>From: "M A Jones" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: "crl" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Date: Sun, 24 Sep 2000 06:36:11 +0100 >Amelia Hill, Prague >Sunday September 24, 2000 > >Britons were yesterday among the thousands of protesters turned away from >the Czech border by police determined to minimise the extent of Tuesday's >anti-capitalism protest, organisers said. >About 30,000 demonstrators from across Europe are heading towards Prague >this week, determined to disrupt the 55th Annual Meeting of the World Bank >Group and the Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). > >But instead of taking part in today's mass celebration, a warm-up before the >main day of action next week, many demonstrators have spent the weekend >camping at border crossings in pouring rain. > >Some have managed to complete their journeys by complaining to their embassy >or by appealing to legal observers waiting behind the border controls. But >thousands of others - at least one in every 50 demonstrators - are spending >days travelling from one border crossing to another, unsuccessfully trying >to find a weak link in the police line, before being forced to return home. > >'Czech border police are not making illegal demands on those attempting to >enter the country, but they are sticking to the letter of the law with >absolute rigidity,' said Karlos, a legal observer working for the Initiative >Against Economic Globalisation, an umbrella group known by its Czech >initials, Inpeg, created to coordinate this week's demonstrations. > >More than 70 protesters have been denied access to the Czech Republic from >the border crossing at Zinnwald alone, in what organisers claim is a total >contradiction of state rhetoric. > >'Nine-hour waits at the borders are now routine because police are searching >exhaustively for ways of banning everyone they possibly can,' said Karlos. >'Occasionally they cross over and violate a human right, but on the whole >they stay a hair's breadth away from actual violation.' > >Many activists have been caught by obscure legislation. 'I'm shaking with >anger, but I'm not leaving. l'll find some way of getting through, even if >it takes all week,' said Anya, a 35-year-old activist who spent more than 24 >hours driving from Brighton to Prague in her 35ft van, only to be blocked at >Zinnwald after Czech police found a slight irregularity in her vehicle >registration papers. > >'I've travelled all over the world with exactly the same papers I gave the >police here,' she said. 'I even came to Prague last year. They let me in >then and now suddenly the same papers aren't good enough.' But Anya's case >does not surprise Karlos, a legal observer on the other side of the >crossing. 'Cases like this show how little truth there was in the words of >the Czech government when it said we had a political right to protest >against the IMF meeting. This entire demonstra tion has shown how determined >the Czech government really is to deny the right to free speech and >political protest,' he said, as he rang around trying to order the papers >Anya needed. > >'They see this meeting as a method of entry into the serious world of >big-boy politics and are prepared to deny the right the public has to >express a plurality of political views.' > >Border police are using information from the FBI and Scotland Yard on known >activists to prevent people entering the country, including activists from >Seattle and Ya Basta!, a pressure group from Italy . > >Despite the difficulties, thousands of activists have successfully got in: a >camp for 20,000 people on the outskirts of the city is already busy and most >hostels and cheap hotels are booked up for the entire week. But police hope >that, by flexing their muscles now, they will curb protesters' plans to >disrupt the conference later in the week. > >Their plan appears to have worked: yesterday's nine peaceful demonstrations >are being heralded by the police as proof that their months of preparation >have been a success, although today's mass celebration will test that claim. > >Nevertheless, tension in Prague has escalated over the past few days in >anticipation of Tuesday's demonstration. About 11,000 police, most of them >in riot units trained to deal with violent fights rather than peaceful >demonstrations, have been mobilised. They have admitted that tear gas and >water cannon will be used if necessary. > >Six armoured personnel carriers, six troop trucks, two fire engines, two >Mi-17 helicopters and two W-3A Sokol helicopters are on standby, according >to the Prague Post . > >'We know there are many protesters coming here with the intention of >sabotaging the conference,' said a spokesman for the Czech police. 'Of >course, we're nervous - this is the first major demonstration we have had to >cope with, but if people complain we're too strict, well, rather that than a >repeat of the devastation caused by the Seattle riots last November.' > >Prague, a Communist citadel for four decades until 1989, has reverted to a >Soviet-era bunker mentality, closing more than 1,000 public schools and >running a three-month series of alarmist advertisements on television and in >the press, warning of the devastation which could hit the city this week. > >Many of Prague's 1.2 million citizens have responded by deserting the city >but, keen to avoid a repetition of last year's much-criticised May Day riots >in Prague, police have agreed to work with 100 volunteer legal observers >stationed around the city who will report any violation of human rights. A >hotline has also been set up by Inpeg for protesters to report incidents of >abuse. > >There are tentative signs that the week could pass off smoothly: a >right-wing dem-onstration against globalisation that many feared would act >as a catalyst for the latent violence lurking here passed off smoothly >yesterday, and police attendance was attentive but hands-off. > >Even so, protesters are unlikely to find support among older Czechs, said >Danielle, 24, a member of the first free generation in the region for 50 >years. > >'There is practically no one in our parents' generation who has sympathy for >this demonstration,' she said. 'The government has emphasised again and >again over the past few months how awful it will be here during the >conference, but they have not explained the reason why we feel the need to >protest.' > > >Guardian 24.09.00 > > >_______________________________________________ >Crashlist resources: http://website.lineone.net/~resource_base >To change your options or unsubscribe go to: >http://lists.wwpublish.com/mailman/listinfo/crashlist > _______________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi _______________________________________________________ Kominform list for general information. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Anti-Imperialism list for anti-imperialist news. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________________
