Almost 100 Australians arrested in Occupy Melbourne protest

Almost 100 Occupy Melbourne protesters on Friday have been arrested, after clashing with police in Melbourne of Australia, police confirmed. The protesters rallied in city streets of Melbourne after police officers removed Occupy Melbourne demonstrators from the City Square on Friday morning. In a statement, police said they had denied using excessive force to break up the protests, which blocked major city intersections and public transport for most of the day. In order to deal with the chaos, police has arrested 95 percent of the protesters on the city streets, but most have been released without charge. More than 20 protesters had minor injuries and one was taken to hospital. Two officers were also injured with one taken to hospital to have his eye flushed. Eight police cars were also damaged. According to Assistant Commissioner Steve Fontana, protesters were warned to move, and the action by officers was justified. He said police boosted their numbers from 150 to more than 400, in line with the increase in the number of protesters when they took the protest on city's street. "We gave them plenty of notice and time to move from the city's square," he told reporters in Melbourne on Friday. "They have had more than ample opportunity to do so. But at some stage we had to move in and ask them to leave." However, protesters condemned the police actions, labeling them "excessive use of force". "Our observers have witnessed and been told of numerous incidents of excessive force and violence against the peaceful protesters," Erin Buckley, coordinator of the legal observer team, said in a statement. "We are very concerned at the level of violence, and concerned particularly about the welfare of young people who have experienced significant police brutality today." The protesters said they believe the footage of Friday's clashes, which was reported on the local media, would only attract more to the movement, when protesters would rally again in Melbourne's Federation Square at midday on Saturday. Fontana said police would deal with any protests that continued into the weekend. Sparked by the Occupy Wall Street protest in United States, similar protests against widening income disparity has spread across the Asia-Pacific region and London of Britain.