<DIV>OK just did that. CLicked the send button too fast so don't have a copy but basically said that 1000 police offices for 100 protesters is not "a little excessive" but a clear attempt to intimidate and induce fear and suspiscion amongst the public. Good journalists should try and make such analysis instead of regurgitating police press releases with a few quotes from protesters to give an impression of "balance". </DIV>
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<DIV>Isa <BR><BR><B><I>Jason Kirkpatrick <jfkeuro@gmx.net></I></B> wrote:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid">You all likely know Dissent! organised some protests over the weekend in<BR>Derby, where a G8 prep meeting was. The protests passed off without a big<BR>hitch really, (well, 12 arrests is not nice) judging from the BBC article<BR>below. The BBC on-line seems to be automatically publishing comments below<BR>the many articles they have on their Derby<BR>web-site:<BR><BR>http://www.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/search/results.pl?q=g8&uri=%2Fderby%2Ffeatures%2Fother_features%2F<BR><BR>I highly recommend that we all just send a couple of sentences along to be<BR>featured on the BBC site. Below is a letter I wrote in 5 mins, and I also<BR>sent it to the Derby Telegraph (see e-mail addresses below)<BR><BR>Dear Editor,<BR>I must say that I find it a bit shocking that the government thinks it can<BR>justify paying for 1,000 officers to police a non-violent demonstration of<BR>people protesting the G8
meeting in Derby. If the government has so much<BR>money, why don’t they just pay off the African debt they keep talking about?<BR><BR><BR>If Tony Blair cares so much about climate change, why does he have 1,000<BR>police driving polluting vans in from all over to monitor a peaceful bicycle<BR>rally with 30 cyclists? The G8 has now had 30 years to address problems of<BR>poverty and the environment, but these problems have only gotten worse. I<BR>think the problem is obvious, the G8 is just a junket for these wealthy<BR>world leaders, and it’s time for the G8 to go.<BR><BR>Sincerely,<BR>Jason Kirkpatrick<BR><BR>newsdesk@derbytelegraph.co.uk<BR>opinion@derbytelegraph.co.uk<BR><BR>Protesters voice G8<BR>opposition<BR><BR>http://www.bbc.co.uk/derby/content/articles/2005/03/17/derby_g8_summit_protest_feature.shtml<BR><BR>By Gavin Bevis<BR>As ministers from the world's richest nations arrived in Derby for an<BR>environmental summit, protesters from a variety of different causes
gathered<BR>in Derby to voice their opposition.<BR><BR>Around 100 people have gathered in Derby for a protest against the G8<BR>conference taking place at Breadsall Priory.<BR>Activists from an array of environmental causes held banners and flags to<BR>send a message to ministers from the world's richest nations taking part in<BR>the summit.<BR>See pictures from the protest using the link on the right.<BR>More than 1,000 police officers from 20 forces around the country were<BR>drafted in to make sure the protest passed peacefully.<BR>The protest started at Derby train station where 30 people rode bikes into<BR>the city centre.<BR>It then moved to Derby's Market Place where various groups erected banners,<BR>played music and staged a mock trial putting Tony Blair, George W. Bush and<BR>global corporations in the dock for crimes against the environment.<BR>See pictures from the protest using the link on the right.<BR>Callie Lister from East Midlands Friends of the Earth said: "We're
hoping to<BR>send a message to G8 ministers to stop putting money into oil and instead<BR>concentrate on climate change which is a big problem for all of us.<BR>"In the UK there's a lot of rhetoric on action but the government continues<BR>to build roads and allows airports to expand. We want to see a real<BR>commitment from the G8 to invest money in sustainable energy."<BR>"The police presence seems a little excessive. We're all just here for a<BR>peaceful protest. We've got a right to say how we feel and so far everyone<BR>has been extremely positive."<BR>Mother-of-four Bettina Atkinson travelled from Leicester to voice her<BR>concern at the destruction of the world's rainforests.<BR>She said: "I'd like to see environment ministers take effective action to<BR>prevent illegally logged wood finding its way into the market by using a<BR>Forest Stewardship logo to inidicate the wood's from sustainable sources.<BR>"But the protest is aimed at the public in general because this is an
issue<BR>that's important to us all."<BR>At time of writing, police said there had been 12 arrests for public order<BR>offences.<BR><BR><BR>-- <BR>Jason<BR><BR>"Happy ProMail" bis 24. März: http://www.gmx.net/de/go/promail<BR>Zum 6. Geburtstag gibt's GMX ProMail jetzt 66 Tage kostenlos!<BR></BLOCKQUOTE><p>
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