General

Looking at the radical core of anti-Olympic protests

Police admit they don’t know much about the “Black Bloc”

The masked protesters who smashed store windows during an anti-Olympic protests in Vancouver call themselves the “Black Bloc,” but they have no clear structure and or identified leaders. “What we know is what we pulled up on the Internet,” admitted a spokesperson with the RCMP-led Olympic Integrated Security Unit. Black Bloc members have been part of protests in Europe and the U.S. for years. In Vancouver, they targeted HBC’s downtown store displaying official Olympic merchandise. They have a tense relationship with other demonstrators: a U.S. anarchist in Vancouver blogged that the Black Bloc was getting heckled by bystanders. David Eby, executive director of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, said he was “sickened” by images of Black Bloc members smashing windows and tossing newspaper boxes into the streets.

Canadian Press

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