Fault Lines Issue 2: G8 Summit Hides on Private Island

G8 Summit Hides on Private Island
Peaceful protesters arrested by riot squad respond with nine-day hunger strike
By David Meieran

In Occupied Brunswick, site of several demonstrations opposing the 2004 G8 Summit in South Georgia, police and military units not only outnumbered protesters by a factor of 50 to one(!), there were more of them than actual Brunswick residents. Funny thing is, the Summit wasn’t even taking place in Brunswick.

Privately-owned Sea Island (“the gem of the Georgia coastline”) was the real setting for the annual meeting of heads of state from the U.S., U.K., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the European Union. But it was off limits to anyone who wasn’t an official part of the Summit; Brunswick was the simply the closest mainland city where activists could stage their protests and related events. In the wake of police riots at protests like Seattle’s WTO Conference in 1999 and Genoa’s G8 Summit in 2001, etc., meetings of this sort have primarily been held in easy-to-secure, hard-to-get-to places, like Qatar, where protesting is illegal.

To make matters worse for demonstrators hoping to draw attention to their opposition of various G8 policies, the 3,500 international journalists covering the Summit were huddled off to Hutchinson Island in Savannah, some 60 miles to the north, which was also off limits to anyone without proper credentials. To compensate for the vast distance between the press and the world leaders (imagine asking the White House press corps to operate out of Baltimore), members of press were offered all sorts of amenities. On the first night alone, they were treated to a $200,000 cocktail party (at taxpayer expense, of course).

The Sea Island-Savannah divide forced activists to choose between being near the press and being near the Summit, but in the end Brunswick was where the bulk of the action took place. So, from June 8-10, leaders of the world’s richest nations gathered behind closed doors to chart the globe’s future and deal with issues such as the occupations in Iraq and Palestine (create a 75,000-strong peacekeeping force), HIV treatment (give pharmaceutical companies extra $$ to pursue a magic bullet), and “environmental stewardship” (enjoy the scenic Georgia coast). The contrast to the harsh realities of nearby Brunswick––home to 20 state toxic waste sites, four Federal superfund sites and high unemployment –– could not be more stark.

Against all odds

Faced with a juggernaut of 20,000 police and military units from at least 50 different agencies, surface to air missiles, submarines, helicopter gun-ships, 24-hour military patrols, chronic harassment and high-tech surveillance, not to mention heat, toxic soil and water, and the threat of mass detentions sanctioned by a preemptive state of emergency, it’s a miracle that some 400 activists managed to show up and wage any sort of resistance to the G8 Summit at all.
All of these obstacles didn’t stop the resistance, though. Aside from several marches against the Iraq War and occupation of Palestine, activists made several positive contributions to Brunswick by helping to renovate houses and clean up the local environment. Armed with hammers, the “G8 Fix Shit Up” group showed that resistance to the G8 is possible through “constructive action.” A group of Pagan activists wearing HAZMAT suits even offered bioremediation tips at Goodyear Elementary School, which was constructed on ground so toxic the school was built without windows.

On the final day of the Summit, a few dozen activists, escorted by hundreds of local, state, and federal police, trekked nine miles in 100-degree heat to get as close to Sea Island as possible. Once at the guarded entrance to Sea Island, 15 youth sat down for a silent vigil and were promptly arrested by heavily armed riot troops. Two of those arrested were injured and went without medical attention for a several hours. The next day, 30 showed up at Glynn County Detention Center for a Jail Solidarity Vigil. Police quickly broke up the vigil and made two arrests. According to observers, police accused them of “inciting a riot.” Those arrested refused to give their names, and the Glynn County Sheriff’s Department responded by denying them visitor’s request forms or the ability to meet as a group with their lawyer. Several of the detainees opposed this injustice by going on a hunger strike that lasted for nine days, until the last six members of “The Brunswick 15” finally bonded out on June 24.

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Brunswick Arrestees Hunger Strike Statement- June 16

When we marched up to Sea Island and stood up to thousands of riot police, we put our bodies on the line. Our love, our anger and our bodies... our only weapons. Now we are paying the price. We’ve been asked by other inmates if what we did was worth it. Yes it was. And now, again, we continue our struggle the only way we can, with the only tools at our disposal; our bodies. For a week we have attempted to bring attention to a set of interrelated issues; from the air and soil pollution from the Hercules Chemical Plant in Brunswick, to the suffering caused by military occupation of Iraq and Palestine. These issues are not petty nor were our actions last Thursday crimes. On Tuesday evening, June 15 2004, four of us began a hunger strike which we intend to sustain until the charges against all 15 of us are dropped. The rights of free speech and a speedy trial are guaranteed under the US Constitution, but still here in America, and especially Georgia, dissent has become criminalized and “justice” moves at a glacial pace. We were recently told by one of our guards that “that swift justice thing don’t happen around here”. We want to be set free and will continue our hunger strike until they either release us or try us. Signed, G-0002, G-0110, G-0147, G-0176

A version of this article was originally published by The Thomas Merton Center, visit http://atlanta.indymedia.org/ for more info.