Bevan thinks demonstrations in city could rival Kananaskis

Don Campbell and Mike Shahin                See also Q&A Session May 22

The Ottawa Citizen
Thursday, May 16, 2002

Although next month's G8 summit will be held thousands of kilometres away, Ottawa police say they plan to be out in even greater numbers than during last year's G20 meetings in the nation's capital.

Police Chief Vince Bevan yesterday said officers are bracing for potential violence by protesters who have chosen to rally in Ottawa while the G8 leaders meet in Kananaskis, Alta., June 26 and 27. Chief Bevan said officers from across Ontario will join members of his own force and the RCMP to patrol the streets.

The larger presence is based on "intelligence information" his service has picked up, combined with information on the streets -- including posters urging protesters to "Take the Capital," Chief Bevan said during a meeting with the Citizen's editorial board.

He said the demonstrations in the capital could outdo anything in Alberta, and he fears another "snake march" like the one that marked the opening day of Ottawa's G20 summit. He said violence among some G20 protesters created a dangerous environment for peaceful demonstrators, many of whom were children accompanying their parents.

Police have a video, for example, of a protester using a slingshot to target police from the back of a peaceful crowd on Rideau Street, putting others in danger, he said. Chief Bevan urged protest organizers to call for non-violence.

"Last time we did that," protest organizer Jamie Kneen said yesterday in an interview, "they (police) attacked us with dogs. We organized something that was supposed to be non-violent, and a lot of people got hurt."

Mr. Kneen's group, Global Democracy Ottawa, played a key part in the G20 protests. But, he said, his group has decided not to plan demonstrations in Ottawa during the G8 meetings. "A lot of people said they were afraid to come out and protest," he said.

Instead, the group will hold "more family oriented, educational" events on June 22.

"We're trying to move beyond just protesting -- (events) not aimed at disrupting anything, but aimed at presenting our point of view and a different agenda for Africa," he said.

He believes the "Take the Capital" events of June 26 and 27 will be "just protesting."

This is how "Take the Capital" organizers describe their plans on the group's Web site:

"The two days of protest will involve demonstrations of all kinds, popular education, civil disobedience and direct action, targeting the many manifestations of political and economic power of the national capital.

"We are organizing on the basis of a respect for a diversity of tactics, meaning manifold forms of resistance in mutual solidarity and respect, while aiming to ensure the safety and defence of all participants."

Potential targets, described as "symbols of capitalist empire in Ottawa," are listed on the site, complete with addresses. Corporations, including Monsanto and Nortel, government buildings, police headquarters, banks and G8 member embassies are on the list.

Traffic will be disrupted throughout the downtown area, and police are uncertain of what potential targets might be, Chief Bevan said.

"We're not sure where the main event is expected to be," he said. "But there is a movement afoot and our challenge is that we are going to have to move with whatever becomes targets.

"There is no one thing to protest. Do we have to protect every McDonald's? If the protesters are against globalization, do we have to protect every U.S.-based business? That's going to be part of our challenge."

Mr. Kneen said that although his group was not organizing any protests during the G8 meetings, people would inevitably be out in the streets, "and I'm sure that frightens the cops.

"I'm sure they're particularly concerned that they can't figure out who's in charge," Mr. Kneen said. "I'm sure that's their key problem all the time -- they don't understand that people can organize things co-operatively, because they don't work that way."

Kananaskis, a secluded, heavily forested resort, was chosen to host the G8 summit over Ottawa because authorities thought it would be easier to police. Organizers hope to avoid repeats of the violence that marred demonstrations last year in Quebec City during the Summit of the Americas, and then at the G8 summit in Genoa.

The summit includes leaders from Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, Italy and the United States. The agenda is to include discussions on global terrorism, the economy, the Middle East and Africa, which is a priority for Canada.

The security operation to protect the officials is already being billed as the largest in Canadian history, with the military set to deploy up to 5,000 soldiers at and around the meeting site.

Chief Bevan said he hopes that police in Ottawa will be able to meet with protest organizers before the summit. But following the recent release of a citizen's panel report on police actions during G20 -- which said police "overreacted" and made "serious mistakes" in their handling of the protests -- he is not sure that will happen.

"We hope we can work with some of the protesters," said Chief Bevan. "But some say the trust has been broken, though in some cases I'm not sure there ever was any trust."

"The level of trust," Jamie Kneen said, "has to be rebuilt."