Undercurrents report from Genoa,Italy

In a country where the majority of the media outlets are owned by the extreme right wing Prime minister, perhaps it is no suprise that the the media is being attacked from all sides in Genoa, Italy.

As the G8 politicians gather in their fortified hotels and conference centres, a group called the Blac Bloc are attacking journalists, both alternative and mainstream. As tear gas, molotov bombs and bricks filled the streets, the Undercurrents hired car was thrashed, and laptops stolen and video equipment destroyed. We have also witnessed Blac Bloc pulling Tv cameramen off scooters, grabbing cameras and kicking reporters about the head. Other photographers have been attacked resulting in films being ripped out of their cameras. Tv cameras have also been thrown onto burning cars.

Police violence is out of control as well.In a repeat of the attack on the Independent Media Centre (IMC) in Quebec, Police have raided the Genoa IMC centre.

"Police arrived and grabbed the first people they could outside and beat them heavily – one of the first to be beaten was a uk reporter who was smashed repeatedly by a group of them – one held him by his neck while the others beat him with clubs – unconscious he was left in the street in a pool of blood." said one reporter.

Justification for the Brutal raid was a search for weapons. One witness said " the weapons they found were knives and forks for cooking and eating."

The police were also looking for film and photographs
of the anti-G8 demonstrations which degenerated into violent clashes on Friday and Saturday, resulting in one death and many wounded. As IMC journalists stood with hands against the walls of the halls. Police confiscated mini discs, a digital camera,floppy discs, video tapes and other materials, like gas masks and swiss army knives. As reporters were carried out on stretchers, the crowd began shouting “Assessini! Assesini!” at the gasmasked, machine gun weilding police.

Undercurrents is awaiting reports back from our entire crew.One of the Undercurrents team escaped in blood soaked clothes to Rome but is unhurt.

The Black block were denounced by non violent campaigners in a mass booing. The Bloc later released a statement saying "Day by day, the capitalist world order produces a diversity of violence. Poverty, hunger, expilsion, exclusion, the death of millions of people and the destruction of living spaces is part of their policy."

While claiming to be trying to close the G8 meeting down they did not explain why they are attacking residents homes, cars, journalists and looting shops. Their release continued with "Smashed windows of banks and multinational companies are symbolic actions. Nevertheless we do not agree with the destruction and looting of small shops and cars. This is not our policy. "

Many people are talking about the Black bloc being mostly police infiltrators. One group asked how only 200 black block could travel the city without being picked up, day after day despite residents telling police about their camping grounds.

The next G8 summit is due to take place in Canada next year. Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien has picked a tiny Rockies resort called Kananaskis, Alberta - some 80 km (50 miles) from Calgary.

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