adminopening of a Commonwealth leaders summit in the West Australian capital.
Officers erected a ring of steel barricades and laid spiked chains on roads around the Perth Convention Centre, where Queen Elizabeth II was to open the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
Police helicopters flew overhead and mounted officers were on standby for any trouble at the officially designated protest zone in the city centre’s Forrest Place, where about 1,500 demonstrators were gathered.
There were no initial signs of tension, although that could change if the CHOGM Action Network proceeds with plans to set up camp in the area in solidarity with the global Occupy movement.
The demonstrators represented a wide range of causes, including opposition to the Afghanistan war, treatment of refugees, corporate greed and the growing rich-poor divide.
CHOGM Action Network spokeswoman Colleen Bolger said they would not be intimidated by the show of force from police, who have been given additional powers for the three-day Commonwealth meeting.
She said while the demonstrators would not attempt to enter prohibited areas, “we intend to exercise our democratic right to march.”
“I think the authorities in the lead-up have undermined their commitment to support peaceful demonstrations through intimidation,” she told AFP.
“The repression has been intense.”
The protest opened with speeches from Aboriginal activists, one of whom addressed representatives from Africa, Malaysia and Sri Lanka in the crowd.
“We share a common bond. We have all been screwed by the Commonwealth,” he said.
Riot police broke up anti-capitalism protests in Sydney and Melbourne earlier this month and West Australian Premier Colin Barnett has warned demonstrators will not be allowed to disrupt the CHOGM summit. – AFP.
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