About 2,500 People Protest G-8 Summit in Canada's Calgary

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, June 24, 2002

About 2,500 People Protest G-8 Summit in Canada's Calgary

About 2,500 anti-globalization activists marched in downtown Calgary on Sunday to protest the Group of Eight (G-8) summit, which is due to kick off on Wednesday.

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About 2,500 anti-globalization activists marched in downtown Calgary on Sunday to protest the Group of Eight (G-8) summit, which is due to kick off on Wednesday.

With police on bikes monitoring nearby and police helicopters hovering above, the protesters chanted slogans and blew whistles as they marched around the Telus Convention Center, where the media center of the summit is located.

"We are protesting G-8, they are only eight persons, how can they represent 6 billion people in the world," said Darlene Cook, an environment activist with a banner reading "Cancel Africa's Debt" in hand.

"They control the world, they never consult with the civil societies. For instance, they mapped out a plan for Africa's development, but they don't discuss it with African people," Cook told Xinhua.

The protesters started their march after a morning session of the so-called G6B (group of 6 billion people) Summit at the University of Calgary.

As the leaders of the world's most industrialized countries meet on June 26-27, several non-governmental organizations createdtheir own summit on June 21 in the quiet town.

"Past G-8 summits have consistently failed to offer an effective means for individuals, civil society or even other states, to provide input to, or engage in, meaningful dialogue with G-8 leaders," a statement from the organizing committee said.

"We believe, therefore, that an alternative forum, offering a means for the views and concerns of all of the world's peoples to be expressed and considered, is sorely needed," it read.

Besides some loose and free discussions attended by a few anti-globalization and environment activists, NGOs including Amnesty International, Partnership Africa Canada, Rights & Democracy and the Calgary African Community will also organize protests each dayuntil the G-8 summit ends.

Sunday's protest was peaceful and smooth. "It was a legal march,a permit has been granted," Inspector Al Redford at the Calgary Police Service's G-8 security office told reporters.

However, he warned that some violent protests may take place inthe coming days. "We know historically the vast majority of protesters will be peaceful, and we know there's a minority that come for less-than-peaceful purposes, and we will be ready for that," he said.

G-8 leaders will meet in the Kananaskis village, about 90 kilometers west of Calgary. The meeting is the first gathering of G-8 leaders after the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11 last year.

Canadian forces and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) personnel are stationed in the woods around the village, which hasonly 460 residents.

A police officer for the summit security told Xinhua by telephone that no protest is allowed within a 6.5-kilometer radiusof the village, which will be a flying-free zone with no radio signals.

However, he refused to give the number of security personnel deployed. "We cannot release the figures, we can only do that after the summit just for security reasons," he said.

Mobile missile launchers have been deployed in the village. An air defense anti-tank system perches on the hill near the hotel where G-8 leaders will meet.

Dozens of barricade fences have been thrown up on Highway 40 and the road leading into the village, guarded by RCMP vehicles from across the country while soldiers are patrolling among the trees with machine guns in hand.

In Calgary, two blocks around the Telus Convention Center will be made an access-controlled area, cordoned off by a one-meter-high fence from Tuesday. However, shops and restaurants will keep open in the area, according to the police.

G-8 groups Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States. Their leaders will focus this year'ssummit on global economic growth, counter-terrorism and Africa's development.

When they met in Genoa, Italy, last year, armed Italian paramilitary troops fought against protesters equipped with just rocks and gasoline bottles. One protester was killed and hundreds were wounded and arrested.

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