Scuffles at protest against immigration lawas ahead of G8
(4 Jun 2007) SHOTLIST Lichtenhagen, area of Rostock 1. Pan right from line of anti G8 protesters walking to building in the street 2. Mid of police walking, protesters in the background 3. Various of police and protesters scuffling 4. Mid of protesters with arms in the air, police in the foreground 5. Protesters and police scuffling 6. Police arresting demonstrators 7. Protester being dragged away by police towards police vans 8. Police and protesters scuffling, woman on the ground screaming, man being helped up by woman in yellow vest 9. Police dragging screaming protester towards police vans 10. Police and protesters scuffling 11. Mid of police behind shields STORYLINE Protests against this week's Group of Eight (G-8) meeting continued for the third day as hundreds of protesters gathered in the Lichtenhagen area of Rostock on Monday, staging a demonstration against immigration laws. Police scuffled with the demonstrators, some of which were seen being detained. The protest followed another on the same day in Rostock that also gathered 800 hundreds of anti-G8 demonstrators in a sit in protest outside Rostock's Immigration office building, calling for immigration laws to be relaxed. The protests were two of many that have been held ahead of a three day conference of leaders of the world's major industrial powers gathering on the Baltic Sea resort of Heiligendamm on Wednesday. German Chancellor Angela Merkel will lead discussions with leaders of Britain, France, Japan, Italy, Russia, Canada and the United States on global warming, aid to Africa and the world economy. German police tightened checks around the Group of Eight summit site of Heiligendamm, and Chancellor Angela Merkel said the pictures of rock-throwing protesters on Saturday - which she called dreadful - showed the need for tight security. Police said more than 400 officers were injured Saturday, 30 of whom were taken to hospital with broken bones and lacerations. Organizers said 520 demonstrators were hurt, 20 of them seriously. The protest on Saturday had begun quietly, but a group of some two thousand anti-G-8 protesters hurled stones and bottles at officers in riot gear before police drove them back with tear gas and water cannons. German authorities on Sunday shut down most routes leading toward the Baltic Sea resort of Heiligendamm, which had already been sealed off with a 12-kilometer (seven-mile) fence. As part of the precautions for the summit, police also closed the surrounding waters and airspace. The G-8 summit, like past ones, was expected to attract protesters opposed to capitalism, globalisation, the war in Iraq and the G-8 itself, though protest organisers called repeatedly for a peaceful action. Police on sunday said the situation in Rostock was tense but not violent, adding that all protests would be escorted by a heavy police presence. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
