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25.000 protest the against austerity in Frankfurt Written by Editorial board of Der Funke (IMT Germany) March 20 <http://www.marxist.com/germany-25000-protest-the-against-austerity-in-frankfurt.htm> The City of Frankfurt was the scene of a 25.000 strong anti-austerity demonstration on Wednesday, March 18, the day of the inauguration and grand opening gala of European Central Bank's (ECB). The new skyscraper attracted crowds of protestors from all over Germany. As the protest took off the crowds moved into the stronghold of many German and international banks. The construction of the new ECB premises in the East End of the city had cost approximately 1.3 billion EURO. The demonstrations were called by the broad "Blockupy" alliance which included many left groups, social movements, trade unionists and a host of other individuals. The organisers loaded two special trains and over 60 coaches from 39 European cities with protestors for the demonstration. In recent weeks, the determination of the demonstrators to voice opposition against the ECB, EU, big business and the German government had grown as a consequence of the general anger towards austerity policies. Demonstrators were particularly angry about the austerity forced onto Southern Europe and the blackmail that the new Greek government has experienced by these institutions. In Frankfurt, for instance, prominent local trade unionists met to set up a Greece solidarity group and launch an awareness campaign against the recent propaganda around the events in Greece. For the bulk of the demonstrators, this Wednesday was a sunny and peaceful day of protest in the city centre where well over 20.000 gathered in the early afternoon for a rally and demo. Sahra Wagenknecht, deputy chair of the parliamentary group of Die Linke (German Left Party), said, "The ECB is the most powerful institution of the EU and an undemocratic shadow government which displays its power in an unscrupulous way". There was a militant mood, lots of music, and apart from Sahra Wagenknecht speakers included representatives from the Spanish Podemos and Greek Syriza as well as the Canadian author Naomi Klein. After the rally, demonstrators marched through the shopping area and banking district. There was no violence, but rather a mood of determination and optimism. Comrades of Der Funke (IMT Germany) were also present, selling lots of journals and literature at their stall while collecting lots of email addresses from individuals interested in Marxism. Yet, the message that the national and international mainstream media conveyed was one of violence, riots, and a state of emergency. Pictures of burning barricades and cars, broken windows, and injured policemen and civilians overshadowed the event. Many media and bourgeois politicians eagerly used this propaganda to discredit the movement altogether. The state had mobilised well over 10.000 policemen from all over Germany that utilized teargas and water cannons. The outburst of violence early in the morning, when the police attacked left autonomous activists and possibly some police provocateurs, served as a godsend for the bourgeois media who quickly used it to discredit the movement in the eye of ordinary workers. In spite of the claims of the media the main demonstration was a peaceful affair blockading the gala on ECB premises. . . . On Fri, Mar 20, 2015 at 3:09 AM, Einde O'Callaghan via Marxism <[email protected]> wrote: > > On 19.03.2015 13:52, Louis Proyect via Marxism wrote: >> >> NY Times, Mar. 19 2015 >> Germans Protest European Austerity Measures >> By RHEA WESSEL and JACK EWING >> >> FRANKFURT — Protesters set cars on fire and clashed with police officers >> on Wednesday as they marched toward the European Central Bank’s new >> headquarters in a demonstration against austerity and capitalism that took >> on a markedly more heated tone than past protests. >> > Reading this report you wouldn't get any idea that the main protest involved > 20,000 people from all over Germany on a working day. All the reports in the > bourgeois media have concentrated on the actions of a small minority - and > there are also plausible allegations that agents provocateurs, particularly > from militant Nazi groups, were involved in at least some of the actions. > > Here is a more balanced consideration of the events and a discussion of the > tasks facing activists: > http://left-flank.org/2015/03/20/frankfurt-2015-anti-capitalism-makes-a-comeback/ > > Einde O'Callaghan > _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
