German Press Office faces suits from G20 reporters
August 11, 2017
Ahead of the G20 summit in Hamburg, 32 journalists had their accreditation revoked at short notice as authorities cited security concerns. The journalists have called the move unlawful.
Image: picture alliance/CITYPRESS 24/Krick
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Nine of the journalists who had their accreditation revoked ahead of last month's Group of 20 summit in Hamburg will take Germany's Federal Press Office (BPA) to court, complaining that the move was unlawful.
However, the applicants had yet to submit their arguments to the administrative court in Berlin, a speaker for the court said on Thursday. The Press Office will then have the opportunity to respond to the allegations in writing. Only then can a formal hearing take place, which is unlikely to happen before next year.
The director of the German Journalists Union (DJU), business journalist Cornelia Hass, said neither the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) nor the BPA had provided any valid reasons for blacklisting the journalists.
"Now the court must determine whether the handling of our members holds up under legal examination," she said. "I have reason to be doubtful."
The press passes would have granted the 32 reporters affected access to restricted areas around the northern German city of Hamburg, as well as to the G20 press center, where summit press conferences were held. However, they had their access withdrawn after their names appeared on a list distributed by the BKA to police officers monitoring the entrances of the summit. Authorities have only cited security concerns for barring the reporters.
Nine reporters were forced to return their passes, including one freelance reporter from German weekly Der Spiegel and a photographer for the Weser Kurier newspaper. The other 23 journalists had not yet arrived at the press center to pick up their passes.
Questions surrounding the G20 security situation
A spokesperson for the BPA told DW that none of the accreditations had been refused due to security reasons ahead of the summit. On July 6, just a day ahead of the summit, was there a reassessment of the security situation, which found "new developments around the summit and factors within the press center."
Following consultation with the BKA, the Federal Press Office then opted to blacklist the 32 journalists.
German government defends G20 security
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According to the BKA, among the barred reporters were convicted left-wing extremists and even one person suspected of being part of the "Reichsbürger" movement, a loosely organized collective of individuals who refuse to recognize the Federal Republic of Germany.
Steffen Seibert, spokesperson for German Chancellor Angela Merkel's government, defended the BKA's decision, saying that doing otherwise would have been irresponsible.
However, the move prompted rebuke and speculation, with the German government even being accused of bowing to foreign pressure. The federal government rejected those criticisms, saying it acted on its own information.
The Federal Interior Ministry and Press Office said they had explained to each of the 32 journalists the reason for their decision. No further information had yet been publically disclosed.
A brief history of the anti-globalization movement
Whenever heads of state and global financial institutions come together, protest is not far away. Critics of globalization have been taking action for 20 years - also in the name of nature. DW looks back.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Sabrowsky
'Battle of Seattle'
The "Battle of Seattle" in 1999 marked the unofficial start of the anti-globalization movement. Organizing under the radar, this new protest movement burst onto the scene with tens of thousands taking to the streets - and shutting the city down. Protesters criticized the World Trade Organization (WTO) as promoting a "race to the bottom" in terms of environmental, human rights and labor standards.
Image: Getty Images/K.Stallknecht
Teamsters and turtles - together at last
The Seattle actions brought together a broad coalition, with rank-and-file labor unionists marching arm-in-arm with environmentalists. Previously at odds over jobs, the two factions now faced a common enemy: corporate dominance and the unchecked quest for corporate profit. International financial institutions promoting free trade became the symbols - and targets - of this broad new movement.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. G. Mabanglo
London: carnival against capital
"Think globally, act locally" is one of the slogans of the anti-globalization movement. Demonstrators organized protests as street parties in response to a crackdown from authorities and made calls to decentralize and globalize. As the G8 met in Cologne in June 1999, "J18" protests also took place in London and Eugene, Oregon. The emphasis on having fun drew many young people into the movement.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Genoa: Escalation and turning point
In 2001, thousands protested the G8 under the slogan "another world is possible." This alternative vision was against environmental destruction and the growing gap between rich and poor. Indeed, a criticism of the anti-globalization movement was that it was against so much - but what was it for? Protests in Genoa were marked by clashes between security forces and increasingly militant protesters.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/G. Julien
Things get real
As many as 20,000 policemen sought to keep the demonstrations under control - in vain. The legacy of Genoa included innumerable injuries, and even one fatality: Police shot dead the Italian Carlo Giuliani in a street battle. For years afterward, such summits were held in increasingly remote - and defendable - locations. For the protesters, this symbolized how they served - above all - the elite.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Monteforte
WTO in Doha
In 2001, the WTO met in Doha - for protesters, hard to reach - and with Qatar not exactly known to vaunt free speech. Was the era of mass anti-globalization demonstrations over? Doha's slick and elite image added fuel to the accusation that such institutions were insulating themselves against popular movements.
Image: Getty Images/ANOC/M. Runnacles
Toronto: More mass arrests
The G20 summit in Toronto in 2010 went down in history - as the scene of Canada's largest mass arrest. Police cracked down violently on demonstrators, arresting more than a thousand people - who were mostly later release without charge. The mass false arrests here had followed similar actions: in Washington at IMF/ World Bank protests in 2002, and at the FTAA protest in Miami in 2003.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Ilnitsky
'Secret' environment conference
In 2015, the G7 meeting at Schloss Elmau in Bavaria - likewise a remote and defendable location - took up a number of environmental topics, such as threats to the world's oceans. G7 countries vowed to more effectively and intensively work on fighting waste in the seas. Environmental topics appeared to have broken through to agendas that previously had been dominated by economic ones.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/C. Stache
Tempering the powder keg
For the G20 to set its 2017 meeting in the major metropolis of Hamburg could be seen as a reconciliation. Currently in the rotating presidency of the G20, Germany has been praised by civil society groups for its attempts to engage, such as here at the "Civil20" meeting in June. Climate change is at the top of Germany's G20 agenda - reflecting increasing concern over the issue worldwide.
Image: Reuters/F. Bimmer
Camping for the movement
In Hamburg, urban camping should reduce the environmental footprint of protesters - although a conflict over whether to allow such camping within the city has been a bone of contention. Again, 20,000 police will attempt to keep order during the summit. An atmosphere similar to that of a summer music festival is tempered with serious undertones as protests get underway.
Image: picture-alliance/Zumapress/J. Widener
Walking the talk
As the most polluting fossil fuel, coal is a clear target. Greenpeace activists pulled alongside the Chinese coal freighter "Golden Opportunity" in Hamburg's port to point out Germany's hypocritical position on the topic. Similar actions are surely to come - learning from the anti-globalization movement, the climate justice movement has built a broad coalition. It's not just eco-freaks anymore!
