Thousands of 'happy campers' ready for G8 showdown

REDDELICH, Germany, June 5 (Reuters) Spirits were high, the food was good, and the mood among 4,500 happy campers was determined in the largest of three makeshift villages for protesters, on the eve of the G8 summit today.

Undeterred by chilly weather, drizzle and 16,000 German riot police, an eclectic array of anti-G8 protesters from around the world were preparing their blockade strategies for the Group of Eight, eager to throw a spanner in the works where possible.

''The people are enjoying themselves and it's a very sociable atmosphere, but we all know we're not here just to have fun and there's a steely determination to disrupt the G8 meeting where we can,'' said Kevin J. Smith, 34, a demonstrator from London.

''We've had a fantastic culture programme here in Germany but everyone's up early today, attending the workshops and preparing to block the roads and shut down the G8,'' he added.

Set up in a meadow near Reddelich, 8 km (five miles) south of Heiligendamm, the camp of tents and converted vans has a surprising range of amenities: solar-powered showers, kitchens, a bar, a concert stage, toilets and even internet service.

But tomorrow, when the three-day G8 summit begins, an alcohol ban will grip the camp, and the relaxed ''Woodstock'' atmosphere will give way to the serious business of protest.

''We're here for a reason -- to make a visible disruption of the events and show that there is a resistance to the G8,'' said Joanna Smith, 28, a sociology student from Birmingham, England.

Pascal Hovahl, a Berlin carpenter, was today playing with his 3-year-old daughter Phyllis at a makeshift playground in the camp at Reddelich, whose normal population is just 883.

''She's having a great time,'' said Hovahl, 32, who left Saturday's rally in nearby Rostock just before violence flared.

''The atmosphere is great. We're all peaceful. It's the police that are causing all the stress,'' he added, just as a German Air Force fighter jet made a low pass above the camp.

DEBATING MERITS OF VIOLENCE The camp has a ''concierge'' to welcome arrivals at an entrance that is staffed 24 hours a day.

The concierge provides information about such things as the special ''demonstrators' rail ticket'' (15 euros for the G8 week) and collects a five euro per day ''donation'' to live in the camp, which is divided up into a dozen areas or ''barrios''.

''It's a huge social event,'' said American Michal Osterweil, 28, a Ph D student at the University of North Carolina. ''It's an amazing environment. It's why we come to the camps instead of staying in a hotel somewhere.'' There were, however, almost no power outlets in the camp and about 100 cell phones were plugged into a few overloaded sockets for recharging at the concierge's tent.

The fighting that marred the Rostock rally is hotly debated.

Leaders of various anti-G8 groups have condemned the violence, but many campers accused the police of provocation and said violence was to be expected.

''There's a lot of discussion about the violence,'' said Kim Bryan, 30, from Brighton, England. ''Some are adamantly opposed to it but others feel it was justified.'' Osterweil isn't ''a frontliner'' but expects more trouble.

''Many people are glad the violence happened,'' she said. ''The state repression was just too much for some. Our purpose is to block the G8. What are a few rocks compared to all the dying around the world caused by the G8 policies?'' Many said they would do whatever they could to disrupt the G8 meeting. World leaders may avoid the demonstrations by flying into Heiligendamm by helicopter from Rostock airport, but their delegations may have trouble getting there.

''We'll disrupt as much as we can,'' said Sonja Brunzels, 43, from southern Germany.

Reuters SYU RS1909