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Munich - Stop Nato Repression! Every year in February the Nato Security Conference is held in Munich. Around 200 military strategists, generals, foreign ministers and war ministers of NATO and EU states get together to talk war. This year they have something to talk about – the next phase of George Bush’s 30 Year War on everyone who tries to say nay to the USA. In Germany the run-up to the events included intimidation and repression by the federal, Bavarian and Munich authorities. A virtual state of siege was declared. Freedom of speech, movement and assembly were suspended. Sleeping, meeting and information places for the expected thousands of protesters were closed. All demonstrations and rallies against the Nato summit which had been planned were declared illegal. Nevertheless the anti-capitalist and anti-war movements still defied these bans. Demonstrations took place in many cities in Germany, Switzerland and even Italy where demonstrators were blocked at frontiers or prevented from leaving by police. On the evening of Friday 1 February a demonstration took place in Munich’s central square, Marienplatz, where 2000 people gathered. Police delivered a brutal attack on the demonstrators and hundreds were arrested, though later released. On Saturday 2 February 4-5000 people defied the authorities to hold the international demonstration in the historic centre of Munich. Surrounded at first by police the demonstrators broke through the main police barricades to begin the march. The bravery and determination of the demonstrators that the “state of siege” on our democratic rights, declared first in Gothenburg, bloodily continued in Genoa and then New York, will not go unchallenged. |
NEW YORK - Jan 31 - Feb 3, 2002 |
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