Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Blockupy: ECB protesters clash with Frankfurt police, tear gas deployed, 70 police injured; dozens of protesters injured; 350 people detained



MARCH 18, 2015









A policeman stops a 'Blockupy' anti-capitalist protester near the European Central Bank (ECB) building before the official opening of its new headquarters in Frankfurt March 18, 2015. (Reuters / Kai Pfaffenbach) 


Some 350 people have been detained at the Blockupy protest in Frankfurt on the day the European Central Bank headquarters open in the city. 70 police have been injured in clashes. Tear gas was used against protesters, who pelted stones and torched cars.

“Many protesters have been injured as police used water cannons and tear gas,” representatives of Blockupy movement told RIA Novosti. The protest is to go on into the night. According to Deutsche Welle, protesters are now trying to storm the new ECB building.
Water cannons and tear gas were deployed by police after the demonstrators torched several cars, pelted stones at police and put tires on fire in the center of the city. 

“We have registered over 1,100 offenses… Up to 70 police have been injured,” police told RIA.
A total of 10,000 policemen are ensuring security in the city. Official representatives of Blockupy describe the current security measures as unprecedented, and accuse the police of creating an atmosphere of fear. 


Anti-capitalist protesters pose in front of a burning German police car that was set on fire in the early morning hours near the European Central Bank (ECB) building before the official opening of its new headquarters in Frankfurt March 18, 2015. (Reuters / Kai Pfaffenbach) 

Anti-capitalist protesters pose in front of a burning German police car that was set on fire in the early morning hours near the European Central Bank (ECB) building before the official opening of its new headquarters in Frankfurt March 18, 2015. (Reuters / Kai Pfaffenbach)

Banks and supermarkets in the area have announced that they will close early for the day, and the neighborhood around to the ECB headquarters is only open to local residents and office employees. 


Trash cans have reportedly been set on fire across the city, and more cars torched in the city’s West-end area. 

Thousands of people have been expected to come to Frankfurt Wednesday to protest against a crisis situation in Europe they say has been created by the ECB, EU and IMF, and mainly enforced by the German government.
The ECB's new building is set to open at 11 am local time (10 am GMT). It is to be “fully operational”, despite the tensions and the police barricading the building, according to the bank management. 

The cost of the new ECB headquarters is reported to be 1.3 billion euros.
Blockupy is an anti-capitalist alliance of leftist groups, who gather to attract attention to ECB policies which, they say, have favored the rich over the poor, the banks over the people, the creditor class over debtors. They call the current situation across the EU “the European crisis regime.”
 

German police cars set on fire by anti-capitalist protesters burn outside the European Central Bank (ECB) building hours before the official opening of its new headquarters in Frankfurt March 18, 2015. (Reuters / Kai Pfaffenbach)
German police cars set on fire by anti-capitalist protesters burn outside the European Central Bank (ECB) building hours before the official opening of its new headquarters in Frankfurt March 18, 2015. (Reuters / Kai Pfaffenbach)



RIA Novosti / Sasha Reker
RIA Novosti / Sasha Reker



German riot police officers remove a street blockade of anti-capitalist protesters near the European Central Bank (ECB) building hours before the official opening of its new headquarters in Frankfurt March 18, 2015. (Reuters / Kai Pfaffenbach)
German riot police officers remove a street blockade of anti-capitalist protesters near the European Central Bank (ECB) building hours before the official opening of its new headquarters in Frankfurt March 18, 2015. (Reuters / Kai Pfaffenbach)



Anti-capitalist 'Blockupy' protesters stand in front of a police cordon near the European Central Bank (ECB) building before the official opening of its new headquarters in Frankfurt March 18, 2015. (Reuters / Michael Dalder )
Anti-capitalist 'Blockupy' protesters stand in front of a police cordon near the European Central Bank (ECB) building before the official opening of its new headquarters in Frankfurt March 18, 2015. (Reuters / Michael Dalder )



Anti-capitalist 'Blockupy' protesters make a barricade near the European Central Bank (ECB) building before the official opening of its new headquarters in Frankfurt March 18, 2015. (Reuters / Michael Dalder)
Anti-capitalist 'Blockupy' protesters make a barricade near the European Central Bank (ECB) building before the official opening of its new headquarters in Frankfurt March 18, 2015. (Reuters / Michael Dalder)

Source: rt.com
at