Riot police clash with protesters in Milan

MILAN, Italy (Reuters) -- Police in riot gear clashed with hundreds of anti-globalisation protesters in central Milan, firing tear gas to bring the demonstration under control, witnesses said.

About 500 demonstrators from left- and right-wing groups threw stones and set fire to police barricades on Saturday to protest against a meeting in the city of the Trilateral Commission, an organisation of business and political leaders.

Waving banners reading "Down with anti-social capitalism" and "May the fight for freedom never die," the demonstrators included members of Italy's neo-fascist Forza Nuova party and representatives from far-left squatters' groups.

After three hours of skirmishes, police said they had brought the situation under control.

"We deployed more than 200 men to the area and the situation is now calm," a police spokesman said.

Delegates to the two-day Trilateral Commission conference, including Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan, were unaware of the disturbances as police cordoned off a wide area around the hotel where they met.

Other delegates to the meeting included the chairmen of oil companies BP Amoco and Shell, the heads of several international banks, the European Commissioner for competition policy, Mario Monti, and Sirkka Hamalainen, a member of the board of the European Central Bank.

Earlier this year, anti-globalisation protesters disrupted a joint meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Prague.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Prague meetings ended after protests
September 27, 2000
Protesters and police clash in Prague
September 26, 2000

Organisation: European Commission
IMF -- International Monetary Fund Home Page
The World Bank Group
ECB - European Central Bank
Shell The Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies
BP Company Homepage: A leading provider of energy and petrochemicals
The Trilateral Commission

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