[Gipfelsoli Newsletter] June 25th 2007, Heiligendamm

[International Newsletter]

June 25th 2007, Heiligendamm

- Searches in Berlin
- German radicals clash, police hurt
- autonomously gazing after the g8
- Spin and rumours at the G8
- Federal Republic of Germany: Denial of Entry
- London G8 debrief meeting notes
- Anti. Anti Capitalista!

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Searches in Berlin

Early this morning homes of left wing activists were raided once again in
accordance with the German'terror' section 129a. Several apartments were
attacked early this morning by a Berlin police squadron and masked SWAT
officers. The officers acted quite violently told eyewitnesses .
The Federal Office of Prosecution(German:BAW) claim the raids are in accordance
with section 129a and those carried out last thursday in Hamburg and schleswig
Holstein.
An omininous nameless 'terrouist unit' with an anti militaristic background is
being sought-it supposedly caried out arson attacks against german military
vehicles in the northern germany two years ago.
In reality of course the BAW's aim is to criminalise and weaken the left which
has been strngthened by protests against the G8 summit. Since the 'Radikal'
raids ten years ago there hasnt been so many attacks by the state against the
left wing movement. After years of preoccupation with alleged Islamists the
radical and militant left now appear to be heavily manhunted by state powers.
It is important that these attacks are reponded to.
To show general solidarity with those affected there will be a spontaneous
demonstration at Kottbusser Tor, Berlin, 9pm. Yet the registered protest cannot
be the sole response. Organise and show solidarity!Create actions,form groups,
fight back!
We are all §129a! Anticapitalistic Resistance is not criminal, its necessary!
German radicals clash, police hurt


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German radicals clash, police hurt

BERLIN, Germany (Reuters) - More than a dozen police officers were injured on
Sunday when they broke up clashes between right- and left-wing extremists
overnight in the northern German port city of Rostock, German police said.
Police said that during the night there was an attack on a shop frequented by
right-wing extremists. The shop has previously been targeted by left-wing
extremists, they said.
"The police arrested 40 people from the right- and left-wing spectrum," Rostock
police said in a statement. They have been charged with disturbing the peace,
causing bodily harm, damaging property and other crimes, it said.
Police were called to the scene shortly before midnight on Saturday when a large
group of left wingers, some dressed in black, was spotted heading towards the
shop.
When police attempted to intervene and prevent a violent clash between the rival
groups, the police were attacked by around 150 leftists with stones and bottles,
the statement said.
Of the 200 police officers involved, 14 were injured. The statement gave no
details about their injuries.
Before a summit of the Group of Eight industrialized nations in nearby
Heiligendamm earlier this month, thousands of anti-capitalist protesters
converged on Rostock where they engaged in violent clashes with police.


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autonomously gazing after the g8

one of us, 17th of june 2007
a text written in the hope of an empowering self-critical debate in autonomous
and anarchist circles about what happened and what didn´t happen during the
protests against the g8...
one swallow doesn´t make a summer
there it was again for a moment: the exalting feeling that we really can attack
sometimes, that we are lots, at least here and now courageous and determined. a
spirited beginning, a promising prelude. besides legitimate critique of
friendly-fire-rocks thrown from row 57 (and the regret that we didn´t make it
into the inner city): after rostock many people i met were quite pleased with
the resoluteness of the black block, a twinkle smiled at me from so many eyes.
no-one would be able to misinterpret this symbolic challenge of capitalism into
an appeal to those in power.
not so much might have changed for comrades, who went home after that and
followed the things to come mainly through the media. they could not compare
the accounts with their experiences, they did not realise that a mean little
paradox saw the light of day. while the battle of rostock grew bigger and
bigger in the mainstream media, while everyone was talking about the black
block and even the most ugly smear-sheets started speculating about a
renaissance of the autonomous, our own organising process quietly collapsed. no
matter no-one outside realised that - those who were there know it. the aim of
this text is to take away the power from this paradox and to reclaim it for our
own future actions. therefore i think it necessary to overcome the multicoloured
silence, that i found characteristic of the autonomous movement as i experienced
it during the days of heiligendamm - to overcome it at least afterwards, in the
evaluation of the protests. critique is love.
long, steep, and often stony is the way
maybe it is not only bad having destroyed the already a bit musty-smelling myth
of the strength of the german autonomous. aside from the refreshingly offensive
actions in rostock on the 2nd of june, we have to admit that almost all of our
practical plans failed. also on an organisational level we did not exactly
cover ourselves in glory. the generally announced "autonomous decision-making"
inside the mixed camps that we had been discussing over and over again just
didn´t happen. lots of internationals waited days and days for comrades of the
german dissent! spectrum to share more detailed information with them, to get
them involved in orienting discussions. the infosystem didn´t meet our
expectations and was not able to make the knowledge of the small insider groups
available for the bigger collective - lacking bigger assemblies our comrades now
were depending on personal contacts even more. moreover, after the press started
stirring things up against the black block only very few still dared to publicly
advocate autonomous positions. this was not the least important reason why the
interventionist left, being heavily under pressure, all of a sudden stood as
the only voice of the radical left - a monopoly that we would usually never
accept. instead of coming to common evaluations and actions as autonomous,
radical left and anarchists in heilgendamm, we preventively disappeared in more
than one dimension.

apart from this, seen on a larger scale the protests have not been without
successes. there were many situations the police did not have under control.
despite some unpleasant taste this is true as well for block g8. lacking their
own plans, lots of autonomous and anarchists supported and participated in
these actions. in the end some blockades were worked out spontaneously,
withdrawing cops from the sitting blockades. actions like the police car being
wrapped in tape and carefully deflated kept the spirits high. the sheer masses
of people sitting on the streets and roaming through the forests turned the
days into something more than the state could have wanted. nonetheless there is
something perturbing about the "mood swing" in police strategy that - after the
show of rudeness at the beginning of the week - occurred just in time for the
arrival of the g8. the pictures of the masses of people marching through the
fields carrying pace-flags are to me far too compatible with the self-righteous
image-cultivation of germany as an oh so democratic country. on the other hand
the endeavours of the government not to appear as a police state to the world
public opened up rooms to manoeuvre that we could have used much more
effectively. although foreseen by some, we did not manage to collectively talk
about what we want to do in this case. the possibility to self-consciously
anticipate this situation and to tow state power into a catch 22 situation with
our actions was already way off the horizon at that time. as regards the
autonomous part of the movement, protest meanwhile came to a halt more or less
completely, one just went along with the others...or waited for the next plan
that was going to fail.
far from an entirely different entirety
as you can see from this niggling, i guess that we have to confront serious
questions in the days to come. ok, the last thing i´m interested in is to brand
personal shortcomings, the key point is to politicise our understanding of our
acting and not-acting. to first of all grasp what happened: to think about how
all the things that did not happen are related to developments maybe not fully
understood so far, to strategies of domination and peace-keeping to which we
obviously haven´t found answers yet. speaking less abstract this means for
example: how do we counter a police strategy that is not devoted to prosecuting
per se all offences, but tries to get some of us to cooperate, to win their
support for co-management in the name of the rationality in power? the
rationality of a technique of domination that does not depend on ideological
consent as long as the flows are not seriously interrupted. a rationality that
suggests that militant anti-capitalism can go together well with a life inside
of capitalism undisturbed by the authorities of law and order, as long as, yes,
as long as "it" keeps within bounds. i guess we all had talks like this the last
days. scissors in the mind [internalised contradictions] - absolutely nothing
new, but still, seen against the backdrop of prevailing high-tech concepts of
control and the frightening extent of social isolation obtained in society this
remains a major problem.
how can we deal with a police strategy, that again and again wants to impose
this fear in each and every one of us that eats up all collectivity - is it ME,
ME, ME targeted by the camera? is there a microphone taping my voice? - a
strategy that again and again wants to implant the timid question into our
hearts, whether the moment of liberation that i am fighting for right now will
end 10 or 20 minutes later in an arrest backed up by police videos. one answer
to that for sure still is the "just do it!" of our clenched fists. and this is
what we experienced in rostock on saturday: that there can always be situations
where the cops run away from us, where they have to instrumentalize fire engines
to break our lines in the first place, where we manage to collectively jump
across their techniques of isolation and intimidation.
fucking british conditions
alas, there were also lots of moments during the following days where our
communication failed, moments where we anticipated possible repression and
denied ourselves to conspire beyond our small circles as international black
block. how much more collective fighting strength could have emerged if we had
better used the time to exchange different ideas in discussions, to develop
actions and turn them into the eminent concerns of all of us - instead of only
ordering each other to meeting points here and there in the last minute. at
this point we should really think about how to challenge our paranoia, which is
paralysing us already on the level of discussion. all the caution so predominant
in this country for good reasons must not lead into lonely anxiety and
collective silence, or else the other side has won. in order to act
collectively we have to recognise each other as militants somehow, to meet for
real here and there and to exchange. and by the way: we were talking about
street blockades. no-one planned to kill the american president. the risk was
limited.
the problem continued into the camps in general, into alliances and the wider
public: apart from the declaration of the international brigades and one
sympathising newspaper interview there was only silence to be heard from the
radical left after saturday. the black block simply seemed to no longer exist.
in the tv-show of sabine christiansen speculation was made as to whether it had
been in the forests the whole time...as amusing as it is to read expertise
articles about "what makes the hooded man tick?" in the yellow press, in the
end we were also not visible for unorganised and potentially new comrades in
the camps. the autonomous assembly that was established on the reddelich camp
on tuesday came way too late and was not really attended by german groups.
except maybe in wichmannsdorf dissent! did not manage to establish itself any
forum, and apart from some individuals dissent! no longer had any influence on
the debates in the interventionist left or the larger alliance. Given this
situation, remarkably few dissociated themselves from us. obviously the concept
of the big alliance of the interventionist left bore some fruit. at least in
rostock the vast majority of the protesters kept together surprisingly well.
besides avoidance of repression another cause of the non-existence of autonomous
structures could be described as a kind of organisational rigidity. in view of
the 1000s of people to come it was for sure understandable, that - as
potentially nervous hosts - we initially were seeking refuge in the security of
plans. too bad that after a while we forgot to think about some really important
questions like transport and communication. in nearly all working groups a
strong tunnel-view with a tendency to autism developed. for sure it was due to
the chronic shortage of manpower that, additionally to all the things that
needed to be done, we spent lots of time permanently mobilising each other, to
try and get each other volunteered for ever new task. maybe we should have met
in-between some day for a mid-term review [in heiligendamm?], to check our
structures and modify them according to actual needs. also for this we would
have urgently needed an autonomous assembly. in retrospect it can be said that
some organisational things could have been handled more easily, as a lot of
situations above all depended upon spontaneity anyway - unfortunately this was
something we had quite often lost already.
personally i was shocked about how close the situation here got already to the
preventive invisibility, that we realised in great britain two years ago.
contrary to all lessons we wanted to draw from gleneagles, we as well were not
present in situations in a guiding way, but rather often exuded some undefined
uncertainty in our relations to our comrades from other countries, up to open
distrust. as pretty good children of the spectacle quite a few activists here
wavered back and forth between some abstract euphoric enthusiasm for using
harder means in street-fight situations than is usually common here - and the
reflex to think of everyone as more or less insane and irresponsible who than
in reality wanted to use these means close to them. this contradiction is not
always easy to understand for our comrades, could only be insufficiently
discussed in the situation and should be scrutinised more closely "amongst us"
as well.
there must be some kind of way out of here
asking myself where to go from here in the time to come, i start to helplessly
mumble a bit. the only things coming to my mind are in direction of more common
experiences and discussions, less facade and less blabla. to better keep demands
at some lower levels, before we only get dizzy and everything breaks down again.
no plans anymore for the moment, and if there will be some, than very minimal
and immediate and above all meant to do it ourselves! small things, maybe an
initiative concerning demo-culture: for example to break out of the
intimidating practice of assistance in police controls on the way to a
manifestation. my heart is bleeding each time i see comrades walking separately
with hands up to the police to get searched. we don´t have to put up with that!
if the cops were the only ones lining up at the announced starting point of the
demo, if they would have trouble again and again with unwilling protesters all
around them, they might in the long run think to stop that shit. another point
are arrests from out of the demonstration: the cops themselves say that this
situation basically is difficult for them. too bad we often make it easier for
them doing nothing or taking pictures, which is not better - if people
successfully resist, we don´t need videos of it that can later be confiscated.
instead of resigning and documenting arrests we should do our utmost to prevent
them. the risk of getting arrested for "rescuing prisoners" diminishes if a lot
of people do it and anyways, so what?
how much safer could we act knowing our comrades will do their best in the
situation to free us? besides our comparatively elaborate defensive techniques,
we could think again about how to prepare something for a demonstration. to have
some spray-paint with us just in case some opportunity arises, for example. we
could think about how we could mix or open up our rows here and there to give
people protection and support who want to do things or already did things. in
rostock the civil police did not dare to make arrests from within the crowd,
and what was possible there will basically be possible in other places as well.
there are innumerable possibilities to get our demos out of the defensiveness of
endless debates about the length of banners. we can demand the withdrawal of the
cordon (maybe otherwise people could cause some trouble to them from outside),
we can refuse to leave central crossroads until all those arrested are out
again, we can think about ways to push back the cameras of the cops, or to quit
cooperation completely if necessary. meaning: not to announce demos anymore if
the conditions grow too intimidating.
there are for sure a lot more proposals. the second one on this piece of paper
is to create a group-crossover-forum to enable us to discuss about things like
that, to bridge the actual split in multiple channels and organs. open meetings
are one possibility, but they bear some disadvantages. what do you think of
freely vagabondizing pamphlets, read, spread and answered all over town,
criss-crossing all scenes and teams? if the unrealised plan b on friday in
berlin showed something, its that we as autonomous, radical left and anarchists
need to basically sort ourselves out anew, if we want to see some collective
action happening here and there. crossover exchange could help us to get rid of
the often frustrating halfheartedness in realising ideas that are not our own.
it would be nice to see well-received proposals of some groups vigourously
turned into action also by others, instead of taking the first chance to
retreat.
be it as it may - whether we like it or not, there seems to be no other way - so
let´s go on fighting pigsystem

plan b continua - vive la commune des brigades internationales

one


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Spin and rumours at the G8

With proper wars it is a well-known occurrence for one side's propaganda
department to try and spread the most horrific stories about the other party.
The opposition are depicted as brutal barbarians who ravage children and should
be opposed at all cost. In military jargon this is known as 'psyops'. During the
protests against the G8 in Heiligendamm there were clear indications of a
similar strategy. In this case the infamous ''black block'' played the part of
the barbarians. This is a biased summary of the misinformation and its effect.
(citation): A number of persons were arrested because they were carrying a
banner with the slogan, "Free All Prisoners!" as they passed by a prison on
their way to a demonstration. The Police judged this as incitement to actively
help people break out of prison. Source:
http://de.indymedia.org/2007/06/185126.shtml )
(A proper layed-out version of this article with links and pictures can be found
here: http://www.globalinfo.nl/content/view/1270/41/)
NB: Many links in this article link to German language sources.
Two years ago, during the protests against the G8 in Gleneagles in Scotland, we
had to pay an unexpected visit to the police station in Stirling because one of
the Dutch activists had lost his passport. While we were in the waiting area we
saw an electronic news display on the wall constantly making announcements
about the protests. To our surprise there were horrendous stories about
violence against the police, which I almost certainly knew were not true or at
least grossly exaggerated. Suddenly that classic urban myth popped up:
demonstrators had supposedly attacked one of the officers with a knife! At
almost every large confrontation between police and protesters this story
surfaces, although there has never been any evidence of it actually occurring.
During 'Heiligendamm' two police officers supposedly suffered knife
attacks.(http://www.focus.de/politik/deutschland/g8-gipfel/ausschreitungen_aid_62322.html).
As usual some of the press willingly repeated this report without checking if it
actually happened. You can count yourself lucky if there is any mention it is
based on a police report (1). It is remarkable that the media almost never ask
for proof. These rumours are mostly launched amidst an enormous chaos of
events, giving the reporters no time whatsoever to check on statements. If they
did they would find the police unable to present the alleged 'victims', because
they don't actually exist.
When the dust has finally settled it only concerns one incident among many, not
worth rectifying or investigating. You certainly don't want them considering
that sort of thing and then constructing 'evidence', which happened for example
in Genoa during the G8 protests there in 2001 (2).
Arsenal
The imaginary stabbings are only a small part of an entire arsenal of lies and
rumours about the protesters that seeped into the world. When the opening march
on June 2nd ended in intense rioting the floodgates opened. Media which had
originally been suspicious of the state-organised army of repressive forces did
a u-turn to directly opposing standpoints. Some of the protesters were supposed
to be 'capable of anything' and it was a good thing the police had taken
preventative measures to protect civilians and politicians against these savage
hordes. Again, to the attentive observer, these events turned out to be mostly
staged. The riots had indeed been intense, but no more serious than the average
clash involving autonomes. In the reports by the mainstream media however it
seemed the end of times was near. This reporting was actively fed by the police
and other authorities who produced ominous reports about thousand injured, many
of them seriously, including over 400 (433 to be precise) police officers. The
high point was (again) the Berlin paper Der Tagesspiegel which ran a headline
about 'a rain of rocks splintering riot squad helmets'
(http://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/Landespolitik-G-8-G-8-Gipfel-Proteste-Gewalt;art124,2315377).
Of the Berlin police alone 18 officers were supposed to be in hospital with
serious injuries.
These reports lead to grotesque scenes whith the police managing to elevate
themselves to the role of victims (http://www.jungewelt.de/2007/06-12/052.php).
The online chronology of Der Spiegel
(http:www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/0,1581,486256,00.html) only reported
every pitiful mention by the police as well as a battue of the police by the
autonomes ([15:31] Einzelne Gruppen von Polizisten werden von Autonomen
regelrecht gejagt.)
Days later some newspapers managed to deconstruct the story and found it had all
been severely exaggerated. Every scratch and every blister had been included and
the most serious injury sustained by an officer (a broken leg) had been caused
by his own colleagues stumbling over him when they ran down a staircase while
hunting for protesters. Two days later, according to the right-wing weekly
Focus
(http:www.focus.de/politik/deutschland/g8-gipfel/rostock-krawalle_aid_62405.html)
no-one was in the hospital anymore. This kind of rectification however never
makes the front page. Meanwhile the image was already firmly in place and
politicians and even spokespeople of NGO's like Attac
(http://sat1.de/news/index.php?action=showarticle&article_id=122761&sourceurl=/politik/)
were falling over one another demanding tougher (!) measures against the
protesters. A police union even demanded the employment of rubber bullets. This
wave of real or pretended indignation still continues. Politicians have
announced they will take further measures against what they call the ''black
block'', like constructing special databases and a ban on dressing uniformly in
addition to the long-time ban on face coverage already in place.
Purpose
For a considerable time the largest repressive operation in years had been
taking place. All kinds of police departments as well as the army had already
come to the aid of the police, who were already prepared to the hilt with
16.000 personnel and all technical equipment available. Legally also they had
little cause for complaint: the freedom to protest had been drastically reduced
in many areas. The smear campaign was meant to make the population and the media
accept the repression, and preferably embrace it. The reports were probably also
meant to incite the officers themselves to take stronger action. They are human
too, and sometimes question the justice of their 'work'. A continuous stream of
propaganda about the opposition's maliciousness has to keep them motivated. A
fourth target group of this stream of false reports are people considering
joining the protests. If they believe this might be life threatening or there
might be football-hooligan-like situations they don't support, they might
decide to stay at home.
Provocation?
There was much discussion among the protesters about the cause of the riots on
Saturday afternoon. Rumours about police provocation quickly abounded. The more
radical segment of the activists had already been harassed for weeks, for
example by the raids on 40 apartements on May 9th
(http://www.globalinfo.nl/content/view/1238/30/) and on May 25th at a march
against the EU-ASEM summit in Hamburg. This didn't just happen in Germany: on
May 5th an entire bicycle demonstration was arrested in Utrecht (Netherlands)
(http://www.indymedia.nl/nl/2007/05/44231.shtml)(3).
As Heiligendamm drew closer the vice-like grip of the measures instated by the
police tightened. It was clear that bomb would eventually burst. But the
'blame' of course isn't entirely on one side. The ''black block'' attended as
usual and was rather large in Rostock (many sources estimate around 2000
people, some even 5000). These were people who no longer wanted to let
themselves be pushed around and some probably felt like finally taking a stand
against the police. (4)
It was typical that there had been almost no incidents during Saturday's entire
demonstration, including the "black block" (with the exception of one broken
window at a Sparkasse bank and one at a supermarket, the origin of which was
not clear). It is however interesting to investigate why things got out of hand
at the closing manifestation in view of all the cameras.
A few incidents suggest police provocation. Firstly there was a lonely police
van parked in the middle of the protest marches' route, while all other
vehicles had been put safely in a guarded parking lot. There are striking film
images of this ((http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RPR0nM9W5o). Also compare the
reports on Spiegel TV (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN6TZjY4l4M) in which at
first a picture was painted that "the entire centre of Rostock is being smashed
up by the "black block" (supposedly consisting of a mixture of neo-nazis and
Iranian women?) and then mainly showed people blaming the police for the
escalation.
When the riot didn't kick off at the lonely police van the famous pseudo-arrest
incident occurred. While not much is happening an undercover police officer
inside the march looks around and suddenly attacks a person dressed in black,
pushing him to the ground (film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo4iuhTxFZM).
Some pushing and shoving ensues and a riot police 'hundertschaft' lined up
nearby charges at the demonstration. People get angry, start throwing things,
and the riot can begin. After that the riot police units and protesters were at
it for hours. Every time things seemed to calm down riot police units attacked
anew. There has been a lot of debate about this incident (for example
http://de.indymedia.org/2007/06/180552.shtml). Most likely is that also the two
supposed ''black block'ers' were actually police officers. The prisoner doesn't
make any attempts to escape the arrest. The purpose of this operation would be
to incite the crowd.
These events mainly took place in one single side street along the harbour
square which was broken up to provide missiles. Some cars were turned upside
down and one of them was set on fire. For days that one Ford was the main image
on TV and in the newspapers.... To continue that thread towards all protesters
against the G8 seemed child's play.
Spin machine
The big spin machine could be set in motion. Suddenly (the source turned out to
be the German press agency DPA) a horribly mistranslated quote by one of the
speakers on stage at the closing manifestation appeared in the media. Walden
Bello, a well-known representative of the critical Southern globalization
vision, had words put into his mouth claiming he had called for violent
resistance ( http://manila.indymedia.org/?action=newswire&parentview=141258),
to "bring the war into the demonstration because with peaceful means we will
accomplish nothing". This suggested that Bello (and with him the entire
organization of the march) was calling for violent resistance. In reality Bello
had called attention to the war in Iraq and argued for the protest to include
this because "without peace there can be no justice". Hundreds of media
repeated the DPA-version. Media activists immediately got to work publicising
this scandal and spreading the true content of Bello's speech, which lead to an
apology by Der Spiegel, but the damage had already been done.
Up a gear
In the following days the police, who suddenly thought themselves covered by
massive support from the public, press and politicians, employed pretty much
all means a their disposal to disable further protests. Protesters were
continually being pulled from their cars and searched, demonstrations for which
permits had previously been issued were made impossible and continually
surrounded by large police forces. There are too many examples to list them
all, but take this one as an indication:
http://de.indymedia.org/2007/06/181323.shtml.
It was clearly thanks to the protesters that things didn't escalate further. On
the way to a demonstration-with-permit at Rostock airport Laage one of our two
buses was stopped for the n'th time and everyone was arrested (including a
mother with a three year old child who were also put in cages, ID'd and
photographed! http://www.indymedia.nl/nl/2007/06/45200.shtml). Even the always
calm and quiet photographer U. was roaring with anger that next time he would
be throwing rocks.
Here you can see how an entirely peaceful demonstration (commemorating the
Lichtenhage pogrom of 1992) is messed up by the police:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Okxtq4VzWUE&mode=related&search=
A recurring phenomenon after Saturday's riots was police units attacking small
groups of protesters to arrest people. Pepper spray and batons were used and
caused many injuries. Peaceful situations kept getting transformed into chaos
and panic. Even the local S-bahn trains (see film:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8XwT20nI60) on which activists traveled from
one march to the other were repeatedly stopped and raided by riot squads.
New urban myths
All of this only scetches the context in which the rumours were released. A new
high point was for example a story in Monday, June 4th's Berlin Tagesspiegel
(http://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/g-8-gipfel/G-8-Gipfel;art2648,2315470)
predicting that Saturday's riots were only child's play compared to what was
yet to come. Remember, the blockading of the G8 itself hadn't even started yet.
The journalist in question, Frank Jansen, quotes an anonymous 'hochrangiger
Sicherheitsexperten' (renowned security expert) claiming to know that
protesters are using 'fruit containing razor blades or stanley knives' as
ammunition. This story is soon repeated by many other media. (5) The story
mentions other absurd weapons like enormous catapults made of athletics
training equipment and supposedly being assembled in the action camps. Again,
there is not a shred of evidence and afterwards the police has never shown any
of these contraptions to the media. A version of this story, about a potato
with nails in it, appeared on local newspapers MV Regio's website. A picture
was published of a similar potato which according to the newspaper had been
'displayed' at the Reddelich action camp
(http://www.mvregio.de/show/39029.html). In no time other media report this as
fact.
In retrospect it is clear to see how the bizarre accusations often are a back
and forth passing play between the press and the police. At a press conference
or via the website
(http://www.polizei.mvnet.de/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=3923&Itemid=265)
a police spokesperson reports a gruesome bit of news, one of the media takes it
up (and perhaps mentions that it is a police assertion): DPA: "Laut Polizei
vermummen sich Autonome und bewaffnen sich mit Molotow-Cocktails und Steinen."
Then Spiegel Online and NDR-tv repeat it and present it as fact
(http://de.indymedia.org/2007/06/182346.shtml).
Criminalising clowns
One of the most bizarre urban myths concerns the clown army who form a specific
problem for the police. They are not just being funny but actually take part in
many of the actions: making the police look ridiculous, getting in the way and
sometimes breaking through police barriers. The police had been warned in
advance by the secret service about the clowns, who according to the service
are a lot more dangerous than they pretend to be. An attempt was made to make
the clowns look dangerous despite their hilarious outfits. Many clowns carried
water pistols (after all, an army carries weapons) which they passionately
sprayed at both activists, onlookers and police. Soon the rumour was spread
that the clowns' water pistols didn't contain water but a scary acid
(http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/0,1518,486816,00.html).
In retrospect this horror story could of course not be maintained. Asked about
the background of this accusation the police version was that they had noted
'stripes on the uniforms' of the officers who had been sprayed. Upon
investigation however these turned out to be caused by soapy water. But by then
the rumour had done its job. This story might well have been especially
constructed to make the police take stronger action against the clowns.
On our way back to the Netherlands we met a large group of Bavarian riot police
in a parking lot on the motorway, they were also on their way home. We couldn't
resist confronting them with the front page of the (Hamburg) paper Morgenpost,
which broadly ran the story of the police provocateur who was exposed when he
was collecting rocks and trying to incite the protesters to attack the police.
The returning officers' retort was a pathetic story about how terribly
frightening their profession had been over the last couple of days and the
'clowns-with-acid-guns' soon surfaced. We were convinced they actually believed
it....
Provocateurs
After Saturday's riots and the media storm that followed the situation seemed
grim and fairly hopeless. Yet later on the atmosphere slowly changed again. One
important reason for this was that the activists didn't allow themselves to lose
the plot and by the thousands they just went to work doing what they had come to
do: building the camps, holding actions and demonstrations and preparing for the
blockades. This shows the importance of having well organised movements, and
also that part of the population is quite politicised. During the first three
days the situation was nevertheless dramatic, because of the severe repression
described earlier. An important switch came on Wednesday when the first
blockade-actions were executed. The massive marches by determined and cheerful
protesters, outsmarting the police and striking throughout the entire area
surrounding Heiligendamm, made a strong impression on the onlookers, press and
fellow protesters. In addition the ban on demonstrating which had been
instituted for the entire 5 km zone around Heiligendamm was rendered useless by
people voting with their feet. Thousands upon thousands entered the area with
the police unable to stop them. It remains bitter that in several places the
police still responded with brutal violence. The feeling among the local
population was also much better than was previously feared. Despite mentions in
the media (like in the Dutch Volkskrant) that the population was hostile towards
the activists, there were many expressions of the opposite. Many houses sported
protest flags. Local people supplied water and food, and in the evening they
handed out wood for the campfires. Even farmers whose fields were flattened by
protesters walking through indicated that they mainly blamed the police.
Another important event was the discovery of a group of police infiltrators at
one of the non-violent sit-down blockades. They were busy bringing in rocks and
tried to get the protesters to attack the police. However they did this so
clumsily that the protesters became suspicious and started shouting they were
police. They were surrounded and one was overpowered and recognised as an
plain-clothes officer from Bremen
(http://de.indymedia.org/2007/06/183831.shtml). He was almost assaulted but
activist lawyers accompanied him to the police and handed him over. Many media
witnessed this incident. At first the police denied the plain-clothes officers
were theirs, but after a while even they couldn't stand up to the massive
amount of evidence to the contrary and were forced to admit the men were
infiltrators. The police continue to deny these infiltrators' instructions were
about incitement and provocation, claiming they were just gathering information
as usual, but by now no-one believes this anymore. Many see this as evidence
supporting other observations of police officers dressed in plain clothes
actively trying to incite.
What to do?
Of course the activists did not sit still during this media frenzy. A
well-equipped indymedia centre in Rostock was working full time publishing
their own reports or correcting the commercial media. Various other media
activists and bloggers
(http://www.trueten.de/archives/2333-G8-Zivilpolizisten-Urheber-der-Randale.html)
threw themselves into the fray. But the playing field was far from level (also
see a previous sketch: The Media gets the Massage:
http://unspintheg8.org/media-gets-massage-uneven-battle-over-media)
It remains fascinating that the mainstream media systematically exaggerate
militant actions by protesters and pay very little attention to police
violence. At the end of the action-week about half the population of the
action-camps was sporting bandages and splints as a result of police activity.
Even our older American clown J. sustained a broken finger on the final day. A
number of people were seriously injured, some of them by the water cannons
(http://de.indymedia.org/2007/06/184909.shtml). At least two people are in
danger of losing an eye. Have you seen any of this covered in your media? Or
any of the innumerable smaller incidents like when a group of clowns were
surrounded for an entire afternoon at a McDonalds on the way to Bad Doberan and
forced to hand over all of their money as bail
(http://de.indymedia.org/2007/06/184653.shtml)? The hundreds of arrests with no
legal basis, the inhumane conditions in the cages on the industrial estate which
were supposed to pass for prisons, the many incidents involving journalists or
doctors being arrested by the police? At most the scandalous torpedoing of the
Greenpeace boats received some media attention, but other than that it was
utter crap.
The stupidest way to respond is by immediately becoming defensive and distancing
yourself from 'the violence', like quite a few spokespeople for NGO's and
various left wing parties did. Continuous discussion about the chosen means of
action is obviously necessary, but it became very clear in Heiligendamm that if
we want to change the world we should not allow ourselves to be dictated by the
government and the media. The most important victory of this G8 mobilisation is
that the actions and blockades were executed so succesfully. Now it is time to
learn from this experience and to further strengthen the structures.

Also see the survey by the exellent Grundrechtekomitee:
http://www.grundrechtekomitee.de/ub_showarticle.php?articleID=243
A good survey of the reports about the G8 by the German mainstream media can be
found at the Badespasz website: http://www.jpberlin.de/badespasz/presse/wp/ The
unsurpassed website gipfelsoli has set up an archive of the reports about
repression: http://gipfelsoli.org/Repression Here is an English summary of
police repression: http://de.indymedia.org/2007/06/185126.shtml
There are many analyses of the repression and the media lies to be found, for
example at: http://de.indymedia.org/2007/06/184905.shtml and
http://gipfelsoli.org/Repression/2923.html and
http://gipfelsoli.org/Repression/2890.html and
http://www.jungewelt.de/2007/06-06/040.php This analysis:
http://de.indymedia.org/2007/06/183628.shtml adresses how a naive reaction to
media-manipulation can lead to a distancing from more militant forms of action.
And finally it needs to be said that not all mainstream media should be tarred
with the same brush. there were some positive exceptions. Germany has a few
progressive newspapers that reported differently (Junge Welt, Neues
Deutschland, Jungle World. The Tageszeitung mainly howled along with the
mainstream wolves...). Of the 'quality press' the Süddeutsche Zeitung provided
a more balanced reporting. While one lokal newspaper Nordkurier committed
mainly blatant propaganda for the G8 and the authorities, the other - Die
Ostzeezeitung or OZ - appeared to be a relieving exception. Also see this
hilarious report by the BBC:
http://www.unspintheg8.org/bbc-two-journalist-wonders-why-anyone-bothers-travel-g8-flash-version

Notes (1) Not only right wing papers traditionally slandering protesters like
Bild or Focus, but also 'quality papers' like Financial Times Dld: "Mindestens
ein Polizist wurde verletzt, als ein Demonstrant ihn mit einem Messer angriff."
http://www.wissen.de/wde/generator/wissen/services/nachrichten/ftd/PW/207683.html
or Der Spiegel:
http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/0,1518,486256-6,00.html Der Spiegel
(in its online version) played a peculiar part in the reporting by
systematically almost literally passing on the police reports.
(2) Immediately afterwards a police spokesperson claimed that during the
scandalous raid on the Diaz school one of the officers was attacked with a
knife. The knife was supposed to have been deflected by the officer's
bullet-proof vest. This clearly slashed vest was presented to the media
together with the knife supposedly belonging to the 'attacker'. During later
court cases however it was proven this knife could never have made the cut in
the vest. Two molotov cocktails presented by the police as having been found in
the school turned out to have been planted by the police themselves during the
raid.
(3) The mass arrests, after which people were kept in inhumane conditions,
caused little or no consternation with the press or politicians. Some of the
detainees were among the people who were refused entry at the Germany border
(http://www.indymedia.nl/nl/2007/06/45088.shtml). This points to a cooperation
between the Dutch and German police, using completely illegal blacklists.
(4) The many mysterious stories about the ''black block'' form part of the
criminalisation and smear campaign against protesters. The ''black block'' is
of course not a tight knit organisation at all, but a not very secretive
demonstration-tactic: by dressing more or less the same and taking other
preventative measures you can prevent being forced to follow the police's
whims. It enables the group, or members of it, to execute actions which would
otherwise be impossible. The level of militance is usually kept within
conscious limits and, unlike those of the police, there have never been any
fatalities caused by this group's activities. For more background information
see the book 'Les Black Blocs' by Francis Dupuis Deri or 'Autonome in Bewegung'
(AG Grauwacke). Also see: interview with a Berlin autonome in the July 4th
edition of the Züddeutsche Zeitung:
http://www.sueddeutsche.de/deutschland/artikel/2/116885/print.html
(5) Via the newspaper's office I got the e-mail address of the journalist
concerned and politely asked him for his contact information so I could ask him
a few questions about his story. So far he has not responded.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Federal Republic of Germany: Denial of Entry
Federal Republic of Germany

Federal police inpection
Denial of Entry
On 04.06.2007 at 21:30.

X Issued by border control in accordance with art. 23 of Schengen Border Code in

Bunderneuland

Before the signer Conen, PHK [rank: Hauptkommissar]
Name: X

born: X

Sex: male

Nationality: Dutch

Living in: X

Identification document: Dutch passport, Nr.: X

Coming from: the Netherlands
is herewith informed of this finding against him:
According to §14, paragraph 1 federal police law associated with § 6, paragraph
1 sentence 1 and § 6 paragraph 2 mobility law (EU), in view of an actual and
sufficiently serious threat against the fundamental interests of German
society, this Denial of Entry is hereby issued.
[justification see page 2]
[Page 2:]
Mister X attempted to travel into Germany on 4-6-07. According to him, his aim
was to take part in the gathering in Rostock (Germany) to take part in the
demonstrations against globalisation in conjunction with the G8 summit in
Heilgendamm.
According to information obtained from the Dutch police, Mister X is politically
associated with the left wing. According to this information, there is a
possibility that Mr. X would take part in non-peaceful demonstrations.
At the time of this check he was peaceful and was not drunk. Furthermore he was
not in possession of any weapons or dangerous items. On the other hand, we note
that it is normal for violence-prone people planning riots to act calmly on
their way to their destinations. Furthermore, we must give weight to the fact
that at significantly important political events such as the G8, the risk of
escalation greatly rises. Riots are usually spontaneous, occurring at the
location of the event. Journeys to theses events are usually made alone or in
small groups.
Considering all of these circumstances, a significant danger that Mr. X will
behave violently must be taken into account. The internal and external
interests of Germany concerning the G8 summit would be endangered. This denial
of entry rests on the legal claim stated on the previous page, according to the
judgment of the issuing administration.
Lesser measures would not have been sufficient in this situation, and a Denial
of Entry order is an appropriate measure during the time of the G8 summit.
[Bottom of page 1:]
A protest against this Denial of Entry may be filed at Federal Police Office
Kleve, written or verbally to be transcribed, within one month.
According to § 80, paragraph 2, Nr. 2 VwGO (Verwaltungsgerichtsordnung: rules
applying to the administrative court). A petition against this Denial of Entry
may be filed, to the administrative court in Düsseldorf, in order to be granted
interim legal protection according to the rules of the administrative court.
Mister X received a copy of this document and was advised regarding existing
legal remedies.
Person concerned: refused signature
Executing this order: Conen (rank: PHK)
Responsible for the correcness of translation: Pohlmann (rank: PHK)


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
London G8 debrief meeting notes

Yesterday there was a G8 mobilisation debrief meeting in London. Here are some
of the things that were said.
We also decided to have a broader 'What next' type discussion at 4pm, Sunday
24th June - Ramparts main hall. This can turn into a bit of a social in the
evening to relax and socialise. More information to come.
The Camps
* amazing organisation at the Reddelich camp, especially given the numbers of
people. Lovely showers, hot food always available etc.
* good to have dry nights before action - encouraging sensible pre-action
behaviour
* was a shame there was no eco-feeling to the camp - but this would have
involved a massive extra effort and is probably impossible for a camp that
size.
* Reddelich camp was simply too big to be blocked by the cops.
* Rostock camp had a very different atmosphere - strange mix of communist
groups, punks, parties, leftist groups, NGOs, music.
Information for actions
* flows of information to the protesters was very good - especially with info
points on the roads/towns etc.
* information on the camps a bit more problematic - very good to have the ticker
up on the board, but wrong information wasn't always corrected.
Indymedia Dispatch
* really good!
* People used the information from dispatch to plan their actions, accessed
sometimes by mobile phones, especially when on actions in Rostock.
* Was very helpful in gaining some perspective of what was going on elsewhere,
often difficult in these situations. This also helped morale!
* There was other information available on the camps which wasn't reported on
dispatch, perhaps because it wasn't easily verifiable. Was dispatch not hooked
into these sources, or just unable to verify them and so couldn't use them?
* But disappointing that pretty much only "Indymedia friends and family" were
ringing in with their reports. Indymedia being seen as a service-provider, not
as dependent on everyone's contributions.
Actions
* media centre was very effectively blockaded
* lots of little blockades
* very strong mass walk-out on the Thursday morning (9am)- 2-3000 people -
amazingly all kept together trekking for hours through fields and forests.
* Blockade on West gate - allowed to stay because there were other gates open,
way for the cops to keep an eye on us, keep us from causing trouble elsewhere.
Reinforcements were brought in when the mass moved along the fence. By then
they had to use the ferry ports to get people in.
* At the other gate - the middle gate - those who went there were charged and
tear-gassed.
* People were unable to get to the town Vorderborhagen at all.
* Very upsetting that there were some on the camp telling people not to get
involved in the mass walk-out because it was 'just about killing cops'.
Plan B
* in Berlin the biggest group was about 200 people but were outnumbered by the
cops. Had a Reclaim the Street party - was fun apparently.
* difficult - perhaps impossible - to get the same people to do both rural
blockades and urban actions - too tired, and logistics of transporting that
many people from the fields to the city.
* City action could have been framed as another type of blockade - blockade of
the circulation of capital and police forces. Could use local city issues.
* Could have done the two things simultaneously, but not involving the same
people.
Block G8
* lots of problems (didn't really go into in this meeting) - except to say 'they
would block people who broke their guidelines before blocking the roads? wtf?'
* but were amazingly organised
* there was a split! One group left to go to the other gate.
Camp security
* stupid young inexperienced people trying to fight the cops at the camp - vvv
bad
Flash Radio/ other media
* worked well that they'd organised all their stuff before and so weren't
relying on others. Where they were relying on others (e.g. for power supply)
problems occurred.
* media bus had solar power so less power cut-out issues
* Indymedia tent at Reddelich not up to previous standards!
* Not enough people to use the IMC in Rostock near the harbour (not the
Evershagen one)
International organising
* began 2 years ago
* but seemed to die down after a bit
* but didn't feel like internationals were involved in the organising
* felt like about 70% German, 30% internationals there - good work! And broad
range of nationalities present.

[http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/06/373692.html]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
After G8: G8-evaluation in Amsterdam 30/06-01/07

In the weekend of June 30 and July 1st there will be an extensive evaluation of
the actions against the G8-summit in Heiligendamm. This will be in de
broeinest. There will also be debates about the effects of the actions and
perspective for the future.
It will start on Saturday at 13.00 hours with an overview of the events. After
that we will show unique images, partly made by activist journalists who took
part in the mediabus. Then we will zoom in on more specific themes like media,
repression and the preliminary activities in the Netherlands. The second day,
on Sunday, will start at 14.00 with a debate about the political effects of the
protests and the international and local networks that were involved. After
another round of films and pictures, we will end with an exchange of opinions
on the future of international anticapitalist movement.
Language will be mostly English, or with simultaneous translation to English.
Entrance is free, donations are very welcome. Journalists and undercover
policemen are requested to contact first before mingling with the public.
Het broeinest can be found at Plantage Doklaan 10-12 Amsterdam
(http://www.broeinest.info) More info on: http://www.dissent.nl and
http://www.globalinfo.nl Email: infodissentnl at multipleks.org
More details on the program (in Dutch) can be found here:
http://www.globalinfo.nl/content/view/1268/30/


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
A. Anti. Anti Capitalista!

It was the linking of the arms, over 200 hundred rows made up of 8 to 12 people
each and a sister from Berlin who whispered 'because of the snatch squads' that
reawakened my dormant thoughts on 'the black bloc'.
The Black Bloc is very much alive in Europe. Thanks to the rather successful
abilities of these anti capitalists to come together and get angry, there have
been riots throughout the 'vieux continent' during the last couple years..
Many. And at the anti-G8 protests this past week, riots were the topic of
conversation on quite a few people's lips. Maneuvering nationality, the various
communities, collectives, federations and groups of anarchists and autonomists
who gathered and lived together in Riddelich-the 'radical' camp a couple
kilometers away from where the oligarchs of the G8 were meeting- and who
presented their experiences and thoughts on the subject.
With pride les 'totos' from France shared stories of helping start the
spontaneously resistance after Sarkozy's election leading to over 100 cars
burning, the riots that occurred in the banlieues, as well as the fights
against the CPE. Folks from Greece told their stories of the fierce battles in
Athens from the universities and various blockades they organized against the
State. Hordes of fighters that descended from Copenhagen reminded people that
street fighting was still on going since Ungdomshuset eviction two months ago
and after Rostock, Saturday June 2nd, the Germans had another riot to add to
their canon1, as well as the almost had riot of Plan B(erlin) of Friday the
8th. Alas, those of us from the small North American brigades had very little
to offer in terms of experience sharing.
Having the occasion to participate in a shock therapy insurrection was obviously
enough of a incentive to come together last week against the G8, but there was
the underlining pretext of anarchists being able to have a collective report
back on their various experiences of the last year or so. To tentatively sketch
out conclusions as well as to immediately take action. The first demonstrations
and the first 'upsurges'- came out of an understanding of what methods to use
with the German cops, but above all what strategies are used by the various
tribes- the British, Italian, French, German, etc. The debate no longer
centered around abstract scenarios but rather came out of experiences that were
absolutely real.
For some, the riot ended the myth that the German 'Autonomen' had disappeared,
supposedly gone were the helmeted rebels of the 80's, while for others, all it
took was the impressive cohesion of the 'German' bloc and its imposing
defensive configuration (that was lacking in many of the other savage teams and
who could easily be broken apart from their gaps and holes in their lines).
Regardless, they were in the multi hundreds, our German comrades who hadn't
seen such a large masked contingent in a decade. Indisputably there has been a
change in what can be a given on the international front between the black bloc
and all the various police apparatus's and those they protect.
What could have possibly caused such a change? If repression (post-911) could
have caused in one form or another a reflect rejection of offensive tactics
these last few years, how do we understand the sudden determined resurgence? In
Europe no less, where the methods of control are being used in ways, that
historically, are without precedent? It seems relevant to ask why North
America, again, is flailing in its ability to join in this regained enthusiasm
for riots?
The last time we went to a 'black bloc' demonstration in Canada was a while ago,
whether one explicitly called for such in Ottawa during 'Take the Capital' (in
2002) or one that implicitly suggested for you to wear black and blend in with
your fellow brother and sisters that were pissed off, such as the West mount
demonstration in Montreal organized by Clac Logement (may your revival be swift
and expedient!) in 2004. Sure there have been the crumbs of riot resistance that
have swirled around Canada in the last 6 years-there were punks who smashed some
windows after the annual COBP demonstration against police brutality this past
March 15th, but there certainly was not an unspoken decision in the minds of
anarchists to come together and get angry and use the tactic of 'striking at
the heart of capitalism and making them very scared', as an impassioned Italian
put it during one of the frequent 100+ attended spokes council meetings for
autonomist affinity groups. That time has seemed to pass by us, unbeknownst to
us as to why. One reason we are assuming, and putting out there is because the
discourse has been severed, and the conversations don't happen because people
don't really believe it is a possibility. Even with the student strike of 2005,
nightly barricades at the CEGEP Vieux Montréal and the different blockades and
occupations, we cannot recall a premeditated move towards a riot. Burning cars
and fighting the cops in Canada? Well there was Queens Park and Quebec City
(abit none of us ever called these events Plan Q) but these seem to be distant
in memory and out of reach for us to build upon. How do you show, either
collectively or individually that capitalism and that the whole system that
upholds it is sucking our souls and killing millions of people around the
world? The national mythology of Canadians being moral, kind, and above all
peaceful people leaves very little room to articulate rage and anger.
After Genoa the perspectives for riots seemed beyond reach for most
anti-capitalists around the world. But voilà! a couple years later, with a
heavier handed police presence than ever seen before, the movement seems to
have refound its abilities to use riots as a tactic. We suggest that the
different dispositions in Europe and North America towards the present climate,
certainly is impacted by the repression incurred to different forms of
organizations. There is a direct link that must be established between the
various modes of organization, the types of relationships we live, and our
disposition towards riots.
A riot played out reveals certain types of links which are essential in its mode
of operation. The mode of spontaneously organizing into small affinity
groups-thus the black bloc being only one possible manifestation- we can find
at the heart of each smoky taking over of the streets, whether it be recently
in Algeria or in the banlieues of France. No doubt affinity groups (like a gang
of friends) never stopped being the central means of organizing aspects of ones
daily life for the majority of anarchists in North America, but it seems it has
been drained of its content, in terms of a organizational form to launch or
elaborate upon a revolutionary strategy. When are we ready to come to terms
with the fact that affinity groups don't really go beyond collective living,
leisure time, and for those who are lucky emotional support? Maybe this mode of
operation had its strength taken away after the severe blows of repression were
given, that were felt by many radicals, creating a condition that got folks
favoring models less disposed towards direct confrontation, and more towards
organizations and models that are more formal and 'open' organizations that
have been created after those of the 'anti glob-militant' structures in hopes
of not getting clobbered. As well, the idealization that often exists towards
Assembly structures does not create a disposition for elaborating riot tactics.
This reaction within 'activism' does not seem to have had the resonance on the
continent east of the Atlantic. Maybe it's from having a longer tradition of
autonomous movements, more critiques of radical democracy as well as more
mutual aid- cooperative modeled groups (extreme gauche, situationalist).The
swift resurgence of black blocs at this recent G8 summit is primarily the
result of a strong attempt to reestablish some consistency to the type of
relations it functions through, and to give it strength again. It actualizes
out of ones point of view towards riots, the war that is being fought and how
to fight it. This position requires that one must consider organizing to carry
an offensive in the streets that is no longer simply symbolic, to not remain
stuck in the standard form of the 'demonstration'.
Similar to love, a riot can sometimes take us by surprise, when we think we are
not prepared, but that if one has an open disposition towards love, like riots,
it will allow one to seize the opportunities, and the situations. It would be in
vain to say that we can prepare a riot, though we can at least prepare for
riots: do what it takes to help ignite the fire.
If the global elites picnics' continues to be the pretext for meet, greets and
confrontations, it seems that there is no longer any possible ambiguity: simple
anti-globalization activism is no longer acceptable. One can no longer cling to
'another world is possible' but rather must elaborate on ideas and actions for
a 'world that is antagonistic because it wants nothing to do with this
destructive system'. No more leftist, hollow indignant demands, but real
affirmations. In Québec, we have been feeling this ambiguity from the anarchist
movement becoming less blurred. The breakdown of the CLAC is one indicator. We
are touching the end of a cycle, and we must find or rediscover forms, and
establish new links. We can no longer avoid the questions surrounding taking an
offensive position. 2
Recently with blockades in 6 Nations, Tandenagah and Grassy Narrows rightly
going up for demands anyone with a basic understanding of colonialism of Turtle
Island would view as legitimate, have been of course been portrayed in a racist,
non sensical, a-historical barbaric way by the corporate media, and the main
stream left by and large continues to be silent on these serious attempts to
criticize and curb the on going gobbling of capitalism. There has been a
concerted effort by anti-capitalists, radicals and anarchists to develop
relationships, links and work in solidarity with these communities but I have
not attended a solidarity action where the undercurrent was to take it back and
get the establishment more than a little worried.
Plan B(erlin) was the decision to get the heck out of the demobilizing zone of
fields and forests that surround Heillingdamm and bring the fight to the city.
During the time of the G8 there were 9 helicopters that flew over us at all
times, hundreds of tanks, dogs, horses, thousands of police, a jet and an
unknown amount of undercover agents that added to the massive fence that made
the wall of QC seem like an architecture undergrad class project in comparison.
Plan B did not lead to a riot in Hackesche. Markt. But it did lead to the rich
tourists, locals and merchants feeling very uncomfortable in this nouveau ultra
yuppie area in east Berlin, where only 17 years ago one could find squats and
couches to rest on during the on going nightly street parties. Thanks to
gentrification one would be hard pressed to realize the rich history of the
neighborhood between the now situated Häagen-Daaz shop, Mercedes' Benz showroom
and glitzy clothing stores. Instead of a riot we got a hovering helicopter and
hundreds of national and city police. Arguably it would have been a suicide
mission to try to 'start the riot' as we were practically on a 1:1 ratio of
black blockers to cops. And they do have the guns. But from 9pm till 3am, that
part of town didn't have the same ignorant life is beautiful feel of bling
bling and consume till you vomit that so many similar upper class neighborhoods
around the world carry with them. . No. There was the strong stench of
resistance; that this system isn't working and people are not going to be
remain silent. Maybe plan B was not the utopian full scale riot, where the
residents and workers came out and 'the masses' take to the streets but last
night, while watching a little of the old TV, seeing Italian brothers and
sisters lighting the match in their city with Bush's arrival (bravo!) a comrade
from Poland let me know that, well, 14 cars burnt on Friday was better than
none, a welcomed surprise to me.
There is going to be another student strike in Québec soon. There will be
another G8 in Canada in 2010, the same year the Olympics will be in British
Colombia. Will radicals and anarchists be talking about organizing riots? Will
we be wearing black and linking together to make sure that the police cannot
break us and take one of us?
There is still time to reflect, but we can't hold off forever. The situation is
must too critical. New methods are being drawn into our practices, and there
are theories and studies that let us peer into the cracks that will be widening
soon. In France, what has been heating up, and recently bubbled over could be
felt in various texts and actions on a lesser scale beforehand. While not
surveying every single new publication, it doesn't take a brain surgeon to see
there is increasing interest in people like long time forgotten Blanqui, an
agitator from the XIXth century who was a riot advocator, who has been recently
republished with a new preface, bringing new light to his ideas. As well, there
is the bestseller, maybe thanks to the sexy title 'the Insurrection to come'
that people are buying and talking about. In Québec, the latest expanded
version of 'Les Black Blocs' by Francis Dupuis-Déri has just been published by
Lux Edition, and in Toronto, A.K Thompson will soon publish 'Black Bloc, White
riot: Anti Gloalization and the genealogy of dissent' both being books that
focus their discussion on tactics within the Canadian context. We very much
hope these will encourage debate and discussion of strategy and tactics. We say
it often, we are living in the belly of the beast. We must ask ourselves what
will it take to get angry and fight? If it is not rioting in the streets, what
is it? If the time of the black bloc is dead in Canada, what is to replace it?
Or are we to let our sisters and brothers in Europe make the rich and the
Establishment nervous without us?
Sincerely, Two companer at s from the Calisse Brigade. June 10th, 2007
Further reading: 'Maintenant, If faut des armes', Auguste Blanqui, Réédité par
la Fabrique Éditions, Paris, Févririer 2007
L'insurrection qui vient, par Le Comité Invisible, La Fabrique Éditions, Paris,
Mars 2007
Les Black Blocs' par Francis Dupuis-Déri Lux Edition, Montréal, May 2007
'Black Bloc, White riot: Anti Globalization and the genealogy of dissent', by AK
Thompson To be published, Toronto, September 2007

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