正如Fred於唯恐天下不亂一文指出, 香港主流傳媒對反世貿集會的想像總是充滿暴力的場面, 但事實並非如此. 尤其是近年國際運動對恐怖主義有很多批評, 反世貿和全球化的方向強調和平和歡愉, 相反, 國家機器為了反恐而擴張武力, 變得非得暴力恐怖(見左圖).
7月4日於愛丁堡舉行的反g8集會, 就以嘉連華的方式進行(Carnvial full of enjoyment), 示威者打扮成小丑與警察追逐, 又逗防暴警察笑, 在一些地方遊客與示威者和警察混成一團.
但當警察開始鎮壓示威時, 就開始出現對峙與暴力. 結果100名示威者被捕.
To their credit, carnival-goers spent the entire afternoon attempting to dance and sing through the city, taking over large parts of Princes Street and the surrounding areas and forcing traffic and shops to close. The carnival attracted thousands of local on-lookers and many hundreds of Edinburgh workers and youths joined the protesters in the streets. It was initially good natured but as numbers began to swell down on Princes Street the trouble began.
Red Pepper witnessed the events as they unfolded. In short, thousands of police officers without official badge numbers engulfed the protesters and persistently shut down the streets with lines of vans, officers in full riot gear and mounted police. Police pens were created, splitting protesters into groups of a few hundred all over the Princes Street area. At specifically timed intervals, baton-wielding police violently charged protesters and crushed them against steel fencing leading to dozens of injuries with some taken to hospital. Having shut down all the roads around the area, a completely unprovoked mounted police charge led to one elderly woman being knocked down. She then suffered some kind of fit and was rushed to hospital. In response, there were isolated incidents of clashes with police, mainly carried out by local youths using the opportunity to throw bricks at the police. Tonight, around 40 people are arrested in police custody. The charges against them are unclear.
7月5日, 示威者要求釋放日前被捕的百多人, 而警方則在示威者聚集的eco-village進行搜查.
g8的第一天(7月6日)比較多衝突場面, 示威者倒塞嘗示阻止g8代表進入會場. 最後他們被驅趕回愛丁堡市中心, 超過400人被捕. 當警察都調往G8會場附近時, 倫敦市區卻出現了爆炸案. 第二天, 英國市民與反g8示威者都參加了悼念爆炸案集會, 警方一連多天封鎖eco-village的示威營地, 但示威者都沒有反抗和衝擊.
資料來自indymedia