By John Sexton in Beijing and Heiko Khoo and Dan Read in London
Gil Scott-Heron famously sang that the revolution will not be televised. But the minor disturbances at the G20 protests in the City, London's financial district on April 1st, were twittered, blogged, facebooked, youtubed, googled and boogled from every possible angle. Journalists from the Guardian, the Telegraph, even the Financial Times were all at the scene twittering away like paper rabbits caught in the headlights of the digital future.
One of the most telling images of the day was of protesters raising a forest of hands outside a branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland as its windows were smashed and some computers removed. They were not carrying sticks, bottles or even placards, but mobile phones and digital cameras that they were using to video the action, which was being carried out by perhaps half a dozen people.
A few miles away several thousand demonstrators against war, for economic justice and for action on climate change, gathered in Trafalgar square to hear speakers call for an end to the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Palestine.
Tony Benn, veteran peace campaigner, socialist and former Labour government minister, told the crowd,
"What we are saying is what people all over the world want to hear said. They want the end of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They want the end of Israeli aggression against Palestine. They want very simple things, useful work, at a living wage, a decent home, good heath care, good education, dignity for old people. [These issues] are all about the same question - Who is to run the world? Is it the peoples of the world or is it the bosses at the top who control the army and the banks and the mass media?"
But bulk of the action and most media attention was concentrated on the City of London, where about 4,000 had gathered to mark what they called "Financial Fools Day". Heavy police tactics included riot police encircling protestors and non protestors alike, for hours on end. Although the vast majority of protestors were peaceful the smashed windows at the Royal Bank of Scotland branch made most of the early editions of the UK papers.
In the end the protests were easily contained. The day will be counted as a success by the police who were easily able to pen up the protestors in the narrow streets of the City. Indeed the tactics of the police, who had said in advance they were "up for it:" were blamed by many for provoking the few violent incidents. In the end only 32 people were arrested.
Meanwhile the argument between France and Germany who want to rein in Anglo-Saxon-style capitalism with tough regulation, and Britain and America, who want European countries to spend more on reviving growth, continues to rumble. French President Sarkozy, as ever, is the joker in the pack. If he decides to walk, as he has threatened to, it will dramatize the divisions between the great powers, but walk or not, those divisions will remain and no cleverly worded communiqué is likely to be able to paper over the cracks.
(China.org.cn April 2, 2009)
