A far-right group won court permission Thursday to demonstrate in Germany against next week's Group of Eight (G8) summit, raising fears of brawls with German leftists who also oppose the G8, accoring to dpa. Police, saying they would be overstretched, had asked for a ban on the Saturday rally by the Nationalist Democratic Party (NPD) in the city of Schwerin, 65 kilometres south of the summit venue in Heiligendamm. The administrative tribunal in Schwerin overruled a prohibition on the NPD rally issued by city authorities. The court order means three counterdemonstrations by leftist groups will also take place. Judges said the NPD must march in a suburban area, well away from the leftists' route, and this was sufficient to avoid the risk of brawling. Many hardline leftists had said it was more important to oppose the NPD on Saturday than to take part in a major anti-G8 demonstration the same day in the port city of Rostock. Police in the sparsely populated state must provide security at the events simultaneously. Both leftists and rightists detest the G8, but for different reasons. Rightists say Germany must reject US influence and free trade. Leftists say the G8 is selfish and does not act in the interest of poor nations.
