Skylda for eventuelle sammenstøt i Praha er allerede plassert: Militante
sabotørar med Molotov-coctails er det ein ventar seg. Dette skal angiveleg
vere basert på erfaringane frå Seattle og Washington.
Politi og militær rustar seg opp til å bruke alle middel mot
demonstrantane. Ta med hjelm og gassmaske!
Asgeir Bjørkedal
Her frå AFP og Yahoo:
http://sg.dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/world/afp/article.html?s=singapore/h
eadlines/000916/world/afp/Czech_Republic_on_red_alert_on_eve_of_IMF_meeting.
html
Czech Republic on red alert on eve of IMF meeting
PRAGUE, Sept 15 (AFP) -
Police, armed forces and secret services in the Czech Republic have been
put on red alert on the eve an expected invasion of
of about 20,000 anti-globalization militants determined to sabotage
meetings by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and
the World Bank (WB).
More than 11,000 policemen -- including riot police -- will be mobilized in
the capital Prague between September 21-29 for
what will be the first meeting of world financial institutions to be held
in a former communist country.
Organisers are determined to avoid any repetition of the disruption seen at
other meetings of world bodies, such as the havoc
wreaked on Seattle by 40,000 demonstrators at a World Trade Organisation
meeting in December.
The army has provided local police with armoured cars, water cannons,
lorries, helicopters and 200 military servicemen to
beef up riot police in a bid to counter expected mass demonstrations.
Police units will be equipped with special helmets, shields and other
protective gear including flame-resistant vests resistant to
Molotov cocktails.
To complete the armoury, the Czech police have recently borrowed tear gas
rocket launchers from Germany to replace the
less effective Czech version.
In addition, 1,400 regular army soldiers have been mobilized to replace
regional police officers drafted in to Prague for the
meetings.
The interior ministry has spared no expense in its modernization of the
police force: 60 police outriders who will escort the
VIPs' limousines have seen their out-dated Jawa motorcycles which replaced
by brand new Hondas.
Black lists of hundreds of militants have been drawn up in cooperation with
foreign police forces, notably the American
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The people on the list are described as "undesirable individuals" who are
"under investigation for crimes committed during
violence in the United States," notably at the demonstrations in Seattle
and Washington, according to the Czech Republic's
chief of police, Jiri Kolar.
The country's Interior Minister Stanislav Gross said the police would "use
all means and opportunities available under the
law" to prevent the arrival in the Czech Republic of individuals "suspected
of abusing their stay to threaten state security,
public order, or undermine other protected interests."
Police say they have already turned back about 40 protesters on the Czech
Republic's border with Germany.
Despite the police measures anti-globalization demonstrators will, however,
get a chance to argue their case with members of
the two financial organizations.
Czech President Vaclav Havel has invited some protestors to air their
globalization fears at his Prague residence during the
IMF-WB meeting.
The aim of the September 23 event, bringing together protestors and
advocates of global markets, will be to "offer an
opportunity for a cultivated discussion during which the arguments of both
sides can be heard."
The meeting at Prague Castle will bring together some 300 representatives
of the IMF, the World Bank, governments and
NGOs along with protestors.
The debate will be chaired by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary
Robinson. It will be broadcast live on the
internet at the site http://www.globalizace.ecn.cz.
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