Tear Gas, the Smell of Frightened Capitalists
02.06.2003 03:21 | Evian G8 | World
Monday June 2
Monday's actions started peaceful. Activists creatively approached the red zone in Lausanne, and a pirate ship made of oil drums tried to reach Evian via the lake. In Geneva, a mixed crowd demonstrated against water privatisation. Another demo protested about Sunday's police repression. When both demos joined at Pont du Mont Blanc, where 300 had gathered for a sit down blockade, police escaleted the situation. The main Bridge of Geneva was blocked for 7 hours. The night was marked by teargas all over the old town of Geneva. The last protesters were gathered at 4am by a truck from the VAAG village.
Read the full Imc Uk Feature complete with links.
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Summary | Imc Uk Timeline | Collection of Links
Background on Water & Report]
Geneva Evening Dispatch | Photo Gallery | Videos [1 | 2 | 3]
Two Men Injured on Sunday Protests
In the desperate police attempts to control the situation on Sunday June 1, many people were injured. Two British men are currently in hospital. One of them, Guy Smallman, an IndyMedia volunteer and photographer, needed a two hour long operation after police fired a stun grendade at his leg (report). The other activist, Martin Shaw, is also still in hospital with multiple serious injuries including his legs and back after police cut the rope he and another activist was hanging off a bridge from during a blockade (TV Video and photos). Activists managed to save the other climber on the other side of the bridge (pic). A petition was sent to Swiss embassies in various countries. Both are now stable.