Seattle anti-cop actions heat up

From Anarchist News:

This is a very short, incomplete recap of the most recent events in Seattle. It concerns only the anarchists, not the protests organized by the family of the deceased. Undoubtedly, someone else will write a more thorough analysis for those of you who don’t live in Seattle.

FIRST NIGHT (picture below)

On the night of Tuesday, February 15, the media began reporting that the City Prosecutor had decided not to prosecute police officer Ian Birk for the murder of John T. Williams. Soon after, an event appeared on Facebook, calling for people to meet at 6pm on Wednesday, February 16, for a night of protest at Westlake Plaza, a busy shopping district in the heart of Downtown Seattle. The next day, anarchists leafletted for the demonstration throughout Capitol Hill and into downtown. The first protest brought 600-700 people into the street, all marching without a permit. The crowd marched up to Capitol Hill and met a line of riot police guarding the East Precinct. The crowd was angry and volatile but there were no major incidents that evening, and the march was unable/unwilling to break the police line.

Another Facebook event appeared that night, urging further action despite Ian Birk’s resignation from the police force. The second protest, on Friday, February 18th, brought a fluctuating group of about 150 people out onto the streets, most of whom marched behind anarchist banners and some of whom held black flags.

Once again, the march took off without a permit. Thousands (literally) of anarchist leaflets were thrown into the air. Chants such as “An eye for an eye, the pigs gotta die” and “Cops and judges, we don’t need ’em, all we want is TOTAL FREEDOM!” were yelled at the police.

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Four Updates from Greece: Anarchist Squat Eviction Sets Off Occupations, Street Fighting

from From the Greek Streets:

In the early hours of Wednesday, February 16th, riot police stormed the self-managed occupied building PIKPA in Heraklion, Crete. As soon as the news spread, three people who rushed to the spot were arrested by the police. In response to the eviction and the arrests, around 70 people who quickly gathered there occupied a branch of the Ministry of Health, demanding that those arrested were freed. A few hours later they were released; one of them however faces charges.

At the same night, a counter-information event took place at the main square of Heraklion. People attempted to re-approach the PIKPA squat and clashes with the police followed; police chase, beat and arrest four people, all of which were injured during their arrests.

In the morning of Thursday 17/2, the arrested appeared before the prosecutor general – two of them face felonies. After this procedure had ended, riot police once again attacked those who had gathered in solidarity with their batons and tear gas.

In response to all the above events, people in solidarity occupied two TV stations on Thursday night.

A demonstration against police repression has been called for Friday, 18/2 at 6pm at the Lions Square in Heraklion.

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This might be the first victim of the undeclared war between riot police and the locals: in Keratea, Attica, fierce battles have been going on between locals and the police since early December (!) 2010, on a near-daily basis. Last Tuesday, a young mother of two had a strong shock and became physically sick from the tear-gas the police were using at the time, when they were raiding the little town. This caused her a miscarriage; the woman and her partner have now initiated the process of taking legal action against the police for the miscarriage.

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The local branch of the supermarket DIA in the NW city of Igoumenitsa has banned migrants from entering its premises completely, after a period of time in which they were only allowed to enter the store one at a time. In response, anarchists in Athens attacked four branches of DIA in the city (in Agios Eleftherios, Petralona, Patisia and Kipseli). Their storefronts were smashed, paint was thrown along with leaflets explaining the action.

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What is undoubtedly one of the most important social struggles in Greece in recent times is fully underway: the migrant hunger strikers in Athens and Thessaloniki are entering the 25th day of their strike today. Already yesterday, in Athens alone, three of them were taken to hospital with serious health problems – where they nevertheless continue their strike.

On Friday, 18.2, a solidarity demonstration has been called that will  commence from the Archaeological Museum (diagonally opposite from the building where the migrants are staying) at 6pm and will head, after the migrants’ own plea, to the Ministry of Interior – the exact government body that keeps them hostage all these years. The migrants’ struggle is a crucial one for the dignity of our movement and the solidarity between us.

Short Update of Recent Repressions Against Anarchists in Belarus

From avtonom.org via the Anarchist Black Cross Moscow

As of right now four Belarussian anarchists are under arrest, accused of having organized a series of direct actions 2009-2010.

Everything started long before this past September (2010). The years 2009-2010 were rich in radical actions claimed by Belarusian anarchists. Such as:

An illegal anti-militarist demonstration in September 2009 against a mutual Russian Belarusian war exercise, when a Joint Staff was attacked with a smoke grenade.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iQ3kz0hVDM

An attack on a Minsk casino using paint bulbs and flares in protest of the relocation of most Russian casinos to Belarus after the law banning casinos in Russia was passed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXKjrVVAHXw

Seattle: Anti-cop march hits the streets, 2 arrested

On February 12th, 150 people met at Westlake Center in Downtown Seattle. Hundreds of fliers were distributed during the initial rally which had the title “Police Are The Absolute Enemy.” The rally was predominately reformist and had been called by the October 22nd coalition, a front group of the Revolutionary Communist Party. However, the anarchist block, composed of 40 people dressed entirely in black, pushed the crowd into the streets and began to march.

As the march went on, thousands of the flier mentioned above were distributed. At Pike Place Market, a notable tourist attraction in Seattle, hundreds and hundreds of fliers swirled through the air, caught by the wind(a beautiful sight to behold!). On the way to the East Precinct Police Station, barricades were thrown into the road. Several people from the street joined in as the march proceeded, all of them filled with hatred towards the police. When the march reached the police station, the windows of a police cruiser were smashed out. At this point, the police moved in. Several of them were hit with the thick flag poles that carried black flags. Two people were arrested. At the time of this writing, they have been charged with misdemeanors.

Solidarity to everyone fighting the police!

Reportback from 1/29 action against the cops

From Queen City Antifa:

Denver, Colorado. January 29, 2011.
We ain’t takin this no mo’!

The Action

In a third round of street demonstrations against police terror in the Denver metro area in the last six months, hundreds took to the streets of downtown Denver on the night of January 29^th. A crowd that started as 150 and at times fluctuated to almost twice that number stormed the 16^th Street Mall, a commercial epicenter of downtown Denver in a display of rage that hasn’t been seen in Denver in quite some time.

The actions come on the heels of an endless series of police misconduct incidents, including the killing of a prisoner named Marvin Booker by Denver County Sheriffs at the Van Cise-Simonet Detention Center in July 2010. A laundry list of beatings, rapes, child pornography and drug charges has marked police activity in the metro area. Lawsuit after lawsuit has been filed, with the city of Denver paying out millions of dollars over the last several years.

The crowd gathered at the Denver Skatepark at 19^th and Little Raven Streets at 6pm. Because of its proximity to downtown and the locations of several high profile police misconduct cases, the Skatepark has been the launching site of two of the three street actions that have happened since the murder of Marvin.

The crowd assembled for several short speeches, and stormed off into the night, filling the streets. Banners accompanying the crowd included messages such as “Marvin Booker was murdered” and “6 months later, we have not forgotten”. Several more pointed banners also illustrated the anger seething within the crowd. One banner displayed a picture of a Glock pistol with the words “They have left us no other option” printed below the weapon. Another depicted twin unicorns impaling stereotypical renderings of a businessman and a police officer.

As the crowd moved toward downtown, united chants filled the air: “From Denver to Greece, Fuck the Police!”; “Cops, Pigs, Murderers!”; and “Oink, oink, bang, bang, every day the same old thang” were among the crowd’s favorites. Marvin Booker’s name was also chanted excitedly and for long periods of time, to remind the cops and other passerby of one of the many victims at the hands of Denver metro law enforcement agencies.


Denver hits the streets against the police

On the night of January 29, over 150 people marched in the streets of Denver in response to the ongoing repressive acts of Denver area law enforcement agencies. The march controlled the streets of the commercial district of downtown Denver for well over an hour and confronted Sheriff’s deputies at the Van Cise-Simonet detention center, the site of the murder of homeless street preacher Marvin Booker in July.

Although one person was arrested, they were released this morning without charges after police failed to identify them in any photos taken of protesters during the march.

A great short video of the march was put out tonight by West Denver Copwatch. We’re assuming that there will probably be some more detailed reports put out by participants in the next couple days. DABC will re-post any accounts we come across.

From Denver to Greece…

Anti-police actions across the United States in solidarity with Greece and Alexis

On December 6, 2008 Alexandros Grigoropoulos, a 15-year-old student and anarchist, was fatally shot by Epaminondas Korkoneas, a police officer. Korkoneas, accompanied by another police officer on a patrol, discharged his weapon in the direction of Grigoropoulos who was part of a group of youths in Exarcheia district of central Athens.

The death of Grigoropoulos resulted in large protests and demonstrations, which escalated to widespread rioting, with hundreds of rioters damaging property and engaging riot police with Molotov cocktails, stones and other objects. Demonstrations and rioting soon spread to several other cities, including Thessaloniki, the country’s second-largest city. Outside Greece, solidarity demonstrations, riots and, in some cases, clashes with local police also took place in a number of European cities including London, Paris, Brussels, Rome, Dublin, Berlin, Frankfurt, Madrid, Barcelona, Amsterdam, The Hague, Copenhagen, Bordeaux, Seville as well as Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus, and the western Cypriot city of Paphos. Newspaper Kathimerini called the rioting “the worst Greece has seen since the restoration of democracy in 1974”.

While the unrest was triggered by the shooting incident, commentators described the reactions as expressing deeper causes as well, especially a widespread feeling of frustration in the younger generation about specific economic problems of the country (partly as a result of the global economic crisis), a rising unemployment rate among the young generation and a perception of general inefficiency and corruption in Greek state institutions.

On the two anniversaries of the shooting, there have been mass demonstrations and street rebellions to commemorate the life and death of Alexis and the mass rebellion of December 2008. In the United States, there were several solidarity actions that took place targeting police on the West Coast:

Modesto, California: Masked Protesters Disrupt Police Accreditation Meeting , Banner Dropped

Portland, Oregon: Anarchists set off smoke bomb in cop bar

Seattle, Washington: Anti-cop banner dropped in solidarity with anti-state struggle everywhere

Please note: Due to a recent incident involving the lack of any semblance of fact checking from a capitalist media outlet, we must make a clear note that Denver ABC is merely posting these reports as a news story, and not taking credit for any of these actions.

2,500 – 3,000 anarchists march in central Athens against state terrorism

On Thursday night, around 2,500-3,000 anarchists marched in central Athens against state terrorism and in support of the imprisoned comrades. Police presence was huge, with riot police deployed on both sides of the streets for the entire route of the demonstration. The apparent tactic, it seems, was of obstructing contact between the demonstrators and any passers-by. At the end of the demonstration, outside the Propylea of Athens university, there were scuffles with the police.

The next anarchist demonstration in central Athens has been called for December 11th. On December 6th, the anniversary march for the death of Alexis is taking place, while the 15th is the day of the next general strike.

 

Montreal: Hundreds march against G20 repression

As leaders met for the G20 meetings in Seoul, South Korea, about 400 people marched through downtown Montreal on Friday evening to demonstrate against the way Toronto police handled protesters at the G20 summit in June.

Many of those on hand were at the summit in Toronto during the summer, where protests were marked by mass arrests.

The march on Friday was largely non-violent, with one arrest made by police.

Organizers said they want a public inquiry into the way police handled protests at the summit in Toronto.

“Today’s demonstration is to stand in solidarity with those that continue to face bogus charges… this past June,” Sahita Ahouja told CTV Montreal.

“We also are taking the streets to denounce the strict bale conditions that people have to live under, and we’re also standing in solidarity with the people that are protesting in Seoul.”

Some Quebec protesters have argued that people from the province were targeted at the Toronto summit and arrested simply for speaking French or having fleur-de-lys license plates.

London: 50,000 march against tuition increases, occupy Tory party headquarters and fight police in the streets

From Occupy California:

LONDON, England – Around 50,000 students marched through London today protesting the tuition increases, a protest organized by the National Union of Students. Thousands of students have since broken off from the main march and raided Millbank Tower, where the Conservative Party is headquartered. Students broke the windows on the main floor, and hundreds filled the lobby of the building. Police beat back the students, but as of this writing, students are still in the courtyard of the building. So far, 5 police have been reportedly injured; a total of 10 police and students have been taken to the hospital. Protesters have thrown bottles and other items, some on fire, at the police line. A bonfire has been lit in the courtyard. Picket signs have been lit on fire. Demonstrators have thrown fire extinguishers and other items at the police from the roof of the Millbank Tower.

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