Press Statement on the incidents of violence on June 2 by Debt Campaigners
We, the representatives of movements and organizations working for the
cancellation of debt, from Germany and from more than 50 countries and
all continents around the world, express our deep concern about the
over shadowing of the real issues for which people have gathered here in
Rostock as a result of incidents of violence that took place during the
March and Rally on the 2nd of June 2007.
We are appalled by the presence of such a large number of security
personnel which seem to have taken siege of the city of Rostock. This
provocative presence is the primary source of tension, fueling a
situation in which the slightest incident can trigger a major outbreak.
Following the statements of the coordination committee for the
alternative summit we distance ourselves from sources of violence, and
demand that the constitutional rights to freedom of assembly and to
protest of the thousands of persons gathered now in Rostock be
respected. We deplore the disproportionate use of force by the security
forces. It is totally unacceptable that the persons who have been
detained have been deprived of their right to due process, including the
right to legal assistance due to police harrassment of members of the
legal team.
People of the world are assembled in Rostock in order to convey to the
G8 leaders, and to the public at large, the urgent need for a just,
equitable and violence-free world order. Unfortunately, the attention
and focus of the media and the world at large has been cornered by a few
unrelated incidents. We call on the media and other civil society
representatives to concentrate on the real issues at stake which affect
the lives of millions of people around the world, which are being
debated in the various forums related to the alternative summit.