City fathers are expecting a hot July with "hundreds of
thousands of angry demonstrators protesting against American
militarism and world poverty". Motoring organisations are
forecasting "gridlock for days" as streets are closed and all
police leave is cancelled. Anarchist groups are planning to
"plunge the city into chaos"; Islamic jihadists are expected to
join them, amid warnings of "chemical and radiological attack".
No, not Edinburgh at the G8, but Boston before the Democrat
Convention last July. I was there in the run-up to and during
the first such party convention since 9/11, and there was a
similar climate of fear in the city. It was a prime terror
target, a magnet for anarchists, warned the press. Apocalypse
was too small a word for it: Boston was braced for nothing short
of Armageddon
Nothing happened. There was no chaos, riots, dirty bombs,
clashes. A handful of bedraggled demonstrators – most of them
anti-abortionists – hung about in the secure "protest zone"
outnumbered by armed police standing on every roof-top.
Expecting chaos, Bostonians stayed away from work or went on
holiday. The city emptied. Traffic congestion disappeared and it
was easier to get around Boston than on any normal business day.
The press turned full circle as businesses complained bitterly
about loss of trade. Why hadn't the city authorities made it
more attractive to come to Boston, complained editorials. A
great opportunity had been missed to promote the city's image
abroad and boost the tourist and conference trade.
The press always reserves the right to have it both ways. We'll
complain if there is trouble, and we'll complain if there isn't.
No doubt the Scottish papers will whinge if Edinburgh becomes a
ghost town this summer, as visitors are frightened off by
media's toxic coverage of the G8.
As G-Day approaches the language, especially in the east coast
press, is becoming more absurdly inflated by the day. "Edinburgh
Battens Down the Hatches . . . Scotland Prepares for the Worst .
. . G8 Sparks Blood Supply Crisis".
"What began as a trickle of protest," screamed the Edinburgh
Evening News on Tuesday, "HAS BECOME A RAGING TORRENT OF PROTEST
WHICH WILL ENGULF US FOR A WEEK!" The paper went on to claim
that this was the greatest disruption experienced in the city
since . . . the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in
1997. Yes, since 1997! In other words, Edinburgh's disruption
for this G8 gathering of world leaders is expected to be no
greater than it was for a congress of obscure African heads of
state.
But columnists have been in full panic mode for weeks, warning
of an imminent invasion of eco-hippies defecating in Morningside
front gardens. G8 protesters are planning to ignite burning
lorries and hang "human shields" from bridges. Routine
operations are being cancelled to help hospitals cope with the
casualties.
Reading this rubbish, it's hardly surprising that Edinburghers
are fearful. Take property agent Denise Wilson: "It's
frightening," she told Scotland on Sunday. "I wonder whether I
should chain myself to the windows so that they will not be
smashed up with a baseball bat." First you scare people, then
interview them about their fear.
The broadcast media has contributed to the atmosphere of panic,
by running endless clips of street-fighting in Genoa and
Seattle. I wonder why it doesn't show any footage of last year's
G8 in Savannah, Georgia, which passed off entirely peacefully?
Princes Street is to be closed for 33 hours over the weekend of
the Make Poverty History march. Shock Horror! Except that
Princes Street is closed every Hogmanay, when up to 200,000
drunken revellers take over the city centre for the street
party. Anyone who lives in Edinburgh knows that the city is
disrupted almost every weekend by marathons and fun runs at this
time of year. Moreover, Princes Street is already closed to
daytime private traffic. So what is this all about?
Not surprisingly – given the image of Scotland as a war zone –
non-summit tourist bookings for July have collapsed.
Irresponsible press coverage costs cash, as David Watt of the
Institute of Directors warned at the weekend. Savannah, Georgia
made around £600m from last year's G8, according to its tourism
chief, Anthony Schoop. A potentially greater windfall is being
thrown away in Edinburgh.
But this is about more than money not going into the Royal Mile
tills. Parochial alarmism is detracting from any moral advantage
Scotland could have derived from this unique summit. There is a
chance that this G8 could actually deliver. Gordon Brown has
already secured $55bn for debt relief and promises more at
Glen-eagles. He has shamed even the Republican super hawk, Paul
Wolfowitz, head of the World Bank, into accepting that America
has a moral responsibility for the developing world.
There's some way to go on climate change, but George W Bush is
coming to Scotland intending to make a historic intervention on
debt and aid. It really could make poverty history. And this
ground-breaking accord is going to have Edinburgh's name on it.
Surely that means more than the lack of toilets and traffic
delays in Princes Street.
Of course there is a risk of street violence – that is the case
at all G8s. But the anti-terrorist agencies are pretty
experienced at these things by now. Their people have been
crawling all over Scotland for months, thinking the unthinkable.
They've told Edinburgh Council that the idea of a million
demonstrators getting to Edinburgh is pure fantasy, because the
city lacks the infrastructure – airports and roads – to get them
here. Consequently, Edinburgh Council has allocated a camp site
in Craigmillar with a capacity of only 15,000 campers. Rather
fewer than Bob Geldof hoped for. But the people who speak into
their shirt cuffs have told Edinburgh Council that this is all
they should be planning for. Fewer than a dull fixture at Easter
Road.
So, where is this torrent of disruption? Does the Edinburgh
press know something we don't. Does it have better security
sources than the police, MI5, CIA? Of course not. We all know
what it is really about: selling newspapers. G8 chaos is what
Edinburgh people want to read about. But that doesn't make it
right.
But why take the risk by allowing street protests at all? Well,
speak to Gordon Brown and he will tell you that demonstrations
of public concern, such as MPH and Live8, have played a major
part in shifting international opinion. His debt initiative
wouldn't have been possible without them.
Newspapers have a responsibility that goes beyond the next day's
fish suppers. Of course public safety is a legitimate issue. But
relentless forecasts of imminent violence tend to attract
precisely the violent elements you don't want to come while
deterring peaceful demonstrators. Lurid coverage is itself a
threat to public order. Remember that if the bottles fly in
July.
