I endorse this one too. Not the police, of course, the protestors. Sabri
+++++++ THURSDAY DECEMBER 13 2001, THE TIMES Brussels police put on riot alert for EU summit BY MARTIN FLETCHER, EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENT BELGIAN police are braced for the arrival of the tens of thousands of anti-globalisation protesters expected to arrive in Brussels today for the European Union summit. As many as 4,000 police, backed by water cannon and riot squads, will protect the EU’s Presidents and Prime Ministers as they meet at the royal palace of Laeken on the city’s northern edge. They are sharing intelligence with other EU forces and potential troublemakers will be stopped at checkpoints on the French, Dutch and German borders. Belgian police arrested 22 people on the Dutch border yesterday. They were carrying knives, gas masks and scanners to eavesdrop on police frequencies and were sent back to The Netherlands. Hospitals and firefighters have been put on alert. Magistrates and state prosecutors will be on 24-hour duty. F16 fighters and six helicopters will patrol the skies over Brussels to prevent any September 11-style terrorist attack. The police have also told residents to move their cars off the streets and to hide dustbins, flower pots and any other objects that could be used as missiles. Security zones have been set up around the palace and other prominent locations. Bars can sell beer only in plastic cups. The US State Department has told Americans in Brussels to be “vigilant in the presence of the demonstrators” and to avoid sites of demonstrations. Because Brussels is the EU’s capital, Belgian police have unrivalled experience of dealing with demonstrations and officers are notoriously tough. They dress in black combat uniforms, ring targeted buildings with razor wire and military-style black vans and seldom hesitate to use teargas or water cannon. “We hope it will be calm. The only unpredictable factor is groups from abroad,” Els Cleemput, a police spokeswoman, said. As many as 25,000 protesters are expected from countries such as Germany, France, Britain, Italy and Switzerland. The anti-globalisation movement took off at the 1999 Seattle meeting of the World Trade Organisation, severely disrupted the EU’s Gothenburg summit last June and reached the peak of its disruptive powers when 200,000 demonstrators caused mayhem at July’s Genoa G8 summit. One Italian was killed and 500 people were injured in riots around the besieged Italian port. The Internet-driven movement lost steam after the September 11 attacks, with fewer than 10,000 demonstrators turning out for the EU’s summit in Ghent in October, but its leaders hope that Brussels will mark its resurgence as an international force. As many 80,000 protesters will take part in a march today organised by the European Trades Union Confederation, which represents 60 million workers in 34 countries. A more militant demonstration is expected tomorrow with a march on Laeken from a centre for asylum-seekers in central Brussels. The demonstrators’ numbers will be swelled by anti-war protesters and workers who have recently lost their jobs.
