Riot Squads, Anti-Globalization Protesters Clash in Geneva for Second Night

GENEVA – Riot squads fired tear gas, rubber pellets and water cannon to disperse thousands of anti-globalization demonstrators and passers-by Monday night after a standoff on a bridge in central Geneva (search). Some in the crowd threw rocks and bottles at police.

The clash on the Mont Blanc Bridge and a neighboring district came after a day of peaceful gatherings in the city by activists protesting the Group of Eight summit (search) of the world's seven industrial powers and Russia being held in nearby Evian (search), France.

Despite their thinning ranks after major demonstrations the day before, about 1,500 demonstrators gathered on the Mont Blanc Bridge, which connects the two halves of the city.

Riot police with shields and water cannon stood at both ends of the bridge as rush-hour traffic clogged the streets around them.

Police fired tear gas and jets of water, ordering the crowd to disperse after a three-hour standoff in which protesters refused demands that they submit to searches and identification checks.

Security forces later allowed the demonstrators to leave the bridge without being searched.

At least another 1,000 people gathered a block or two from the bridge during the standoff and began to taunt police and throw rocks and bottles at them. Riot squads periodically charged the crowd, firing dispersal grenades that showered small pieces of rubber in an effort to scatter them. The confrontation continued into the night.

Some blamed police officials for the breakdown.

"The demonstrators have been patient," said Christian Bonier, a socialist lawmaker who was negotiating with police for a peaceful end to the standoff. "We've been negotiating for three hours, and we thought we had reached agreement with the police."

The protesters had arrived at the bridge from several other gatherings around the city, including one at the World Trade Organization. All of the demonstrations in the day were peaceful, contrasting with protests overnight that degenerated into looting and battles between rock-throwers and riot squads. About 25 people were detained by police.

Swiss police also feared the presence of so-called "Black Bloc" protesters -- youths who cover their faces with black ski masks and allegedly start violent confrontations with police -- said to be among the crowd.

Meanwhile, after the major demonstrations of Sunday -- which police said numbered up to 50,000 people -- many protesters were packing up Monday and leaving camps they had set up on the outskirts of Lausanne, Switzerland, and Annemasse, France.

About 250 people had left Lausanne by train by Monday, said Jean-Christophe Sauterel, police spokesman for Vaud canton (state). Authorities had feared that 800 demonstrators who left Geneva by train late Sunday would get out in Lausanne, but they continued on to Zurich.

Police said 15 people were injured in the protests the day before, including five police. Two Britons were seriously hurt.

One of them suffered multiple fractures when police cut the rope he was hanging from during a demonstration on a main highway. The man, identified by the British news agency Press Association as Martin Shaw, 39, fell more than 60 feet into a shallow river, police and demonstrators said.

News photographer Guy Smallman, 31, of Images Sans Frontieres, told the AP he suffered serious muscle damage to his left leg after a stun grenade hit him while he was covering a protest in Geneva. He said he said he would need months of physical therapy.

Security forces have established a demonstrator-free zone around the French resort town of Evian, where the summit was taking place, and protesters have resorted to gathering in Annemasse, about 25 miles to the west, and in Switzerland.

A small band of about eight members of the Greenpeace environmentalist group briefly violated that perimeter Monday when they went onto Lake Geneva on rubber boats and unfurled an anti-G-8 banner below the hotel where the leaders were meeting. Police moved in quickly, however, and they were detained. In Geneva, police turned away between 15 and 20 buses full of German and Polish anti-G-8 protesters seeking to demonstrate at President Bush's departure from Geneva's international airport. Bush arrived on a helicopter from Evian and departed the airport without incident later in the afternoon.

The demonstrators represent a panoply of interests. Many are against globalization, which they say hurts the poor, but others are also focused on protection of environment, fears about genetically modified foods and forgiveness of Third World debt.

The protesters at the WTO, for instance, said big water companies had monopolized trade of something that should belong to everyone. They banged empty water bottles and tied a bunch to the WTO gates to make the point.

Though there was no sign of violence Monday afternoon, authorities warned earlier that violent "Black Bloc" protesters known for covering their faces with black ski masks had so far eluded the authorities. The Black Bloc is accused of infiltrating peaceful demonstrations and provoking police, turning the protests into riots.

Jean-Christophe Sauterel, police spokesman for Vaud canton (state), said in Lausanne that many of the troublemakers had been able to slip away and hide in among other demonstrators and bystanders.

"We will never manage to check everybody," Sauterel told reporters.

The protest marches between Switzerland and France against the G-8 had drawn some 50,000 people on Sunday, but many protesters were packing up and leaving Monday from camps they had set up on the outskirts of Lausanne, Switzerland, and Annemasse, France.

About 250 people had left Lausanne by train by Monday, Sauterel said. Authorities had feared that 800 demonstrators who left Geneva by train late Sunday would get out in Lausanne, but they continued on to Zurich.

Police on Monday said that 15 people had been injured in the protests on Sunday, including five police. Two people, both of them British, were seriously hurt.

One of them suffered multiple fractures when police cut the rope he was hanging from during a demonstration on a main highway. The man, identified by the British news agency Press Association as Martin Shaw, 39, fell 20-25 meters (yards) into a shallow river, police and demonstrators said.

News photographer Guy Smallman, 31, of Images Sans Frontieres, told the AP he suffered serious muscle damage to his left leg after a stun grenade hit him while he was covering a protest in Geneva. He said he said he would need months of physical therapy.

Security forces have established a demonstrator-free zone around the French resort town of Evian, and protesters have resorted to gathering in Annemasse, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) to the west, and in Switzerland.

A small band of about eight members of the Greenpeace environmentalist group briefly violated that perimeter Monday when they went onto Lake Geneva on rubber boats and unfurled an anti-G-8 banner below the hotel where the leaders were meeting. Police moved in quickly, however, and they were detained.

In Geneva, police turned away between 15 and 20 buses full of German and Polish anti-G-8 protesters wanting to demonstrate at U.S. President George W. Bush's departure from Geneva's international airport. Bush arrived on a helicopter from Evian and departed the airport without incident later in the afternoon.

The demonstrators represent a panoply of interests. Many are against globalization, which they say hurts the poor, but others are also focused on protection of environment, fears about genetically modified foods, and forgiveness of Third World debt.

Earlier on Monday, protesters went to the World Trade Organization headquarters to accuse big water companies of monopolizing trade of something that should belong to everyone. They banged empty water bottles and tied a bunch to the WTO gates to make the point.