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Melbourne: Arrests as anti-G20 turns violent
POLICE have arrested four G20 protesters for assault after they chained themselves to a car near the Victorian parliament in central Melbourne late on Saturday night.
Police said the protesters caused a crowd disturbance near Spring Street and officers were called about 10pm (AEDT).
After protesters scuffled with police, four people were arrested and questioned. One person was drunk, police said.
No charges have been laid.
The arrests followed a day of incidents in Melbourne when streams of anti-globalisation protesters tried to disrupt the two-day G20summit.
Anti-G20 protesters unleashed mayhem in Melbourne, rioting in the streets and attacking police as pedestrians fled in fear.
A hardcore mob wrecked police vehicles, smashing windows and panels with rubbish bins, bottles, rocks and steel signposts.
Police are braced for more clashes as the economic summit ends today.
In what police described as the worst outbreak of violence since the 2000 S-11 protests:
Protesters in bandannas hurled flares, horse manure, fake blood and urine-filled balloons.
Froontline police officers were battered, one suffered a broken wrist and two rioters were arrested.
Children took part in the chaos.
Police Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon blamed a hardcore group of 100 anarchists she said were from Europe and interstate.
She promised more arrests after video footage was analysed.
"We're expecting the worst – and we will plan for it," Ms Nixon said, warning peaceful protesters to stay away.
At the height of the violence, protesters hurled bins, bags of rubbish, rocks and bottles at police in full riot gear, who yelled "back off" as they beat batons on the barriers.
Tension reached fever pitch when demonstrators armed with steel pickets threw flares behind police lines and challenged officers to fight.
The chaos started about 11.30am when wire barricades surrounding the G20 summit venue in Russell St were attacked by protesters in white-hooded jumpsuits and wearing bandannas across their faces.
The group, known as the Arterial Bloc, overturned water barriers then ran up Swanston St, storming a McDonald's restaurant and Nike outlet.
Police endured a barrage of crude verbal taunts as demonstrators splashed officers and journalists with fake blood.
Activists denounced capitalism during a rally at the State Library from where the formal march began about 1.15pm.
Protesters danced, chanted and unfurled banners as they marched back towards the Hyatt, but the peaceful demonstration soon exploded in violence.
Bloc members charged up Russell St, where 20 mounted police and about 120 officers waited behind water-filled barriers.
After a tense 15-minute standoff key agitators fled around the corner to converge on the police cordon from Collins St. There, the mob up-ended barriers, hurled milk crates and used industrial rubbish bins as battering rams against the police.
They looted rubbish bins for ammunition and spread the violence.
The mob stopped traffic in Exhibition St, destroyed a police van, sent police ducking for cover and smashed a window of a nearby parked car.
Later, they ran riot as police charged at them from Exhibition St, where plainclothes police wrestled some to the ground.
Graffiti was scrawled on the ANZ building and as thugs tried to shatter its window with steel pickets, passers-by ran for shelter amid exploding glass bottles.
Plainclothes police filmed the riot with hand-held video cameras.
By 2.15pm, protesters advanced on police from Flinders Lane and Exhibition St. Officers retreated in Flinders Lane until protesters stormed the mesh barricades, climbing and rattling the cages.
Last night, as the standoff continued with protesters pelting police horses with bottles and rotten fruit, the CBD was locked down – causing havoc for commuters.
Ms Nixon cancelled plans to sing at a charity function last night. Instead she visited officers on the frontline.
The police chief was due to sing Raining Men at the Starry Starry Night event at Crown Palladium to help raise money for the Alannah & Madeline Foundation.
Treasurer Peter Costello, who chaired the G20 meeting, said the agitators were highly organised.
"There is a hard-core militant and violent element among these protesters who have come organised for violence," Mr Costello said.
"They want to trash the reputation of Australia. We won't stand for that. These people do not represent Melbourne, they do not represent Australians and they will not be successful in their attempts to trash Australia and its reputation."
An Arterial Bloc spokesman, calling himself Barry, said: "We wanted to make it clear that the streets are our streets. We wanted to show the world, united as a bloc, that we oppose the G-20 and to show police we are not scared."
Protester Sam Quilty, 13, said at the rear of the Hyatt: "It's big business taking over small family businesses which I don't think is fair."
With Carly Crawford, Kelvin Healey, Sue Hewitt, Kellie Cameron, Hanna Mills, Mary Papadakis and Ian Royall, AAP.
Source: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20779055-2,00.htmlImages:
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