POLICE RIOT IN GENOA [Re: Watts article (Re: NP Genoa)]

[JBFRAME at aol.com]

FYI

POLICE RIOT IN GENOA
By Vincent Pang [22 July 2001] 

GENOA - 

Tonight the carabineraie raided the IMC [Indy Media Center] as many people 
already have probably seen on the newswire already. As we saw it the 
carabineraie started by pulling up about 2-300m up the road in initially 
around four to five vans. They got out and started to jog down the street in 
riot gear and batons. People saw them and started to enter both buildings - 
the main GSF (Genoa Social Forum) building (where the Indy media Center was 
also located) and the school opposite which was part of the GSF facilities. 

The school had been a safe space for people to sleep and chill for a few 
days. In the school there were a diverse bunch of people. As the convergence 
center was quite close, many people came to get information on the counter 
conference and the solidarity marches and also to use computers. Many people 
who slept in the school were participants from the marches, a group of 
pacifists from Zaragoza had come to the school to sleep just fifteen minutes 
before the arrived, (as it was the only really "safe" space to sleep) and 
ended up with eight hospitalised and more detained by the carabineraie. 

The carabineraie, having reached the school and the GSF building started to 
arbitrarily beat people with the batons as people scrabbled to get inside 
either building. The door were closed on the GSF building but they entered 
from, not the main door, but one which was not secured at the side - not 
secured as this was just not expected. 

I can only tell from what happened now from the IMC as I was there working. 
The IMC tried to calm people down as the carabineraie came in and demanded 
that all of us stand spread -eagle against the wall for about 30 minutes 
whilst the people wandered in and out of the rooms a bit listlessly, looking 
for anything incriminating - as if. They then moved everyone into one area 
and everyone had to sit down for another twenty minutes or so. 

What they found and took was some of the equipment like mini disks videos and 
disks and searched many peoples bags. They also took some salad knives from 
the kitchen and a couple of gas masks. Later after it was all over they said 
to the press that they saw quite a lot of black clothes inside the rooms, 
well excuse me. 

Apparently opposite the police took all available passports and wallets and 
diaries from peoples bags. 

The carabineraie tried to take one of the IMC people but another journalist 
with G8 accreditation stepped in and although he was pushed back the 
carabineraie left the other guy alone. 

They finally left when a women MP who was in the building came to our floor 
and had powers to make to carabineraie leave - due to the fact that we were 
an international group and also journo/press. The police left, but we 
discovered that the people on the other floors of the GSF building had had 
freedom to roam after only being held on the floor for a short time. Also the 
GSF Lawyers office was ransacked and the computers destroyed, hard drives 
taken and the phones smashed. So much for the law. The computers conatined 
all of the info relating to legal aid etc over the last few days. The 
carabineraie obviously had their purpose here, one mission being to search 
the IMC floor to find something to discredit the IMC media movement. 

After they left people immediately checked their gear and recorded what was 
taken, and then the keypads started burning. 

Then we discovered the fucking mass beatings next door where people were 
already sleeping and others had been eating and talking, many IMC people 
stayed outside to somberly record the devastation and support those in shock 
and disbelief at what had just occurred. Tears and shouts of "assinos" 
followed the police who for another half an hour or so were still blocking 
off exits. Many people outside had been chanting "let them free" whilst we 
were up against the wall and the school was being emptied with stretcher 
after stretcher of young men and women being carried out. 

The story from across the street in the school was that when police arrived 
they grabbed the first people they could outside and beat them heavily. One 
of the first to be beaten was a UK reporter who was smashed repeatedly by a 
group of them. One held him by his neck while the others beat him with clubs. 
Unconscious he was left in the street in a pool of blood (later when we were 
allowed out of the building the blood had been cleaned off the pavement). 
Their intention was clear then from the start. 

Inside the building when police entered many people inside raised their hands 
but the police just started smashing windows. One group then ran to the third 
floor and managed to escape out of an upper window and down scaffolding (the 
building is a bit of a building site under repair) - they were lucky. The 
others inside were beaten everywhere but from the long stream of stretchers 
came out of the building they were obviously trying to injure people as 
seriously as possible - at least five were brought out unconscious. 

Later after more arrests in the street the police and fleet of ambulances 
departed, leaving us access to the building. Inside the sight was sickening. 
There was thick dark blood all up the walls, over the floor and at the bottom 
of stairs. It looked like several people had been beaten while on the ground 
from the blood patters low down on the walls. The scene was horrible. Even 
the ambulance staff were obviously shocked. 

The night is long and will not end to day. This is a sad day for democracy. 

As to the "weapons" they found in the school, the place was as we said 
earlier was under repair, a small section blocked off and littered with pipes 
and building materials etc Like us they too had knives (and forks!) for 
cooking and eating. 

The local media and other reports have said police where there searching for 
weapons or drugs. No, it is obvious why they were here. The testimonies of 
people in both buildings, the blood on th e street and inside the school and 
the number seriously injured in this so called search tells the true story. 
No doubt many things will be said about this horrific evening here at the GSF 
building, but whatever happens, Indymedia will continue to report the truth.

see also:
http://www.genoa-g8.it/eng/attualita/primo_piano/primo_piano_11.html