Tens of thousands demonstrate in Berlin against US war policy
A | 21.05.2002 22:00
There were minor skirmishes between protestors and police which however did not result in any arrests.
The rally titled the 'Axis of Peace' was the first among a string of planned demonstrations, opposing the Wednesday visit of the US president.
A record contingent of 10,000 policemen have been placed on the highest security alert in the history of Germany, anticipating major riots during the two-day Bush visit.
The US president, embarking on his first ever visit to Germany,will be accompanied by a a 600-member security force, among them FBI agents and sharpshooters.
Bush's hotel in the Berlin government district, Mitte, is being transformed into a top security fortress, while the whole neighborhood will be completely cordoned off from the public.
A wide range of radical leftist groups have urged the masses to join in anti-US street blockades and "fun urban guerrilla actions".
Police, fearing civil war-like conditions in the German capital,expect hundreds of thousands of demonstrators from all over the world to gather in Berlin.
A