Peaceful G-8 protests have exposed the militarist waste of millions of dollars on security, activist leaders said yesterday.
One of the most notable impacts of yesterday's downtown demonstrations was to prove the paranoia of authorities and police, said Sarah Dover of the group Legal Collective.
"What (the authorities) have done is create a perimeter of fear and today was a mockery of that process," said Dover.
"Three hundred million dollars was spent on security for protests that ended in street parties."
The false vilification of the protest movement, she said, has been laid bare.
She added the massive police presence had a sinister purpose.
"They've proven themselves today as corporate security guards rather than protecting the public," she said.
Protest organizer Sarah Kerr said the peace is vindicating.
"What we saw today was exactly what we've been telling the city of Calgary and Calgary police would happen," she said.
City police dismissed the contention security measures have been unnecessary.
"We must be fully prepared -- with an event of this scope, we'd be remiss if we didn't prepare for the worst and hope for the best," said Insp. Al Redford.
In one of the few incidents so far, several protesters threw garbage at police, who responded minimally, said Redford.
"We will not be provoked into any unnecessary escalation."
He credited restraint on the part of both protesters and police for the low-key situation.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. NoNonsense English offers this material non-commercially for research and educational purposes. I believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C ยง 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner, i.e. the media service or newspaper which first published the article online and which is indicated at the top of the article unless otherwise specified.