MONTREAL - Demonstrations against a World Trade Organization meeting degenerated into vandalism of downtown stores and luxury vehicles Monday, with police eventually arresting more than 200 people.
But the undaunted protesters, even with their numbers cut in half, still intended to go ahead today with a downtown march.
"This doesn't affect our resistance. We're going to be back on the streets," said protest coalition spokeswoman Tamara Herman.
While the majority of the 400 or so activists gathered for the Monday demonstration were peaceful in their opposition to the informal meeting of about 25 international trade ministers, pockets of violent protest early in the day prompted police to declare the entire gathering illegal.
More than 230 people were arrested, including several minors, after downtown windows were smashed and buildings vandalized. Many will appear in court today.
Ten police officers and a news photographer suffered minor injuries in scuffles, said Montreal police spokesman Ian Lafreniere.
But the incidents did nothing to halt activity inside the Sheraton Centre, where the meetings officially get underway today.
International Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew spent much of Monday meeting with non-governmental organizations and business groups concerned about negotiations intended to broker a new trade treaty.
On the streets, protesters shouted their frustration at being kept well away from the meeting by metal barricades and police officers in riot gear.
Chanting "Resist! Resist! Fight the capitalists!" hundreds of protesters converged about 7:30 a.m. on the security perimeter around the Sheraton. There, they came face to face with an equal number of stone-faced riot police, gas masks on and batons in hand.
Before most downtown shops and businesses had opened, five arrests had been made -- including well-known activist Jaggi Singh, who police said violated court orders to stay away from demonstrations. The activists got nowhere near the WTO meeting.
At several points in the demonstration a few protesters threw large garbage bins and barricades from downtown construction sites into the street in an effort to block the police, who followed several metres behind in their vehicles.
The protesters, some of whom wore helmets and goggles, taunted police. Someone hurled a paint bomb across the barricades, splashing mustard yellow onto an officer's blue uniform.
Within minutes, the police read the Riot Act, telling the protesters to disperse, then moving in on them from all sides.
But the police failed to stop some of them from wreaking havoc on Ste. Catherine St. They shattered windows at a Gap store, Burger King and a Canadian Forces recruiting office.
"I suppose it's to be expected," said one man surveying a Porsche whose windows had been shattered. "It looked like a peaceful march up till now. I guess they changed their minds."
Protest organizer Stefan Christoff said the businesses that were targeted represent the type of global capitalism perpetrated by the WTO.
The real violence is done by the WTO, he said, charging that it stands in the way of generic anti-AIDS drugs reaching patients in Africa. "So millions face death. That's much more violent than a couple of broken windows."
Most of the arrests were made a few hours after the protest broke up as the activists gathered at a pre-determined meeting point east of downtown.
Those rounded up will face charges of mischief, obstructing justice and taking part in an illegal protest, said Lafreniere.
"It was established as an illegal protest, a riot," said Lafreniere.
"So because of that we gave warnings to the people who were taking part in that protest. People were still gathering together. That's the reason why we followed them to this location and that's the reason why we made the arrests."
However, protesters said they were meeting to discuss a number of issues including human rights. They said they weren't part of the earlier violence.
"We find it disappointing and incomprehensible that police arrested people in the green zone," said Melanie Sylvestre of the Popular Mobilization Against the WTO. Sylvestre said the so-called green zone is an area where protesters can meet, relax and plan their strategy.
"The fact that they crossed the city and surrounded people in a zone that was safe for us is completely disgusting," coalition organizer Herman said.
At least one protester denounced the vandalism.
"Should there be a protest in front of the Gap?" asked Montreal lawyer Marc Stamos. "Absolutely. Should they damage the store? I don't think so. I think that goes too far.
"You can't protest against violence and poor treatment against one person and then go do it yourself. That's hypocritical."
Pettigrew, who expressed his dismay at the vandalism, said the anti-globalization movement has lost steam in the last few years.
"It has been replaced by a view that globalization can not be stopped, and possibly should not be stopped," Pettigrew told a news conference Monday.
"But it should be tempered, it should be influenced, it should be managed in a way that better serves all citizens."
Pettigrew even attempted to inject some humour into his assessment of the protesters' action.
"I was very sorry to see some individuals, masked, with two-by-fours," he said.
"You know I like softwood lumber but I don't like it in the hands of protesters breaking windows."
Pettigrew is chairing this week's meeting, which will assess how far apart the WTO's 146-member countries are as they approach the halfway point in negotiations for a trade treaty known as the Doha Development Agenda.
The meeting will likely be the last chance for the ministers to determine what kind of flexibility is still needed heading into a crucial full-scale WTO meeting in Mexico in September.
Many of the demonstrators say the most powerful countries within the WTO are not doing enough to help the poorer countries make gains in areas such as agriculture and access to generic drugs.
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