The
27th G8 summit took place in
Genoa,
Italy, in July
2001.
Overview
The
Group of Seven (
G7) was an unofficial forum which brought together the heads of the richest industrialized countries:
France,
Germany,
Italy,
Japan, the
United Kingdom, the
United States and
Canada starting in 1976. The
G8, meeting for the first time in 1997, was formed with the addition of
Russia.
[Saunders, Doug. Globe and Mail (Toronto). July 5, 2008.] In addition, the
President of the European Commission has been formally included in summits since 1981.
[Reuters: , July 3, 2008.] The summits were not meant to be linked formally with wider international institutions; and in fact, a mild rebellion against the stiff formality of other international meetings was a part of the genesis of cooperation between France's President
Giscard d'Estaing and Germany's Chancellor
Helmut Schmidt as they conceived the
initial summit of the
Group of Six (
G6) in 1975.
[Reinalda, Bob and Bertjan Verbeek. (1998). ]The G8 summits during the
twenty-first century have inspired widespread debates, protests and demonstrations; and the two- or three-day event becomes more than the sum of its parts, elevating the participants, the issues and the venue as focal points for activist pressure.
[ BOND (British Overseas NGOs for Development). 2008.]Composition of summit leaders
Permanent G8 participants
Invited (partial participation)
Other non-g8 leaders were invited to attend and participate in the summit talks.
National leaders
Heads of international organizations
Leaders of the other major international organizations were invited to attend the summit.
Priorities
Traditionally, the host country of the G8 summit sets the agenda for negotiations, which take place primarily amongst multi-national
civil servants in the weeks before the summit itself, leading to a joint declaration which all countries can agree to sign.
Issues
The summit was intended as a venue for resolving differences among its members. As a practical matter, the summit was also conceived as an opportunity for its members to give each other mutual encouragement in the face of difficult economic decisions.
The overall theme of the summit was ways to reduce poverty. Topics discussed at the meeting included an evaluation of the
Enhanced HIPC Initiative which involved
debt forgiveness to
Heavily Indebted Poor Countries, the
Global Health Fund, the
global digital divide, the
environment and
food security. Although the main summit was from July 20 to the 22nd, the summit was preceded by a meeting of the G8
foreign ministers on the 18th and 19th.
The summit was overshadowed by riots in the city after a crackdown by police targeting
anti-globalisation groups and the death of a 23 year-old
Carlo Giuliani, leading some to talk of a deliberately followed
strategy of tension.
Citizens' responses and authorities' counter-responses
Protests
Protesters try to stop members of the G8 from attending the summit during the 27th G8 summit in
Genoa,
Italy by burning vehicles on the main route to the summit.
The Genoa
Group of Eight Summit protest, from
July 18 to
July 22,
2001, was a dramatic
protest, drawing an estimated 200,000 demonstrators. Dozens were hospitalized following clashes with police and night raids by security forces on two schools housing activists and independent journalists. People taken into custody after the raids have alleged severe abuse at the hands of police.
Demonstrators accused the police of brutality and denying them their right to non-violent protest. They believe that G8 summits are non-legitimate attempts by eight of the world's most powerful governments to set the rules for the planet at large. Police and many politicians argued that attempting to blockade a meeting is in itself a violent event and an attempt to impede the workings of democratically elected governments. The Italian government led by Premier
Silvio Berlusconi insisted that police used the minimum amount of force necessary to achieve their goals. It claimed that the protesters' claims were exaggerated.
The G8 meeting was held inside a "Red Zone" in the center of town that had been declared off-limits for non-residents and surrounded by a barricade, leaving protesters no chance to communicate with summit delegates. Fears of a terrorist attack at the time had also led to an
air exclusion zone around the city, as well as the stationing of
anti-aircraft missiles. Only one activist, Valérie Vie, secretary of a French branch of
ATTAC, managed to publicly breach the Red Zone barrier, but was immediately arrested by police agents. There were also several border
riots ahead of the summit, as police attempted to prevent suspected activists from entering Italy. The Italian government suspended
freedom of movement entitled by the
Schengen treaty for the duration of the G8 summit, in order to monitor the movement of the many protesters arriving from across the
European Union.
Injuries and deaths
Carlo Giuliani shot dead.
Many demonstrators were injured and dozens more arrested over the course of the event. Most of those 329 arrested were charged with
criminal conspiracy to commit destruction; but they were in most part released shortly thereafter because judges declared the charges invalid. Police continued to raid social centers, media centers, union buildings and legal offices across Italy after the summit as part of ongoing investigations. Over 400 protesters and about 100 among security forces were injured during the clashes.
On
July 20, a 23-year-old activist
Carlo Giuliani of Genoa, was shot dead by Mario Placanica, a
Carabinieri officer, during clashes with police. Images show him throwing a fire extinguisher at the carabinieri's vehicle before he was shot and then run over twice by the Land Rover. Placanica was acquitted from any wrong-doing, as judges determined he fired in self defence and to the sky but a flying stone deflected the bullet and killed Giuliani.
Activist
Susanne Bendotti was struck by a vehicle and killed while attempting to cross the French-Italian border at Ventimiglia to get to the Genoa demonstration.
Charges
In December 2007, 25 demonstrators were condemned for property damage and looting.
Numerous police officers and local and national officials have been ordered to stand trial in connection with the event. In one trial, 28 police officials are standing trial on charges related to the two night raids, charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, use of excessive force and planting evidence. In other proceedings, 45 state officials, including prison guards, police and medics, are being tried for abusing detainees in their custody who were arrested during the raid. Detainees reported being spat at, verbally and physically humiliated, and threatened with rape.
Police conducted nighttime raids upon centers housing protesters and campsites, most notably the attacks on the
Diaz-Pascoli and
Diaz-Pertini schools shortly after midnight on July 21. These were being used as sleeping quarters, and had also been set up as centers for those providing media, medical, and legal support work. Police baton attacks left three activists, including British journalist
Mark Covell, in comas. At least one person has suffered brain damage, while another had both jaws and fourteen teeth broken. In total, over 60 were severely injured and a
parliamentary inquiry was launched. It concluded no wrongdoing on the part of police.
Ninety-three people were arrested during the raids. In May, 2003, Judge Anna Ivaldi concluded that they had put up no resistance whatsoever to the police and all charges were dropped against them. During the inquiry, Pietro Troiani, the deputy police chief in Genoa, admitted to being involved in the planting Molotov cocktails in order to justify the Diaz School raids, as well as faking the stabbing of a police officer to frame activists.
In 2005, twenty-nine police officers were indicted for grievous bodily harm, planting evidence and wrongful arrest during a night-time raid on the Diaz School. The
Molotov cocktails were reported in January 2007, during the trial of the policemen, to have disappeared.
A further 45 state officials, including police officers, prison guards and doctors, were charged with physically and mentally abusing demonstrators held in a detention centre in the nearby town of
Bolzaneto.
In 2007,
Romano Prodi's left-wing
L'Unione coalition voted to create a Parliamentary Commission on the Genoa events but this commission was refused by Senate's vote.
On July 14, 13 Italian Carabineri, GOMPI Mobile and prison police were convicted for abuse of authority, abuse of office and uniform. Other charges include abuse and negilence. 2 Medical staff were also convicted. None will go to jail due to statute of limitations.
On November 13, an Italian court cleared 16 of the most senior police officers of any wrongdoing in the incidents of the 2001 G8 summit.. Retrieved on November 16, 2008. 13 police officers were convicted of their various crimes during the Diaz raid including Vincenzo Canterini (four years), the commander of the 7th Mobile unit. None will go to jail due to statute of limitations.
TV/Video
- A German documentary, Gipfelstürmer - Die blutigen Tage von Genua, won the German broadcast television award (Deutscher Fernsehpreis) as the best documentary of 2002.
Business opportunity
For some, the G8 summit became a profit-generating event; as for example, the official G8 Summit'' magazines which have been published under the auspices of the host nations for distribution to all attendees since 1998. Capitalizing on the publicity which attended the Genoa summit, the Commercial Office of the Italian embassies and the consulates joined others in promoting investment in southern Italy.
See also
