archives of global protests
Prague: Solidarity with Quebec protests
From oras_intsec@another.com
Date Fri, 27 Apr 2001 01:34:15 -0400 (EDT)
Prague: Solidarity with Quebec protests
Anarchist News from Czech Republic (AN-CR)
PRAGUE (AN-CR, April 27) - To express a stringent protest against the police repression, which occurred during the negotiations about the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) at the Summit of the Americas in city of Quebec in Canada - it was the aim of the picket in front of Canadian embassy in Prague on 26. April. About 30 people who assembled under red and black flags also expressed their solidarity with the struggle of protestors and with arrested people (you could read slogans as "Cause of Singh: The State Is The Real Criminal", "Release Political Prisoners!", "Release Jaggi Singh!", "International Class Solidarity Is The Key!" etc.)
Participants delivered a protest letter to a functionary of the embassy. This letter is signed by Czechoslovak Anarchist Federation (CSAF), Organization of Revolutionary Anarchists - Solidarity (ORA-S) (the both organizations are also signatories of International Anarchist Communist Anti-FTAA Declaration) and Prague Reclaim the Streets. Also members of The Feminist Group of the 8th of March participated on the action.
The protest letter states:
- Tens of thousand of workers from trade-union or anarchist organizations, activists from environmental groups and many others were expressing their resistance with the plans for further strenghthening of the rule of capital over ordinary people. These plans would worsen people's living and working conditions, they would deepen poverty and exploitation and harm the environment.
- However, the situation in Quebec was symbolic and clearly exposed the borders which divide the present world: political elite serving capital's interests were negotiating behind the high fence and under the protection from the police, while ordinary people expressing their own opinion were the target for the repression.
- We denounce the practice of the police, which injured many people especially by shooting the rubber bullets (for the first time in Canada), throwing various types of grenades and beatings. In particular, we denounce the violence committed by the police to the members of the medical volunteers team. We have information that the conditions of the detained people are very bad. Many of them are being refused the contact with lawyers or even food. The detainees are not taken to judge, as the law requests, instead they are only making testimonies via a video link from the prison.
- We emphasize our protest concerning the arrest and the accusation of well-known activist Jaggi Singh, who was beaten and, possibly, abducted by the undercover police officers on Friday the 20th of April. This happened when he was taking part in the fairly non-violent demonstration in the street of Saint-Jean."
- .......
- "In order to show their solidarity, ten thousand students from the Montreal schools "Cegep de Vieux Montreal" and "Cegep St-Laurent" went on strike. People from France, Nigeria, Ireland, South Africa, USA and Poland protested against the repressions. We would like to let You know that we will watch the next steps of the state of Canada very closely and that we will coordinate our further protest actions accordingly.
- The state of Canada surely understands, that the international solidarity has always been the strong weapon of the working people.
- We express our solidarity with the protests in Quebec and we protest our selves against the methods of the state of Canada."
Czechoslovak Anarchist Federation (CSAF)
intersec@csaf.cz
Organization of Revolutionary Anarchists - Solidarity (ORA-S)
oras_intsec@another.com
Reclaim the Streets, Prague
ulicelidem@reclaimthestreets.co.uk
The Anarchist News from the Czech Republic (AN-CR) are published by the Organization of Revolutionary Anarchists - Solidarita
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