Dubya not welcome in Europe
Indy Media 22may02
Resistance is flaring up against George W. Bush’s visit to Europe. Tens of thousands of people are protesting against the US government’s appalling human rights record, their "war on terror" and their disregard for international agreements. Moreover they are protesting against Bush as one of the most prominent representatives of neoliberal capitalism, which is tied to big business and is spread around the globe by violent means.
In the German capital Berlin, protests started with a 70,000-strong peaceful demonstration on Tuesday May 21st. On Wednesday, tens of thousands of people took part in a variety of demonstrations and actions, with loud and colourful crowds moving all over downtown Berlin. The festive atmosphere became more tense in the evening as police attacked parts of the crowd at 'Schlossplatz' square. Thousands of people were violently driven away from the 'red zone' with water cannons and baton-charges. Demonstrations against Bush's visit and against the German government's participation in the 'war on terror' also took place in more than 50 other German towns and cities.
In response to dissent on the streets, Berlin is seeing the biggest deployment of police since World War II. Both the city council and the federal government have made clear that where the comfort of a US president is concerned, the people’s civil rights come second. A 'red zone' has been declared around the goverment area. The mainstream media predicted large-scale rioting by protesters during weeks of misinformation in the run-up to the event.
Germany braces for Bush protests
BBC 20may02
Peace
for the world,
pretzels for Bush,
reads a banner draped from a church in Berlin
Germany is preparing a massive security operation ahead of President George W. Bush's trip to Berlin, where thousands of demonstrators are expected to assemble for three days of protests against US policies.
Some 10,000 security officers are to be mobilised in one of the largest police deployments in Berlin's history.
A large section of the city and the airspace above it will be closed during Mr Bush's 19-hour visit, which starts on Wednesday.
Heavily guarded underground tunnels will be the only way into most parliamentary buildings ahead of Mr Bush's address to the house on Thursday, and staff have been ordered to keep all windows locked.
It is thought Mr Bush will use his European visit - which will also take him to Russia, Italy and France - to try to win backing for possible US strikes against Iraq.
"We're going to make clear that Mr
Bush's use of the events of 11 September
to make war around the world is not acceptable"
- Reiner Braun, Axis of Freedom
But opponents of military action say they will turn out in their thousands to demonstrate their rejection of President Bush's policies.
"We're going to make clear that Mr Bush's use of the events of 11 September to make war around the world is not acceptable," Reiner Braun of Axis of Freedom, an umbrella group organising protests across the country, told BBC News Online.
"He will be welcomed to our country with a mass demonstration."
Taking to the streets
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has vowed to come down hard on displays of violence anticipated during the demonstrations, planned for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
"Anyone who mixes the freedom to protest with violence will run against the full force of the police," he told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.
Mr Bush, he said, was "a good friend of Germany" who was "heartily welcome" in the country.
"We have so many common interests and common values that occasional differences of opinion are pushed into the background," said the chancellor, who has nonetheless made clear that Germany would not enter into any military action against Iraq without a UN mandate.
Members of the Green Party, Mr Schroeder's government coalition partner, do however intend to take part in the protests, despite being urged by Green Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer to refrain.
"We do not intend to demonstrate against Bush the guest, but, for example, against the threat of a war on Iraq," said Green MP Annelie Buntenbach.
"Differences of opinions shouldn't just
be expressed
in parliament, but also on the streets"
- Peter Porsch, PDS
Berlin's former communist party, the PDS, which rules the city in coalition with Chancellor Schroeder's SDP, also intends to participate in the demonstrations.
"Differences of opinions shouldn't just be expressed in parliament, but also on the streets," said the party's acting chairman, Peter Porsch.
According to a survey by the Spiegel magazine, nearly 80% of Germans are critical of the United States, and half hold a negative view of Mr Bush.
European leaders have increasingly expressed anxiety about unilateralism in American foreign policy and disregard for the opinions of other nations.
Those voices have included that of Foreign Minister Fischer.
"I utterly reject anti-Americanism. But, for all the differences in size and weight, alliance partnerships between free democracies cannot be reduced to obedience," he has said.
"Alliance partners are not satellites."
Bush faces protests in Germany
BBC 21may02
A massive security operation is in place
US President George W Bush flies to Europe on Wednesday for a visit designed to bolster support for US military action, but which is in danger of being overshadowed by street protests.
"We have indications from a variety of sources that violent left-wing extremists will attempt disruption" - Police spokesman, Carsten Graefe
When Mr Bush arrives in Germany on Wednesday, 10,000 police officers will be on duty to combat the threat of violent demonstrations.
Officials fear that a hard core of 2,000 protesters in Berlin could hijack peaceful left-wing demonstrations.
On Tuesday, about 10,000 protesters took to the streets, mostly to protest against American foreign policy.
The rally, organised by around 240 separate groups, passed off peacefully, although a small march by the coalition Green Party was broken up by radical anti-globalization campaigners.
The police restored order but the BBC's Berlin correspondent Rob Broomby says the incident has highlighted the fear that peaceful protests can easily be a cover for more serious disruption.
Seeking support
Mr Bush - who is also visiting Russia, France, and Italy - is expected to use his European tour to seek support for possible US action against Iraq.
This is a prospect which has caused anxiety among some European governments.
About 10,000 people took part in Tuesday's demonstrations
His visit to Germany will include talks with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.
He is also expected to deliver what has been described as an historical speech to the German parliament, the Bundestag, focusing on the war on terror.
More than 100 separate protests, involving more than 200 diverse groups, are planned during his visit to Germany.
The anti-American protesters argue that US foreign policy has already gone too far, and is increasingly unilateral.
The protest "is not against Bush or his visit, but his war policy," said protester Christa Peter, a 46-year-old teacher from Berlin.
"This theory of the 'axis of evil' is dangerous, and allies like Germany need to take this opportunity to warn him."
Huge police presence
Anti-globalisation protests are also expected, and separate action by pro-American demonstrators is planned.
In Berlin, the 10,000-strong force of officers will be the highest number ever deployed for a post-war state visitor.
Bush tour
Wednesday - arrive Germany
Thursday - address German parliament, fly to Moscow
Friday - meet Putin, sign arms control treaty
Saturday - visit St Petersburg
Sunday - fly to Paris, meet Chirac
Monday - visit French US war cemetery, travel to Rome, meet Pope
Tuesday - Nato summit, return home
"We have indications from a variety of sources that violent left-wing extremists will attempt disruption either from within the rallies or at locations out of the city centre," police spokesman Carsten Graefe said.
"The police are ready. We will be on red alert. There will be massive areas closed off...so that there will be no danger to the state's visitor."
Sewers are being welded shut, police divers will search waterways for hidden explosives, and large areas around government buildings will be completely closed to the public. Airspace is also being closed.
German Foreign Minister Joschke Fischer backed the right of people to protest peacefully, but appealed for violence to be avoided.
"It is in everyone's interest that the demonstrations remain peaceful, otherwise the message transported will be different from the one intended," Mr Fischer said on German Radio.
President Bush has been accused of unilateralism
"Ugly anti-American images would be sent across the Atlantic."
And Chancellor Schroeder warned that police would deal firmly with violence.
"Anyone who confuses the freedom to demonstrate with brawling will run into the decisive and very hard resistance of the police," Mr Schroeder told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.
Mr Bush will be in Germany until Thursday, staying at a luxury hotel on the Unter Den Linden in what was East Berlin.
He will travel on to Moscow on Thursday afternoon.
His six-day trip will culminate in a Nato summit in Italy.
Bush aims to cement European ties BBC 22may02
Berlin is mounting a huge security operation
US President George W Bush is in Germany at the start of a week-long tour of Europe aimed at boosting support for his war on terror and narrowing differences with his allies.
His arrival in Berlin was marked by protests by thousands of German demonstrators, and some clashes have been reported.
Speaking after the president's plane touched down, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said Iraq would be on the agenda.
Concern has been voiced by many European politicians since President Bush outlined what he called an "axis of evil" earlier this year comprising Iraq, Iran and North Korea - potential targets of the US-led war on terror.
Mr Powell said the Berlin visit would celebrate the strong relationship between Germany and the United States, although he conceded there were disagreements on trade.
Berlin agenda
In central Berlin, large crowds of anti-war demonstrators were kept well away from President Bush and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder as they dined near the Brandenburg Gate.
However repeated clashes between protesters and police broke out after a march by anti-globalisation demonstrators, left-wing and anarchists groups had begun peacefully.
Some 10,000 police officers were mobilised to try to prevent any violence, in one of the biggest security operations in the city's history.
Mr Bush is to speak to the German parliament in the historic Reichstag building on Thursday.
Arms treaty
The centrepiece of the Bush tour will be the signing of a new arms treaty with Russia, slashing nuclear arsenals by two-thirds.
Mr Bush will travel to Moscow on Thursday afternoon.
As Mr Bush set out on his trip, European Commission President Romano Prodi called for Europe to start speaking "with a single voice" in foreign policy matters if it wanted to be taken seriously by America.
He told the European Parliament that trade was the only area in foreign policy "where the EU is on an equal footing with the United States".
Mr Prodi also called for a single European police force to fight terrorism and organised crime.
The US drive to expand the war on terror has met with some resistance in Europe.
Speaking to reporters before Air Force One departed for Berlin, Mr Bush said: "Our alliance must remain tough in the war against global terror."
Mr Bush will also be seeking to close gaps over a number of other issues, including the death penalty, the creation of an international criminal court, trade tariffs and policy towards the Middle East.
"Even though we've had some initial successes, there's still danger for countries which embrace freedom, countries such as ours, or Germany, France, Russia, or Italy," said Mr Bush.
His six-day trip will culminate in a Nato summit in Italy.
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