Aus 'ratbags' clash with cops
2005-08-31 11:27
Sydney - Anti-globalisation campaigners and demonstrators protesting the war in Iraq clashed with police in central Sydney for a second day on Wednesday as international business leaders met amid tight security.
After attempting to disrupt the Forbes Global CEO conference launch on Tuesday, the demonstrators organised a mobile protest of about 80 people who roamed the city streets, blockading businesses they alleged were profiteering from the US-led war in Iraq.
The group, some of them wearing masks, initially protested outside KBR, a subsidiary of US firm Halliburton, which organiser Scott Parkin called "the poster child of war profiteering in Iraq".
They then moved on to a branch of the ANZ bank, which is part of a consortium helping build the Iraqi banking system, pouring fake blood on the office's front step and forcing it to close temporarily.
War criminal
The protesters also held placards accusing Australian Prime Minister John Howard of being a war criminal for deploying troops to Iraq as part of the US-led coalition.
The rally's flashpoint came when a number of protesters attempted to enter Martin Place, the centre of the city's financial district and home to the headquarters of a number of major Australian fiscal institutions.
A group of about 40 police charged the protesters, knocking to the ground both those who had attempted to enter the financial district and those who had obeyed orders to stay on the footpath.
"I was just walking along and a cop went whack and elbowed me right on the chin," protester Dave Fregon said after the melee.
Mounted police moved in and corralled a core group of about 30 people into an alley as the demonstrators chanted: "This is not a police state, we have the right to demonstrate."
Hindering
Police said eight people were arrested and charged with a range of offences including assault, resisting arrest and hindering police.
After a tense 20-minute standoff, police allowed the rally to resume but again blocked its progress as marchers headed towards the Sydney Opera House, where the three-day Forbes Global CEO conference is being held.
It was the second day of clashes between police and protestors after three people were injured and seven arrested near the Opera House late on Tuesday.
New South Wales state Premier Morris Iemma denied police had been heavy-handed and said the demonstrators were "a few ratbags, and they've felt the full weight of the law as they should".
Police minister Carl Scully said campaigners had a legitimate right to demonstrate in a democratic society but they could not behave violently.
Emphatic
"We are sending an emphatic message ... we are not going to tolerate any nonsense," he said.
Protester Catherine Fry said the police had not been provoked and their response was over the top.
"The police all of a sudden just kept pushing and pushing and we had nowhere to go, I was up against a wall," she said. "It was very scary."
- AFP