Reuters 15. jan 2007

By Erik Kirschbaum

HEILIGENDAMM, Germany, Jan 15 (Reuters) - The first sections of a controversial 2.5-metre high steel and cement security fence that will protect a Group of Eight summit in June went up on Monday in the northern German resort of Heiligendamm.

Protesters on the outskirts of the Baltic Sea village that was part of Communist East Germany said they oppose the 12-km (7.5 mile) long fence topped by barbed wire, video monitors and movement sensors because it revives memories of the Berlin Wall.

The fence and accompanying security measures are designed to shelter world leaders from any militant or terror attack when the resort, 250 km north of Berlin, hosts the G8 summit in June.

"It's tasteless to build a fence like this in a country that has had enough experience with walls," said Monty Schaedel, a protester from the German Society for Peace and coordinator for demonstrations. He expects 100,000 anti-G8 protesters in June.

"Behind this fence there will be no democracy, no freedom of speech and no demonstrations," he added.

Heiligendamm, which has a population of just 280, is a historic seaside resort which President George W. Bush visited during a trip to Germany last year. The resort is striving to restore its reputation as an elegant holiday destination.

Local officials defended the structure and dismissed comparisons with the Berlin Wall, the symbol of divided Cold War Europe which came down in 1989.

"You can't compare this to the Berlin Wall at all," said Axel Falkenberg, police spokesman coordinating the G8 summit.

"Anyone who lived in Communist East Germany and had to cross the border to live in freedom would tell you this is completely different. This fence is to protect the visiting heads of state. You can't turn a blind eye to the terror and militant threats."

Frank Neumann, head of the company that has 15 weeks to put up the wall, said it would be made of 500 tonnes of steel -- enough metal to build a ship.

To prevent anyone from tunneling beneath the fence, construction workers have rammed 50-cm long steel grating into the ground.

The fencing, 4,600 dark green steel segments weighing 75 kg (165.3 lb) each, is 2.5 metres (8 ft 2.4 in) high and 2.45 metres wide. The segments are attached to cement pillars weighing 900 kg each.

Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has warned Germany must be on guard against terror attacks from left-wing extremists as well as Islamic groups during its G8 presidency after several recent attacks that police said appeared to be linked to the G8.

On Dec. 27, a car in front of the home of Deputy German Finance Minister Thomas Mirow was set on fire while the windows and walls of his house were splattered with paint.

The German office for the protection of the constitution warned in early December of possible attacks from left-wing extremist groups opposed to the policies of the G8, a grouping of industrialised nations that comprises Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States.