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preparing for seattle in the south pacificIn what is already being described as the "Seattle of the South Pacific," Australian activists are preparing to descend on Melbourne in an effort to shut down the World Economic Forum's Asia-Pacific Summit, scheduled for September 11 to 13. The anti-WEF campaign, dubbed S11, is being organised by a variety of activist groups and individuals, some of who have formed coalitions for the occasion, and is also being supported by S11 solidarity groups around New Zealand. Being just a week before the opening of the Sydney Olympics, the event is attracting close media and police attention, and many activists are planning to head to Sydney after S11 to join anti-Olympic protests.
A DIVERSE MOVEMENTThe build-up to the anti-WEF action has also highlighted differences between the different groups involved. Questions have been raised regarding the tactics of one of the organising groups, the S11 Alliance, with some suggesting that their plans for a "mass rally" are geared more towards selling newspapers and increasing memberships of some of the political parties involved rather than actually closing down the WEF summit. The S11 Alliance, described by one local anarchist as "a Trot-infested bunch of authoritarian posers," has also been criticised for its plans to appoint marshals for the rally and for its willingness to liaise with police. Many fear the Alliance will turn S11 into nothing more than a replica of previous boring marches ad rallies. Leaders of the Jubilee 2000 group and Trades Hall have been attacked for scheduling events for before and after September 11, possibly to avoid embarrassing Labour Party members within these organizations. Meanwhile, anarchists and other anti-authoritarians have formed an alliance of affinity groups under the banner S11-AWOL, and have been busy holding direct action workshops.
THUGS AND HOOLIGANSPredictably, politicians, police and the media have been focusing on portraying the protest groups as violent subversives intent on corrupting Australian youth and damaging Australia's international reputation. Federal Trade Minister Mark Vaile has expressed fears of a repeat of "those terrible scenes of wanton destruction in Seattle, where innocent shop-keepers had their premises smashed and looted by thugs and hooligans." Police have been visiting Melbourne schools to scare school pupils away from the protests after The Herald Sun revealed that "radical groups" were "recruiting schoolchildren" for the WEF protest. "Encouraging schoolchildren to become involved is deplorable and dangerous," Superintendent Peter Halloran told one newspaper. "We have no doubt that there are some people planning to attend the protest who have their own agenda and are intent on creating violent situations." Meanwhile, London's Sunday Times has reported that "the Forum and the Olympics had attracted interest from members of British anarchist cells behind the J18 'carnival against capitalism' in June last year".
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ACTIVISTS OR TERRORISTS?In a tactic familiar to many New Zealander activists, police in Victoria have made a point of blurring the lines between legitimate protest and terrorism. Reporting on a recent police anti-terrorist training exercise held at a Melbourne sports stadium, the Melbourne Age pointed to police concerns about "the threat of terrorism with Melbourne to host a series of events in September, including the World Economic Forum, Olympic soccer matches, and a Nelson Mandela visit". Demonstrating once again that "police intelligence" is an oxymoron, Police Deputy Commissioner Neil O'Loughlin said the World Economic Forum was of most concern "because of violence when the event was held in Seattle". Seattle, of course, hosted a meeting of the WTO. Last year's WEF summit was held in Davos, Switzerland.
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