APEC - Stop Bush Protest

1. Police Overkill??
2. Peaceful Protesting
3. Bush the Puppeteer
4. The Greens
5. Creative protesting on the go


Town Hall Sydney to Hyde Park - Saturday 8th September 2007

So in preparation for the water canon Id heard so much about and the dark clouds outside my window and the passing showers I threw on the board shorts and rain coat and joined quite a few more people from Newtown on the bus to Town Hall for the 10am Stop Bush Rally.

Managed to get close enough to hear some really good speakers including Matt Howard, ex US Marine. Very well thought out speech offering an insight into the war on Iraq first hand. The kind of stuff that makes your blood boil and illustrates all the lies that Howard and Bush have told us all to justify having troops in Iraq.

Numbers were down from what the organisers were expecting, but with the threat of rain and also the huge Police presence there would of had to of been at least 10,000 people.

So was it peaceful?? Well from what I seen, there was no trouble. I did see one girl get arrested (or maybe just removed?) for dancing on the steps of Town Hall as we started to move away, well she did decide that she wanted to dance on the high banister in a rather unsafe spot, and when the Police removed her I thought the Peaceful March was about to go pear shaped as the crowd turned on the cops that had us and every side st off Park st cut off.

There were a number of pro Bush supporters provoking the masses and a Neo-Nazi group that attached itself to the rear of the March that organisers pleaded with protesters not to engage with.

I have never seen so many Police in Sydney, or anywhere for that matter. That in itself left me feeling a little uneasy. Police buses, riot squads, water canons, they had it all. Overkill, well yes I think so.

So what exactly did Sydney get out of APEC besides the public holiday on the Friday??
What exactly did Australia get out of hosting APEC and what have the leaders achieved??
Most the stuff you read has not been positive and word on the street is much the same.