2007-03-24
- Convergence Center Hamburg
- Welcome to the mass demonstration against the G8 Summit on 2.6.2007 in Rostock!
- G8-Germany International Preparatory Meeting for the international Demonstration 2.6. in Rostock
- International Day of Direct Action against Climate Change and the G8.
- Call for action against G8
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Convergence Center Hamburg
dear people,
in the context of the mobilisation against the G8 summit from the 6th to the 8th of June in Heiligendamm we plan to set up Convergence Centers ("places to gather") in Rostock, Berlin and Hamburg. In addition to the camps we want to create solid spaces for those arriving and a platform for open participation of activists from other cities and countries.
Why do we need a convergence center in hamburg during the of 26th of may and the 10th of june 2007? Since the Worldbank summit in Prague in 2000 Convergence Centers have been set up by local structures to support protests against events of symbolic concentration of power.
Expecting the G8-Meeting close to our city a local anti-G8-structure developed during the last years (particularly after the G8-summit in 2005 in Scotland) and led after the Camp Inski in summer 2006 to the idea of a Convergence Center in Hamburg in the Rote Flora. Based on the concept of decentral actions as well as the countrywide demand to use the anti-G8-protest for putting local political struggles into a global context, the Convergence Center Hamburg (CCH) can be another step towards a local political continuity, which enhances structures in Hamburg and transnational networking even beyond this year's summit. Activists can arrive from the week prior to the summit to get organized and be mobilized to Heiligendamm for the days of the summit. Because of the new police law of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern we cannot eliminate the possibilty of "Gebietsverweise" (being expelled of the area), which could force many acitivists back into Hamburg or Berlin. Therefore the CCH will not close with the end of the summit, but stay open for a few more days and enable a wrap-up of the days of protest. Of course we hope that the Convergence Centers generally offer spaces to react solidly on repression.
An important factor for choosing this time-period is also the ASEM-meeting of EU-mininsters of foreign affairs with their counterparts from 16 asian countries, which will take place in Hamburg on th 28th and 29th of May. This meeting - like other EU-meetings- is directly connected with the G8-summit, which amongst other things can be seen in the topics of the meetings: Privatisation, extension of the fortress europe, preparation of wars, cutback of data protection, patents and and the renaissance of nuclear power. Fitting into the context of local struggles and anti-G8-protest, the planned days of action in Hamburg and a big demonstration in those days can also be understood as a warm-up for the G8-summit.
As part of the Anti-G8-Mobilisation there will be several caravans passing and stopping in Hamburg. The bicycle-caravan will already arrive in the CCH on the 23th/24th of May.
So how will it look like here? An infopoint connected with Rostock and Berlin will inform you about actions, camps and demonstrations. You can find places to sleep in the beds-bourse, have food for action in the 'vokü', recover in a relaxation room and find First Aid support.
Furthermore there will be several workshops of which "paramedic" and "legal support" are already organized. Indymedia will supply technical equipment to spread and translate news and interpreters of preferably many languages will provide information and plenaries for everyone.
For all of this we need your advice, contacts, ideas and help from now on. The preparation takes a lot of energy and work and it has become clear that criminalization cannot be ruled out. Even more important it seems to us, is that many different political groups and individuals join this project.
The Convergence Centers play a basic role in the coordination of protests. They are not only a solidary contribution especially for international activists, but are themselves spaces in which protest and another form of collectivity can be experienced. The legitimate resistance against the G8-policies has a global claim and cannot be halted through local repression. As an open space organised autonomously and democratically the Convergence Center offers room for discussions on chances and problems of the protest-movement, motivation and direct exchange with people we cannot meet every day.
We still need:
* Action-Food-Groups
* Interpreters (for internet and during the summit)
* places to sleep
* donations of material (textiles, pencils, colours, umbrellas, dishes, bicycles etc)
* Transport for Shuttle to Mecklenburg Vorpommern
* people to placard and spread flyers * Workshops for the CCH
* Donations of money on the account: Netzwerk Selbsthilfe e.V., Konto 740 388 7000, BLZ 100 900 00, Berliner Volksbank IMPORTANT: Subject "Convergence Center"
Please contact us
* www.hamburg.dissentnetzwerk.org
* Email: convergence-hh[AT]nadir.org
* Or put messages in the CCH-Postbox in the Rote Flora
Every 2. sunday of the month the Anti-G8 Info-Café takes place in the Hafenvokü (Hafenstraße). Different themes and forms of protest concerning the G8 are introduced and discussed, there is an information-wall of the CCH and there is space for exchange whilst having coffee and cakes.
So join in and contribute, help us with the preparation, ask us, be solidary and come together...
good night G8!
[www.hamburg.dissentnetzwerk.org]
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Welcome to the mass demonstration against the G8 Summit on 2.6.2007 in Rostock!
On 2 June, many thousand people from throughout Europe will travel to Rostock to protest in a mass demonstration against the G8 summit in Heiligendamm. We are standing up against the politics of the G8 - against climate change and illegitamate debts, and say instead that "another world is possible".
The eight most powerful industrial countries use the G8 summit as a forum for their interests. With our mass demonstration, we want to give the movements in Germany, Europe and the whole world the chance to protest against the politics of the G8 and to make their own demands.
Get involved! Come to Rostock and send this appeal to everyone you know!
We invite all organisations and networks that are part of the movement for social justice to join the protest - from the East and the West, from the North and the South.
* Support the international mass demonstration against the G8 summit. Enter your name and the name of your organisation in the list of supporters at www.heiligendamm2007.de.
* Send this e-mail to other organisations and networks and tell them about the demonstration in Rostock.
* Come to the third international action conference from 13-15 April in Rostock.
Information about the mass demonstration in Rostock is attached.
In the name of the participants of the international preparatory meeting for the mass demonstration against the G8 summit.
Sabine Zimpel and Christine Buchholz p.p. Demo-Workinggroup
office@heiligendamm2007.de
www.heiligendamm2007.de
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G8-Germany International Preparatory Meeting for the international Demonstration 2.6. in Rostock
10.03.2007 Hamburg
On Saturday, June 2 , there will be a huge demonstration against the G8 Summit in Rostock.
You can be part of a very big movement! Tens of thousands of people will come from different countries and different political groups: From the radical left to the churches, from environmentalists to trade unionists. All together we want to build a big movement. At this moment a big part of the work is done! Now we need you to mobilise!
Here is a summary of the informations given in the meeting
1. Demonstration is the event, where most people will come to Rostock. All groups and parties work together. The demonstration will be a peaceful event of solidarity and unity.
2. Schedule: We will have 2 demoroutes, because there hopefully will be 100000 people, who need place and time for the route. One start will be in the west of Rostock, the other at the main railway- station. Both routes are ending at the harbour. At 11am is the beginning with an interlude, at 12 o'clock the speeches will start, at 1pm is the start of the demonstration which ends around 4pm at the harbour, until 6pm there will be speeches and music, until 10pm music and speeches. Please don't book your transport back before 7pm.
3. We want many of you to stay in Rostock, because a Week of Action will follow the next days. The second important day is Wednesday: start of the summit! There will be massblockades to throw sand in the wheels of the G8-summit. There will also be a countersummit. On Thursday a "Sternmarsch" to Heiligendamm is planned: people go to Heiligendamm from 4 starting points. And there will the church bell ringing around Heiligendamm, it is called: "Heiliger Damm des Gebets" / "Holy dam of pray". We plan also a final demo or action on Friday, at the end of the summit.
4. Mobilisation: first posters and leaflets are already printed. There will be a second wave with more supporter signs on the call. The call is open for everybody and all organizations to sign! It costs 20- 500€ for financing, it depends on the size of the organization. Please also contribute financially. We have to pay all the demo-logistics from the participation groups and organizations. There is no money from the state for the demo.
FAQ from the international guests/ answers:
* The slogan for the demo is: Another world is possible.
* We want a broad and colourful protest. We will have good communication in the demo*teamleaders to support each other in case police may provoke.
* We are still working on the speakers list
* We work very hard on the question of accommodation for international guests. There will be place for tents. We may have a few big tents, but please bring your own tent!
* There will be an whole actionweek, its very good to stay after the big demo
* There are special trains. For questions: g8-proteste@attac.de
* We are also trying to organise meeting-rooms for international guests
* We are trying to organise support for visa problems for international groups we are trying to get in touch with the police for questions of controls at the border
* It is very important to be very early in Rostock. Planning to arrive at 12 o'clock is too late. The longer the journey, the longer the stops, the longer the delays. So: please take the time and be there early in the morning. There are always unforeseeable incidents. It is good to plan to in Rostock at 8 or 9 am.
We have to work in two directions. We need to know about your mobilisation and your plans about Rostock. This is also a strong motivation for our mobilisation in Germany. We need patience for some of the questions mentioned above. We will inform you as soon as possible.
Come to Rostock III International Action-Conference (13.-15. April)
It's the third action-conference in Rostock to prepare the G8-protests. Everybody of you is asked to offer workshops.
Program: Friday, 13.5.: Opening Panel; Saturday: 14.5.: Opening Plenary // Workshops on thematically questions // Workshops on practical questions (demo, camp, blockades) // Big Panel with experts on climate change; Sunday, 15.5.: final plenary & decisions
We are working on consecutive translation in the workshops.
For further information: There is no special newsletter, our main communication is running on www.heiligendamm2007.de.
Email: office@heiligendamm2007.de
Sabine Zimpel and Christine Buchholz p.p. Demo-Workinggroup
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International Day of Direct Action against Climate Change and the G8.
The 8th of June International Day of Action Against has been called by the International Rising Tide Network. This is a call for autonomous, decentralized actions appropriate for your town, city, or local area.
Direct Action for Climate Justice - Resistance is Self Defense!
We all know the terrifying statistics: a million species extinct by 2050, 19 of the 20 hottest years on record since 1980, Greenland and Antarctica melting, droughts, floods, famines ... the G8 have had over 30 years to address climate change and only succeeded in providing trillions in subsidies to the very industries that are destroying our planet and our future. And while the G8 continues to line their pockets, island states disappear and hundreds of thousands die as a result of the freak weather conditions caused by their irrational and uncontrollable obsession with never ending economic growth.
We have a ten-year window to act. As the megalomaniac G8 leaders meet in Germany, masked behind a barrier of fences and soldiers, intent on leading us further towards catastrophic and irreversible climate chaos, we must shout, scream and roar 'no more'. Now is the time to take direct action and shut them down, them and their climate criminal industry friends!
Use this international day of action to support local struggles against oil refineries, gas pipelines, strip mines and coal-fired power plants. Disrupt the financial backers of the fossil fuel industry. Organise workshops to spread sustainable post-petroleum living skills. Find a weak point in the infrastructure of resource exploitation and throw a literal or symbolic wrench in the works. It's time to visit your local polluters and give 'em hell!
We already know of actions planned across the UK, North America, Germany, Canada and Australia and that's just the start! By 8th June actions will be planned around the world. Pass this call out on to all environmental justice, climate action, radical sustainability and related movements in all the G8 countries and the Global South.
Rising Tide will create a collection of outreach and agit-prop materials (including this call out in five different languages) that can be used by groups around the world to organise locally. These materials will be downloadable from www.risingtide.org.uk and http://risingtidenorthamerica.org.
Direct action and civil disobedience are the rational response in this time of crisis. Support the 8th of June International Day of Direct Action against Climate Change and the G8! Tell us about planned actions for climate justice being planned in your community. Contact us - info@risingtide.org.uk and contact@risingtidenorthamerica.org
In June 2007 the G8 will understand the meaning of rebellion, revolt and revolution. Their recipe for catastrophe will be met with our worldwide resistance!
Rising Tide
Homepage: http://www.risingtide.org.uk
[http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/03/365930.html]
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Call for action against G8
Palestine: No wars - no Walls
In the first week of June the bosses of the 8 economically most powerful nations of the world will meet for a nice cup of tea in the German resort of Heiligendamm, close to Rostock. To guarantee the security of the cosy meeting, the place will be surrounded by a security fence 2 1/2 meters high, 1 meter deep into the ground, and 13 kilometers long, using 12.5 million Euros worth of barbed wire and cement.
Just like the rich in the metropolises of the world, like the exploiting North against the exploited South, like the US-occupant in Baghdad, like the Israeli occupation in Palestine - in the era of neoliberal capitalism, oppression needs walls and fences, racist laws and ethnic cleansing, discourses of exclusion and "clashes of civilizations" in order to defend itself.
To control the key resource, oil, the issue of strategic control is essential in Palestine as in the whole region. A region of puppet regimes - considered as the "moderates" - is emerging who are willing to do the dirty business of oppressing their peoples. This is what the project of a "Greater Middle East" is all about. Like any other colonial project, it considers tribal and religious identity as essential, it relies on separation, racism, and the alleged incompatibility of cultures. It builds ideological walls and walls of concrete, in Palestine a wall that separates farmers from their olive groves, students from school and university, workers from their jobs - a wall that doesn't serve anybody's security, but is rather designed for landgrab and making people homeless.
G8, walls, wars and exclusions go together. That is why thousands from the region, from all over Germany, Europe, Israel, and Palestine will come to Rostock to protest against the meeting of those who rule the world without being legitimized:
- on the international demo block "Palestine - no wars, no walls", June, 2nd , in Rostock
- on the day of blockades against militarization, wars and occupations on June, 5th around Rostock-Laage airport
The participants of the summit will land in Rostock-Laage. This airport is partly used by the military, partly for civil purposes. It has become the most important miltary air base in Northern Europe and will be further enlarged as a central military base. It serves as an airfield not just for cheap tourist flights but also for Eurofighters. These are of essential significance for the German military as well as for the NATO Response Force, in other words for international military interventions. As in the case of this airport, as in the case of the summit talks and in general, when strategies of global power are being dealt with, civil matters and military matters merge and become indiscernible from each other. The political and social spheres are penetrated by and subordinated to the demands of a vague and all-encompassing idea of "security" - the security of the few against the many. Wars are no longer being fought between armies, but they are fought - without being declared - against civil populations and stay as bloody occupations - in Palestine for the last 40 years. Civilians, sovereign states, territories, international accords and human rights are overrun and bombarded, as in Iraq, in Lebanon, in Afghanistan, in Palestine.
Zones excluded from any rule of law, torture centres, prisoners' camps are everywhere, even in the wealthy regions of the world. Enjoying the most basic rights has become a privilege, that is being defended fiercely, just as prosperity, security and the access to resources is being defended fiercely against those "outsourced" by global neoliberal economy.
The "War against Terror", explicitly declared as a never ending, pre-emptive global war, aims at pushing and securing the interests of global players. It is waged in many ways: as annihilation of civil rights and extension of the surveillance state, as undermining of the right of asylum and the right of residence, as fortification of the islands of prosperity, as export of democracy and human rights - actually impeding self rule and undermining human rights. If juridical, diplomatic, and political manipulations don't work, or if those aimed at dare to resist - it is the sheer violence of war and torture that is being used against them. This happens in Palestine and in different forms and degrees in many places all over the world.
The orchestra of global imperial rule needs regular tuning - that's what the G8 summits are all about. And that's what our resistance is about, as part of the global resistance and protest movements
- on 2/6, against war and racist segregations
- on 5/6, against the military component of neo-liberal globalization - in Palestine and everywhere
Palästina - Solidarität gegen G-8
Palestine - Solidarity against G8
Palestine - solidarité contre G-8
Contact: nowars-nowalls@so36.net
Websites: www.g8andwar.de
www.heiligendamm2007.de
www.gipfelsoli.org
www.dissentnetwork.org
http://g8-2007.de
http://antig8.tk
www.g8-germany.info
www.attac.de/g8
[v.i.S.d.P.: Rachel Corrie, Jerusalemerstr.1, 10117 Berlin]