Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: Police fire tear gas at NATO protesters

Police fire tear gas at NATO protesters
By SCOTT SAYARE and DAVID RISING, Associated Press Writers Scott Sayare And 
David Rising, Associated Press Writers Fri Apr 3, 2:46 pm ET
STRASBOURG, France - Police fired tear gas at rock-hurling protesters Friday 
on the eve of a NATO summit - the first real confrontation after hours of 
mostly small, scattered and peaceful rallies.
Police said that several hundred protesters started to burn a makeshift 
barricade of slats of wood and trash bins on a road leading to a camp of 
demonstrators in the Strasbourg neighborhood of Neuhof.
Demonstrators also threw firecrackers at police, causing burns to the legs 
of one and injuring another officer's hearing, police said. Both were taken 
to a hospital for treatment.
Some of the protesters said they were frustrated about the large police 
presence in the French city and across the Rhine river in the German cities 
of Kehl and Baden-Baden, where President Barack Obama and German Chancellor 
Angela Merkel met.
Protest organizer Moritz Volkatz asked people to return to the camp in 
Strasbourg, where some 3,000 people are staying, and to wait for Saturday's 
planned rallies.
Christoph Kleine, a spokesman for the protest network Block NATO, told The 
Associated Press earlier in the day that avoiding violence was one of the 
protesters' goals but they would eventually get from the camp to the heavily 
guarded center of Strasbourg, where the NATO summit is being held Saturday.
"We do not want any clashes with police ... We will go around them, we will 
go through them," he said. "We will not attack them. But we will make our 
way."
Some 15,000 German police - including 31 riot squads - and 9,000 French 
police are on call for the summit.
German authorities had estimated that up to 25,000 protesters would take 
part in several demonstrations in Baden-Baden and Kehl. France's interior 
minister has suggested 30,000 to 40,000 ultimately could show up in 
Strasbourg, where the camp was set up to house demonstrators.
It was not immediately clear why the numbers, so far, had been so small.
In Baden-Baden, about 500 people - mostly young adults - walked quietly and 
slowly from the main train station to the city's center, flanked on both 
sides by a massive phalanx of police, some in riot gear with thick pads, 
protective vests and helmets and batons. Police helicopters flew overhead.
"Sixty years is too long!" the protesters chanted. "No more NATO is the 
goal!"
There were about 5,000 police in the city where Obama arrived with his wife, 
Michelle, aboard Marine One, the presidential helicopter.
In Kehl, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) away, traffic was halted just after 
12 p.m. (1000 GMT) across the Europe Bridge linking France and Germany.
A protest that had been scheduled there appeared to fizzle because so few 
people attended.
Strasbourg's streets were virtually deserted as unauthorized traffic was 
forbidden in many parts of the city. Schools and the university were closed. 
Most businesses and restaurants have shut down for the duration of the 
summit.
On Thursday night in Strasbourg police detained at least 300 people and 
forced demonstrators back into a tent camp on the edge of the city. 
Demonstrators destroyed telephone booths and attempted to build barricades 
before they were stopped, said a police spokesman, speaking on condition of 
anonymity according to French practice.
On Friday, two of those were brought before a judge and charged with 
participating in an "armed gathering."
___
Rising reported from Baden-Baden, Germany. Associated Press Writers Thomas 
Seythal and Oliver Schmale in Baden-Baden and Laurent Pirot in Strasbourg, 
France contributed to this report. 

 taken to a hospital for treatment.
Troppo poco.  Dovevano arrestarli e sbatterli in galera per aggressione a 
mano armata.
Sarebbe ora che i governi di tutti gli stati civili, e specialmente i 
tribunali, facciano rispettare la giustizia e non tollerino chi pensa di 
aver diritto di fare quel ca**o che vuole.
-Stefano