It was clear to everyone that things could get turbulent around the G7 summit. Now there was an incident that particularly alarmed the police. Eight team buses caught fire in Munich in the middle of the night.
Shortly before the G7 summit in Bavaria, several police cars were set on fire in Munich on Wednesday night. Investigators speak of an arson attack.
A political motive and a connection to the summit meeting is clearly assumed, said Munich police spokesman Andreas Franken. Eight team buses including police equipment burned, the property damage is estimated at several hundred thousand euros. Nobody got hurt. The act caused horror.
Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann does not see security at the G7 summit at Schloss Elmau in jeopardy despite the fact. “I believe that we are in a good position overall and therefore there are no extreme escalations to be feared,” said the CSU politician on Wednesday in Munich. “In our security concept, we have adjusted to the fact that such attacks can occur.”
Herrmann: “real dangers”
It is obvious “that not eight vehicles caught fire at the same time, either accidentally or due to engine failure,” said Herrmann. “We currently have no concrete information about the perpetrators. Of course, everything about the procedure suggests that the perpetrators are to be found in the left-wing extremist spectrum.” Forensic scientists are still analyzing the incident.
Similar attacks cannot generally be ruled out in the coming days, which is why the large-scale police operation during the summit days is absolutely necessary, said Herrmann. “Unfortunately, these are not all pipe dreams, but real dangers.” However, there is no need to change the general security concept.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) condemned the act on Twitter: “The probable political background is now being carefully examined with a view to the G7 summit. The perpetrators must be held accountable.”
Munich’s Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD) made a similar statement. “I don’t want to see anything like that in Munich.” Addressing the perpetrators, he said: “Present your arguments in a form of protest that is always possible in our democracy, such as demonstrations or events. Violence is not a form of political debate.”
The head of the police G7 planning team and police chief of Oberbayern Süd, Manfred Hauser, said the incident showed that despite extensive preparation, violent actions by politically motivated activists must be expected. “Even if we hoped not to have to experience something like this, it doesn’t surprise us.”
In the worst case, anti-democratic forces would even accept deaths in order to achieve their goals, said the chairman of the police union (GdP), Oliver Malchow. “Any attack on the police is an attack on our rule of law.”
Investigators and rescue workers were on site with a large contingent, helicopters supported the search for possible perpetrators. Initially, however, there were no indications of suspects. “Of course we assume that this is a fire offense related to the G7 meeting, since the forces for this operation were here in Munich,” said Franken. One determines also in the left-wing extremist spectrum.
Manipulation of the power distributor
The police now want to review the protective measures for their officers and adjust them if necessary. It is true that such actions against the police as representatives of the state were expected in advance. “But that makes the whole thing a lot more tangible,” said Franken.
Franz Haslbeck from the “Stop G7 Elmau” protest platform explicitly distanced himself from the act. He assumes that no organization from the alliance was involved, he told the German Press Agency. Haslbeck emphasized that “Stop G7 Elmau” stands for peaceful protest. According to the group, it coordinates actions such as a protest camp in the vicinity of the summit. The concerns of the activists are global justice and climate protection.
The team buses of the federal riot police were only parked that same night in front of a hotel where emergency services for the summit were staying. At 3:00 a.m. the report about the fire was received by the Munich police. A local resident reported loud popping noises that would have roused him from his sleep. “A murder clamber” was that. The police initially gave no information on the exact course of the crime.
It is not the first incident related to the meeting at Schloss Elmau, which begins on Sunday and for which the highest security precautions have already been taken. On Tuesday, some dangerous manipulations of power distribution boxes became known before the security area around the conference venue was cordoned off. Smearings were also spotted, such as “No G7”. Here, too, the police assumed that the crimes were politically motivated.
Airplane Incident
At the weekend, secret police documents from the 2015 summit, which also took place at Schloss Elmau, were published on the Internet. Faeser reacted calmly on Monday and said the publication had no influence on the current operational planning. She expects activities more from the left-wing extremist side, but they are not excluded from the Corona protests or in connection with the war in Ukraine.
A 59-year-old man from Vienna caused a stir on Monday. He was traveling in an ultralight with his 26-year-old son. A few kilometers from the conference venue at Schloss Elmau, the two-seater began to spin. The occupants were able to make an emergency landing with the help of a parachute rescue system and were unharmed. The investigators ruled out a connection to the G7 summit.
The summit meeting is planned from Sunday to Tuesday at the now hermetically sealed Elmau Castle near Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Heads of state and government from the USA, Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Japan and Canada will meet under the leadership of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD).
Source: Stern
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