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| Europe | |
| Protesters at G8 so diverse they clash among themselves | |
| 2003-05-31 | |
| JPost - Reg req'd The thousands of protesters converging on this year's Group of Eight summit are an eclectic bunch with a grab-bag of issues and often divergent interests—so much so that they openly clashed with Socialists sympathetic to their cause on Saturday. Who'd have thunk it? Anarchists having a tough time getting along with others A group of about 350 protesters disrupted a meeting of France's Socialist Party, tossing rocks through the windows of a conference center and accusing the party of not being radical enough. The protesters scuffled with police who fired tear gas, dispersing the crowd. Should've just imported sticks and rocks, fenced the area off and let em at each other - I love this! The violence—there were no injuries reported but windows were broken—was a vivid reminder of the divisions among G-8 critics, who espouse a wide range of causes including forgiving poor nation's debt, protecting the environment and stopping globalization. Shade grown coffee proponents not there? what about sweat-shop opponents? A grab-bag is right There are disagreements over methods. Some like the Socialists are sober-minded activists, others are loud "revolution" seekers; most believe in peaceful demonstrations, but a small band of anarchists think angry and destructive protest is more effective. More fun to break things chanting mindless slogans Protest leaders were quick to condemn Saturday's clash and denied their movement is riven with divisions. "The mass of people is united and it's just a very small group of people who want to break things just for the sake of breaking things," said Jacques Nikonoff, president of ATTAC France, a major protest organizer. "A handful of people cannot call into question the overall movement."
Not in our names lol On Saturday, nearly 2,000 activists marched through central Annemasse and went to closed service stations to cover gasoline pumps with plastic sheets that read, "G-8, you get on our nerves—the world is not at your service," playing on double meaning of the French verb "pomper." The Socialists were having their conference on Saturday as part of a "counter summit" in Annemasse to address issues critics say the G-8 is ignoring, such as the woes of immigrants and refugees in Europe, debt relief and African development. The counter summiteers were to deliver their conclusions to a top adviser to French President Jacques Chirac—the G-8's host—on Monday. After protesters attacked the conference hall where Socialists were having their forum, police with shields and gas masks fired tear gas to stop the violence. The demonstrators clashed with police later in the parking lot of a Quick fast-food restaurant, and police again hit them with tear gas, dispersing the crowd. There were no injuries reported, and police said there were no arrests. Socialists said they were angered and shocked by the violence, and insisted that rabble-rousers would not drive them from the anti-summit cause. "Our main battle is for democracy," said Kader Arif, the Socialists' specialist on globalization. "We will always have a place in the anti-globalization movement, and we're not giving up." Illustrating the diversity among them, the demonstrators have set up two separate activist "villages" in Annemasse, and brightly colored tents and camping trailers dot the grassy Alpine valley on the edge of town. About 4,500 people had set up camp at the two sites by Friday, according to police, though that number was expected to rise by Sunday. One is the "intergalactic village"—a broad grouping of environmental, anti-nuclear or other social activists. The other is the "anti-capitalist, alternative, anti-war village," where access by journalists is tightly monitored. It has a grungier, more combative atmosphere. The demonstrations are expected to build up to Sunday, the opening day of the summit, when two sets of protesters are marching from this town and Geneva and will converge on the Franco-Swiss border. "Our aim is to blockade the summit," said a bearded Briton who called himself Malcolm, 25. greetings Malcolm, 25. What a strange name...While the leaders were to fly by helicopter to from the Geneva airport to the summit, Malcolm said he and his colleagues will try to block delegations and others from using the roads to get to Evian. "The idea is to establish a defensive cordon," he said. France has deployed thousands of riot police in the region to prevent any would-be agitators from sparking violence that marred such summits in the past. Many shopkeepers, bankers and restaurant proprietors—and managers at a local McDonald's restaurant—have closed for the weekend and covered their storefronts with large wooden boards. | |
| Posted by:Frank G |