News » September 26, 2009 » Web Only

Protesting the G-20 Summit (cont’d)

On Friday, a large protest sponsored by the Thomas Merton Center’s Antiwar Committee drew several thousand peaceful protesters. There were reports of clashes between police and anarchist youth Friday night, in the city’s Oakland section.

As of Saturday, September 26, authorities had reported 181 arrests during the two-day period, not including the 14 Greenpeace activists. PGRP spokesman Jesse Ericson said Saturday that “jail officials have been generally uncooperative and have harassed legal workers over the phones.”

A member of the U.S. Coast Guard mans a 50-caliber machine gun during a patrol of the Ohio River. Pittsburgh shut down all river traffic during the two-day G-20 summit, and waterways were heavily monitored.

Police line sidewalks during Friday afternoon’s rally. The city of Pittsburgh reportedly shelled out nearly $20 million on security, with the federal government providing $10 million, and Pennsylvania $4.3 million.

On Friday, several thousand activists from around the world marched from the city’s Oakland neighborhood to a rally in front of the City County Building in downtown Pittsburgh. The protest was sponsored by the Thomas Merton Center’s Antiwar Committee and featured music and speeches by leading activists.

Tibetan activists protesting the Chinese occupation of their country chanted and carried U.S. and Tibetan flags at Friday’s march in downtown Pittsburgh.

“Our first protest.” Youth were heavily represented at both Thursday’s and Friday’s G-20 protests in Pittsburgh. A young couple documents the moment for posterity.

Protesters wearing masks of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Chinese President Hu Jintao, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, U.S. President Barack Obama, and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, at Friday’s rally in front of Pittsburgh’s City-County Building.

All images by Christopher Moraff.