|
|
G20 London Summit > Top News
|
Fury on streets over 'greedy bankers'By Fu Jing (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-03-30 07:58 LONDON -- Tens of thousands marched for five hours in "one of the largest" protests in London on Saturday, four days before the G20 summit kicks off.
The police, who are coordinating a large-scale security operation in the build-up to the summit, have been barred from going on leave until the summit ends. "It's fair to say that this {protest} is one of the largest, one of the most challenging and one of the most complicated operations we have delivered," Commander Simon O'Brien, one of the officers in charge of security, said of Saturday's protest.
The protesters, ranging from union members, taxi drivers and the retired, marched the 7.2-km stretch to the sound of brass bands, piercing whistles and blasting music from stereos. Among them was 73-year-old Geoff Stratford who awoke at 4:30 am so he could arrive in London from Manchester in time for the rally. "The cause (of the financial crisis) lies in casino capitalism and in the greed of bankers," Stratford told China Daily as he and his wife marched, holding aloft a banner. "We want to get the view through to the leaders who are meeting to find consensus. We have pensions and are not affected much by the crisis but the leaders should correct their mistakes and make people suffer less," he said and added that he would join the marches scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday as well. Essex resident Milton McKenzie said: "How can we have a situation where we have people out of work and the bankers just cream it off, helped by the government?" Dressed in green sportswear, Andrea Porteous and her 10-year-old daughter Taylera raised chants of: "Put children first". Unwilling to admit she had lost her job, the 40-something former office administrator said: "I finished my work days ago." Porteous conceded that she had sent her resume to several companies but failed to get a single job offer. "Some of my friends too have not got feedback after sending 20-30 job application letters." A London taxi driver said he joined the protest because the financial downturn meant his daily fare had gone down by 20-30 percent. "I have to drive six days a week or a minimum of two extra hours every day," said John, who refused to give his full name. "I am urging the G20 leaders to find a way to punish those who brought about the crisis." |
||||||
       |
光泽县| 栾城县| 新兴县| 光泽县| 德化县| 宝山区| 高淳县| 兴安县| 河池市| 古丈县| 紫金县| 孝感市| 福安市| 镇赉县| 远安县| 沅江市| 河曲县| 缙云县| 嘉义县| 策勒县| 广汉市| 舒兰市| 东辽县| 中方县| 博野县| 伊金霍洛旗| 昭通市| 姜堰市| 三台县| 武功县| 金湖县| 县级市| 保德县| 辽阳县| 铜鼓县| 信阳市| 汤阴县| 中阳县| 汨罗市| 江阴市| 边坝县|
