Skip to content or view screen version

::BCN:: Mars Attacks! Demo report

a fast runner | 15.03.2002 18:08

This afternoon at 13:00CET around 1,000 people converged on Las Ramblas as part of the Campaign Against the Europe of Capital and War. The demonstration and some bystanders were fiercely attacked by police in a series of baton charges which were repeated frequently over the next hour.

::BCN:: Mars Attacks! Demo report
::BCN:: Mars Attacks! Demo report


A bottle was rumoured to have been thrown at a police line as the crowd was surrounded at 14:00, which started a verbal confrontation with the police. When we began to march down Las Ramblas half an hour later, we were beaten back by police who split the crowd into two sections, one of 800 people and the other, of which I was a part, of 200. After that the situation was chaotic, with our group of people growing and losing people periodically. I have no direct knowledge about the other, larger group of demonstrators, but it is alleged they eventually dispersed.

Over the next hour the police attacked several people, at least one man was dragged to the ground, kicked and batoned. Number of arrests is unknown, but is thought to be low. One striking thing about the action was the huge number of corporate media journalists, who managed to get in everyone’s way – the photo above is of a line of riot police which formed after a scuffle, but it can clearly be seen that the scuffle was between corporate media cameramen and the police (trying to get a nice picture of brave police on the defensive against violent attack, possibly?).

At 15:30, when there were about 60 protesters left on Las Ramblas and after most of the 30-or-so riot vans left, 30 police baton-charged us (along with several tourists and shoppers) for approximately 200m up towards Placa Catalunya. Many people received injuries to their backs, legs, arms, heads and faces.

We were chased into side streets and at the time of me leaving at 1540, about 50 demonstrators were scattered around Placa Catalunya, accompanied by a much larger number of riot police.

[tried to publish earlier but obviously didn't work]

More information from the IMC-UK World site
 http://uk.indymedia.org/index.php3?resist=global
and from indymedia barcelona (with really clear pictures)

a fast runner
- Homepage: http://barcelona.indymedia.org/