Report from Dresden.
From Walter Held
The Germans have repeated the experience of the Iranian demonstrators in exploiting fully the possibilities offered by the new media and communications channels including Twitter, Facebook, Google Maps, smart mobile phones and laptops.
It was heralded as the biggest show of neonazi strength to date. On the anniversary of the bombing of Dresden by British bombers in 1945, Germany's neonazi groups have tried to hijack the commemoration of the 25,000 victims by staging their own extreme rightwing march through the centre of the Saxon city.
There is a fraction of the NPD in the Saxon regional parliament and the party has distinguished itself by refusing to join in official commemorations and by walking out of the building. One veteran NPD MP was even found to have a weapon in his office. But the extreme right scene is shifting to more localised grouplets of "autonomous nationalists" who wear black hooded jackets.
The organisers of the rightwing march - the Verein Junge Landsmannschaft Ostdeutschland - proclaimed that 8,000 Neo-Nazis from across Europe would attend. All the other political parties and public bodies set about organising a defensive chain of democratic protestors, ringing the old city centre. In spite of a ban on counterdemonstrations marching against the nazis, the autonomous youth groups joined a united front called "Nazifrei - Dresden stellt sich quer" - "Free of Nazis - Dresden blocks their path" - decided on courageous direct action. Before the trains carrying the Nazis could reach the stations, railway lines between the two main Dresden railway stations were blocked by barricades by the left. Sitdown barricades of up to 2,000 people blocked strategic roads into the city. Trade union youth from Thuringia arrived in strength. Thousands of police were mobilised and promised not to act against the left provided there was no stone-throwing, which was generally respected by the left. Police stopped and turned back out-of-town vehicles heading for the demo.
In the event, bewtween 1,500 and 4,000 autonomous nationalists were able to march some distance after police broke up a left barricade on the Dammweg. Meanwhile 10,000 local citizens were able to close their defensive ring, two or three deep. Left blockades on the Hansastrasse and Albert Square held and the nazis broke up into smaller groups, taking other routes and beating up passersby.
The organisers used twitter to organise and reorganise counter measures, reporting on developments, sending activists to particular points to occupy and block roads. Television stations ignored the events except for short snippets showing the established politicians. Bizarrely the regional TV broadcast scenes from a carneval procession in a nearby town.
By 3pm, the Nazis appealed to the police to clear a path for their match but this was refused at first; they abandoned their initial route for an organised march owing to the determined strength of the opposition. An alternative route was allowed by the police but immediately reported via Twitter minute by minute to the activists giving the exact street names where the Nazis woud pass through and appeals were sent out to block that new route with links to Google Maps showing the precise road junctions which needed to be blocked off.
Participants sent video reports via their mobile phones with links back to Twitter. The antifascists eavesdropped on the Nazi-twitter pages to learn of their plans and reactions. Rumours flew back and forth that the police had mobilised heavy anti-riot vehicles, water cannon etc. in the Hansastrasse in the event of a direct clash of both sides. The police announced that the Nazis would allowed to hold a short march in the 30 minutes remaining of their allotted time. The other hour and a half were taken up by avoiding barricades. The flood of Twitter tweets with updates comes in faster than you can read them. A police baton charge fails to open a human barricade for this final attempt to march. Nazis stand in the freezing cold chanting "We want to march!" The police tell them the road is not clear; you cannot march.
A burning barricade is extinguished by water cannon. They threaten to attack a leftwing local radio station later that evening. Antifascists are warned not to walk alone in the streets. The police escort the demoralised Nazis back to their busses so they can leave. Nazis trapped at the railway station Dresdner Neustadt attack the police with lumps of ice, bottles and fireworks. Special police commandos from Saxony arrive with baseball clubs and helmets. The Nazi demo is declared finished punctually at 5pm. A complete fiasco! The lesson: Direct action, not polite vigils stopped the nazis in their tracks.
Antifascist media sources
http://twitter.com/search?q=%2313februar
http://coloradio.org
http://www.taz.de
Quote from one participant:
"Dont hate the media be the media! the corporate media lies ! #13februar #nopasaran :-)"
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