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Genoa tries to thwart protesters

A man shows his identification papers to police yesterday in order to get through barricades set up around the Ducale Palace where the G8 leaders will meet in Genoa. PHOTO: AFP

Thousands of Italian police battened down the hatches on Genoa yesterday, sealing off the city center to protect a weekend Group of Eight (G8) summit against an onslaught by anti-globalization demonstrators.

With concrete barricades and steel mesh fences, the police closed off a key-shaped "red zone" including the 13th century Ducal Palace where the G8 leaders will meet and the old port where most of them will sleep on board a luxury ocean liner.

From 7am, only residents of the zone and people with official passes were allowed through, after searches of any bags they were carrying.

More than 100,000 demonstrators protesting against the power of multinational corporations have vowed to besiege the annual summit, opening tomorrow, of leaders from the US, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada and Russia.

Some 20,000 police from around Italy have been assigned to keep the protesters out of the red zone, although they can demonstrate nearby as the leaders discuss the world economy and political trouble spots.

Most of the protesters say they are peaceful, but authorities fear a hard core could repeat the scenes of violence seen at last month's EU summit in Gothenburg, Sweden and at several previous international gatherings.

Staging the summit in Genoa, a cramped and bustling Italian riviera city between the mountains and the sea that experts say is difficult to secure, has posed a major challenge for the new government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

"The G8 cannot be reduced to a public order problem. it is a positive event and Italy's credibility in the eyes of the world is at stake," Interior Minister Claudio Scajola told parliament on Tuesday.

He said nearly 700 people had been turned back at Italy's borders because they were thought to be trouble-makers. ANSA news agency reported that six Germans and an American had been charged in Genoa on Tuesday with carrying offensive weapons.

Genoa's central Via XX Settembre, normally teeming with early morning traffic, was almost deserted yesterday except for squads of officers in the diverse uniforms of Italy's various police forces.

Tonitto's coffee bar and pizzeria was open as usual in an elegant arcade, but there were few customers. "We've been open half an hour and you're the first," said the barman Enrico. "We're going to stay open today and see what happens, but if there's no business we'll probably close tomorrow."

"The people who live in the red zone are staying at home and hardly anyone else can get in here," he added. "There are no buses and just 20 taxis for 40,000 residents of the zone -- if you get one it's like winning the lottery."

Many shops, apparently fearing lack of custom rather than violence, had signs saying they were "on holiday." A branch of the McDonalds fast food chain -- a prime target of the demonstrators -- was covered over with chipboard.
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