Wall Street Journal (paid registration required): G-8 Protesters Say They Were Beaten, Deprived of Rights by Police in Italy. The accounts of 19 Diaz detainees, who were interviewed in five countries, and those of doctors, local officials and neighborhood witnesses indicate that heavy force was used to arrest demonstrators who, for the most part, hadn’t been organizing the preceding days’ violence but had been peacefully protesting.
This grim tale is a reminder that violations of civil liberties in so-called democracies are more common than people like to admit.
It’s also a reminder to anyone who wonders why there are so many people who fear globalization. The willingness to beat peaceful protestors into bloody pulps suggests that the police are being used by governments that brook no dissent on this crucial topic.
If the proponents of globalization want to have a legitimate dialogue on the issues, they should not act like thugs. When their security forces ignore basic human rights, they give credence to the opponents.