London sees protests ahead of G-20 Summit

London: As the world's biggest business show comes to London next week, the city is bracing itself for a series of protests and demonstrations. The first one on Saturday was a curtain raiser of what lies in the days leading up to the G-20 summit.

On Saturday, tens of thousands of union workers, environmental campaigners and faith groups marched in London for Jobs, Justice and Climate under the banner 'Put People First' . They want the world leaders to ensure that decisions they make are based on equality and fairness.

"This will force the G-20 leaders to consider what poor people have known for a very long time that the system simply isn't working," said Action Aid's Claire Melamed.

"I think it's an opportunity and a moment of crisis and that is why it's so important to get people out," said World Development Movement's Murray Beaham.

This march is perhaps the biggest in the city since the protest against the Iraq invasion in 2003.

This is the beginning of what could be a week of protests and demonstrations across the city. While organisers here say this will be peaceful, there are fears that some anarchists could create trouble in the run-up to the summit. Security authorities are not taking any chances. There are over 2,000 cops policing the streets hoping to keep away trouble and potential 'trouble makers'.

The current threat level is set at 'severe' amidst concerns that groups like al-Qaeda might strike. Everyone remembers all too clearly that the July 7 bombings in 2005 coincided with the G8 summit in Gleneagles. Finally, a few anarchist groups are organising a 'G20 meltdown march on April 1 calling it 'Financial Fools day'.

So while the G-20 leaders face the challenge of rescuing the world's economy, the task for the security authorities will be equally daunting.

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