|
Street battles at WTO meeting
17/12/2005 16:28 - (SA)
Hong Kong - Hundreds of protesters broke through police lines and came close to storming into the WTO's meeting venue on Saturday before security forces scattered the crowd with tear gas in central Hong Kong.
It was the worst street violence the city has experienced in decades, and police quickly locked the doors to the convention centre, where trade ministers from around the world were in the final hours of a six-day negotiation.
Security forces spent much of the afternoon fighting running street battles with the protesters, including South Korean farmers, Southeast Asian groups and activists from Europe and America. It wasn't immediately clear if there were serious injuries.
The demonstrators oppose the World Trade Organisation's efforts to open up global markets.
The protesters hit police with bamboo sticks and used a metal barrier to ram a line of officers armed with riot shields. The police fought back with clubs, pepper spray and water cannons that shot water mixed with a chemical that burned the skin and eyes.
Police used the tear gas just minutes after secretary for security Ambrose Lee went on television and warned the public to stay away from the area.
"The police will take robust action to dispel these illegal and violent actions," Lee warned.
Started a massive sit-in
The tear gas dispersed the protesters and the police were able to retake the area around the convention centre. The demonstrators regrouped and started a massive sit-in, shutting down one of Hong Kong's busiest streets. They beat drums, chanted and waved flags that said, "WTO Kills Farmers."
They tried to storm the WTO venue again an hour later and were repelled with more tear gas.
Some of the protesters said the tear gas was unnecessary.
"Hong Kong police are violent," said Lee Sang-jeong, a South Korean farmer. "I had no weapon, only my body."
Dressed in a chicken suit, protester Tom Grundy, 22, a teacher from Birmingham, England, said, "There was a sudden bang. I didn't know what it was. I thought it was just a smoke screen or something, and then everyone started running."
Several European Union negotiators were meeting in hotels when the violence began, and they were unable to return to the WTO venue because police blocked off the neighbourhood.
Inside the WTO venue, there was a moment of chaos when a rumor spread that the protesters had entered the building. Guards at the security booth at the media hall's entrance left their posts and fled upstairs, leaving the checkpoint unmanned.
Those fighting included militant French farmer Jose Bove, best known for ransacking a McDonald's restaurant under construction near his home in 1999. Bove was briefly detained at the airport when he arrived this week, but he was allowed to enter Hong Kong after the French consul general intervened.
Mostly peaceful protests have been held daily since the WTO started meeting on Tuesday. Some have involved small-scale fighting between the police and South Koreans. But there were no arrests or serious injuries.
Previous WTO meetings in Seattle and Cancun, Mexico, were marred by large-scale violent demonstrations.
The WTO, which includes 149 nations and territories, sets rules for trade and helps resolve disputes.
|
Hurricane Watch
