G20 turns ugly
Police open fire as protesters hurl rocks
Use of force was authorized against G20 protesters in Pittsburgh this afternoon.
Police fired pepper spray and non-lethal bean bag rounds Thursday and deployed loudspeakers blasting piercing sound waves to repel protesters marching on the G20 summit.
Riot officers intervened after a 1,000-strong crowd, led by black-clad hardliners wearing goggles, helmets and masks and brandishing anti-capitalist banners, began to trek across Pittsburgh towards the conference venue.
The Group of 20 is a forum for the world’s biggest developed and emerging economies and its meetings are a magnet for anti-capitalists opposed to what they see as an undemocratic body promoting inhumane free market policies.
Police in riot gear blocked the main roads leading to downtown Pittsburgh from the gritty neighborhood from which the demonstration set off, forcing groups to divert onto side streets as they sought a gap in the cordon.
About half-an-hour into the march, the police began broadcasting a pre-recorded announcement in English and Spanish, declaring the protest was an “unlawful assembly” and ordering the crowd to disperse.
“If you do not disperse you may be subject to arrest or other police action. Other police action may include actual physical removal, the use of riot control agents and or less-lethal munitions which could cause injuries.”
The main message the mass march wanted to convey to the world leaders at the G20 was that human rights and dignity were more important than capitalism and profit margins, several of the demonstrators told AFP</strong>.</em>
And for this heresy, the cops trap them in an alley and gas ‘em.
Again, we must quote Joe Strummer:
You have the right to free
Speech as long as youre not
Dumb enough to actually try it.</em>
