Information from the Coordinating Committee of Attac Germany on the preparations for protest at the G 8 in Heiligendamm 2007

The G 8 2007 will be held from 8^th - 10^th of June in the seaside resort Heiligendamm
near Rostock by the the Baltic Sea. This year the G8 takes for the first time place in
Russia (15^th - 17^th of July in St. Petersburg).

At the same time, the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) will own the EU
presidency in the first half of 2007.

For approximately half-a-year the preparations for alternative and counter activities
started in various political panels.

 1. Greater dynamic than formerly

It has become evident that there is significant greater vitality compared to the prior
summits on German territory (Cologne 1999, Munich 1992, Bonn 1985). This is a
reflection on the changes in the general political situation during the last years:

a. the effects of neo-liberal globalisation have now reached the Federal Republic
with increasingly naked brutality. Hartz IV, increasing poverty, precariousness
extending into the middle class, the dismantling of the social system and
democratic rights, social polarisation, the lifting of the taboo against war, etc.
have produced an altered Republic;

b. The acceptance for this form of Capitalism has declined, not only worldwide (s.
Seattle, Genoa, Social Forum movement, the leftist developments in Latin
America, rejection of the EU constitution, etc.), but also clearly in the FRG;

c. Attac emerges as a new and significant participant in the emancipated camp.
In Cologne in 1999 the Jubilee Debt Campaign, strongly shaped by the
churches, still dominated. The coordinates within the emancipatory spectrum
have shifted;

d. the summits which took place in Europe after Cologne were accompanied by
remarkable protests ranging from strong to extreme: Genoa 2001, Evian 2003,
Gleneagles 2005.

 2. The state of affairs in the various sectors

Up until now, the following groups prepare for the G 8 Summit, initially independently
of each other, but increasingly in networks:

a. The task force G8 of Attac, which since January held two meetings and a
two-day workshop. 15 to 20 Attacies are currently engaged, among them
several Council and Coordinating Committee members. Until now the focus
has been on work on the national level in various groups and on preparation
for the first conference in Rostock. There is consensus on the following
positions as a basis:
– the G8 is illegitimate, but nevertheless a real participant, and therefore
it can be the target of concrete demands;
– Our activities centre on the themes “global democracy”, “global social
rights”, “poverty and wealth”,
– We do not want thematic restriction to merely one single point, and in
addition to current demands we also want to make the utopian spillover
visible.

From mid-April onward Kay Oliver-Schulze (national bureau) coordinates the
preparations within Attac. The goal is to support educational and public
relations work locally, and to form action groups.

b. The development-policy NGO scene, with participants such as Brot für die
Welt, Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst, VENRO, medico international and
networks such as Deine Stimme gegen Armut, Erlassjahrkampagne,
Gerechtigkeit Jetzt!, Forum Umwelt und Entwicklung and smaller NGOs
(FIAN, WEED, Germanwatch etc.). The BUND is also part of this connection.

A part of these participants was strongly active under the umbrella of the
Jubilee Debt Campaign in 1999 in Cologne. In 2005 the British scene
corresponding to this type of participant took a significant part in the
Gleneagles process under the title “Make Poverty History.” Deine Stimme
gegen Armut - the German part of the “Global Call for Action Against Poverty”
(GCAP) - was the supporting political organisation on the German side of the
world wide pop concert of Geldorf, Bono, and others and its branch in Berlin.

In addition the Bundeskoordination Internationalismus - BUKO took part in
meetings of this scene.

At Forum Umwelt & Entwicklung a staff position for the preparations for the G
8 was set up.

Attac also works cooperatively within this connection: The scene has met
twice up to now, in response to a joint invitation from Forum Umwelt &
Entwicklung and Attac. There is a willingness to cooperate that transcends the
narrower NGO spectrum. Additionally, during the process of preparation in the
second half of 2006, discussion events that span the spectra and themes
should be organised, among other things around the themes energy, world
trade and global democracy. Attac will probably participate in these projects.

The results from this circle in the way of concrete joint activities at the summit
can’t be envisioned at this time. It is conceivable that relevant subsets of this
panel will participate in an alternative or counter-congress and a large demo.
Individual organisations such as Erlassjahr (Jubilee) and Gerechtigkeit Jetzt!
(Justice Now!) will conduct independent actions on their themes.

Something of large political significance could occur if a concert with pop stars
such as Bono is arranged out of this spectrum. VENRO/Deine Stimme gegen
Armut have contact with Grönemeyer, as well as the organisations of Bono
and Geldorf, but for the time being these are of a preliminary nature. No
results are to be expected at the moment.

c. In recent times the environmental movement has been participating with
varying degrees of intensity in alternative and counter-activities to the G8.

Because environmental themes are presently taking on significance in the
official political agenda (energy security, future of atomic energy, follow-up to
Kyoto), and the Summit in 06 placed the theme “energy security” explicitly in
the centre, these are also good points of departure for the environmental
movement. Besides this, with the end of the participation of the Greens in
government, a stronger turning to extra-parliamentary action on the part of the
environmental movement can be observed. McPlanet III, in which
Greenpeace, BUND the Heinrich Böll Stiftung and Attac will participate, is
already planned as part of the process at Heiligendamm for early 2007. In
addition Greenpeace and several other environmental organisations are
considering whether they should do something in the street at the summit.

d. The German trade unions have never - except for the DGB / IG Metall youth
– participated in alternative activities to the G8. It is possible that this will
change in 2007. The DGB Mecklenburg-Vorpommern already has the event
on its screen and plans to integrate a traditional “job parade” into the G8
process. There are also deliberations at the working level in the DGB about
perhaps participating in a congress project on the theme “Work with Dignity.”
However, no definite decision can be expected before the general meetings of
the DGB, Verdi and IG Metall in May, 2006. The meetings of IG Metall and
Verdi are plannend for mid 2007.

e. Rostock Action Conference

Attac, together with Social Forum, the peace movement, medico international
and the local Rostock alliance, issued an invitation to an open action
conference in March 25^th -26^th. Participation was very good, with 300 people
attending, and emphasises the vitality of the process once again. Among
others there were representatives from DGB-Jugend, Gerechtigkeit Jetzt!,
Interventionistische Linke, Flüchtlingsorganisationen, DGB Rostock, Kein
Mensch ist Illegal, X-Tausend-Mal-Quer, Euromärsche and ecumenical grass
roots groups, as well as the local Rostocker Bündnis (s. below) and numerous
unorganised people.

The Conference was explicit in making no claim to being the centre of
activities. There was consensus that there are better chances for a broad
mobilisation than formerly. The Action Conference understood itself as a part
of the process toward this.

The discussions were marked by a political culture of listening, respect and the
search for common ground.

The Conference received considerable notice in the regional media. The CDU
had already, in advance, attacked the Linkspartei, saying that by supporting
activities critical of the summit it would damage “the reputation of
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern”. The Bildzeitung had provided public covering fire
with the headlines “Here’s where the chaos team meets”.

However, the course of the conference was such that most of the media
reports were between fair and positive.

Concrete Results:
– a follow-up conference with international participation shall take place in
the second half of 06
– Alternatives / Counter-Summit task group
– Demo task group
– Cultural Event(s) task group
– Camp task group
– Task group on actions of civil disobedience

All task groups are open for other participants who wish to join during the
further process.

f. Rostock local alliance

A local alliance has constituted itself in Rostock, which extends from the DGB
Rostock to the Eine-Welt-Netzwerk to parts of the Autonomous spectrum. This
structure is significant not only for practical reasons. It is even more important
that a political climate arises locally in which the protests are met with
understanding and possibly even sympathy.

g The sector that considers itself left of Attac consists of three main currents:
the Bundeskoordination Internationalismus - BUKO, the Interventionistische
Linke and the Dissent-Netzwerk. The BUKO has connections to the NGO
spectrum, but also cooperates with other spectra. Its national congress in May
is supposed to discuss the G8 as one of the main themes. The
Interventionistische Linke (IL) is a relatively new, loose association of people
and groups from the autonomous or formerly autonomous spectrum and other
sectors that define themselves as radical Leftists. Politically and in terms of
personnel there is some overlapping between the BUKO and parts of Attac.

The IL considers the summit process as a stage towards a strategic new
formation of the Left and strives for a broad front that includes the
development-policy NGOs, the unions and the environmental movement. The
Dissent-Netzwerk consists essentially of groups such as Peoples Global
Action, those working with refugees and parts of the Autonomous scene. It has
established an independent organisation and discussion frame. At the national
level this panel is relatively distant from the other spectra.

 3. The role of Attac

It is very obvious that for Attac the G8 is a topic par excellence. Furthermore - against
the background of the whole political configuration within the Federal Republic, Attac
possesses the potential to function as a bridge into the individual spectra, to facilitate
co-operation and to attempt to achieve the biggest possible linkage of the different
connected issues.

The G8 therefore will be the centre of gravity of our work for the next 14 to 15
months.

Until now we focussed on developing the dialogue with different panels and
assessingn the perspectives of political alliances within the process. This is not yet
finished. But it can now already be seen that we do not have just a co-existence
without communications or even an against-each-other of the different spectra. This
is new compared to summits taking place on German soil in the nineties. This insofar
is one achievement of our efforts.

It is also a part of this strategy not to create facts, to establish structures and to plan
concrete actions too early. This would lead certainly to an attempt to claim leadership
as long as the perspectives of political alliance are open.
But this does not mean that even if we like to do as much as possible with partners,
that we are going to melt completely within alliances. Of course it is very important to
develop your own profile and deliver your own contributions to the whole process.

The project group’s unpolished concept still requires a lot of working out of concrete
points and supporting. The project group is open for all members of Attac, who would
like to cooperate with commitment. Currently the planned work encompasses among
other things publications (basis text, flyer...), a home-page of our own and events
like speakers-tours etc.

 4. Unsolved political problems and controversies

In spite of the- on the whole - pleasant development until now there are some risks,
controversies and unsolved problems, which are not to be underestimated. Among
them are:

a. Bundling by Topics?

Wether the summit will achieve recognition beyond the circle of those already
convinced depends to a very high degree on the successful formulation of a
political message with an impact. During the Gleneagles-process this was
achieved relatively well by using the slogan “Make Poverty History”.

But this was promoted very well because on the side of the government Blair
himself with his Year of Africa and other development friendly rhetoric had
placed the topic on his agenda. Despite the fact that it was a window-dressing
hoax, it enabled the protest movement to link onto it and to develop a common
political push in the same direction.

Until now it looks more difficult at Heiligendamm. On the one hand there is no
indication that the federal government itself has any intention of setting a
theme, and if so, which one. A possible candidate could be energy. But it
cannot be dismissed that there will be an unexpected main topic, maybe due
to an escalation of the conflict surrounding Iran.

On the part of the movements and NGOs there is a prevailing attitude for each
to emphasise their own topic. If this becomes the main trend then there will be
the whole wide range of topics ranking from Aids to Immigration - to put it
polemically: “the usual market mix”.

Therefore it will be a central challenge during the continued process to have a
discussion about such a common joint message and possibly to achieve a
result by the end of this year. A first idea was the link “Global democracy -
social and ecological rights for all worldwide”.

b. Position related to EU-presidency

There is the question wether the German EU-presidency during the first half of
the year 2007 will be beneficial or damaging for the mobilisation for the G8.
Trade unions and some NGOs assume that during that period they could get
their way more easily within the EU. The opposite position argues that the
country holding the presidency can promote its own topics the least since as a
moderator it has to concentrate foremost on the interests of the EU as a
whole. Moreover the topics currently dominating the EU (expansion towards
the East, Turkey, constitutional crisis etc.) lend themselves only in very limited
way as useful focal points for a G8 mobilisation anyway.

The Cologne summit in 1999 was also during a German council presidency.
There the assessment of those who were sceptical about linking it with G8
was confirmed . In spite of frequent attempts towards such linking they in
fact failed. However there was also a special situation, as during that time the
EU was preparing for war in Kosovo and even started it in April. The war made
all planning obsolete anyway.

c. Relations between political parties and civic society

The parliamentary group of the Linkspartei (German Left Party) the party’s
board and the different party groupings based at the location intend to engage
themselves intensively on the side of the summit critics.

It is not a new thing that political parties behave like that. During the Bonn G7
in 1985 the Grünen (Green Party) played a similar role. And in Genua a large
share of the mobilisation was thanks to strong engagement by the
Rifundazione Comunista.

If the topic environment/energy is going to play a major role then it cannot be
dismissed that the Greens or parts of them will become part of the process.
It is of course good if political parties behave critically about the G8 and use
their influence accordingly. However a situation where criticism and protests
by civil society become part of party politics must definitely be avoided. Their
credibility and long-term impact depends on respecting this principle. To the
extent that political parties like to see strong emancipatory powers in the
space outside of the parliament they themselves ought to have an interest
towards the G8 protest being independent of party politics.

Beyond that: ignoring autonomy from party politics would immediately cause
the political alliance to explode. Since the hidden preferences and connections
are distributed among many different parties. Attac is therefore well advised to
remain neutral in party politics and has an interest in the visibility of
representatives of different political parties during G8 activities.

d. Pop stars

Some activities, especially those of Bod Geldof, did lead to serious problems
in the Gleneagle process. Geldof operated fully autonomously, without being
willing to cooperate with civil society, and has heavily damaged the political
message of the protest through his meeting with Bush and his statement
following it (“We have achieved 95 % of our targets. Stop criticising Bush.”)
All political forces should be interested in avoiding a repetition of this. Other
pop stars, who could possibly play a role could be Bono, Manu Chao or
Herbert Grönemeyer. But here things are at a very early stage and a concept
of how to handle this has not yet been discussed in detail.

e. The question of violence

As has already been mentioned the mood set by the Bildzeitung (German
right-leaning tabloid) during the Action-Conference in Rostock proved that
there are already attempts to escalate the debate about violence to criminalise
the movement and provoke splits. The intention is evident: as soon as there is
talk about broken windows the political contents will not be mentioned
anymore.

At the same time the topic of violence is of course useful to make new
alliances impossible. Here too there is considerable internal need for
discussion within Attac.

On the G8 workshop there was agreement that Attac will energetically support
massive civic disobedience, but will participate only in activities which are not
violent.

f. Right wing extremism

The right margin of the political spectre requires observation. Almost traditional
are the attempts by Nazis to occupy nationalistic topics during the G8
(Dictatorship of the international capital). In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state
elections are to be held and the NPD is confident of a good chance to utilise
the parliament for their propaganda.

For that reason the First of May in Rostock is especially important where a
wide alliance is mobilising against the central demonstration by the NPD, to
which several thousands of Neo-Nazis are expected.

g. Making the G8 illegitimate and demands towards the participating
governments

Within Attac there is a wide agreement that G8 is not a legitimate forum of
international democracy. Therefore it should be abolished. At the same time
important questions of globalisation are negotiated during the summit and in
the on going G8 process. It is therefore legitimate to address concrete
demands towards the governments participating in the G8 process, like
writing-off debts, closure of tax-havens, a just world trade or international
taxes. With such demands even towards an illegitimate process the G8 critics
are in the good company of many social movements, who time and again
demand better living and working conditions in the present, and this from the
participants whom, at the same time, they wish would go to hell.

h. Internationalisation

The internationalisation of the summit process is in itself undisputed, but still
in its early stages as far as practical implementation is concerned..
During the ESF in Athens a first bigger step was taken, namely by having an
assembly about the G8 with English, German and Russian participation.
The G8 summit in St. Petersburg should also be utilised to achieve attention.