Police, protesters clash ahead of WTO conference

SWITZERLAND: Swiss police fired tear gas and rubber bullets on Saturday at hooded protesters who broke windows and set cars alight during a demonstration ahead of a major WTO conference in Geneva.

Thousands marched in the protest ahead of the World Trade Organisation ministerial meeting beginning on Monday, with the vast majority of demonstrators not participating in the violence.

Organisers later decided to end the demonstration due to the violence and because police prevented the march from continuing to WTO headquarters, the Swiss ATS news agency reported.

Some 200 violent protesters infiltrated the march and “began to inflict damage right from the start of the demonstration,” police spokesman Patrick Puhl said. Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to stop them.

Officers had moved in after protesters broke windows at a jewellers, banks and a hotel. Vehicles parked along the march route, particularly luxury cars, were damaged, with at least four set alight, Puhl said.

Organisers put the total number of protesters at 5,000, while police said it was 3,000.

Earlier, three South Koreans were barred from entering Switzerland for the protest after being accused of violent behaviour at past demonstrations, a police spokesman said.

Dosuk Han, head of the Korean League of Small Farmers, as well as Kangsil Lee and Jejoon Ju from a campaign group for farmers, were being held at the Geneva airport on Saturday, protest organisers said in a statement.

The organisers demanded their immediate release.

Next week’s gathering falls on the 10th anniversary of the ministerial meeting in Seattle, which was marked by violent street protests.

More than a hundred ministers will gather for the WTO conference, though there have been concerns linked to the United States and European Union.

Geneva, Sunday, AFP