E'RE READY! - Police vow to stop S11 violence” - Headline in Herald Sun, September 9, 2000 September 11 - morning I arrived at the blockade just before 7am on September 11. The first thing that struck me was the size of the Crown complex, which takes up two huge blocks on the south bank of the Yarra River. It is made up of Crown Towers (a hotel and conference venue) and the Crown Casino. Police had blocked off the roads running along the south and east of the entire complex (Queensbridge St and Whiteman St) and erected a 3m high fence (the bottom half concrete, the top half wire netting) around the buildings. The gaps in the fence were blocked by lines of police with long batons but without helmets or other riot gear.

The protestors had set up a stage and a small tent city on the south bank of the river across Queensbridge St from the entrance to Crown Towers. The various political factions involved in the blockade had their own tents with bookstalls etc. There was also a first aid tent and a Food Not Bombs tent, which served food throughout the protest. By the time I arrived there were already a thousand or so people milling around on Queensbridge St. Some of the marshals were urging people to move on to the other entrances, where delegates had already been getting in.

I wandered round the corner to Whiteman St (south side). Fifty or so people had formed a human barricade in front of the police line protecting a gap in the fence. Just as I was about to move on, there was some shouting and the police began pushing towards the crowd. They generally pushed and shoved and quickly formed a corridor through the demonstrators, and a bus drove up and stopped. A group of WEF delegates got off and made their way through the gap in the fence and into the Crown complex to general verbal abuse from the demonstrators. The police then retreated back to their original line and the demonstrators again formed their human barricade in front. Round one to the police!

ROUND TWO: COPS LOSE!

I continued on along the south side of the complex to the main car park entrance. Crown had hoped to keep the casino open to the public during the conference, but demonstrators had already blocked off the car park entrance. There were three busloads of security guards (I think) waiting to get in, and while I was there several hopeful punters in cars also tried to drive through the picket line but were repulsed with a bit of agro but no violence. The chant of the moment was, "No one in, no one out". After a while the three buses also turned away and left. Round two to the demonstrators!

Soon after this a group of around 50 masked anarchists arrived with drums sounding and black flags flying - the Black Bloc! They marched past to cheers from the crowd of demonstrators, and were followed by a small contingent of media, obviously hoping for a bit of action! I followed the Black Bloc round to the west side of the complex, which is where the main pedestrian access to the casino is. I'd also heard that busloads of delegates had earlier entered via a road next to this entrance. There was a group of a couple of hundred blockaders there, plus the Black Bloc reinforcements.

ROUND THREE: A DRAW

After a while there was movement on the other side of the fence. Events followed a pattern which was repeated numerous times throughout the day whenever the police tried to get delegates in or out. Lines of extra police would appear from within the casino complex, followed by an ambulance (!) and often mounted police, who, when they weren't trampling and scaring the shit our of protestors, roamed around outside the complex throughout the day. There were probably a total of 20 mounted police (not the "hundreds" I read of in one report!). But they're still damn scary.

As previously, the police started to surge forward into the demonstrators lines, but this time there was a concerted effort to resist. Demonstrators from nearby rushed to join the line, which must have held for about a minute, but was then pushed back slowly as the mounted police joined in the melee. Punches were thrown, people fell and were hit by flying hooves. "Medics" were soon on hand to attend to the injured. A line of two cars and two or three buses then approached. The cars headed towards the "gap" but were swamped by the demonstrators, some of whom kicked the cars as they slowly tried to move through. One masked demonstrator managed to jump on top of one of the cars and did some serious property damage to the car's roof. He was eventually dragged off. I think the cars made it through (hard to tell with all the action), but the buses were forced to turn back. This encounter was definitely a draw!

BLOODY HUGE PROTEST

It was now some time after 9am, and the numbers of protestors on the Clarendon St side had been bolstered considerably by people who had taken part in the 9am "march and rally". Because the area covered by the protest was so large it was difficult to get an idea of the total number of protestors. The official police report said 2000, which was a joke. Maybe 5000, maybe 10,000. Who knows. It was bloody huge!

By this stage Clarendon St had been blocked off by the protestors, who also erected a makeshift barricade. Cars were forced to make a u-turn over the median strip to escape. Police later closed off the road at both ends, and it remained blocked off till the Wednesday (September 13). After a while I headed back around to the south side of the complex, to where a raised section of road (Kings Way) actually runs through the casino building. There is a ramp running off this raised section down to the casino, and police were trying to get a busload of delegates through.

Here the police made a right cock-up of things. A group of demonstrators (200 plus) were sandwiched in between police (including mounted police) at the gap in the barricade and another smaller group of police who had come down the ramp behind them to escort the bus through. When the barricade police did their usual surge, some of the demonstrators fell back and started moving up the ramp, heading straight for the bus full of WEF delegates! The bus was forced to reverse up the ramp to the main road, and the police escort (20 or so) now found itself the meat in the sandwich! A few coppers last their hats, which went flying in to the air to general applause and yells from the crowd, but the police were eventually rescued by their "comrades".

Meanwhile, a group of 50 or so demonstrators made their way on to Kings Way and blocked the traffic. As previously, a barricade was erected, and Kings Way was eventually "officially" closed off by the police. Demonstrators had managed to shut down two major thoroughfares near the heart of the city. Later that day police advised Melburnians to avoid the city for the duration of the WEF conference unless they were on urgent business.

MELBOURNE UNDER SIEGE?

"SIEGE CITY - Police rescue premier"
- Headline in the Herald Sun pm edition, September 11 2000

September 11 - afternoon

After a wee sit down for lunch, I returned to the barricades at around 1.30pm. I heard stories of the protestor who had had his front teeth knocked out by a police baton and of police charges on demonstrators who had tried to prevent West Australian premier Richard Court and Opposition leader Dennis Napthine getting in by car. Court was stuck in his car for an hour after its tires were let down. Baton wielding police and mounted police were called in to rescue him. Napthine had his car covered in green paint and daubed with the slogan "WEF Kills". The police later publicly castigated the two politicians for ignoring their advice and attempting to get into Crown in their own cars.

The demonstrators' tent city was now a hive of activity. People were queuing up for food at Food Not Bombs, the various parties and affinity groups were holding meetings, and paper sellers were everywhere! Over a thousand people had gathered in front of the stage on Queensbridge St to listen to the lunch-time bands: Red-eyed Frogs, and Urban Guerrillas. There were giant puppets, people with drums, whistles and other instruments and people dressed up in all kinds of costumes, including a group of half a dozen "anti-capitalist clowns". Volunteers distributed free copies of "Melbourne Indy Bulletin", produced daily by the Indymedia people.

UNAUSTRALIAN - UNAPATHETIC

I wandered on down Queensbridge St, following the same route I had taken earlier in the morning. In front of the next entrance (where I saw delegates walk through at 7am) was a large trailer with a huge cylinder-like object on top, which was being used as a sound system and stage by some rap artists who entertained the blockaders and anyone else who stopped to listen. About ten young people where perched on the top and sides of the trailer. The rap was political, anti-WEF stuff, and got a great reception. Even some of the police on the other side of the barricade seemed to be tapping their toes!

The atmosphere here was quite different from earlier in the morning. There was less tension, a party atmosphere even, although people were still sitting or linking arms across the gaps in the barricades. Despite the carnival atmosphere, there was no doubt that the blockade was still in force. Graffiti artists had been busy daubing slogans in chalk and paint on the walls on and around the casino. The police barricade was also a popular target, with "Do not feed the animals" a common message. Other slogans included: "Open your eyes and realise their lies"
"S11 unity"
"Come on Aussie come on"
(!?-Possibly a reference to John Howard and other politicians calling the protestors "unAustralian")
"unustralian - unapathetic"
(Definitely a reference to John Howard calling the protestors "unaustralian")
"We starve our children before the banquet of knowledge whilst politicians feast on the profit of war"
"Keep warm, burn the rich" to which someone had added "They have cold hearts"
"It is NOT inevitable that we become like them"
"Fuck the new world order"
"We live in a society not an economy"
"No gods, no masters"
"Kill your television"

continued on next page    issue 15 index