G8/G20 Security Highlights, 30 Jun 10
Scumbags Protesters Try to Interrupt Repatriation of War Dead
…. The arrival of our war dead at the Coroner’s office always begins with a 2:00 PM arrival at CFB Trenton, and the trip from the base to downtown Toronto almost invariably takes about two and half hours.
The Anarchists and Trots lunged out of Allen Gardens up on Carleton and made a fast march towards Yonge Street, getting as far as College and Yonge with baseball bats and the occasional slingshot firing ball bearings (I overheard a police radio talking about molotov cocktails, too). In short, they got within about 150 metres of the Coroner’s Office just as the motorcade was arriving. The timing was not accidental.
It was clear that a lot of the out-of town police were taking the opportunity to pay their respects for one of our war dead and their presence was heavier than usual; but in the 15 minutes before the arrival of Sgt Macneil’s body, things got confusing. Buses and vehicles for hundreds of police in riot gear were suddenly heading into the Grosvenor/Bay intersection. The cops were frantically juggling traffic space and trying to get vehicles in place right up to the last minute. About 200 cops in riot gear were martialled right from their buses just as the hearse and the cars carrying Sgt Macneil’s family went by. Within seconds of the coffin being carried into the Coroner’s office and the last of his escort and family following, the riot squad marched by on the way to fend off (the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty) ….
Classy.
Lotsa Jail Birds, Lotsa (Proposed) Protests
…. On the streets of Toronto, the mask of “liberal democracy” has slipped off and the police reminded us of the State’s willingness to use blatant violence against its own population in the face of popular dissent. And thanks to citizen journalists, the alternative media and even some in the corporate media, the truth of what happened in Toronto is slowly emerging.
In order to make sure that the actions of the police state are fully exposed, we must keep up the pressure on the police and the government.
We must also publicly demonstrate our solidarity with all those arrested so that they are released as quickly as possible and charges are dropped against all those caught up in the net of the police state.
In Toronto, solidarity rallies outside detention centres and police stations are already taking place. But just as police forces from across the province converged on Toronto for the G20, so our resistance must spread out from the epicentre of oppression to every corner of the province.
Common Cause thus calls on all those concerned to take the fight back across the province and across the country.
Starting this Wednesday, June 30, we are calling for solidarity rallies outside police headquarters in as many cities as possible ….
Where are the latest ones planned so far?
June 30, 2010 in Hamilton
5:00pm at Hamilton Police Headquarters
155 King William StreetJune 30, 2010 in London
6:00 pm at London Police Headquarters
601 Dundas St (Dundas and Adelaide)June 30, 2010 in Windsor
6:00pm at Windsor Police Headquarters
150 Goyeau StreetJune 30, 2010 in Ottawa
7pm at 474 Elgin Street (Ottawa Police Station)July 1, 2010 in Montreal
1pm carré Phillips,
St. Catherine
“Toronto Police seize machetes, sledgehammers, hot sauce from protesters”
Probably held and stashed away from the activists building a cutting, hammering, more tasty new world, right?
To Those Who Claim the Torched Police Cars Were Empty:
They weren’t – this from the Toronto Star:
…. At least three police vehicles were set ablaze by breakaway protesters, one belonging to Staff Sgt. Graham Queen, a father of two.
There are conspiracy theories that the burnt cruisers were “junk vehicles” planted by security officials to incite violence or distract anarchists from reaching the G20 fence. But Queen said he was driving west on Queen St., trailing an organized protest march, when a wall of black suddenly descended on his cruiser.
It was the Black Bloc, a group of darkly dressed anarchists that splintered from the main march at Queen St. W. and Spadina Ave. and were rushing toward the financial district.
Queen said his attackers started wordlessly banging on his car windows and jumping on the roof before quickly moving on.
Fellow officers came to his aid but were surrounded once more by protesters. Queen said he was struck by a pole. “I was hit in the back of the head,” he said.
Queen’s supervisor told him not to get back in the car due to the shattered glass and he removed some equipment while waiting for a tactical team. Because of the increasing violence and evolving chaos, he was forced to abandon his cruiser at 415 Queen St. W. in front of Steve’s Music Store.
Queen said he later learned his car had been burned while watching the news ….
Try to do the right thing, and whaddya get?
Sid Ryan, the union activist who worried about police “agents provocateurs” instigating violence, had this to say in the Toronto Star:
…. Rally organizers, including the Ontario Federation of Labour, worked diligently to ensure that our democratic right to lawful assembly would be respected, and that citizens could participate in a safe and peaceful event.
To this end, we liaised with the Toronto Police and cooperated at every turn. On the day, hundreds of volunteer marshals facilitated what was an extraordinarily successful event, given the tension that had pervaded the city in the days before.
Shamefully, a small number of hooligans used the cloak of our peaceful and lawful demonstration to commit petty acts of vandalism in the streets of Toronto. These actions were as deplorable and inexcusable as they were violent and self-serving ….
How is he perceived among some of the anti-capitalist hard-core?
Sid Ryan refers to activists as “hooligans”, states his Labour / NGO rally collaborated with police
Yeah, THIS Gets the Message Out There
On this video of an impromptu almost-lap-dance in front of police:
If there is any consolation to be had, at least we can sleep easier knowing that the torture endured by the officers in the video above was worth it, since it helped the protesters get out their important messages in a valuable, productive manner that is bound to win support from from everyone who sees it.
I couldn’t have put it better myself.
To Those Saying the Police Didn’t Do Their Job….
…. some don’t see it that way:
There you have it – evidence from a self-proclaimed activist that it WASN’T agents provocateurs, right?
For more from all sides,
check out the page o’ links here.
