In Occupied Brunswick, site of the 2004 G-8 Summit in South Georgia, police and military units not only outnumbered protesters by a factor of 50 but there were more of them than there were Brunswick residents. Oh, and the Summit wasn’t even taking place in Brunswick.

Privately owned Sea Island ("the gem of the Georgia coastline") was the actual setting for the annual meeting of heads of state from the U.S., U.K., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the European Union. But it was off limits to anyone who wasn’t an official part of the Summit; Brunswick was simply the closest mainland city where activists could stage their protests and related events. In the wake of the Seattle 1999 WTO protests, the Genoa 2001 G-8 protests, etc., meetings of this sort take place only in easy-to-secure, hard-to-get-to places to spare the hosting country any embarrassment. (For more information about the G-8 and the history of protests at earlier summits, see Patricia Lietz’s excellent article in last month’s TNP.)

To make matters worse, the 3,500 international journalists covering the G-8 were sequestered on Hutchinson Island in Savannah, some 60 miles to the north. That, too, was off limits to anyone without proper credentials. To compensate for the vast distance between the press and the world leaders (imagine asking the White House press core to operate out of Baltimore), members of press were offered all sorts of amenities––on the first night alone they were treated to a $200,000 cocktail party (at taxpayers’ expense, of course). Even more troubling with the Sea Island-Savannah divide was that it forced activists to choose between being near the press or being near the Summit. In the end, Brunswick was where the bulk of the action took place.

So, from June 8-10, leaders of the world’s richest nations gathered behind closed doors on opulent Sea Island to chart the globe’s future, from the occupations in Iraq and Palestine (read: create a 75,000-strong peacekeeping force), HIV treatment (read: give pharmaceutical companies extra $$ to pursue a magic bullet), and "environmental stewardship" (read: enjoy the scenic Georgia coast). The contrast to the harsh realities of nearby Brunswick––home to 20 state toxic waste sites, four Federal superfund sites and high unemployment––could not be more stark.

Against all odds

Faced with a juggernaut of 20,000 police and military units from at least 50 different agencies, surface to air missiles, submarines, helicopter gun-ships, 24 hour military patrols, chronic harassment and high-tech surveillance, not to mention heat, toxic soil and water, and the threat of mass detentions sanctioned by a preemptive state of emergency (see below), it’s a miracle that some 400 activists managed to show up and wage any sort of resistance to the G-8 Summit at all. Yet resistance and courage they did show.

There were two United for Peace and Justice marches in Brunswick, one against the war on Iraq, and the other against the occupation of Palestine. There was another march against the racism that has crippled the Brunswick community and stolen land from the Gullah Geechie people. At Brunswick’s community college, there was a four day long "Fair World Fair" paired with "The Other Economic Summit." In Savannah, activists held a rally, march and festival for peace and civil liberties.

Brunswick also witnessed direct action, including an anarchist-inspired renovation of houses and environmental cleanup organized by G8 Fix Shit Up. Arming themselves with hammers, activists showed that resistance to the G8 is possible through "constructive action." A group of Pagan activists wearing HAZMAT suits offered bioremediation tips at Goodyear Elementary School, which was constructed on ground so toxic the school was built without windows.

On the final day of the Summit, a few dozen activists trekked nine miles in 100-degree temperatures to get as close to Sea Island as possible. Hundreds of local, state and federal police and army troops escorted them. Once at the guarded entrance to the Sea Island, 15 youth sat down for a silent vigil. They were promptly surrounded and arrested by heavily armed, unidentifiable riot troops. Two of those arrested were injured and went without medical attention for a stretch of time.

The next day, 30 showed up for a Jail Solidarity Vigil. Police quickly broke up the vigil and made two arrests. According to observers, police accused them of "inciting a riot." Later that evening, a woman who was walking near the courthouse was arrested and charged with Criminal Trespassing. She was in a public park.

As we go to print, ten youths (the "Brunswick 10") remain in custody. They are not giving their names, and the Glynn County Sheriff’s Department has denied them visitor’s request forms or the ability to meet with their lawyer as a group. It was reported that they were initially denied food and water. They’re now getting water, but given the toxicity of Brunswick’s water supply they are rightly concerned about what they’re drinking. Four of the ten began a hunger strike on June 15.

Georgia and the Miami Model

In the aftermath of the 2003 FTAA Ministerial, in which Miami Mayor Diaz called his city’s para-military assault on free speech "a model for homeland security," many journalists and activists have come to use the "Miami Model" as shorthand for an emerging set of "enhanced" law enforcement strategies aimed at preventing or denying public assembly, marginalizing dissenting voices, and insuring that high-profile government and corporate meetings take place without a hitch. The culmination of 20 years of militarizing domestic law enforcement values, ideals and technology, the Model is promoted by the highest levels of the Federal government and made possible by the Homeland Security Act, the USA PATRIOT Act, as well as other federal legislation and executive orders.

What the Feds orchestrated in South Georgia last week was taken straight out of the Miami playbook (see "How to Suppress Political Dissent in 10 Easy Steps" above). Just as millions of federal dollars paid for Miami security, at least $40 million of federal money was allocated to keep the Summit safe from "terrorists and violent protesters." (At a cost of $100,000 per protester, it would have been cheaper to have paid them not to show up.)

In Georgia, the Model picked up a new trick. The G-8 Summit was designated as a National Special Security Event (NSSE) by the Secret Service. Therefore, thanks to Clinton’s 1998 Presidential Decision Directive 6, security aspects fell under their jurisdiction. That classification permitted Georgia Governor Purdue to preemptively declare a state of emergency, which, in turn, allowed the Feds to subjugate local authority, curfews to be imposed and military units to "guard" the streets. The state of emergency would have made it easy to declare martial rule, detain and arrest all demonstrators until the "emergency" is over, and escalate the use of force, if those tactics proved necessary.

To many, it would seem that declaring a preemptive state of emergency, deploying thousands of troops and dispensing with the Bill of Rights was absurdly unnecessary. Yet, in a brilliant twist of logic, the Model’s champions will say that a smooth-running Summit only proves that the model was a successful deterrent. If, as was the case in Georgia, the model can thwart violent protestors simply with the show of overwhelming force and masterful propaganda, and without having to fire a round of tear gas, then so much the better. But if, as was the case in Miami, mass arrests and hundreds of projectiles are needed to quell protest, then it’s a damn good thing we went to DEFCON 2. The Model is self-justifying, and that is especially insidious because it also makes the Model self-perpetuating.

A Blueprint for the Democratic and Republican National Conventions

Bill Hitchens, the Department of Homeland Security official who directed G-8 security operations, has said that the G-8 experiences are easily "transferable" to the upcoming national political conventions. In addition, several articles have reported that police from NYC and Boston were on hand to observe the way things were handled at the G-8 Summit, just as G-8 law enforcement visited the FTAA Ministerial to learn from the Miami experience. Already, indicators of Miami- and Georgia-style repression are being seen in preparations at the DNC and RNC. In Boston, police have shut down meetings of the Black Tea Society and the DNC security plan heavily restricts public assembly and movement during the convention. In New York, the city has yet to approve any permits for RNC protests, making it difficult for organizers to plan their events. Moreover, in the city that has remained on high alert ever since 9/11, it is difficult to imagine that authorities would not declare a pre-emptive State of Emergency around the NSSE as was done in Georgia.

Many people are only dimly aware of these emerging police state tactics and the threat to democracy that they pose. But if the Miami Model goes unchallenged, we will witness more and more collusion of government, law enforcement and the corporate media, leading to greater corporate power over our every day lives, widening inequality and more social injustices. For more information visit www.saveourcivilliberties.org, atlanta.indymedia.org, and www.noG8.org.

(Photos by Emily Baron)