Germany: "Bush not welcome here!"
Workers Power Global, Berlin: 26 May 2002

More than 100,000 people demonstrated against President George W Bush and the US "war against terrorism" on 21 May. On 22 May, the day Bush arrived, 50,000 participated in a huge anti-capitalist demonstration. At the same time another 50 demos and pickets took place all over the country. On 23 May a number of further street actions and parades crowned the anti-Bush activities.

This huge turnout was a great success for all anti-war activists, anti-capitalists and anti-imperialists in Germany. The cops had sealed of the government district with 10,000 police and several hundred US guards. Snipers were stationed on the top of the main buildings, helicopters patrolled the skies all day.

The bourgeois press completely failed to discredit the mobilisations. The young conservatives (CDU youth organisation) just managed to get a hundred to "welcome George Bush". "Only idiots demonstrate against the US president," the gutter press had as a headline.

Even the "respectable" left bourgeois press refused to publish calls for the demonstration, teaching the youth and anti-war activists a lesson in what "freedom of the press" means - the right of the capitalist owner to publish whatever lies he or she wants.

Even inside parliament the mass protests found their echo. Three PDS deputies unfurled a banner against the war plans of Bush and his allies during Bushâs speech in front of the assembled Bundestag deputies.

This gives a small taste of what a real working class and revolutionary party would do in such a case. It would denounce and vehemently obstruct Bushâs speech and the servility of the bourgeois and reformist deputies.

But what did the PDS-leaders of the parliamentary faction do? They denounced the three deputies for their "uncivilised" and "inappropriate" protest! For these "left"-reformists licking Schršderâs arse is more important than giving expression to the anger of the 100,000 on the streets.

The two main demonstrations were both big successes in terms of numbers. On 21 May, the day before Bush arrived, the largest took place. It was organised by an alliance of reformists, left-bourgeois, the church - the so-called "axis of peace".

The platformâs slogans were lame and pacifist. They only focused on the war threat by the US against Iraq. But it left out completely the struggle of the Palestinian people, the struggle against the imperialist world order, for the cancellation of Third World debt.

The demonstrators, however, were more radical than the organisers of the demonstration and many anti-capitalist banners could be seen. They not only denounced Bush, but Schršder and the whole crew of EU bandits as well. Apart from many youth the PDS mobilised some tens of thousands for this demo as well.

It was not accidental that the axis for peace wanted to focus all the action on the day before Bush arrived in order to avoid violent clashes with the police.
The demonstration on the 22nd was more radical, political, militant and youthful. Not only imperialist war, but the whole capitalist system was attacked.

Also many immigrants, particular the Palestinian, Turkish and Kurdish left organisations, participated. The demonstration ended at the Schlossplatz in the centre of Berlin. There some clashes with the police erupted and the cops attacked the rally. Later in the night fighting with the police broke out which went on till two oâclock in the morning. About 50 people were arrested.

REVOLUTION organised a contingent on both demonstrations. We distributed 1,500 leaflets and joined in the defence of the actions.