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German police separate rightists and leftists amid May Day clashes
May 1, 2009, 10:28 GMT
Berlin - Police kept far-right demonstrators and leftists apart at May Day protests in the southern German city of Ulm on Friday morning - after a night where riot police had made over 50 arrests in Berlin and Hamburg to halt sporadic political violence.
The far-right National Democratic Party (NPD), which is supported by many neo-Nazis, had organized a May Day rally at Ulm's railway station.
Police said stones and bottles were thrown from a counter- demonstration of 150 to 300 people and several people were detained.
The NPD portrays itself as a labour movement and schedules rallies on May 1, which is celebrated as a labour day holiday in many European nations by Social Democrats, communists and the far-left.
Other May Day demonstrations on Friday in the cities of Berlin, Hanover and Mainz, called to protest against the neo-Nazi parades, passed off relatively peacefully, with no arrests or confrontations.
Overnight Thursday to Friday saw tense standoffs between anarchists and police in Hamburg and Berlin - the usual hotspots for May Day clashes.
In Berlin, a crowd of 2,000 gathered to drink and chant late Thursday. Bottles were thrown at passing cars. Police detained 49 persons before the violence ebbed early Friday.
In Hamburg, leftists smashed the entrance to a bank overnight. Police detained three.
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