Monday, September 6, 2010

Hamburg street festival ends in rioting - again



Photo: DPA


The peaceful and friendly festival lasted all afternoon, with stands and music filling the streets of the Schanzenviertel area, only overshadowed by the expectation of a descent into rioting.

The atmosphere remained relaxed until darkness at around 8 pm, when the huge police presence, complete with water cannon, became obvious around the access roads into the area around the squatted building known as Rote Flora.

Critics say that such a show of force – with officers drawn from around the country – acts as a provocative challenge to potential rioters.

But Christoph Alhaus, Hamburg’s new mayor and former interior minister with responsibility for such decisions, along with his successor in that office, Heino Vahldieck, said the police would act decisively against any sign of riot.

By 9:30 pm the area around the Rota Flora was tense and the streets were empty of anyone other than people holding beer bottles – and the police.

This year the pubs and restaurants in the immediate area were not only closed but largely barricaded.

But it seems the mood has changed – particularly after rioters this May smashed up local shops rather than the banks and drug stores. Some closed up bars bore signs saying, "Closed against violence."

Some locals were even seen actively trying to prevent the rioting – throwing buckets of water on burning piles of rubbish and pulling apart barricades.

But by 11 pm the erection of a barricade on one street attracted the attention of the police, who were then showered with stones, bottles and some fireworks.

They retaliated with baton charges and water cannons for around two hours, eventually taking control of the streets around Rota Flora and pushing the rioters out of the area.

Several arrests were made, with numbers not yet clear, while at least one police officer and a number of anarchists were injured.

Rioters Clash With Cops After Street Festival

Around 300 left-wing protesters have clashed with police in Hamburg after an all-night street festival in the central Schanze neighbourhood.

Riot police run past smoke bombs during clashes after Hamburg street festival
Riot police run past smoke bombs during the clashes after a street party in Hamburg
The violence erupted when youths threw rocks and bottles at police and set light to barricades.
Officers responded by turning water canon on the crowds.
Similar riots broke out during last year's street festival when left-wing activists protested against a far-right rally.
Anticipating a repeat of the violent scenes, police had deployed about 2,000 officers in the area.

Rioters throw bottles at police following street festival in Hamburg
Protesters threw rocks and bottles at police
But some of the rioters still managed to cause damage to a bank branch and smash the windows of a supermarket.
According to local media reports, several rioters were arrested and two policemen were lightly wounded.
Before the clashes broke out, residents in the neighbourhood had tried to stop the protesters from throwing bottles and rocks.
The annual street party attracts large crowds with its music and food stalls in the central district of the German city and frequently sees clashes between protesters and police.

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Solidarity Poster for Polykarpos Georgiadis and Vaggelis Chrisohoidis (greece)



POSTER SAYS:
did anyone speak of a
KIDNAPPING?
“…A handful of capitalists
have organized a criminal gang
and have kidnapped the proletarians,
demanding for ransom
their labor force,
merchandising their human activity,
their time (which is turned into money),
their own being itself…”
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
to vaggelis Chrisohoidis and Polykarpos Georgiadis
who the persecuting authorities, exactly because they denied to betray values and people,
accuse them as participators in the kidnapping of industrialist Milonas
anarchists from Serres from north-greece


Anarchists solidarity protest outside Korydallos prison, the main prison in Athens, at the time of the change of the year. This protest happens every New Year's Eve for the past six years. This year more than 400 people took part in the protest that interacted with the prisoners inside through shouting mutual slogans and fireworks. The main slogan was "The passion for freedom is stronger that your prisons".
NEW YEAR OUTSIDE IN KORRIDALOS PRISON 2011
Watch live streaming video from agitprop at livestream.com
FIRE TO ALL PRISONS

A society that punishes/the condition of incarceration/the prison of the mind/the prison as punishment/the rage of the damned will sound on the ruins of prisons/those denying obedience and misery of our era even within its hellholes/will dance together on the ruins of every last prison/with the flame of rebellion avenging whatever creates prisons.

To the prisoners struggle already counting one dead and thousands in hunger strike across greece, we stand in solidarity and anger until the destruction of every last prison.


ARSON AND WILDFIRE FOR EVERY PRISON

SOLIDARITY TO ALL PRISONERS IN GREECE


Keny Arkana - La Rage English Subtitles

1976 - 2000 Greek Anarchists Fight for Freedom

(December Riots in Greece)