The Europe pages - Observer special
The globalisation debate - Observer special

Paul Harris and Burhan Wazir
Sunday March 10, 2002
The Observer

Thousands of British protesters have drawn up plans to descend upon a European summit in Spain this week amid fears of a repeat of riots in Genoa last year that saw one protester killed by police.
Tens of thousands of anti-globalisation activists are travelling to Barcelona for the meeting of European Union heads of state and government. The summit, on 15-16 March, will be the first such meeting since the summit in Genoa, which saw the worst rioting in western Europe for decades.

British protesters, ranging from hardcore anarchists to environmentalists, are travelling to the city. London-based Global Resistance is organising transport from Madrid to Barcelona. 'We expect a big turnout. We need to show people how powerful we can be,' said organiser Guy Taylor.

Police surveillance on suspected British troublemakers has been stepped up. Special Branch detectives have been monitoring the movements of known activists, using intelligence gathered in Genoa and during last year's May Day protests, which brought London's West End to a halt and caused several hundred thousand pounds of damage.

Spanish police are determined to prevent any breakdown in law and order and have focused on anarchist groups. Since Genoa, anarchist protests have been labelled potentially terrorist activities in the EU, according to security reports seen by The Observer.

One report, studying terrorist trends in Europe over the past 12 months, concluded: 'The possibility of a resurrection of the left-wing and anarchist terror groups is existent.' That raises the possibility that anarchist demonstrators arrested in Barcelona could be charged with terrorism, not public order, offences.

Security measures to protect the summit and the European leaders who will be in Barcelona are to be as strict as those in Genoa. More than 8,500 police will be on the city's streets, including 3,000 officers drafted in from other parts of Spain. Riot police will be armed with tear gas and plastic bullets as well as pistols with live ammunition.

Ambulance teams have been set up to deal with expected casualties and mobile 'police intervention units' will act as a mobile police force moving quickly to any area of the city if rioting breaks out. Police have been carrying out random identity checks in city squares chosen for demonstrations and have raided several squats.

A security zone is to be set up around the conference centre around the Avenida Diagonal and the Catalonia Palace of Congresses, where the summit is being held. Similar zones will be set up around the two main hotels used by delegations at the summit, the Juan Carlos and Princess Sofia.

University campuses will also be closed down and private cars banned from the zone from midday on Thursday to midday on Saturday. 'The situation is high risk. We know that and we prepared for it,' said a senior EU source.

The Observer has learnt that at least 1,000 protesters from 'Black Bloc' groups will be attending the protests. Made up mainly of extremist anarchists from Germany and eastern Europe, they will try to breach the security zone and enter the summit buildings. Unlike the vast majority of peaceful protesters, Black Bloc activists use violence to achieve their ends. Similar plans took place in Genoa but were stopped by the Italian police in pitched battles that trashed large areas of the city centre.

'It is inevitable that the Black Bloc will arrive in Barcelona to show their strength. Genoa descended into a free-for-all with heavy violence. And the Black Bloc has taken all the credit for that. Barcelona proves irresistible,' said Richard Green, a protester from Bristol who will travel to Barcelona.

Another British demonstrator, Andy Wallace, 31, is taking a coach to Barcelona this weekend. He expects violence from the Spanish authorities: 'I think protesters in Barcelona next weekend will expect the worst.'

Spanish officials have applied to the EU for permission to refuse entry to anyone suspected of coming to Barcelona to participate in unrest. Similar tactics were tried before Genoa, but failed to prevent large numbers of protesters entering Italy.

However, the clampdown has been condemned by human rights groups and protesters' organisations. In Barcelona, residents' groups have criticised the high-profile police presence and accused the city authorities of adopting a siege mentality. 'There is an alarmist climate being created by the police. It is one thing guaranteeing safety and another turning the city into a bunker, preventing to a large extent the freedom of movement of its citizens,' said a spokesman for the Federation of Neighbourhood Associations of Barcelona.

Spanish police have liaised with their Italian counterparts to try to avoid a repeat of the Genoa violence. They have prepared special fast-track court procedures which could see people sentenced within 12 to 72 hours of being picked up by the police.

Although European leaders, including Tony Blair, initially praised the hardline taken by police in Genoa, a picture later emerged of brutality and beatings. One Italian protester, 23-year-old Carlos Giuliani, was shot and killed.

One protester who will not be in Barcelona this week is Norman Blair, 38, the Briton who is taking legal action against the Italian government after being kidnapped and tortured by police in Genoa.