Protesters hose police at G20 summit

Protests against a summit of the world's financial leaders in Melbourne, Australia, turned violent on Nov. 18 when activists overturned barricades, pelted police with stones, bottles and smoke grenades and smashed a riot police truck. Police locked down several blocks of Australia's second biggest city to stop protesters reaching the meeting of the Group of 20 (G20) economic powers. The G20 represents 20 industrialized and developing nations. Finance officials from 19 countries and the European Union, plus top officials of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund were at the talks. Formed in 1999, the G20 includes the Group of Seven advanced industrial countries–the US, Germany, Japan, France, Italy, Britain and Canada–and the European Union as well as China, Brazil, India, Russia, South Korea and other major economies. Argentina, Australia, Indonesia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Turkey fill out the group, which altogether represents about 90 percent of the world's gross national product, 80 percent of the world's trade and two-thirds of its population. After discussions on a variety of topics, from climate change to economics, the G20 ministers and governors issued a statement demanding expedient trade liberalization in the current round of World Trade Organization negotiations. A hardcore group of protesters dressed in white overalls and hoods, their faces covered, moved from one barricaded street to another, violently confronting police. A march by about 3,000 people began peacefully but escalated when the group of white-clad demonstrators seized a policeman's motorcycle. Protesters threw brown and red smoke grenades, shrouding the frontline area in a pall, and in one place hit police with small stones, large plastic garbage bins and, occasionally, glass bottles. At some barricades protesters challenged mounted police and police with batons as they tried to pull down barriers and reach the G20 venue. As they marched on the barricades, demonstrators chanted "One two three four, we don't want your racist war"–a reference to the war in Iraq. One protester urged supporters to jump barriers and arrest Paul Wolfowitz, the World Bank president, for "war crimes." Several arrests were made and a number of officers were injured, but only one seriously in the running clashes, a police spokeswoman said. "They threw missiles and rocks... anything they could get their hands on, they threw it at police and damaged property," Victoria state Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon told reporters. No protesters were reported injured. At one point, protesters climbed up the awning of a building near the protest, unravelled a fire hose and drenched police officers standing below to the cheers of the crowd. The main body of the protest, which attracted thousands of people, was peaceful, with a carnival-like atmosphere. The diverse group of protesters marched through Melbourne's central business district towards the G20 venue, chanting "Stop G20" and "Troops out of Iraq." Later that evening, Melbourne police arrested four G20 protesters for assault after they chained themselves to a car near the parliament building. Many shops near the G20 venue had closed for the weekend, with some boarding up front windows. Police guarded Nike and Starbucks stores, potential targets for anti-corporate globalization activists. Across the nearby Yarra River, aid and church groups staged a peaceful G20 protest in parkland, calling for an end to global poverty through debt relief and greater aid spending. The "Fair Trade Market" of tents, stalls and world music performers attracted a largely family crowd. Rock star and poverty activist Bono urged the G20 to focus on improving the lives of the world's poorest when he appeared at a Make Poverty History concert which opened the protests. The U2 frontman and fellow band member The Edge teamed up with Pearl Jam to perform before an audience of 14,000 at the open-air concert. Bono told fans: "Politicians all have to do what you tell them to do. Scream it from the mountains." Bono later criticized the more confrontational protesters. To "make our position clear and argue rationally and emotionally is OK, but not to the point of smashing up the downtown area of Melbourne," Bono told reporters after meeting Australian Treasurer Peter Costello, the G20 conference host. Among others, corporate executives from the world's most powerful oil and mining companies had flown into Melbourne to help Costello persuade the G20 nations to promote neoliberal "free trade" policies and investment in the resources industry. The Australian federal police are reportedly now investigating the protesters who assaulted police. Ten police officers were injured, some were bitten, others had glass bottles broken on their heads and another has a broken wrist. Constable Glen Melder was bitten on the arm and chest by protesters during the clashes. He says he felt threatened when protesters set upon him and two colleagues. "We were outnumbered and it was dark and when you're on the ground being bitten and you can't always look up and somebody else is going for your baton, you don't really know what's going on," he said. Chief Police Commissioner Christine Nixon says a special task force has been set up to investigate the group. "They are people who are well trained. What we saw yesterday was guerrilla tactics," she said. "Testing the barriers, testing our resources at different locations to see what kind of strength there was. It was very much like a guerrilla tactic and it required us to respond in similar ways." The following afternoon, a group of 50 demonstrators were reportedly beaten and trampled by police during a peaceful anti-G20 protest inside the foyer of the Melbourne museum. According to Melbourne Indymedia, a woman was severely injured after police used batons and fists to disperse a small group of singing, dancing demonstrators. Several hundred police, including two divisions of riot police, were deployed in the incident. The group consisted mostly of women and included musicians and children. "We were given no warning and were not asked to leave before police charged," said one of the demonstrators. Members of the group were badly shaken after the event, and the injured woman was hospitalized with suspected broken ribs. "We were singing and dancing at the front of the Melbourne Museum, as a non-violent way of publicly raising our concerns about the G20," said another. "Without warning we were baton-charged by heaps of cops. It was frightening, especially when a couple of busloads of riot police turned up afterwards."