Inlägg

2017-06-05

FAQ about Hamburg

There is but a month until the "leaders" of the world gather in Hamburg! Their actions (such as Trumps attempts to cover up his coteries corruption and the decision to pull out of the climate agreement, or the revelation of Temers corruption) over the last few weeks have made our point for us better than any of our propaganda ever could. Now is the time to act against the G20!

To make it easier for all of you to get a better overview and to get informed we have written a Frequently Asked Questions which would be helpful if you read.

WHEN IS MY BUS LEAVING?

The buses will all leave on Thursday morning from Copenhagen. This means that buses from the different countries have to leave earlier. Contact your closest group for more information.

WHY A BUS TRIP? WON'T WE GET STOPPED?

We count on our buses being stopped. However, what we are doing is not illegal, we have a right to protest. We believe we will be searched but that we will make it over the border, this is the experience of previous protests like this in Germany. We will also have lawyer from Germany with us at the border to expedite the situation.

We also believe that there is a political gain in a bus trip, it makes it easier for people to join us and to go together in a way that individual trips do not. We understand comrades who prefer to travel alone, but we do not believe it to be a viable strategy on a collective movement level.

WHAT IS PROHIBITED?

As previously mentioned will be stopped and searched on the way to Hamburg so refrain from carrying any of these items along with you on the bus as it will create risks for our entire bus convoy.

The following items are forbidden at and on the way to/from the demo:

Drugs: First of all: Keep your head free on the protests – this is not the time to be high or drunk! All substances are illegal under the German legislation on narcotics, basically everything from hash to heroin. For prescription drugs: Make sure you have the prescription from your doctor with you to avoid any problems,

Weapons: Carrying weapons during a demonstration is forbidden. The range of what the police can consider as a "weapon" is rather extensive and can vary from demonstration to demonstration. Covered are every kind of firearm, knives (also pocket and bread knives), and Molotov cocktails. In the same category are fireworks, pepper spray, CS gas spray, stones, slingshots, chains, protective gloves and clubs. Moreover every sort of glass bottle or beverage cans can be considered a weapon. Same goes for flag poles and poles for mounting banners if they exceed a certain length or a certain diameter (typical 2m length and 2cm diameter).

Passive armaments/passive weapons: The following items are considered passive armaments: Helmets (also bicycle helmets), shields, padded (football) clothing, leather combos, protectors e.g. for shins and elbows. In addition, mouth guards, safety glasses, gas masks can be considered passive armament.

Masking/concealing your identity: Concealing your identity is illegal in Germany. This can be a ski mask, but also in principle a scarf or bandana worn in a way that nose and mouth area covered, or a hooded sweater worn in a way that it covers the face. Sunglasses and caps are normally tolerated in the summer time, but could in principal be regarded as concealment as well. What behavior may be considered exactly as "concealment," can be broadly or narrowly interpreted by the local police.

These rules applies not only at the demonstration, but also on the way to the demonstration!

Please also do not bring any alcohol on our bus trip. It is not illegal but our bus trip is entirely alcohol and drug-free.

WHAT WILL WE DO IN HAMBURG?

You don't have to do anything. You are free to join or not join any action or demonstration. Our concept is a bus trip to and from Hamburg. We, however, welcome you all to join in any or all of the actions that we have planned to participate in. We will:

- Participate in the Welcome to Hell-demonstration on Thursday evening with a block.
- Participate in both the harbor blockade and the summit blockade in Friday. The harbor blockade will later on attempt to merge with the blockades of the summit as these will continue throughout the day and into the night. Please give some thought to which action you would prefer to join.
- Participate in the large international demonstration on Saturday as a block along with our international comrades.

We hope you will join us in our different actions. If you have any reasons not to we can hopefully provide you with information of where to go or what to do. Please contact your closest group for this.

WHAT SHOULD I DO BEFOREHAND?

- Make sure you have valid travel documents (passport, etc).
- Form an affinity group with friends and comrades. If you do not have an affinity group when leaving to Hamburg, let us know and we will fix this on the bus. An affinity group is a small group of people who act together and look out for one another. Discuss where you want to go and how you want to act. Talk about your fears and worries.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I GET ARRESTED?

There is a very professional legal team, called the Ermittlungsausschuss (EA) in Germany. Their number will be issued before the protest. Make sure to write it down in your phone and on your body. Call them if you get arrested. Do not sign anything. Do not talk to the police.

There will be comrades from both ARNA and comrades local to Hamburg who will remain in Hamburg after the protest. If you are held over the extent of the summit we have made sure that you have a place to go and a place to sleep. You will be able to get home safe and sound. More information on how to contact us in this scenario will be forthcoming.

For more in-depth information see the Rote Hilfe broschure "What to do when the going gets rough?" https://www.rote-hilfe.de/…/3-rechtshilfe-a-was-tun-wenns-b… We will also post more information on the legal situation soon.

HOW WILL WE LIVE?

We are still working on this. There is a high chance that we will join a tent camp, but the city is disrupting renting communal spaces to sleep and to camp. If so, please bring your own tents. Many social centers are already full. We will make sure that this functions properly. We have been working on this issue since early January, we apologize for the fact that we are still uncertain. The problems have been caused due to the massive amount of protestors coming. You can attempt to organize your own housing but many hostels are already also full.

WHERE IS THE MEETING?

The G20 summit is held in the big mess hall in the Schanzen area of Hamburg. This area is a strongly left-wing area, the Rote Flora-squat is 800 meters away, an anarchist café lies on the other side of the street and so on. This area contains most of the left-wing infrastructure, many activists live there and many demonstrations start or end there.

HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL COME?

The police have said that around 100 000 people or more might join the protests.

WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP?

You can first of all spread information and raise awareness of the protest. Share information on social media, talk to your friends, co-workers, comrades and so on.

You can also help raise money and organise other events to spread information. Invite us to your city or space and we will come and talk and help you!

WHERE CAN I FIND MORE INFORMATION?

Check out https://infoarna.org or https://g20hamburg.org Our Facebook page at https://facebook.com/AutonomousRevolutionaryNordicAlliance is also helpful to look at.

ARNA

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