Media G8way 9. Juni 2007

These protests have changed the political world.

The demonstrations against this year’s G8 summit in Heiligendamm, Northern Germany have been a major success: “We managed to cripple the summit on the streets from the first day of the summit”, stated Lea Voigt of the ‘Block-G8′ campaign. Official G8 organizers were forced to call “Plan B,” Ferrying summit attendees by boat or helicopter, as land
routes were blocked by thousands of summit objectors.

For many people of all ages and backgrounds blockading the G8 their first encounter with mass protest and direct action, demonstrating not only their opposition to the inherently unrepresentative summit, but also their ability to create a better world. More than 18,000 people overfilled three self-organized protest camps in Rostock,Wichmannsdorf
and Reddilich during the days of the G8 summit, creating a diverse space where everyone had an equal voice.

Despite the largest security operation in German history since World War II, over 10,000 people succeeded to block the G8 inside of their own 12 kilometer security fence, effectively penetrating the four kilometer “no protest zone” for two entire days. Thousands brought sleeping bags and
spent nights on the blockades. Some were turned away by water cannons and tear gas, but returned the next day to resume their blockades. As one activist stated at the blockades, “Democracy will always be found in
some form, where it is least allowed. They cannot forever keep out the people who come to hold them accountable. Our numbers will continue to grow.”

Despite bans on protests and marches people took to the streets, forests and fields around Heiligendamm. During the week of resistance in Germany, 700 people were arrested for protesting the G8, many of them
never having attended such an action. The generosity of local residents was a great boost to activists, providing water and food to activists at blockades, even when they were encircled for many hours and denied access to such necessities.

The movement has been boosted. The alliances created in the greater campaign against the G8 will continue the struggle against undemocratic corporate controlled globalization that values war over peace, fences over democracy, and profits over people and planet alike.
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