Siste fra Znet om Quebec-demonstrasjonene. For min del merker jeg meg at de
bryktede plast"kulene" (i størrelse og form minner de om "kubbelys") for
første gang (ror jeg) er tatt i bruk utafor Nord-Irland, se nederst om en
kvinne som måtte operereres etter å ha blitt truffet i halsen.
Trond Andresen
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QUEBEC CITY: POLICING THE PEOPLE
By Judy Rebick
This weekend, the face of Canadian politics has changed. It happened
here in Quebec City, at a massive demonstration against globalization.
Three things happened: The Peoples' Summit. The Confrontations. And the
discovery that there was No Peace for the Peaceful.
THE PEOPLES' SUMMIT
This was a coalition of unions and non-governmental organizations from
across the Americas. Saturday, the summit organized a diverse and
colourful demonstration of about 60,000. People marched side-by-side
down a six-lane boulevard. It took them about an hour to pass through
the Lower Town that afternoon. The crowd was a generous mix of many
cultures. There were also giant puppets, street theatre, drumming and a
lot of dancing. Emma Goldman would be proud.
While thousands of people walked slowly through the lower part of the
city, hundreds more - mostly youth - were locked in battles with the
police near the famous perimeter surrounding the meeting place of the
Summit of the Americas.
A major controversy among protesters was the decision of the People’s
Summit organizers to march away from the perimeter yesterday. The main
march turned right. Those wanting to join the confrontations turned
left. The majority followed their leadership and turned right, but many
were angry not go to the perimeter. Instead, they went to a parking lot
several kilometres from the action.
March organizers argued that it was too dangerous to take such a large
march into the tiny streets of the old city. No doubt the debate about
the various tactics used this weekend will continue for some time.
THE CONFRONTATIONS
As well, there were a few fierce and prolonged confrontations with
police. These exchanges drew most of the media attention.
In at least two locations, activists battled police in what looked more
like a war than a demonstration. This reporter has never witnessed such
a well-organized, sustained fight between demonstrators and police. At
the perimeter, combatants positioned themselves on two sides of a wide
road. They advanced and retreated as police attacked with tear gas, a
water cannon and - later - plastic bullets. It went on all afternoon and
into the night.
According to the Ligue des droits et libertés (Quebec's civil liberties
union), violence escalated on Saturday primarily because of police
tactics. André Paradis, executive director of that organization, told a
press conference on Sunday that police escalated their tactics in three
ways: First, they used tear gas from the moment of confrontation.
Second, they used more aggressive weapons - such as water canons and
plastic bullets. And third, they left the perimeter and chased
protesters into a residential area, where some property damage occurred
for the first time in 48 hours of protest.
According to the union - which had thirty observers on the ground - only
5 per cent of the protesters confronting police were violent. "Most of
the demonstrators in the Upper Town [near the perimeter] were singing
and dancing and peaceful," said spokesperson Sam Boske.
Over the course of the day, a growing number of trade unionists and
others like the Council of Canadians joined the direct action to support
the youth who were battling police.
A full day before the planned demonstration, activist leader Jaggi Singh
was snatched from the street by five plainclothes police officers. His
bail hearing is not until Wednesday. Singh has been charged with
breaching a previous bail order, participating in a riot and possession
of a weapon. The weapon in question was the theatrical catapult that was
used to hurl stuffed toys at police Friday.
NO PEACE FOR THE PEACEFUL
Both Friday and Saturday saw mass peaceful civil disobedience that
involved at least 6,000 people. These demonstrators were willing to face
tear gas and the police for their beliefs. Even so, some peaceful
protesters were treated with unexpected brutality.
Anna Dashtgard is the organizer of the Common Front Against the World
Trade Organization. She described a sit-in of about 500 people on a side
street near the fenced perimeter. As people sang and held up peace
signs, riot police approached from two sides, trapping the group. After
only one warning, police hurled tear gas directly into the group.
"I’ve never experienced anything like this," said Dashtgard - who also
participated in protests at Seattle and Windsor. "It was so brutal."
After dispersing, some people regrouped in different places. One cluster
of protesters was assaulted without warning. They believe the weapons of
choice were concussion bombs. Another group was warned that police were
about to clear the streets. Most of the protesters - frightened by the
tear gas canons pointed directly at them - walked away. "The riot police
trampled over the few who remained," said Josephine, an activist who was
shaken by the experience.
It was impossible to approach the areas where the perimeter had been
breached without feeling the painful sting of tear gas. Yet thousands of
people, most of them young, climbed the stairs and streets to the Upper
City. This is where the standoffs between police and protesters
continued all day.
Plastic bullets injured several people - including one woman who was hit
in the throat. She required an emergency tracheotomy.
As of Sunday morning, 450 people had been arrested. People were held in
jail, denied the right to contact their lawyers or their families, and
without food, reported Quebec's civil liberties union. Both male and
female accused were stripped and left naked in front of others. These
abuses were corrected after the union intervened.
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Judy Rebick is the publisher of rabble.ca, a new interactive online
magazine born the same week as the Summit. For a lot more Quebec
coverage, check out www.rabble.ca.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Mon Apr 23 2001 - 09:30:40 MET DST