Bizarre scenes dominate anti-war, weapons protest as woman cements herself to car, 11 people arrested

An anti-weapons protester has had her concrete-encased hand detached from a car by police during the final day of anti-war protests in Melbourne. After 42 protesters were arrested on Wednesday and police were hit with balloons and bottles filled with acid and vomit thrown from the crowd of more than 2000 demonstrators, police cracked down with the use of special search powers on Thursday. Rally organisers have said they are expecting “significant protest activity” on the final day of the Land Forces weapons expo. “There will be renewed vigour to protest because it’s the last day,” organiser Caroline Da Silva said. “It’s our last chance to show these weapons companies that they’re not welcome here.” Eleven anti-war protesters aged between 24 and 53 were arrested outside the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on Friday. Two women allegedly plunged their arms into wet concrete to protest against the Land Forces exhibition in Melbourne. Police allege they parked their unregistered blue Subaru station wagon across lanes of traffic on Kings Way Bridge about 7.40am. A police spokesperson said the women got out of the car, opened the boot and plunged their arms into the concrete. Police were able to release one of the women and took her into custody, but officers had to move the car off the road while the other woman’s arm was encased in concrete. The driver, 19, from the NSW town of Bundagen was charged with obstructing a police officer and being a public nuisance. The two women are due to appear in the Melbourne’s Magistrates Court on November 21. A police spokesperson said other protesters arrested at the anti-war rally were carrying a slingshot, drugs or refused to be searched as protest numbers dwindled to about 100 people. In another bizarre scene, one protester dressed as a clown and posed as a reporter – appearing to mock media coverage of the event. A much smaller and peaceful crowd showed up on Thursday, and small numbers of protesters have shown up again outside the Land Forces Defence Expo at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on Friday, the final day of the major weapons exhibition. On Friday morning, a woman managed to concrete her hand to a car and block a CBD street. Doing a live cross 24 hours after being harassed by protesters, ABC reporter Stephanie Ferrier and her camera operator described the situation. “This is the sight of a pretty bizarre protest at the moment,” Ferrier said. “This lady here has actually managed to affix herself to the back of a hatchback.” The reporter described seeing the protester put her own hand into a bag of concrete. “She’s actually been stuck in there,” Ferrier said. Police moved the car off King St. “They’ve had to virtually crab-walk her with the car on a jack … they’re trying to angle-grind her hand out of this concrete,” Ferrier said. The woman had been proclaiming she was against the nearby weapons expo. Elsewhere, a man at the protest was arrested after allegedly smashing vehicles as they were travelling along a street near the expo. “That guy wasn’t a part of this,” protesters said during the ABC live cross. “He was right in the middle of the intersection, and he was smashing all the cars and trucks and as soon as I reached the intersection he starts approaching me and then he smashed the windscreen,” a truck driver told the ABC. Police have been granted special powers in response to the large-scale pre-planned protests. Without a warrant and for a limited time, police can check identification cards at will, tell people to remove face masks, look into bags and conduct random weapons searches, under Victoria’s Control of Weapons Act. On Wednesday, about 2000 protesters gathered near the huge weapons expo, and scenes turned ugly. Police were hit with horse manure and acid, and 27 officers were injured. Protesters were hit with pepper spray and rubber bullets, and 42 demonstrators were arrested. On Thursday, barely 200 protesters showed up outside the police barricades surrounding the weapons expo, but police thoroughly searched scores of people. The searches are continuing on Friday as another small crowd yells “shame” and “murderer” at expo delegates as the weapons industry representatives pass through the police checkpoints.