S11 (protest)
Encyclopedia
S11 refers to a series of protest
s against meetings of the World Economic Forum
on 11, 12 and 13 September 2000 in Melbourne
, Australia
, where approximately 10,000 people of many ages and a wide cross section of the community were involved. One of the groups involved in the protests called itself the S11 Alliance http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/2000/427/427p5b.htm. This group was dominated by various socialist parties. The success of the protest led them to the creation of the M1 Alliance on 1 November 2000 in preparation for the next year's May Day
events http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/2000/427/427p5.htm and the S26 Alliance http://www.greenleft.org.au/globalaction/, in solidarity with protest against the International Monetary Fund
/World Bank
meetings in Prague
(26 September 2000). The other main organising network for the protest was the autonomist & anarchist 's11 AWOL' http://www.antimedia.net/s11awol/main.html.
The protest was part of the anti-globalisation movement, and closely modeled after the 1999 WTO
protests in Seattle. This movement has been motivated by a number of concerns about globalization
, including loss of national sovereignty
, environmental impact, and the impact of foreign debt and multi-national corporations on third world
countries.
The protest was notable as the first major anti-globalization action to take place in Australia. As with previous events in other parts of the world, the event was characterized by civil disobedience and often festive direct action, and by an aggressive police response. Protesters linked arms and some chained themselves together in an effort to prevent delegates from getting into the meetings http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0009/S00052.htm. The police reportedly responded with pepper spray
(which in Victoria is not permitted to be used by police at demonstrations), and Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
MP Nandor Tanczos
reported that he and other protesters were victims of police brutality
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0009/S00061.htm.
video footage."
The 40 person Legal Observer Team present over the three days made two conclusions in its report http://home.vicnet.net.au/~ptchang/downloads/s11_legal_observer_report.pdf published after the event:
1) It is the conclusion of the Pt’chang Legal Observer Team, that, in the almost complete absence
of police attempts to arrest individual protesters who broke the law, individual police officers were taking opportunities afforded by the chaotic nature of the event, crowd numbers, isolation or the lack of accountability to senior police, and effectively meting out their own ‘summary’, extra
judicial punishment’ to individual protestors. Buoyed by, and perhaps made fearful by the mediagenerated myths of ‘violent S11 protestors’ and briefed by their commanding officers of much the same, some police officers were able to take full advantage of every opportunity to assault,
intimidate and harass individual protesters whilst on duty.
2) The Legal Observer Team strongly asserts that the Victorian Police command decisions to
deploy the level of force observed during these attempts to clear access points was both entirely
unjustified and unprovoked and poorly and dangerously executed. The decision to use the fully
equipped Force Response Unit, with full body and face protection, and lines of mounted police to
carry out a simple objective of clearing an access point stands out as particularly unjustified
when a procedure of arresting people engaged in unlawful obstruction could have been
implemented with no injuries to people and nor threat towards individual police.
It is the conclusion of the Legal Observer Team that the use of batons, surprise formation
charges and the use of containment lines of mounted police a) was potentially lethal and resulted
in an incredibly high level of serious personal injuries amongst protestors present at these
incidents; and b) served to create a highly emotive, dangerous and provocative climate during
and immediately after each manoeuvre.
Protest
A protest is an expression of objection, by words or by actions, to particular events, policies or situations. Protests can take many different forms, from individual statements to mass demonstrations...
s against meetings of the World Economic Forum
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva, best known for its annual meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland....
on 11, 12 and 13 September 2000 in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, where approximately 10,000 people of many ages and a wide cross section of the community were involved. One of the groups involved in the protests called itself the S11 Alliance http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/2000/427/427p5b.htm. This group was dominated by various socialist parties. The success of the protest led them to the creation of the M1 Alliance on 1 November 2000 in preparation for the next year's May Day
May Day
May Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....
events http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/2000/427/427p5.htm and the S26 Alliance http://www.greenleft.org.au/globalaction/, in solidarity with protest against the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
/World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
meetings in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
(26 September 2000). The other main organising network for the protest was the autonomist & anarchist 's11 AWOL' http://www.antimedia.net/s11awol/main.html.
The protest was part of the anti-globalisation movement, and closely modeled after the 1999 WTO
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...
protests in Seattle. This movement has been motivated by a number of concerns about globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
, including loss of national sovereignty
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
, environmental impact, and the impact of foreign debt and multi-national corporations on third world
Third World
The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either capitalism and NATO , or communism and the Soviet Union...
countries.
The protest was notable as the first major anti-globalization action to take place in Australia. As with previous events in other parts of the world, the event was characterized by civil disobedience and often festive direct action, and by an aggressive police response. Protesters linked arms and some chained themselves together in an effort to prevent delegates from getting into the meetings http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0009/S00052.htm. The police reportedly responded with pepper spray
Pepper spray
Pepper spray, also known as OC spray , OC gas, and capsicum spray, is a lachrymatory agent that is used in riot control, crowd control and personal self-defense, including defense against dogs and bears...
(which in Victoria is not permitted to be used by police at demonstrations), and Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand is a political party that has seats in the New Zealand parliament. It focuses firstly on environmentalism, arguing that all other aspects of humanity will cease to be of concern if there is no environment to sustain it...
MP Nandor Tanczos
Nandor Tanczos
Nándor Steven Tánczos , a member of the New Zealand Parliament from 1999 to 2008, represented the Green Party as a list MP. He briefly lost his seat in the 2005 General Election, but returned to Parliament following the sudden death of Rod Donald just prior to the first sitting of Parliament, as he...
reported that he and other protesters were victims of police brutality
Police brutality
Police brutality is the intentional use of excessive force, usually physical, but potentially also in the form of verbal attacks and psychological intimidation, by a police officer....
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0009/S00061.htm.
Police Response
During the S11 protests there was a significant media presence, and some reporters and photographers were attacked by police during their attempts to break up the protest. This resulted in a higher degree of reporting than that which normally occurs at similar protests, and a large amount of photographic and video evidence of the event was available. In a report regarding the police response, the Ombudsman's Report http://www.ombudsman.vic.gov.au/downloads/s11.pdf stated "It was obvious that the event had been one of the most photographed events in recent memory and there was likely to be a great deal ofvideo footage."
- The majority of the police removed their name tags, a contravention of Victoria Police Operating Procedures. This prevented individual police from being identified in later hearings regarding police actions.
- Video footage showed punches and overhead baton strikes being used against the demonstrators, and several were stomped or kicked while upon the ground and/or dragged by their hair. Several demonstrators were struck without warning while not engaged in violent activity. These were all violations of police procedures.
- During a "baton chargeBaton chargeA baton charge is a coordinated tactic for dispersing crowds of people, usually used by police or military during public order situations. In certain countries, police are not authorised to use the tactic unless no other means can be practiced....
", police struck camera operators from the Seven NetworkSeven NetworkThe Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
and SBSSpecial Broadcasting ServiceThe Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
while they were filming. This footage was shown on the respective stations. Photographers from The AgeThe AgeThe Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
and Herald SunHerald SunThe Herald Sun is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia. It is published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Limited, itself a subsidiary of News Corporation. It is available for purchase throughout Melbourne, Regional Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital...
newspapers claimed that their camera equipment was removed from them and smashed by police during the charge. - A woman was run over by an unmarked police car with uniformed officers inside. The protesters claimed that the car was stationary until it suddenly accelerated over the woman and sped off. Police claimed that the protesters surrounded a moving car and were rocking and damaging it. However, the footage taken by a nearby camera crew clearly bore out the protesters' version of events.
The 40 person Legal Observer Team present over the three days made two conclusions in its report http://home.vicnet.net.au/~ptchang/downloads/s11_legal_observer_report.pdf published after the event:
1) It is the conclusion of the Pt’chang Legal Observer Team, that, in the almost complete absence
of police attempts to arrest individual protesters who broke the law, individual police officers were taking opportunities afforded by the chaotic nature of the event, crowd numbers, isolation or the lack of accountability to senior police, and effectively meting out their own ‘summary’, extra
judicial punishment’ to individual protestors. Buoyed by, and perhaps made fearful by the mediagenerated myths of ‘violent S11 protestors’ and briefed by their commanding officers of much the same, some police officers were able to take full advantage of every opportunity to assault,
intimidate and harass individual protesters whilst on duty.
2) The Legal Observer Team strongly asserts that the Victorian Police command decisions to
deploy the level of force observed during these attempts to clear access points was both entirely
unjustified and unprovoked and poorly and dangerously executed. The decision to use the fully
equipped Force Response Unit, with full body and face protection, and lines of mounted police to
carry out a simple objective of clearing an access point stands out as particularly unjustified
when a procedure of arresting people engaged in unlawful obstruction could have been
implemented with no injuries to people and nor threat towards individual police.
It is the conclusion of the Legal Observer Team that the use of batons, surprise formation
charges and the use of containment lines of mounted police a) was potentially lethal and resulted
in an incredibly high level of serious personal injuries amongst protestors present at these
incidents; and b) served to create a highly emotive, dangerous and provocative climate during
and immediately after each manoeuvre.
See also
- Anti-globalization movementAnti-globalization movementThe anti-globalization movement, or counter-globalisation movement, is critical of the globalization of corporate capitalism. The movement is also commonly referred to as the global justice movement, alter-globalization movement, anti-globalist movement, anti-corporate globalization movement, or...
- List of demonstrations against corporate globalization
- Legal observerLegal observerLegal observers are individuals, usually representatives of civilian human rights agencies, who attend public demonstrations, protests and other activities where there is a potential for conflict between the public or activists and the police, security guards or other law enforcement personnel...
- Police BrutalityPolice brutalityPolice brutality is the intentional use of excessive force, usually physical, but potentially also in the form of verbal attacks and psychological intimidation, by a police officer....
External links
- s11.org website
- s11 AWOL website
- GreenLeft coverage of the S11 protest
- A Psychologists' Report on the Post-Traumatic Effects of Police Violence on Protestors at the World Economic Forum
- S11 Protestors Keeping Delegates Out
- An Activist's Diary: The Battle Of Melbourne
- S11, S26, M1
- World Economic Forum on 11 September 2000
- Protests against World Economic Forum at Melbourne Crown Casino 11 - 13 September
- Photos from the s11 protest
- Police claim S11 violence - but only pies
- Police Threaten to Shutdown Anti-WTO Websites
- S11 legal support team
- Pt'chang Legal Observer Team Report: World Economic Forum Protests
- http://www.ombudsman.vic.gov.au/resources/documents/investigation_of_police_action_at_the_world_economic_forum_demonstrations.pdf Ombudsman's Report
- Beating Up. A Report on Police Batons and the News Media at the World Economic Forum, Melbourne, September 2000 Dr. Bernard Barrett, Historian
- s11.org website - National Library Pandora Archive dated 14 September 2000