Police Raid International Seminar.
Early in the morning of 17th August 1998, police raided a seminar being
held in Geneva.
Officers illegally searched individuals and private belongings, detaining
all 50 participants at the station. The detainees, from 17 different
countries and including a 6 year old girl from the Ukraine, were held for
over 2 hours without explanation. Most were eventually released without
charge.
However, 5 remained in police custody for yet another five hours. Four
of these were then released - the fifth is still in custody.
The seminar was convened to discuss economic globalisation and its impact
on communities and the environment, as well as peoples' efforts to reclaim
control over their own lives. Speakers include international economists,
journalists, representatives of people's movements, and workers from human
rights and other non-governmental organisations. The world-renowned
author and President of the Observatoire de la Mondialisation, Susan George,
lectured all day on Tuesday 25th, and found, "a group of peaceful and law-abiding
young people". She "deplores the police actions and calls for the
immediate release of those detained."
Without warning, the participants were rounded up into vans and taken
to the police station en masse, where they were subjected to lengthy identity
checks. This follows a week of close police surveillance. About
forty police officers, in a concerted action, entered the seminar site
at 7.30am, waking the guests, searching their accommodation without a warrant,
and confiscating personal property. They refused to give receipts
for the items, which included videos, notebooks, an artist's portfolio,
personal diaries and photographs, and the organisers' documents.
Most of these have not been returned as yet.
It appears that the five who remained in custody were victimized
as a result of previous arrests during non-violent activities in May; one
for simply walking down the street. The reason for their detention,
and their location, remained undisclosed.
When a woman from the seminar asked a policeman, "Isn't what you're doing illegal?", he replied, "Yes, totally." Police were also overheard making racist, sexist, and anti-Semitic comments. Taking a passport from the stack, a policeman said, "Oh, that's the Jew!" A Bangladeshi charity worker who had just been awoken was singled out for particularly offensive treatment.
A British writer said, "I'm still in shock. It seems that discussing our common experiences about global problems and solutions is now a crime in Switzerland." Another journalist from the Ukraine commented, "I thought I was coming to a country that exemplified democracy." A Nepali human rights worker summed up the group's feelings: "For me it is unthinkable that such police action in violation of human rights should take place in the same city as the UN Human Rights Commission headquarters."
Under the steamroller of neoliberal globalisation, it seems that space for public criticism faces increasing repression and the denial of civil and political freedoms.
Among those detained was M. D. Nanjundaswamy, a 63 year old law professor
and farmers' leader from Bangalore, India. He can be reached by phone at
91-80-330-2171 or fax 91-80-330-3271.
It is important now to organise a swift effective planet-wide protest
about this.
Please e-mail suggestions for such a protest to Keith Lampe <robinhd@loxinfo.co.th>
