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Police arrest, detain 175 at NATO Defence Minister meeting
Munich, Feb 07: Police arrested 28 demonstrators and detained another 147 protestors last night at the NATO Defence Ministers meeting after protestors tried to blockade a street in Munich, police officials said.
Munich, Feb 07: Police arrested 28 demonstrators and detained another 147 protestors last night at the NATO Defence Ministers meeting after protestors tried to blockade a street in Munich, police officials said.
Two police officers were attacked and injured with pepper spray by demonstrators.
Several hundred people mounted the demonstration against the 40th annual Munich security conference, which opens today. The ministers were meeting yesterday on the sidelines of the annual gathering.
By late evening, police had arrested 28 demonstrators on charges including violation of the public assembly and weapons laws, use of offensive language and dangerous bodily assault.
In addition, police encircled several smaller groups and detained 147 protesters.
Under tense security provisions, more than 3,500 police and anti-terror troops have blocked off large parts of the Bavarian capital to protect almost 300 leaders, ministers and officials attending the two-day conference.
Huge water-cannon trucks were parked as barricades on both ends of the downtown square in front of the building where ministers met to stop any car-bombers from getting through. Snipers peered through scopes from rooftops.
Nerves were on edge earlier when a shot was fired a few metres away from where the 19 NATO Defence Ministers were meeting at Munich's premier hotel, Bayerischer Hof. A French security guard accidentally dropped a pistol, a police spokesman said.
The bullet hit a marble floor and fragments slightly injured eight people. A loud bang from the shot echoed through the elegant hotel in downtown Munich - but ministers continued their talks without interruption.
Defence Ministers from NATO's 19 member states were discussing an expansion of the alliance mission in Afghanistan, transatlantic relations and Iraq.
The youthful demonstrators carried placards demanding that ''war mongers'' should be sent to Mars, but had to cancel plans for a human chain around the hotel. They carried flags from the peace movement and pushed a shopping cart that had been converted into a fake cannon apparatus.
At an official reception for conference participants, Munich's Social Democratic Mayor Christian Ude said he hoped that the next defence meeting in Munich would include representatives from the United Nations, the International Red Cross, Amnesty International, Unicef, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and Unesco. Bureau Report
Several hundred people mounted the demonstration against the 40th annual Munich security conference, which opens today. The ministers were meeting yesterday on the sidelines of the annual gathering.
By late evening, police had arrested 28 demonstrators on charges including violation of the public assembly and weapons laws, use of offensive language and dangerous bodily assault.
In addition, police encircled several smaller groups and detained 147 protesters.
Under tense security provisions, more than 3,500 police and anti-terror troops have blocked off large parts of the Bavarian capital to protect almost 300 leaders, ministers and officials attending the two-day conference.
Huge water-cannon trucks were parked as barricades on both ends of the downtown square in front of the building where ministers met to stop any car-bombers from getting through. Snipers peered through scopes from rooftops.
Nerves were on edge earlier when a shot was fired a few metres away from where the 19 NATO Defence Ministers were meeting at Munich's premier hotel, Bayerischer Hof. A French security guard accidentally dropped a pistol, a police spokesman said.
The bullet hit a marble floor and fragments slightly injured eight people. A loud bang from the shot echoed through the elegant hotel in downtown Munich - but ministers continued their talks without interruption.
Defence Ministers from NATO's 19 member states were discussing an expansion of the alliance mission in Afghanistan, transatlantic relations and Iraq.
The youthful demonstrators carried placards demanding that ''war mongers'' should be sent to Mars, but had to cancel plans for a human chain around the hotel. They carried flags from the peace movement and pushed a shopping cart that had been converted into a fake cannon apparatus.
At an official reception for conference participants, Munich's Social Democratic Mayor Christian Ude said he hoped that the next defence meeting in Munich would include representatives from the United Nations, the International Red Cross, Amnesty International, Unicef, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and Unesco. Bureau Report