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The 2009 G20 Pittsburgh Summit was the third meeting of the G20 heads of state/heads of government to discuss
financial market A financial market is a market in which people trade financial securities and derivatives at low transaction costs. Some of the securities include stocks and bonds, raw materials and precious metals, which are known in the financial ma ...
s and the
world economy The world economy or global economy is the economy of all humans of the world, referring to the global economic system, which includes all economic activities which are conducted both within and between nations, including production, consumptio ...
. The G20 is the premier forum for discussing, planning and monitoring international economic cooperation. The summit was held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
,
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on September 24–25, 2009. Announced shortly after the April
2009 G20 London summit The 2009 G20 London Summit was the second meeting of the G20 heads of government/heads of state, which was held in London on 2 April 2009 at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre to discuss financial markets and the world economy. It followed the first ...
, U.S. President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
volunteered to host this summit, initially planning to hold it in New York City and coordinating it with the opening of the
United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...
. However, due to coordination issues, on May 28, 2009, the
Obama Administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...
announced a change of venue to Pittsburgh in order to highlight the city's economic recovery following the collapse of its manufacturing sector in the latter half of the 20th century. In response to the Global credit crisis, a G20 summit in one year was proposed shortly after the London summit in April 2009. Amongst the issues discussed was a proposal to radically reform the
International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...
(IMF). French President
Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...
also suggested that there would be an evaluation of measures already taken. The primary venue of the summit was the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, which was at one point the largest
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certified building in the world. A working dinner for world leaders was held at the Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens, chosen to highlight its environmentally friendly features including an earth-sheltered welcome center and a Tropical Forest Conservatory described as the world's most energy efficient. Other venues used around the city include
The Andy Warhol Museum The Andy Warhol Museum is located on the North Shore of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is the largest museum in North America dedicated to a single artist. The museum holds an extensive permanent collection of art and archive ...
, the Pittsburgh High School for the Creative and Performing Arts and Rosemont, the working farm of Teresa Heinz Kerry.


Preparations

In the weeks leading up to the conference, many measures were taken to prepare Pittsburgh for the conference. Many streets in
Downtown Pittsburgh Downtown Pittsburgh, colloquially referred to as the Golden Triangle, and officially the Central Business District, is the urban downtown center of Pittsburgh. It is located at the confluence of the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River who ...
were re-paved and a pre-season
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hockey game for the
Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...
at nearby Mellon Arena was rescheduled. During the week of the G20, many streets were closed, and traffic patterns were adjusted. Many public schools, universities and nearby businesses were closed, canceling classes or working remotely for the duration of the conference. Pittsburgh Mayor
Luke Ravenstahl Luke Robert Ravenstahl (born February 6, 1980) is an American politician who served as the 59th Mayor of Pittsburgh from 2006 until 2014. A Democrat, he became the youngest mayor in Pittsburgh's history in September 2006 at the age of 26. He wa ...
also attempted to alleviate problems by meeting beforehand with some of the groups expected to protest during the event.


Security

Thousands of protesters were expected during the week of the Summit, which was classified as a
National Special Security Event A National Special Security Event (NSSE) is an event of national or international significance deemed by the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to be a potential target for terrorism or other criminal activity. These events have ...
. Security was coordinated by the
United States Secret Service The United States Secret Service (USSS or Secret Service) is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security charged with conducting criminal investigations and protecting U.S. political leaders, their families, and ...
, working in conjunction with the Pittsburgh Police. It is estimated that 4,000 police officers were requested, and the city only had 900 police officers at the time of the event. The
Pennsylvania State Police The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) is the state police agency of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, responsible for statewide law enforcement. The Pennsylvania State Police is a full service law enforcement agency which handles both traffic and c ...
committed more than 1,000 officers for the downtown event, including SWAT, helicopter, mounted, undercover, bicycle and motorcycle officers.
Allegheny County Allegheny County () is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Southwestern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,250,578, making it the state's second-most populous county, following Philadelphia C ...
had 75 officers specifically trained by and embedded into the
Pittsburgh Police Bureau The Pittsburgh Police (PBP), officially the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, is the largest law enforcement agency in Western Pennsylvania and the third largest in Pennsylvania. The modern force of salaried and professional officers was founded in ...
for the event since June.
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and
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also committed some officers, as well as Pittsburgh suburbs. Some officers from
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
traveled to assist, taking vacation days from their department. All officers, regardless of department, were under the command of the Secret Service for the event days. Chinook and
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helicopters, armored Humvees and crews of U.S. Army soldiers, as well as 10 25-foot boats with
M240 machine gun The M240 – officially the Machine Gun, 7.62 mm, M240 – is the U.S. military designation for the FN MAG, a family of belt-fed, gas-operated medium machine guns that chamber the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge. The M240 has been used by t ...
s from the
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, were on hand in the event of large-scale violent protests or a terrorist attack.


Attendance

G20 leaders began gathering in Pittsburgh on September 24, 2009. On the evening of September 24, the leaders attended a reception at Phipps Conservatory in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh. The Summit proper began on the morning of September 25 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, downtown.


Core participants

The following participants of the Pittsburgh summit represented the core members of the G20, which includes 19 countries and the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
which is represented by its two governing bodies, the
European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body that defines the overall political direction and priorities of the European Union. It is composed of the heads of state or government of the EU member states, the President of the ...
and the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...
.


Protests

After numerous denials of permits for groups such as Code Pink and Three Rivers Climate Convergence to assemble peaceful demonstrations, the
ACLU The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". ...
of Pennsylvania successfully sued to force the city of Pittsburgh to allow demonstrations around the G20 Summit. Participants in the protests surrounding the summit included peace, environmental, labor and social justice organizations. The first of the alternate events was a Peoples' Summit, involving an all-day session of speakers, panels and workshops on September 19, the Saturday before the G20 Summit, drawing about 500 participants, and continuing on Monday and Tuesday evenings, each drawing between 100 and 200. The Peoples' Summit included outright opponents of the G20 (such as radical historian
Howard Zinn Howard Zinn (August 24, 1922January 27, 2010) was an American historian, playwright, philosopher, socialist thinker and World War II veteran. He was chair of the history and social sciences department at Spelman College, and a politica ...
, who addressed the gathering via special video) as well as some who hoped to influence it in what they considered to be "progressive" directions. The Pittsburgh City Council proclaimed "that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby commend the Peoples' Summit, all associated institutions and organizations, and the citizen volunteers who worked tirelessly to make it a success. Their outstanding efforts are certain to create a greater understanding about the challenges we face, the solutions we should explore and the social dialogue that is necessary for the realization of a better world. Furthermore, the citizens of our region are encouraged to seize the opportunity to participate in this significant and historic event." The Peoples' Summit itself advanced some of the themes that surfaced in protests when the G20 Summit actually met: "We envision a world in which basic rights—freedom of expression, freedom of thought and religion, freedom from fear, and freedom from want—are enjoyed by all people. This is not the reality of our world today. Yet, in our diversity and plurality of orientations, inspired by mutual respect and the spirit of solidarity, we share the conviction that another world is possible." This was followed by a number of tent cities, demonstrations and other summits. There was also an alternative conference on Tuesday called the ''Freedom Conference 2009,'' stressing conservative grassroots solutions and free-market approaches. At around 10:15 a.m. on Wednesday, September 23,
Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...
activists hung a banner, warning of the dangers of increased CO2 emissions, from the deck of the
West End Bridge The West End Bridge is a steel tied-arch bridge over the Ohio River in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, approximately below the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers. It connects the West End to the Chateau neighborhood on the North S ...
facing
downtown Pittsburgh Downtown Pittsburgh, colloquially referred to as the Golden Triangle, and officially the Central Business District, is the urban downtown center of Pittsburgh. It is located at the confluence of the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River who ...
over the
Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of ...
. While traffic was held up for a period, all eight activists were placed under arrest after surrendering peacefully. On Thursday, September 24, the Pittsburgh G20 Resistance Project held a march and a day of direct action at Arsenal Park in the city's Lawrenceville neighborhood.
Police The police are a Law enforcement organization, constituted body of Law enforcement officer, persons empowered by a State (polity), state, with the aim to law enforcement, enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citize ...
fired
pepper spray Pepper spray, oleoresin capsicum spray, OC spray, capsaicin spray, or capsicum spray is a lachrymatory agent (a compound that irritates the eyes to cause a burning sensation, pain, and temporary blindness) used in policing, riot control, ...
at a crowd of an estimated 500 demonstrators to disperse a protest march a few hours before the start of the Summit. Police also used a
Long Range Acoustic Device A long-range acoustic device (LRAD) is an acoustic hailing device (AHD), sound cannon and sonic weapon developed by Genasys. It has been used as a method of crowd control, which has caused permanent hearing damage, having an extremely high ...
(LRAD) to remove protesters from an area after warning them several times to disperse. This was believed by city officials to be the first time that an LRAD had been used to disperse protesters within the United States. Since then, LRADs have been used to peacefully disperse crowds on several occasions. Later in the evening, another small crowd gathered in
Schenley Plaza Schenley Plaza is a public park serving as the grand entrance into Schenley Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The plaza, located on Forbes Avenue and Schenley Drive in the city's Oakland district, includes multiple gardens, food kiosks, public m ...
, as world leaders met that evening at the Phipps Conservatory nearby for a working dinner. Hundreds of police swarmed and encircled the peaceful crowd, which spilled over onto Forbes Avenue and Bigelow Boulevard near the Cathedral of Learning. An estimated 300 riot police lined the sidewalk behind the William Pitt Union, with 200 more officers blocking Forbes Avenue nearby to contain the protesters. However, the crowd quickly grew to about 500 as nearby
University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...
students—evident by shouts of " Let's Go Pitt!" heard—curious about the sirens and police presence, joined the crowd. Police shot several rounds of pepper spray into the crowd. Nearby businesses along Forbes Avenue and Craig Street were also vandalized after the police attempted to break up the demonstration. The University of Pittsburgh alerted students via text message that, "Conditions may be deteriorating in Oakland. Students are advised to remain near their residences." The Pittsburgh G20 Resistance Project called for "Everywhere Protests" at various locations and businesses (mostly banks and large corporations) throughout the city Friday morning (September 25). These were not very large scale protests. Some protesters wore black and twirled hula hoops at Forbes Avenue and Atwood Street in the Oakland neighborhood. There was also a small gathering of protesters at a Starbucks Coffee on Centre Avenue in the city's East Liberty neighborhood as well. Yet Friday also saw massive actions involving a broad coalition headed by the pacifist-oriented Thomas Merton Center. As one speaker emphasized at the action's start, said, "I remind you, this is a peaceful, permitted march. We're confronting G20 policies, not police." This "Peoples' March" (linked in the minds of many with issues raised in the earlier Peoples' Summit) was punctuated by three rallies (following the route of the march, in Oakland, in downtown Pittsburgh on the steps of City Hall, and on Pittsburgh's North Side), with an estimated 5000 to 8000 participants. The demonstration was quite diverse, including religious and community activists, anarchists, socialists, environmentalists, human rights advocates, opponents of war, trade unionists, veterans, and others. The mood of the action tended to be uncompromisingly critical of the G20, of big corporations, and of capitalism as such. "We're rallying here just a few miles from where the corporate robber barons have settled down to divide up the planet, that group of bankers, financiers and political leaders who have wreaked havoc upon our world," proclaimed one of the speakers, urging listeners to "fight for another world, put people before profits." The crowd roared with approval, and others spoke in a similar vein, but the assembly was completely free from violence and arrests. Much of the news media tended to minimize peaceful protests, however, and gave greater attention to arrests. These included controversial police actions of Friday evening, after the G20 Summit and the organized protests had ended. Taking place in Schenley Plaza and at the nearby University of Pittsburgh campus, they involved more sweeping arrests, and more charges of police violence, than had been the case the night before. According to police accounts, about 4,500 people participated in protests throughout the city, with 190 arrests being made. Approximately $50,000 worth of damage was caused to area businesses, with $15,000 worth being attributed to one individual, David Japenga of
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, accused of breaking 20 windows and doors in Oakland on Thursday night.
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
activist Elliott "Smokey" Madison used
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to report an order to disperse message from the Pittsburgh police during the protests. Police raided Madison's hotel room, and one week later Madison's New York home
Tortuga House
was raided by FBI agents. Police claim Madison and a co-defendant used computers and a radio scanner to track police movements and then passed on that information to protesters using cell phones and the social networking site Twitter. Madison was charged with hindering apprehension or prosecution, criminal use of a communication facility, and possession of instruments of crime. All protesters that were arrested were processed and held at the
State Correctional Institution - Pittsburgh State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...
.


Response

Dozens of University of Pittsburgh students who say they were wrongfully arrested and subjected to heavy-handed police tactics during the G20 meeting called for an investigation into the police actions.


Outcome

One of the first major announcements to come out of the meeting was that the group will become the new permanent council for international economic cooperation. This means that the much larger G20 meeting will essentially replace the smaller G8, which will continue to meet on major security issues but will carry reduced influence. This decision will help to include major developing nations – such as
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
and
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
– which were originally not included in the G8.


References


Further reading

*


External links


G20 Information Centre

Graphic: G20 is not simply the 20 largest economiesOfficial WebsiteOfficial Partnership SiteG20 Media Project
*
G-20 Protests Turn Violent
- slideshow by ''
Life magazine ''Life'' was an American magazine published weekly from 1883 to 1972, as an intermittent "special" until 1978, and as a monthly from 1978 until 2000. During its golden age from 1936 to 1972, ''Life'' was a wide-ranging weekly general-interest ma ...
''
Police Crackdown on G20 Protests
- video report by ''
Democracy Now! ''Democracy Now!'' is an hour-long American TV, radio, and Internet news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, which airs live each weekday at ...
''
Fortress Pittsburgh
by Robert S. Eshelman, ''
The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper t ...
'', September 25, 2009 * *
From London to Pittsburgh: assessing G20 action for developing countries
'' Eurodad'', September 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:G20 summit, 2009, 09, Pittsburgh 2009 in economics 2009,09,Pittsburgh 2009 in the United States 2000s in Pittsburgh 2009 conferences National Special Security Events 2009 in international relations 2009 in Pennsylvania September 2009 events in the United States Events in Pittsburgh 21st-century diplomatic conferences