Deutsche Welle, 1 June 2013
Police have
stopped many protestors from reaching the ECB, saying some participants were
disturbing the peace. Thousands are occupying the Germany's financial capital,
Frankfurt am Main, to protest EU austerity policies.
About 7,000
people marched toward the headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) on
Saturday in protest of EU austerity policies imposed on crisis-stricken member
states.
Some
carried signs reading "Make Love Not Money" and "Troika, IMF,
get out of Greece."
Police
brought part of the "Blockupy" demonstration to a crawl around midday
when several hundred protesters refused to remove masks, while others began
setting off fireworks.
According
to a police spokesperson, authorities used pepper spray and batons to disperse
the crowd and to restore order. There were reports of participants leaving the
demonstration to seek medical treatment after sustaining injuries.
The police
intervention was "a conscious and planned escalation," Blockupy
spokesperson Frauke Distelrath told the news agency EPD.
The
anti-capitalist "Blockupy" movement began on Friday morning when
thousands of people attempted to prevent access to the ECB building. However, a
large contingent of police forces, wearing helmets and riot gear, thwarted the
effort.
Police said
the protest action had been peaceful with the exception of minor clashes at
security barricades.
Europe's
Blockupy movement took shape after the Occupy Wall Street initiative in 2011.
It has directed its protests against the perceived role of banks and
governments in impoverishing many people in Europe, citing in particular
cutbacks that have denied many the ability to earn a living.
Similar
demonstrations were scheduled to take place across Europe later on Saturday.
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