[mobglob-discuss] Rabble.ca: Mass arrests disrupt legal protests

[Gordon Flett]

http://www.rabble.ca/news_full_story.shtml?sh_itm=9c691eaca7d7ffdd44a5b6c0a1b47fe8&r=1

Mass arrests disrupt legal protests

by Yves Engler
July 29, 2003

A day after Sunday's highly successful "No One is Illegal" march which
drew
nearly 2,000 people to the streets of Montreal in solidarity with
indigenous
and immigrant rights, 700 protesters woke up early Monday morning to
oppose
the first day of the World Trade Organization's mini-ministerial
meetings.

The snake-march demonstration was called in the hopes of disrupting the
meetings. However, it quickly became obvious that disruption of the
meetings
was unlikely. Hundreds of well-armed riot cops supervised a barricaded
perimeter that blocked protesters from getting within 100 metres of the
hotel where the WTO delegates were meeting.

Frustrated by a police force that went to such lengths to defend what
most
consider an undemocratic institution, people's anger intensified. A
handful
of demonstrators removed plywood from a construction site to stop
pursuing
police vans. And police, searching for a justification, moved in.

As the police read the riot act they immediately attempted to encircle
the
demonstration with the intent of stopping it and probably arresting us
all.
Fortunately, most protesters were able to escape through a nearby
alleyway.
However, subsequent events were disappointing to those of us who wanted
to
target the violence of the world economic system rather than focussing
on a
display of marginalized anger.

About a dozen windows of companies such as the Bank of Montreal and GAP
as
well as a Canadian army-recruiting centre and a Porsche automobile were
smashed. After the car's window was broken, a confrontation between the
owner of the Porsche and a handful of protesters resulted in the man
being
knocked over. Seconds later other protesters came to his aid.

While most protesters don't strongly object to the destruction of a
handful
of corporate windows, generally the feeling is these are marginal acts.
A
genuine debate over the role of property damage in garnering media
coverage
exists, as CBC Newsworld's non-coverage of the peaceful "No One is
Illegal"
march but heavy coverage of Monday's broken windows demonstrated.
Nevertheless, destroying property is usually a misguided form of rage
that
hinders the broadening of the global social justice movement.

Still, the anger that underlies these acts is understandable. And last
Friday's comments by Canadian Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew only
fuelled
this fury. According to Pettigrew, disruptive protesters would "screw
the
African cotton farmers and the African HIV victims" since negotiators
plan
to discuss farm subsidies and generic drug access.

Contrary to Pettigrew's claims, the plight of African cotton farmers and
AIDS victims is not attributable to protesters, but the consequence of
Western African countries following the very neo-liberal policies that
the
WTO supports. The devastation felt by African cotton farmers is the
outcome
of following International Monetary Fund policies of increasing cotton
production for export while decreasing the production of domestically
consumed foods. Similarly, at best, current WTO negotiations will return
to
African countries much-needed drug access that the WTO has already taken
away.

Demonstrators weren't only angry with Pettigrew for his recent
statements on
the WTO but also his role in establishing a "security" climate prior to
the
meetings. Pettigrew said:

"If they want to stop us, fine, good luck."

"I tell you that we have very impressive security."

"I trust the police of Montreal."

And the police didn't disappoint.

The police once again apprehended noted organizer Jaggi Singh while he
was
blocks away from the demonstration doing media work. Initially the
police
said they stopped him for unlawful assembly, only to change it later to
a
violation of legal conditions on outstanding charges.

His arrest was only the tip of the political crackdown. Two hours after
the
snake march ended, over 300 people were surrounded by the police while
eating, listening to speakers or just relaxing in what was supposed to
be a
"safe"green zone. A tactical team of the police surrounded the space
more
than ten blocks from where the march had passed and encircled everyone.
While the police claim they warned people to leave, by all accounts -
including one from a La Presse reporter and another from prominent
Montreal
area doctor Amir Khadi - the police didn't provide people with
sufficient
time to do so.

In all, they arrested 342 people. These mass arrests have become a
commonly
used tactic of the Montreal police force. At two other demonstrations
I've
attended in the past two years the police have arrested over 300 people
and
prior to yesterday's arrests their three year political arrest total
stood
at over 1,200.

Those unfortunate protesters who chose the "safe" zone were then
subjected
to what can only be described as low-level torture. Srinivas Murthy from
the
McGill International Health Initiative told rabble that the police said
they
were under arrest at 10:30 a.m. At 2:30 p.m., they were handcuffed and
put
on a bus. Four hours later, the handcuffs were finally taken off. Murthy
said, "the handcuffs weren't comfortable at all." Finally, as a Montreal
resident, he was one of the first to be released though not until 1:00
a.m.
Those from out of town spent the night in jail and were to appear in
court
this morning - Tuesday.

Inside the holding cell the conditions weren't good. According to my
sister,
who was arrested, no food was provided until 8:00 p.m., and it was
awful.
Twenty women were crammed into a cell that should handle four people.
While
the men were able to get blankets after creating a hassle, the women
were
refused them until late.

Underlying these arrests are a number of questions that activists are
asking
themselves. Who broke the windows? Was it angry protesters or did law
enforcement authorities have any role in the affair? While these
questions
may seem conspiratorial to some, after the recent G20 trials (where all
three activists including Jaggi Singh were acquitted by a jury) here in
Montreal, these questions no longer seem far-fetched.

During those trials the police were forced to admit that the Surete de
Quebec had at least 23 plainclothes crowd infiltrators amongst the crowd
of
1,000 protesters in addition to eight Montreal police undercovers, the
riot
police, mounted police and RCMP.

Videos shown at the trial pointed to a potential link between
undercovers
and those involved in throwing objects and creating disturbances. It is
unlikely we will ever know. It's something for those in the movement to
think about next time we decide to try and "shut down" a meeting using a
"diversity of tactics."

Yves Engler, a member of the popular mobilization against the WTO, is
currently working on a book about student activism at Concordia
University.
He can be reached at yvesengler at hotmail.com

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