http://www.wbj.pl/article-56541-occupy- ... ml?typ=wbj
Occupy Wall Street movement spreads across globe
17th October 2011
Protests in Warsaw were more muted than in other cities
The Occupy Wall Street movement has inspired protestors around the world
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
The Occupy Wall Street movement went global over the weekend, with large numbers of protesters taking to the streets of Europe's capital cities to demand reform of the global financial system.
One of the main organizers of the weekend's rallies, 15 October.net, said 951 cities in 82 countries vowed to be “united for global change.” The rallies have been embraced throughout Europe, in cities such as Amsterdam, Athens, Berlin, London, Rome and Zagreb.
Sydney, Tokyo and Hong Kong have also seen thousands of rioters take to the streets.
In Warsaw, several hundred protesters started a march at the University of Warsaw. The crowd made its way to the Ministry of Finance and European Commission offices, before ending up at the Warsaw Stock Exchange building.
Young demonstrators carried banners saying, “Ignore the Media, teach yourself” and “Stop market tyranny.”
Nevertheless, in comparison to scenes in many other capitals, those in Warsaw were relatively low-key. The protests are less intense in Poland, even though Polish people have more reasons to be dissatisfied with the government than many in the West do, professor Paul Kozlowski of the Polish Academy of Sciences Institute of Economic Sciences told Wirtualna Polska.
"Unemployment among the Wall Street protesters is around 7 percent. While here in Poland, we were close to 12 percent not too long ago. After 1990, we had as high as 20 percent of Polish people unemployed," explained Mr Kozlowski.
Protesters' demands
One protester in Madrid, were thousands marched, told an RT News reporter that they wanted a “transparent horizontal society. We saw the Arab spring, then the Spanish summer, the American autumn and now we will face a global winter.”
European protesters are directing their anger at high unemployment levels and at the financial cuts being imposed by governments in exchange for European Union and International Monetary Fund bailout money.
Although Asian countries have not been hit as hard by the crisis as many in Europe, people in that part of the world are not immune to the knock-on effects of the West's financial troubles.
In South Korea, protesters said they were not rallying against their government, but had come out in support of the Occupy Wall Street movement, according to CNN. Residents in the Indonesian capital city of Jakarta, some wearing masks to ensure anonymity, gathered in front of the US embassy.
"We wanted to show that the American regime, its system of imperialism needs to be destroyed," Rudi Daman, leader of the International League of Peoples' Struggle, told journalists.
Participation levels in New York are at their highest level in four weeks. The Occupy Wall Street movement first came to the world's attention when its supporters convened in Manhatten's Zucatti Park on September 17. Over the weekend, the crowds extended up to Times Square and Washington Park.
Activists feel as though their message will gain more traction now the movement has spread across the world.
Veronika Joy
From Warsaw Business Journal
