Civil Society, Development & Aid, Europe, Global, Global Geopolitics, Headlines

G8 SUMMIT: “Siege” at Gleneagles

Stefania Milan

GLENEAGLES, Scotland, Jul 6 2005 (IPS) - Wednesday, the day of “siege” of the Group of Eight summit at this Scottish golf resort, saw several actions of civil disobedience across the region, and a big march of protesters to the kilometres of fences surrounding the summit site at the luxurious Gleneagles Hotel.

People started to gather in the morning in Auchterarder, a village of 6,000 people in the Scottish countryside, about two miles from Gleneagles, itself 80 km north of Edinburgh.

Around 11 am local time, the march, organised by the coalition G8 Alternatives, was banned by the police for “security reasons.” About 25 activist buses coming from Edinburgh were stopped on their way to prevent them from joining the march. But the ban was then lifted after negotiations.

Auchterarder welcomed protesters with tea and coffee in a “global village café” set up in the local church. Some of the shops were boarded up and the post boxes sealed. However, many local residents were very supportive, joining the march or waving from their balconies.

“The G8 leaders do not wear masks or hoods, but are responsible for the death of millions of people in the world,” Lindsey German said from the stage at the rally. “They say we are violent, but we have seen much more violence coming from them, bringing economic terror to the people of the world.”

“We are the many; they are the few. We are going to protest until we get a world of equality and peace. We want to defeat them, but all at once,” German said.

The leaders of the Group of Eight most powerful industrialised nations – United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and host Britain – are meeting July 6-8, and host Britain has made development in Africa and containment of global warming the top agenda issues.

But the thousands of activists who have converged on Scotland have come to protest that the G8 is not doing nearly enough.

The march finally started at 2 pm, under the rain. Colourfully dressed people, a group of clowns, three bands, a bicycle-operated sound-system, giant puppets representing U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, babies in buggies and middle-aged women made their way down the country lanes, passing by cottages and golf courses.

They marched shouting: “Freedom for people, not for trade!” “Whose streets? Our streets!” “We will shut them down!” And, “Power to people!” in a peaceful atmosphere.

But when the crowd reached the razor-wire fences, guarded by hundreds of riot police, not far from the stately Gleneagles Hotel, the tension was tangible.

A small group threw down some fences, and the riot police split the march into two parts. Nobody was hurt, nobody arrested, despite half an hour of chaos.

Suddenly, about a thousand activists broke into to the fields surrounding Easthill Farm, close to the G8 summit venue. “It is an amazing vision of colourful people with flags and banners walking through the crops, climbing trees, chanting and dancing,” said an activist from Manchester.

Some of the perimeter fences were taken down and protesters were able to break in, violating the “forbidden zone”. Of course the police did not like it.

Police were flown in with Chinook military helicopters. Both mounted and riot police started to push away the demonstrators. The fields were transformed into a tense battlefield, but still clowns and people were dancing. The police eventually managed to clear the fields, and protesters turned into town peacefully.

But other less peaceful actions took place all over the county of Perthshire.

Heat had been rising in Stirling since the night before. Police began searching people going to the activists’ self-organised Hori-zone camping site. In the morning the train station was closed due to “safety reasons”, preventing activists from going to Gleneagles.

Since 6 am, the motorway A9, connecting Stirling to Perth, and passing by Gleneagles, was blocked by the demonstrators, with sit-ins, trees, double-decker buses and cars. Samba-activists, clowns, and about 300 children with their parents blockaded the motorway until the afternoon.

People were reported walking in the motorway towards Gleneagles. Other minor roadblocks were created all around Gleneagles. The police announced a “continuous ongoing serious public disorder” in the area.

In Edinburgh, when the police refused to let the buses leave for Gleneagles, a march of around 1,000 started from Princes Street, the main avenue. It was penned in by the police, people were searched and some arrested, but official numbers were not available.

In Edinburgh, activists also tried to prevent the summit delegates from going to Gleneagles by surrounding the Sheraton Hotel in the city centre where they were lodged.

About 400 people are reported to have been identified or arrested in the morning actions, but no official figures were available at the time of this report.