Various groups ranging from anti-imperialists to climate justice activists protested in various parts of the German State of Bavaria against the ongoing 48th G7 summit which started on Sunday, June 26, at Schloss Elmau in the Bavarian Alps. At least 6,000 people participated in a major demonstration called by environmental groups, developmental and social associations, NGOs, and others in Munich’s Theresienwiese on Sunday in the run-up to the G7 summit.
The police acted against the protest march which included communists, trade unionists and cadres from the German Communist Party (DKP), Socialist German Workers Youth (SDAJ), Kommunistischer Aufbau (KA), Association Perspektive Kommunismus, MLPD, as well as the Communist Parties of Greece and Turkey. Kurdish youth groups, Die Linke (The Left) and Left Youth also participated in the protest march. They denounced the exploitative, neo-colonial and war mongering policies of the G7 and resolved to continue the fight against such policies. Progressive sections in Germany and abroad denounced the police attack on the protesters in Munich. Thousands of people also marched on Sunday in Garmisch-Partenkirchen against the summit.
The spokesperson of the anti-capitalist bloc told Junge Welt (JW) that “despite drastic police harassment and numerous preliminary checks, it had already been possible to carry out a militant and successful demonstration near the summit.”
The three-day summit of the Group-7 (G7) countries is being held from June 26-28 in Krun town in the Bavarian Alps under tight security with around 20,000 security personnel present in the region. Leaders from the G7 club of advanced economies, the US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and Japan, along with representatives from the EU, IMF, WTO, and others, and several other countries including India and Ukraine are taking part in the summit. The West’s sanctions against Russia and support for Kiev through weapons supply in the backdrop of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war are the dominant topics at the current G7 summit, but the agenda also includes the fight against the climate crisis and the threat of famine in parts of Africa.
Franz Haslbeck from the Munich Alliance against War and Racism told Unsere Zeit (UZ) that “the heads of state and government of the G-7 group want to find solutions to the problems that are being circulated by the media, especially the Ukraine crisis and the climate crisis. To be honest, however, solutions are not to be expected, but rather an exacerbation of these crises. Whether arms deliveries to the war zone or other symbolic policies for climate protection: Since the range of their toolbox only moves within the capitalist principles, only placebos or superficialities are to be expected. This is particularly hypocritical when we are aware that these problems and crises, together with their systemic roots, must be addressed if anything is to change for the better.”
Janine Wissler from Die Linke stated that “the hunger crisis is ramping up worldwide. Every ten seconds, a child under the age of five dies of hunger. However, a ban on food speculation, which further alleviates global hunger, is not expected at the upcoming G7 Summit in Elmau.”
The Socialist German Workers Youth (SDAJ) accused that “the G7 states represent the banks and corporations of the Western industrialized nations. They want to bypass talks at the UN level to enforce their Western capital interests on the backs of dependent countries as well as wage dependent classes in the imperialist centers.”
“Instead of the promised climate protection, plundering is carried out in nature. Instead of global justice, sanctions are being imposed that harm the world’s population by driving up energy prices and thus food prices,” added the SDAJ.
