In Germany, protesters and police ready for G-8 standoff

Officials have also tried to ban protests within four miles of the summit site and around nearby Rostock airport, where dignitaries will arrive, but German courts struck most of the provisions down.

What's more, police have collected scent samples of at least five far-left activists so they could be tracked with sniffing dogs.

Earlier in May, police raided around 40 left-wing gathering spots in Berlin and Hamburg. Officials said they were investigating a "terrorist" group that was planning to impede the G-8 meeting with arson attacks.

Germans decry 'Stasi' tactics

But many Germans are crying foul, and interest in attending protests around the summit has increased.

"I'm going because I want to show that I won't put up these Stasi tactics," says Paul Sachse, an artist who showed up at the Hamburg rally wearing a polka-dotted bow tie and a black fedora with a sign wired to the brim, which read, "Police state, no thank you."

Protest organizers say that since the raids they've been flooded with calls, and the hundreds of buses and trains they've chartered have been filling up.

"We've been scrambling to transport everyone," says Werner Rätz, coordinator of the G-8 activities for Attac, an antiglobalization group that has played a key role in planning this year's demonstrations. "In some cities, there have been no seats for weeks. Berlin has a waiting list of 10,000 people."

Even some mainstream politicians joined the resistance. Heiner Geissler, former general secretary of the Christian Democratic Union, caused a stir when he joined Attac recently to show support for making globalization more "humane" and for the right of people to demonstrate.

The surge in interest is adding momentum in the final days of a long effort. For 18 months, a broad coalition involving everyone from radical leftist groups to churches and mainstream NGOs has been working together to choreograph protest events, including a march, a rally, and a road blockade.

"Every sensible German organization, and many international ones, have joined in," says Paul Bendix, executive director of Oxfam Germany. "It's the only way to make our impact felt."

Though groups are united by their opposition to the summit, they have struggled over how aggressive to be. Mr. Bendix says Oxfam plans to pull out "if protests turn nasty."

Many residents in the region around Heiligendamm worry that they will.

"A lot of people are thinking Hamburg was just the prelude," says Ivo Sobkowiak who lives in Rostock, a city near Heiligendamm where the largest G-8 protest will be held Saturday. "They are afraid the real thing will be much wilder and that it could get out of control. Some people are boarding up windows or leaving town altogether."

[Editor's Note:The original subhead misstated the cost of the fence.]

Page: 1 | 2