Police officers, soldiers, protesters and citizens acting recklessly in Calgary next week will face scrutiny from 50 volunteer observers who are serving as independent ears and eyes for the Canadian public.
Stephen Jenuth, president of the Alberta Civil Liberties Association and the man behind the observer program, said Friday, with so many agendas clashing in Calgary during the G-8 Summit, it's crucial for the public to get information from independent sources.
"We don't have an agenda. We have a hope that nothing will go badly wrong. But on the other hand, we're willing to report what we see," said Jenuth, a Calgary-based lawyer.
"I think we have to realize there are all those other agendas, and we have to rise above it."
Of the four dozen or so volunteers who will be visible to the public in their tangerine- or lime-coloured T-shirts, six were chosen and have passed the necessary security checks to go behind police lines and into detention centres, should anyone get arrested.
Another six, Jenuth among them, will be charged with compiling reports from volunteers and drafting a final report with recommendations to be released to the public within three weeks after the Summit.
Montreal's Ligue des Droits et Libertes conducted a similar exercise during the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City last April.
Official observers reported two months later that overall, police respected human rights, but in some cases they used excessive force, were abusive to protesters and mistreated those arrested and detained.
Jenuth said observers will be monitoring the behaviour of police and protesters alike.
"We have a commitment toward civil rights," he said, "the right for people to protest and the right for leaders to meet."
Volunteer observers, mostly from Calgary, attended workshops last weekend led by protesters, police, journalists, lawyers and even political scientists who explained what the June 26-27 summit will cover and why.
"The largest hurdle was interviewing people," said Jenuth. Some people had to be denied because they were clearly partisan to one side or another.
Jenuth won't go into detail, but he did say the association has purchased some protective equipment for its observers should they find themselves in a cloud of tear gas.
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