Russia police mount clean-up for G8 summit

St. Petersburg (Russia), Jul 12: Vladimir Soloveichik had some unexpected visitors. It was a group of officials from the draft board telling him he had to report immediately for military duty.

His friends have also had call-ups. They all have two things in common: they live in St Petersburg, venue for this weekend's Group of Eight summit, and they are opposition activists, the sort of people the police do not want spoiling the talks.

''Right now there are police and officials from the draft board trying to get into my apartment,'' Soloveichik said by telephone from inside his flat. ''These are ... scare tactics to stop me taking part in (protests at the summit).'' The Russian military has the right to demand that reservists, like Soloveichik, attend short refresher courses.

But usually, the call-up is never enforced.

Just like previous G8 hosts, Russia has put up a ring of steel around the former imperial palace near St Petersburg where US President George W Bush and other world leaders will start gathering on Friday evening.

Terrorism is a real fear. Last year, suicide bombers struck London's public transport network to coincide with the G8 summit Britain was hosting.

Rebels from Russia's Chechnya region, though weakened by the killing of warlord Shamil Basayev that was announced on Monday, have killed hundreds of civilians.

Russia, again in line with practice elsewhere, has told the anti-globalisation protesters who have become a fixture at G8 summits: you can demonstrate but only in the venue set aside.

But local activists say the Russian authorities are guilty of overkill. They say police and security forces have been intimidating them to keep them off the streets this weekend. Russian President Vladimir Putin is already accused by some G8 partners of rolling back democracy and civil rights. A heavy-handed policing operation in St. Petersburg could make that reputation worse.

Asked by reporters yesterday if police were harassing activists, Deputy Interior Minister Alexander Chekalin said: ''This is from the realms of supposition.'' ''The police's actions are commensurate with the situation at hand. The situation demands particular measures, sometimes intensified. Sometimes it demands that we visit a family in their apartment,'' he said.

Sergei Chekunov of the National Bolshevik Party, a radical direct action group, said he received a visit at his home from a local official. ''He told me that if we try to cause trouble then, and these were his exact words, they would dump our bodies in the sea,'' said Chekunov.

Two female activists with another radical group were sentenced to 10 days in prison for hooliganism. They had been handing out anti-globalisation leaflets in St. Petersburg.

In an operation code-named ''Shield,'' Russian police have been using legal technicalities to pull people off trains and airliners as they tried to reach St. Petersburg to join protests, said an activist Web site.

TERROR ATTACKS

Activists have been allocated a sports stadium in St Petersburg for their protests. It is about 25 km from the Constantine Place, which will house the summit. There, terrorist attack is the biggest oncern for security forces.

Next to the palace is a cluster of wooden cottages with poultry clucking in the yards. Residents have found themselves in the middle of a major military operation.

Anti-aircraft missile systems have been set up in a field yards from houses. Helicopters fly overhead every 15 or 20 minutes. Navy warships sit off the shore.

A wood and wire mesh fence about 5 metres high separates the town of Strelna from the palace and criss-crosses the town. Men in uniform patrol the streets.

''They took down everyone's details and even asked people to give a description of their dogs. They did not say why,'' said Olga, a 24-year-old museum curator who lives near the palace.

''Strelna feels like it's under occupation.''

REUTERS

Related Stories