In Germany, the global movement "Democracy now!" became the global movement "Occupy!".

The movement is based on a few self-evident basic concepts:

We cannot eat money, the banking system dominates our lives and all politics and does not contribute to society.

Jobs are scarce and corporations are not reinvesting even when they have the money, because they want even more profits.

Only 1% of people profits from the banking system, the other 99% want a fairer system, just to live a decent life, in a more holistic society.

They want real democracy in all parts of the world, and a society that contributes to the well being of all people.

This is not communism but a more just society, where people can at least have a decent life.

In Germany thousands of people of all ages and professions took to the streets, in many cities like Düsseldorf and Berlin, to demonstrate peacefully.

The next demonstration is set for the 22nd of October.

In Berlin on the 15th of October, after the official demonstration was over, many people rallied in front of the German parliament, the Reichstag.

Unfortunately, the police reacted the same way they did a few weeks before, in Berlin Alexanderplatz: They used pepper spray against peaceful demonstrators, in an excessive show of force.

At the same time, plain clothes officers, mixed in with the crowd, confiscated mats and hot drinks.

There was a massive police presence, in riot gear in an unprecedented show of force, to exert pressure on the demonstrators.

You can follow the sequence of events, as it happened, In the “lifestream” on Facebook, including the police clearing the square. The police press release, one day later, tells a completely different story.

In Düsseldorf protestors occupied the Martin-Luther-Place after news of the violent police action in Berlin, filtered trough.

This time the police standing in front of the Ministry of Justice of Nothrine-Westphalia, behaved properly.

The spontaneously organized camp got support from the nearby church which provided hot coffee to the demonstrators.

The people in the camp reenacted the events of Cairo, Athens, Madrid and New York, but without the violence.

This was a good example of decent direct democratic and nonviolent communication and a model for future protests.

In Berlin the new parliamentary faction of the Pirate Party has adopted the path of democracy.

The pirate-faction presented the Berlin authorities, a pettion questioning the legality of the police actions towards the demonstrators.

On behalf of the occupy-action group in Berlin, who meets every day, I made a formal permit application to the Berlin authorities, for a demonstration on the 22nd of October, including setting up tents.

This application was professionally and legally written to obtain consent.

If this application is refused, we will seek to immediately enforce our rights of free speech and demonstration, in court, as guaranteed by the German constitution.

The author: Lothar Klouten, is a social scientist, historian and educator, who was the assistant of the chairman of the interior committee of the German parliament, for two years.

He was a candidate to the European Parliament and until 2005; he was the managing director in the Social Democratic Party of Germany.

He alleges that he was fired from the party after refusing a bribe. He now studies part-time to be a Doctor of law and is active in the Pirate Party.

JM wishes to advise its readers that the views expressed in this article represent only the opinions of the writer: Publication by JM does not imply any endorsement of these views. JM believes in the right of free speech and you have the right of reply with a full article of your own or just a comment. JM as always remains neutral.

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