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Thousands opposed to G-20 march through Pittsburgh
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- A vociferous but peaceful group of several thousand people marched for miles through the downtown area on Friday, united by opposition to the Group of 20 summit but expressing a diversity of mostly liberal causes as an army of stone-faced riot police watched their every move.
The main message of Friday's so-called Peoples' March to the G-20 was a demand for solutions to the planet's economic and environmental challenges different from those the world's richest countries are pursuing. But there also was a strong contingent of anti-war protesters and those interested in such diverse issues as African debt relief, rejection of corporate subsidies and more humane child-labor laws.
A group of black-clad anarchists, their faces covered, faced a line of police officers and sang, "We all live in a fascist bully state" to the tune of the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine." Anarchists also came nose-to-nose with officers, to little effect.
At the park where the three-hour procession ended, volunteers dished beans, rice and salsa on tortillas out of pots and coolers while speakers talked of convicting the G-20 leaders of crimes against humanity.
Joshua Nichols, 24, of Telluride, Colo., drove 24 hours to participate. He described himself as a migrant who shovels snow in winter, cleans houses, works on an organic farm and teaches preschool in the summer.
Ed Cloonan, 62, of Munhall, Pa., handing out signs in favor of a single-payer health care plan, said he wanted an end to what he called the "cancer of the insurance system."
The Thursday march, far smaller, did not have a permit and police declared it illegal almost as soon as it began. Small bands of anarchists responded to officers' overwhelming show of force by rolling huge metal trash bins, throwing rocks and breaking windows. Police fired bean bags and canisters of pepper spray and smoke.
The police response was on the minds of demonstrators on Friday, including anti-war movement leader Cindy Sheehan.
"We need jobs, we need health care, we need education, we need housing," she said at the final rally. "We don't need the united police states of America."
"We need jobs, we need health care, we need education, we need housing," she said at the final rally. "We don't need the united police states of America."
Police Chief Nate Harper said a 20-year-old California man was responsible for most of the damage, breaking some 20 windows and doors in Oakland [Oakland section of the city, near the University of Pittsburgh], including windows at a Citizens Bank branch. The man was jailed on charges of criminal mischief, possessing an instrument of crime and providing false identification.
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