MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Keep pledges, urge G8 campaigners

Thousands of peaceful British campaigners urged G8 leaders to keep their promises on tackling poverty as violence erupted at an anti-summit rally in Germany. The demonstration in London took place as protesters clashed with riot police in the northern German town of Rostock.

The officially permitted march in Germany turned violent when some in the 20,000-strong crowd reportedly taunted members of the 13,000-strong police detachment, threw stones and flagpoles and lit fires. Police used tear gas to control the crowd and more than 100 officers were injured, authorities said. In London, an estimated 10,000 demonstrators lined the Thames and bridges around the Houses of Parliament ahead of Tony Blair leaving for the summit, which begins on Wednesday. The London event culminated with the crowd making "three minutes of noise" using whistles, mobile phones, alarm clocks and other devices. Many wore white for the occasion, a reference to the 2005 Make Poverty History "white band" campaign. The demonstration comes two years after the G8 summit at Gleneagles when the planet's richest countries made pledges on aid. Veteran anti-poverty campaigners Midge Ure and Annie Lennox were among those calling on Mr Blair to make the most of his last G8 summit. Mr Ure said: "It's a pretty sad message that we're here saying the same things we said two years ago, and 20 years ago with Band Aid. "It's a bit pathetic that we have to come back and say this so often to keep people on their toes. This is a gentle reminder to the powers that be that we're still watching." He said the aim of the protest was to show Mr Blair and other leaders that the public expected them to honour their commitments made at the last summit. Kumi Naidoo, from the Global Call to Action Against Poverty said: "There's lots of talk about Tony Blair's legacy, and this summit offers a golden opportunity for him to really leave a mark. In 2005 the British public gave the government a huge mandate to fight poverty. People across Africa are still waiting for the G8 to deliver." Among the other events was a "blow the whistle" service organised by church groups at Methodist Central Hall. The service is part of a campaign by Christian organisations to see how far countries have progressed towards the goal set in 2000, of halving poverty by 2015.