The videotaped firebombing of a Royal Bank of Canada branch in Ottawa this week could be a sign of things to come.
Anarchist websites are threatening "militant and confrontational" action during the summits of G8 and G20 world leaders in Huntsville, Ont., and Toronto, respectively, next month.
And the group claiming responsibility for the bank attack vows that its members will "be there" to protest "exploitation of people and the environment."
Andre Gerolymatos, a professor of international security at Simon Fraser University and an expert on anarchy, said it would not surprise him to see those involved in the firebombing appear at the upcoming summits.
"The G8 (summit) has always been a magnet for protest. These people want to ratchet it up a bit," he said Wednesday.
Gerolymatos said the group of radicals is probably small, and will likely try to mix in with legitimate protesters and incite police. "It’s a favourite tactic of anarchists," he said.
A spokesman for the integrated security team overseeing both summits, which take place June 23 through June 27, said law-enforcement agencies have spent the past year preparing for any disruptions.
"We’re confident we have sufficient plans and strategies in place to ensure a peaceful summit," said Insp. Dave Ross of the Ontario Provincial Police.
"We’re certainly prepared for any numbers (of protesters) who care to come."
Authorities say there will be designated sites for protesters to congregate at during the summits, but they will also respect demonstrations outside of those areas – so long as they remain lawful.
Chris McCluskey, a spokesman for Public Safety Minister Vic Toews, said in a statement the federal government has developed a comprehensive security plan and is "on track" to hosting safe summits. "We will not be influenced by thugs," he said.
A group calling itself "FFFC-Ottawa" has claimed responsibility for the early-morning firebombing of the RBC branch on Tuesday.
A short video of the incident posted on an indymedia website shows at least two people walking out of the branch as a fireball erupts. No one was injured.
A message attached to the video derides the bank for its sponsorship of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, which occurred "on stolen indigenous land" and "increased the homelessness crisis in Vancouver."
The group also criticizes RBC for being a "major financier of Alberta’s tar sands, one of the largest industrial projects in human history and perhaps the most destructive" and "the cause of the second fastest rate of deforestation on the planet."
"The games in Vancouver are now over, but resistance continues," the group says. "An RBC branch can be found in every corner of Kanada."
RBC spokeswoman Gillian McArdle said Wednesday that the bank will "not respond to inflammatory statements from groups who use violence as a way to communicate their views."
She declined to discuss specific security measures the bank and its branches might be taking.
John Furlong, CEO of the Vancouver Olympic organizing committee, said he hadn’t received a report on the RBC firebombing, but said it was an "unpleasant piece of news."
"Like anyone else, I’m troubled when people behave so badly," he said. "I hope it’s isolated and we won’t see it again. It’s certainly completely undeserved."
The firebombing drew a mix of praise and sharp rebukes on the indymedia website.
"I hope you guys are starting a revolution. Our corporate-run country is falling apart," one person wrote.
"You think that this will solve any of your concerns? This has just put a big bull’s eye right on your back. Are you prepared for that?" wrote another.
Alisa Westergaard-Thorpe, an organizer of the 2010 Olympic Resistance Network in Vancouver, said she might take part in G8/G20 protests and called RBC a "legitimate" target of protest.
"RBC has an atrocious corporate record that has to be exposed," she said, but declined to comment on her opinion of the use of firebombs as a tactic.
Gerolymatos said while Canada doesn’t have as much of a history of anarchism as Europe, the radicalization of small protest groups could be growing.
He said a number of factors could be drawing young people to such groups – poverty, a sense of alienation or the financial crisis.
And after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, he said, members of these groups see that "violence works."
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