Brussels: Activists Shut down NATO for a day

Oh how I love Europeans, maybe it is just me but, I don't think North Americans would do this, well maybe Quebecers would supply clowns. On Saturday according to the Independent Media Center 500-1000 (depending on report) Europeans from 17 different countries shut down NATO headquarters. They came in small groups of 20 or 30 and went at the headquarters from basically every direction with materials to scale the barbed wire fences and barricades, including one marching brigade of clowns.

The police were very much expecting the protesters however, and came prepared with attack dogs, water cannons, jail buses and, quite a few police on horseback. The protesters were there due to what they saw as the terrorism and war committed by NATO around the world. One protester put the emphasis on the United States and Britain as the main perpetrators [1 Indymedia movie]. One of the major influences of the date was the anniversary of the Iraq war last week. According to the BBC around 150 protesters were arrested by Belgium police[2].

Images from the Independent Media Center