------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the June 23, 2003 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------
CAPITALIST GLOBALIZERS RELY ON TEARGAS, RUBBER BULLETS AS G-8 SUMMIT DRAWS LARGE PROTESTS
By John Catalinotto
While the G-8 heads of state, which includes the world's major imperialist powers plus Russia, were meeting high above Lake Geneva in Evian on June 1-3, tens of thousands of demonstrators were blocking the streets of Lausanne and Geneva, Switzerland, and the Geneva suburb of Annemasse, France. They were trying to prevent G-8 officials from reaching the summit. The movement was saying no to Bush's war and to capitalist globalization.
Some thousands of the most militant demonstrators were able to block Geneva's bridges and highways for hours despite the brutal actions of 25,000 police, who used tear gas and rubber bullets to dislodge them. According to a report in the June 2 Berlin daily Junge Welt, the German metal workers union IG Metall used its truck to provide water for the demonstrators so they could wash out their eyes.
On June 1 tens of thousands marched from Annemasse toward Geneva, meeting a mass march from that city at the border. Slogans included, "You are globalizing poverty and war," held by the Communist Party of France. Others were "G-8 illegal, annul the debts" and "Against an endless war, endless resistance." The crowd swelled to over 150,000, even though many unionists in France, Germany and Austria were preparing massive general strikes for June 3 to fight pension cutbacks.
Workers World was able to briefly interview Sarah Sloan, the Washington organizer of the U.S. anti-war ANSWER Coalition, who was at the demonstrations with a delegation of ANSWER youth. Sloan's description indicated that the police were much more brutal and arbitrary than the corporate media reported.
"The demonstration was even more interesting on Monday, June 2, in Geneva," she said, "because a majority of the participants were not protesters, they were working-class youth who were drawn into a struggle with the police. The Swiss and German police used water cannons, rubber bullets and some type of tear gas I have never experienced before.
"And they used it on people who were just eating, drinking or hanging out in a section downtown. This involved thousands of people, while about 500 protesters were trapped. There were demonstrators in the crowd, but most were onlookers, young people, many people of color. The police attacked heavily, but the young workers were unafraid and wanted to struggle."
Sloan said that she and the other ANSWER youth would be returning to the U.S. on June 9 and in the weeks that followed would be writing and also speaking in different cities in the Northeast on their experiences at the Evian demonstration and at meetings of the anti-globalization movement.
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