Home | Friday 4th April 2008 | Issue 627

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ROMANIACS

In Romania this Wednesday (2nd) riot police violently clamped down on a convergence centre for protests in the lead up to the NATO gathering in Bucharest. In shades of Genoa 2001, the legally rented space was raided by armoured riot police, protesters badly beaten - hospitalising two – and 46 were arrested. Indymedia reports claim that some have been beaten in custody and others have been refused treatment for injuries while in the lock-up. And this attack was before the protests have even begun.

With a 27,000 police out in force across the city to quell protests, all likely-looking people – particularly those coming and going from the convergence centre, and those entering at the borders - have been detained. Known Romanian activists have been visited by police and threatened or their families intimidated.

The NATO summit – complete with the Bush entourage having one of its last European jaunts – is this time all about the expansion of NATO into Eastern Europe, and first off to bring Romania and Ukraine into the fold. Following its complete failure to act to stop the Iraq invasion, it’s recently been seen as attempting to carve a new role for itself as global policeman – the recent rhetoric is all about working to counter the ubiquitous ‘terrorist threat’.

For more see http://gipfelsoli.org/Home/Bukarest_2008 and www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/04/395456.html

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