Protests against the G-20 continued on Sept. 24 and 25 as world economic and political leaders gathered in Pittsburgh, Pa. Demonstrations and actions throughout the week brought attention to the criminal capitalist policies pushed by the G-20.
The G-20 is a grouping of economic ministers from some of the world’s leading economies. Dominated by the powerful imperialist countries, this small body meets a few times a year to debate global financial policies that affect the lives of billions of people. While the media are painting the G-20 meeting as beneficial both for the local community and for the world, in fact the gathering pushes forward an agenda of economic oppression across the globe.
Two thousand people gathered at Arsenal Park on the afternoon of Sept. 24 to take to the streets in an anti-capitalist march through the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Lawrenceville. Local, state and federal police, as well as other state police from as far away as Arizona, forced the crowd to split up into a number of smaller marches. Dressed in full riot gear, police attacked with tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets before arresting more than 25 people.
This was the first time the Long Range Acoustical Device was used in the United States. The LRAD is a “sonic cannon,” a weapon that emits a loud high-pitched sound. It has been used by U.S. military overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan against anti-occupation demonstrations. Some members of the National Guard, part of the military deployment in Pittsburgh, are recently returned from Iraq.
The largest demonstration of the week took place on Sept. 25, the final day of the G-20 meeting. Feeder marches joined the main rally to bring 10,000 people together in the Oakland neighborhood to march on downtown Pittsburgh. The march was led by a contingent of Iraq Veterans Against the War and Veterans for Peace members.
PSL members from Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Connecticut and Washington, D.C., headed up a loud and visible contingent, chanting “Not another nickel, not another dime, not another penny for the G-20’s crimes!” and “No justice, no peace! U.S. out of the Middle East!”
The presence and placement of police illustrated vividly the role of the state in capitalism: to protect private property. These special armed bodies of men and women stood at times just two feet apart, wielding guns, batons and riot shields in front government buildings, banks and office buildings. When the march proceeded over the 7th Avenue bridge, passing by public housing developments, the police lines were absent.
The message was clear: The police and other armed forces in Pittsburgh were there to protect the very institutions at the heart of oppression.
The most intense police action occurred hours after the anti-war march in the evening of Sept. 25. Four hundred people had rallied in Schenley Plaza. Police quickly surrounded the demonstrators and launched attacks with pepper spray, rubber bullets and batons. Students and bystanders were attacked for walking down the street back to their dorms, or on their way to local bars and restaurants.
The police arrested over 110 people, including students and even media. Jeff Bartos, co-founder of the Connecticut chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War, was on the scene as a medic and was treating someone who had been pepper sprayed when he and another medic were arrested. The police held all those detained overnight, releasing some in the morning without charges. Many arrested are still facing false charges.
Frances Villar, the PSL’s New York City mayoral candidate, held a press conference on Wall Street denouncing the arrests of demonstrators at the G-20. Villar said: “Republican and Democratic party politicians genuflect at the altars of the police and prison system, calling for more cops, more jails and tougher laws to hit poor and working people hardest. They make flowery statements about the right to free speech, but both parties are perfectly willing to repress these legitimate protests.
“It’s disgraceful to see that people who want to stand up for justice and people’s needs have to face the threat of violence. The people of the world will hold the people and the police and armed forces responsible for any such repression for any of the demonstrations today.”
Free all G-20 arrestees! Drop all charges! Hold the police and politicians accountable for crimes against working and poor people!
