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Perth CHOGM Protests 2011
A protest march in Perth has ended peacefully after demonstrators staged a sit-in when police blocked them from approaching the Commonwealth leaders' meeting venue.
About 500 marchers walked from Forrest Chase to the end of Hay Street Mall today to be told at about 12:10pm they could not proceed along William Street to the summit venue.
A steel fence was across the street and around 30 riot squad officers stood waiting 100m further on.
Marchers, representing a wide range of protest movements, then sat down in the street chanting "we have the right to demonstrate".
After about 40 minutes of chanting, watched over by police officers on horseback and foot, the protesters marched peacefully back to Forrest Chase.
There, officials had already instructed protest stallholders to dismantle their stalls.
Occupy Perth protesters planned to occupy Forrest Chase for the three days of CHOGM in a protest against global corporate greed.
Police and the City of Perth say they will not be allowed to camp there, raising the prospect they may be forcibly removed if they try to stay overnight.
But protest organiser Alex Bainbridge says many of the protesters plan to occupy the city overnight.
"We will simply be occupying the space, exercising our right to peaceful assembly and bringing whatever materials are necessary in order for us to exercise that right," Mr Bainbridge said.
However, the protesters have resolved to move partly out of Forrest Chase from 2pm to accommodate weekend market stalls.
About 20 different groups are protesting, with issues including Tamils calling for the Sri Lankan prime minister - a CHOGM delegate - to be sent home, Aboriginal land rights, indigenous deaths in custody, the "Occupy" movement against corporate greed, gay rights and workers' rights.
Police wearing jackets emblazoned with "Evidence Gathering Unit" are videoing the protesters but so far there has been no evidence of the clashes seen in Melbourne.
Retrieved from WAtoday website
28 October 2011
