THEIR WEAPON is their message -- and that's as violent as they want to get.
Thousands of protesters are expected to descend on Calgary before and during the June 26-27 G-8 summit, bent on being heard.
And while the leaders of Russia, Canada, the U.S., Japan, Italy, United Kingdom, Germany and France meet in Kananaskis, 5,000-10,000 protesters are expected in Calgary to speak out against globalization and their economic policies.
While organizers admit they can't promise anything, their aim is to keep things as peaceful as possible.
Sarah Kerr is a Calgary organizer behind Solidarity Village, a music and educational festival expected to attract peace groups, international development activists and health groups, especially HIV and AIDS related, who'll unite in their messages against the G-8.
"The G-8 is a focal point for many concerns," said Kerr.
"There will be Canadians and people from around the world to address issues."
For some it's poverty and AIDS in Africa, for others it's the control of the many by the few.
Kerr said her own complaint against the G-8 is its economic priorities: Pushing growth at all costs.
"The assumption we can grow infinitely, there is infinite natural resources and the Earth has infinite ability to handle pollution -- it's not the case. We live on a finite planet," she said.
Complaints against the G-8 are many -- as are websites by activists dedicated to protesting.
A group calling itself Anti-Capitalist Kananaskis invites people to go to the summit at its www.struggle.ca website with its haiku of the month:
Disrupt the G-8
Come Play in Kananaskis
Bring Your Black Hoodie
Other groups, like the one behind www.raisethefist.com, are urging eastern Canadians and northeastern Americans to focus their protest in Ottawa during that time instead.
But they say Alberta is a prime example of the economic powers they're protesting "at the service of big business, contributing to poverty, environmental destruction, social service cutbacks and more."
For David Robbins, a trade campaigner with the Council of Canadians, the influence the G-8 leaders have over free trade arrangements is reason enough to protest.
"The free trade deals being written today have less and less to do with trade, and more and more to do with creating relationships that benefit large, transnational corporations," said Robbins.
"Public services are being privatized, the protection of the environment will suffer, it will become an increasingly unequal and dangerous world."
People desperate for change can more easily get sucked into extremist movements, Robbins said.
"Most people on the planet feel they've got nothing to lose," he said.
A University of Calgary professor cautions against suggesting "so many" people oppose the G-8.
It may just be a small percentage of very outspoken people, said Rob Huebert, who is also director of U of C's Centre for Military and Strategic Studies.
"I've yet to see a survey showing how many Canadians are opposed or how many citizens of other countries are opposed," said Huebert.
"There is a very vocal, but not necessarily very large, group of individuals in Canada and the United States who do protest."
The fact of the matter he said, is most people aren't even aware of the G-8 -- or what it does.
But Kerr disagrees, and said there is a "growing support" for the movement against the G-8.
Will protesters have a chance to influence the policies being agreed to in Kananaskis? Unlikely, Huebert said, noting most are researched and written by staff before the meetings.
"Nothing you see at these international conferences is even being negotiated there," he said.
What many take issue with, Huebert said, is the fact decisions that affect the world's economy are made by a group with no accountability -- each leader has been elected by their own citizens, but there's not much recourse for people dissatisfied with what happens when the eight leaders meet.
While policies by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund have far more impact than what happens at the G-8 table, Huebert said "the G-8 is symbolic."
The protesters' biggest hope is getting their message to the mainstream, Huebert said.
"But any time there's violence, they hurt themselves," he said.
Most protesters have no intention of getting violent. But Alan Keane, the sole demonstrator injured during the World Petroleum Congress in Calgary when he was kicked by a security guard, said it's not the protesters who are the worry -- it's overzealous police.
"If you look at the last few demonstrations in Canada, it's the police who were the ones creating conflict," Keane said.
"That's my biggest concern -- not the protesters on the streets of Calgary. My fear is police violence, not protester violence."
Calgary Police Service Deputy Chief Jim Hornby said cops are committed to protecting protesters' rights to be heard -- and will use as soft a touch as they can to control the crowd, just like they do during Stampede parades.
"If things get a little more animated than what you see at the parade we'll ramp it up," Hornby said.
"We'll do whatever we have to do to ensure the safety of the public and the police officers is maintained."
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