MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Several protests events are taking place in Germany's Hamburg on Friday, attracting people with a wide range of beliefs and convictions to coincide with the meeting of 20 world leaders known as the G20.
DIFFERENT CAUSES
The protesters espouse different views, so it would be unfair to paint them all with one brush, one of the protesters told Sputnik.
"We are very diverse. There are people taking care for refugees, who are against borders [and] let[ting] people sink in the sea. There are environmentalists… there are agriculturalists, who say we need a change, we have enough to feed everyone, why are children still starving, [why] is anybody still starving," Britta, a protester from North Rhine-Westphalia, said.
"They are part of the problem. So, I think it’s really important to show through actions like this day of civil disobedience that there are many people who don't agree and that we are really fed up but still try to stay calm. As you might have recognized not everybody was able to stay calm. I think that only shows the frustration of the people," Britta said.
Several different events have already been held, including the "Welcome to Hell" march. According to media reports, some 150 police officers have already been injured in the clashes with protesters.
Hamburg looks like an urban war zone today. https://t.co/jpfTay9GKA
— Denis Bolotsky (@BolotskySputnik) July 7, 2017
APPLAUSE IN THE HARBOR
"We got applause from the working people in harbor … It was really surprising for us. We had no conflicts with the police. For us, it was a successful day. We got everything we wanted," Timon Simons, a spokesman for the Shutdown-Hamburg movement, told Sputnik.
Simmons added that about 1,500 people gathered in the harbor. The activists, according to him, would join the big international demonstration on Saturday as part of the anti-capitalist bloc.
Clashes continue on the first day of G20. Hamburg police use pepper spray against protesters. pic.twitter.com/EVKMIfmOIr
— Denis Bolotsky (@BolotskySputnik) July 7, 2017
The protests attracted many environmentalists, including large influential organizations such as Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and Naturschutzbund Deutschland. Other protesters are hoping to draw attention to rising social inequality and others to the need for demilitarization.
The international demonstration website states that it is aimed not only against individuals, but entire structures that have led to inequality, racism, armed conflicts and migration.
