Riot police fence in anti-G8 anarchists

There was no sign of any further attempts by activists to target retail outlets in the nearby Springkerse Industrial Estate, where the fast food shops remained closed today after anarchists smashed their windows with iron bars 24-hours ago. Riot police fence in anti-G8 anarchists

Wendy Miller
Evening Times Online (Glasgow)
July 7, 2005

POLICE in riot gear have thrown up a security cordon around a camp housing thousands of G8 protesters near Stirling.

They moved in during the night to head off a second day of potential disturbances after vehicles, banks and restaurants, including a Burger King and Pizza Hut, were attacked by demonstrators who engaged police in running battles yesterday.

Officers in body armour and carrying shields blocked the main entrance to the camp – temporary home to 5000 people – and closed roads in the area overnight.

By daylight dozens of officers had surrounded the eco-village, the makeshift home of thousands of anti-G8 activists.

One officer said today: "It's been a very quiet night. Quite different to the atmosphere on the previous night."

There was no sign of any further attempts by activists to target retail outlets in the nearby Springkerse Industrial Estate, where the fast food shops remained closed today after anarchists smashed their windows with iron bars 24-hours ago.

Around 25 officers gathered at the main entrance and exit to the eco village.

Protesters trying to leave the campsite were quizzed by police and only individuals with travel tickets were granted permission to leave.

A police spokesman said: "Anyone wishing to leave the site peacefully with no intention of causing disorder can do so with the assistance of police officers."

Police closed the A91 between Manor Powis and Millhall early today but it was later reopened.

Elsewhere today anti-war protesters locked themselves onto the entrance of Weir Pumps engineering plant in Glasgow's Cathcart, accusing it of profiting from the war in Iraq.

The action by five demonstrators stopped workers from entering the plant.

A spokesman for the demo group, which arrived at around 7am, said: "We'll be here for as long as possible. It is part of a wave of dissent action across the UK calling for the withdrawal from Iraq."

The Stirling chaos yesterday led to the postponement of the anti-poverty march through Auchterarder to within earshot of Gleneagles.

However, it eventually went ahead after discussions between police and march organisers. The police were later accused of trying to trick the protesters by telling people heading to the march that it was cancelled.

When the march arrived at Gleneagles, some demonstrators briefly breached the five-mile perimeter fence around the hotel.

Then the scene erupted into violence when a number of protesters threw missiles at mounted officers.

Back-up officers in riot gear then arrived in Chinook helicopters to charge at the protesters in a clearly a well-rehearsed move.

Bizarrely, the only injury to any of the delegates was later in the day when George Bush fell off a bicycle when he crashed into a policeman.

The officer required hospital treatment.

In total, 191 people were arrested yesterday: 65 in the Stirling area, 26 in Edinburgh and 100 in Tayside.

Around 120 people will appear in court today, with the remainder due in court within a week.

Police seized weapons from protesters including an axe, a saw, machete and catapult with ball-bearings.

It is thought as many as 29 police officers were injured during yesterday's violence. The number of injured protesters is not yet known.

Today, the officer in charge of policing the Gleneagles area, Chief Constable John Vine, of Tayside Police, said his officers would "continue to adopt our favoured style of community-based policing to prevent disruption to the G8 summit".

He later told reporters that his officers were "prepared to handle whatever comes our way" as the talks began inside the hotel.

He added: "I'm very pleased with how the operation has gone so far. We knew this event would attract violent anarchists."

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/hi/news/5040897.html