WTO protests again turn violent, this time in Geneva

Associated Press

GENEVA – Anti-globalization militants hurled Molotov cocktails, bottles and firecrackers at riot police who erected barricades and barbed wire fences in a protective shield around the World Trade Organization.

The tension erupted after an estimated 5,000 people took to the streets in a peaceful rally to protest WTO efforts in Doha, Qatar, to launch a new round of trade-liberalizing talks, saying the meeting represents a new attempt by a small, powerful elite to put profits before people.

“God is dead. The WTO replaced it,” read one banner, underscoring the popular view that the Geneva-based trade body is invisible but all-powerful.

The protests were part of a series of worldwide demonstrations against the WTO ministerial meeting.

Grass-roots organizations, which gathered in mass for the last big WTO conference in Seattle in December 1999, say rigid visa restrictions have prevented them from traveling to the Gulf state for the conference.

Even so, about 25 protesters disrupted the start of a WTO news conference in Doha as journalists went through security checks.

In Berlin, about 4,000 people demonstrated against the WTO, and smaller protests were held throughout Germany on Saturday.

A similar number marched through central Paris, bearing banners that read “Organization of Misery and Chaos” – a play on the WTO’s French acronym OMC. Attac, the group organizing the events, said demonstrations were planned for about 50 French towns.

“Governments have taken refuge in Doha because they are afraid of the people who elected them,” said Swiss farmer’s union leader Fernand Cuche.

Cuche appealed to farmers and city dwellers alike to unite to “prevent yourselves being gobbled up by the multinationals.”

Fearing a repeat of the violence that scarred Seattle and other global government gatherings, police in full riot gear sealed off Geneva’s banking quarter. Many stores along the procession route closed briefly in fear of trouble. Extra security guards were posted by McDonald’s outlets – usually a popular target of anti-globalization protesters.

As tempers flared, a small group of masked protesters hurled flaming Molotov cocktails, bags of garbage, bottles and paint bombs at police. They eventually retreated after being threatened with tear gas and water cannons. Police said there were no arrests.