little addled. Czech P.M. Mirek Topolanek is probably correct in saying Putin is stirring up suspicion about the U.S. missle defense shield to direct attention away from his internal problems.

Sam Kiker (Sent Sunday, June 03, 2007 10:50 PM)

Policies that are operssive to people birth violence, not people. Thus, Quasimoto finds that he must stand up against tyrany again and again - not only in times gone by, not only at Notra Dame and not only in France.

John Kohlenberger, Prescott Valley, AZ (Sent Monday, June 04, 2007 12:21 AM)

The formal G8 conference should be respected as a lethel opponet of free and independent mankind, the goal of the conferees is nothing short of the total enslavement and control of all persons everywhere, thru population reduction and other means including weather control, political control, and the releqase of bacterilogical warfare. Resist!

John doe, Seattle, Wash. (Sent Monday, June 04, 2007 2:03 AM)

It is not always the fault of the police that protesters gather en masse and become a threat to the wellbeing and security of the public. The right to freedom of assembly and protest is one matter. I never understood arresting someone for burning a flag, participating in a sit-in, carrying a sign in a parade of protesters or speaking out in public at a rally. Even an interruption of a public meeting is acceptable. When people use dangerous and intimidating measures and demand total agreement and silence on the part of the public, and will even use tactics to force their silent agreement through intimiation, they should be arrested. It is not about the cause but about public safety and security issues.

horizonssoheavenly Kelowna, BC (Sent Monday, June 04, 2007 2:10 AM)

What is worse than reading posts with poor arguments? Reading posts with poor spelling... Wilkommen zu Amerika!

Coach, Seattle, Washington (Sent Monday, June 04, 2007 2:13 AM)

Keith, your broad stroke applied to a certain tea party in Boston was likely echoed in another era. Thank God for independant thinkers with the courage and integrity to walk their talk, even when sizable groups disagree. Without them I doubt we would enjoy the freedom to even make these comments in this forum.

Steve Smith, Birmingham, AL (Sent Monday, June 04, 2007 3:10 AM)

G-8 submitt group of national leaders who want the other remaining world to be their slaves,stop it now.

s k han (Sent Monday, June 04, 2007 5:01 AM)

I love the battle cry of the 60's "NAZI'S--NEO CON'S WHATS MISSING IS POLICE STATE--PIGS WAS ALWAYS A GOOD ONE. Why don't you give it a rest put down the pipes and grow up.The G8 is also about giving aid the the parts of the world that need help and how much aid is given. It is not about slavery unless that is code for MONEY.Protesters at these things seem to come out of the woodwork but no one ever knows what it is they realy want if anything. Maybe they need attention, a hug or the boot in the ass the always seem to blame the police for. It is amazing how the normaly PC CROWD that hates name calling will go back to the old favorites NAZI and terms like OPRESSIVE GOVERNMENT AND UNFAIR, WAH WAH WAH stop youre crying and grow up. it seems that no matter where you are in the world the people that have the least to offer make the most noise. get a job and you will have less to cry about, don't like youre job go to school and get a better one. No body is sitting at home trying to better youre life so you might have to GOD FORBID DO IT YOURE SELF.Youre two minutes of stupidity in the streets will do nothing for you or anyone else.If you are in school, stop wasting you parents money, and read a book that might help you in later life get a job.

john florida (Sent Monday, June 04, 2007 4:01 PM)

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