N15 - Third Day of NoWTO actions in Sydney
Quick eyewitness report on the final day of anti-WTO actions here in Sydney Australia. On this day the demonstration moved out to the WTO meeting venue - the Novotel Hotel in Homebush Olympic Park.
NoWTO March and Rally
Homebush Olympic Park, Sydney
15 November 2002
The demonstration was planned to converge at Flemington Station at 9am. At around 10am they marched en masse to the WTO conference site - the Novotel Hotel at the Homebush Olympic Park. This is an area covered by special laws passed for the Sydney Olympics 2000 which give the police extremely repressive powers against demonstrations.
The rally followed the now-familiar lines; chanting, banner-waving, slogan chalking. Various groups engaged in good-natured antics, the Radical Cheerleaders going through their routines, the Diversional Therapists forming Aum circles, drummers in the Infernal Noise Brigade style, conga lines swinging past police lines with chants of "Who let the dogs out!" and people playing soccer, who the police threatened to arrest (and may have been successful) for being in a "restriced area".
Within minutes of our arrival the direct action affinity groups were charging around trying to lift the closest sections of the 3km perimiter fence erected around the conference venue. Much to-ing and fro-ing around the 'passive protest area' allowed by the police as 'snatch squads' of riot police targeted and removed activists and supporters attempted to prevent arrests, of which there were about 30-40.
The mainsteam media were out in force again, getting in the way and hindering solidarity and independent media activities. After about three hours of all this a tense spokescouncil ensued. The Red Bloc made a decision to leave and regroup for an afternoon march on the New South Wales state parliament, which was later cancelled. At this point most of the demonstrators decided to go with them, leaving only the Green Bloc (including the Aum circle) a few legal and medical observers and a couple of Indymedia reporters.
Another hour or so and the light drizzle matured into persistent rain and the last of the protestors made the decision to move on.
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