2008-09-15

September 14th 2008 Gothenburg -- Huntsville

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Welcome to the Global Anti Repression Wiki!

Here we will try to create an extensive overview of police and state repression in different countries. As a start we have a basic list of questions you can answer for the country you know about and help getting the information out.

We ask people to write an overview of the attacks to political spaces, erosion of freedoms, and repression, that have happened in their countries over the past decades. We are therefore looking for analyses of legal changes and strategies of repression of grassroots activism in your city or country. We would like to know how has repression and social control increased in your country over the past five to ten years? In which ways does your government try to suppress the discontents (e.g. harsher accusations, easier convictions, higher sentences, more state violence at demonstrations and public spaces to intimidate, high claims for damage, use of surveillance, etc.)?

If you want to join, please contact antirep [at] riseup.net. Use encryption if you can. Here is our PGP key

www.autistici.org/antirepression/wiki/doku.php?id=start

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Malmö-Gothenburg-Malmö 2001-2008

How the Swedish parliamentary parties betrayed the Global Justice Movement

It happened in the most unlikely country at a most unlikely place. The great international step forward in the repression against the global justice movement summit protests begun right in the middle of the cradle of the Swedish workers movement in Malmö. Some weeks later police were for the first time shooting at protesters in Gothenburg at an EU Summit and built a wall of containers around a counter summit, convergence center and school complex used for accomodation to end up violently storming the protest gathering arresting 456 people. The parliamentary parties supported the escalation of the repression of the demonstrators that followed, with Left Party leader Gudryn Schyman as a main betrayer of the movements. With this support the police could attack any demonstration and use any weapons legitimated by all parliamentary parties. 7 years later the global justice movement in Sweden and internationally gathers again in Malmö to exchange experiences on lessons learned and what conclusions to draw for the future.
2001

Ministers of finance in EU members states met in April 2001 in Malmö. A demonstration with permission from the police was called by a number of organisations from the local Transport workers union to the Peoples Movement No to EU and the Malmö group for Asylum to refugees. Right in front of the old headquarters of the first workers daily in Sweden, Arbetet, the police attacked and arrested 266 demonstrators in the demonstration. An official commission later claimed the police action was unjustified. All parliamentary parties in the local police board claimed directly afterward it was an act to promote democracy. The stage was set by Swedish parlimentary parties to betray popular movements under the first Swedish EU-presidency.

The situation was well prepared by social democratic changes of Swedish political culture. Before popular movements built on participatory democracy had been highly respected and supported in Sweden as organisations supposed to combine the willingness of people in common to live as they preached and at the same time act in common to change society indepedent from the state. In 1998 this was changed. Millions of Swedish crowns were given to a campaign against racism in daily life under the leadership of Mona Sahlin, today social democratic party leader. This campaign was not allowed to adress political issues. Popular movements critical towards racist EU policies should have no support at all contrary to the earlier democratic tradition in Sweden when political change and individual moral were supposed to be united and not split apart. Simultanously the social democratic government started a campaign against extremist ideologies as nazism excluding from consciousness that fascism had the workers movement as its main protagonist ending with a campaign against communism. Foreign policy also shifted side from support of the Palestinians to become more close to US and Israeli positions. Independent economic policy had been replaced by adopting neoliberal EU policies.

In opposition to this two main coalitions were formed before the EU presidency 2001. Friends of the Earth Sweden and the small radical trade union Central Organisation of the Workers of Sweden initiated a broad antineoliberal and EU-critical coalition also including main stream trade unions from Denmark and Norway, Euromarches and many others and the Popular Movement No to EU initiatied a coalition against Swedish membership in the EU. Both coalitions planned demonstrations and had the Greens and the Left party as members.

The social democrats had a clear opposing vision. The big trade union LO under social democratic leadership declared that it was not in the tradition of the labor movement to demonstrate and thus they were not going to take to the streets which made them refuse to discuss demonstrations during the EU-presidency. ABF, Workers Education Association joined hands with Rotary and Lions to organise an NGO Forum in Gothenburg two weeks before the EU Summit. An open space Free forum was strongly supported delinked from taking political standpoints and creating coordinating resurces for demonstrating popular movements. Separate charities and foundations as well as some popular movements were given money to arrange seminars on EU issues delinked from action all over Sweden. The international EU-critical and the national No to EU demonstration coalitions had no support and wellfunded competitors. The EU critical 5 day counter summit had 200 euro in support from official funding, the open space free forum 200 000 euro until in the very last minute some money for third world participation was given to the counter summit. Popular education should be split from political action was the will of the parliamentary parties in total contradiction to earlier Swedish democratic tradition.

The brake with earlier democratic ways in the relation between the state and popular movements was clearly seen when the police stormed the counter summit at Hvitfeldtska school at the same time as president Bush arrived to the Gothenburg airport. The first US-EU Summit started with head of police Håkan Jaldung ordering the attack on the Counter summit using all possible laws ”to the maximum” according to his own statement. According to research by Hans Abrahamsson from the Attac movement US intellegence agents had planted a false information claiming that hundreds of Italian activists dressed in white overalls and protected by foam gum would force themselves into the hotel of president Bush. The preparation of the attack was supposed to take place at Hvitfeldtska. The Swedish security police with many agents inside the school did not believe in the horror story. Jaldung that had gone to the US 40 times to get special police education ordered the storming of the school placing US national interests above Swedish national interests. The offcial claim by the police that there was weapons inside the school was proven to be false. As a provocation to start riots the police operation worked with predicable results.

Next day Jaldung continued his tactics the same way now soon supported by all parliamentary parties. A demonstration with 2 000 participants some blocks away from the EU conference walked and stopped according to the plan discussed together with the police. But Jaldung ordered anyway a large scale attack from all sides, first with dogs, than with mounted police. While the riots on the day before had been more limited this time the predictable counterreaction was stronger. Some demonstrators forced the police to flee with the help of throwing cobblestones against horses and riot police. The police had heard a rumour that the police head quarter was to be attacked and withdrew some of their forces from the main avenue to protect themselves. 200 people, out of whom 50-70 were active according to the police report, were given room to smash the windows of the shops on the high street. National public service television edited the news by presenting the course of events in the reverse order, cutting clippings showing how demonstrators throws objects at the police first and how police attacked with dogs after. The rest of the media used language as Gothenburg had been raped and planted the false informatin that there had been property damage for 100 million Swedish crowns. The shop owner organisation presented later that the figure was 5 million. Also some leftist journalists joined the trend and called the activists terrorists.

The EU parliamentary committee met the same afternoon. According to Green MP Yvonne Ruwaida the foreign ministry used the occasion for giving the information that 3 vehicles loaded with weapons had been confiscated by the police at Hvitfeldtska something that really should cause alarm but was false. Now all parliamentary parties with the Left Party as the main force and the Greens as the most reluctant started to legitimize further escalation of police attacks on demonstrators according to the will of the social democratic party that only the demonstrators were to blame. Left party leader Gudrun Schyman used her priviliged position in the media to state at prime time in public service news that the demonstrators damaging property and police were hooligans with no other intention than to be violent. Furthermore she stated that coalitions organizing demonstrations were the left party belonged to most often them had denounced hooligans, which was totally false. The proposal from the social democrats to make this joint declaration had been rejected by the demonstration coalitions that instead had denounced violence, whether it was used by the police or demonstrators. After the Left party legitimation of the state violent action and false information against demonstrators the police escalated the violence further by shooting at participants at a Reclaim the street party with live ammunition almost killing one person. The social democratic prime minister started to talk about ”criminal elements with the only purpose to destroy” and soon about protesters clashing with police as ”fascists” belonging to a ”military organised group, well equipped, with excellent communication system, extraordinary well planned and with big economic resources…”

The final day of the EU Summit started by a new attack ordered by head of the police operation Jaldung against the big international demonstration with 20 000 participants. The attack was derailed by demonstration guards and mutinity among the subordinate police who refused to fulfil the order and thus a blood bath was stopped. Later the same day the police encircled a demonstration against police violence and arrested most of the 500 participants while a terrorist police squad stormed the second school were the convergence center had moved after the police attack on Hvitfeldska. Armed with machine guns the police arrested all in the school.

After politicians had legitimized such violent attacks by the police against the headquarters of political opposition and demonstrations there were very few protests. Instead the demonstrating organisations started to quarrel among and within themselves. The courts put some 50 demonstrators in total 50 years in prison with the help of videos manipulated by the police and claims that all accused demonstrators had jointly made an attack on democracy. The sentences were more than 10 times higher than normal for the same crime. The political parties had succeded in their attack on popular movement cooperation promoting their professional campaign organisations working in symbiosis with mass media and parliament as the best form of organising political will.

The only city were the popular movements were not split apart was Malmö. Here the experience among both socialdemocratic, trade union and many other organisations that organised the demonstration during the EU finance ministerial meeting had set an example. The distrust against the police and parties that supported the police version was shared by all. Here there was a basis for rebuilding popular movement cooperation. Local chapters of the Transport workers, Attac and Friends of the Earth started a movement that soon became national for common welfare against privatisation. These three organisations also became central in initiating the ESF preparations in Sweden. This time the local chapter of the Central Organisation of the Workers of Sweden in Malmö refused to join the movement cooperation efforts claiming that ESF was an European plan by Attac and social democrats to build a new reformist party. The ranks of experienced activists needed for the practical ESF preparations was filled with members of the Left party and their affiliated student and youth organisations.

Whether ESF in Malmö will be a place were popular movements can regain strength against the antidemocratic tendencies among professionalised parliamentary parties in the hands of mass media is still to be seen. But their betrayl in Sweden of the global justice movement will be addressed at a seminar on criminalisation and repression of social movements including other experiences of summit protest and policing of popular movements. It will be the first time that the focus of the post Gothenburg 2001 debate not will primarily focus upon the conflict between police and demonstrators and instead bring up the issue of the conflict between all parliamentary parties and independent popular movements. A Swedish lesson learned which may have consequences also for what conclusions to draw for the future of the global justice movement in many countries.

Tord Björk, coordinator of the EU committee, Friends of the Earth Sweden

Source: email

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Resistance 2010! Against the Olympics, G8 and SPP in 2010

(english and french versions)
RESISTANCE 2010!

* No Olympics on stolen land!
* Disrupt and abolish the G8 and SPP
* Active support and solidarity for local struggles of self-determination, justice and dignity

In the year 2010, three major international events will be taking place in the Canadian state: the Winter Olympics in Vancouver/Whistler (between February 12-28); the G8 Leader’s Summit in Huntsville, Ontario (most likely in June or July); and the meeting of the NAFTA leaders as part of the so-called “Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP)” (date and location not yet known).

Already, groups and individuals on the West Coast have come together under the banner of “No Olympics on stolen native land.” They have been organizing and raising awareness, from an anti-colonial and anti-capitalist perspective, against the 2010 Olympics, for several years. [More info available at www.no2010.com and http://harrietspirit.blogspot.com]

Inspired by the mobilizing on the West Coast, organizers across “Canada” have begun awareness-raising efforts. Building on the call from the West Coast for anti-capitalist and anti-colonial resistance to the Olympics, some organizers affiliated with the “People’s Global Action” Bloc (PGA-Bloc) in Ontario and Quebec have begun mobilizing around “Resistance2010”, linking anti-Olympics efforts to organizing against the G8 and SPP, and the day-to-day systems and institutions of power and oppression they represent.

With more than one-year before the Olympics begin, there is a huge opportunity for coordinated and developed campaigns against the Olympics, G-8 and SPP: campaigns that are rooted in our every-day mobilizing, and survival; and campaigns that understand that the institutions of oppression and power function daily in our own communities.

The PGA-Bloc is organizing within the framework of the People’s Global Action Hallmarks, which are linked at: www.agp.org

The PGA Hallmarks are a common expression of some of our basic politics, and are linked to a loose international network of grassroots resistance to capitalism that is directly inspired by the Zapatistas. Over the past several years, the “PGA-Bloc” has been used in Ontario and Quebec for various organizing efforts, such as opposing George Bush’s visit to Ottawa (2004) and mobilizing against the SPP meeting in Montebello (2007). The PGA network is also linked to numerous groups who organized anti-capitalist resistance to the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City (2001).

Whether groups are organizing within the PGA Hallmarks or not, we would like to communicate and organize with everyone with shared affinities – anti-capitalist and anti-colonial analysis; support for direct action; confrontation of oppressive systems; opposition to all forms of oppression; autonomous and horizontal organizing; and support of Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination – in a spirit of unity, solidarity and mutual aid.

There have so far been two regional organizing meetings in Ottawa (in January and July 2008) related to the Resistance 2010 campaign, bringing together activists from Ontario and Quebec. Allies have been meeting in Halifax as well. A Resistance 2010 information session was held at the Montreal Anarchist Bookfair this past May, involving participants from Ontario, Quebec, the Maritimes as well as the Northeast USA. To date, there have been two visits by Indigenous organizers in “British Columbia” to Ontario and Quebec, and communications between organizers across “Canada”.

This callout (our second; the first was made in January 2008) is being made to again encourage networking and communications between groups and individuals who support the Resistance 2010 campaign.

We write this in the hopes that we can re-kindle old networks, encourage and join new ones, and support each other’s organizing and struggles towards 2010 and beyond.

In solidarity and in struggle, Members and supporters of the PGA-Bloc in Ontario and Quebec.

www.resistance2010.net (under construction) info@resistance2010.net

GET INVOLVED:

ENDORSE RESISTANCE 2010: We encourage groups and organizations to discuss the Resistance 2010 campaign. If your group supports the main demands of Resistance 2010 campaign – no Olympics on stolen land; disrupt and abolish the G8 and SPP; and active support and solidarity for local struggles of self-determination, justice and dignity – please get in touch to endorse the campaign at info@resistance2010.net

SHARE INFORMATION: Please share any public information about activities and campaigns that you’ve already begun or discussed in your area that might be related to the Resistance2010 effort. We are compiling the public information at info@resistance2010.net and will send it out on our announcements list to share with everyone.

POPULAR EDUCATION: We are particularly interested in sharing research and popular education materials. Members of the PGA-Bloc in Ontario and Quebec are working together in the coming months on a more detailed information package to share with your group, as well as more informational workshops. Please e-mail info@resistance2010.net to share any info.

ANNOUNCEMENTS LIST: Get on our announcements-only, low-volume, moderated e-mail list, which will be used to share public information about Resistance 2010 efforts. Just e-mail info@resistance2010.net with your e-mail address, asking to be on the announcements list.

info@resistance2010.net www.resistance2010.net (under construction)

RESISTANCE 2010!

* Pas de Jeux Olympiques sur des terres volées!
* Pour la perturbation et l’abolition du G8 et du PSP!
* Pour une solidarité active avec les luttes locales pour l’auto-détermination, la justice sociale et la dignité!

En 2010, trois événements internationaux majeurs se tiendront au Canada: les Jeux Olympiques d’hiver de Vancouver/Whisler (du 12 au 28 février), le sommet des chefs d’État du G-8 à Huntsville, Ontario (en juin ou en juillet) et la rencontre des chefs d’État de l’ALÉNA dans la poursuite de l’agenda du «Partenariat pour la sécurité et la prospérité (PSP)» (le lieu et les dates ne sont pas encore connus).

Sur la côte ouest, des groupes et des individus s’organisent déjà depuis plusieurs années pour sensibiliser la population et s’opposer aux jeux olympiques de 2010 dans une perspective anti-colonialiste et anti-capitaliste sous le thème : «Pas d’Olympiques sur des terres autochtones volées». Pour plus d’information, visitez les sites: http://www.no2010.com et http://harrietspirit.blogspot.com

D’un bout à l’autre de ce qu’on appelle «le Canada», plusieurs militantEs ont commencé une campagne de sensibilisation. InspiréEs par l’appel de la côte ouest à une résistance anti-capitaliste et anticoloniale aux olympiques, quelques militantEs faisant partie du réseau de l’Action mondiale des peuples (bloc-AMP) au Québec et en Ontario ont commencé à mobiliser autour de la campagne « Résistance 2010 », dans l’optique de relier les mouvements d’opposition au G-8, au PSP et aux Jeux Olympiques en dénonçant les systèmes et institutions de pouvoir et d’oppression qu’ils représentent.

Avec plus d’un an de délais avant la tenue de ces événements, nous avons la possibilité de développer et de coordonner des campagnes d’envergures contre le G-8, le PSP et les Jeux Olympiques, des campagnes enracinées dans nos luttes quotidiennes et qui permettent de bien comprendre comment les systèmes d’oppression et de pouvoir représentés par ces institutions se manifestent dans nos communautés.

Pour connaître les principes de l’AMP qui rassemblent les groupes et individus impliqués dans la campagne, visitez www.agp.org.

Les principes de l’AMP résument des valeurs partagées et relient les activistes qui les adoptent avec un large réseau international de résistances locales au capitalisme qui est directement inspiré des Zapatistes. Au cours des dernières années, des collectifs se sont regroupés sur les bases de l’AMP en Ontario et au Québec pour mener à bien différentes mobilisations, comme la résistance à la venue de George Bush à Ottawa (2004) et la résistance au sommet du PSP à Montebello (2007). Le réseau de l’AMP fût également en contact avec de nombreux groupes ayant participé à la résistance anti-capitaliste lors du Sommet des Amériques à Québec (2001).

Résistance 2010! ne s’adresse pas exclusivement aux groupes organisés sur les bases de l’AMP. N’importe qui partageant un minimum d’affinité peut se joindre, soit: une analyse anti-capitaliste et anticoloniale; un support de l’action directe; une attitude de confrontation envers les systèmes d’oppressions; une opposition à toute forme d’oppression; un respect de l’organisation autonome et horizontale et un soutien aux principes de souveraineté autochtone et d’autodétermination, dans une optique d’unité, de solidarité et d’aide mutuelle.

Jusqu’à présent, il y a eu deux rencontres d’organisation reliées à la campagne «Résistance 2010». Elles se sont tenues à Ottawa en janvier et en juillet 2008 et ont rassemblé des activistes de l’Ontario et du Québec. Des militantEs se sont aussi réunis sur ce thème à Halifax. Au Salon du livre anarchiste de Montréal, une séance d’information s’est tenue pour présenter la campagne. Il y a également eu deux visites d’activistes autochtones venus de l’ouest et les communications au sujet de la campagne se développent d’un océan à l’autre.

Cet appel, qui est le deuxième à être diffusé, est fait pour encourager la communication entre les groupes et les individus qui supportent la campagne «Résistance 2010 » dans l’espoir de renouer d’anciens réseaux, d’en encourager et d’en former de nouveaux et de permettre un soutien mutuel des efforts d’organisation partout au pays d’ici 2010 et même après!

En solidarité et en lutte, Des membres et partisanEs de l’AMP en Ontario et au Québec

www.resistance2010.net (en construction) info@resistance2010.net

POUR LA SUITE:

ENDOSSER RÉSISTANCE 2010: Votre groupe ou votre organisation est encouragée à discuter de la campagne Résistance 2010. Si votre groupe supporte les trois principales demandes de la campagne—Pas de Jeux Olympiques sur des terres volées; Pour la perturbation et l’abolition du G8 et du PSP; Pour une solidarité active avec les luttes locales pour l’auto-détermination, la justice sociale et la dignité! – écrivez à info@resistance2010.net pour endosser la campagne.

PARTAGER TOUTE INFORMATION PUBLIQUE: Votre groupe ou votre organisation organise des activités ou des campagnes qui pourraient s’inscrire dans l’esprit de Résistance 2010 et intéresser les autres groupes? Envoyez un courriel à info@resistance2010.net et l’information sera partagée par le biais d’une liste de diffusion. Nous sommes aussi très intéressés à partager des recherches et du matériel d’éducation populaire.

ÉDUCATION POPULAIRE: Un groupe de travail a été formé pour rassembler du matériel éducatif au sujet de la campagne, monter des outils d’information et des ateliers de formation. Merci de partager vos recherches et vos outils au sujet des olympiques, du G-8 et du PSP par courriel à info@resistance2010.net.

LISTE DE DIFFUSION: Abonnez-vous à notre liste de diffusion par courriel (liste à faible débit réservée aux annonces et modérée) en en faisant la demande à info@resistance2010.net.

info@resistance2010.net www.resistance2010.net (en construction)

Source: http://www.no2010.com/node/286