Anti EU Summit protests: timeline
translated by Libby | 05.10.2003 12:12 | Globalisation | Repression | World
18.20 h: The police is “cleaning up” the demo through continuous charges and through shooting teargas into the demonstration. They are hunting down a man that broke through to the Marconi Avenue. The demo has split up into three groups.
17.40 h: The situation seems to have calmed down somewhat, the number of demonstrators is diminishing.
17.20 h: They go on trying to keep people on the edges of the zone using shields. The police are charging hard, using teargas and clubs.
16.50 h: The first attack by the police has been fended off using shields and helmets, the demonstrators retaliate throwing fruit and other objects.
16.40 h: A group of disobbedienti is taking the lead in the demo, they are carrying shields and wearing helmets.
16.27 h: The head of the demo has reached the congress centre; there are about 35.000 to 40.000 demonstrators now.
16.06 h: The demo is calmly moving towards the congress centre. The head of the demo is slowing down, they are surrounded by police, the tail of the demo has also been encircled by riot police.
15.20 h: A group of about 200 black blockers, dressed in black and wearing masks appear in the street of the demo. They carry a sign that says “Europpositione” and are shouting slogans against the disobbedienti.
15.10 h: The demo walked from Laurentina towards the sports centre without any problems. They are about to head for the congress centre through the C. Columbus Road. During the attack on the Adecco office this morning 37 people were arrested. They are being held at the police head office for “investigation”.
14.15 h: The demo just departed from Laurentina.
13.40 h: In about five minutes the trains from Naples would be allowed to depart for Rome. This morning the police blocked their departure. In the Sam Paulo area, about 30 people have been arrested, the situation seems to have calmed down.
12.50 h: In the area around the San Paulo subway station it seems like there is a real manhunt going on. The demo that departed from the Piazza Tematica has encountered the financial section of the police, supported by regular police. Tension was running high and soon escalated into a manhunt with a lot of uncalled for violence from the part of the police. One protestor got a gun pushed against his temples, another one was chased down the pavement by a motorcycle.
12.40 h: There is a confrontation going on near San Paulo (Manzoni area), the police are throwing teargas and firebombs at the demonstrators, several people have been arrested. The police is blocking the departure of the trains coming from Naples.
12.05 h: Action against Adecco (temporary work agency) on Marconi Avenue, the windows have been broken and the office has been trashed.
11.58 h: Over 1000 disobbedienti are walking down the Marconi Avenue for a leopard’s spots action.
11.36 h: Start of the roadblock on Marconi Avenue, about 400 disobbedienti are blocking one of the main traffic arteries of the city.
10.35 h: First police charge near the Palazzo Chigi against the disobbedienti who are throwing rolls of toilet paper at the Palazzo and at the police who are protecting it. Also near the Palazzo Chigi there is a human chain action against the proposal of law made by Fini that would increase repression against the use of drugs.
10.00 h: The EUR zone has been closed down, all access roads have been blocked, a helicopter is circling the area.
17.40 h: The situation seems to have calmed down somewhat, the number of demonstrators is diminishing.
17.20 h: They go on trying to keep people on the edges of the zone using shields. The police are charging hard, using teargas and clubs.
16.50 h: The first attack by the police has been fended off using shields and helmets, the demonstrators retaliate throwing fruit and other objects.
16.40 h: A group of disobbedienti is taking the lead in the demo, they are carrying shields and wearing helmets.
16.27 h: The head of the demo has reached the congress centre; there are about 35.000 to 40.000 demonstrators now.
16.06 h: The demo is calmly moving towards the congress centre. The head of the demo is slowing down, they are surrounded by police, the tail of the demo has also been encircled by riot police.
15.20 h: A group of about 200 black blockers, dressed in black and wearing masks appear in the street of the demo. They carry a sign that says “Europpositione” and are shouting slogans against the disobbedienti.
15.10 h: The demo walked from Laurentina towards the sports centre without any problems. They are about to head for the congress centre through the C. Columbus Road. During the attack on the Adecco office this morning 37 people were arrested. They are being held at the police head office for “investigation”.
14.15 h: The demo just departed from Laurentina.
13.40 h: In about five minutes the trains from Naples would be allowed to depart for Rome. This morning the police blocked their departure. In the Sam Paulo area, about 30 people have been arrested, the situation seems to have calmed down.
12.50 h: In the area around the San Paulo subway station it seems like there is a real manhunt going on. The demo that departed from the Piazza Tematica has encountered the financial section of the police, supported by regular police. Tension was running high and soon escalated into a manhunt with a lot of uncalled for violence from the part of the police. One protestor got a gun pushed against his temples, another one was chased down the pavement by a motorcycle.
12.40 h: There is a confrontation going on near San Paulo (Manzoni area), the police are throwing teargas and firebombs at the demonstrators, several people have been arrested. The police is blocking the departure of the trains coming from Naples.
12.05 h: Action against Adecco (temporary work agency) on Marconi Avenue, the windows have been broken and the office has been trashed.
11.58 h: Over 1000 disobbedienti are walking down the Marconi Avenue for a leopard’s spots action.
11.36 h: Start of the roadblock on Marconi Avenue, about 400 disobbedienti are blocking one of the main traffic arteries of the city.
10.35 h: First police charge near the Palazzo Chigi against the disobbedienti who are throwing rolls of toilet paper at the Palazzo and at the police who are protecting it. Also near the Palazzo Chigi there is a human chain action against the proposal of law made by Fini that would increase repression against the use of drugs.
10.00 h: The EUR zone has been closed down, all access roads have been blocked, a helicopter is circling the area.
translated by Libby
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Corrections...
05.10.2003 12:59
> shields and wearing helmets.
Simply not true. The disobbedients did not lead the demo and were actually about half way back. I arrived at the congress center with the lead of the crowd and the most of the crowd continued past. I waited around as did many hundreds as it was obvious that this was where it was important to be present. Eventually the disopedienti arrived and made themselves a space for their staged confrontation. The police obligingly removed the baracades in order to enable this theatre to take place.
> 16.50 h: The first attack by the police has been fended off using shields and helmets, the demonstrators retaliate throwing fruit and other objects.
Missleading as it implys that the police attacked first. The female canon fodder of the disobedienti led the first push at the police lines. Paint bombs were thrown. A fight broke out between disobedienti and 'black bloc' who throw other items included a flare or firework into the police lines. Police threw back some of the thrown items, perhaps paint bombs also as someone I know was hit (but that could have been a shit throw from the disobedienti).
A little later the disobedienti made another push at the lines using large plastic shields and then at one end of this skirmish line (where the police barriers were still in place) a barrier was lift and pushed at police. There was a brief exchange of batton and stick and then the police pushed through this breach and the disobedients finding their side/flanks exposed dropped their collective shields and ran. This left the rest of the crowd unprotected from the charging police who fired tear gas and hit out indiscrimentaly at anyone they could reach. Several people went down and were hit and kicked by any passing copper. One elder man sustained head injurys and was taken away by ambulance.
> 18.20 h: The police is “cleaning up” the demo through continuous charges and through
> shooting teargas into the demonstration.
That not really what I observed. After the main confrontion at the congress centre, the crowd had been split in two main blocks, those that had gone beyond the congress buildin and those that had not.
At the begining of this period there were continued assults on the crowd to prevent any attempt to return to the congress building and to force the retreat. Early on, there was further use of gas and charged. However it wasn't long before the crowd fully comitted to turning back along the route of the march and the police moved simply followed with the need to charge. Various small groups who had ended up behind the police lines had no problem simply walking through these lines to join the retreating crowds.
Some time later at the metro station, there was some kind of incident which resulted in a police charge and a stampeed. I don't know what caused this put it made the locals very angry and there were interesting shouting matches between top ranking non uniformed officials and locals out in front of the police lines.
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