WTO blog 2: Demonstration day

The day started with the news that three members of the Korean delegation were being detained at the airport. Yoon Geum Sum, from the Korean Women Peasant Association, La Via Campesina told us how the three members were stripped naked and searched. She said: "This is a violation of human rights and a criminalisation of social movements." I've just heard that they have already been sent on a flight back home.

So the mood was dampened by this news but then we had to start getting ready for the mass demonstration which had been arranged by the local Swiss campaigners.

I was really looking forward to this demonstration as I had heard about it months ago and at WDM we have been encouraging our local groups to stage media stunts in their local areas in solidarity with the Geneva based protest today.

So I was spurred on knowing that many of our own activists and groups were doing likewise back home.

However, halfway through the march, I started noticing shop after shop had smashed windows,

then we marched through the financial district and again, bank after bank had smashed windows.

We heard rumours that there was a group at the front of the march who were doing this. Then we had to make way for three fire brigades and we later discovered it was to put out cars that had been set alight.

After a lot of confusion and stopping, the march was re-directed onto another route as the police blocked off the road to the WTO HQ. As the protesters clashed with the police, we carried on peacefully but then a few of us got a little bit too close to the trouble and had to get out of the tear-gas ridden area as quick as we could.

Overall I am ok. It was meant to be a peaceful march - the local Swiss organisers had worked closely with the authorities - but the few that had their own agenda ended up diverting the attention away from the main issues that many had come to highlight. At the beginning of the march, I tried to get some people to say why they were there:

  Haesook Kim - Farmer from Korea

Wilfredo Marbella - Campaigner from the Philippines

Jurgen - Climate caravan

By listening to these hopefully you will have a sense of some of the real issues that people around the world are struggling with and were keen to highlight today.

(Photo credit: Ronnie Hall - I have some technical hitches with my own photos, so thanks to Ronnie for letting me use hers!)