Presentation about mobilisation to SPB 2006 and Heiligendamm 2007
RealAudio: stream with RealPlayer or download RM file ()
1. Presentation was developed by the 'infotour working group' which is a working group in the dissent! Network. This working group exists since beginning 2006 and has done till june 2006 about 60 presentations.
2. Structure of the Input: first part: mobilisation to St. Petersburg (SPB)
second part: mobilisation to Heiligendamm 2007 (emphasis put on)
1. mobilising groups
2. international mobilisation
3. german police strategies
4. local situation in and around Heiligendamm
3. Mobilisation against the G8. The date and the place of 2006 summit is already sure, the date of the 2007 summit is not sure. It will be between end of may and beginning of june 2007 (it is so early, in order not to disrupt the tourist season in and around Heiligendamm), Mecklenburg-Vorpommern the Bundesland (federal region), where the summit takes place is one of the largest tourist regions in Germany.
4. Mobilisation to St. Petersburg
5. Local situation part II
6. 2007 Heiligendamm: Date, as said above, but most probably, beginning of june (there are rumors going around, that hotels and b&bs in the region were asked to cancell all booked rooms in the beginning of june - but it is not sure yet. It will be most probably publicly announced on the SPB summit.
The topics are not sure yet, but the first rumors have it, that the topics will be energy (as in russia), intellectual property (GMO, TRIPs/WTO, Monsanto, Bayer...), and AIDS medication (as in Genoa)/debt release (as e.g. in Birmingham 1998, Cologne 1999 and most recently in Gleneagles 2005 where the G8 was supported by the huge concerts, demonstration and 'make poverty history'-hype, organised mainly by Bob Geldof and Bono)/Africa (Cologne 1999)
7. Mobilising Groups (I): There is no clear distinction possible between the single groups mobilising, as the 'lines' between are fluid, many activists are active in three or more groups/networks. It is just meant to be an overlook, what is happening. But it can be said that already one year before the summit comes the largest parts of the German left are involved in the mobilisation against the G8.
- Dissent! Network. Was created in GB in 2003, several german groups are participating since summer 2004, was/is mobilising against the G8 summits 2005-2007. In Germany it was out of the Dissent! Network, that the G8 2007 was brought up as a topic (since summer 2004), and starting the mobilisation against the G8 2007 alongside the Congress Buko28 May 2005. In may 2006 holding the 4th preparational meeting for the G8 2006/2007. Approximately 15 steadily working working groups (Infotour, Preparation 2006 (part of the Leningrad Cowboys), Press-Group, Action Group, Trauma Group [compare movie Aubonne Brigde, one of the activists brought up the topic Trauma and since 2005 it is a part of G8 summit mobilisations], anti-repression group, local networking...)
- BUKO, Federal coordination internationalism. Exists of different sub-group, members are individuals and groups/NGOs with an internationalist perspective. Organising each year a congress, which is maybe the most important place for debates in german (radical) left discussions. The G8 is a topic since the BUKO28, 2005, on the Congress BUKO29 (end of may) the G8 was one of the for central panels, and most probably the BUKO30 will take place earlier next year (easter) to have last central place for mobilisation in Germany before the summit starts.
8. Mobilising Groups (II)
- Karawahnsinn, a bicycle-caravan is planed. It is not clear yet from how many directions this caravan will arrive.
- NoLager Netzwerk (no-refugee camp network): network of refugees and supportative groups, which are struggling for free movement of everybody (starting with free movement of refugees), abolishment of all camps for refugees, trying to strengthen the legal position of refugees and to stop deportations. In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, especially togolesian refugees are active and they bring in a international perspective into the mobilisation. To support their goals, it is very probable that the day before the summit will be a day about migration (like in Genoa). Migration is also in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern an important topic (it as a real outflow of population, working migration mostly in direction West-Germany).
- Several militant groups are active and till may 2005 there were 7 assaults in connections with the G8, counted by the german inner secret service - the guardians of the constitution. Three of them are known to the public. In Berlin a guest house of the Ministry of foreign affairs has been burned, in Hamburg they burned two cars and the explaining papers always mentioned the G8 as a region.
- Revolutionary alliance: At the time of its foundation 12 groups, mostly from West-Germany, all of them hierachically organised (they are openly struggling for vertical organisation). Most of the groups not big in numbers, but big in theory, as remainants from the 70ies and 80ies were communist sects and imperialist autonomous groups dominated the german left scene.
9. Mobilising Groups (III)
- Attac: founded directly after the G8 summit in Cologne 1999. Gained much strength in Germany after the G8 summit in Genoa and was back when one of the driving forces in the anti/alterglobalist movement in Germany. It strongly mobilised against the G8 2003 in Evian (one train with about 1000 activists) But has lost since steadily the power to dominate debates in Germany. Therefore this summit is very important for them also in the sence of the organisation.
From its organisation form it is still a network (though it has centralist tendencies). The participating individuals and groups show a large variety. From anarchist over socialist, trotzkist, peace movement, till far in the center left/bourgeois field.
The position towards the G8 is not clear yet. Internally there are discussions whether the G8 shall delegitimize the G8 or to see in them a legitimate partner for lobbying.
Attac is planing an activists camp in 2007.
- The action conference in Rostock is maybe the most interesting thing during the mobilisation against the G8 2007. It is meant to present a platform on which all groups from the left, mobilising against the G8 can work together - not to get split, as in Gleneagles 2005.
In March 2006 the first of the conferences took place. Present were individuals and groups going as far as Dissent!, peace movement, ecological movement, Attac, Socialist Party, Church, refugees, youth groups of the trade unions.
On the conference three working groups were founded, which are supposed to work steadily till the summit (blocades, camp 07, counter-summit)
-The interventionist left is one of the driving forces in establishing the action conference in Rostock. [Description - I can't do it myself, as I got a too strong personal opinion about it]
10. Mobilising Groups (IV)
- Social Forums: On the first federal Social Forum in Germany in ?, the topic of the G8 was brought up twice and also on the European Social Forum in Athens the G8 was a topic on the social forum and in 3 of 4 of the anarchist/autonomous counter forums. In February there was a meeting of social forums all over Europe, where the G8 also was brought up. It is not clear though, what they will be doing.
- There is now a network of several german and international NGOs in Germany around the G8. They had already two meetings. There is a large variety of NGOs participating from the radical left (BUKO), via ATTAC, to the center as NGOs standing close to the german churches. There are NGOs, working on globalisation in general, on debt release, ecology, human rights, development... It is not clear which position they will take towards the G8 (rather trying to lobby, or rather to delegitimize them). They participate in a counter-summit.
- The 'Linkspartei.PDS', the german socialist party, is an interesting phenomenon in the preparation. On the one side they are in the government in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, which invited the G8 to Heiligendamm, on the other side, they see themselves as the parlamentarian opposition to the G8. In regional level in the government they are for the G8, in the parliament and party against, and also on local and federal level tendencially rather against.
- The german Trade Unions didn't bring in themselves into the mobilisation yet, just their youth organisation is already participating actively in several networks.
- Radical parts of the ecological movements are already involved in the mobilisation. If beomes approved that energy will be one of the topics of the G8 in Heiligendamm, even larger parts of the anti-nuclear movement will hopefully take part in the mobilisation, as they are an important part of the german ecological movement and the part where exists a lot of knowledge about forms of action especially about blocades.
- furtheron, networks like indymedia (will be present also on the camp 2006), several antirepression networks as the Rote Hilfe and the Anarchist Black Cross, and free radios started to bring themselves into the mobilisation
Taken all together, it is clear that the G8 started to mobilise already large parts of the german left - already one year before the summit. Now it is time to include more and more international groups in the mobilisation.
The position of the extrem right is not clear yet. Until now they brought up the topic only in relation with the costs, the summit produces for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. But in Thuringa (south-east Germany) the Nazis have found globalisation as a topic for themselves. It might be therefore possible, that they aswell will mobilise against the G8. Locally the Nazis won't have the power to mobilize against the G8 before September. On September 17th there will be regional elections in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the Nazi Party (NPD) hopes to come into the second regional parliament (they are already in Sachsen/Saxony in the parliament). Therefore it is very possible that the Nazis will concentrate all their strength on the elections till End-September.
11. International mobilisation. The mobilisation was to some extent always international. As for example the Dissent! Network is an international network. The working meetings were strongly dominated by german groups. But slowly the effort to make the mobilisation international are excelerated. There are infotour-presentations in many european countries (e.g. Sweden, Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Poland, Czech Republic, Greece, Slowak Republic, Hungary, Romania and coming up: Italy, France, Spain, Baltic States, Finland, Danmark, Ireland...).
There is also an international list in english (g8-int-subscribe@lists.riseup.net)
In August there will be an international camp (more on the next page)
And the main website on the G8 2007, will slowly be translated now into english and maybe more languages (http://www.gipfelsoli.org).
12. There will be an international camp August 4th-13th somewhere close to Heiligendamm (the camp site is not clear, but there will be one for sure).
The content of the Camp will be an analysis of the G8 in St. Petersburg (to build a brigde between the summits and in order to learn from the victories and mistakes)
It is in the region, in order to get to know the localities for the summit next year.
There will be actions against military bases, refugee camps, GMO-experiments, and more.
There will be discussions about the G8.
There will be action trainings to get to know each others strategies, the strategies, which are used in Germany by activists and the police. And there will be space to get to know German laws and forms of repression (hopefully only theoretically).
And there will be music, culture... (check out http://www.camp06.org)
13. Some information about German police tactics. The most commonly use far distant-weapon, which is used in Germany are Water-cannons (the water is mostly mixed with tear gas), tear gas granades or rubber bullets are normally not used.
They rather try to come closer and to encircle larger groups to stop their ability to act freely.
There are also troops which are specialised to storm into a demonstration or a mob. Those troops try to single out 'leaders' or 'wrong-doers' and take them individually out. Look out for each other, especially in the end of demonstrations or actions, this is the time, when the police takes out the most.
There is a permanent use of cameras.
Try to avoid to come to close to the police, they might send you off. They take your identity and tell you a certain time (normally till the end of the day) and space (can be a whole city), which you are not anymore allowed to enter. If you do, they take you for up to 48 hours.
In close contact, they sometimes to use peppers spray.
Mumery/masking is not allowed in Germany, nor are passive or active weapons. For more information check out the 'Anti-Repression Guide' which will be translated soon into english (or which is already available in German: 'Was tun wenn's brennt?')
14. The local situation: Heiligendamm (about 200 inhabitants) is a part of the town Bad Doberan (5.000 inhabitants) on the coast of the baltic see in Mecklenburg Vorpommern it is about three hours west of Hamburg and also three north of Berlin.
15. Heiligendamm is some 20 km west of Rostock (200.000 inhabitants, the largest city in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern). Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is the least densly populated area in Germany. Alltogether there are only 1,7 million people living, tendencially declining, as many are migrating to west Germany because of the economic situation. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is the poorest area in Germany with the highest rate of unemployment (about 20%). The capital is Schwerin (south-west of Heiligendamm), Lübeck is already in Schleswig-Holstein, the next region to the west. In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern the left is rather weak. The centers of the left are mostly in the cities: Rostock, Neubrandenburg, Greifswald (both east of Heiligendamm), Schwerin and Wismar, but there are also several eco-villages. The rural area is mostly dominated by Nazis. Especially West-Mecklenburg, the most western part of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Vorpommern, the most eastern part of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. In the last (federal) election the German Nazi-Party, NPD, achieved to get 3,5% of the votes.
The main economy of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is the tourism sector. In order not to disturb the season, the G8-summit will be earlier (may/june).
16. Road Map. Heiligendamm is on a strip west of Rostock, east of Wismar, and north of the Autobahn A20, which is extremely low populated. Therefore it will be easy to close a large red zone, without disturbing too many inhabitants. The red zone will most probably start west of Kühlungsborn (a lot of hotel capacity), north of Bad Doberan and somewhere east of the forest between Bad Doberan and Heiligendamm.
Possible localities for actions might be the large roads (A20, A19), which are connecting the region with Berlin and Hamburg. The train tracks from Berlin and Hamburg (the one between Rostock and Berlin is at the moment reconstructed, in order to be used for high speed trains - the connection to Berlin-Rostock will shorten, as those trains can ride there up to 250km/h).
Other places of action might be the military bases (in the habour of Rostock (navy base) and the Airport Rostock-Laage (base for the German Eurofighters - connection to Bombodrom). The Airport Rostock Laage is also the airport where most probably the delegates and maybe even Bush & Co. Will arrive at.
Further on there are refugee camps, where an action day on migration might be hold and several fields where GMO are grown.
17.
18. Heiligendamm and environs: Heiligendamm is in the middle of a large forest by the coast. The hotel facilities are directly by the coast. It is the maybe only hotel in Germany where guests can spend their holidays with their horses (stud), in the same village (Vorder Bollhagen) is also the ecological farm of the hotel. The local golfcourse, which the guests use is further west, but a new one will be built south of Heiligendamm.
19. Heiligendamm itself is split between north and south. All buildings north of the train track (but a clinic, two churches and the train station) belong to one investor, the Fundus fonds company. The big street going through Heiligendamm was earlier a regional route, but was bought by the city (is now a communal road), and a new regional route has been built further south - now there is less traffic in Heiligendamm.
The inhabitants of Heiligendamm (about 200) live south of the train-track, most of them in three buildings in eastern-block style (big ugly block-building). Fundus wanted to buy it, to tear it down, but didn't succeed yet.
20. The hotel from the sea side. The sea bridge in front of the hotel is still open to the public, as is the beach and the promenade. Fundus wanted the city of Bad Doberan to build a new sea bridge further in the each for the normal people, and privatize the one in front of the hotel for the exclusive use of the hotel guests, and Fundus wanted to privatize the beach, too, but it succeeded with neither of the two.
21. History of Heiligendamm: Heiligendamm was the first german sea ressort. Up to the German-French war the buildings in which today's hotel is, were built. Some of the guests were the German Kaiser and the Russian Czar - it was already back then exclusive.
1996 Fundus bought the historical assembly. The first try to renovate it failed, as Fundus was not able to collect enough money. They succeed in the second try with strong financial support by the EU, the regional and federal government.
In 2003 the Hotel finally opened and soon won prices, as it is one of the most exclusive hotels in Germany. And 4 years after the opening it has a huge advertisement show for itself - summit.
22. The individual buildings
23. The interior (just the right surrounding for talks about debt release and poverty)
24. Already from the beginning on Fundus made strong efforts to strengthen security/repression. On each of the houses there are cameras. The entrances, to the Hotel ground are closed by gates (which have no door-knobs, but must be opened by a card only guest and [Angestellte] have). The hedges arround are not high (maybe forty cm), but the ground is guarded by the hotels own security service. Most of them are former police officers. They work closely together with the police and sometimes even like to extend their powers to the 'public space'. The police is stationed in Heiligendamm (200 inhabitants) since January 1st 2006. As there is no reason to have a police station for 200 inhabitants, this can be seen as one of the first reactions of repression organs to the first protests against the G8.
And every 'suspicious' looking person is controlled by the police and the identity taken. Of one of them is known, that he was visited after by the police in his home.
Furtheron, as a further reaction to the G8, Mecklenburg Vorpommern will get a new law on puclic security and order. Until now the law is one of the most liberal in Germany. The new law includes many restrictions and makes it to one of the most restrictive in Germany. The police will be allowed to take your blood on the spot. Preventive surveillance will be allowed - both of public space and of individuals. ....
25. Fundus owns half of Heiligendamm. The nothern part is owned completly by Fundus, including all buildings by the beach, and all roads except the large one going through Heiligendamm. The roads which Fundus ownes are closed to the public. And there is only one path left from center Heiligendamm to the beach, but this path (as it leads through the hotel area), Fundus wants to close aswell. Then tourists need to walk all around the central part of Heiligendamm to reach the beach.
On the upper left you see the private villa of Jagdfeld, the boss of Fundus.
26. And the Masterplan of Fundus indicates the direction Heiligendamm develops to. The plan of Fundus is to build an exclusive residential area south of Heiligendamm and a Golfcourse. The plan is, to say it with different words, to create an area for the rich - an oasis in the desert of poverty. Therefore it becomes clear, why Fundus steadily trys to close Heiligendamm to all, who are not able or willing to pay for entering Heiligendamm. Fundus wants to privatise the complete village.
27. Fundus has still some judicial problems with closing the village for 'intruders' and inhabitants, who are not rich. But they are steadily advancing. They own already half of Heiligendamm, including many streets, and all parking facilities in Heiligendamm. If you want to visit Heiligendamm by car, you therefore need to park on one of these parking facilities, as there is no possibility to park elsewhere in Heiligendamm. And the costs for parking in these facilities are immense. The only other way to approach the city is by the tourist train molly, but also from this train activists had been thrown.
Furtheron Fundus suggested inhabitants to move. Some with promising money, others with pression. But there are still people living there. But living is not easy in Heiligendamm. There are no shops anymore (the last one has been closed some five or six years ago), and all Gastronomy which is not run by Fundus has either to move or is (about to be) closed.
The biggest quarrels with inhabitants are those other the public access to the beaches. By Heiligendamm there are the traditional beaches of the inhabitants of Bad Doberan. Over and over again Fundus trys to close the roads leading to them. And Fundus also tried to by parts of the beach - but that is not allowed according to German law. So Fundus is only renting some of them. And there has been also quarrels about the public access to pathes and the surrounding forests. Because of the Hotel the international cycling path has been moved to the hinterland and the former regional route leading through Heiligendamm has been bought by the city of Bad Doberan and was communalized. Instead there has been built a new regional route further south - now Heiligendamm is free of heavy traffic (the guests don't want to be disturbed).
28. The protests in Bad Doberan organize in two local initiatives which are fighting against the ongoing privatisation of public spaces. One of the initiatives is represented in local parliament. But there is also an initiative which is supporting the 'investor'. Their arguments are jobs (Fundus promised 500 jobs, and created 300) and the promotion of tourism. The fan club of the investor has its own publication in which they heavily attack the opposing initiatives.
29. The Linden alley is the alley leading from Bad Doberan to Heiligendamm. Hitler drove along it in 1932 and called it the nicest alley in Germany. And he was therefore announced citizen of honor of Bad Doberan (the first city in Germany to do this). And only last year they scretched him out of the list of citizens of honor.
30. But there has been also already been global resistance in Heiligendamm. The biggest of those activities were on the global day of action in 2005 - parallel to the summit in Gleneagles. (police in front of the hotel, coast guard ship in front of [fernrohr], security service 'helping' activits to fold together their banner and activits on the sea brigde holding the banner. The police took this action very serious: there were 200 police men, two trucks with water cannons, a police tank and a ship of the coast guard - and 14 demonstrators. [on this topic you can show the movie 'heiligendamm05.rm]
The other pictures: there was an action to spread stickers all other Heiligendamm before the summit of Gleneagles. And shortly after it was announced that the summit will take place in Heiligendamm there was a spray on a wall by the beach in Heiligendamm saying: G8 - we are coming!.
31. See you there!
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(if introduction into the G8 is wanted) Show the movie: 'why close the G8' - or show the presentation (presentation g8) both give a short input into the G8. The movie has been made in the forerun to the G8 summit in Gleneagles 2005. (You can leave out the end, as there are just some actions described, which were planned for 2005)
