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AFTER GENOA- WHERE NEXT? July 31 2001 Suddenly, it's no longer such a controversial thing to sympathise with the anti-globalisation protesters. While I think a segment of the protesting community is damaging the movement by using violence (the so-called "spikies" as opposed to the "fluffies" who advocate peaceful protest), they have nevertheless managed to wring a good amount of genuine debate out of their action. The left-leaning press over here (The Guardian and the Independent) and unusually some middle/right-leaning newspapers as well (The Evening Standard, the Sunday Times) have published comment attempting not only to explain the anti-globalisation debate but also supporting it. And despite some epic reportage of violence surrounding the G8 summit in Genoa, the Italian "zero tolerance" policy did as much to promote the anti-globalisation cause as the hordes of protesters. With the Italian government practically boasting before the event that they had missiles prepared at Genoa airport and wooden caskets ready to whisk dead protesters away in, the public and media were awakened to the idea that the violence is latent on both sides: not just protesters but governments and the police too. As cossetted Westerners we expect such strong-arm tactics from the governments of Indonesia or China, perhaps even from the Italians, but not from the British and certainly not from the American government. But no country is immune and it is shocking how quickly a democracy can be transformed into a martial state. During London's May Day protests this year, I happened to end up caught in the "Section 60" police containment zone, along with several thousand protesters, tourists, office workers and other passers-by (pictures here). It was terrifying for me to discover that the police I help employ, and who I thought are there to protect me, can at a moment's notice be turned against the people, ready to use force if needs be. The biggest lesson I learned was that police deployment in this situation is not discriminating. It doesn't matter if you're a journalist, a BBC employee, a teenage girl out shopping, a protester or a violent anarchist. Everyone gets the same treatment: filmed, photographed, name and address taken. In retrospect, of course, the London police can be said to have handled the situation adequately - ie no-one died. But the death in Genoa is an example of where a deployment of force can go terribly wrong. One of the biggest break-throughs to result from the Genoa events came when an Italian police officer admitted to the newspaper "Republicca" being given permission from Rome to carry out beatings on non-violent protesters in retaliation for violent action earlier in the day. The bloody police raid on a school housing one of the core peaceful protest groups was another, as were media suggestions that fascist elements and "agents provocateurs" from within the police were encouraged to mingle with protesters to stir up trouble. Last but not least two British union workers and protesters, neither of whom had been involved in any violence, were arrested and held without any access to lawyers or embassy officials: it took a petition from some leading journalists and political figures to get them freed. Bizarrely the leaders of these G8 nations seem to see it as a challenge to tackle the protesters using ever more outlandish means. Essentially I think the governments want to prove to each other (and to major corporations) that they can control the more dissenting elements of their populations. comment on this article e-mail this to a friend start a discussion  thought index Problems? Questions? Suggestions? Contact me: mail@tobyslater.com back to top back to home page |
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