AUSTRALIA: Protesters are gathering in Melbourne where security is tight ahead of G-20 finance ministers meeting

Protesters began a 60-hour prayer vigil on Friday (November 17) outside the heavily-policed venue for the G20 summit in Melbourne, as aid groups claimed the U.S.-led war on terror was soaking up global aid. Police have locked down parts of Australia's second biggest city Melbourne to stop protesters reaching the G20 summit of finance ministers and central bankers on Saturday and Sunday. Violent anti-globalisation protests marred a World Economic Forum in Melbourne in 2000. The Stop G-20 group plans a major rally on Saturday to try and disrupt the summit. Church and aid groups plan three days of carnival protests beginning Friday when ministers and bankers start arriving. Organizers say thousands of people are expected to protest. The G20 Christian Collective, a small band of teachers, lawyers and church ministers, set up a prayer "embassy" on Friday beside metal police barricades opposite the G20 venue. "We are really concerned about the exclusiveness of the meetings that are happening this weekend at G20, and for us we are passionate about the policies that are made to affect the poor, we think the poor should be invited along to the meetings," said one protester. Global economic conditions and energy security will head the agenda of the Melbourne G20 summit, with stalled world trade talks and global warming likely to also figure in talks. "It is not obvious that the tasks of improving international trade of energy security and of aid effectiveness will be any different on Monday when they left town than what they are today, in many respects this is an important net working opportunity for the groups involved but will not actually lead to a substantial living condition of many of the citizens of the G20 economies," said Professor Sinclair Davidson from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. The G20 represents 20 industrialized and developing nations, from economic powerhouses the United States and China to developing states Mexico and Indonesia, and meets annually to discuss world economics and trade. Aid groups are calling on the G20 to step up the fight against poverty, primarily through debt relief. Australia's AID/WATCH group said that despite global aid rising, an "excessive quantity" of aid was tied up in conflict zones linked to the war on terror. It said a 2006 review of global aid found that of $30 billion in new aid since the war on terror started, $10 billion had gone to Iraq and Afghanistan.

ITN Source | November 17, 2006

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