From West Papua to France, Greece to the Philippines, hundreds ofthousands of people take action daily to resist the furtherencroachment of their lives by various forms of oppression. Here arefirst-hand reports.
19/11/99 Greece, Athens:
Left parties and groups demonstrated in cities across Greece againstClinton's first visit after the Kosovo war. The nights before the visit there were several attacks on US car shops, and on the day ofhis arrival 25.000 people demonstrated in Athens against a wide rangeof issues including world trade. While Greece is a NATO member and USally, people were overwhelmingly against the NATO bombing ofYugoslavian civilians. Autonomous groups from all over Greece faced ahuge police presence demonstrating outside the US embassy, and the500 protesters were equipped with 2 meter sticks and helmets toprevent the police from getting too close. The police started firingtear gas when a few syndicates tried to break through the policeline, resulting in many anarchists, also people from leftist grassroots groups and even the communist party (!!!) fighting the police back. The protestors continued to clash with the riot policethroughout the day and night, and banks and shops in the centre ofAthens were attacked with stones and fire. Results: 8 banks burntdown (including a two story building), more than 50 luxurious shopsseriously damaged, two Kiosks and several luxurious carsdestroyed.
22/11/99 Switzerland, Geneva:
WTO headquarters was occupied. One group, posing as"visitors" occupied the hall and chained themselves to the main stair leading to WTO Director-General's office with a banner saying "No Trade, no Organisation: Self-management!".Others occupied the roof of the building and deployed two banners (below) The occupants beamed pictures of the occupation out directlyonto the internet from a portable installation.
Indigenous struggle continues in West Papua:
In 1963 Indonesia annexed West Papua - a beautiful land of mountainsand jungle with over 200 indigenous cultures. The military marched inguns blazing and the multinational mining and logging companiesfollowed soon after. Ever since, the tribes have waged armedresistance against the Indonesian army and the exploitation andecological destruction they defend. Since the occupation began asixth of the population (300,000) have been killed. Despite thisgenocide the resistance continues.
Since the elections last year the Jakarta basedpoliticians have been trying to project a caring democratic image.But as the elite stage press conferences in Java, the army are stillshooting demonstrators in West Papua. In the most recent incident inDecember, hundreds were injured and three were killed at aflag-raising attended by thousands. Scattered units of the LiberationArmy of the Free West Papua Movement (OPM/TPM) remain in the jungle.On October 4th the offices of three corporations active in W. Papuawere occupied across Britain. The following quote is taken from acommunique of thanks sent from the OPM:
"The struggle to free W. Papua is not to take away onegovernment and replace it with a new government. We do not want to administer ourselves the capitalist 'profit-making'. It is the struggle between modern society and tribal people. We have our commonenemy, and we need to work together, throughout the world to make itdisappear from this planet earth. We can only make it happen if weare united. The unity of all people in this world will make ithappen. Yi Wa O!"
The British OPM Support Group is organising a European speakers tourmid-Feb to mid-March by a West Papuan. For more information or to get a copy of the 'West Papua Action Update' contact us. OPM SG, c/o 43Gardner St, Brighton, BN1 1UN, UK.
Or visit: http://www.eco-action.org/opm/
15/11/99, Amsterdam, Netherlands some 20 activists, occupied amuseum ship, one of the earliest symbols of Hollands' colonial past,in the harbour of Amsterdam, in a protest against the WTO.
24/11/99 Manila, Philippines: Anti-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) demonstrators were beaten by riot police and had water cannon spray used against them during a protest rallyagainst ASEAN's fast track trade and investmentliberalisation.New York, USA:The protestors erected a two-story tripod in 44th Street, a busyintersection, bringing traffic to a standstill and drawing a largecrowd on the one of the busiest shopping days of the year.
25/11/99 Paris France: 5000 farmers with their sheep, ducks and goats, feasted on regional products under the Eiffel tower in protest at the impact of trade liberalisation
27/11/99 Nantes, France: 200 people, some dressed as carrots, salads, aubergines and strawberries went into a supermarket carrying banners saying "No WTO, no GMOs, No to agri-business", and'it's not GMOs you have to eat, it's capitalism that has to beabolished".
27/11/99 Padua, Italy: A peaceful demo in front of the GMO Exhibition "Bionova" - attended by the top managers of GMOcompanies - was wildly attacked by the police, twice.
27/11/99 Geneva, Switzerland: Two columns of demonstrators, almost 2000 farmers and 3000 city dwellers from all over Switzerland met in the center of Geneva and marched on the WTO HQ.
27/11/99 Milan, Italy: Groups from the anarchist/ Social Centresarea joined a grassroot trade union demonstration and gave it a strong anti-globalisation character. Workers and squatters were foronce united against WTO. Meanwhile, a group of "WhiteCoveralls" (direct action group from the zapatist/ socialcenters area) occupied the main McDonald's, locking themselves on the building facade, hanging banners denouncing neoliberalism anddistributing flyers. Later the White Coveralls joined a city-widemeeting for the closure of the migrant prison camps, with aAnti-McDonalds banner hung upside down to symbolise the non-foodserved by this multinational.
29/11/99: Milan, Italy: Students of the new University 'LaBicocca' occupy the faculty of 'Biological Sciences' to protest against WTO and biotech food.
France: 75,000 people in 80 different cities in France took to the streets protesting at the dictatorship of the markets and the WTO.
Narmada dam, India:Communities of farmers and Adivasis (indigenous peoples) living on the banks of the Narmada river,organised within the grassroot movement NBA (Narmada Bachao Andolan,Save Narmada River), have been fighting for 12 years against a damconstruction known as the Sardar Sarovar project. NBA is also memberof the National Alliance of Peoples Movements, which has been a PGAConvenor. After successful resistance in the early 90s, which led tothe withdrawal of the World Bank in 1993 and a halt of the construction in 1995, the NBA has intensified the struggle again.Some villages were flooded three times last year. On November 29th500 people from the Narmada valley arrived in New Delhi for 3 days ofactions with 2 specific targets - the coalition of Indian industry,multinational corporations and the German state to build the dam -against the WTO regime, for the vandalistic and insidiousdispossession that it creates globally.
The Itoitz dam, Basque country: On February 6th 1996, 8 people from the direct action group Solidarios con Itoitz entered the damconstruction site, where they cut cables, stopping work for 9 months.In 1998 the 8 were sentenced to 5 years each in prison, and after anappeal the high court resolution is about to be delivered.
The Solidari@s are now on an action/information tour of Europe, and on October 25th, eight members of Solidari@s con Itoitz and the solidarity group Narmada UK climbed London's Millennium Wheel toprotest against the destruction created by big dams, unfurling big banners with the slogans "Stop The Dams!", "FreeNarmada, Free Itoitz!" and "Let The Rivers RunFree!".
24/11/99. New Delhi, India: Adivasis Occupy World Bank. More than 300 Adivasis [i.e. indigenous peoples] from the Indian state ofMadya Pradesh, representing all mass Adivasi movements, jumped overthe fence of the World Bank building. They blocked the building,covering it with posters, graffiti, cow shit and mud, shoutingslogans and singing traditional songs at the gate.