After three days of clashes with police that resulted in more than 100 arrests, anti-G8 protesters turned up the heat early Wednesday (July 6) morning. More than 100 black-clad anarchists smashed car windows, threw rocks and tried to blockade one of the main roads into the Gleneagles resort in Scotland that is hosting the three-day summit of world economic leaders, according to The Associated Press.
The small group of protesters — many of whom covered their faces with bandanas or wore hoods — has been staying at a makeshift campsite in Stirling, 15 miles southwest of Gleneagles, joining 5,000 globalization foes who have descended on the area.
In anticipation of the protests, police closed the M9 highway, the main approach to Gleneagles from Edinburgh and the site of clashes on Monday and Tuesday (see "Geldof Speaks Out As G8 Protesters Clash With Police"). Wearing body armor, helmets and riot shields, the officers formed a chain across the highway as protesters fled from the advancing force.
Making good on their promise to try and disrupt the G8 summit (see "What Is The G8, Anyway?"), protesters in nearby Bannockburn — some carrying iron bars — smashed windshields on parked cars and threw rocks at police vans. One group linked their arms through inflated inner tubes and charged a line of riot police blocking the road, while others smashed a police van with tire irons and kicked out its headlights as it fled in reverse.
Elsewhere, the protesters pulled an iron grill off the windows of a Burger King and smashed the glass, painting the cryptic message "10,000 Pharaohs Six Billion Slaves" on the restaurant's wall.
In the town of Crieff, where some of the G8 delegates are reportedly staying, a group of 50 "eco-warriors" blocked a bridge into town with tree trunks and branches.
A demonstration was planned for late Wednesday in the town of Auchterarder, just outside of the five-star Gleneagles hotel. It was expected to draw 5,000 to 10,000 protesters, according to Guy Taylor, of the Globalize Resistance group, who condemned the day's violence. ''The message of the march is that the G8 should not have the power to decide what goes on in the rest of the world," Taylor told the AP. "The only thing that unites the G8 is wealth, and they are there to protect that wealth."
At press time, police had asked organizers to cancel the protest over fears of public safety, according to a BBC News report.
More than 50,000 people are expected in Murrayfield, Scotland, Wednesday for the final Live 8 concert, which is slated to feature James Brown, Annie Lennox, Travis, Snow Patrol, George Clooney, Bono and the Proclaimers.
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