Campbell McGregor, SSP Friday 22 September I got a cheap flight from Glasgow to Frankfurt and a night train to Prague, to take part in the protests against the IMF/World Bank conference. Saturday 23 I took part in a legal labour movement march through Prague, with about 3000 people. Sunday 24th I attended a large discussion which was part of the counter-summit.
It was announced that a train from Italy containing protesters had been stopped at the border, and that a protest at this would take place near the Sparta football ground.
There was an impromptu march to the city centre, police looked on but did not do anything. Later, I took part in a sit-down protest on Charles Bridge. There were cheers when it was announced that the train had been allowed through. Monday 25 This was a quiet day so I visited Prague Castle. In the evening I attended a discussion meeting between various Trotskyist groups, and sold some material from the Irish group Socialist Democracy. Tuesday 26 The first day of the IMF/World Bank conference. Around 10,000 protesters gathered in Peace Square to march on the conference. I told a journalist from Red Pepper "I was thinking of going to Majorca for a week, this is much more fun".
The plan was to divide into 3 groups who would march on the conference 3 ways. I was with the largest group, eventually we came to a narrow bridge blocked by riot police. They were standing behind a crowd control barrier, wearing gas masks, with batons drawn. They had an armoured car with a water cannon aimed at the protesters.
A message was broadcast in several languages "Citizens! The police of the Czech Republic wishes to inform you that this gathering is illegal. We ask you to leave peacefully. If not then the forces of order will take whatever action is necessary"
I went up to the line of riot police, and said to one "Hello friend. (in Czech) I think it' a really rotten job you'e got. You must be feeling really hot in all that gear." Some of the protesters put on makeshift riot gear like gas masks.
We spent over 2 hours facing each other. This was a pretty hairy experience. I realised that there was the serious risk of getting hit by the water cannon, so I put my Czech phrase book (borrowed from Glasgow City Libraries) in a waterproof bag.
Towards the end I really thought that the protesters were going to make a serious attempt to force through the police lines, and a few stones were thrown. Instead the apparent organisers announced that we should all go to the Opera House, where an event involving the conference delegates was going to take place.
I felt that the protest could be dying down, so I decided to go to the railway station, 2 stops away by underground, to deal with a query. At the first stop up the line everyone was told to leave the train, apparently the authorities were shutting down this line. I had difficulty finding the Opera House (the maps in the Time Out guide to Prague are not very good. Then I noticed a police helicopter circling - there was the Opera House.
Protesters were surrounding the building, preventing any event from being held. I noticed nearby at the top of Wenceslas Square that a MacDonalds had a heavy police guard. Later I noticed that it had been trashed, presumably the police had been temporarily outnumbered.
The riot police assembled further down Wenceslas Square, when they started moving up most protesters stampeded very easily, but there did seem to be a few hardened street fighters looking for a serious fight. I saw the police fire tear gas, and a protester throw the canister back at them. Firecrackers went off, a few people were arrested. I got away as soon as I felt it was safe to move. I heard there were sporadic fights with the police during the evening. Later I saw a convoy of 14 police vehicles speed past. Wednesday 27 I got the train back to Frankfurt. It was quite a few days! There has been some discussion about the Prague events in the left press in Rritain. There are valid questions to be asked about the organisation of the protest and problems of democratic accountability. I had doubts over whether the best route was chosen on the day.
However given the forces • involved, on the whole, the protesters did well to achieve as much as they did. They took over part of central Prague, the conference was seriously disrupted, the Czech authorities were forced to mount a militarystyle operation.
I feel it was correct that the main group of protesters did not try to force their way through the police lines (although another group did get very near the conference) but this is a concrete assessment based on the balance of forces, not a matter of principle.
The sporadic fights later in the evening were not helpful, but we should understand the anger behind them.
The protesters seemed to be a diverse collection of leftists from across Europe, with a limited base in the labour movement in their own countries. I did notice a UNISON banner, and Rifundazione Communista from Italy was officially represented.
There was little sign of Czech involvement (one Czech protester I spoke to said that there had been a lot of anti-communist propaganda) although curiously. most of those arrested in the evening were Czechs.
To have achieved much more would really have needed a higher level of involvement by the labour movement, particularly the Czech labour movement.
The labour movement should support those who were arrested and protest strongly against their ill "rearment. Many of those in Prague hope to carry out similar protests world-wide next May Day. The labour movement in Britain should discuss how to respond.
Outlook