Soldier badly hurt in riot

Press, 8 May 1980, Page 8

Soldier badly hurt in riot

NZPA-Reuter Bremen. I West Germany , A soldier is in a critical I condition after demonstrators protesting against a 'imilitarv ceremonv attended by the' West German PresiJ.dent (Mr Karl Carstens) set ! -five military minibuses Thousands of demonstrators battled the police in a ’’protest against the ceremony J where 1200 military recruits. I I swore allegiance to the State; Jas a mark of West Ger- ; many's twenty-fifth year as J a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.. ! '[ A police spokesman, who; ;could give no figure of ar-1 [rests, said that at least 401 '(policemen and an unknown: ! number of the 5000 demon-1 ■ strators were injured. 1 He said some demonstra-j ! tors shot signal flares and' firework rockets in a vain, ' attempt .to hit helicopters I flying the President, the! Defence Minister (Mr Hans i Apel), and the Mayor of • Bremen Mr Hans Kosch-i nick) into the Weser soccer; stadium for the ceremony. Hundreds of riot police sent in from outside the city finallv turned the scales against the rampaging demonstrators. The Bremen city government, ruled bv Chancellor Helmut Schmidt’s Social Democratic Party, called an[ urgent meeting ■ to discuss i the uproar. The event had already 1 aroused political and public controversy with some * Social Democrats claiming it ' could cause misunder- 1 standing in the present state ■ of world tension. Leftist groups took up the call and the stage was set for the confrontation.

The police, under orders to avoid unnecessary provocation, merely took cover behind riot shields when hundreds of youths began stoning them. But after demonstrators started overturning and setting fire to the military vehicles they unsheathed their wooden batons and moved in behind high-powered jets from mobile water cannon.