Sunday, September 10, 2000 Protesters, cops, clash at Australian economic summit MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Thousands of protesters who threatened to disrupt an economic summit in southern Australia gathered near the venue Monday, blocking traffic and waving anti-globalization placards. Scuffles broke out at least one entrance to the Crown Casino as police tried to clear an access path, Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio reported. For the most part, however, the protest was peaceful and most entrances to the venue remained open. Police have turned the casino into a virtual fortress, erecting a steel fence around it patrolling it. About two hours before the Asia-Pacific Economic Summit was due to begin, protesters gathered at sites around the casino, watched by police in boats which patrolling the nearby Yarra river and a helicopter which buzzed overhead. Dozens of senior business executives and government leaders including Microsoft's Bill Gates are expected to attend the summit to discuss future economic developments in Asia. The three-day event is organized by the Switzerland-based World Economic Forum, a group that brings together business and government heads to discuss the global economy. Kristen Bartram, who runs a Melbourne computer consultancy, said she plans to join Monday's protest, which organizers said aims to shut down the summit. "I suppose my major concern about the corporations is that they don't seem to take into consideration what they are actually doing to the planet globally," she said. As an example of corporate greed, she cited claims sportswear maker Nike runs sweatshops in Indonesia -- an accusation denied last week by Nike executives. But fearing it would be targeted by violent protests similar to those that marred last year's World Trade Organization talks in Seattle, Nike closed its flagship Melbourne store Sunday and boarded up the windows. Bartram said she will not resort to violence Monday and police said they believe the majority of up to 15,000 protesters will be peaceful. But authorities have prepared for the worst, drafting in extra officers from rural areas and freeing up police cells. Spokesman Claude Smadja said the summit is the wrong target for opponents of globalization. "This protest is completely misplaced," Smadja told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio. "The aim is not to promote globalization. The aim is to discuss the issues raised by globalization" One group inconvenienced by Monday's protest was the U.S. women's basketball team for the Sydney Olympics, which missed a 9 a.m. training session after being stranded in the casino hotel lobby because its bus could not penetrate the protest cordon. "We realize that there are bigger things going on in the world than our practice, so we've pretty much learned to just be flexible," said Carol Callan, a team spokeswoman. The team is in Melbourne to play exhibition matches before the Sept. 15-Oct.1 games. Dozens of groups, from pupils at an exclusive girls' college to homosexuals claiming they are exploited by corporate greed to Green legislators, plan to march Monday under the S11 banner -- the name taken from the date, Sept. 11. Senator Bob Brown of the Australian Green party met other Green legislators Sunday to discuss the protests. Brown said the Greens are opposed to the growth of a new aristocracy among multinational corporate bodies who are becoming a de-facto, undemocratic world government. "We're also concerned about the impoverished people of the world not having a voice," he said. His concerns were echoed by protesters at Treasury Gardens, many of whom wore pins with the words, "Smash corporate tyranny." "I really just want to send a message to the corporations of the world that they really have no right to be the world government," said protester Chris Fletcher. ================ Macdonald Stainsby. Rad-Green List: Radical anti-capitalist environmental discussion. http://www.egroups.com/group/rad-green [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---------- http://www.geocities.com/leninist_international/ http://lists.wwpublish.com/mailman/listinfo/leninist-international _______________________________________________ Crashlist resources: http://website.lineone.net/~resource_base To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.wwpublish.com/mailman/listinfo/crashlist
