Page 8 - aruba-today-20170708

A8 WORLD NEWS
Saturday 8 July 2017

G-20 clashes leave dozens of officers and activists injured

By DAVID RISING Protesters repeatedly tried
Associated Press pushing into the no-go
HAMBURG, Germany (AP) zone — among them a
— Anti-globalization activ- group of 22 swimmers from
ists clashed violently with Greenpeace who tried ac-
police across the German cessing the area from the
port city of Hamburg all Elbe River but didn’t suc-
day Friday, setting cars ceed, police said.
ablaze, throwing bottles Later on Friday, activ-
and trying to enter the ists also attempted to get
convention center where near Hamburg’s highly
Group of 20 leaders tack- protected philharmonic
led topics like international hall, where international
terrorism, climate change leaders were set to listen to
and trade issues. a concert and have dinner
Responding to a second together.
day of protests, police or- Greenpeace boats blast-
dered in more than 900 ed music toward the per-
additional officers from formance hall to disrupt
across the country to get the leaders’ meeting there.
the clashes under control. Police condemned the
At least 196 police officers “shocking criminal ener-
were injured, dozens of gy and high potential of
activists had to be taken violence” on display and
to the hospital and more Police remove demonstrators from a street during protests against the G-20 summit in Hamburg, tweeted a photograph of
Germany, Friday, July 7, 2017. The leaders of the group of 20 meet Friday and Saturday in Ham-
than 70 protesters were burg. an officer with a bloody
detained. (Daniel Reinhardt/dpa via AP) wound they said was
German Chancellor Ange- caused by slingshot cata-
la Merkel condemned the a no-go zone that was off- techno and live hip-hop and yelled at a convoy pults.
violent protests as “unac- limits to most. music as the international heading inside. While most of the at least
ceptable.” Thousands of officers in leaders of the G-20 nations Anti-globalization protest- 160 injured officers were
“I have every understand- full riot gear patrolled as listened to a classical con- ers also kept U.S. first lady hurt only slightly, some had
ing for peaceful demon- many as 30 different pro- cert at the city’s philhar- Melania Trump from join- to be taken to the hospital,
strations,” Merkel said. test marches. Most of monic under heavy police ing the spouses of the other including an officer whose
“But violent demonstra- the demonstrations were protection. world leaders at the sum- eye was injured when a
tions endanger human peaceful and creative, but More than 20,000 officers mit. firework went off in front of
lives, they endanger peo- some rioters threw gasoline were on hand to guard Violence seemed to be him.
ple themselves, they put bombs, iron rods and cob- the Hamburg’s streets, skies escalating on Friday eve- The city’s fire department
police officers and secu- ble stones through the city. and waterways. ning as anti-globalization said 11 activists were se-
rity forces in danger, put As night fell, some lit fires Police trucks blasted pro- activists forced their way verely injured and taken to
residents in danger, and so in the streets of the city’s testers back with water into a closed train station the hospital after falling off
that is unacceptable.” Schanzenviertel neighbor- cannons, and officers by bending open the iron a four-meter-tall wall (13
Merkel thanked security hood. physically dragged away gates. Police responded feet) after fleeing from a
forces for their work as the In the nearby St. Pauli dis- a group holding a sit-in at by deploying a water can- confrontation with riot po-
Group of 20 met behind a trict, thousands of people the entrance to the summit non outside the Landungs- lice.
heavy police presence in danced in the streets to grounds after they jeered bruecke station. Police could not say how
many activists were injured
in the clashes,
Turkish official ‘condemns’ Dutch refusal to let him speak but the fire department
said that as of Friday morn-
ing they had taken 60 pro-
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Deputy Prime Minister Tu- had invited him to deliver An earlier row between testers to hospitals across
Turkey’s deputy prime grul Turkes had intended a speech. Turkey and the Nether- the city.
minister has accused the to travel to the town of Turkes on Friday con- lands erupted in March Kathleen Mueller, a 56-year-
Netherlands of infringing Apeldoorn to commemo- demned Dutch authorities after Dutch authorities re- old protester from Pots-
on the rights of Turkish citi- rate the anniversary of the for intervening “against fused to allow Turkish of- dam near Berlin, criticized
zens after Dutch authori- failed coup in Turkey a the democratic rights and ficials to hold campaign police for what she said
ties said he was not wel- year ago. free will of our people who rallies there ahead of a were “brutal responses” to
come to deliver a speech He says members of the live there and contribute referendum increasing the overwhelmingly peaceful
there. local Turkish community to (the Dutch) economy.” president’s powers.q demonstrations.q