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Strasbourg under siege
Thousands of protesters clashed with police hours before the leaders of the Nato member states crossed a 250-metre long bridge from Germany to France in a largely symbolic walk on the second day of their summit.
- By Habib Toumi, Bahrain Bureau Chief
- Published: 23:53 April 4, 2009
- Firefighters arrive at a burning hotel near the Europeanbridge between Strasbourg and Kehl.
- Image Credit: Reuters
Strasbourg: Thousands of protesters clashed with police hours before the leaders of the Nato member states crossed a 250-metre long bridge from Germany to France in a largely symbolic walk on the second day of their summit.
Later, black-clad protesters attacked police and set a hotel and a customs station ablaze yesterday near the bridge that served hours earlier as the backdrop for a show of unity.
Photographers saw other protesters storm a nearby Ibis hotel, setting fires and pilfering alcohol from its bar. A reporter saw intermittent scuffles between police and demonstrators as they gradually made their way back from the Europe Bridge and tried to enter the city centre.
Around 2 pm, the protesters - throwing rocks - tried to storm a massive police blockade at the Pont d'Anvers bridge, and were driven back by water cannon, tear gas, flash bombs and rubber bullets. Across the canal, nearly 1,000 people gathered to watch the fracas.
Some of the protesters were hurt, but none of the injuries appeared to be serious.
Elsewhere, stacks of old tyres were also set ablaze, unleashing thick plumes of black smoke that could be seen from across the river. Near the bonfire was a sign welcoming visitors to Strasbourg.
The security situation in Strasbourg was so stressful that a scheduled visit by the spouses of the Nato member states leaders to a cancer centre was cancelled, as clashes between demonstrators and police reached dangerous levels.
Several protesters have tried to reach the areas on the itinerary of the wives of the Nato leaders and Joachim Sauer, the husband of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Thousands of demonstrators, an explosive mixture of anarchists, anti-capitalists and pacifists, had pledged to disrupt Nato's 60th anniversary summit jointly hosted by borderline cities of Strasbourg in France and Kehl and Baden-Baden in Germany.
Police officers said the visit was cancelled for "timing reasons."
Some of the protesters say they want an end to war and call Nato a tool of Western imperialism.
The protesters, belonging to the Block Nato Movement, first tried to reach the centre of Strasbourg at around 3 am, but could not walk past the formidable cordons set up by the police and anti-riot forces around several blocks.
The pre-dawn protest was part of a day-long series of rallies and demonstrations by thousands of activists to prevent Nato from celebrating its 60th anniversary and to press for the disbandment of the alliance.
Lifting their hands and shouting "We are peaceful. What are you?", around 500 protesters at 8.30 am walked menacingly towards the police before they were dispersed under the onslaught of the tear gas.
The protesters, having set up anti-Nato assembly point areas in the northern and southern outskirts, have vowed to disrupt the meeting in Strasbourg, a city under siege with thousands of police forces, in Robocop wear, circling all the areas where the Nato leaders and their spouses were scheduled to meet or appear.
Nato leaders, meanwhile, went ahead with their schedules.
- With inputs from agencies
Leaders at the Bucharest summit in April 2008 expected the Germans to be the host of the 60th summit. However, the Germans initially were not particularly enthusiastic about organising the event after troubles generated by holding the G8 summit in Heiligendamm in June 2007.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy then proposed to have the summit in Paris. His request prompted the Germans to say that the summit could be held in both countries in two cities on the borderline.
Strasbourg and Kehl looked like the best choice even though there were some objections after some countries mistook the German border city for the port city of Kiel and claimed that it was too far from Strasbourg.
However, Kehl lacked the necessary facilities to host the huge delegations and Baden-Baden, with its vast array of hotels and facilities, was selected.
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