Wednesday 16 December 2009

Copenhagen - the system is exposed for what it is


THE true, brutal, face of the global capitalist system has been revealed at Copenhagen this week.

All the talk about involving the public in a worldwide effort to combat climate change has been revealed as nothing but a sick lie.

Inside the conference centre the leaders of the powerful elite stitch up a deal with representatives of the corporations to whom they ultimately owe their allegiances, while developing countries are marginalised and environmentalists denied access.

Reported the BBC: "Those unable to take part on Wednesday included campaign group Friends of the Earth. It said its delegates had arrived at the centre to find their badges were no longer valid. "

Outside in the streets, the gloves are off. The usual 'democratic' facade has been removed and police use tear gas, brute force, mass 'preventative' arrests and anything else to crush any sign of dissent to their failing and corrupt world order.

A Times reporter who was trapped with a group of around 2,000 protesters in a police tactic known as "kettling" said that officers were charging demonstrators and using pepper spray to break them up.

Said the newspaper: "Danish police have arrested hundreds of people over the past week and have been accused of being unnecessarily heavy-handed.

"As the demonstrators arrived today, large numbers of police were waiting for them, many with dogs on leashes, and a police helicopter circled overhead. The police were also using plain-clothed officers to infiltrate the protests, grabbing individual protesters and bundling them into police vans. "

All this must have come as a shock to many of the protesters who have flocked to Denmark for the summit.

Certain climate change protesters have the reputation of a somewhat naive attitude to policing, perhaps because of their young age and social background.

All that will have changed now. By striking out so thuggishly at peaceful dissent on the streets, the system could be forging a whole new generation of serious long-term insurgents.