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GENOA SPECIAL In Italy that other world became closer 2 In Italy that other world became closer 3 Meanwhile in the rest of the world Reaction after witnessing the attack on the Diaz school A broad statement from People Not Profit |
In Italy that other world became closer - Page 1 ‘More than half a century later (since the invention of the IMF and WB), the gap between the richest 20% of humanity and the poorest 20% has doubled; and ‘structural adjustments programmes’ have secured an indebted imperium greater than the British Empire at its height’ John Pilger 'The leaders of the free world present a glowing example to the rest of the planet. Of the eight men meeting in Genoa in July, one seized the presidency of his country after losing the election. Another is pursuing a genocidal war in an annexed republic. A third is facing allegations of corruption. A fourth, the summit’s host, has been convicted of illegal party financing, bribery and false accounting, while his right hand man is on trial for consorting with the Mafia. Needless to say, the major theme of this week’s summit was “promoting democracy”'. George Monbiot So now the protests in Genoa are over, around 15 people from Liverpool People Not Profit attended the demos, some for the two main protests others for longer. We all saw a mixture of things – both the solidarity, warmth, humour of both other protesters and the residents of Genoa themselves and the hostility, aggression, hatred and violence of the Carabinieri (Police) egged on by both the Italian State and other members of the G8, notably the British State. The person writing this article, along with a handful of others from PNP arrived in Italy 7 days before the protests actually began, we had a plan to try and help out with organising, but with language problems etc, it wasn’t so easy. Instead what we all experienced was a growing closeness with others arriving - people we had never met from all over the globe, Italy, Spain, USA, Australia, Greece, Germany, Sweden, France, Bolivia and even from the small island of Malta to name a few. We sang songs together, played games, went for coffee, had beers, and shared the same sleeping space. We looked out for each other and had a good laugh. All of us had come to Genoa, because we cared about life on this planet – we felt anger and pain at the injustice, suffering, repression and oppression around us, and we all wanted and believed that another world was possible – a world based on sharing, on values of community – a world were this time, work, all forms of it, would be done for the betterment of us all and the planet, and not just for the benefit of a tiny group of people. We were there to oppose those with the opposite values, those who have been grabbing, wasting and screwing us all and the planet in their lust for power, for their own greed and selfishness, those who are enforcing their own interests ever wider ever quicker across the planet. Those who we believe are part of a class of people that is responsible for starvation, injustice and the destruction of the planet. The G8 meeting was about serving their interests, it was about how they could take more at our expense. The solidarity and togetherness did not break down, but what began to happen was as the protests neared, we began to hear of stories of Police picking potential protesters up and arresting them (there had previous to our arrival been many illegal raids carried out by the police on Italian activists and organisers of the demonstrations see http://www.statewatch.org/news/2001/jul/genoa2.htm). We had become friends with an Irish women, who told us seven of her friends had arrived in the city got lost and were picked up by the police. They were all strip searched, the women with them were stripped searched by men, the police allowed the dogs to sniff at their genitals, and then forced them to bend over while the dogs sniffed at their backsides. The women were left in cells naked, while male policemen were allowed to gaurp at them. A camper van full of German people was stopped by police; the police took all their luggage out, threw it over the road, rode over it, then smashed the windows of the van. They then arrested everyone and beat them up. And charged them with having offensive weapons (i.e. a Swiss army knife and a tent mallet). These were not isolated instances. Anybody arriving in the city looking lost was a potential target. People from the international contingents began organising themselves, organising translations and information for non-Italians. One way we involved ourselves was by going out into the city, to the train and coach station and guiding people into the right direction, making sure they knew where they were going. The Stadium were we were staying was visited by the police (claiming they were looking for bombs) on the 17th. The Genoa Social Forum (the organisation consisting of 700 different groups) was visited by riot Police, who were thwarted by cameras pointing at them. It was fairly obvious anyway, with cameras clicking all day long, camcorders pointing in your face a few times a day, that some of this filming was being done by undercover police officers. Every discussion that went on was fairly open, even the discussions that went on within the black block, it was common knowledge where they were taking place, so the police would have or should have had up to date information. But meanwhile on the streets anybody looking like a protester was becoming a potential target for either harassment or arrest. On the Wednesday morning (18th) before the demos, around a thousand people were sleeping in the stadium, by then people had arrived from all over the globe, people of all ages and shapes – we had a friend who was with us who was 6 months pregnant. At 6am a call came over the Tannoy waking everyone up and urging us to come immediately to the main gates of the stadium. We thought it was some type of joke, but no…some 200 riot cops dressed and armed to the teeth, batons drawn, guns in holsters, scarves over their faces and helmets on were standing behind riot shields trying to get into the stadium. They were claiming offensive weapons were being stored there, and they wanted to search people and go through their luggage. It is clear now, taking into account what came afterwards, that the police wanted people to respond violently, they had their spies, and they knew they would find nothing. They wanted confrontation so as to justify using violence. Our Italian hosts were quick to realise this and they responded with an incredible coolness. They managed to hold out the police until the press, politicians and representatives of the Genoa Social Forum arrived and under the glare of cameras the police were forced to retreat, but only after our hosts allowed four cops to enter the stadium escorted by them. They strolled around the stadium arrogantly, much safer and more confident, than we were in their company. I felt angry, angry at their attitude, their arrogance, anger at they way they looked distastefully at the people in the stadium, those warm, caring, intelligent, aware individuals – who had more humanity in one beat of their heart, than all of those brutalised, macho – unquestionable men put together. The world continues to be as it is, because there is too many of these people. Plus I felt protective towards my comrades in the stadium. At the time we were angry at our host’s placid response, we didn’t think they should have allowed any cops into the stadium. Looking back now it’s clear they had carefully thought this out, knowing that this way they stood to win the propaganda, press and media issue on this morning. The four escorted police wandered around the stadium and left trying to look as arrogant as before, but obviously slightly defeated by the fact that they didn’t get all their way. If it hadn’t already become clear, it was becoming more so, the police had decided that they would act confrontationally. All the picking up protesters, abusing them, the harassment, the 6am visits, was the police trying to force us to respond. So they could wheel out all their machinery; they wanted to give us a taste of it. They wanted to make sure we regretted ever coming to oppose the leaders of the richest eight countries. The Next day was the first protest, called ‘No Borders, No Nations’ a march in support of migrants, a march against the exclusion of people fleeing persecution. We believed like everyone there – that people should be free to live without terror and free to live anywhere on this planet they wished. We were also clear who was mainly responsible for the wars, the injustice, the starvation and the mass exodus taking place in many countries throughout the world, it was our enemies, who were meeting behind the 20ft steel fences of the red zone. It was their policies, which were forcing millions of people to take desperate measures, in their bid to escape dire and often dangerous conditions. At that point people from PNP had started participating in a group mainly consisting of non-Italians. ‘The Pink Group’ which was proposing a style of protest called ‘Tactical Frivolity’, a sort of sing and dance, clowning around and making fun of every form of authority including the police, whilst having a good time. The migrant march was attended by between 50 - 60,000 people, though some reported 80,000. The pink group sang, danced - poked fun at the angry, mean looking cops and bounced balloons about, the atmosphere was fantastic. One American guy named Fred was dressed as a clown and rode a unicycle whilst playing an accordion. He gave the protesters the best laugh of all as he mocked the cops by wiggling his bum at them, doing some spontaneous theatre and generally knocking down their machismo. All in all, this demo was great fun. The atmosphere was brilliant. Along the route of this demo, old women stood on balconies, clapping along to the marching samba and jazz bands, other people waved underwear from their balconies (Berlusconi had demanded that the people of Genoa, as a sign of respect for the important world leaders, should not hang underwear on their washing line). It was clear to us and had been clear earlier on, that the people of Genoa were welcoming us with open arms, and had no time for the pomp, expense and ceremony of the G8 leaders, and they also felt affronted that a section of their city was excluded to them, because these G8 Gangsters wanted a meeting. We had much more to offer the city than they ever would. The march organisers had said because there were many refugees on the march it should be peaceful, due to the fact that should there be any danger, it might backfire on them. Everyone respected that, including the black block. |