G8 Protest in Geneva

Summary of events,
Friday May 30.,
30.05.2003 19:14
synthesis of reports from indymediactivists coming back from the demonstration.

The day started out with happy news. The four Italian GlobalTV activists, who had previously been stopped along the French-Italian border at Montblanc, were found to be working safe and sound with their colleagues in Geneva, having made it across the Swiss border. See their work at http://www.tvglobal.org.

In another successful border crossing, around 8 o'clock, SNCF railroad workers made it possible for 200-300 demonstrators from Annemasse to ride an SNCF-train to Geneva for free, without passport controls. They were later able to return to Annemasse the same way.

At 11 a.m. the demonstration for freedom of movement and freedom of information started at the Maison des Associations and headed toward the international institutions near Place des Nations. Estimates of the demonstration size vary, but most sources agree that it was at least a thousand. Twenty to thirty heavily-armed police with at least two armored vehicles eyeballed demonstrators from behind the metal grille of an underground garage across the street from the World Trade Organization at 154 rue de Lausanne, where around 12:30, some demonstrators opened the gate and speakers criticized the TRIPS (Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) agreement. Some entered the gate, and let off one or two fireworks and threw a smoke bomb. After a few minutes, the demonstration moved on toward the International Office for Migration, past the United Nations building. Two or three windows were also broken at the Russian Embassy, where demonstrators chanted, "Putin, Assassin!" Demonstrators rallied at the International Office for Migration, and then some strange kind of pepper gas (neither CS gas nor OC spray -- one activist said it tasted like the gas used in Genoa) was fired to disperse the demonstrators and the demonstration moved on. There are unconfirmed rumours that rubber bullets were fired and that one protestor was injured. Another rally point was the World Intellectual Property Organization, where a speech emphasised the importance of intellectual property on the activist agenda. The demonstration continued down Rue de Montbrillant, where there was some window-breaking at a Shell gas station, an Audi store, and at the International Chambers of Commerce (ICC). Further down the street, there was another office building of the International Trade Bureau, where some more windows were broken. The Samba band kept up a festive atmosphere until the end of the demonstration. There is a rumor that three activists have been taken into custody.

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