[mobglob-discuss] Calgary Herald: Protest leaders rein in roaming activists

[Garth Mullins]

Protest leaders rein in roaming activists
  
Mark Reid  
Calgary Herald 


Sunday, June 02, 2002
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Activists outside Alberta are calling for an end to "summit hopping," urging 
their comrades to shun the G-8 summit in Kananaskis and instead hold 
protests in their home communities.

Thousands of protesters are expected to take to the streets of Ottawa, 
Vancouver, and possibly Halifax and Toronto for simultaneous anti-G-8 
rallies during the June 26-27 summit.

The activists say holding protests across Canada during the G-8 will net 
more publicity for the anti-globalization movement while reducing the 
likelihood of violence.

"I don't think it makes sense to just be going from one big protest to 
another," says Dan Sawyer, an Ottawa activist who is organizing the Take the 
Capital rally at Parliament Hill. "Why not stay in our own community, in our 
own region, and build energy (against the G-8)?"

Policing simultaneous rallies will undoubtedly cause a strain on security 
forces across Canada. RCMP Chief Supt. Lloyd Hickman says he's confident 
RCMP and the various city police forces will be up to the job. "A large 
number of police officers across Canada will be involved in the G-8, whether 
it's in Halifax or here (Calgary) or in Whistler," Hickman says. "There will 
be enough personnel on the ground to meet our goals and mission."

With the G-8 summit less than a month away, it's questionable whether large 
numbers of activists will make the arduous and costly trip to Kananaskis.

Prime Minister Jean Chretien chose Kananaskis Village, the mountain resort 
about 120 kilometres west of Calgary, in an effort to avoid the mass 
protests of recent world summits.

At last year's G-8 in Genoa, Italy, vicious street battles between police 
and about 200,000 protesters left 200 activists injured and resulted in the 
shooting death of a young anarchist.

Authorities are bracing for the arrival of thousands of protesters in 
Calgary and the Kananaskis region, but no one seems able to peg exactly how 
big the crowds will be.

Sawyer says many activists in Eastern Canada see little point in spending 
thousands of dollars to travel to Kananaskis, especially given the high 
level of security expected for the event.

"Security is going to be monstrous," Sawyer says. "I'm not convinced the 
best way for me to get my message across is to get taken down by a couple of 
army officers in the middle of the bush."

The summit is being billed as the "largest peacetime security operation in 
Canadian history," with about 1,500 RCMP officers and about 5,000 Canadian 
soldiers expected to protect G-8 leaders and delegates.

Calgary activists say they are expecting between 5,000 and 15,000 
protesters, even though some local activists are also "encouraging" their 
comrades to stay home during the summit.

"We're actually encouraging people to do protests in their own community," 
says Gordon Christie, spokesman for the Calgary District Labour Council. 

"If they want to come, bonus. 

"(But) we don't want all of Canada and North America trucked here -- that's 
not our goal."

RCMP Corp. Jamie Johnston, a G-8 security spokesman, says activists have a 
better chance of having their messages heard if they stay home.

"They stand a better chance of getting their message out, without it getting 
lost in a fog of violence," Johnston said.

Ottawa police Insp. Pat Hayes says protesters are welcome to hold 
demonstrations in his city, as long as they're peaceful.

"We know large crowds are coming to Ottawa because they can't get to 
Kananaskis," Hayes says. "OK, that's fair, but please treat our city with 
respect."

Most major organized activist groups are still expected to have some kind of 
presence in Calgary.

Natalie Southworth, a spokeswoman for Greenpeace in Vancouver, says it's 
crucial for activists to bear witness at summit events, to send the message 
to G-8 leaders that the world is watching them.

That's why holding summits in isolated areas is unfair and undemocratic, 
says Southworth.

"They are holding these summits in places that are increasingly hard to get 
to," she says. "If people can't go and represent their communities that are 
being impacted, then that's an important voice that's being left out."

Rob Huebert, a political scientist with the University of Calgary's Centre 
for Military and Strategic Studies, says most activists don't want 
confrontation and that violence, when it occurs, is usually sparked by a 
small minority of anarchists and radicals.

He predicts the Kananaskis summit will be relatively violence free, but also 
warns "there is a certain cadre of radical protesters) that will hop around 
from conference to conference . . . so they will show up regardless."