Need to call in the law.
Posted on 03/26/2003 1:39:49 PM PST by knighthawk
WITH bottles and knives in their hands and hate in their hearts, a mob of violent troublemakers yesterday ambushed a student anti-war rally to lead a vicious rampage through Sydney streets.
A group of young men, described by police as "Middle Eastern males", created havoc by throwing chairs, rocks, bottles, eggs and golf balls at police and media during several hours of chaos in the CBD.
Police also seized two knives from protesters, one of which fell on to the ground in the midst of a scuffle.
The violent spectacle began at Town Hall and resulted in two police officers and a number of protesters being injured.
The two officers were struck in the head, one by a bottle and another by a golf ball, as they fought to contain the crowd which surged through containment lines.
At least 45 mostly teenage participants were arrested – including a boy aged 10 – after the rally erupted into violence about 12.30pm.
Assistant Police Commissioner Dick Adams said it was clear a large proportion of protesters had come to the rally "for the express purpose of fighting police." "We had a group of people who went to Town Hall [for] nothing other than to incite trouble," he said.
"A large group of Middle Eastern males started to engage and incite the police in St Andrew's Square [near Town Hall] and they started to pick up cafe furniture from the area and throw it at police."
Clutching placards condemning Prime Minister John Howard and US President George W. Bush, a 2000-strong group of students – many wearing their school uniforms – gathered for the protest at midday.
Yelling profanities and defying police instructions, the mob grew increasingly brazen until a scuffle broke out between protesters and police.
The fracas quickly spread to a nearby cafe, where some youths threw chairs from an outdoor seating area at police, photographers and reporters.
Students burnt an American flag before moving on to Hyde Park, where scores of protesters cavorted in the Archibald Fountain. Hundreds of police officers surrounded the exits to the park, ensuring the crowd was contained within its boundaries.
After leaving the park, the marchers moved through the Pitt St Mall and Castlereagh St, before congregating outside Mr Howard's Phillip St offices.
There, the protesters hurled further insults while as least 50 police, including mounted officers, tried to contain them.
Australian Arabic community leaders condemned the violent clashes but rejected police claims the perpetrators were Middle Eastern men.
However, police countered that television footage clearly showed the majority of those arrested appeared to be of the same ethnic background.
I think that's only their very awkward way of trying to get around the fact that these hoodlums were part of the "anti-war rally." Or, to put it another way, that left-wing peaceniks are merely the useful idiots of islamic terrorists.
Need to call in the law.
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