Report from Bologna | Seattle calls, Bologna answers!
Hello
A determined, battling demonstration closed up yesterday for a few hours the 1st worldwide biotech exhibition in Genua. But victory is not limited to this, and the exhibition is doomed to a real FIASCO. Alas, we count several wounded among comrades and 2 arrestations of youngsters accused of having broken down the glasses of a bank. But let's proceed in good order.
Many thousands demonstrants gathered since 9 AM in front of the station Genua Brignole for the so called (by the media) Italian Seattle. There was people from all over Italy, and loosely, comrades from Switzerland, France and Germany. More than 400 grassroot groups endorsed this demonstration: there were the Anarchists from Milan, Genua and Rome; the Social Centers from all over Italy, a lot of groups from the "Green galaxy", Greenpeace, WWF, and a lot of other people. Also two political parties, the Greens and the Refounded Communist Party, decided to drop any exhitation and join a demonstration which openly called for Civil Disobedience to close up this new offspring of global speculation.
At 10.30 AM the demo started. Despite the working day, we were 10,000 and more. The head of the demo was taken by the promoters, the coordination "MobilTebio"; immediately after, at least 1,000 White Coveralls ready for civil disobedience with gas masks, shields and paddings all over the body — but no offence arms, no sticks, stones or bottles. Just all what you need to face peacefully a police attack. Behind, there were the Anarchists and after the rest of the people. Greens and Refounded Commies closed the demo. And that was a mistake, because they could not avoid the infiltration of the group of youngsters which later on — for the extreme joy of media, cops and politicians of all sorts — would have attacked and broken the windows of a bank, causing a police attack when we were still far away from the exhibition, our real target (wake up, babies: banks are insured, uhu!).
Without losing time, we marched directly from the station to the exhibition, guarded by 3,000 antiriot policemen. Once arrived, the confrontation was almost immediate. We wanted to enter, they wanted to keep us out and away, while some dozen CEOs and "scientists" were inside deciding our future protected by an entrance fee of 350 dollars (and think that the exhibition's official slogan was: "Biotechnology: to inform yourself is natural" — quite an expensive bit of information!).
A first police attack started when the White Coveralls advanced almost till the entrance gate — it was wild, and coordination was made extremely difficult by an helicopter flying all the time some 10 meters above our heads! However, the White Coverall's protections were good enough to resist the attack and push back the cops against the gate.
There followed an half an hour full of tension, then came the second police attack. This was extremely difficult to contain, because they attacked on two sides (front and right side) and the right side was not protected by the padded-up White Coveralls, so people had to resist with bare hands. And there we had the wounded comrades, at least 4 — one reached in a leg by something unknown, maybe a rubber bullet, was taken to the hospital.
However, also the second attack was pushed back, and the exhibition was besieged. Under a very hot sun, more than 5,000 people kept on yelling slogans blocking the entrance gate. Nobody could enter or exit anymore, not even the cops which retreated themselves behind the closed gates. The large square in front of the exhibition was completely ours!
Finally, they gave up, and the exhibition was suspended for the whole afternoon. This announcement raised a lot of enthusiasm among the demonstrants, which slowly started to move toward the "MobilTebio Village", where a camping was set up a week ago and large tends host the coordination point, an exhibition of biological products and (one) the people arriving in Genua without tend. Today, Friday, there will be a conference with the partecipation of mr. Nanjundaswami, from KRRS, South Indian farmers union.
So, we showed again that people determination and clever civil disobedience can have a strong impact on the apparently unmodifiable global mechanisms. In front of our protest, the only choice for them was to close down the exhibition. But this, as said, is not the only victory.
The Italian government withdrawn its endorsement to the exhibition. Half of the biotech companies invited did not show up, fearing protests. Exhibitors of other industrial products (the Genua exhibition is quite large, and the biotech exhibition was not the only one going on these days) denounced a sudden drop of visitors, asking the biotech organizers to pay damages; and many Italian cities declared themselves "biotech free territory", i.e. no biotech activity will be allowed on their territory.
In short: it was a good kick in their fat asses. And when the demo was over, I could see from the deserted parking in front of the exhibition few large Mercedes exhiting the exhibion gates and running away as fast as possible in the Genua traffic — a symbol of the isolation into which we are throwing the whole biotech business. Let's go ahead, and sink them definitively!
Giuliano
Tute Bianche | Actions against Globalization | www.agp.org
In spite of conservative media which state that FBI is investigating on possible terrorist attack, the atmosfere in Bologna is quite cheerfull. The climax is on wednesday 14th : the program foresees actions in every streets and squares to disturb, turn into ridicule and block the OECD summit. The participants at the summit think they vill get in the summit building at 5,00 in the morning (perhaps they should spend the nigth there)to avoid demonstrations.
AFTER the Ancona demonstration of 19/20 May against the European Conference on development and safety in the Adriatic and the Ionian seas, to "strengthen co-operation in the Adriatic area as regards the battle against "illegal immigration" and to pursue "the global objective of maximum integration of Balkan countries into the European political and economic context" AFTER the determined battle in Genova 24/26 May, against TEBIO: first international fair and convention on biotechnology to "export the results of biotechnological research on an industrial scale", The social Centre Leoncavallo and the Ya Basta association together with many other organisations are organizing a demonstration in Bologna, 12/ 15 June, against the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ) conference to "improve the competitive power of small and medium sized companies on the global economy" The structural reform suggested by OECD concerns the job market.From their golden office in Paris, a residence formerly belonging to the Rothschild family,the OECD economists say that "We have been rigth (in Italy) to introduce the flexibility in employment but it is not enough, now we have to introduce different salaries between north and south, and than "relax" the protection rules on jobs in order to reduce the difference between "insiders" and "outsiders", those who have contracts and those who have not.
The answers of the OECD economists become confused when you ask them how they can reconcile the uncertain jobs and the need to raise the birth rate to avoid pension deficit. We are fed up with these teachers treating us as school kids.
We are organizing a green train for the Bologna demonstration. The train will leave on Tusday evening 13th at 20,05 from the central station in Milano. The arrival in Bologna is foreseen at 22,34. The aim is to be in the streets early in the morning so anyone who wants to come is adiviced to bring a sleeping bag.
For information call
C.S. Leoncavallo
Tel 02-6705185
email csleo@tiscalinet - yabasta@tin.it
Tute Bianche | Actions against Globalization | PGA
Italy. News
the 4th of june was the last day of the national Assembly of "Cantieri Sociali" (Social Workshops). It was a three -day exchanges of views among networks of associations, social centres, cooperatives promoters of the montly magazine "CARTA"
The social workshops have shown that cooperation is possible among social organisations and different cultures which oppose neoliberalism and propose.
a Political campaign against the so called "detention camps" (we call them "Lagers") for migrants, campaigns for the closure of the old "mental hospital according to law "180" and for a social control on abuses and life conditions in the state prisons.
Also global issues have been faced namely the issues of water and petrol , a relauncing of an italian network of ATTAC,( Tobin Tax) the partecipation at the GENEVE meeting and the protest against the International Monetaty Fund next Septembe in Prague.
The periodical "Carta" and its web site and other anti neoliberal media are to be used in order to discuss the jobs issue and the minimum universal salary issue within the welfare frame.
Tute Bianche | Actions against Globalization | PGA
Seattle calls, Bologna answers!
Seattle,Davos, Washington, Genova call, Bologna answers.....Prague.............. (16.6.2000)
Great day in Bologna with a big, strong demonstration.
A lesson from a movement of civil disobedience towards the pretentions of the club of the rich countries.
All the 'disobedient' rebels belonging to a crowd of varied but united subjects arrive at via Indipendenza at 7.00 in the morning. It's one of the rallies which challange the final day of the summit.The small rally which has the task of carrying out the civil disobedience tries to block the arrival of the delegates at the summit building next to the heavily defended Piazza Maggiore. A non-violent training session was carried out early in the morning. A group of people organised in the tortoise-shaped 'testudo' formation occupy the front lines; they are wearing white overalls and carrying plexiglass shields.
From 7.00 to 11.00 the time passes slowly. At about eleven, the summit room is still empty. The 'testudo' strategy is working well; the demonstrators disobey, at their own physical risk, shouting ironic slogans. From the open windows applause greets these off-beat protesters. The protests do not forget Chiapas, where the army siege of the Indios communities is being strengthened day by day, and the EZLN battle cry "Zapata, vive, la lucha sigue....." frequently fills the air. The work of the summit is delayed by an hour and a half.
The rebels ask for free access to the fortress of the OECD Summit.
Someone from the north-east social centres shouts through the megaphone: "Not only the police but the rich of the world, inside there, must listen to the voices of the protest, too !" The centre of Bologna is controlled metre by metre by 6000 policemen in combat gear.
Orders from above are specific : the demonstrators must not pass . The summit area is off limits for them.
The 'testudo' advances a little. Behind the "NO OECD" shields a forest of lifted arms and the cry "Freedom, Freeom" is almost in contact with the police lines now.
Now the police charges the 'testudo' whose only aim is to demonstrate the presence of civil resistence and disobedience.
The rebels resist, then retreat for about 10 metres. Three wounded people are on the ground.
A blanket of tear gas! The police charge the sides of the rally through the arcades of this narrow, medieval street.
On the other side of the square the activists of the "autonomie" and many other anarchist groups, a large part of the demonstration, try to block the second access to the square.
The activists of Rifondazione Comunista, Greens, etc. block the third access to the square.
All of them succeed in delaying the beginning of the OECD summit conference for Economic Cooperation and Development, "to improve the competitive power of small and medium sized companies on the global economy." The Italian Minister of Industry launches a message to the rebels through the media :"Let us meet".
This is a sign of the victory of the thousands of people who encircled the centre of the city with rallies, sit-ins, street raves, which submerged the OECD summit.
They reached their target: Neoliberalism is now naked thanks to political and social organizations of many kinds, which succeeded in overcoming their differences.
By the light of the sun! E.
YaaBasta Milano Italy
Tute Bianche | Actions against Globalization | PGA