G8 OPPONENTS CARRY OUT ANOTHER ATTACK IN HAMBURG

UNCLAS HAMBURG 000012 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/AGS, EUR/PGI, S/CT, DS/IP/EUR, DS/IP/ITA, & DS/DSS/ITA SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PTER ASEC PGOV GM SUBJECT: G8 OPPONENTS CARRY OUT ANOTHER ATTACK IN HAMBURG REF: BERLIN 013 SENSITIVE ¶1. (U) In the early morning hours of January 26, vandals attacked the property of two ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems Board Members. Alleged G8 opponents splattered Walter Klausmann's house with paint balloons and broke his car's windshield shortly before setting Herbert Aly's car on fire. In a three-page letter sent on January 27 to the newspaper Hamburger Morgenpost, the group "Revolutionary Antimilitaristic Activists" ("Revolutiondre antimilitaristische AktivistInnen") claimed responsibility for the "militant attacks against armament managers" and used the slogan "Assault the NATO-War-Conference in Munich - Paralyze the G8 in Heiligendamm." ¶2. (SBU) In a meeting with DCM Koenig on January 26, Hamburg Interior Minister Udo Nagel stated that this most recent assault is approximately the 20th attack on property in the Hamburg region related to the upcoming G8 summit. Nagel stated that there is a strong left-wing militant scene in Hamburg. He estimated that there about 700 individuals who have the potential to be violent. Nagel expects Hamburg to be one of the focal points for G8 protesters along with Heiligendamm, Rostock, and Berlin. Nagel also expects many protesters to come to Hamburg for the ASEM foreign ministers meeting May 28-29, just days before the G8 Summit. ¶3. (U) This message has been coordinated with Embassy Berlin. BUTCHER