The UN climate-change conference at Copenhagen has now experienced multiple violent demonstrations. In fairness, police noted that the crowds of activists – measured at over 60,000 strong this past weekend - were peaceful for the most part. Rally organizers had repeatedly urged the crowd to remain civilized, but within minutes of the start of
Saturday’s march, participants were smashing windows, burning cars and detonating fire-crackers.
Nearly 1,000 protestors were arrested, triggering the usual complaint of police aggression for “violating human rights by detaining people” - the same people suspected of breaching security barriers, damaging property, and ignoring direction from those tasked with maintaining law and order.
Doesn’t this all beg the question: why is it that every significant meeting of global leaders must be accompanied by an obligatory police-injuring, property-damaging wave of anarchy? And this is the treatment given the esteemed “host city”??
And what does it all accomplish? Could any of those arrested have articulated in rational terms the climate change objectives being debated?
Consider the 2-day Pittsburgh G20 Conference from this past September. Security was pegged at $19M, in addition to that spent by the various governments for protection of their own leaders and entourage. The post postmortem is causing many observers to question the true value of having hosted the event. Before the conference, the estimated economic benefit was to be $35M; that figure is now being seriously challenged as being overly optimistic. But the city’s reputation is now associated with the damaging images of Pennsylvania riot police confronting protesters.
So what’s the point??? Do the demonstrations reflect a public mood that evokes positive political response?? Or do they demonstrate an anarchy that is totally counter-productive to any social/political movement, undermining the intelligent and rational debate of those seeking solutions?
Why do liberal civil societies tolerate the mayhem??
What should we as Canadians expect (and tolerate) in June 2010 when the G8 Conference comes to Muskoka, followed by the G20 in Toronto in June of 2010? To the extent that the past is an indicator of the future, the only certainty will be carnage and destruction.