Recollection andanalysis by Greens

MPs and others

Photos by Liam Nicholls

Democracybeats the

WorldEconomic

Forum

S11Spring

C o n t e n t s

Tower of power in a sea of humanity: Senator Bob Brown

World’s best practice blockading:

Dan Cass

In praise of protest: Jim Scott,

MLC

NZ in s11 front line: Nandor

Tanczos, MP

Arrest option forgotten as police

go in for attack: Lee Rhiannon,

MLC

“Think global act local” comes of

age: Dr Chrissy Sharp, MLC

People’s globalisation: Ben Oquist

Building our own future: Sue

Bradford, MP

Melbourne rose: marshals, affini-

ties and learning from s11: Guy

Rundle

Greens politicians on the ground

at s11: Ian Cohen, MLC

Testimony on the injuries - Nick

Sampsonidis

WEF in bed with Burma’s military

- Cr Jamie Parker

Editors: Lee Rhiannon, Dan Cass, BenOquist

Layout: www.melbourne.indymedia.org

Copyright remains with the authorsISBN: 0 9578463 0 4 October 2000

Contact details:Australian Greensph 1800 017 011www.greens.org.au

Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealandph + 64 4 9388622www.greens.org.nz

The blockade started before dawn and ended around dusk. Photo by Tim Cole.

We of the Thin Green Line

Parliamentarians live in an alien world ofMinisters and minders, lobbyists and corpo-rate whispers, media cynicism and main-stream opinion. The parliaments of thisplanet are mostly still inhuman places whereGreens members and our staff can feel aloneand often powerless.

So we of the Thin Green Line thank you,s11. The s11 protests gave us the space to seereal people and talk to them about thisworld we share and how it might bechanged. Hundreds of people came up to usand shared their perspectives. Thousands ofpeople showed us with their actions that

they are prepared to stand up for global jus-tice, unpaid and often unencouraged.

We Greens parliamentarians are more power-ful now, because of s11. We were put back intouch with exactly the energy and optimismthat brought us to be activist politicians inthe first place. We were inspired to keepfighting in the barren corridors of power. Wewere touched by the generosity and coopera-tion of the cheerful, crazy, community thatsprung up around Crown Casino over thosethree days in September 2000.

S11 Spring is a quickly produced, partialrecord of s11, put in some broader context.We felt it was important to record the natureof the police brutality and how it was so at

odds with the essentially peaceful proteststhat took place. We wanted to record someof the many fantastic activist groups who wesaw providing support to the whole block-ade: the indymedia crew, the iXpress couri-ers, Union First Aid and the legal team.

We hope that our reflections on the protestmay assist the process that is taking placearound us. In the ruins created by a globaleconomy and corporate media sphere,humanity is struggling to create a truly glob-al society and with that, a democracy for aprecious planet.

Senator Bob Brown and Lee Rhiannon MLC

Greens-elected representatives at s11Sue Bradford, MP,New Zealand ParliamentSenator Bob Brown, Australian ParliamentCr Sam Byrne, Marrickville CouncilIan Cohen, MLC, NSW Legislative CouncilCr David Hawkins,Campbell City CouncilCr Jamie Parker, Deputy Mayor,Leichhardt CouncilLee Rhiannon, MLC,NSW Legislative CouncilCr David Risstrom, Melbourne City CouncilJim Scott, MLC, WA Legislative CouncilChrissy Sharp, MLC, WA Legislative CouncilNandor Tanczos, MP,New Zealand Parliament

S11 Spring

3.

4.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

- Bob Brown

In the Casino tower, billionaires, corporateCEOs and Labor Premiers mixed and min-gled. Down below in the street a policeofficer, later to be lauded by PremierBracks’ epithet ‘they got what theydeserved’, brought his baton down acrossthe face of 24 year old Damien Settle.Damien had been standing calmly, handsstretched out in from of him, pleading ‘noviolence, no violence.’ For this he had histop two front teeth were knocked out anda third twisted back in his gum. As he fellto the ground the police officer brought hisbaton down twice more on youngDamien’s, splitting open his forehead andnose.

Across the nation, ABC news carried newsof the “violence of protesters” showing,Damien’s unnamed, bloodied face. ABCTV’s ‘Lateline’, then carried the PrimeMinister’s condemnation of the “protestersviolence”, again illustrated with Damien’sinjuries, as if he were a victim of his fellowprotesters.

But within 48 hours the truth startedunravelling. By then the police had assault-ed journalists, photographers and crewsfrom Reuters, SBS, the Age, Sydney Morn-ing Herald, Herald Sun and other majoroutlets. Thousands of Australian citizensand overseas visitors were blockading theprivileged men and women of the WorldEconomic Forum. They encircled Casinotower. The orders were to bust the block-ade.

One of the orders, which reached downthe chain of command to the police offi-cers at the barricades, aimed to circumventlaw enforcement. By the second morning,all officers had removed or covered up theiridentification badges. This order mut havecome from either the Bracks ministry orthe upper echelons of the Victorian Policewith the intention to meet peaceful protestwith illegal force.

That morning I had climbed the fence 5metres from the first barricade over YarraRiver, as a scuffle broke out between front-row blockaders and someone trying toenter the casino. Four rows back were menand women I knew, holding a Greens ban-

ner. The police behind them leaned overthe waist-high barricade and began smash-ing their heads, shoulders and necks withbatons. A number fell down. Indiscriminate violence had become thepolicing tool. A young man arrived andspat at the police. A younger womanimmediately grabbed and reprimandedhim. She became the peacekeeping officerat the scene.

The Victorian authorities had responded topressure from World Economic Forum del-egates, both those in the Casino tower andthose 100 or more unable to get in and leftstranded, fuming, at the Sheraton andHyatt hotels across town. Some of thatpressure, including the inherent threat thatMelbourne would lose investment if thestreets were not ‘controlled’, came fromdelegates in countries where communityunrest is met with tanks not talks.

The S11 protest was a remarkable state-ment by the Australian public. It represent-ed a vast uncoiling of frustration with thisnation’s two-party system which gives pri-

ority to the rich and shuts out real citizeninput. In particular S11 was a healthy air-ing of young Australians’ frustration with aworld where caring, love and the search forreal human equality are cast aside by par-liament and the stock exchange in favourof giving more power and wealth to thealready rich. I would so much prefer theyoungsters to join the barricades than jointhe growing tide of youth suicide.

I walked the huge perimeter of s11 at least4 times, stopping at each barricade. Hud-dle after huddle of hundreds of peoplestood there for a better world future. I sawthe hint of fear. But it was fleeting andwashed away by the swell of excitementand togetherness. The eyes of thousandsglistened with a feeling of real achieve-ment. Politicians, tycoons and bullies all aroundthe world, not just at Casino, were put onalert. There is worldwide citizen’s move-ment emerging, which demands democra -cy, empowerment and a real fair go. Thissentiment cuts right through the soullessmaterialism, greed and inhumanity under-strapping the current spate of world eco-nomic forums.

S11 put equality, the environment, work-er’s rights and democracy back on the newspages, as well as onto the WEF agenda.Those who met the people ’s protest withviolence should now face their day in court - all of them.

Bob Brown is a Greens Senator

Tower of Power 03 s11 Spring

The S11 protest was a remarkablestatement by the Australian public.It represented a vast uncoiling offrustration with this nation’s two-party system which gives priority tothe rich and shuts out real citizeninput.

Senator Bob Brown tells media how proud he is of protesters. Photo by Will Smith

Tower of Power in a Sea of Humanity

s11 Spring 04 In praise of protest

In praise of protest- Jim Scott

Australian media reports of the S11demonstration have for the most partdescribed the S11 blockade as a scene ofchaos and disorder emanating from a groupof uninformed and disorganised ferals andmanipulated schoolkids.

My impression was otherwise and in fact Iwas impressed at the level of organisationdespite the great disparity of the groupspresent at the casino.

The first examples of the organisationalcompetence was at a pre blockade meetingof green affinity groups at the office ofFriends Of the Earth. This packed meetingwas attended by highly motivated andinformed (mostly) young people.

I cannot recall a group of more dedicated,informed and turned on young people. The

atmosphere at FOE was electric and theenthusiasm lit up everyone in the room,even some of us older world-weary veter-ans.

If the global reformist movement is to besuccessful it is vital that the Media battle iswon. The Indy (independent) Mediaalliance is a vital cog in informing the pub-lic. Their reports are gradually are reachinga wider audience and counteracting thenegative reporting by the corporate press.

I was particularly impressed by the indyfilming of the blockade at the Herald Sunprotesting that paper’s extremely biased,negative reports of s11. Journalists from MrMurdoch’s Victorian flagship were extreme-ly camera shy when the tables were turnedand they became the media subjects. Per-haps they did not want to be identifiedwith their rather poor ‘reporting’?

There is also an important role for theGreen Party to play in educating the wider

community to the failings of globalisation.Our global presence combined with ourparticipatory democracy platform puts us atthe cutting edge of the reform of globalpolitics.

If there is a binding cause amongst affinitygroups it is the anti-democratic nature ofour global rule making. The requirementsof corporations cannot continue to overridethe rights of communities or the environ-ment.

Even if the decisions made are benevolent,the paternalistic decision making processdisempowers our communities and reducesour democratic system of governance

We are at the beginning of a revolution andthere is much to be done. The enthusiasmand commitment of s11 protestors providesus with the impetus for positive change.

Jim Scott is one of three Greens members ofthe WA Legislative Council.

World’s best practiceblockading-Dan Cass

S11 was not organised by any centralgroup yet it exhibited some of the mosteffective and brilliantly organised opera -tions seen at a community event in Aus-tralia. This may have been a new highpoint for protests everywhere.

The protest worked because the tens ofthousands of people who attended werepeaceful and cooperative. They workedwell with each other and resisted the policebrutality with dignity. Most of these peoplesimply attended the protest with friends oras part of a loosely knit affinity group. s11AWOL (Autonomous Web of Liberation)encouraged this sort of organisation intosmall clusters, which took responsibility formaintaining a peaceful presence at a partic-ular gate and provided the performancesand art that helped turn a protest againstcorporations into a festival for democracy.

For example, the main western end ofCrown was guarded by Go West, a groupof about twenty blockaders equipped withfood, drinks and fun, who worked fromearly morning until the evening close, tokeep the fair streets of Melbourne free

from corporate hoodlums and their politi-cian-flunkeys.

For this section of the report we have cho-sen to offer brief descriptions of four of the

most exciting organised groupings withins11: IndyMedia, Union First Aid, LegalTeams and (i)Xpress.

(continued next page)

Mobile messages on a Crown Casino circuit. Photo by TimCole.

Best practice blockading 05 s11 Spring

(i)Xpress: messengers of the streets

(i)Xpress was a professional, free bicyclecourier service established for s11. It wasformed around May 2000 by young Mel-bournites who analysed the pitfalls of theAPril 16th demonstrations in WashingtonDC against the World Bank and IMF.I(X)press was formed to help with theinformation flow (particularly in the eventof martial law mobile phone shut-down)and to deliver those activist parcels just toimportant to be left to the likes of Ansettor DHL.

Operating under some secrecy, withanonymous couriers, (i)Xpress was like astandard commercial service, only friendly,voluntary and intelligent. These werecouriers who would not just speed impor-tant parcels around, they could offer usefulfacts about how the protest was going.

The service had an office and a blockadebase station to coordinate the deliveries.Messages and packages were spiritedaround the blockade and to offsite loca-tions such as the IndyMedia offices and theSydney Alternative Media Centre’s(SAMC) s11 Bureau.

The courier service had around 30 cyclistsrostered on from 6am to 9pm over thewhole three days. They travelled in pairswith at least one of the riders having exten-sive knowledge of Crown Casino and thesurrounding area. Up to 6 pairs were active

at any one time during the peak of theblockade, using two way radio to keep inconstant communication with Zero Bravo(base station) and the other couriers. Thisgave a widely dispersed web of people upto the minute information about what washappening all around the massive site.

The couriers brought vital images and listsof injuries to the SAMC s11 Bureau priorto Media Conferences, so that the s11spokespeople were fully up to date andable to brief community, corporate andgovernment media outlets. They tookfootage to the IndyMedia offices foruploading to the www, linked up the affin -ity groups, delivered charged videorecorder batteries and picked up flat batter-ies and supplied important documents tothe legal observers situated all around theprotest.

On the 12th and 13th of September,(i)Xpress became an essential communica-tions network when the First Aid andLegal Observers radio communicationsbroke down. The only way for the Medicaland Legal Observers to keep in contactquickly and efficiently was by (i)Xpresscouriers darting around delivering mes-sages. After the s11 marshals had gonehome on both evenings, the (i)Xpressbecame a critical information source forthose of the remaining protestors who tookthe role of defacto marshals.

Without the (i)Xpress courier service s11would not have been as effective as ablockade of Crown, or as a self-sustainingcommunity. Every major protest shouldhave one.

IndyMedia

Part of the rebellion represented by s11 is arevulsion at the corporate global media. Itis a rejection of the boring, sanitised anddispiriting worldview that the mediabarons spew forth across the diverse cul-tures of this fragile planet. Several hundredof the protestors at s11 were there withmedia-making equipment, documentingthe historic event for themselves, theirfriends and anyone else who was interest-ed.

Many of these mostly young people werenot part of the organised IndyMediagrouping and simply distributed their ownimages or recollections through organisa-tions such as trade unions or their ownweb pages.

Our estimate is that s11 had over two hun-dred video cameras along with severalmovie cameras. It seems that well over1000 hours of digital video footage wasshot and archived, with several hundredhours already provided to the LegalObservers team who are now workingtowards prosecutions of those police whoused unlawful violence against protestors.There were also at least fifty audiorecorders and digital still cameras, twohundred plus film cameras and over onehundred and fifty online contributors post-ing news onto the s11 sites.

The IndyMedia group in Melbourne ispart of a worldwide network of peoplewho are coming together to provide a sup-port network for independent media mak-ers. Like groups in other cities, it is basedaround a website, www.melbourne.indy-media.org, which is an online open pub-lishing website that allows anyone to puttext, sound, static image and video ontothe web. The software for this media revo-lution was first developed in Sydney but Over 400 protestors were treated for injuries. Photo from Indymedia.

Operating under some secrecy, withanonymous couriers, (i)Xpress waslike a standard commercial service,only friendly, voluntary and intelli-gent.

(continued from page 5)premiered in a big way during Seattle’sprotests at the Ministerial meeting of theWorld Trade Organisation in 1999.

Melbourne’s IndyMedia site was estab-lished in July 2000, after which regularmeetings and technical training workshopswere held. It was supported by Mel -bourne’s Community News Radio station,3CR, the Friends of the Earth national magazine Chain Reaction and other com-munity outlets. However, IndyMediaalways maintains independence from othergroups and resists the urge to create namedspokespeople or an organisational hierar -chy.

By the end of the s11 blockade www.mel-bourne.indymedia.org had logged morethat 700,000 hits, with about 15,000 useswhere each user looked at about 10 pagesof content. There are over 700 stories post-ed on the site (more than at Seattle) andduring the protests stories were often beingposted every few minutes from variouslocations (including commercial webcafes). The site also took over 200 images,more than 15 videos and 35 audio stories.Melbourne has a highly net-aware andactive community.

Unlike Seattle, Melbourne did not have anIndyMedia Centre to provide access to lotsof computers with video/audio digitisingequipment. Rather, IndyMedia ‘squatted’in an office about 15 minutes walk fromthe protest zone. The small space did notallow many people to be there simultane-ously and so its role was coordinationrather than publishing. However, the officedid take phone messages and stories andpublished these as stories. And it didupload many pictures, video and audioalso, despite the limitations.

The IndyMedia coordination group alsopublished a newspaper for the protest,IndyBulletin. Three issues came out priorto s11 and then an issue of 6000 printedcopies on each of the three days. Thistabloid size double page attempted tosnapshot what had happened and providefeedback to those involved with S11protests as well as those who were not.

Hundreds of copies were distributed ontrains and trams reaching and speaking tothose not involved in the protests. All theissues of IndyBulletin were also available

on the web in a format which allowedthem to be easily downloaded and printedup in magazine format with images andlayout preserved. Some independent media at s11 also soldfootage and images to the ‘enemy’ at thecommercial TV networks. Funds fromthese sales were used to pay for equipmentbroken by police and for the medical andcounselling costs of injured protestors.IndyMedia itself does not have dealingswith the commercial media. Independentmedia workers should be aware that certainoutlets will promise great things but havebeen known to onsell the footage to othernetworks for a profit and even not pay theagreed amount to the owner of the materi-al.

During s11 a documentary was producedabout the blockade and screened to apacked house of over 400 at the VictorianTrades Hall Bar. This documentary wasedited by SKA TV, Melbourne’s communi-ty news TV broadcaster (on Channel 31),supplemented by footage provided byother Indy media workers. It was a high-light of the protest for many people to seetheir actions validated and represented onthe big screen, in the company of hun-dreds of their fellow protestors.

As part of the essentially violent policing ats11, at least two independent media mak-ers were singled out and assaulted. Oneperson had their minidisc recordersmashed, another had their camera micro-phone broken. This intimidation of theindependent media is a very necessary partof keeping the world safe from democracy.But at the same time it is utterly futile.With networks such as IndyMedia promot-ing and enhancing the democratisation ofinformation, the global commercial mediais destined to lose more and more of itspower.

Union First Aid

Union First Aid was a voluntary servicethat saved lives in the face of unprecedent-ed police brutality at s11. The Construc-tion, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union(CFMEU) provided the infrastructure for avoluntary first aid service. It was hopedthat the medical care would be mostly con-cerned with exhaustion and other minorailments, but the First Aid team dealt withhundreds of injuries, many of a seriousnature.

A roster of over 50 doctors, nurses andtrained first aiders worked in rotating shiftsto provide care for 24 hours over the 3days. At peak times during the blockadethere were thirty first aiders either sta-tioned at key points or roaming in pairs,equipped with two-way radios.

The Union provided a large tent and$4000 in medical supplies, which was sup-plemented by over $2000 in donationsover the three days. There were frequentstretcher runs bringing injured blockadersto the first aid tent for assessment, beforepassed them to ambulance crews for ferry-ing to the trauma wards of Melbourne’smajor hospitals. Oxygen resuscitation wasused three times and CPR brought a pro-testor back to consciousness. Over 400injuries were treated by Union First Aidalthough after the riot police baton chargeon Tuesday night it was impossible to keepup with documenting the injuries. We are including in this report (see pages15-16) sections from the Coordinators log,by Nick Sampsonidis. Nick’s record is amoving and accurate account of a commu-nity struggling to care for its members inthe wake of repeated waves of unnecessaryand unlawful police action.

Legal Teams

The Legal Teams provided observers at therally and legal support outside the protestand afterwards. The long standingPt’chang Nonviolent Community SafetyGroup provided a clearly identified, exper tLegal Observer Team during the protest.Around 15 observers were present at anyone time, from a roster of over ninety. TheLegal Support group had barristers, solici-tors, law students and para-legals availableto provide around the clock legal adviceand support to any arrestees.

A roster of over 50 doctors, nursesand trained first aiders worked inrotating shifts to provide care for 24hours over the 3 days. … TheCFMEU provided a large tent and$4000 in medical supplies, whichwas supplemented by over $2000 indonations over the three days.

s11 Spring 06 Best practice blockades

The Legal Observers kept in contact withtwo-way radios and mobiles, ensuring thatan observer was present at all major inci-dents, to observe the behaviour of policeand protestors. It is interesting to note thatthe observers were the least bashed of allpresent at the protest; even the media andvisiting foreign politicians were frequentlyassaulted by the police.

Each observer was well briefed on how tostay close to the action without riskingarrest themselves. They were dressed inconspicuous fluoro plastic jackets or hadlarge stickers on their clothing. Membersof the Pt’chang crew were also on handduring the evenings and after teh wholeblockade, running counseling sessions forover one hundred people traumatised bythe ‘law enforcement’ methods of LabourParty Premier, Steve ‘Basher’ Bracks.

The Legal Observer Team helped peoplerecord their account of events. They car-ried incident forms and other paperworkaround the protest, bringing legal suppor tto the streets. Overall, the Legal Teamshave compiled almost 500 files frominjured persons and witnesses. These willbe crucial both to the Police Ombudsman’sInquiry and to any related civil or criminalactions which may potentially be filed inrelation to allegations against the police,their Commanders or members of theBracks Government.

During the blockade the Legal SupportTeam ran a 24 hour phone service. Thiswas established in anticipation of massarrests which never eventuated, despite theBracks Government having establishedcountry holding cells and night courts tocharge the preaceful protestors (or ‘fascists’as the Premier called them). Thousands ofprotestors wore large stickers bearing theLegal phone number, along with instruc-tions on what to do if arrested.

Overall there were as few as a dozenarrests. This is in contrast to hundreds ofinstances of well documented, unlawfulpolice brutality.

The Legal Support Team will be busy formany months following s11. They havesuccessfully called for the Police Ombuds-man to hold an inquiry into the policeoperations around the World EconomicForum and will help people make submis-sions to the inquiry. In addition, the Teamis compiling their own report on the event. The team is also working with various pri-vate law practitioners to assist those protes-tors who have a case for pressing for civildamages or even criminal charges against

certain officers. The team is workingthrough hundreds of hours of footage, toidentify those police involved in unlawfulactivity.

The s11 Legal Support Team should becredited with offering a vital system ofsupport to the blockade. It is also quitelikely that if those ninety lawyers and otherclearly identified legal observers were notpresent at the blockade that the police (inparticular the riot squad) would have beeneven more brutal.

Dan Cass is a Melbourne writer.

Hand of hearts at Crown blockade. Photo by Tim Cole.

The Legal Support Team successful-ly called for the Police Ombudsmanto hold an inquiry into the policeoperations around the World Eco-nomic Forum and will help peoplemake submissions to the inquiry.

Best-practice blockades 07 s11 Spring

s11 Spring 08 NZ in s11 front line

-Nandor Tanczos

“No violence, no violence,” we were chanti-ng as the police came over the top of us. Afew moments before we had been sittingtalking, singing, and laughing together. Wewere on ‘QW’ gate and the rumours wereflying that a couple of delegate buses hadbeen parked around the corner. Police onhorseback paraded in front of us. Heli-copter lookouts hung in the air.

A group of demonstrators had arrived toreinforce our numbers. I recognised CieranO’Reilly from the Catholic Workers Associ-ation, but none of the others. We clappedand cheered to welcome them, just as thegroup had cheered ‘Team Aotearoa’ whenwe arrived.

A marshal came round and showed us howto link arms and legs in case we werecharged. Time went by, and we relaxed abit.

Suddenly it was all on. Someone shouted“police coming” and then riot police in hel-

mets, with batons drawn, were climbingover the top of us. The ground was coveredwith people, so they just stood on us. Iducked my head and saw a policeman kick-ing a demonstrator in the kidneys, won-dered if I would get the same.

The amazing thing was there were so many.They just kept coming, and kept comingand kept coming.

The girl on my right was crying. “I’m soscared. I’m so scared”. I tried to tell her itwould be alright, but it was difficult when Icouldn’t see what was happening. They hadbrought in the horses and that most of thepeople had been dragged away. Then shewas pulled off me and was lost in the con-fusion.

Sue Bradford and I were dragged awaytogether. I ended up on my back beforebeing lifted up and thrown against a fence.A small group of us were trapped againstthe fence by a horse before making our wayto rejoin the rest of the demonstrators. Theriot police were lined up along a corridorthey had created and we saw a number ofbuses drive in. The blockade had been bro-ken.

I found out later that 11 people had beenhospitalised by the police, with one personknocked unconscious. Over 50 had neededmedical attention.

It made me angry later to hear AustralianPrime Minister, John Howard, calling thiscrowd ‘hooligans’. If this really was a crowdof hooligans things would have been verydifferent. The casino would have beentrashed but in fact not one window wasbroken. If it was a violent crowd therewould have been extensive police injury,but the reality is that almost all of theinjuries were done to demonstrators.

At the press conference later the legalobservers reported on the police handi-

work: smashed teeth, fractured ribs, splitheads and broken limbs. This was in con-trast to that incident often repeated by themedia when people jumped on the car ofRichard Court’s (Premier for Western Aus-tralia). Despite the commentary, the mediafootage gave clear evidence of a very non-violent, if resolute, group of protestors.

It is not surprising that the media com-mentary was generally hostile to thedemonstrators. The aim of the demonstra-tions was to resist the very power exertedby people such as Rupert Murdoch andKerry Packer, who own a significant pro-portion of the Australian and internationalmedia. Kerry Packer also owns the CrownCasino where the talks were being held.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) is athink tank. It is unelected, undemocraticand exclusive, a hand picked selection ofthe most influential people in the world. Ithas spawned associated foundations andnetworks to further its agenda: GlobalLeaders for Tomorrow - young business,political, academic, art and media leaders;the Informal Gathering of Editorialists andCommentators; and the Business Consulta-tive Council which has consultative statuswith the UN. Multinational corporations,like any organisation or entity, will try tocreate conditions for their own growth.

The argument that the free market willsolve the world’s problems is simplistic andnaive. The reality is that the market is gov-erned by rules that favour multinationalcorporations over local economies. Thedemonstrations in Melbourne, Washington,Seattle and Prague are attempts to showthat people from many different back-grounds say ‘no’ to the idea that multina-tional corporations should run the world atthe expense of the environment, humanrights, local economies and the majority ofthe people on this planet.

I would say that the forum got the mes-sage.

Nandor Tanczos is one of the seven membersof the Green Aotearoa New Zealand Party inthe NZ parliament.

At the press conference later the legalobservers reported on the policehandiwork: smashed teeth, fracturedribs, split heads and broken limbs.

NZ in s11 front line

Global greens take on corporate globali-sation - NZ Green MPs Sue Bradford andNandor Tanczos with Senator Bob Brown.Photo by Tim Cole.

-Lee Rhiannon

In the aftermath of the s11 protest againstthe World Economic Forum held at the Mel -bourne Crown Casino, the tactics used bypolice have taken centre stage. Images of ayoung woman run over by an unmarkedpolice car, police with batons drawn, jumpingfences to attack protesters and horses charg-ing into crowds have been flashed around theworld.

Many people have been distressed by whattook place, whether they were personallyinvolved or watching it on television. Thisviolence should not have happened. It saysmuch about how the police tactics at demon-strations have changed.

As one of the thousands of people who trav-elled to Melbourne for the s11 blockade, Ifound the behaviour of many of the Victori-an police deeply disturbing and unAustralian.

Even when protesters break the law by block-ing the movement of people and vehiclesthere is no justification for police violence.When the law is broken police are entitled toarrest people, but not to attack them. Police behaviour towards demonstrators hasnot always been so violent. Older protestersat s11 reflected back to past actions whenpolice were more likely to arrest peopleengaging in civil disobedience.

Decades have rolled by since we stopped traf-fic in our fight to end conscription and Aus-

tralian involvement in the Vietnam War,though the memories linger on. I recollect atmany a protest being told by police officersthat if we did not move we would be arrest-ed. A baton beating or horse charge wererarely the first option.

These days police tactics have changed. Atthe s11 protest I joined the blockades atmany different entrances to the Crown Casi-no and not once did I hear a police officerinform us that we were breaking the law andthat we had to move or face arrest. The policeeffectively took it upon themselves to be thepunisher as well as the law enforcer. Consid-ering that thousands of people were present,it is telling that only 19 arrests were made.Hundreds of protesters, non of whom werecharged with any crime, required medicaltreatment after police charges. Many of thesepeople were taken to hospital.

The laws governing the arrest and detentionof people are clear, and largely work to enablepolice to readily take action against peoplethey believe are breaking the law. Whenpolice on horses charged unannounced intothe crowd or beat people with batons, theiractions were not undertaken in order toobtain an arrest. Those on the receiving endsuffered not only personal injury, but werealso being denied natural justice.

Anyone who breaks the law has the right tobe treated fairly and equally by the judicialprocess in this country. Everyone should havethe option, if they break the law and arearrested, to plead guilty or not guilty. At theWorld Economic Forum protest the policetook this right away and replaced it withtheir own rough justice.

The “bash not arrest” strategy is a fundamen-tally illegitimate response to civil disobedi-ence. There has been many cases where thecourtroom has provided the opportunity for

protesters to put their case and justify theiractions. Not all are as famous as MahatmaGhandi, but in every case the principle is thesame. In Australia police are permitted to use rea-sonable force when they have to arrest some-one. But when peaceful people have theirteeth knocked out, their head split open andribs cracked, that power has been clearlyabused.

The Victoria Police could face scrutiny in thecourts and by the Ombudsman over theiractions outside the World Economic Forum.Considering that Premiers Bracks and Carrhave given strong public backing to policetactics used at the s11 protest, it will be inter-esting to see their response if there areadverse findings against the force.

The police outside the World EconomicForum did have a choice - and many chose tobreak the law by using excessive rather thanreasonable force. When the police becomeagents of violence rather than of law enforce-ment, all of society is weakened. Those police officers who attacked s11 pro-testers should now have to face the courts.They will then have the right to defend theiractions, a right which they sought to deny tous protesters.

Lee Rhiannon is one of two Greens members ofthe NSW Legislative Council.

Globo cops forget arrest option 09 s11 Spring

Globo cops forget arrest option

If justice is to be done those policeofficers who attacked s11 protestersshould now have to face the courts.They will then have the right todefend their actions, even if they denythis right to protesters.

Even when protesters break the lawby blocking the movement of peopleand vehicles there is no justificationfor police violence. When the law isbroken police are entitled to arrestpeople, but not to attack them.

‘Uphold the Right’, the motto of Victoria’s finest. Photo from Indymedia.

s11 Spring 10 Think global, act local

- Dr Chrissy Sharp

As soon as I heard about the plans for s11I knew I had to be there. The “battle ofSeattle” last November was the herald of amovement that has to happen. Communi-ties need to take back control of their dailylives from compliant governments who areunwilling to protect community and envi-ronmental values nor manage globalisation.

The triumph of corporate globalisationsince the collapse of the Soviet system hasseen the progressive deregulation of theinternational banking and financial systemto facilitate a global capital market.Orchestrated here in Australia under LaborPrime Minister Paul Keating, the currentdaily transaction flow of this largely specu-lative investment can be up to thirty timesgreater in dollar value than the real nation-al economy of goods and services and isvirtually tax-free.

This movement of capital has been accom-panied by major structural mechanisms forimposing free trade under the auspices ofthe World Trade Organisation. Formed in1994 as a permanent structure to supersedethe occasional rounds of the GeneralAgreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT),the WTO can and does force the removalof trade impediments such as the EuropeanUnion’s forced acceptance of US beefimports containing growth hormones.

The impetus of corporate globalisation hasbeen underpinned by the ideology by eco-nomic rationalism. This is the philosophyof the political culture that has permeatedgovernments worldwide to facilitate global-isation. Economic rationalism has fourmain planks - “deregulation”, “privatisa-tion”, “free trade” and “commodification”.You will recognise this philosophy every-where. Its mantra is “it’s inevitable”. Its jus-tification is “efficiency”. Its spiritual foun-dation is “the market”.

Take the current move to deregulate thedairy industry in various Australian states,that has been initiated by the Federal Gov-ernment. We are told that this process -which could see the demise of about athird of our South-West dairy farms in myelectorate - is an inevitable consequence ofglobalisation.

The trend is pushing towards economies ofscale, but once the herd gets beyond about500 head, the cows can no longer grazepasture to feed themselves and still be closeenough to walk in to be milked. PictureAmerica’s mega-dairies with cows in sheds,artificially fed and where milking is contin-ual, 24 hours a day.

Last year the world ’s eight richest nationsagreed to slash $70 billion off the com-bined debt of the world ’s poorest 41 coun-tries. However the total debt for develop-ing countries still stands at about $2,000billion. It has been estimated that of thetop one hundred economies worldwide,fifty-two are multi-national corporations.

s11 has been extraordinarily successful indisseminating information on these issues.Yet in the wake of the excitement comesthe task of analysis. We need to recognisethat certain elements of globalisation, forinstance the Internet, are actually convivial.The protection of human rights and work-ing conditions requires international effortsas do global moves on the environmentsuch as the Kyoto protocol.

Globalisation is most fully integrated at thelevel of economic interactions. It is remi-niscent of the earlier national phase of cap-italism in the 19th century, based on lais -sez-faire principles of non-interference bygovernments. Then popular unrest, partic-ularly through the Labour movement, gavebirth to the welfare state to curb theexcesses of early industrialisation. We needto go through a parallel process now on theinternational arena to control global corpo-ratism.

If governments are to manage globalisa-tion, they will have to pass some sovereign-ty up a level. So paradoxically governmentsmay have to lose some powers in order toregain democratic control of the situation.The recent spat by the Howard Govern-ment over the United Nations criticism ofhuman rights in Australia is a classic exam-ple of the wrong reaction to this paradox.Just when our stand to help East Timorwas giving Australia a little bit of standingat the UN, Howard blew it.

As Greens it requires us to explore the fullmeaning of the paradigm “Think global,Act local”. It is a brilliant expression of theneed to both develop international regula-tory standards for protecting planetary val-ues AND to relocalise the basic productionof everyday needs and community develop-ment.

Dr Chrissy Sharp is one of three Greensmembers in the WA Legislative Council.

It has been estimated that of the top one hundred economies worldwide, fifty-two are

multi-national corporations.

Greens members help hold a blockade. Photo by Tim Cole.

“Think global, act local”comes of age

- Ben Oquist

Despite the cheap shots being thrown ats11 as ‘anti-globalisation’ most of those onthe barricades, like the Greens, are in factinternationalists striving for a peoples’ formof globalisation.

The criticisms of s11 are coming thick andfast. The usual right wing suspects havelined up to shoot down what is probablyAustralia’s most significant protest since theFranklin Dam blockade. A few “progressive”journalists have echoed this bias.

Geoffrey Barker from the Australian Finan-cial Review called those at s11 “troglodytes”while Tim Colebatch from The Age slippedinto near hysteria when he compared theprotestors to the Burmese military (particu-larly odd since most of those inside theWEF are collaborators with the Burmeseregime, while many on the blockade havebeen campaigners against the junta). Cole-batch and Barker, both seasoned Canberrajournalists, are regarded as moderates, if notat least occasionally progressive.

It was similar amongst politicians, with notthe Right but those on the Labor sidesounding most panicked in their attacks ons11. Victorian Premier, Steve “BasherBracks (as he has been dubbed on the Inter-net) commented that the protestors“deserved everything they got”. He wasmatched by Bob Carr’s attempt to equatethe protesters with fascism, which was laterfully endorsed by Mark Latham MP, sup-posedly the intellectual conscience of theALP, in his Daily Telegraph column.

Even before the s11 protests, ALP ShadowMinister Martin Ferguson told Channel10’s Meet the Press that young peopleshould not protest. Instead they should stayat home and study because globalisationproduced winners and losers and by study-ing you could make sure you were a winner.And the losers? No mention of them fromthe leader of the ALP parliamentary left!

I didn’t see any of the above critics at theblockade in Melbourne but I think it wouldhave done them good to talk to some of the1000’s of people who came and went, dur -ing those chilly three days outside CrownCasino. They would not have met protec -tionists, flat earthers, luddites or the leftwing nationalist movement they sort to vili-fy s11 as. In fact, most of those at s11 weretrue internationalists. More keenly aware ofproblems outside Australia than most and

more eager to promote global solutions tothe planet’s and humanity’s crises than isusually discussed in Australia’s often insularand parochial media.

Those criticising s11 did not use the oppor-tunity that the World Economic Forumpresented to promote a new form of global-ism dominated by people instead of corpo-rations. But the Greens did. Here’s the startof what a Greens vision of globalisationwould look like. Globalise this:

Globalised environmental regulations.Already the Greens in the Senate have pro-posed a system whereby Australian compa-nies operating abroad would be subject tothe same environmental regulations thatapply to their projects in Australia. In thisway disasters like at Ok Tedi mine in PapuaNew Guinea would never be allowed tooccur again.

Globalised human rights. While theHoward Government seeks to wind backour United Nations responsibilities, weactually need to extend the range and scopeof the UN human rights and treaty system.In the Senate, Bob Brown’s private membersbill to ban mandatory sentencing sought toinvoke international human rights obliga-tions in Australian law.

Globalised labor rights. Central to the agen-da of corporate globalisation is cuttingwages and conditions of workers andrestricting the activities of unions. The stan-dards of the International Labor Organisa-tion should be the minimum that all corpo-rations have to abide by and independenttrade unions should have the right to oper-ate in all countries.

Globalised corporate accountability.Increased global accountability of a corpora-tion’s activities needs to occur, whereverthey may be operating. As a global player,Australia must find new ways of takingresponsibility for the actions of its corpora-tions when they operate oversees so that, forexample, labor rights are protected when anAustralian corporation moves its manufac-turingoffshore.

Globalised financial regulation. A globalTobin style tax on foreign currency transac-tions, which would raise billions of dollars,would provide a check on the excessivefinancial speculation that makes a casino ofmany countries’ economies.

Global democracy. While western countriesare supposedly the cradles of democracy, itis a very few rich countries, representing asmall percentage of the planet ’s population,that dominate the world’s financial andpolitical institutions. The Greens championdemocracy from the grass-roots to the glob-al scale. This means giving a new globaldemocratic voice to the vast majority of theworld’s population who live in low incomecountries.

Ben Oquist is an adviser to Senator Brown.

People’s Globalisation 11 s11 Spring

Most of those at s11 were trueinternationalists. More keenly awareof problems outside Australia thanmost and more eager to promoteglobal solutions to the planet’s andhumanity’s crises than is usually dis-cussed in Australia’s often insularand parochial media.

Victorian Premier Steve Bracks called the protestors violent “fascists”. Photo by Tim Cole.

People’s globalisation

s11 Spring 12 Building our own future

- Sue Bradford

As one of the 7 Green Party MPs fromAustralia and NZ who joined the s11protest in Melbourne, I was acutely awarethat I was marching FOR a different andbetter future as much as I was demonstrat-ing AGAINST the World EconomicForum. Below I summarise some alterna-tives to the globalisation/free trade agenda,which has been foisted on us against thewill of most peoples of the world.

I support internationalism and deglobalisa-tion, concepts that have been around for awhile, and which people are already work-ing for in many countries through bothparliamentary and extra parliamentarymeans. NGO (Non Government Organi-sation) networks are probably the strongestmanifestation so far of what I call the‘global counterforce’ and I believe that theGreen Parties of the world are one parlia-mentary wing of these movements.

Together we are working for a cooperativesociety locally, regionally and international-ly; for a society which meets both theneeds of Earth and of all its people, includ-ing those who have the least. To do this,we link with each other in support, andpromote economic, social and environ -mental initiatives which can make theworld a better place.

We are not afraid of using the latest tech-nologies to speed up and improve ourcommunication with each other - we donot fear technology, but question in whoseinterests it operates. We also need toremember that the vast majority of theworld’s people still have no telephone,much less access to computers and theinternet.

Our movements are not about retreatingfrom participation in the internationaleconomy. We demand fair trade andinvestment. We support the development

of alternative people-to-people trading andethical investment initiatives, alongsidebinding international codes on labourrights and environmental standards.

We encourage production in our owntowns, cities and rural areas throughincreased local investment; better targetedtariffs; ‘buy local’ campaigns and throughmaintaining barriers to excessive foreigncontrol of local economies.

We promote local economic developmentand particularly support for infrastructurebuilding initiatives like community ownedbanking, green dollar and alternative cur-rency schemes, and community ownedenterprises.

As a Green and a community activist I amcommitted to a process of alliance buildingbetween peoples at grassroots level. Toresist the corporate globalisers, we need toencourage a culture of solidarity andrespect including:

* Proactive support for indigenous peoples’rights, ranging from intellectual propertyrights and land, to language and culture.

* A commitment to working for politicalchange from the bottom up and at a num-ber of levels, both inside and outside par-liament.

* Support for peoples’ organisations andfor improved coordination and alliancebuilding between us.

* Respect, awareness and love for the phys-ical environment, the living Earth whichsustains us.We can’t expect other people to share ourvisions for the future unless we can articu-late them, whatever sector, age group,

country or background we come from.What groups like the WEF do is spend alot of time and money thinking about thefuture they want, and strategising abouthow to inflict their vision on the rest of us.We need to take time to consider whatmight be possible if we allowed ourselvesto talk about our dreams, and then worktogether on strategies to achieve them.

Those of us who come from other worldviews may not have their money or theirpower, but with hands, minds, time and awillingness to respect and work with eachother I believe we can - and must - changethe world.

Sue Bradford is one of the seven members ofthe Green Aotearoa New Zealand Party inthe NZ parliament.

We need to take time to considerwhat might be possible if weallowed ourselves to talk about ourdreams, and then work together onstrategies to achieve them.

Entertainment time at one of the bloackades. Photo by Tim Cole.

Building our own future

We are not afraid of using the latesttechnologies to speed up andimprove our communication witheach other - we do not fear technol-ogy, but question in whose interestsit operates.

- Guy Rundle

Doubtless the parents of children trampledby baton-wielding police would disagree,but the s11 protests were a clear victory forthe campaign against the global free-mar-ket agenda. The three days of blockade,protest and carnival made the entire eventa contested site and filled the newspapersand conversations of the city with discus-sions of globalisation, labour rights, Nike,the state and civil disobedience, tradeunions and social movements.

The conference met behind wire fencesand two thousand police, its participantsferried in by helicopter, while sit-ins andsound systems, puppetry and protest min-gled outside. Presumably the organisershad not wanted to evoke the fall of Saigon- yet the three days looked like nothing lessthan the final siege of an occupying powerby a roused and united population.

s11 was the latest in a series of globalprotests that have become branded - j18,n30 - in such a way as to suggest that theseries will be indefinite. It was a strategicand tactical advance in the conduct ofprotest. s11 was the first protest in this‘series’ in which the decentralised affinitygroup structure meshed effectively with atightly coordinated ‘marshalling’ structurethroughout the protest.

The j18 protests in London had beenpseudo-affinity structured - a tight coregroup of long-term revolutionaries steeringa European style ‘love parade’ into a vio-lent protest. The Seattle n30 protest had agenuine affinity group hub-and-spokesorganisation model, but this had limited itstactical effectiveness with the result thatforces were split between blocking intersec-tions and blockading the conference centrewhere the WTO was meeting.

Melbourne’s s11 was significant in that itwas the first global action in which theprotest worked effectively together withoutthe need for either a single overarchingorganisation - such as People for NuclearDisarmament in the 1980s - or withoutsuffering a split between the command-structure organisations - such as the social-ist groups - and the decentralised and par-ticipatory groups. That is not to say therewas no friction. Many participants believed

that the marshals were overstepping theirdefined role of keeping the crowdinformed as to the balance of forces aroundthe various entrances and exits, and wereactively commanding.

Yet for all the dissatisfaction there was nocollapse of protest self-discipline, or of theprotest itself. The system of balancingforces around key gates, and of abandoninggates that could not be blockaded whennumbers fell, was maintained. Confusionwas minimised. Violent outbreaks byangered protestors was almost non-existent.Despite the usual mistrust between com-mand-structure groups and decentralisedgroups, the marshalling system was largelyadhered to.

This clear tactical advance on Seattle ispartly due to the lesser degree of hyper-individualism of Australians (the affinitygroup model developed as a way of accom-modating the fragmented nature of Ameri-can identity politics). More importantlyhowever, it is an indication that the globalmovement is dynamic - its strategy andtactics are developing, it is learning fromitself.

The predictable response of the state hasbeen one of violence - in this case, one that

went beyond that legally sanctioned to thepolice force. After the successful blockad -ing of 150 delegates outside the Forum onthe Monday, discussions between the Gov-ernment, police and the WEF ensued andpolice tactics escalated on Tuesday. Fromnow on any state wanting to host theselucrative events will have to guarantee thatit can make them run smoothly. s11 Mel-bourne was a harbinger of what can beexpected in the near future, many timesworse and with bullets not batons.

What will happen to the movement then isanyone’s guess. It will probably replay thesixties/seventies historical course and splitinto community organisation and armedstruggle factions. It may be strengthenedrather than weakened by the more nakeddisplay of state power that is on the way.But it is vital that protestors understandwhat we have lived through in the last twoyears - an Indian summer of permitted dis-sent, with winter moving in fast - andbegin to think strategically about how theywill respond to this.

Guy Rundle is editor of Arena. This article isreprinted from Arena Magazine, No 49, Oct-Nov 2000.

Melbourne rose 13 s11 Spring

Arm in arm at one of the blockades. Photo by Tim Cole.

Melbourne rose: marshals, affinities and learning from s11

s11 Spring 14 Greens on the ground

- Ian Cohen

The media focus regarding the potentialfor violence highlighted the need for TheGreens to attend the WEF forum in Mel-bourne. The attendance of Green electedrepresentatives from the New Zealand Par-liament, Australian Senate, Western Aus-tralia, NSW and Victoria gave The Greensa presence beyond any other political party.This was reflected by reports of Greensparticipation in the media.

Not only were we present but our activeparticipation added a sense of nonviolentdirection. Senator Bob Brown effectivelymoved from gate to gate talking with thoseon the front line giving inspiration anddirection. NZ Greens, Sue Bradford andNandor Tanczos stayed at one of the majorgateways only to be trampled from behindin a police action to force an opening forbuses carrying delegates to the WEF meet-ing. WA MLCs Chrissie Sharp and JimScott and myself attended Friends of theEarth preparation meetings.

How do politicians appear at these events?While we were obviously with the demon-strators Jim thoughtfully wore a suit andtie. Midway through the days of action hecould be seen, still in a suit but with alarge ‘The Greens’ triangle suspendedaround his neck.

A pattern appeared early. Police chargesand brutality occurred early or late whenlines were low in number. I witnessedunprovoked police brutality. In hindsightthis is to be expected with the goading bythe media and the extremist reaction byboth Premiers Bracks and Carr.

The first overt police violence I obser vedwas on Monday. Police were stopped frommarching forward by the size of the crowd.The police appeared to be testing theirstrength. A crush ensued. I was about threelines back in the crowd and observedpolice throwing punches at nonviolentprotesters. The police were not provoked.Once police pulled back the area took onan ambience of festive celebration again.

Later I found myself embroiled in whatwas to be the most controversial confronta-tion for that day and something the mediahighlighted while ignoring thousands ofcolourful and peaceful demonstrators.

Premier Richard Court drove into thecrowd trying to gain access to the Casino.Whether this was deliberate provocation ora ‘premier’ hubris only he will know butpeople blocked his path. One man lay onthe bonnet of his car. Others blockadedboth ends. Others attempted to deflate thetyres. I moved in and attempted to stopthe tyre deflation.

There was nothing wrong with stoppingCourt’s car. That was just one example ofmany nonviolent actions that made up thisblockade. The tactical error occurred innot allowing Court’s car to reverse out andleave.

CFMEU National Secretary John Maitlandand I tried to convince the person on topof the car (by this time on the roof) toremove himself and tried to talk someblockaders into stepping back to allow thevehicle to be pushed out. Some peoplerefused. This small group of protesterswere focussing on a microcosm of theirimmediate power over a political oppo-nent. They could not or chose not to seethe bigger picture. This was a tiny minori-ty compared with thousands of peacefulprotesters but reflected disastrously in themedia.

After an attempt at negotiation by police afull assault by mounted and riot policestormed the position smashing all beforethem. Some injuries were serious. Oneprotester had his teeth knocked out. Therewere elements of protesters who hadanother agenda and unfortunately it istheir fellow protesters who suffered fromthe brutal police backlash.

The band Red Eyed Frogs played, secondgeneration activists from Northern NSWand the crowd went wild with joy. Thesesame young men were caught in a scene ofpolice violence the following morning andbrutalised. This was the same gate our NZpollies were trampled by police.

The issue of globalisation is looming largeon the agenda of the citizens of the world.The corporate takeover is becomingincreasingly obvious and recently geneticengineering has shown the level of com-munity concern internationally against thismanifestation of globalisation.

For parliamentarians these issues are everpresent. I serve on committees that consid -ered the impact of the multinationals andtheir increased market dominance. There isan urgent need for public awareness andassessment of these vital issues.

The message of the s11 protests was notbeing reported by the media in the lead upto the forum. This was obvious by themedia portrayal of the protest as a poten-tially violent demonstration. Unfortunatelythe concerns of the many thousands ofpeople who attended and those who sup-port greater scrutiny of corporate responsi-bilities was not being given a fair airing.

At one of the s11 conferences we heardVandana Shiva, the Indian activist, speak-ing of ‘globalising democracy’. This was avery simple message, encapsulating the realconcerns of citizens internationally. Theeconomic leaders have their priority forprofit expansion and the people are regard-ed as consumers. The request is for thesepowerful people to have a ‘duty of care’ inhow they derive their profits. The need tocreate responsibility for the health and wellbeing of people and the planet, throughethical labour practices and ecological bestpractice must be the standard set for glob-alisation.

Ian Cohen is one of the two Greens membersof the NSW Legislative Council.

Greens politicians on theground with s11

Greens blockade one of nine casino gates.Photo by Tim Cole.

- Nick Sampsonidis

I was asked by the CFMEU general divisionto help with the first aid over the 3 days. Iam just a member of that union with somefirst aid skills. I don’t attend branch meetingsof the union and am not in any way a radi -cal or militant unionist. I have no alliancesto any group or organisation that protested atthe S11. But now I think the world of themand would gladly do it all again if theywanted me to.

Day 1 - Monday Sept 11

I started approx 6.30am. Today we treatedover 130 injuries, these included manycrushed feet and hands that were caused byhorses stepping on the protesters, quite alarge number of head wounds caused bybatons, bruising and black eyes caused byblows by batons and fists to the face, teethbeing knocked out by batons. Baton blowsto the chest, ribs, stomach and sometimeson protesters backs. Abrasions on theirhands, knees and backs were they havebeen dragged. Some people we treated forshock after being caught in the melee.

Quite a large number of the protesterswere injured by horses stepping on them orcrushing them against walls. In all I thinkwe sent 11 to hospital by ambulance.

I gave many interviews to the media andthat night I was very disturbed to find thateither they ignored the amount of casual-ties or made light of them.

Day 2 - Tuesday Sept 12

I started at about 5.45am. Today in all over200 injuries. In the 30mins after the6.30am morning baton charge we sent 12people to hospital by ambulance and byvolunteer drivers. Some of the injuries werequite brutal: one man needed CPR as heapparently lost consciousness and stoppedbreathing. We were able to revive him,place him on oxygen and sent him to hos-pital by ambulance.

We treated approx 50 odd people in thehour following that incident. During therest of the day we treated many more forbaton wounds to the head, shoulders, bodyand face. Quite a large number had lacera-tions were the baton to the head and facehad actually torn the skin open. Onefemale had been battened to the head andpunched between the eyes resulting in herreceiving 2 black eyes and a large lump onher head.

Many more minor scuffles brought manycasualties and we sent a few of those tohospital, some by ambulance and some byvolunteer drivers. The building unionsturned up to help the cause and make a lotof noise and thankfully there was no trou-ble between them and the police.

I again gave many interviews. In the after-noon I was again interviewed by a journal-ist who should remain nameless. When Itold him that we had approx 170 injuredup to that time he scoffed and asked if Iwas serious. I replied that he could staywith us for a few hours and see for himself.He later rang me to find out how many intotal by late afternoon.

I was horrified to see that someone hadbrought to us a 14 year old school boy ( inschool uniform with bag ). This young boywas in shock after being detained for 2hours by the police as he was crossing thebridge. I asked him what had he done tothem and all he knew was that he walked

across to see the protest. After calming himwe rang is parents, he spoke to the legalpeople and one of the CFMEU organisersgave him a lift.

At about 7.45pm there was quite a com-motion at Power St and at QueensbridgeSt. What I saw then made me sick. Theamount of people that had very badinjuries from being battoned, kicked andpunched was enormous. Others had beendriven over by motorcycles. Many hadhead wounds that would require stiches.

I called that many ambulances that theambulance service sent a ambulance coor-dinator to the scene to help with the ferry-ing of casualties. In all 18 people sent byambulance from that incident. Others lessurgent were sent by volunteer drivers. Ittook over 1.5 hours for things to calmdown again. During this time we couldn’trecord any of the injuries as we didn’t havethe time. The media were there again and Ithought that at last the truth will be seen. Ileft at about 10.30pm and arrived home tosee the late news at about 11pm on Chan-nel 10. The police were vindicated andpraised for the damage they had done. Ifelt sick and angry.

Day 3 - Wednesday Sept 13

Started 5.15am. Over 50 injuries. Afterwhat we had experienced that night I andothers thought that there would be much

Testimony on the injuries 15 s11 Spring

Testimony on the injuries

The number of injured protesters at s11 was high. Photo by Tim Cole.

I want the first aid team to knowthat they were the heroes in a lot ofpeople’s eyes. I have been praisedmany times for their work. Guysand girls it has been MY pleasure tohave worked with you and it was Ithat learned a lot from you all.

s11 Spring 16 WEF in Burma

- Jamie Parker

"It is not possible to do business in Burmawithout directly supporting the military gov -ernment and it s pervasive violations ofhuman rights."

- Levi-Strauss & Co statement upon with-drawing from Burma

Part of the success of s11 was the diversityof the groups that took part in the actions.One group that has received very littleattention was the contingent of Burmeseactivists. Their efforts were directedagainst the role of the WEF in the promo-tion of a global trade system that courtsillegal regimes like the one in Burma.

The Burmese felt the touch of westernglobalisation when colonised by theBritish in 1886. After independence in1948 the Burmese people struggledthrough democracy and dictatorship, try-ing to shake the implications of anexploititive colonisation. Two years afterthe murderous repression of the 1988uprising for democracy, the Burmeseregime finally allowed democratic elec-tions.

The regime was stunned when theNational League For Democracy, lead byDaw Aung San Suu Kyi, won over 80% ofthe seats. The regime refused to recognisethe results of the election. Since then thedictatorship has encouraged internationalbusiness and repressed democracy activists.

The regime desperately needs foreign capi-tal and welcomes multinational joint ven-turs with the military regime. Leadingmembers of the WEF are driving engage-

ment with Burma. The most aggressiveadvocate is a business coalition called USAENGAGE. Many members of this groupalso take a leading role in the WEF,including the likes of BHP and Coca -Cola. In the words of the WEF thesemultinationals are "driving the worldeconomy forward".

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has said that it isnot the right time to invest in Burma andthe pro democracy movement continuesto call for economic sanctions and boycottof trade with the regime. The Burmesegroups argue investment legitimises thedictatorship and allows them to laundertheir profits from the heroin trade. TheUS State Department found that 60% ofheroin seized in the US originated inBurma.

While corporate campaigns have succeed-ed in pressuring companies such as Pepsi,Levis, Fosters, Disney, Amoco, Carlsberg,Apple Computer and dozens more toleave the country, other corporationsremain to prop up the regime.

The placards of the Burma activists ats11echoed the corporate campaign - ‘FreeBurma, Boycott Burma’ and ‘End Corpo-rate Support for Dictators.’ At the protest,phone numbers were exchanged and net-works between groups were built. In dis -cussions after the protest it became clearthat the WEF protest made our Burmacampaign stronger.

Jamie Parker is Convenor of The GreensNSW and Deputy Mayor of LeichhardtCouncil.

WEF in bed with Burma’s Military

more trouble this morning as many wereexpecting the unions to be more vocalbecause of the night before.

Clashes early on in Claredon St saw ustreat quite a number of injuries ( somerequired ambulances). During the morn-ing we saw quite a few more batonwounds, lacerations and abrasions.

As protesters went on a march throughtown, I allocated a large number of 1staiders to join the march in case there wereany injuries. Again the first aiders had setpositions for the march and were advisedto keep their heads down if there was anytrouble.

One of the main highlights of the threedays was when a couple in there earlyfifties (I think) brought to the first aid tenta large box of sandwiches that they hadprepared that morning. Apparently we hadtreated their daughter the night before andthis was their way of saying thanks.

We treated a few more for head, shoulder,chest and feet injuries late afternoon. Whywere the police still using batons whenthey now had the protestors out num-bered? We then had the police car runningover the woman incident but the media ofcourse now said that the police feared fortheir lives.

I called the mobile 1st aiders back to baseat about 7.45 as the light was getting badand we had lost our portable lights. Wecould just not continue to do our job safe-ly. By the time we had packed up the areahad become a very peaceful community ofpeople singing and dancing.

I want the 1st aid team to know that theywere the heroes in a lot of people’s eyes.Guys and girls it has been MY pleasure tohave worked with you and it was I thatlearned a lot from you all.

Legal Support0500 806 806 s11legal@yahoo.comPt’Chang Community Supportptchang@angelfire.comi(X)presswww.criticalmass.org.au/ixpress/title.htmlixpress@criticalmass.org.auIndyMediawww.melbourne.indymedia.org

S11 www.s11.org/s11.htmlFriends Of the Earthwww.foe.org.au/ph (03) 9419 8700Media & Cultural Studies Centre at theUniversity of Queensland“Global Capitalism, Local Responses:Exploding the World Economic Forum,”Edited by Guy Redden. Includes paperby Dr Vandana Shivawww.api-network.com/mc/reviews/fea-tures/

RESOURCES

I called that many ambulances thatthe ambulance service sent a ambu-lance coordinator to the scene tohelp with the ferrying of casualties.

(continued from page 15)

Nick Sampsonidis is a Melbourne TradeUnionist