By Robert Evans GENEVA, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Hard-left and anarchist activists plan a major anti-capitalist demonstration in Geneva to coincide with the annual World Economic Forum in Davos at the end of the month, organisers said on Wednesday. And while right-wing and centrist political parties are calling for the Jan. 31 protest to be banned for fear of violence, Geneva police are threatening to refuse extra duties on the day over a pay dispute. "Having a major demonstration in Geneva at a time when world capitalism is in crisis has real meaning because this city, the stronghold of private bankers and of commodity trading houses, is at the centre of the system," a statement by protesters said. The Davos gathering, it added, will be the scene of efforts "by those who have created and profited from the economic crisis to work out a short-term solution that will protect their interests....in a huge operation of exploitation and theft." Radical leftist groupings regard the Forum, which has its headquarters in Geneva although the regular January meeting of global economic and political leaders is at the opposite end of Switzerland, as a nerve-centre for global capitalism. The Forum, set up in the 1970s, describes itself as "an independent international organisation committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas." PUTIN TO ATTEND It says some 42 national leaders -- including prime ministers Vladimir Putin of Russia, Wen Jiabao of China and Angela Merkel of Germany -- will attend this year's Jan. 28 to Feb. 1 meeting alongside developing country leaders, top company and banking figures and labour union representatives. The protesters' statement, from the anti-globalisation ATTAC group, said the opening speech from Putin -- whom it described as "the butcher of Chechnya" -- would set the tone for a meeting of "the elite of world capitalism." Protests, which often turned violent, were held in Davos itself during the 1990s, but were later banned and organisers switched them to Zurich or the Swiss capital Berne. Officials in Geneva fear that bringing them there might lead to a repetition of widespread violence in June 2003 during huge demonstrations against a meeting in nearby Evian, France, of leaders of the G8 group of industrialised countries. Organisers then -- as now -- said they aimed to keep the protest peaceful, but anarchist groups attacked city centre shops, banks and offices, many of which were boarded up for three days beforehand, and burned vehicles. The work-to-rule warning from Geneva police, who in 2003 called on reinforcements from France as well as other parts of Switzerland, came because they were not paid extra for overtime during last summer's European Soccer championship. But Geneva newspaper reports suggest that they are unlikely when the time comes to refuse to turn out in force on January 31. They were given additional pay for policing the 2003 protests, in which a number of them were injured. Several European countries have seen outbreaks of popular anger since the start of the global financial crisis, with three weeks of riots in Greece last month, protests in Iceland and Russia, and street violence this week in Latvia and Bulgaria. (Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
Members of a right-leaning youth group wave Ukrainian flags and hold a portrait of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin during a protest in front of the Russian embassy in Kiev January ...
