Merkel urges G8 critics to refrain from violence

BERLIN, May 26 (Reuters) German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on anti-G8 demonstrators today to refrain from violence amid concern militants are planning to disrupt a meeting of world leaders at a Baltic coast resort next month.

Merkel's plea came as Germany announced that passport controls at airports and its borders to other European Union states were now in effect amid concerns that protestors intent on violence could target the Group of Eight (G8) summit.

''Violence is no way to achieve political goals,'' Merkel said in a regular video podcast. ''Therefore we must ensure that there are no scenes of violence and therefore I ask everyone to do their part to ensure the protests are peaceful.'' Merkel will host leaders from the other G8 nations the United States, Britain, France, Italy, Japan, Canada and Russia along with leaders and delegates from Africa and Asia at a June 6-8 summit in the northern coastal town of Heiligendamm.

The event will be policed by the biggest security force seen in the country's history and the venue itself has been protected with a 12 km-long steel and concrete barrier.

But officials remain concerned over the potential for violence following a series of arson attacks.

Major demonstrations are planned in nearby towns before and during the summit, including one next weekend in Rostock that could attract 100,000 people, according to police. A local court also struck down a police ban on rallies close to the venue.

The US State Department has warned US citizens on its Web site of the potential for large-scale protests, particularly in Berlin, Hamburg and the eastern city of Potsdam.

''Americans travelling in these areas should avoid the demonstrations, bearing in mind that in the past, smaller demonstrations have sometimes turned violent,'' it said.

Germany's police have been accused by campaigners of using heavy-handed tactics as they attempt to weed out potentially violent protesters ahead of the summit. Police raids against anti-G8 groups earlier this month sparked demonstrations.

Investigators were also criticised for taking scent samples from suspects a technique used by the notorious East German Stasi and intercepting private post in search of evidence.

Germany's conservative Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble denied the mail snooping was systematic and has justified other measures such as taking suspects into protective custody as necessary steps to avert violence at the summit.

He says peaceful demonstrations will go ahead unhindered.

''The government fundamentally wants these rallies,'' Schaebule told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper, according to an article released ahead of publication tomorrow.

''It can only be welcomed when citizens say that the situation with Africa or with climate change cannot go on.'' REUTERS ABM KP1828