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German Police Prepare for Protests at G20 Summit | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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German special police units leave an apartment building in the Wedding district in Berlin January 16, 2015. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch


Some 7,000 anti-capitalist protesters are expected to converge on Hamburg next month for the G20 summit and police are bracing for violence, a German security official said on Friday.

Leaders of the G20 leading economies will hold a July 7-8 summit in Germany’s second-largest city posing a challenge for the 20,000 police officers who will secure the event.

Their task will be compounded by a planned demonstration against Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan by supporters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the official added.

Turkish nationalists who support Erdogan are also expected to hold a rival demonstration in support of the Turkish leader, raising the prospect of violence, the official said.

Police expect some 3,000 pro-PKK activists and rival Erdogan supporters to show up in the city.

The Higher Administrative Court of Hamburg on Friday banned a camp that anti-capitalist protesters had planned to set up in a park in the city, using up to 3,000 tents and offering beds and food to demonstrators.

The court ruled in favor of the City of Hamburg and police, who had rejected a request to set up the protest camp from June 30 until July 9.

Police will also have to secure the summit against a possible attack by extremist militants. US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to attend the talks.