Violence flares as anti-Bush protesters step up campaign

By DAVID USBORNE

NEW YORK - Angry demonstrations continued to sprout around Manhattan yesterday - aimed at the Iraq war and the policies of George Bush - with police deploying their full might again to keep ever more determined protesters away from Madison Square Garden, the site of the Republican Convention.

Thousands formed a human unemployment line all the way from Wall Street to the Garden early yesterday morning, waving pink fliers meant to symbolise the so-called "pink slips" American workers receive when they are fired.

Further acts of disobedience were planned across the city all day.

After the mostly peaceful mass-march of last Sunday, the mood on the streets has become more ominous and clashes with police have multiplied.

Violence flared at several different spots on Tuesday night as demonstrators tried to head for the convention site. More than 1,000 protesters were taken into custody, bringing the total number of arrests since the weekend to more than 1,500 people.

There were fears that, as President Bush arrived in the city in time for his acceptance speech, the confrontations would worsen.

While proceedings in the arena have not been directly affected, delegates can no longer ignore the fury of protesters, many of whom picket their hotels. Late on Tuesday, a block from the Garden at Herald Square, as at other sites including the financial district and the New York Public Library, police used metal barriers and orange plastic netting to corral protesters and conduct arrests.

Curious tourists and reporters were often trapped in the melees. Most of those in custody were arrested for trying to break through police lines. Most of the protesters seemed dismayed that the actions of a few were causing violence.

"I came here to raise a little hell but I came for peace," said 68-year-old Elizabeth Barger yesterday, who has come from Tennessee to join the demonstrations all week.

"We don't need to be violent and our message of peace gets lost when we are violent."

Nor are all the delegates intimidated. Mark Gillen, from Pennsylvania, paused outside his 6th Avenue hotel to debate some of the protesters. He was arguing for over an hour, before leaving to serve food in a homeless centre.

"I like to find out from individuals what their legitimate concerns are," he said.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said his officers "have shown great restraint in the face of relentless provocation".

But protesters complained that arrests made in the financial district on Tuesday came after a march route had been negotiated with the police and abided by. The police moved in anyway.

"It's an example of the police suckering the protesters," warned Donna Lieberman of the Civil Liberties Union, referring to the incident.

"It was a bait-and-switch tactic where they approved a demonstration and the protesters kept up their end of the bargain."

Hundreds of protesters meanwhile attended a "shut-up-athon" outside the studios of Fox News, targeted by groups for its conservative bias.

One woman's sign read: "Republicans are really stupid. They watch Fox News and believe it."

- INDEPENDENT