[mobglob-discuss] Towards freedom: The G8 and beyond

Tue Jul 9 13:42:20 PDT 2002

Towards freedom: The G8 and beyond (suggested title)

By Martin Fournier, Anti-globalization activist

Were the recent G8 protests in Calgary effective in affecting positive 
change?  Is summit hopping, the practice of activists traveling to 
globalization summits in large numbers, a now defunct strategy?  Where is 
the anti-globalization movement going? Does the movement have a unified 
vision to keep its momentum? These are difficult questions for activists to 
answer in these times of repression.

I am left pondering these questions after Canada spent $300 million to build 
Fortress Kananaskis, a military “bunker” consisting of 21 checkpoints spread 
along the road to a small resort town 90 kilometres north of Calgary. Canada 
and the G8 administration guaranteed that no one would ever get close to the 
leaders of the eight richest economies in the world by deploying 5000 
soldiers, tanks, anti-aircraft defenses, missiles launchers and fighter jets 
patrolling a wide-reaching no fly-zone above the resort’s territory.

These incredibly brutal measures, coupled with a $300 000 bribe to the 
Stoney Nation to prevent activists from erecting a temporary Solidarity 
Village on their land which is a mere 25 kilometres away from Kananaskis, 
ensured that no protesting took place near Bush and his Neoliberal cabinet 
of ministers. Activists, being persistent individuals, decide to relocate 
the action to Calgary.

Two main events occurred in Calgary, a counter summit, the summit of the 
group of six billion (G6B) from June 21-25 and the usual Labour marches and 
public protests throughout the week and during the actual summit (June 26 & 
27). The G6B was by far the most effective in addressing critical issues 
such as the African AIDS crisis, environmental deterioration, the 
anti-terrorism agenda, global recession, social justice and the rise of 
poverty brought on by one-way globalization trade. The G6B main 
recommendations can be found online on Alberta’s Independent Media Centre: 
www.alberta.indymedia.org/news/2002/06/3402.php

The marches and protests were successful in defeating public opinion about 
protesters and violence. For the entire duration of the these events the 
media wasn’t able to report any violence, except from the odd isolated act 
from yahoos, and for the first in North American protest history had to 
report on what protesters actually do at protests. This included reported a 
family march of 3000, various rallies ranging from 2500 to 7000 
participants, a massive improvised street soccer game to paralyze an 
intersection, a symbolic Die-in in which 100 protestors “died” on the 
pavement to symbolically relate the ongoing suffering of Third World 
countries, and a gigantic knitting circle, another tactic to paralyze 
traffic and the 3000-strong police presence unnerving everyone. All these 
actions happened during a tactic called snake marching in which the goal is 
to constantly march around the economic district of a given city in order to 
paralyze traffic and prevent workers to get to work, in essence to shut down 
business and hit them where it hurts, the profit line.

The most radical action of the entire week was a 100-car caravan, including 
approximately 400 activists, which went to the first checkpoint on the road 
to Kananaskis Fortress. They were greeted with army personnel hiding under 
nearby foliage and a barrage of bicycle cops, obviously stationed there to 
present a positive image to tourists and unknowing travelers, to create a 
positive and goodwill image of Canada to the rest of the world. After much 
negotiations and nerve-racking deliberations the caravan was sent back to 
Calgary (see Alberta Independent Media centre for amazing pictures of 
K-country and the scary checkpoints: <alberta.indymedia.org>).

In retrospect, the Calgary actions were both a failure for the 
anti-globalization movement and a victory. On one hand the actions were not 
successful in getting the attention of the G8 leaders; they went ahead with 
their meeting bunkered away in K-country. On the other hand, the use of 
successful non-violent civil disobedience in the face of harsh repressive 
measures showed the G8 leaders, and the world, the absurdity of spending so 
much taxpayers’ money to defend against democracy; the actions of the G8 
leadership are in all truth an admission of guilt and inefficiency; why did 
they have to wall themselves in if they are working to better the world? In 
just and fair democracies, transparency, openness, and consent are key to 
decision-making. The G8 leaders again absurdly showed their contempt for 
democracy.

Were the recent G8 protests in Calgary effective in truly delivering 
positive change? Beyond a great PR coup the anti-G8 organizing in Calgary 
didn’t deliver on those promises. Summit hopping as it is now practiced does 
not fulfill the aims of the anti-globalization movement, mainly to hold 
Western governments and globalization accountable to the Earth citizens, 
politically, socially, economically, and environmentally. Except Seattle and 
some recent European protests (500 000 in Barcelona!) summit hopping has 
been systematically analyzed and defeated by the authorities in question. 
Does that mean that summit hopping is dead? Yes and no.

Summit hopping, especially for North Americans, is for many protestors very 
costly and arduous to plan and organize, due in part to the vastness of our 
countries and to the amount of coordination and communication it requires. 
This last point also plays in the hands of the authorities; it is much 
easier for the authorities to have a central focus on a single city and 
their organizing committee to demoralize, instill fear and sabotage our 
organizing efforts. These last observations are pointing to the birth of a 
new era in the anti-globalization movement, and to the strengthening of our 
vision(s); the local-to-global protest strategy.

An auspicious development for the anti-globalization movement happened in 
two Canadian cities during the G8. In Ottawa a simultaneous, yet independent 
campaign was organized to concur with the Calgary actions. It was called 
“Take the Capital!!” and brought together 3000 or so activists to act 
locally and replicate the Albertan scenario of snake marches and mass 
non-violent civil disobedience. Apart from a little property damage there 
was also no violence in Ottawa. But the protesters succeeded in hurting Big 
Business for 2 consecutive days. The same scenario, although on a much 
smaller scale with approximately 300 protestors showing, happened in 
Vancouver. It was called “Connecting the Dots” and made links to Gordon 
Campbell repressive regime, the G8 and globalization. In both cases the 
protests made the headlines and sent shivers to Neoliberal business 
executives everywhere.

A great many activists think the local-to-global organizing is the way the 
movement is evolving. They can no longer justify using their already scarce 
resources for a few days of heroic, but most often symbolic actions at mass 
counter summit protests. They feel that staying in one’s city or going to 
one’s closest regional metropolis is much more effective because it speaks 
to one’s regional targets and local issues, pinpointing to the direct 
effects of the globalization architecture at home. This last point also 
addresses the search for a vision for the movement; there is nowhere better 
than home to attempt to practice and promote the change we want to see in 
the world, whether it touches environmental issues, better and more 
meaningful employment, the investment of regional profits, the management of 
our regional conflicts, our involvment in addressing global social justice 
issues through locally focused efforts, and so forth.

There has never been a better time than now to unite in our communities and 
find the Enrons, Xeroxes, Tycos, Andersens, WorldComs, Bushs, Campbells, 
Kleins, and all other criminal individuals and multinationals and show them 
that without our consent they are nothing. It is time for all the peaceniks, 
anarchists, unionists, communists, greens, and activists from all walks to 
unite in each city and work locally to create local visions of how they want 
to live and be the change they want to see, individually and collectively.

There is no need to search for a new global ideology that will unite the 
movement when human life is based on a diversity of views and philosophies, 
but we can apply locally oriented and positive environmental, social and 
economic principles to empower ourselves as free individuals and regain our 
communities and then let creativity and spontaneity rule. But first we must 
act in concert locally to paralyze the profit-maximizing and greed-driven 
machine that is capitalism as we know it. This is our common purpose and 
vision; to experience self-empowerment anew in a new paradigm in which each 
of us knows and acts according to what she/he see as positive and 
fulfilling, and in harmony with the Earth of course.

Martin Fournier is a Vancouver-based anti-globalization activist and writer.

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