The Battle of Genoa marked a new episode in the popular mobilizations against corporate-driven globalization. Over 200,000 people showed up in late July to protest against the meeting of the G8 leaders, by far the largest gathering since the anti-globalization protests began in Seattle just over a year and-a-half ago.
Perhaps the most important sign that we represent a formidable movement threatening the dominant order came from the authorities themselves. They resorted to heavy handed violence and outright terror in Genoa in an effort to stop the movement. Not content with anti-missile batteries and a 13 foot high fence to keep the protestors out of the old historic centre where the G8 leaders met, the Italian police and paramilitary carabinieri used live ammunition and carried out aggressive strikes against peaceful demonstrators calculated to inflict bodily harm.
Contrary to reports in the established media that these mobilizations involve roving groups of international agitators, the overwhelming bulk of the demonstrators were from Genoa and other parts of Italy. Another related myth perpetrated by the media is that black-clad anarchists are the cause of much of the violence at these demonstrations. The death of 23-year-old Carlos Giuliani on 20 July 20 belies this myth. He was demonstrating with an anarchist group, the Tute Bianche, or "White Overhalls". Widely respected for its adherence to pacifist principles, Tuti Bianchi organizes among "the system's invisibles" - the unemployed, immigrants, peasants and youth. Photographs of Giuliania show him tossing a discarded fire extinguisher. For this act he was shot in the head and run over by a police vehicle.
The determination of the forces of repression to maintain this trajectory of violence was underscored late the next day. Just after midnight, the police raided the offices of the Independent Media Centre, or Indymedia, an organization that was founded in Seattle and now has over 50 centres scattered around the globe. The police entered the Indymedia building in Genoa with tear gas and batons after smashing down the main door. They thrashed the offices, destroying computers, disks,and documents, and beat a number of individuals, one of whom was admitted to hospital with serious injuries.
But this raid paled in comparison with the almost simultaneous attack on the school building across the street that housed many from the Genoa Social Forum, the umbrella organization of over 600 groups that participated in the protests. All the organizations of the social forum signed a non-violence declaration before Genoa with specific instructions for those coming to the demonstrations, such as "do not carry any object that can be considered an offensive weapon (e.g. Swiss Army knives)".
The attack on the Genoa Social Forum was carried out not only by scores of police but also by about 50 provocateurs dressed like black anarchists, some of whom took off their black garb after entering the school to reveal police shirts underneath. They lined up the people inside against the walls and beat many of them mercilessly. As police helicopters flew overhead, hundreds of police outside kept the press and others at bay as horrible screams emanated from the building during the 45 minutes it was occupied. About 20 wounded were later taken out, some on stretchers, three unconscious. When the police finally departed, those entering the building found bloodied walls and pools of blood on the floor.
Many occupants of the two buildings were taken prisoner where they joined over 500 others who were incarcerated during the demonstrations. They were treated brutally. Released protesters spoke of heads being banged against walls, threats of rape with batons, people vomiting blood, and of being urinated upon. One ditty by brutalizing officers heard in the jails was: "One, Two, Three, Viva Pinochet", referring to the ex-dictator of Chile who murdered thousands.
These beatings, shootings and bloody attacks in Genoa were no accident. They coincided with the hardening positions of the principal political henchmen that back corporate-led globalization. Unlike Bill Clinton, George W. Bush has made no efforts to embrace even the rhetorical cause of the demonstrators. In a radio address on the eve of the summit that sounded like a 21st century version of Rudyard Kiplings's White Man's Burden, Bush proclaimed that the rich countries of the world had the mission of spreading the benefits of free trade "as far and as wide as possible". He lectured Third World countries that they had "no need for protectionist policies" and absurdly declared that "free trade is the only proven path out of poverty", a statement that even many neo-liberal economists do not accept.
In the aftermath of the murder of Giuliania, Bush at the summit coldly and hypocritically stated: "Those who claim to represent the voices of the poor aren't doing so." Even the conservative president of France, Jacques Chirac, disagreed with Bush, arguing that the leaders of the world's most powerful nations "have to consider the problems that have brought tens of thousands of our compatriots to demonstrate their wish to change."
Bush had one major cohort at the summit, Silvio Berlusconi, the host of the G8 gathering, who proclaimed that Italy is "America's biggest ally and friend in Europe". Elected prime minister in May, this right-wing media magnet personally supervised the logistics and security arrangements for the summit. The Rome newspaper La Repubblica reported that the violence of the police and carabinieri occurred because they believed they had "cover" from above. Prior to the summit, intelligence officials stirred up the police by telling them to beware of anarchists who might throw HIV blood at them. Francisco Martone, a Green party senator in the Italian parliament, said that fascists had infiltrated the police, thus explaining the use of thugs to attack demonstrators, as occurred in the building housing the Genoa Social Forum activists.
Because of the violence in Milan, some moderate protest leaders are raising questions about whether or not to continue the large scale anti-globalization demonstrations. This is no time for us to weaken in the face of stepped-up repression. One of the neglected aspects of the anti-globalization movement is the toll taken in the Third World. Indeed, to our growing list of anti-globalization protests we need to add the inspiring role played by many Third World protestors who have suffered even more brutally at the hands of the police and military. In June in Papua New Guinea, four student activists protesting against the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund were shot after surrendering to police. Protestors have also been killed in India, Nigeria and Bolivia for demonstrating against globalization and neo- liberal austerity policies. This bloodshed reflects the violence inherent in globalization, which is particularly vicious in Third World countries where the vast majority of the population is relegated to misery and virtual enslavement while the rich grow richer.
The next major anti-globalization demonstrations are scheduled for Washington D.C. from 28 September to 4 October 2001, when the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund hold their meetings. For more information, click here or telephone (202) 463-2265.