Anarchy in Edinburgh

HUNDREDS of black-clad anarchists and anti-G8 protesters clashed violently with police in Scotland’s capital yesterday, as demonstrators sought to keep up pressure on world leaders ahead of a summit of wealthy nations.

Shield-carrying police locked down entire streets, penning in protesters with the help of officers on horseback. Authorities advised businesses to close, describing the protesters’ behaviour as threatening.

Groups of up to 200 demonstrators, some dressed as clowns, roamed Edinburgh, banging drums, blowing whistles and taunting officers.

Police said they had arrested nearly 30 protesters. A small number of police officers and protesters were treated for minor injuries in hospital.

Senior officers condemned organisers of yesterday’s anti-G8 “carnival”, saying that some of those involved had been bent on causing disruption.

The protests were aimed at tomorrow’s meeting of the Group of Eight industrialised nations at the nearby Gleneagles Hotel, where world leaders will discuss African poverty and ways to deal with global warming.

At the protest, about 10 officers were surrounded by demonstrators as they tried to make an arrest, and were pelted with clods of earth torn from flower beds in a park and a wire garbage bin.

Some demonstrators are demanding that leaders take urgent action on world poverty and the environment, while anarchists don’t want the summit itself to go ahead.

The protests followed the

Live 8 series of concerts around the world, in which rock stars and celebrities urged the G8 leaders to take decisive steps to end African poverty.

British prime minister Tony Blair struggled to unite world powers on fighting global warming ahead of the summit, raising the question of whether he would consider leaving a sceptical United States behind to secure an agreement among the other leaders.

Mr Blair has made climate change a central issue of Britain’s G8 presidency, describing it as “probably the most serious threat we face.” He wants an agreement among G8 leaders on the scientific threat posed by global warming and the urgent need for action.

Mr Bush, in an interview with Britain’s ITV television yesterday, renewed his insistence that Washington would not sign the Kyoto Protocol or any similar deals limiting gas emissions. Still, he described climate change as “a significant, long-term issue that we’ve got to deal with” and acknowledged that human activity is “to some extent” to blame.

Intense security was evident in Auchterarder, the town nearest the Gleneagles Hotel where the G8 leaders will meet.

About 10,000 officers from all over the country are policing the event.