BY JEFF CHU Davos
| JANUARY 27 |
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Today was supposed to be D-day: demonstration day, ditch globalization
day, down with Davos day. For weeks, the Swiss authorities have been
preparing for the descent onto Davos of the demonstrators. Last year,
they came, they shouted, they attacked McDonald's. They promised more of
the same this year. But it doesn't seem like they're here in full force
yet — and if they are, they're being awfully quiet.
With the right camera angle, the rally could look like a big deal, even
if it's not quite that on the ground. The crowd of about 200 at Davos
Dorf station has a couple of banners and does a good collective "Wipe out
WEF!" for the cameras. Some of them snuck into town by posing as skiers
out for a day on the slopes. There's even a participant from the forum
itself — Indian activist Vandana Shiva of the Research Foundation for
Science, Technology and Ecology — holding court and giving speeches for
the cameras.
The demo may grow, but not by much. For one thing, it's almost impossible
for aspiring rabble-rousers to get into town. Trains scheduled to run to
Davos were stopped at Landquart, 50 km away. Cars and buses have to pass
through checkpoints outside the town. And there are more police stationed
around town, checking pedestrians.
Some demonstrators have been hunkered down in town for the days. Their
local base is reportedly a house five minutes' walk from the forum venue.
Outside, there are signs reading, "Dutch Asthma Center" and "Public Eye
on Davos." Inside, there are supposedly 200 people, preparing for the big
show.
Also hanging out in Davos are the folks from Indy Media, an activist
group whose members call themselves "independent journalists." They claim
to be online coordinators of various protest efforts involving hundreds
of activists around Switzerland, including a spray-painting campaign in
Zurich.
Helmet-clad riot police have fanned out around town and huge police
trucks with water cannons are ready, if the demonstrations get at all out
of hand. A representative of the Berne Declaration did express concern
about potential violence. The group had asked protest organizers to issue
a public statement of commitment to non-violence and were refused.
If the protests get big enough, we could be in for something messy — and
smelly. The authorities' secret weapon is rumored to be the latest in
organic weaponry: a giant manure gun. Talk about having a cow...patty.
— Reported by Pat Regnier
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