The G20 in London: Globalization of Protest, Policing
The April 2009 G20 in London was the scene of the first large-scale event—expected to be faced by considerable protest—since last fall's 2008 RNC, held in St. Paul, Minnesota. Looking at the eerie parallels between both events, one sees a pattern of globalization—not only of protest—but of preemptive police tactics and handling of protesters.
Indymedia London has been providing live coverage of the protests and policing. One man, Ian Tomlinson, 47, died Wednesday after collapsing during the protests. Witnesses have come forward indicating that police impeded efforts of medical assistance, contradicting early corporate media reports that protesters hurled bottles at police trying to help.
Indymedia London | Indymedia UK | Witness Statements on Death | Video Statement | Protester Spaces Raided | Breaking News Timeline | Were you at the St. Paul RNC and London G20? Independent media activists would like to interview you. Please email archive@rnc08report.org | Below: April 1 Photos, RNC Comparison
| 2008 RNC in St. Paul | 2009 G20 in London | |
| Name of conference center | Xcel Center | Excel Centre |
| Protest "Welcoming Committee"? | "RNC Welcoming Committee" | "G20 Meltdown Welcoming Committee" |
| Preemptive raids & arrests? | Yes | Yes |
| Activists charged...? | With "furtherance of terrorism" under Minnesota's PATRIOT Act | Under the UK Terrorism Prevention Act |
| Convergence Center? | Yes | Yes |
| Convergence Center raided? | Yes | Yes |
| Pre-conference media frenzy about anarchists? | Yes | Hell Yes |
| Amount spent on security | Begins at $50 million | Begins at $29 million |
| Lots of police? | 3,500 | 10,000 |
| Number of bank windows smashed? | 1 | Probably 10-20 |
| Number of protesters in Day 1 clashes | Couple of groups of 100-200 | 4,000 |
| Expecting continued meltdown? | Yes | Hell Yes |
Confronting police states is one thing, but realizing that we may be confronting a globalizing police presence, is another. It speaks of a world that needs to change but prefers to dig in its heels and prepare for battle.
Finding creative ways to avoid lives being swept away by the snowballing financial chaos all around us, would be a better use of all of our increasingly limited public funds than excessive policing.
The first day in photos shows a diverse and largely mainstream protester cross-section, a large police presence, and initial images from the inevitable flash points.
Nigel Parry
RNC '08 Report
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Comments
This was a very good report
This was a very good report indeed! Excel Centre! It is impossible to make this stuff up. The trvth is stranger than fiction, so said Mark Twain, eh.
Billy
What? Large summit protest? Sweeping arrests and brutality?
Duh. When the fuck are people going to get over the fact that protesting (specifically at summits) means war. Your going to get your ass arrested or beaten if your not prepared.
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Some striking similarities to the RNC came to pass at the G20.
- Protestor destorys window. Protestor is surrounded and targeted by 5-20 high definition cameras. Protestor is in highly identifiable, anarCRED fashion blok. Protester gets arrested and charged with broken window.
- Pre-Summit convergence spaces and social centres are raided, folks are picked up on terrorist charges, and the actions are put (even before anything starts) on the defensive for the the remaineder of the summit.
Theres a clear pattern here people. The ways we organize and resist are stale and becoming ineffective. While the state and its shadow agencies become better and better at predicting that we'll use the same tactics and make the same foolish mistakes.
We need to give our resistance a good re-vamping, learn essential skills to keep us safe on the streets (good blok, body armor, recon, strong affinity groups), take some god damned initiative, and get on the offensive.
Oh, and for fuck sakes, burn your bandanas and pick up balaclavas and goggles. Your ultra unique haircut means nothing while your shackled in prison and to boot looks like horse shit.
In hopes for a more educated action oriented Twin Cities,
X
>>protesting (specifically at
>>protesting (specifically at summits) means war. Your going to get your ass arrested or beaten if your not prepared.
that's not quite true. out of tens of thousands of protesters @ both the RNC and G20, how many got arrested or beat? a couple to a few hundred. we're looking @ single digit percentiles here at the largest. it's true that those who do are generally the unprepared ones, though not always - many put themselves in the situation to make a point. in any case, it's an argument for preparedness that needn't fall into either fear of mass protests or pushing folks beyond what they're able to accomplish in a given context.
The G-20 is the way the 08
The G-20 is the way the 08 RNC should've gone....police beat protesters who don't follow the rules that thousands of other did. If you don't follow the rules you get beat...if you follow the rules you are allowed to protest......easy enough.
You attack a cop you get you skull busted........
Heavy Handed Policing
The heavy handed policing was reminiscent of the poll tax riots that took place in 1990. These excellent photographs accurately reflect the disparate groups attending what was a predominently peaceful protest. As you have pointed out, excessive policing wouldn't appear to be the most efficient use of our diminishing financial resources.
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