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![]() Saturday, June 19, 1999 Published at 14:34 GMT 15:34 UK ![]() ![]() UK ![]() Six charged after City violence ![]() Police escort an injured protester to safety ![]() Six men have appeared in court charged with public order offences following Friday's anti-capitalist demonstration in the City of London which led to clashes with the police.
Police believe the protests, which left a trail of damage across the Square Mile, was planned, and said some demonstrators were from groups with a track record of "extreme violence". But protesters said "heavy-handed" policing and the behaviour of a minority of activists had led to the clashes in which 46 people were injured.
The riots began during the Carnival against Capitalism demonstration, organised by the June 18 (J18) umbrella group to coincide with the opening of the G8 world economic summit in Cologne. 'Extremely offensive' Chief Inspector Ed Bateman of the Metropolitan Police said his officers had "been through something horrific".
Three policemen are still being treated in hospital for leg injuries. One female protester is also receiving treatment after being run over by a reversing police van. She suffered concussion and a fractured leg, but is said to be in a "satisfactory" condition. Protester Mark Lynas said: "Police in full riot gear and looking extremely offensive charged towards the demonstrators and started attacking them." 'Wanton terrorism' Some activists said they would be back at the same time next month to stage another demonstration against capitalism.
Offices, hospitals and restaurants in the Square Mile were damaged as some of the thousands of protesters rampaged through the area, attacking police and buildings with bricks, breeze blocks and scaffolding poles.
Protesters also attempted to force their way onto the trading floor of the London International Financial Futures Exchange (Liffe). The building's glass doors were smashed. 'Money kills' Liffe traders went onto their fire escape and threw trading cards onto the protesters in an act of defiance. Trading was halted as the building was evacuated.
Carrying banners with slogans like "Money Kills", they rode slowly into the city centre and brought traffic around the Bank of England in Threadneedle Street to a standstill. Two activists were removed from Tower Bridge after they tried to climb the structure. Campaigners also daubed pink paint on the door of the London Metal Exchange. Des Kay, of the Save the World Club, said: "As Gandhi said 'There's enough on this planet for everyone's needs, but not for everyone's greed'. That is what today is all about." The London rally had been timed to coincide with other rallies around the world. German police were expecting up to 100,000 demonstrators to call for the burden of debt in the world's poorest countries to be cancelled at the start of the G8 summit of industrialised nations in Cologne. Simultaneous, but lower key protests were also held in Israel, Belarus and New York. As the protests continued, world leaders announced they had reached a deal to forgive up to $90bn or 40% of that debt. ![]() |
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