ET Quebec summit anarchists plan to raid London
By James Langton in Quebec City and David Bamber, Home Affairs

MEMBERS of an international anarchist movement planning to bring violence to the streets of London on May Day were identified as the ringleaders behind Friday's violent clashes at the Summit of the Americas in Quebec.

Canadian police said that three leaders of the group Black Bloc were arrested after protesters destroyed a section of the security fence round the ancient heart of the city, where American leaders, including President George W Bush, are holding free-trade talks this weekend.

Black Bloc supporters are known to have been at the centre of attempts to disrupt President Bush's inauguration in Washington earlier this year, and were involved in violent protests at the WTO summit in Seattle in November 1999. They are also among the most extreme of several radical groups reported to be planning chaos for the centre of London next week. Scotland Yard also believes that a violent group of foreign anarchists from the Continent intend to create mayhem in London on May Day.

The Black Bloc radicals were among more than 100 protesters arrested in Quebec when police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at thousands of demonstrators who were trying to force their way into the summit, late on Friday and into the early hours of yesterday. A hardcore of at least a dozen anarchists, wearing trademark face masks and armed with hockey sticks, attacked the 9ft wire fence surrounding the summit and pulled down a section before being beaten back by police in riot gear.

Many of the rioters had come well prepared, wearing gas masks or scarves dipped in vinegar to minimise the effects of tear gas. Police trying to drive them back were met by a barrage of bricks, bottles and steel balls. At least five officers were treated for injuries. In the most violent incident, a gang of five black-clad youths dragged a police officer from his patrol car and beat him unconscious with metal bats. He was said to be stable in hospital with facial injuries.

The rioting delayed the opening of the summit by an hour, while President Bush was forced to cancel meetings with the leaders of other American nations. Protests continued as talks began yesterday on the creation of a giant free-trade bloc running from the Arctic to the tip of South America that President Bush in his opening speech called, "A hemisphere of liberty".

Tensions continued to rise ahead of the biggest demonstration planned for the three-day summit. Tens of thousands of protesters arrived for what was intended to be a peaceful protest organised by Canadian trade unions. Activists are reported to have divided the protest into colour-coded zones. Those in the green zone face a minimal risk of arrest. Those planning civil disobedience will move the yellow zone. The red zone is reserved for hard-core demonstrators. The three-mile fence is being guarded by more than 4,000 local police and Mounties. Police spent the night repairing a 60ft section that had been torn down, but insisted that the security zone had not been breached.

Thousands of environmental activists plan to take over London streets on Tuesday, May 1, in a violent version of the game of Monopoly, with the aim of seizing hotels and company headquarters. Until last week, detectives led by Mike Todd, Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, believed that foreign activists were being dissuaded from attending.

However, The Telegraph has discovered that leaflets describing the Monopoly tactics have been translated into four languages - Italian, German, Dutch and Spanish - and are being distributed via the internet. Detectives particularly fear that a contingent of the Italian hard-core anarchist organisation Ya Basta will descend on London.

The movement has been linked with the hijack of a train in Italy and activists linked to it were arrested in Quebec, armed with smoke bombs and weapons. Last month, detectives in London raided a factory that they believed was being used by a British group heavily influenced by Ya Basta.

The leaflet distributed abroad says: "This year we want to celebrate May Day by playing a game of Monopoly on the streets of London on May 1." The plans instruct activists to target "above all, the streets and areas in which the daily business of capitalism continues, normally unhindered".

-- Anonymous, April 21, 2001