G8 Summit Meeting Marred by Civil Unrest
This forum will be an extremely high-profile event attended by some of the world's most powerful heads of government. Consequently, it is subject to lobbying by scores of advocacy groups and demonstrations by thousands of political activists.
As the violent protests already taking place in Rostock, Germany, show, this gathering of the world's elite provides a prime staging ground for activists from around the world.
Outnumbering riot police by two to one, about 30,000 people took to the streets Saturday in Rostock for a daylong demonstration, according to the Associated Press. Although the day's events started with relative peace, hundreds of protestors donning bandanas and hoods began to taunt police. The violence escalated as demonstrators tossed rocks and flag poles.
Police cars were battered with bottles and paint bombs, and one group went so far as to attack the hotel where a delegation from the United States was supposed to stay during the summit. Around 146 police were hurt and 17 arrests made.
Many different groups of every political stripe took part in the chaos, including communists, anarchists, environmentalists and socialists. Christian groups, the Green Party, Attac and radical leftists all played a role in organizing the event, each with their own message to send to the convention of decision makers scheduled to take place later this week. From poverty, climate change and AIDS in Africa to issues such as unfair trading policies with developing nations and the war in Iraq, every group touted their cause.
"The world shaped by the dominance of the G8 is a world of war, hunger, social divisions, environmental destruction and barriers against migrants and refugees," organizers said in leaflets that were circulated through the crowd.
Historically, this type of display is nothing new. Since the first summit meeting attended by West Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States in Ramboillet, France, avid political activists and radical groups have taken advantage of the opportunity to have their voices heard by the powers that be.
At the 27th G8 summit in Genoa, Italy in 2001 an estimated 200,000 demonstrators poured into the streets to protest, over 400 of which were injured in clashes with the police. Over 200,000 people marched in Edinburgh before the 2005 summit in Scotland, and synchronized terrorist bombings in London killed dozens on the second day of the conference.
This type of civil unrest has become a critical and expected aspect of the annual G8 summit meetings. Until our leaders work together to form a more cohesive and realistic plan to address the problems our world is faced with, this form of resistance will only continue to grow.
Sources:
David Rising, "Masked protesters clash with police at demonstration against G8 summit in Germany." Canadian Press
Published by Michael Chambers
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4 Comments
Post a Comment"Until our leaders work together to form a more cohesive and realistic plan to address the problems our world is faced with, this form of resistance will only continue to grow"... as it should! This is a good news piece on a very important topic. Good job! With the leaders of the 8 most powerful nations in the world meeting to discuss how they can hold onto thier military and economic might (shamelessly, and at the expense of hundreds of millions of people), I'm not surprised that such violence ensues every time, and every where they meet. I would be shocked (and worried) if people didn't act that way. Excellent coverage (you are much less biased than I), and nice picture too. 5 stars.
It truly is a world of insanity. A world where violence has to be in order for there to be peace. I can't help but think that we live on the forefront of chaos to come. peace and love mike.
It's too bad that violent people have to take over what could otherwise be effective action.
Great article. I don't think you will see this type of news coverage on Amerikan TV so thanks for writing it. 200,000 people is quite a number. All these different "loner" groups banding together is a sign of just how bad things have gotten.