2009-03-30

March 29th 2009 Strasbourg/ Baden-Baden -- London -- Genoa

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Escalation of persuasive advertising of the German Intelligence Service

In the afternoon of the 24th of March the Verfassungsschutz (German intelligence Service) again attempted to recruit an activist. A woman of about 40 years, 1,70 meters tall, and with thin, light brown, curled hair introduced herself as “Christine” to the mother of an activist living at home. She tried to create a false sense of familiarity as she explained that she was there because the person in question had had “difficulties in the previous year because of her resistance to state repression”. Cooperation was flatly refused.

More: http://linksunten.indymedia.org/node/1931

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Cautious Strasbourg prepares for NATO summit

Strasbourg is shutting schools, sending out up to 15,000 troops and police, and even sealing up the manholes into its sewers as the city readies itself to host NATO's 60th anniversary summit. The intensive security, costing some 110 million euros ($147.4 million), is meant to protect leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama

More: http://www.welt.de/english-news/article3465991/Cautious-Strasbourg-prepares-for-NATO-summit.html

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London and Strasbourg braced for protests

By Ben Hall in Paris, Bob Sherwood in London and Chris Bryant in Berlin , Financial Times, 27 Mar 2009

Police across Europe are preparing for a wave of protests by radical groups, with London and Strasbourg braced for large and potentially violent demonstrations against the Group of 20 and Nato summits next week.

London is expected to witness anti-capitalist demonstrations on a scale previously unseen in Britain as anger over the financial crisis fuels protests surrounding the meeting of G20 world leaders on Thursday.

More: http://money.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=794547

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G20 protesters face police with Tasers

David Leppard and Steven Swinford

SCOTLAND YARD is to deploy officers armed with 50,000-volt Taser stun guns to deal with violent demonstrators planning to disrupt this week’s G20 summit in London.

The centrepiece of the security plan will be hundreds of officers from the Metropolitan police territorial support group, who are routinely armed with speedcuffs, extended batons and CS gas spray.

Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/G20/article5993139.ece

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Police tactics set the scene for violent G20 showdown

By talking up the likelihood of a ‘summer of rage’, the Metropolitan Police risks creating the very unrest that it seeks to dispel

By Seth Jacobson

Thousands of protestors are expected to take part in a series of anti-capitalist and pro-environment marches in London next week as the capital prepares to play host to the G20 summit. And there are fears that ‘political policing’ of the demonstrations could provoke violent scenes as demonstrators react against heavy-handed tactics.

More: http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/46857,features,police-tactics-set-the-scene-for-violent-g20-showdown

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ITALY: THE GENOA 2001 TRIALS

Statewatch Analysis

Italy: Making sense of the Genoa G8 trials and aftermath by Yasha Maccanico examines the trials of the protestors and the police and their outcomes:

Download at http://www.statewatch.org/analyses/no-77-genoa-aftermath.pdf

This analysis seeks to identify some of the key points for understanding the outcome of the trials involving demonstrators and police officers in relation to events during the G8 summit in Genoa in July 2001, and to investigate the implications for public order policing and the right to demonstrate.

See also: Statewatch’s Statewatch’s Observatory on reactions to protests in the EU (from 2001 – ongoing) at http://www.statewatch.org/observatory3.htm

Source: email

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Firefighters clash with riot police in Athens

Greek firefighter lights a flare during occupation of fire service headquarters.

Firemen from all around Greece gather in Athens to demand permanent employment and clash with riot police forces

Tension rose to new levels in the Greek capital last week when two bodies of public security, the firemen and the riot police clashed in the center of Athens during the former's national campaign to protest against the non-implementation of promises made by the Ministry of Interior.

More: http://libcom.org/news/firefighters-clash-riot-police-athens-29032009