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Activism See other Activism Articles Title: Woman, 70, injured in peace protest A 70-YEAR-OLD woman was taken to hospital and four people arrested after police moved in on demonstrators protesting against Dick Cheney's visit to Sydney. A group of about 100 protesters yesterday morning met a wall of police as they marched towards the Shangri-la Hotel in The Rocks where the US Vice-President was giving a speech to the Australian-American Leadership Dialogue. The group - smaller than the 350 that clashed with police in the city on Thursday night - carried a banner which read: "Chain up Cheney, free David Hicks." Leading a three-person counter-demonstration was former Young Liberal John Ruddick, who came out to support Mr Cheney with a $1200 banner that read: "The world needs more people like Dick Cheney. We love America." The anti-Iraq war demonstrators were noisy but peaceful until police moved in to arrest two women dressed in blue overalls mimicking police uniforms. "The police tried to single out the two who were wearing uniforms and the two ran into the crowd," protester John Graham said. Demonstrators said the women were part of a group known as the Tranny Cops and regularly attended demonstrations. "It was completely unprovoked ... she was part of a street theatre performance," Stop The War Coalition spokesman Paddy Gibson said. Protester Marie McKern, 70, was treated by ambulance officers after being caught in the melee. She was taken to Sydney Hospital and discharged a few hours later. "I was just listening to the speeches and someone said the police had walked forward," she said. "I thought they tried to arrest someone. I got pushed down on to the ground, then there were feet and a policeman's buttocks on my head and I couldn't get up." She was helped to the ambulance by former Guantanamo Bay inmate Mamdouh Habib, who also addressed the rally. The initial police defence line of about 60 officers was backed by mounted police and officers handling dogs. Assistant Police Commissioner Nick Kaldas, head of the Counter Terrorism Command, rejected concerns that police were heavy-handed, saying officers acted with restraint. "I'm not aware of any protesters being seriously injured," he said. Police said two Sydney women, aged 24 and 27, had been charged with impersonating a police officer, one 20-year-old woman was charged with assaulting police and hindering police and a 20-year-old man was also charged with hindering police. This contrasts with the 10 arrests on Thursday night when protesters defied a police order not to march from Sydney Town Hall to the US consulate in Martin Place. Numbers at the demonstration were lower than expected, spokeswoman Pip Hinman said. More coverage including video of Mr Cheney's visit and protests at http://www.theaustralian.com.au
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#1. To: robin (#0)
right welcome to the gulag.
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