On July 6th and 7th the leaders of the most powerful countries around the world gathered in Hamburg. Aim of the meeting was to connect the twenty leading industrial states and emergent countries under the motto ‚Gemeinsam mehr erreichen als allein’. The city of Hamburg was shattered by more then fifty demonstrations during the summit. Courts interdicted spontaneous gatherings of people. Nevertheless thousands tried to block G20 in Hamburg. Some of the heaviest riots and clashes in the past thirty years and one of the biggest police missions in german post-war history took place around the International Congress Center in Hamburg.
Before protest began activists already got in trouble with police as they tried to prevent demonstrators that travelled to Hamburg from setting up tents in parks. In the end several small campsites were errupted. Two days before the summit meeting, on the 5th a night-dance demo took place. Everything stayed very peaceful as people were raving through the streets. The summit still seemed quite a bit away. On Thursday the protest wave hit the city.
Welcome to Hell – Police escalates situation at Fischmarkt
On Thursday evening – starting with a concert – more than twenty-thousand people gathered at Fischmarkt. Die goldenen Zitronen, Neonschwarz and many more played music against G20. As the protestor gathered on Hafenstrasse some of the participants mummed themselves. According to Hartmud Dudde, police operations manager, known for commiting breach of the law for several times with his tactics, six-hundred participants were hiding their faces. This number published in a press conference on Sunday July 9th is very hard to verify and was used to legitimize a police intervention that left many hurt and at least one person heavily injured. Our team whiteness the intervention. Groups of people were dispersed throughout the area near the Hafenstrasse. One car and a roadblock were burning. The police escalation of the demonstration in still and moving images:
At night the situation calmed a little down. People were getting ready for the first day of the summit and the many protests against it.
Shut Down the Logistics of capital
Early in the morning on July 7th the communist group ‚…Ums’s Ganze‘ organized a protest a little off the actual meeting. Activists met at the harbour to block goods from being transported into the container terminals. More then 500 parttook in this action. A huge traffic jam evolved and trucks did not reach the harbor on this route. On-site speakers said from the truck with a soundsystem that this is the exactly perfect spot, this is not an action against police or the harbour-workers, but a direct intervention in the stream of goods and therefore capital.
Color the Red-Zone
Already early the morning several thousand gathered all across the city to disturb the meeting and block routes of delegations and politicians transported to the International Congress Center. On Twitter was reported that VIP shuttles had to turn around as they were blocked. Even in the afternoon every once and a while smaller roadblocks led to full stops of busses. At the same time in Hamburg-Altona militants took action. Several cars were burning and banks attacked. Police tweeted that a Molotov cocktail was thrown at officers. This could not be verified so far and is possibly false information.
In the afternoon approximately five-thousand demonstrators tried to disturb an event at the newly opened Elbphilarmonie in a so called ‚Second Wave‘. Spontaneously a large group moved throughout St. Pauli. At least one luxury building was attacked with stones. Police pushed back a mass of people that approached the concert hall with water cannons. Several police officers were hurt as rockets, bottles and stones hit. The crowd then spread throughout Schanzenviertel and St. Pauli.
Heavy Riots in Alternative Schanzenviertel
Towards 7 PM groups gathered around Neuer Pferdemarkt. Some of the heaviest riots Germany has seen in the past thirty years started. Street barriers were lit. At least four stores were loitered. Police was pushed back by militants with stones, pyrotechnics and iron bars. Police did not enter the district for more then three hours. Drunk people from bars in the area joined organized militant anticapitalists. This is the point where the protest and the mood completely changed. Drunk people attacked police with glass bottles, started filming themselves, taking selfies and posing. Police then called special forces trained for high-security arrests, terror events and tactical mission. Thus joined other police forces and a task force entered a house to arrest people on a roof. On video footage released today by police in a press screening police pretends the throw of a molotov can be seen, that did not explode. 24mmjournalism was on site as this supposively happened and we can not verify nor deny that the bottle that is thrown in the video from the rooftop was a molotov cocktail. Police also presented a steel ball that was supposively found stuck in the armor of a water cannon, that was involved pushing into the district Schanze. Officials justify the deployment of heaviy armed special forces with people on roofs shooting iron balls with slingshots. With more then six-hundred police men and women, some of them armored with riffles, tear-gas, armored trucks, and water-cannons police was able to clear the area around occupied theatre Rote Flora at approximately 2 AM. Rumors about evictions of the occupied social center spread on Twitter. Thus were incorrect. Little clashes continued for two more hours in the area around. The number of hurt demonstrators by brutal police forces is unknown. Paramedics on site told us they were not able to count, but it were many.
Photo and Video
Mass Demonstration
On Saturday ten thousands of people then gathered for a mass demonstration. Organizers spoke of more then 76.000 people participating. In the back of the demonstration that stayed relatively peaceful several groups that showed antisemitic signs marched. Amongst those BDS. The march ended in a concert with several punk bands playing.
Drunk People Attack Police
After concerts ended on Saturday, near famous Millerntorstation, people moved towards the alternative Schanzenviertel again. Opposing the night before, the mood was really chill. People were drinking and hanging out. Then police started to arrest single people. Others already drunk started to throw bottles. Hour by hour the situation got more tense. Completely different then the night before, no organized groups started actions. Groups of mainly young men shouting swear-words attacked police.
Glass bottles were thrown. Water-cannons were used. A group of people tried to intervene and stepped in front of the water cannon with hands held up in the air. Drunks and unorganized rioters kept throwing bottles. This led to a further escalation of the situation. After action the night before with people attacking police from the roofs special forces were deployed again. SEK showed up with their brand new anti-terror truck Survivor. The military-equipped forces stood amongst drunks in front of Reithalle – in full gear with riffles etc – as the street was crowded and their deployment completely unnecessary they took off.
Later on Schulterblatt street drunks throwing bottles at police continued. Me and a freelance colleague were directly targeted by a group. I was also body-checked twice. The actions against police in the district continued for several hours.
Neo-nazis attack Alternative Bars
Nazis in normaler Klamotte haben beim #OnkelOttos 2 Mal angegriffen, haben viel Pfeffer dabei, die Bullen sind jetzt vor Ort. #nonazishh
— Antikap. Protestcamp (@Antikap_Camp) 9. Juli 2017
After a night of heavy riots neo-nazis from Northern Germany called for action to protect Germany. Eye-whitnesses told us a group of 15-50 attacked punk bars Onkel Otto, Kogge and at least another bar in the area around Hafenstrasse. The group could not be found by us in the early morning hours of July 9th.
Calm returned to the alternative district the next morning. Several unbearable and questionable things happened during the protest to colleagues working. Therefore some of the stories described below.
Press Freedom
As usual at mass events and summit meetings the organizers set up a press center close to the meeting area. Journalists – also accredited our team – are able to work here, are offered free food, high-speed internet and most recent breaking news. Several critics were tweeted by colleagues: Workspaces were to few on the first day with 5000 journalists that signed up. On the second day colleagues started reporting that there accreditations were withdrawn. This concerned mainly journalists working on protests against the meeting.
Auf Anweisung des BKA Einsatzleiter wurde mir am Eingang zum #g20 Pressezentrums gerade die G20 Akkreditierung abgenommen. #Pressefreiheit
— Björn Kietzmann (@bjokie) 7. Juli 2017
The german federal bureau of investigation BKA handed out four-page lists with names of journalists to take away their pass. We did not attempt to enter the press center as the accreditation is utterly important for working without trouble by police on demonstrations against such events. Journalists’ unions and Reporters without Borders got involved with the process and are questioning the case. This is especially strange as the BKA even did not answer to public television ARD what the exact cause for the withdrawel was. Also on the streets the situation with police officers and press was very tense several times. Colleague Flo Smith reported that he and his TV team were directly attacked with the words ‚Fuck the Press’ by police – more to be read in an article by Huffington Post.
“Es war höllisch” Reporter Flo Smith berichtet von gezieltem Pfefferspray-Angriff der Polizei https://t.co/jtWmNAiz8Q pic.twitter.com/VsdbjADjCD
— HuffPost Deutschland (@HuffPostDE) 8. Juli 2017
Our team was body-checked, cussed at and targeted with bottles whilst working on the night of the 8th. This did not happen during the heavy riots on the 7ths even though we were reported a camera-team of news channel N24 was attacked. As well as a reporter of taz-die tageszeitung:
Ich wurde von einem Vermummten niedergeschlagen. Mir geht es gut. Ich bin im Hotel. Gute Nacht und bis bald. #G20
— Martin Kaul (@martinkaul) 7. Juli 2017
Journalist Erik Marquadt was insulted antisemitic on the night of the 8th.
Mann mit Kufiya schreit mich vor der Roten Flora an: “Scheiß Presse, ihr seid doch alles Juden.” #G20HH2017 #G20 #G20protests
— Erik Marquardt (@ErikMarquardt) 9. Juli 2017
An unbearable situation for journalists that has do be brought to the public nd widely questioned throughout society.
Commentary
All in all to me the protest against the meeting seemed successfull. Plenty groups drew attention away from the meeting. Travels for delegations with bus to the center were at least delayed. In the public reception loitering will always take a big roll when talking about G20 in Hamburg. Especially the second night of riots though was not at all done by organized people, but simply drunks getting into stress with police. This takes away attention of the aims of the protest and leads to a criminalization. An historic protest weekend happened the past four days in the downtown of Hamburg – it will stay in people’s minds.
Aftermath
To present a little overview over the damage – some pictures of cleaning and spectators taking selfies next to broken windows, as well as journalists working in the area.
