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G8 protests heat up
05/07/2005 12:58 - (SA)
Edinburgh - Up to 100 protesters were due in court on Tuesday following violent clashes with police in the Scottish capital ahead of the G8 summit.
Lothian and Borders police said 100 people were arrested on Monday, after black-clad demonstrators scuffled with police in riot gear in Edinburgh.
Police wearing body armour and equipped with shields locked down entire streets in the capital on Monday, penning in protesters with the help of officers mounted on horseback. Authorities said more than 20 police and protesters suffered minor injuries.
The majority of those arrested would appear at Edinburgh Sheriff's court throughout the day, a spokesperson for the force said.
Protests continued throughout Scotland on Tuesday, as campaigners stepped up the pressure ahead of the summit of leaders from the Group of Eight industrialised nations.
Three campaigners from the World Development Movement climbed a crane towering above Edinburgh's Waverley railway station. One of the protesters spoke from the crane by mobile phone and criticised international efforts to lift African nations out of poverty.
Britain, which is chairing the G8 this year, has already secured agreement to wipe the debts of 18 of the world's poorest countries, on the condition that certain democratic and economic benchmarks are met.
"Their plans for debt relief and aid are attached to stringent conditions and there is no mention of the urgent need for trade justice," said campaigner Paul Hutchings, who travelled from Brighton on England's south coast for the protest. Police said they were monitoring the demonstration.
Environmental activists planned to protest later on Tuesday at an oil refinery in Grangemouth, about 30km west of Edinburgh.
Pressure groups Friends of the Earth Scotland and People and Planet said campaigners would dress as mermaids in a peaceful protest to highlight the dangers posed by global warming.
Climate change is another leading issue on the agenda when G8 leaders meet in Gleneagles on Wednesday through Friday. Blair is pushing for agreement on the science of climate change - that man-made pollutants are causing the earth's temperature to rise and that governments must take urgent action to cut carbon emissions.
United States President George W Bush could prove a formidable obstacle to consensus at the summit. The White House insists further research on the effects of carbon emissions is needed.
"Rising sea levels, extreme weather and shortages of food and water will affect millions of poor people before this century ends," said Duncan McLaren of Friends of the Earth Scotland. "The G8 must put the needs of the poor and of future generations before the interests of the fossil fuel industry."
- AP
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