June 2, 2003	Monday	Rabi-us-Sani 1, 1424

GENEVA, June 1: “No G8, no social cuts, no capitalism” and “End the occupation of Iraq” declared the banners as thousands of anti-globalisation protestors marched Sunday through a Geneva scarred by overnight rioting.

Clashes flared between pockets of demonstrators and police overshadowing what had been a largely peaceful march headed by a long white banner proclaiming “G8, Illegitimate.”

US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, staunch allies in the Iraq war and among the leaders at the Group of Eight summit across the lake in the French resort of Evian, were high on the list of protestors’ targets.

“Say hey, say ho, Blair and Bush have got to go,” chanted some marchers, while others carried a banner stating “George Bush — terrorist.”

The march filed past the chic Rue de Rhone shopping street, whose entrance was blocked by riot police backed by water cannon, and headed east towards the border with France, about 10 kilometres away.

There the marchers, variously estimated at between 20,000 and 60,000, met up with their counterparts marching from Annemasse in France.

Swiss police later fired tear gas at about 1,000 stone-throwing protestors in an upmarket residential area in the east of Geneva. About 50 black-clad hooded youths wrecked a petrol station along the route while the anti-G8 march was taking place.

The incidents came after a night of rioting in the city and as police in the lakeside city of Lausanne battled rioting anti-globalisation protestors.

Many banks, shops and businesses in Geneva’s downtown area have been boarded up since Thursday, and many plan to remain closed until the summit ends on Tuesday.

Some here say that having to tolerate the demonstrations without getting the glory that might go with hosting the actual G8 summit is a bit like an innocent bystander being dragged into a bar-room brawl.

The fears of the business community proved at least partly founded after the city saw a night of violence, with rioters smashing shop windows and hurling firebombs at government buildings.

“I support the demonstrations but not these stupid acts of violence,” said Nelida Nortik, whose clothes shop was hit by a petrol bomb that damaged its shutters but left the inside of the premises untouched. “That’s not peace, that’s just the hatred of idiots.”

Street cleaners were still tidying up the broken bottles strewn across the street, the plastic cups with beer still in them and the shattered glass from shop windows as the march kicked off on Sunday. Some streets have had their cobblestones ripped up. But there was no sign of damage to nearby shops, sparking fears the stones could be stored for later rioting.

While the march had a festive atmosphere, with music blaring and outbreaks of singing and chanting, many of the marchers said they had a serious message to deliver to the leaders meeting in Evian to discuss world affairs.—AFP