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Globalization Critics Demonstrate against the G-8 Summit (June 2, 2007)

From June 6-8, 2007, the annual summit of the world’s leading industrial nations was held under extremely tight security at the seaside resort of Heiligendamm (Mecklenburg-West Pomerania). At the time, Germany held the presidency of the summit. Like others before it, the 2007 G-8 Summit became a huge draw for globalization critics. To avoid the sorts of violent clashes that had occurred between security forces and demonstrators in Genoa in 2001, the federal government introduced rigid security measures. In advance of the summit, large demonstrations were held in Rostock (see photo); they attracted tens of thousands of participants and culminated in riots and clashes between violent protesters and the police. Nevertheless, the majority of G-8 protesters rejected the use of force and protested peacefully. All told, 17,800 policemen and 1,000 soldiers were deployed for the Heiligendamm summit. The “surveillance missions” carried out by the Bundeswehr's Tornado jets, which monitored protesters from the air, remained politically and legally controversial. The photograph shows protesters with a banner bearing a barcode in the shape of the world map. The banner reads: “The world is not a product.” Photo: Rainer Jensen.

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Globalization Critics Demonstrate against the G-8 Summit (June 2, 2007)

picture-alliance/ dpa
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