Germany Shocked by 'Disproportionate' Police Actions

[Skgoa]

10/01/2010

The World from Berlin
Germany Shocked by 'Disproportionate' Police Action in Stuttgart

Photo Gallery: 16 Photos
dpa

A hardline police operation against demonstrators protesting against a new railway station project in Stuttgart has shocked Germany, after more than 100 people were injured by tear gas and water cannon. German commentators argue that the police went overboard and warn of more violence to come.

The controversial Stuttgart 21 railway project has been the focus of increasing protests in recent months. But Thursday seemed to mark a turning point as the conflict between the authorities and protesters escalated dramatically.

Around 600 police used water cannon, tear gas, pepper spray and batons in an operation against over 1,000 demonstrators in the southwestern city of Stuttgart on Thursday. The activists had tried to use a sit-down protest to prevent the city's Schlossgarten park from being cleared so that work could begin on felling trees in the park as part of construction work on the new station. Thursday's protests were attended by a broad cross-section of society, including pensioners and children.

The protest's organizers said in a statement that more than 400 protestors had suffered eye irritation as a result of the police's operation, with some suffering from lacerations or broken noses.

The German Red Cross said on Friday morning that 114 demonstrators had been treated on site, and a further 16 were taken to hospitals. Among the injured were school children who had been taking part in an officially registered demonstration.

Images of people bleeding from the eye after being hit by water cannon featured on German television and newspapers Friday. One 22-year-old protestor suffered a serious eye injury after being hit in the right eye by a water cannon jet, a Stuttgart doctor told the news agency DPA, adding that the man might lose his sight in that eye as a result.

The Stuttgart 21 project involves moving the city's main railway station underground and turning it from a terminus into a through station. The project is controversial partly because of its price tag -- it is slated to cost €4.1 billion ($5.38 billion) -- and because of the trees that will be cut down in the Schlossgarten park. There is also criticism that the project does not make sense from a transport point of view, as few main lines go through the city.

'Confusing Germany with Putin's Russia'

There has been a heated reaction to the police's use of force, which was condemned by members of the center-left Social Democrats, Green Party and the far-left Left Party, which are all in opposition on the national level. Jan Korte of the Left Party said that it was not acceptable that that kind of police action was used against pensioners and school students. The Green Party filed a motion to have the issue debated in the German parliament, the Bundestag, on Friday, but it was rejected.

Several politicians criticized Heribert Rech, the interior minister for the state of Baden-Württemberg, where Stuttgart is located, for allowing the operation to go ahead. National Green Party co-leader Cem Özdemir, who is also from the state, said Rech was "confusing Germany with Putin's Russia." It was disproportionate that "pepper gas was sprayed in the eyes of grandmothers and children at close range," he said. "We are in Germany. Such methods do not exist here."

The police have defended their actions. Rainer Wendt, who is the head of one of Germany's main police unions, told the news station N-tv that the police operation had been "not only legal but completely appropriate." He admitted that the pictures in the media "weren't pretty," but added: "That's not the police's job. Its job is to carry out its legal duty."

At a press conference Friday, Baden-Württemberg Governor Stefan Mappus defended the police's actions, saying "I stand behind our officers." He stressed the importance of the Stuttgart 21 project and called for a de-escalation in the conflict. "The images from yesterday cannot be allowed to repeat themselves," he said.

Rech, the Baden-Württemberg interior minister, also defended the police operation, saying that officers had been appalled by the aggression with which they were confronted.

Sensible and Right

Even German Chancellor Angela Merkel felt obliged to comment on Thursday's events. "I would like it if such demonstrations proceeded peacefully," she told the regional public broadcaster SWR, which broadcasts in the southwest of Germany. "Anything that could lead to violence has to be avoided." She defended the Stuttgart 21 project as sensible and right.

The escalation is likely to cause political problems for the state government, a coalition of Merkel's center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the business-friendly Free Democratic Union. State elections will be held next March, and the Stuttgart 21 project is already a key campaign issue. The CDU has been in government in Baden-Württemberg for 57 years. If it were to lose the election, it would be a blow to the chancellor and her national government.

Construction work continued on the site on Friday under massive police protection, and the first trees in the park have now been cut down. But the next wave of conflict is not far off: Some 100,000 people are expected to take part in the next mass demonstration, which is planned for Friday evening.

On Friday, German commentators take a look at the police operation, with all agreeing it was disproportionate.

The Financial Times Deutschland writes:

"Every political movement has its critical turning points. For the Stuttgart 21 opponents, this Thursday might have been one of them. The reaction of the activists and the state government will now determine whether the turning point will lead to even more violence and political frustration. Regardless of whether there were reasonable grounds for the brutal police action -- the pictures and eyewitness reports suggest the contrary -- it was extremely unwise politically. Perhaps Baden-Württemberg's government had hoped, with its uncompromising approach, to put a stop to the protests six months before the upcoming state election, to prevent Stuttgart 21 from becoming an issue in the election campaign. This hope, however, will be in vain."

"The battle for Stuttgart 21 is becoming more like a religious war every day. The opponents and supporters of the project are irreconcilable. The two sides are no longer exchanging rational arguments but are engaging in mudslinging. In this kind of atmosphere, a tough approach will only lead to protesters deciding to dig in their heels."

"It's true that the government is right to enforce law and order on its territory. That necessarily includes clearing an area that has been occupied by protesters, for which a building permit has been legally issued. But a democratic state must preserve a sense of moderation and try to protect its citizens as far as is possible. It is debatable whether this happened in Stuttgart."

The conservative Die Welt writes:

"Deploying heavily armored riot police against students is reminiscent of the old days and old attitudes which are not exactly popular in Germany's liberal southwest. It is true that the protesters are trying to thwart a planning process that has been going on for 15 years, and thereby overturn the current position, which is legal and legitimate and was reached through democratic means. One can argue that the protesters are coming too late to the debate."

"But even then, the use of state pressure and state force must remain proportionate. Not all the protesters are simply out to cause trouble. There are some among them who believe that the decisions about the project were not reached in a suitably democratic fashion. It is a sign of selfish impatience that they are nevertheless now trying to sabotage the start of construction. It is also a signal of a lack of effective communication when a state-level government believes it needs to resort immediately to force to prevent this kind of sabotage. The negotiations between the protesters and the project officials lasted less than a week, if that."

The left-leaning Die Tageszeitung writes:

"Bizzare images and sounds were transmitted live via a mobile webcam out of Stuttgart's Schlossgarten park on Thursday and beamed onto thousands of computer screens all over Germany. At first glance the images seemed familiar from … anti-nuclear protests in the past: Demonstrators sitting in the path of a police vehicle, police emerging dressed in absurdly war-like armour, wanting to clear the way for their colleagues and finally resorting to water cannons to do so. But (the images) didn't fit with what came out of the headphones. Not only were a considerable number of the demonstrators chanting 'Wir sind das Volk' ('We are the people,' a slogan associated with pro-democracy protesters in East Germany) but they also began singing the German national anthem -- further evidence for the presence of a core conservative element in the protest movement. After all, what is at stake is the kind of thing that conservatives like to preserve: almost 300 trees -- some of which are very old -- and a city park threatened with being turned into a construction site.

"The otherwise respectable citizens, who react to water cannons by singing the national anthem, see themselves as legitimate representatives of the nation and are in the process denying this role to those (authorities) who sent police into the park. Germany's conservatives no longer feel represented by local and national government."

-- David Gordon Smith and Josie Le Blond

edit: forgot the link. http://www.spiegel.de/international/ger ... 35,00.html


Until a couple of days ago, I thought it was just a minor NIMBY/corruption scandal, but as the german version of Der Spiegel puts it: this is like civil war. Yes, I know thats a missrepresentation of all civil wars ever, but it shows the kind of overkill the police uses against what are inherently peacefull protestors. I can't find a dependable (i.e. non-blog) source for it, but allegedly one 91 year old man taking part in the protest said that "at least the SA didn't wear masks."
Well, at least now the main stream can't ignore what kind of things happen to people who dare to excersize their right to assemble in Germany. And it took them only forty years.


edit: Also, I want to advise everyone to look at these pictures, before posting any kneejerk reactions.
http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/fotos ... 60024.html
Thats a gallery of severall pictures. Its not the most brutal ones, but we have to keep in mind that Der Spiegel is one of the more conservative "newspapers" and under normal circumstances wouldn't even acknowledge any wrongdoing on the governments part.

http://twitpic.com/2ug1rj/full
This is a comparison of protests (and police response) now on the right and in the last days of East Germany on the left.

[Dahak]

They have the right to assemble and show their opposition.
What they are not allowed to do is to obstruct a lawful action just because they feel like it.
It might be a tad bit over the top, but it is not the "Tiananmen railway station" as someone said.
The police warned everyone and told them to leave or else. Some stayed, so my sympathy is limited.
Now, if they had started that protests like 10 years ago when they still could have done something... But now, after all is signed and sealed? It's just annoying for anyone who has to pass through the railway station on their way home and the whole inner city...

[Skgoa]

Yeah, the only problem with the legal action argument is that the federal railway ministry had forbidden them from even starting to cut the trees. But still, your reaction to extreme cases of police brutality is "they are in my way"?
They are shooting people out of the fucking trees with waterguns. One SENIOR DIED because police and emergency services denied help. They turned their waterguns on an entirely peacefull protest made up of SCHOOL CHILDREN and afterwards blamed parents and teachers. I don't much care about wether or not S21 is a good idea, but can we at least agree that they are going a tiny little bit overboard with the violence?

[Thanas]

The images you show are nothing special.

Even more, they show the police reacting relatively calm to getting chairs thrown at them and being attacked by pepper spray themselves. "entirely peaceful", sure, if you count chairs being thrown as peaceful.

So what would you have the police do? When they go in and grab the guys, they get criticized for being too rough. When they use water cannons, the same. So what would you prefer they do to get the people out of the way?


(And yes, it is a questionable project)

[Dahak]

Why parents *did* bring children there is a interesting question in its own right.
And when the police comes with water cannons and tells the assembled "peaceful protest" to get out of the way of the construction crew or else, I think it should be pretty obvious to everyone involved that they aren't just watering the trees...

As for the project, I am very much for the new station, as I clearly see the advantages for me, the city and the state. I can understand that some people think differently, but alas, they had their time long, long ago.

[Atlan]

I think that a lot of protestors seem to have forgotten that in the end, civil disobedience still IS disobedience. You can stand up against the Man, but you take your chances doing so. Ghandi knew that. Modern protestors often don't.

If the police rightfully tells you to get out of the way, and they've got watercannons with em, and you don't move, expect to very very wet.

[Artemas]

What's that soviet saying? You can put your fingers in the machine, but don't be surprised when they get broken.

Anyway, people always treat police actions like this as excessive. But as already said, there are not a huge number of responses available to police if a couple thousand people decide to trespass, except going in force, and using non-lethal tools lik tear-gas, watercannons, batons, etc.

As an aside, lots of people still don't realize that the alternatve to a tazer is a baton. Batons are not really much better, and this sort of shows it. Not that tazers would be used in this context anyway.

[CJvR]

This is a comparison of protests (and police response) now on the right and in the last days of East Germany on the left.

Well if things got out of hand in the east you could always have the tanks run over the demonstrations...

Fighting pitched battles with protestors over cutting down trees is stupid and unneccessary. Send out a small team to ring-cut the trees a quiet night, then it is pointless to fight the logging machinery.

[Serafina]

Well, there are two points where i have sympathy for the protesters:
-the project actually IS bullshit. It offers no actual advantage, several severe disadvantages and costs a shitload of money. Of course, starting the protests now is still stupid, but at least the oppositing to it is justified.
-those who were not violent and got caught up in it. Protests tend to be pretty peaceful in Germany, so it's likely that that happend to numerous people.

But yes, to the violent protesters: FUCK YOU.
This is NOT something worthy of violent protest. No ones freedom is opressed, no ones rights are violated by this project. The worst that can happen is that Stuttgart get's crappy, expensive railway station - that's it. That's not a reason to get violent, and the police doing their job isn't either.

[Dahak]

-the project actually IS bullshit. It offers no actual advantage, several severe disadvantages and costs a shitload of money. Of course, starting the protests now is still stupid, but at least the oppositing to it is justified.

That is *highly* debatable.
It offers actual advantages and is not just for show. As someone who regularly has to use the current station, I can't see any benefit of keeping it.

[Siege]

I'm not familiar enough with the particulars of the situation to say whether the protestors have a good point or not but I will say this: from a political standpoint, loosing the riot police on them in this fashion was in all likelihood a spectacularly stupid decision. It doesn't really matter what the circumstances are, when you use watercannons and tear gas on schoolchildren you're going to get crucified for it in the media. Great job destroying your own political capital, Baden-Württemberg!

More generally speaking... Riot police got a few chairs thrown at them and this is how they respond? Aren't these guys supposed to have a whole spectrum of responses between "do nothing" and "go 1967 on everybody's asses"?

[D.Turtle]

First of all: I haven't heard anywhere that anybody died during those protests - and I think that that would have been all over the news if that had happened.

As for the protest itself: What happened is that the government was (correctly as it turns out) concerned about insiders leaking the date and time for the clearing of the trees in the Stuttgarter Schlosspark. So what they did, was tell their own police force that it would begin at 15:00. At the same time, they requested (and got) police forces from other states in order to protect the work which was then slated (on short notice) to start at 10:00.

What they missed, was that a school protest had been scheduled at the same time. Thats why children were at the front lines. (From here - in German)

The political consequences of the entire thing also seem quite amazing. It is quite possible that for the first time ever the CDU will not head the new government in March. In current polls, the Green Party (which has spearheaded the protests) is the second strongest party at 27% (last election they were at 12%). It is possible that the Green Party will head the government of a state for the first time.

It offers actual advantages and is not just for show. As someone who regularly has to use the current station, I can't see any benefit of keeping it.

I heard a great joke about this yesterday: I wanted to go to Stuttgart to protest against the new rail station, but the fucking rail connections suck ...

[Serafina]

-the project actually IS bullshit. It offers no actual advantage, several severe disadvantages and costs a shitload of money. Of course, starting the protests now is still stupid, but at least the oppositing to it is justified.

That is *highly* debatable.
It offers actual advantages and is not just for show. As someone who regularly has to use the current station, I can't see any benefit of keeping it.

Eh, i am not an expert - but apparently several institutes/think-tanks (including a rather famous one from Switzerland) pointed out several disadvantages of the new station (i will look for english sources later):
-the ground is geologically not well-suited for an underground station, which could drastically increase the already high costs.
-the layout of the new station offers little leeway if a train runs late
-the new railroads go over some steep slopes, which will slow them down and can cause trouble for certain trains.
-the whole new infrastructure won't allow any expansion

Basically, the new station will cause trains to run late, offers little to compensate that and has little room for future improvements.

[Dahak]

eh, i am not an expert - but apparently several institutes/think-tanks (including a rather famous one from Switzerland) pointed out several disadvantages of the new station (i will look for english sources later):

And an equal number of experts think the exact opposite. They have not decided on Stuttgart21 on wishful thinking alone.

-the ground is geologically not well-suited for an underground station, which could drastically increase the already high costs.

The tunnels for the metros running under the city were built even deeper than the new tunnels in the 70s without problems or the city crashing into a giant hole.

-the layout of the new station offers little leeway if a train runs late

They have several tracks available and can run the trains faster through the station than the stub terminal. Comparing the current layout with for instance Frankfurt Flughafen Fernbahnhof, I see the benefits.

-the new railroads go over some steep slopes, which will slow them down and can cause trouble for certain trains.

What you probably mean is the new track from Stuttgart to Ulm, right?

-the whole new infrastructure won't allow any expansion

Elaborate? There isn't much space to begin with, it is directly in the city centre, and any concept, even K21, is limited by this fact unless you relocate the main station outside of the city caldera...

Basically, the new station will cause trains to run late, offers little to compensate that and has little room for future improvements.

The new station also means you get quicker from the city to the airport, trains can run quicker through the station, you don't have to crawl in and out of the old tracks to the main station, the intermediate region is connected better to Stuttgart (Tübingen, for instance),...

[Seggybop]

But yes, to the violent protesters: FUCK YOU.
This is NOT something worthy of violent protest. No ones freedom is opressed, no ones rights are violated by this project. The worst that can happen is that Stuttgart get's crappy, expensive railway station - that's it. That's not a reason to get violent, and the police doing their job isn't either.

Do you really not understand why people feel so strongly that it's a terrible idea to clear out a wooded park?

[Serafina]

But yes, to the violent protesters: FUCK YOU.
This is NOT something worthy of violent protest. No ones freedom is opressed, no ones rights are violated by this project. The worst that can happen is that Stuttgart get's crappy, expensive railway station - that's it. That's not a reason to get violent, and the police doing their job isn't either.

Do you really not understand why people feel so strongly that it's a terrible idea to clear out a wooded park?

I DO understand it, but how is that a reason for violent protest?

[salm]

There´s of course one good thing about people getting their heads bashed in. This time it´s a different segment of the population (old and conservative) who make contact with riot police battons and mace. In other words the exact same people who will usually not believe that the cops can be brutal pricks and will usually put the blame on the beaten protesters when left wing twenty somethings get beaten up.

If nothing else, maybe this will let them feel a nice breeze of reality.

[Thanas]

After reading more about this, I have to say that the police reaction might have been disproportionate in some cases. That said, AFAIK they tried to remove the people by nonviolent means (yes, water cannons are those) and by carrying them in the vast majority of cases. I only have seen pictures and videos of them using pepper spray when the guys targeted were behaving in a hostile way. In that context, the vast majority of police action would have been justified.

If anybody has any other information, feel free to share.

[salm]

After reading more about this, I have to say that the police reaction might have been disproportionate in some cases. That said, AFAIK they tried to remove the people by nonviolent means (yes, water cannons are those) and by carrying them in the vast majority of cases.

How are water canons nonviolent? The can (and actually did in at least one case during the demonstration on thursday) take out eyes.

[Kanastrous]

It's all relative, on a spectrum of force. Water cannon are regarded not as 'nonviolent' but as 'nonlethal' or (the new in-vogue phrase) less lethal.

[Thanas]

After reading more about this, I have to say that the police reaction might have been disproportionate in some cases. That said, AFAIK they tried to remove the people by nonviolent means (yes, water cannons are those) and by carrying them in the vast majority of cases.

How are water canons nonviolent? The can (and actually did in at least one case during the demonstration on thursday) take out eyes.

They usually are not supposed to be aimed at the eyes, rather at the chest and legs. That said, they are still less violent than batons or stuff. Usually, heavy injuries are pretty unlikely after water cannons. The eyes recover, usually you'll only get mild irritations. Nothing like eyes falling out or so. Maybe nonviolent is the wrong word here (mistranslation most likely).

[salm]

After reading more about this, I have to say that the police reaction might have been disproportionate in some cases. That said, AFAIK they tried to remove the people by nonviolent means (yes, water cannons are those) and by carrying them in the vast majority of cases.

How are water canons nonviolent? The can (and actually did in at least one case during the demonstration on thursday) take out eyes.

They usually are not supposed to be aimed at the eyes, rather at the chest and legs. That said, they are still less violent than batons or stuff. Usually, heavy injuries are pretty unlikely after water cannons. The eyes recover, usually you'll only get mild irritations. Nothing like eyes falling out or so. Maybe nonviolent is the wrong word here (mistranslation most likely).

Yeah, they´re not supposed to be aimed at the eyes. However, in situations like that it´s not really possible to guarantee that the water doesn´t hit a couple of heads. This means that the police accepted the risk and fired.

On this thursday there were actually four persons hospitalized with heavy eye damage. One of them is the famous double eye bleeding guy, then there are two who are likely not to carry away any long term damage (but were still seriously injured with a broken bone) and another one who might lose eye sight in one eye.
All of these heavy injuries in just one demonstration suggests that they´re not just some freak accident.

My appartement mate knows the latter one. Apparently he´s a professional musician who needs to be able to read music in order to earn money. Married with children, too.

Here´s a link (German only) to an article about the injured:

Stuttgarter Zeitung

[Edi]

Pretty ugly damage, if my reading of that article was correct. At least I just got verification that I can still read German somewhat, though it's rusty as fuck and I knew maybe 20% of the words and had to figure the rest out from similarities to other languages and context.

The number of injuries is still fairly small, given the number of demonstrators who did get water-cannoned. Water cannons are a crowd suppression weapon and it's almost inevitable that somebody would get hit in the eyes if they don't know to shield them specifically. That kind of pressure is like being hit hard when the target is such soft tissue. The problem being that eyes are such a vital organ, so any damage is significant.

Therefore it is difficult to see actual police misconduct in this case.

[Thanas]

Yeah, they´re not supposed to be aimed at the eyes. However, in situations like that it´s not really possible to guarantee that the water doesn´t hit a couple of heads. This means that the police accepted the risk and fired.

Why do you fault them for that? Would you have preferred they go in with batons? I assure you, that results in far more damage.

On this thursday there were actually four persons hospitalized with heavy eye damage. One of them is the famous double eye bleeding guy, then there are two who are likely not to carry away any long term damage (but were still seriously injured with a broken bone) and another one who might lose eye sight in one eye.
All of these heavy injuries in just one demonstration suggests that they´re not just some freak accident.

That is just four injuries, out of hour-long water cannon usage. If anything, this suggests actual injuries are very low in proportion to the potential for injury. I mean, the article even likens the situations to injuries resulting from a sporting event.

[salm]

Yeah, they´re not supposed to be aimed at the eyes. However, in situations like that it´s not really possible to guarantee that the water doesn´t hit a couple of heads. This means that the police accepted the risk and fired.

Why do you fault them for that? Would you have preferred they go in with batons? I assure you, that results in far more damage.

Batons? They used batons and there were a whole bunch of broken noses, ribs and other stuff. No, in general i´d prefer them using non of these methods against mainly peacful demonstrators.

That is just four injuries, out of hour-long water cannon usage. If anything, this suggests actual injuries are very low in proportion to the potential for injury. I mean, the article even likens the situations to injuries resulting from a sporting event.

Yeah, a doctor from a hospital links it to the European Karate Championship in Koblenz "where young men with bloody eyes came in every minute."