The Garda has been accused of acting irresponsibly and attacking the civil liberties of demonstrators during an anti-globilisation protest at the Burlington Hotel where 14 people were arrested last night.
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Protesters and Gardia clash outside the Burlington Hotel yesterday. Photograph: Cyril Byrne
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A Garda spokesperson said there were about 70-100 protesters of which 40 were militant. He said "the gardaí had used as much force as necessary" to quell the protests.
But at a joint press conference today Mr Joe Higgins of the Socialist Workers Party, called the rally a "peaceful and good-natured protest" and said it was "irresponsible of the gardaí to behave in the way they did".
The trouble started during a protest outside the Burlington Hotel where a three-day international conference on privatisation was being held.
According to witnesses, the rally was quiet for about an hour but then a number of demonstrators tried to enter the hotel. Gardaí and hotel staff blocked the entrance, and some protesters threw paint and flour bombs at the gardaí.
The protesters then moved into the car-park and staged a peaceful sit-down protest. About twenty minutes later Garda reinforcements arrived and started to baton-charge the protesters, the witness said.
Witnesses said people were hit repeatedly with walkie-talkies and batons and that at least three or four gardaí appeared "out of control".
Ms Trish Kinsella of Globalised Resistance reported seeing "people being hit with blood-dripping from their faces".
Mr Eoin McCormack of the Bus Driver’s Workers Action Group, at the rally with 15 other bus drivers, was protesting against public-private partnership. He said gardaí had no excuse for a "baton charge". "One person seemed to be arrested only because he had a camcorder," he said.
Fourteen people were arrested and taken to Pearse Street, Donnybrook and Irishtown Garda stations where they were charged with "public order offences".
