Rjevan
1st October 2010, 19:50
I haven't seen a thread on this here, so before coming to the latest news a bit of background info seems necessary. An English article by the SAV (CWI) sums it up:
The reason for these mass protests is a project named “Stuttgart 21”. Its aim is to replace the present main railway station with a new, underground, station. In addition, the plans are to construct a new high speed train station at the city’s airport and 30km of tunnels to connect these stations with the existing railway tracks (and with a planned high-speed track to Ulm). All these are linked to a speculative redevelopment of the city centre.
There are many reasons for the protests. One central reason is the cost – the project is widely seen as a “Milliardenloch” (“billion-euro hole”). Originally the cost was estimated to be €2.6 billion for “Stuttgart 21” and a further €2.1 billion for the high-speed track. Now, the official figures are €4.1 and €2.9 billion. Independent experts and critics estimate the costs at €8 billion and €6 billion. How much could be done with this money, if it were be invested in providing jobs and services, by improving schools, nurseries, hospitals, public transport etc., instead of destroying what is already one of the most efficient railway stations in Germany?
One important factor is that the project is seen as anti-democratic by ordinary people. Opinion polls show a big majority against it. In 2007, more than 67,000 signatures for a referendum were collected, over 10% of the city’s population of 600,000, but the referendum was declared illegal. An opinion poll by the local Stuttgarter Nachrichten newspaper showed nearly 65% would vote to stop the project if a referendum was held. But Wolfgang Schuster, the local Mayor, says stopping the project now is “unthinkable”.
Many people understand, that the driving force of the project are profit interests of construction companies, property developers, banks etc., who want to make money out of the inner city area currently occupied by the railway tracks.
http://www.socialistworld.net/img/article/2010-08-17Grafik2038151952902930038.jpg
("End this now! We stop Stuttgart 21")
Despite all of this it has come as a big surprise not only to the local politicans that this project is faced with massive opposition by the usually very peaceful and conservative people of Baden-Württemberg, a federal state which is governed by the conservative CDU and the libertarian FDP since the end of WW2 and became known as the "Musterländle" (model state). This is from a revised Google translated article by the Marxist-Leninist newspaper Arbeit-Zukunft:
It is amazing what is happening now in Stuttgart. The long time so brave Swabians tie in with their democratic and revolutionary traditions. For in Swabia and Baden were strong revolutionary forces during the Peasants War of 1525 as well as in the democratic revolution of 1848 and in the socialist revolution of 1918. This tradition seemed to be forgotten and lost. In the conflict over Stuttgart 21 the people show that their democratic and revolutionary spirit flares up again.
Of course, there would have been already a thousand reasons for a revolt like Hartz IV, mass layoffs, cuts in social welfare, pension cuts, 1-euro jobs, destruction of democratic rights and expansion of surveillance state, billions for the banks and for wars, corruption and slush funds.
[...]
-There is anger at the politicians who rule against them people and enforce this policy with state violence against all protests.
- There is the anger at the capital, which enforces its interests through these politicians.
- There is the anger at corruption and mafia-like clique economy.
- There is the anger at an ever more nannying of the people, the destruction of democratic rights, the police state.
- And there is a lot more anger, which has been brewing in the recent years.
[...]
And in the process of resistance they learn more every day. People who would have defended this state a year ago now say: "We live in a dictatorship!" They increasingly understand the entanglements of government and capital. People who would never have participated in a demonstration last year, now occupy without fear the major intersections in the city of Stuttgart, stand up against the police, occupy the abandoned north wing of the station, occupy the site or enthusiastically celebrate those who do that.
[...]
People have been lied to, for example on costs. Now, even the supporters speak about almost twice as high costs as planned, after they had claimed for years that there would be no cost increase. Experts believe that the costs will exceed 10 billion by far.
People have been lied to on the alleged time-saving. It was held secret that the ICE train drove from Stuttgart to Ulm in 20 minutes less about 15-20 years ago. The Bahn has let rack and ruin the tracks so that trains today can only travel slowly. The alleged 30 minutes time savings shrink in the face of this trick at just 10 minutes. Further deterioration of Stuttgart 21, however, means that experts estimate the real time advantage only about 2-4 minutes. For this to be spent around 8 billion or more.
[...]
People see how capital rules. Now at once the First Mayor, who is in charge of construction matters, sits in the advisory board of a large construction company, which received the first order for Stuttgart 21: the demolition of the north wing. Said Major thinks this is "normal" and only draws back from the advisory board after violent protests. People see how the capital buys its "experts". Suddenly professors who act as "independent" experts in court, have at the same time orders from the Bahn Railways or were even involved on behalf of the Bahn Railway in the planning of Stuttgart 21. Banks, construction companies, politicians - these "experts" are deeply entangled.
[...]
They learn that the politicians and the capital ignore all their protests. Even bourgeois proposals to move the project Stuttgart 21 and to talk about it again in order to "keep the peace in the city" are coldly rejected. The rulers do not want peace.
People learn that the media are closely associated with the capital and represent its interests. The two major newspapers in Stuttgart, which belong to the same company are ardent advocats of Stuttgart 21. Only after massive protests and numerous subscription cancellations, they released more letters against Stuttgart 21 and had to admit that they were flooded by thousands of readers' letters on this subject.
[...]
People see how numbers are manipulated in order to obtain desired political results. This way the police estiamtes the number of demonstrators half the actual size on a regular basis to "prove" that the resistance is small and managable. The press took over the truncated figures of the police. Then, when the opponents of Stuttgart 21 used automatic counting systems and were able to prove that the attendance figures were much higher, both police and press had to row back. Now the press usually publish two numbers, and the one estimated by the police, while always a little lower, is at once closer to the real numbers of participants.
People recognize how the police acts according to the tactic of "carrot and stick”. If thirty thousand are on the street, the police hold off. When at the night of 19th to 20th August a heavy demolition dredger was supposed to be smuggled into the area, spontaneously over a thousand people came to the north wing of the station. As a response it then was acted as if the action was called off. As only about 50 to 70 demonstrators were at the permanent vigil in the morning at about 5 o' clock, the police suddenly turned up with over 50 personnel carriers. The demonstrators who had organized a sit-in were carried off with kicks and with painfully twisted head, arms and legs, although they offered no resistance. Police spokesman Petersen said, according to Stuttgarter Zeitung of 20th August '10, that the protesters should know that let yourself being carried away could hurt. Without the press making any critical remarks on this, he also admitted that it was intentional to torment these people unnecessarily.
[...]
But even if the resistance should ultimately be unsuccessful in this matter, it will be politically and morally a success. In the end, people will be changed. The traces, which this fight buries in the people will remain and will be visible in future battles. People will have learned, above all, what power they have. And the idea that this station, this city, the money and the country belongs to all of us will not disappear. It will spread further. Moreover, the struggle shines on the entire country. Everywhere in Germany in the recent years the anger and the hatred at the capital and the government have increased. One obstacle is the feeling of powerlessness. But if people see what a mass movement can cause, it will give them hope and boost and they will realize through the practice: Who fights can lose. Who doesn't fight has already lost.
And the demonstrators, who are in the majority "middle class" citizens of Stuttgart, become more and more radicalised and antagonised by the state. Yesterday the situation escalated, demonstrators climbed trees which were going to be cut off and in response the police claimed demonstrator threw stones at them (which was later proven an outright lie, the demonstration was documented by dozens of people and the city had to admit that absolutely no violence came from the demonstrators) and therefore used pepper spray, water cannons and massive violence against the demonstrators who included young children and old people. Abreit-Zukunft gives the following numbers:
-100 injured children
- 1 skull fracture
- 1 shattered eye
- 6 broken noses
- and many hundreds injured
http://www.thelocal.de/images/gallery/1025/8828.600.416.jpg (http://www.thelocal.de/gallery/news/1025/5/)
http://www.thelocal.de/images/gallery/1025/8830.600.426.jpg (http://www.thelocal.de/gallery/news/1025/9/)
Now public outrage and disgust reach new levels, solidary demonstrations have spontaneously taken place in some cities, the politicians and the police are under massive attack by the public, demonstrators refuse to speak with or listen to the police and the pro-Stuttgart 21 forces anymore and speak about "Civil War" and "living in a dictatorship". One woman was broadcasted all over the news, screaming "This is war!" while being dragged away by the police. Chancellor Merkel talks about "anything that leads to violence must be avoided", while at the same time police forces from all over the country are sent to Stuttgart, since local police units have repeatedly been reported to show solidarity with the demonstrators. It's amazing to see how much resistance this project created, with how much open violence this "bourgeois protest of law-abiding middle class citizens" (-news reporter) is met and how fast it radicalises. No end in sight for now...
http://monsters.blogsport.de/images/demo_20100930.jpg
(Solidary protest in Göttingen. The banner reads: "Resistance is not criminal but necessary!")
Links:
- SAV article on S21 in general, the developement and the participations of the SAV and Die Linke: http://socialistworld.net/doc/4453
- quoted Arbeit-Zukunft article (in German): http://www.arbeit-zukunft.de/index.php?itemid=1547
- Arbeit-Zukunft on the escalation of violence (in German): http://www.arbeit-zukunft.de/index.php?itemid=1569
- Fire and Flames blogpost on the escalation of violence: http://fireandflames.blogsport.de/2010/09/30/stuttgart-21-massive-police-violence-solidarity-demonstration-in-goettingen/
- Picture gallery of yesterday's police violence (Caution! First pic shows the man with the smashed eye, no pleasant sight!): http://www.thelocal.de/gallery/news/1025/
The reason for these mass protests is a project named “Stuttgart 21”. Its aim is to replace the present main railway station with a new, underground, station. In addition, the plans are to construct a new high speed train station at the city’s airport and 30km of tunnels to connect these stations with the existing railway tracks (and with a planned high-speed track to Ulm). All these are linked to a speculative redevelopment of the city centre.
There are many reasons for the protests. One central reason is the cost – the project is widely seen as a “Milliardenloch” (“billion-euro hole”). Originally the cost was estimated to be €2.6 billion for “Stuttgart 21” and a further €2.1 billion for the high-speed track. Now, the official figures are €4.1 and €2.9 billion. Independent experts and critics estimate the costs at €8 billion and €6 billion. How much could be done with this money, if it were be invested in providing jobs and services, by improving schools, nurseries, hospitals, public transport etc., instead of destroying what is already one of the most efficient railway stations in Germany?
One important factor is that the project is seen as anti-democratic by ordinary people. Opinion polls show a big majority against it. In 2007, more than 67,000 signatures for a referendum were collected, over 10% of the city’s population of 600,000, but the referendum was declared illegal. An opinion poll by the local Stuttgarter Nachrichten newspaper showed nearly 65% would vote to stop the project if a referendum was held. But Wolfgang Schuster, the local Mayor, says stopping the project now is “unthinkable”.
Many people understand, that the driving force of the project are profit interests of construction companies, property developers, banks etc., who want to make money out of the inner city area currently occupied by the railway tracks.
http://www.socialistworld.net/img/article/2010-08-17Grafik2038151952902930038.jpg
("End this now! We stop Stuttgart 21")
Despite all of this it has come as a big surprise not only to the local politicans that this project is faced with massive opposition by the usually very peaceful and conservative people of Baden-Württemberg, a federal state which is governed by the conservative CDU and the libertarian FDP since the end of WW2 and became known as the "Musterländle" (model state). This is from a revised Google translated article by the Marxist-Leninist newspaper Arbeit-Zukunft:
It is amazing what is happening now in Stuttgart. The long time so brave Swabians tie in with their democratic and revolutionary traditions. For in Swabia and Baden were strong revolutionary forces during the Peasants War of 1525 as well as in the democratic revolution of 1848 and in the socialist revolution of 1918. This tradition seemed to be forgotten and lost. In the conflict over Stuttgart 21 the people show that their democratic and revolutionary spirit flares up again.
Of course, there would have been already a thousand reasons for a revolt like Hartz IV, mass layoffs, cuts in social welfare, pension cuts, 1-euro jobs, destruction of democratic rights and expansion of surveillance state, billions for the banks and for wars, corruption and slush funds.
[...]
-There is anger at the politicians who rule against them people and enforce this policy with state violence against all protests.
- There is the anger at the capital, which enforces its interests through these politicians.
- There is the anger at corruption and mafia-like clique economy.
- There is the anger at an ever more nannying of the people, the destruction of democratic rights, the police state.
- And there is a lot more anger, which has been brewing in the recent years.
[...]
And in the process of resistance they learn more every day. People who would have defended this state a year ago now say: "We live in a dictatorship!" They increasingly understand the entanglements of government and capital. People who would never have participated in a demonstration last year, now occupy without fear the major intersections in the city of Stuttgart, stand up against the police, occupy the abandoned north wing of the station, occupy the site or enthusiastically celebrate those who do that.
[...]
People have been lied to, for example on costs. Now, even the supporters speak about almost twice as high costs as planned, after they had claimed for years that there would be no cost increase. Experts believe that the costs will exceed 10 billion by far.
People have been lied to on the alleged time-saving. It was held secret that the ICE train drove from Stuttgart to Ulm in 20 minutes less about 15-20 years ago. The Bahn has let rack and ruin the tracks so that trains today can only travel slowly. The alleged 30 minutes time savings shrink in the face of this trick at just 10 minutes. Further deterioration of Stuttgart 21, however, means that experts estimate the real time advantage only about 2-4 minutes. For this to be spent around 8 billion or more.
[...]
People see how capital rules. Now at once the First Mayor, who is in charge of construction matters, sits in the advisory board of a large construction company, which received the first order for Stuttgart 21: the demolition of the north wing. Said Major thinks this is "normal" and only draws back from the advisory board after violent protests. People see how the capital buys its "experts". Suddenly professors who act as "independent" experts in court, have at the same time orders from the Bahn Railways or were even involved on behalf of the Bahn Railway in the planning of Stuttgart 21. Banks, construction companies, politicians - these "experts" are deeply entangled.
[...]
They learn that the politicians and the capital ignore all their protests. Even bourgeois proposals to move the project Stuttgart 21 and to talk about it again in order to "keep the peace in the city" are coldly rejected. The rulers do not want peace.
People learn that the media are closely associated with the capital and represent its interests. The two major newspapers in Stuttgart, which belong to the same company are ardent advocats of Stuttgart 21. Only after massive protests and numerous subscription cancellations, they released more letters against Stuttgart 21 and had to admit that they were flooded by thousands of readers' letters on this subject.
[...]
People see how numbers are manipulated in order to obtain desired political results. This way the police estiamtes the number of demonstrators half the actual size on a regular basis to "prove" that the resistance is small and managable. The press took over the truncated figures of the police. Then, when the opponents of Stuttgart 21 used automatic counting systems and were able to prove that the attendance figures were much higher, both police and press had to row back. Now the press usually publish two numbers, and the one estimated by the police, while always a little lower, is at once closer to the real numbers of participants.
People recognize how the police acts according to the tactic of "carrot and stick”. If thirty thousand are on the street, the police hold off. When at the night of 19th to 20th August a heavy demolition dredger was supposed to be smuggled into the area, spontaneously over a thousand people came to the north wing of the station. As a response it then was acted as if the action was called off. As only about 50 to 70 demonstrators were at the permanent vigil in the morning at about 5 o' clock, the police suddenly turned up with over 50 personnel carriers. The demonstrators who had organized a sit-in were carried off with kicks and with painfully twisted head, arms and legs, although they offered no resistance. Police spokesman Petersen said, according to Stuttgarter Zeitung of 20th August '10, that the protesters should know that let yourself being carried away could hurt. Without the press making any critical remarks on this, he also admitted that it was intentional to torment these people unnecessarily.
[...]
But even if the resistance should ultimately be unsuccessful in this matter, it will be politically and morally a success. In the end, people will be changed. The traces, which this fight buries in the people will remain and will be visible in future battles. People will have learned, above all, what power they have. And the idea that this station, this city, the money and the country belongs to all of us will not disappear. It will spread further. Moreover, the struggle shines on the entire country. Everywhere in Germany in the recent years the anger and the hatred at the capital and the government have increased. One obstacle is the feeling of powerlessness. But if people see what a mass movement can cause, it will give them hope and boost and they will realize through the practice: Who fights can lose. Who doesn't fight has already lost.
And the demonstrators, who are in the majority "middle class" citizens of Stuttgart, become more and more radicalised and antagonised by the state. Yesterday the situation escalated, demonstrators climbed trees which were going to be cut off and in response the police claimed demonstrator threw stones at them (which was later proven an outright lie, the demonstration was documented by dozens of people and the city had to admit that absolutely no violence came from the demonstrators) and therefore used pepper spray, water cannons and massive violence against the demonstrators who included young children and old people. Abreit-Zukunft gives the following numbers:
-100 injured children
- 1 skull fracture
- 1 shattered eye
- 6 broken noses
- and many hundreds injured
http://www.thelocal.de/images/gallery/1025/8828.600.416.jpg (http://www.thelocal.de/gallery/news/1025/5/)
http://www.thelocal.de/images/gallery/1025/8830.600.426.jpg (http://www.thelocal.de/gallery/news/1025/9/)
Now public outrage and disgust reach new levels, solidary demonstrations have spontaneously taken place in some cities, the politicians and the police are under massive attack by the public, demonstrators refuse to speak with or listen to the police and the pro-Stuttgart 21 forces anymore and speak about "Civil War" and "living in a dictatorship". One woman was broadcasted all over the news, screaming "This is war!" while being dragged away by the police. Chancellor Merkel talks about "anything that leads to violence must be avoided", while at the same time police forces from all over the country are sent to Stuttgart, since local police units have repeatedly been reported to show solidarity with the demonstrators. It's amazing to see how much resistance this project created, with how much open violence this "bourgeois protest of law-abiding middle class citizens" (-news reporter) is met and how fast it radicalises. No end in sight for now...
http://monsters.blogsport.de/images/demo_20100930.jpg
(Solidary protest in Göttingen. The banner reads: "Resistance is not criminal but necessary!")
Links:
- SAV article on S21 in general, the developement and the participations of the SAV and Die Linke: http://socialistworld.net/doc/4453
- quoted Arbeit-Zukunft article (in German): http://www.arbeit-zukunft.de/index.php?itemid=1547
- Arbeit-Zukunft on the escalation of violence (in German): http://www.arbeit-zukunft.de/index.php?itemid=1569
- Fire and Flames blogpost on the escalation of violence: http://fireandflames.blogsport.de/2010/09/30/stuttgart-21-massive-police-violence-solidarity-demonstration-in-goettingen/
- Picture gallery of yesterday's police violence (Caution! First pic shows the man with the smashed eye, no pleasant sight!): http://www.thelocal.de/gallery/news/1025/