Nazi-Like Raids Across Germany on G-8 Protest Fears



By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER, Associated Press Writer Wed May 9, 8:00 AM ET

BERLIN - Police raided the premises of leftist groups in cities across
Germany Wednesday on suspicion of a plot to attack next month's G-8
summit.


More than 900 federal and local police officers in cities including
Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen searched some 40 apartments or offices used
by various leftist groups, federal prosecutors said in a statement.

The prosecutors said they were investigating more than 18 individuals
suspected of organizing a terrorist group. They said they were focused
on dismantling a Web server where many leftists and groups and
projects maintained their internet sites and mailing lists.

"The militant extreme left groups and their members are suspected of
having founded a terrorist group, or of being members of such an
organization, with the specific goal of staging firebombings and other
violent attacks in order to disrupt or prevent the upcoming G-8
summit," the statement said.

The Anti-Fascist Leftists of Berlin said the searches targeted
activists who were organizing protests against the summit of the Group
of Eight industrialized nations.

"The only point of these searches is to criminalize and disrupt the
protests against the G-8," the group said. "The accusation that
terrorists would coordinate their movements through a leftist-run
Internet server is ridiculous."

Federal investigators have expressed concern the summit in the Baltic
Sea resort of Heiligendamm could be a target for attack.

In December, anti-G-8 activists splashed paint on a hotel at the
resort in northeastern Germany.

G-8 summits have often been a magnet for protests against
globalization. At a summit in Genoa in 2001, the demonstrations turned
violent, with protesters and police battling in the streets for days.

German security officials have built a $17 million fence around the
resort in an effort to keep protesters from the event, hosted by
German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The leaders of the United States,
Russia, Britain, France, Italy, Canada, and Japan are also to attend.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070509/ap_on_re_eu/germany_raids_3
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jose (10.05.2007 01:57)