Small groups of protesters have clashed with police in Toronto as leaders from the world's richest nations and emerging economies gathered for the G20 summit.
Police cars were set on fire and storefronts were smashed on Saturday as at least 10,000 people marched to highlight issues like indigenous rights, poverty and climate change.
An emergency services spokeswoman told Reuters news agency that at least three people had been wounded in the protest.
Along with a heavy police presence, authorities shut down public transport and blocked streets leading into the centre of the city.
While most protesters remained peaceful, television images primarily focused on so-called "anarchists" who had aimed to face off with police along the three-metre high barrier that encircles the G20 meeting site.
Soon after the demonstrators arrived near the barrier, groups of black-clad protesters appeared to separate themselves from the larger group and confronted the hundreds of police shadowing the march.
Anti-G20 groups have been demonstrating in Toronto all week before the summit which follows a smaller meeting of Group of Eight (G8) industrial nations in the resort town of Huntsville in Ontario.
Security for the G8 and G20 summits has cost Canadian tax payers more than $1bn
So the G20 protests finally became violent recently. Police cars set on fire and storefronts had their windows smashed. Right now lots of transit has been halted and several places are under lock down for about 8 hours.
I'm no specialist on the G20 nor economics, but wiki does a good job of explaining what it is:
I was really hoping this wouldn't happen... but now it has. From my understanding, I can see why there would be protest but I find this has gone too far. Violent protests around the G20 have happened before, but the amount of damage is horrible. My housemate tells me that entire streets are all fucked over now and the damage done is going to be costly. Furthermore, a lot of Canadians are already pissed at the government for even hosting the G20 here. We're paying for security with our tax dollars and we still take a lot of damage. I don't see why these meetings need to be held in such densely populated areas.
Anyways, I hope this gets resolved as quickly as possible. I'm glad I went to my parents place this weekend, or else I might be screwed over and under lock down if I went into work. Furthermore, a lot of public transit is halted around the downtown core which is vital for so many people. Here's hoping that it doesn't have to escalate further than it already has.
Curious about your opinions on the protests/riots or the G20 itself.
I was watching this live for about 2 hours.. good entertainment .. I agree with you that they shouldn't have hosted it in the middle of one of Canada's major cities.. seriously..what were they thinking.. Also, I think this has gone pretty wild, but seriously, why are we paying for this crappy mistake.
I actually enjoyed a bit of this. its not everyday we get to see police cars on fire. the amount of tax money wasted cleaning up is nothing compared to the amount politicians waste every year imo
On June 27 2010 11:26 Severedevil wrote: People are breaking shit to protest a peaceful meeting?
Of all the things to get violent over...
?
If you did some reading (even wikipedia), and understood the consolidation of power, poverty, and sadness that the g-20 and the IMF and World Bank (which are represented with more power than actual countries have in the g-20) create, maybe you would at least understand why people are angry enough to be violent.
Edit: I'll try to explain
The World Bank and IMF are like the worlds biggest loan sharks. They loan money to developing countries, but they countries have to agree to 'Structural Adjustments' which usually includes cutting government spending (healthcare, security, and Government subsidies go first), privatize natural resources (sell things like mines, forests, etc to corporations), and remove or lower tariffs, labor laws and environmental protections to increase foreign investment (woooh more corporations).
Canadian law enforcement need a lesson in kicking ass and taking names later from DC and British (literally.) Dispersal through smoke grenades and rubber bullets at the first bit of trouble and camera ID to prosecute people later. The longer they wait, the harder it is to stop. Some people get injured and the lines of fair punishment get crossed, but at least your city doesn't end up hating you for it.
They had to know something like this was coming, especially with the current economy. There is a value in having these meetings in person, but it doesn't need to be such a big symbolic affair.
Eh, I'm still crossed at the fact that the "gumint" still found a way to use up over 1bn(CAD) for the summits. I am waiting for the receipts to be published after this... (And then look over them and roll over and maybe jump through a few more hoops for the government, HURRAY HST)
On June 27 2010 11:26 Severedevil wrote: People are breaking shit to protest a peaceful meeting?
Of all the things to get violent over...
?
If you did some reading (even wikipedia), and understood the consolidation of power, poverty, and sadness that the g-20 and the IMF and World Bank create, maybe you would at least understand why people are angry enough to be violent.
breakin' shit solves all of the world's problems imo
On June 27 2010 11:38 Jibba wrote: Canadian law enforcement need a lesson in kicking ass and taking names later<snip>but at least your city doesn't end up hating you for it.
I would say that your policy that you wish them to utilize would end up in the exact situation that you are afraid of.
Canada's politics is going down the shitter. What else can they expect but a retaliation from the people. The politicians have brought it onto themselves.
On June 27 2010 11:32 Warrior Madness wrote: What exactly are these people protesting?
Everything. They're jobless. The environment is being destroyed. We're still exploiting third world nations. The violence is probably traceable back to the personal state of each protester, especially with current unemployment rates. It's just general "I'm pissed and I'm going to do something about it" rather than a concerted effort to do anything. There ARE concerted efforts of violent protest, but those are very particular and usually designed in a specific way. This just seems like general outrage against the state, and the wide array of protest reasons seems to support that there is no central focus besides their own personal anomie.
On June 27 2010 11:32 Warrior Madness wrote: What exactly are these people protesting?
Why in the goddamned world did they decide to host this in Toronto instead of somewhere quieter like they did before, and why in the world is this entire debacle costing well over 1 billion dollars. There is also a huge issue with the degeneration of woman's rights in Canada recently and the exclusion of several key woman's rights issues in the meetings.
EPT
