From the Ground: G20 Summit Brings Martial Law to Pittsburgh

News reports from the ground at the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh are giving the impression that there is a lot of confusion and fear. Reporters aren't giving a complete picture of the intentions of activists and most likely are focusing in on the anarchists to provide a representation of ongoing protest actions in the city.

To challenge coverage that is omitting the reality that workers, students, concerned citizens, and dedicated activists are holding actions aimed at educating the public and challenging G20 proponents and policies through principled dissent and community-based action, I called a few individuals who are participating in actions during the summit.

All three led me to conclude that there is a strategy that has been carefully calculated by military, police, and government officials that specifically allows for the criminalizing and suppressing of dissent. Security in Pittsburgh is really a military occupation and martial law is being enforced in the city of Pittsburgh.

Think back to this summer when reports were coming from Iran on Ahmadinejad suppressing those who were rising up against the results of the election. Americans were outraged that the Iranian government would attack protests, target students, and prohibit press and media from operating inside the country.

Focus was placed on how Twitter was directly benefiting the people of Iran. Nobody would have thought that what was happening there could happen here (unless you pay close attention to U.S. government policies and actions), but Alex Lohorto, an SDS organizer with a group called Student Power in the Face of Empire, explained that what Americans found to be despicable in Iran months ago is happening in Pittsburgh right now.

Lohorto described how a student space was raided where people were using Twitter. The police tear gassed students who were preparing to conduct actions during the G20 summit.

A police clash between protesters occurred Thursday night on the University of Pittsburgh campus. It was impossible to count how many cops with shields where there.

Lohorto contended that the security presence was there to send a message that they would suppress any student organizing efforts and even actions that "appear" to be organized actions. Police fired smoke grenades on SDS students (OS gas which makes your eyes hurt but doesn't necessarily make you hurt) who were chanting, "Who's school? Our school," in response to the police presence.

Students who were trying to go to their dorms were blocked from going into their rooms. They were told to go home and leave the campus. Police even used mace on students who were standing outside of a bar who were not acting against the G20 in any way at all.

Throughout Thursday, the police were using all kinds of equipment aimed at controlling protests. For the first time on U.S. soil, a device that had been used in South Korea called a long-range acoustic device (LRAD) was used.

An LRAD lets out a blasting siren noise that makes it impossible for you to hear anything. It is the siren sound that you might have heard if you were watching CNN's coverage of anarchists on Thursday. (Lohorto said students found out that if you howl like a dog you can recalibrate your hearing.)

Military helicopters hovered over areas with tanks of tear gas that they could drop on protesters. The tear gas is heavy enough to not blow all over.

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