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CNN Saturday Morning News
Protesters Continue to Clash With Police Near G8 Summit
Aired July 21, 2001 - 09:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: We begin now this hour with renewed violence in Genoa, Italy, the site of the G8 summit, just a day after street protests erupted into deadly violence. Italian police just a short time ago lurched into action against a growing number of demonstrators.
For the latest, right in the middle of all the action, we go back to our CNN's Alessio Vinci, who's right there in the thick of things.
Alessio, what's the latest?
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN ROME BUREAU CHIEF: Well, the latest is that the clashes between the demonstrators and the police are continuing now for well over a half an hour. However, there has been so far no direct contact between those protesters and the police forces, who have mounted here a wall of riot policemen with shields, trying to prevent those demonstrators from coming close to the so-called red zone, that is, inside which the G8 leaders are now meeting in this zone about one mile from here.
What happened here is that the -- early this morning a large protest began at around 1:00 local time, about two hours ago. There was about 150,000 people, mainly peaceful demonstrators, who were demonstrating against the G8 summit and the eight leaders meeting behind -- inside that red zone.
Once that demonstration ended near by the square, a group of anarchists just like yesterday happened, broke off from those demonstrators and started provoking the police by throwing rocks, first of all calling them "Assassins, assassins," referring to the dead demonstrator yesterday when in the long, day-long clashes, one of them was killed by two gunshots fired by a military -- military police corps officer.
So what is happening at this time is that you have -- demonstrators are throwing rocks at -- towards the police lines, and they have burned some plastic containers. And the police are trying to contain them using hundreds and hundreds of tear gas.
Back to you.
PHILLIPS: All right, Alessio Vinci. And because of that tear gas, we want to let you know, it's sort of hard to hear Alessio. He had to put a gas mask on in order to protect himself from those fumes. Now, leaders, while the chaotic backdrop was taking place there on the streets, inside about a mile away in a much calmer area inside the building, leaders of the world's seven wealthiest countries and Russia are due to study a number of political and economic factors on this second day of meetings.
And for more on that, we go to our CNN senior White House correspondent, John King.
Hi, John.
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Kyra.
Well, as you can see, quite a contrasting scene here inside the security perimeter, these leaders protected by a security barrier. No tear gas in here at this meeting, unlike past -- unlike at past recent international forums, the leaders not even within eye-shot or within any visual activity of all of say the police activity, the protesters, or the tear gas.
As you mentioned, as those demonstrators continue this morning, the leaders back to business here at the G8 summit. They did issue a statement late last night voicing regret for the death of one of the demonstrators out there and condemning violence of all kind. But the leaders rejecting calls that they suspend this summit because of the demonstrations in the street, instead saying, in their view, it is imperative that they continue their work.
The leaders had a bit of a defensive mood about all the demonstrations, insisting as they go about their deliberations here that they are acting on the many issues those demonstrators are demanding action on. The leaders together have committed more than $1 billion to a new international fund to fight the disease of AIDS. They're promising more help for poor developing nations.
The key sticking point, of course, many of the demonstrators think trade exploits developing countries. These leaders want more global trade. They say in the end it will help poor nations.
As those conversations continue, President Bush, for one, also being grilled on the side about his views on global warming and missile defense, European allies and the Russians quite skeptical on those issues.
And the security preparations are intense. The perimeter fortified this morning with armored vehicles, U.S. security sources telling us that some demonstrators have left because of the shooting, but they also report that some known what they call hooligans, anarchists they believe are here to incite violence, have come in as recently as this morning, and they are bracing, as we just heard from Alessio, for more activity this afternoon here in the streets of Genoa -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: John, before we let you go, real quickly, we have seen those pictures, and we broke into it and saw Alessio with the gas mask. It's a little bit disturbing. Is this -- are these protests and this violence at all disturbing the summit and the time factor here in addressing these issues? Is it all being overshadowed and halted in any way?
KING: Well, the leaders complain about that. They complain that this is a distortion and that it does distract attention from their work. One, though, the French president, Jacques Chirac, saying any time 100,000 people show up to protest, there must be a message worth listening to.
President Bush, on the other hand, saying he believes that the leaders here are democratically elected and that they speak for their people, not the protesters out in the street, Mr. Bush saying he profoundly disagrees not only with what they're doing but with what they're saying.
PHILLIPS: Our John King live in Genoa, Italy, thanks so much.
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