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German police detain Indian farmers at G-8 meet in Cologne

Indian farmers agitating at the venue of the G-8 summit in Cologne in Germany were detained by police.

The farmers were protesting against the policies advocated by the World Trade Organisation and the inequitous world order.

A press release of the ''Intercontinental Caravan for Solidarity and Resistance,'' the umbrella organisation under which the farmers are protesting, said 500 people from developing countries were stopped by the police. They were stopped even before they entered the subway to the city centre.

Six of the 30 people arrested are still in police custody, the release said.

The caravan has made a protest tour through 11 countries in Europe for the past month. Apart from India, the participants are from Brazil, Bangladesh, Nepal, Mexico, Colombia, Pakistan, Chile and the Ukraine.

Those arrested include Vijay Jawandnia, president of the inter-state coordination committee of farmer's organisations, and his wife.

Among the people detained were six journalists, who were not allowed to leave the police cricle for nearly two hours, the release said.

The police surrounded about 350 participants of the caravan at the subway station, Boltensernstrasse, for more than three hours.

People from the caravan were beaten up and pushed on the ground. At least two demonstrators needed medical support. Besides, some policemen made racist remarks at the demonstrators, the release said.

Nearby, on the Ebertplatz, 500 European demonstrators, who wanted to join the parade, were also surrounded by the police. The organisers said the demonstration has been in the nature of a satyagrah.

The protestors argue that the current world economic order is based on the exploitation of people and benefits only a few. This, they say, is at the root of today's social and ecological problems.

The ''caravan'' attempted to confront political and economic institutions and multinational corporations with their presences, the release said.

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