Perhaps the media is correct in hyping this as a battle but they are missing out the important fact that only the supporters of the capitalist system are entering the fray armed with guns, chemical gas and military hardware. The strongest weapon the opposing sides will have is their commitment to a radical change in the injustices of society, diverse and undefined as their views may be. Whatever occurs on the streets of Prague, alternative media groups such as the British based Undercurrents video news , indymedia internet news and schnews news sheet will be reporting the stories which the mainstream media will be ignoring. This is possibly the strongest role of alternative media. Our role will be informing the wider public that there is a growing call for real global changes in the current situation of world trade, third world debt, and corporate power and for a replacement with some form of grassroots responsibility.
Alternative media has an invaluable role in reflecting what taking direct action actually entails.
As Starhawk, a woman who has trained hundreds of activists in non violent resistance said Direct action is the only way we ve found so far to hold these institutions accountable. Only the actions against them over the last year have created any real public debate about their policies. Personally, I think it s great that respectable members of NGOs will debate the IMF and World Bank, and that the dialogue will be broadcast on public television. But that dialogue will be very different because of the presence of thousands of people in the streets. Undercurrents video cameras will be on the streets with the thousands showing the news not shown on the news.