“October proved a riot a riot to the senses and climaxed those giddy last weeks before Halloween.”
― Keith Donohue
“October knew, of course, that the action of turning a page, of ending a chapter or shutting a book did not end the tale.”
― Neil Gaiman
31/10/16:
Sweet Halloween –
US, New Orleans: police cruisers and white supremacist monument vandalised
the white supremacist Battle of Liberty Place Monument
France, Yvelines: 4 attacks on cops within 5 hours “At Trappes, at 10.40 pm Monday, a dozen youths threw an incendiary device at police who were intervening with firefighters at Clement Ader Street to extinguish a bin on fire. The bottle missed its target and the attackers dispersed. About 11pm … public lighting was cut on a transformer. In the process, the officers of the BAC, who were on hand to monitor the premises, were attacked by forty people. A Molotov cocktail was thrown at them without touching them…Earlier in the evening, shortly before 8pm, a bottle possibly containing acid was thrown into the courtyard of the police station of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine. At 1 am, a municipal policeman from Carrières-sous-Poissy was injured on the shoulder after receiving a stone. Buses were also stoned at Poissy and Mantes-la-Jolie and Trappes. No injuries were reported”...Bretagne (Lorient): 30 12-15-year-olds set fire to bins, smash bus shelter, stone cops, break cop car window…Rennes: bins and cars burnt, cops and fire engines stoned in several parts of town…La Réunion: restaurant looted, bins burnt clashes with cops after arrest of motorbike rider…Lyon: bins and cars burnt in 5 different areas of town…Marseille: clashes, bin burnt, stones thrown, as cops evict social squat involved in anti-Labour Law struggle (video)…Seine-et-Marne: police station attacked with stones, BAC cops attacked with molotovs…Essonne: cops surrounded by about 20 youths and stoned
South Africa, Pretoria: more clashes between students and cops
Greece, Athens: anarchists chuck molotovs at cops after conflict with Golden Dawn fascists “…the anti-authoritarians attacked a group of GD supporters on their way to attend the Golden Dawn trial where major witnesses are expected to testify about the murder of left-rapper Pavlos Fyssas….Riot police that rushed to the area became also target of the anti-authoritarians who were throwing stones and several other “items” from the roofs of the building complex….On Saturday night, they again attacked police squads near the Polytechnic School in Exarchia district of Athens. The traffic on Patision Avenue was halted for several hours.”
Spain, Ceuta (Spanish Morocco): 220 migrants break through barbed wire border
African migrants celebrating the success of their border crossing in Ceuta under the noses of the cops
30/10/16:
Morocco: demos in Rif and other regions after fisherman is killed due to callous cop…More here (in French) “The coastal city of Al Hoceima, with about 55,000 inhabitants, was the heart of the revolt against the Spanish colonisers in the 1920s, then the scene of a popular uprising in 1958. Long neglected during the reign of Hassan II, the Rif region has a reputation for rebellious and difficult relationships with the Moroccan central government. It was also one of the main centres of protest during the movement of 20-February, the Moroccan version of the Arab Spring in 2011” Riots that extended to the whole Rif region also broke out in 1983, during the three decades of the Morrocan “Year of lead”, during King Hassan II’s reign. Tens of thousands were killed during the repression. [Pi]
France, New Caledonia (French department in the Pacific), Nouméa: 6 cops hurt, 5 by bullet wounds, as riot develops after killing of young escaped prisoner by cops; major road blockaded for several hours – armoured cars sent in Also this in English… video in French here
France, Val-d’Oise: dozens of youths clash with cops after they intervene to stop afternoon rodeo…Yvelines (Mureaux): bins burnt, cops attacked with stones by about 25 youths…Dunkirk: molotovs thrown into courtyard of police station
29/10/16:
Mexico, La Magdalena Tetela (State of Puebla) : a cop patrol set on fire and roads blocked after cop killing of 16 year old As in many cases of this type around the world, some protesters ask for “justice” (which means asking the State, responsible for injustice of all kinds on a massive scale, to act against itself).
UK, Sussex: prisoners go “on rampage”
France, Lyon: molotov thrown at police station “It could be revenge for a security operation conducted by the police on Thursday in the Saulaie neighborhood, resulting in the arrest of several individuals for throwing stones at a police car. They were immediately given a prison sentence”
28/10/16:
27/10/16:
Brazil: school occupations spread – at least 1,108 state schools & universities across 19 states now occupied in movement against neoliberalism “The protests are led by the Brazilian Union of Secondary Students, known as Ubes, and other local organizations critical of the Temer administration’s revisions to the high-school system and the so-called PEC reform, which among other things will end public subsidies to students older than 20 years. In the state of Paraná alone, students have occupied 851 schools, another 66 in Minas, 13 in Rio Grande do Sul and 10 in Rio Grande do Norte, and Goias. In the Federal District, and Rio, there are seven occupied schools apiece and in the largest state of Sao Paulo, five schools.”
US, Dakota: at least 9 vehicles torched in pipeline protests, including bulldozer & 2 military-style trucks…More here “On Thursday, the digging took a more confrontational turn. The huge digging equipment arrived to cut across State Highway 1806 at a spot where water protectors had set up a front-line camp several months ago, one mile north of the main encampment of over 1,000 people. As the equipment arrived, the “water protectors” blocked the highway. In a dangerous incident, an armed private security guard of DAPL came onto the camp and was chased off into the water abutting the camp by water protectors. After a lengthy standoff, tribal agency police arrived and arrested the security guard. Water protectors set his security vehicle on fire. On Friday more than 100 local and state police and North Dakota National Guard arrested over 140 people who blocked the highway attempting to stop the destruction of the land. Police in riot gear with automatic rifles lined up across a highway, with multiple MRAPs (mine-resistant ambush protected military vehicles), a sound cannon that can immobilize persons nearby, Humvees driven by National Guardsmen, an armored police truck and a bulldozer. Police used mace, pepper spray, tear gas and flash-bang grenades and bean-bag rounds against Native Americans who lined up on the highway. Police reportedly shot rubber bullets at their horses and wounded one rider and his horse.”…indigenous occupy Hillary Clinton’s campaign office in New York …anarchist report here “The “camp leaders” are hired Nonviolent Direct Action consultants. They are utilizing a classic strategy of nonviolent civil disobedience: they hope that the images of police evicting people in prayer will win them the sympathy of the public. The people we speak with at the checkpoint are clearly not buying this. But what can they do? Their elders have hired these people to stage-manage the moment….“I don’t know who those ‘leaders’ are,” a Native guy tells us as we throw tires on the side of the road. “They’re not my elders. I came here to defend this camp, and I’m going to do what I have to.”…The next morning, we learn that there has been another barricade all along, located on a bridge on Route 134, the only other entrance by which the police can access the Sacred Ground camp since all other entrances go through the Standing Rock reservation. Apparently this is what Red Warrior has been up to, and they have no intention of letting the police through. While that is exciting to hear, we can’t understand why the same commitment to physically defend the space is absent here on Highway 1806…. a truck pulls up and out steps a paid nonviolent consultant who is on his way to negotiate a mass arrest. He gathers the barricade crew in a circle and makes an impassioned plea for us to leave the road clear. “When people see the images of them arresting us and storming our teepees with guns, they will know our struggle is right.”…we don’t want to be the ones to disobey his orders—we don’t want to make it easy for the police or media to deploy a narrative about “outside agitators,” and we don’t want to sabotage the possibility of other anarchists like us participating in this struggle. We decide we will check in with the Native guys we spent the night on the barricade with. When we ask about their reaction to the speech, we get a blunt response: “Fuck that guy.” Our thoughts exactly.”
South Africa, Gauteng: council workers hit by stun grenades & tear gas as they try to enter council office Sad to see that these workers looted informal traders’ stalls: informal fly pitchers are clearly precarious and constantly harassed by the cops – to loot from them, those lower in the hierarchy, is cowardly – no cop is going to nick you for stealing from an illegal fly pitcher – and indicative of a lack of basic class consciousness.[SF]
26/10/16:
South Africa, Cape Town: central business district brought to a standstill as students clash with cops outside parliament More here “Violence was sparked just before 15:00 following a generally peaceful day when a mock Blade Nzimande “coffin” was set alight and thrown from the protesters’ side over the heads of police officers. A police officer extinguished the “coffin”. Stun grenades were released in quick succession, and chaos ensued. Protesters ran down Plein, Roeland, Barrack and Commercial streets, followed by police armed with stun grenades and rubber bullets. Students retaliated by removing bricks from the Plein Street pavements, breaking them in half, and throwing them, along with stones from a nearby renovation. A water cannon was used to prevent protesters running further down Plein Street, forcing them down a side street. …Bins were overturned and set alight in Strand and Barrack streets. In Plein Street, a police van window was shattered, a stationary civilian car was damaged, and the window of a KFC was also damaged”…students threaten to arrest wives of cops if cops beat them up…2m. rand’s worth of damage “Thousands of people who protested in the city centre on Wednesday left a hefty damages bill in their wake as they went on the rampage , looting shops and destroying private property and businesses…..The protesters caused damage to restaurants, buses, police cars and city property, leaving companies to pick up the pieces and determine the damages….the city was aware of one Law Enforcement vehicle, four metro police vehicles, two police vehicles, one MyCiTi bus, one private vehicle and a number of buildings in the Parliament precinct that were damaged by protesters. Smith said the extent of the damages could total R2 million.”
Israel, Negev desert: Bedouin youths clash with cops as authorities demolish Bedouin houses
US, Dakota: negotiations between pipeline protesters and cops break down “”Protester Andy Kilchrist, 71, who was arrested Saturday in the biggest one-day roundup to date… “So what? What am I going to do with the rest of my life?” she said.”
A friend writes: “The photos show an impressive barricade (from what i understand there are 3 of them, blocking all access to both camps), and blood-sucking vampire jesse jackson makes his pre-halloween photoshoot. …someone in the original camp called the people who formed the new camp “hotheads” or something like that, probably a sign that whatever develops at the new camp will be interesting….also, a new encampment started a couple weeks ago on the iowa-illinois border where the pipeline’s supposed to dive under the mississippi river. there’s been confrontations and arrests there. …heres some info on it:
http://www.wheretheriverfrowns.com/all-stories/bakkens-toxic-sludge-and-mississippi-stands-dapl-shutdown-in-iowa
http://www.wheretheriverfrowns.com/all-stories/anti-dakota-access-pipeline-action-in-iowa-part-1
and in the context of the standing rock encampment:
https://itsgoingdown.org/call-open-new-fronts-nodapl-struggle/
…Los Angeles: Donald Trump destroyed (video)…but homeless black woman defends his resurrection
France, Limoges: chief gendarme’s cop car burnt out (within the gendarmerie itself) in solidarity with Remi Fraisse, Adama Traoré and migrants (communiqué in French)…Montpellier: another cop demo complaining about their unhappy lot I went to a counter demo there, where we numbered about 30, maybe a bit more. A brief leaflet pointing out the fact that 148 cops have been killed in 12 years whilst 500 people die each year in work “accidents”, mainly on building sites; this was followed by a list of fundamentally violent aspects of this society. In response to this, the BAC cops came and stood in front of us with their psychotic smiles to prevent us moving towards the cop demo about 100 metres away. So, instead of moving, we placed, in front of the leading banner, some mini-“tombstones” listing some of the people killed by cops over the last couple of years, including Remi Fraisse, the 2nd anniversary of whose murder was this very same day. Then the riot cops arrived in a show of force, coming up close and very obviously ready to attack, batons at the ready. But the final bit of over-kill was really quite flattering: 11 young soldiers, each very publicly carrying a large machine gun, arrived along with several “vigipirate” cars with other soldiers in them, to make a grand display of state power. And all this for just 30 of us – clearly not intending to do battle (eg no-one was really masked) in the middle of the main square of the town, with lots of tourists and people drinking their coffee or eating meals in the square looking on. Why these soldiers were ordered to do this is anybody’s guess: maybe to imply that “anti-authoritarians” = terrorists or just to impose an image of state terror. But flattery will get them nowhere….Most depressing of all, however, was the sight of bourgeois, middle class and would-be middle class people going up to the cops to lick their arse with tongues of flattery for their “difficult job”.
…Meantime, in Calais: “…teenagers were lured out of the site of the camp in the afternoon with the promise of transport to a reception centre where they could be assessed for asylum or reunification with families in the UK. However, after an hour no bus had arrived. Police units emerged in force with riot shields, teargas and taser guns and began to kettle the group, pressing them into a side street in an industrial estate. Some of the refugees were in tears as it appeared that they would be sleeping on the streets again….One Afghan teenager, wrapped in a yellow and green sleeping bag, said: “Fuck France, Fuck Britain. You are racists.” He was in tears as a French volunteer tried to console him by asking him not to be angry with aid workers. He retorted: “You didn’t have to sleep on the side of the road last night – you have documentation, you have money. Fuck France.” [SF] And this gives a list of companies profiting from the eviction:
Security Guards:
Eamus Cork Solutions (ECS): freight searching, detention and prisoner
‘escorting’
Tascor: holding facilities and detainee transport
Biro Sécurité: biometric technology and security guards in the
“Container Camp” and Jules Ferry Centre
ATMG: Security on the container camp construction site
Mondial Protection: port and rail freight security
Wagtail: Border detection dogs
Walls, Fences, and Construction:
Vinci, including subsidiaries Sogea and Eurovia: camp demolitions,
wall construction, and just about everything else …
Jackson’s Fencing: 2015 fence
Zaun Ltd.: 2014 NATO fence
Groupe CW (Clôtures Michel Willoquaux): container camp fences 2015
Logistic Solutions: containers for the Container Camp
Border Technology:
L3 Communications: X-Ray Scanning Equipment
Roke Manor Research / Chemring Group: PMMWI (Passive Millimeter-Wave
Imaging) and Vehicle Scanning
Thales: port security and drones
FLIR Systems: thermal cameras
Smiths Detection: X-Ray technology
AMG Systems: CCTV technology for Eurotunnel
Clearview Communications: Eurotunnel CCTV
Rapiscan Systems Ltd. / OSI Systems: X-Ray Technology
Scan-X Security: X-Ray Technology
Chess Dynamics: day/night vision systems for Border Force boats
SmartWitness: DIY truck security systems
VisionTrack: DIY truck security systems
Deportation and Detention:
Twin Jet: deportation jet charter
Police support services:
IBIS (Accor S.A.): hotel of choice for the CRS riot police
Buzzlines Travel: bus transport of UK Border Force officers
Police weapons:
SAE Alsetex: teargas
Etienne Lacroix: teargas
Nobel Sport: teargas, most common variety used in the Jungle
SAPL: stun grenades
Verney-Carron: flashballs
Brügger & Thomet
Taser France
Marck
Combined Systems: teargas and rubber bullet guns
…Creuse: man shoots at bailiff and cops sent to expel him from his house and hurts some
25/10/16:
South Africa, Johannesburg: cop van and bus burnt by protesting students More here
Braamfontein, Johannesburg
…Western Cape: more student-cop clashes
Italy, Bologna: students trying to do a self-reduction of canteen prices, clash with cops
France, Calais: more clashes, fires etc. “…migrants setting fire to tents, bins, shelters and toilets in protest against the camp’s closure.”…Rennes: police station covered in graffiti: “No nations, no borders”, “ACAB”, etc.
24/10/16:
US, Boston: 600 students walk out of class , occupy admin building in support of dining hall workers’ strike…Dakota: anti-pipeline movement occupies privately-owned land (several more links here)…Denver: Starbucks Vandalized in Solidarity with Prison Strike
Switzerland : solidarity actions with Calais migrants in two towns
Greece, Lesbos: migrants torch 4 offices used for social control, chuck stones at cops “Jose Carreira, executive director of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), said at least four shipping containers where interviews were conducted were entirely destroyed, and three more were damaged. “Incidents have occurred in the past but this is the most serious one,” Carreira told AFP.”
23/10/16:
Germany, Bremen: 18 army vehicles destroyed in arson attack; 15m. euros worth of damage
France, Calais: clashes yet again on eve of chaotic state dismantlement of camp
Chile, Lautaro : roadblock against local elections, a Mapuche man arrested… Santiago (Macul, estate in suburb): explosive attack on bank (communiqué in Spanish)
22/10/16:
Haiti, Arcahaie: over 100 prisoners escape “More than 100 mostly barefoot inmates overpowered guards on Saturday and escaped from a lockup … One guard was reported killed and others were injured. The escapees stole an unknown number of weapons and some exchanged gunfire with police during the chaotic breakout….The inmates attacked after they were released from a crammed holding pen to bathe…Haitian prisons are notoriously overcrowded and many inmates spend years in pre-trial detention….Three prisoner were wounded, including one who died as a consequence of his wounds.” This claims that 174 prisoners escaped.
Italy, Palermo (Sicily): clashes between cops and anti-austerity demonstrators
France, St Etienne: lots of tags and destruction during wildcat demo against factory producing cop weapons “…on a giant cardboard reproduction of a flash-ball was written: “a bullet to restore social peace.” [ also: “this toy kills and mutilates “]…demonstrators, wearing balaclavas this time took advantage of the absence of security forces near the march to tag walls and windows, particularly referring to environmental activist Remi Fraisse, who died two years ago at the dam site at Sivens. The most virulent of them also broke bus shelters and put ATM machines out of order… A window of a bank was broken and the room of the Departmental Federation of PS [Socialist Party] ransacked…Computer equipment was destroyed, records and lots of documents were scattered in the street. To enter the local activists had raised the metal shutters and smashed windows. On the facade they put tags, particularly in connection with the Labour Law”
“Verney-Carron [state arms manufacturer] – final warning”
“This toy gun maims and kills”
…Calais: more clashes “..refugees and asylum seekers started pelting bottles and stones in protest at plans by French authorities to move thousands of people from the area and then dismantle the makeshift camp.”…Seine-St.Denis: 3 different attacks on cops in different areas within 24 hours “Aulnay Saturday night, midnight, a car of the Brigade (BSQ) of the district of Sevran was targeted by a Molotov cocktail near the Galion, an estate of of 3000. The object exploded next to the car, causing some damage. No injuries to policemen, other than to their feelings…At Villetaneuse on Saturday night on the Allende estate. While they were conducting an arrest, police saw their vehicle targeted by several individuals who stoned it from the upper floors of some buildings. No injuries were reported. In Lilas on Friday night shortly after 11pm, a police car was stoned whilst patrolling the estate of Gagarin. The police crew was attacked by twenty individuals who threw concrete blocks on the vehicle and tried to open the doors. The police turned back. One of them was slightly injured.”…Nanterre: cop car gets stones thrown at it from upper floors of estate; cops retreat…La Courneuve (Paris banlieu): bus and car burnt
21/10/16:
US, Detroit: anti-cop graffiti – man arrested…charged with “making terrorist threat”… More here
20/10/16:
South Africa, Johannesburg: student leader hospitalised by cops’ rubber bullets after arson attack on library and disruption of lecture “…students were singing peacefully on campus when police fire at them with rubber bullets. They also used teargas….former SRC president Shaeera Kalla was shot at least nine times even though she held her hands up…. students had disrupted a lecture and tore up test papers on the west campus. She said police reacted by dispersing them. Earlier, the university said a case of arson was being investigated by the police after a section of a library was set alight, damaging at least 100 books.”…Port Elizabeth: more student clashes…Pretoria: and more clashes with cops outside presidential palace “About 500 students marched to Pretoria from the city center to the presidential palace, flanked by many police…The demonstrators then threw projectiles including stones against the police, who responded with two shots from stun grenades….The striking students held signs demanding “Free education for all” or proclaiming “South Africa is profoundly unequal.” “The wealth of this country is confined to the pockets of a few parasites who own the mines, banks and hotels,” said one of the leaders of the revolt, Mametlwe Sebei. “One night at the Sheraton Hotel is the equivalent to the monthly salary of five workers,” he shouted to his peers gathered in front of the hotel.”… student leader killed by hit-and-run driver
Ethiopia: 500 people killed during uprising, tens of thousands arrested…More here “Ethiopian authorities have arrested more than 1,500 people since declaring a state of emergency less than two weeks ago, according to a statement published by state-controlled news agency Fana…..About 50 people were arrested for “trying to deny service” by closing their businesses or calling for strikes in the Amhara region, and three teachers were detained for “abandoning school”. The six-month state of emergency comes with a raft of stringent rules. Foreign diplomats are banned from travelling more than 25 miles outside Addis Ababa, and it is illegal to watch television stations set up by the diaspora. Posting links from these organisations’ websites on social media has been declared a “criminal activity”.” Yesterday (22/10) I wrote: “These 2 reports from the same paper are obviously contradictory: which merely shows that The Guardian, like all forms of journalism, doesn’t care about facts nor whether the facts it presents clash with each other; as long as there is a time difference (the articles are a day apart) between the facts presented the spectacle of information relies heavily on the permanent amnesia of the spectator and of the people writing these “facts”. The suppression and falsification of memory and history is fundamental to the development of the permanent confusion that the spectator is subject to.” In fact, the contradiction between these 2 reports from the same paper can be explained mainly by the fact that one is the official state report, the other more independent, though The Guardian didn’t try to clarify such a contradiction. [SF]
France, Isere: town hall windows smashed, over 10 vehicles and a dozen bins burnt, anti-gendarmes tags after seizure of cannabis…Seine-et-Marne (Melun): 2 attacks on cops in 2 different areas “Thursday night around 6.30 pm, police were attacked in the district of Montaigu, in Melun, when they wanted to arrest a wanted man. They were stoned by ten people and had to make use of flash-ball and disencirclement grenades. Two police vehicles were damaged and three bins burnt. …Earlier, around 1.30 pm, in Dammarie-les-Lys, officers were stoned when they intervened in a fight ….”
UK, Gwent (Newport, Wales): youths burn bins in road, attack cops with stuff “…a gang of youths with clothing covering their faces began setting off fireworks and setting fire to wastebins along Commercial Road. They said the gang began to throw fireworks, bricks, large rocks and eggs at the police unit that was called to the scene. “…Isle of Wight: 4 cop vehicles vandalised “The vehicles were parked in the police bays in Castletown Police Station.”
19/10/16:
Chile, Santiago : street clashes and molotov cocktails in front of high school in solidarity with comrades prosecuted in “PDI case” (in Spanish with video)
South Africa, Johannesburg: students chase away vice-chancellor at meeting attempting peace agreement following refusal of bail to student leader “After the decision, angry students left the court singing Struggle songs and then headed for the main campus in Braamfontein, where they convened a mass meeting. …It got off to a shaky start when the students chased away Wits vice-chancellor Adam Habib. They shouted at Habib, branding him a “sinner” and said he should release Dlamini before he could speak to them.” Bizarre for an atheist like me to hear “sinner” used as a derogatory term, but then this was the vice–chancellor, ho ho. [SF] More here…Cape Town: heavy clashes leads to suspension of lectures for rest of year “…police fired rubber bullets, tear gas and stun grenades on Wednesday to disperse hundreds of student protesters demanding free education at the University of the Western Cape in Cape Town….A private security guard was badly beaten by demonstrators in the latest clash and a campus building was set on fire”
SK recommends this radio discussion: What does decolonisation in education look like?, saying “It presents an example of the sharpest sort of perspectives to emerge from the movement at present. What is most positive about this sort of discussion is the possibility that people across the country will begin to give it practical expression in all the spaces they struggle to transform, and beyond. As has been said before, both by myself and others, we have not seen anything like that at all yet, but the fact that we can at least hear the desire for it among some people like Brian Kamanzi — on national radio no less — is already a significant sign of the times, indicating a very encouraging move in that direction.”
Greece, Athens: cops attacked with molotovs by about 150 people “150 protesters locked themselves inside the National Technical University of Athens in Exarcheia, and exited only to confront riot police, however, they did not provide a reason for the violence. At least two people were detained at the scene….Protesters threw Molotov bombs and other objects at police forces, set garbage cans on fire and destroyed sidewalks in order to use the broken pieces of marble as ammunition. Riot police responded with tear gas, pepper spray and stun grenades. According to Greek law, however, university premises are protected by “academic asylum” and police forces are banned from entering buildings. One of the major highways in the Greek capital was blocked for more than than four hours because of the violence.” Video here
Bangladesh, Habiganj: school students demanding nationalisation of High School attack police station “Police fired nearly 100 rounds of rubber bullets and teargas shells to disperse the demonstrators…Several policemen were injured.”
France, Paris: cops demonstrating about their unhappy lot defending the ruling society threaten anti-cop demonstrators with guns Should be pointed out that the next day, and the one after that (20th and 21st) an evening demo by cops in Montpellier, demos which are taking place throughout France, was verbally insulted (“everybody hates the police”, “cops maim, cops kill” etc.) by about 40 anti-authoritarians without the cops retaliating, though they were pretty pissed off. Some said it was the only town in France where anti-cop demonstrators got away with it – though almost no other town had anti-cop demonstrators. On the 21st passers-by, unconnected to the anti-cop demo, joined in the haranguing of the filth….But who needs a demo when you’ve got this constantly recurring: Vénissieux (outskirts of Lyon): 40 youths attack BAC cops with molotovs and paving stones (video included) More here…and elsewhere in Lyon, cops harassed by angry crowd trying to free 2 arrested youths; one manages to escape
18/10/16:
South Africa, KwaZulu Natal: more student – cop conflicts “The day-two of this week of clashes between students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal saw petrol bombs fly, coming from the student’s residence towards police. The campus was a war zone for more than two hours on Tuesday morning. The situation forced the closure of some roads within the campus. The National Intervention Unit was called on to campus. They made their way into the students residences and raided the place. Eight students, who allegedly led an attack on police earlier, were arrested and it was later found that they are not registered UKZN students. A student who spoke under condition of anonymity says their bus was attacked upon arrival at the campus. “We are not comfortable around here. Now, even if you want to use the toilet, you find there are security guards there guarding with guns. Can you imagine. There is no freedom at all. The moment we arrived here there were students there. I am not sure if they are students but they threw stones at our bus.” …Port Elizabeth: water cannon, rubber bullets, stun grenades & tear gas v. rocks as students continue shutdown of university “The university was expected to resume classes on Tuesday after it had been closed for four weeks. However, at around 05:30 a group of about 500 students blocked the main entrance – wearing balaclavas and wielding rocks. They used their residence mattresses to block the entrance. Thirty minutes later police arrived on the scene and …told the students that if they did not disperse they would be detained …Police gave students three warnings before moving in. Students retaliated by launching a hail of rocks at them, which led to police moving in with a water cannon. A clash between the two parties then broke out. Police used stun grenades and rubber bullets to try and disperse the students, who had begun running in different directions. Some sought refuge in a private residence near the university’s north campus, but continued to throw rocks at the police, who again responded with teargas and stun grenades…The large group had broken up into smaller groups which engaged isolated yet continuous battles with the police. On Monday, four leaders of the NMMU’s #FeesMustFall movement were arrested on the main campus. According to students, who did not want to be named for fear of reprisals, the four were part of a #FeesMustFall strategy meeting in the Embizweni building on south campus on Monday afternoon”…Cape Town: protesting students show how shit education is as Stalinists attack anarchy of movement – surprise surprise “protesters broke windows and doors and threw human excrement around buildings at the University of Cape Town in a bid to prevent it reopening in the wake of previous demonstrations.” More here “The University of Cape Town re-opened Monday after closing because of security concerns, but police were on campus and used a stun grenade to disperse protesters outside a university building. The university says another building was evacuated because of vandalism by protesters who tossed sewage in the corridors. Separately in Johannesburg, students blocked a road during the morning rush hour and threw stones before returning to their residential building at the University of the Witwatersrand.”
Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo: riot as University employees demand wage increase
Senegal, Thiaroye: market traders refusing local tax try to storm Town Hall
UK, Eastbourne: school closed after critique-in-action
France, Indre-et-Loire: 2 local Socialist Party deputies’ offices tagged with pro-migrant graffiti “No nation”, “rotten Socialist Party”… “No border”, “long live migrants!”…”Evict ministers!”, “ZADs everywhere”, “Refugees welcome”…Toulouse: administrative court’s locks and digicode sabotaged with glue by anti-authoritarians
17/10/16:
France, Seine-St.Denis: headmaster of high school hit, molotov cocktail and fireworks thrown into school, cops attacked with heavy fireworks by about 50 youths outside…Grenoble: cops stoned by youths during arrest on estate…Var (La Seyne): cop car damaged as 20 or so hooded youths chuck projectiles at it from estate Pi writes: “[We should] be more careful about the news on French attacks in estates, suburbs, poor neighborhoods, etc. Some comrades who manage other sites choose to put them all, but I think it contributes to giving priority to form over content.
These attacks are generally of two types : those linked to local anger against cops, and those linked to drug-dealing. Of course, those who deal drugs in the estates can as well feel anger against cops, which is of course justified.
I don’t even want to engage in endless researchs about each attack. Drugdealing in french estates is pretty antisocial and often prevails over fair relationships between people, but it’s not even the case in every place. And the presence of “gangs” is often an argument used by the cops to justify their actions…clearly, very organized gangs such as those in the US don’t exist in France. The estates’ population is in general pretty mixed, and lots of elements of foreign culture and traditions’ remain. Even those who deal drugs are usually just groups with loose ties between “members”…they don’t have particular rules, identity, etc and even their territory claim is pretty light.
What happens for a few weeks in “La Grande Borne” (a big estate in Grigny and its neighbour town), with the recent molotov cocktail attacks against cops, seems to be linked to groups protecting their trade from police. Some elements indicate it…and so far I haven’t found anything indicating that the attacks were made out of pure rebellion. Which is enough I think to be careful, and certainly not to engage in such glorifying as calling all this “Insurrectionary France” (https://fireonthehorizon.noblogs.org/post/2016/10/15/meanwhile-in-insurrectionary-france-four-cops-get-burnt-in-molotov-attack/).
To give another example…a prostitute was arrested in Lyon, a group of guys intervened and clashed with cops :
https://www.lyonmag.com/article/83557/des-policiers-lyonnais-attaqus-lors-d-un-contrle
Given the pretty machist culture in french estates, I doubt this group did such a thing as engaging in a battle out of pure solidarity with unfairness, even less with a prostitute ! Never heard of estate guys engaging in “pimping” either…so I really don’t have a clue what happened there. But it’s also enough to be careful about it.
What happened in La Seyne sur Mer on 17-10 was linked to a drug raid.
So basically I’d give priority to news in which elements indicate that actions have to do with a feeling of rebellion with possibilities of anti-autoritarian developments (to put it very simply)…”
Madagascar, Farafangana: 400 rioting residents burn down HQ of national water and power company after constantly repeated power cuts…More here “The community torched the headquarters of Jirama, including six offices, burning all the company documents, customers’ bills, etc…6 million Ariary {about 1600 euros) was stolen from a safe”
US, California: clashes with cops after memorial for black guy murdered by cops is taken down video here …Dakota: $2m. worth of fire damage to pipeline
Sweden, Stockholm: football riot “A number of supporters in the Djurgården end had started to throw flares and projectiles towards security personnel, before several climbed over the barricades. Some entered the pitch itself, while others damaged advertising boards.”
UK, Northumberland: report of how keys stolen during riot force state to spend £1m to change locks
South Africa, Durban: more heavy clashes between students and cops…Western Cape (Grahamstown): cars overturned as students clash with cops “Gunshots and stun grenades shattered the quiet as groups of protesters interrupted tests, damaged major lecture venues… flooded bathrooms and broke windows at some of the residences on upper campus.” More here “…three buildings and three service cars were damaged and a number of people were arrested. According to the university, disruptions began on Monday evening and ended around 00:30 on Tuesday morning. “In the early evening, protesters attempted to enter the Barratt lecture complex with the apparent intention of disrupting a test which was taking place. Glass doors to the complex were broken in the process. “Protesters then moved to the library, where more glass was broken, before progressing to upper campus where, again, stones and rocks were thrown at windows and entrances. “Extensive damage also occurred in the Biko Building. Three university service vehicles were overturned at the rear of the building.” The university said stun grenades and rubber bullets were used by members of the public order policing unit.“ …Johannesburg: more clashes at Wits uni ““The students have intensified their protest action following the arrests of several students over the weekend including #FeesMustFall leader Mcebo Dlamini. The situation remains tense at the Knockando Hall residence as protesting students attack police. The students are using plastic bin lids as shields as they throw rocks at officers from the Lighton hall. Most of the students also have their faces covered, so they cannot be identified. Some students are chanting “free Mcebo” and “we demand free decolonised education”….Several roads in the area have been blockaded by police as students earlier stoned passing cars. ” A “free decolonised education” is something you give yourself, not something to be demanded, which clearly many students and others are already getting in the streets and elsewhere. “Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.” – Oscar Wilde.
16/10/16:
Switzerland, Jura: wind turbine station set on fire
Brazil, Sao Paulo: 55 prisoners escape after starting fires; 18 recaptured
Greece, Thessaloniki: migrants riot after cops refuse to take accident victims, who subsequently died, to hospital Video here
France, Savoie: prisoners torch parts of prison – 50 cells out of use Video here… Gard: riot cops defend bullfight with tear gas…Marseille: 2 cops hurt by projectiles thrown at them from estate during car chase
15/10/16:
Argentina, Buenos Aires: 70,000 women march against anti-women violence and for the legalization of abortion; clash with cops (this is in French; no mention of clashes on English-language sites)
France, Yvelines: about 100 rioters attack annex of town hall, smashing every window; cop car attacked with molotov; cops attacked with projectiles…France, Calais: more clashes as state prepares to build 13 foot high wall (video)
Haiti, Les Cayes: 100 victims of hurricane throw rocks at UN “peacekeepers” as Ban Ki-moon arrives “There’s long been ample evidence that cholera was introduced to the nation’s biggest river by inadequately treated sewage from a UN peacekeeping base about 10 months after Haiti’s devastating earthquake [in 2010]. But the UN only acknowledged in August that it played a role in introducing cholera to Haiti”. More about the UN and the spread of cholera here, in which the UN’s own human rights special rapporteur points out contradictions within the UN itself and worries about the UN’s credibility.
UK, Balfron (near Glasgow): 2 cop cars smashed up, one just across the road from the police station
US, North Carolina: mass murderer calls fire bombing of Republican Party office “horrific and unacceptable”…and her party shows how goody goody it is by raising the money to rebuild this horrific and unacceptable office…but that’s because they were also targetted “According to Hughes, staffers found the words “Death to Capitalism” scrawled on the OCDP [Orange County Democratic Party] headquarters when they came into work.”
14/10/16:
South Africa, Johannesburg: TV journalists’ van torched…supermarket looted & 3 cars burned
Guinea, Kindia: youths riot against constant long-term electricity cuts
US, Dakota: prosecutor issues arrest warrant for liberal journalist who reported on anti-pipeline movement …Judge dismisses charges but prosecutor tries to force handover of video footage
Peru, Apumirac: miner killed by cops during clash“Unrest erupted in the highland region of Apurimac as police tried to clear townsfolk from a road they had been blocking for nearly a week. …Congressman Richard Arce, from the leftist Broad Front who represents Apurimac, said the man was shot dead by police and that scores of people from towns nearby were also wounded. The Peruvian interior ministry said 20 police officers were injured. The protesters were upset because of the heavy dust and noise on the road where trucks transport the Chinese-owned mine’s copper concentrates” More about this here (from report on October 24th) “The fatal shooting of a protester in clashes with police near MMG Ltd’s Las Bambas copper deposit earlier this month derailed talks between the government and Quechua-speaking communities upset with the company’s use of a local road. Protesters blocked all roads near the mine after the incident, disrupting exports and threatening to halt output. The government has said the police did not have permission to crack down on protesters. Authorities are investigating the death of the man, one of several dozen Peruvians killed in clashes with police in the past decade, most in poor provinces. Luque declined to comment on whether he thought police should continue to sign pacts that commit them to protecting mining operations in exchange for payment from companies. The agreements have come under fire following the clash over Las Bambas, with critics arguing they create a police force loyal to miners and foster mistrust between local communities and the central government.”
Taiwan, Taipei: 100s of China Airlines flight attendants pelt airline’s HQ with eggs after agreements on working conditions aren’t kept
13/10/16:
Greece, Athens: anarchists occupy HQ of bank
France, Calais: local council bans pro-migrant demo…British journocops from SkyNews attacked with sticks, stones & knife by about 25 migrants
12/10/16:
UK: report on various interesting methods of how the poor are fighting austerity (see photo below)
…Gosport: cops investigating arson attacks return to find their own car torched
South Africa, Pretoria: further clashes between students and the state More here…Vaal University of Technology, near Johannesburg: 2 buildings set alight More here “A maintenance room at the Vaal University of Technology’s (VUT) residences was on Wednesday night set alight, allegedly by protesting students… On Monday and Tuesday, staff members were barred from entering the main campus. A few months ago, a block of offices at the residences was also torched by protesting students….protesting students from the Vaal University of Technology (VUT) in the Vaal are currently clashing with the police. Several tyres have been set alight while rocks can be seen all over inside the premises of the residences. The students have been hurling stones at the two police nyalas (armoured vehicles) which are stationed inside the premises. Earlier in the day protesting students barred staff members from entering the main campus. It was the second day in succession staff members were prevented from entering the university. Students here are also demanding free education and the total scrapping of the historical debt.”
US, Oregon: cops attacked with projectiles, roads blocked, after protesters against new rules for cops kicked out of council meeting following its disruption…report that prison strike cost capital $600,000 a day in California
Peru, La Paz: riot cops get heavy with anti-neoliberal demo
France, Calais: cops clash violently with migrants as they attempt to board lorries bound for the UK
11/10/16:
US, Canadian border states: activists shut off 5 cross-border pipelines “Activists disrupted the flow of millions of barrels of crude oil from Canada to the US by turning off valves on North America’s pipeline system . An action of this magnitude by environmentalists is thought unprecedented. Protesters carried out the audacious act of sabotage by simultaneously twisting shut giant valves on five cross-border pipes that together can carry up to 2.8 million barrels of crude oil a day – around 15 percent of daily US consumption.”
state forces in Dakota, 10th October
Whilst this action was undoubtedly cleverly and daringly planned, it seems like an element of it involved a degree of self-publicity for the activists involved, who had what they did filmed and even publicised their names – see this: “At the easternmost site, in Leonard, Minnesota, a city of only 40 people about two hours’ drive from the Canadian border, Annette Klapstein and Emily Johnston scaled a chain-link fence and used bolt cutters to unlock the shut-off valves, said Ben Joldersma, a technology worker from Seattle who drove the women to the site and filmed the action. A similar scene played out at other stations and in minutes activists had choked off supply arteries pumping as much as 15 percent of daily oil demand in the world’s largest economy.”
South Africa, KwaZulu Natal: lecture theater and TV room set alight in anti-fees movement…Cape: several campuses in confrontation with the state…slightly hyperbolic report on student movement, with video “What began three weeks ago as a revolt against planned tuition fee hikes has morphed into a wider yell of rage against the manifest inequalities that stubbornly persist two decades into the post apartheid era. Amid the tear-gas, the whiff of revolution is in the air. That and the evaporating authority of the ANC government. Its leaders have been largely silent, leaving universities unable to deliver what the students demand, to fend for themselves. Those who are protesting are a small minority – but they are determined, increasingly violent, and they’ve manage to close many a campus. If they succeed with their stated aim; a total shutdown, then the cost to South Africa’s already enfeebled economy will be counted in the billions of rands.”
France, Lyon: cops attacked by 15-20 individuals whilst trying to arrest young woman for prostitution…on average 544 cops injured per month this year so far, up 14% on last year…Paris: anti-cop graffiti found in Sorbonne…
Hit quick, hit hard, a good cop is a dead cop
…Val d’Oise: about 40 youths loot supermarket…Seine-et-Marne: 4 adolescents set fire to vehicle, vandalise 3 buses & a bus shelter because of humiliating school rules
Bolivia, El Alto: deputy mayor forced to resign following riots demanding basic infrastructure; cop motorbike and truck burnt, barricades of burning tyres as residents take over motorway Video here
Italy, Bologna: heavy clashes with cops during eviction of large centre
India, Bhiwandi: 2 cops seriously burnt as rioters torch cop motorbike and 2 jeeps It seems that this started off as a riot between communities, something which we would normally not give positive reference to; however, this article only mentions the attacks on cops, and it might be that the communitarian aspects of the conflict were purely spurious, though of course it might not have been like that. “In such a situation, the public adheres to the instructions of religious heads more than the cops. We got the clerics from both sides to talk to their people and prevent them from taking the law into their hands. Thankfully, it worked. What is more surprising is that residents eagerly came forward to assist the police. They raised no objections when we arrested the troublemakers. Although we managed to control the situation within a couple of hours, we don’t know exactly why the riot occurred.”
10/10/16:
South Africa, Johannesburg: Wits university lectures stop because of students’ disruption …Video here “Tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons…As police helicopters circled, some protesters spilled into city streets. A bus was set on fire, and thick smoke billowed into the air. The university, also known as Wits, accused students of throwing rocks “that could have maimed or killed people” and said protesters had responded to negotiation offers from the campus administration with threats. Students disrupted classes and threw rocks on several other campuses nationwide”...More here “Wits security guards in riot gear stood on the top of the stairs preventing the students from moving forward. The students called to be allowed into Solomon Mahlangu House, and gave security to the count of 10 to move, but campus security refused to move and the square exploded as rocks were flung from the crowd of students. Two police nyalas attempted to rush the square but were prevented by human barricade of students. The police then fired tear gas and rubber bullets into the crowd, forcing students to flee and duck for cover. They resurged, however, when they saw the human barricade holding against the nyala. The police were only able to break the human barricade after a number of stun-grades were fired into the mass of people holding the nyala back. Once the barricade was broken police moved a water cannon into the square. Police slowly pushed students towards Jan Smuts, while students barricaded the road leading to Nelson Mandela Bridge with stones and broken dustbins. At the same time a number of skirmishes were taking place between the remaining student protesters and police.”…university bus burnt out…shops also looted.
Private security guards, Wits
“I accept the definition of those who call police the set of means that serve the splendour of the entire state and the happiness of all its citizens.” (Hohentahl, “Libia de politia”, 1776).
“The University has always been, in some form or another, an institution for producing the ideological justifications, and consequently their material realisation, for the forces of the state, its image of splendour and the “happiness” of the ruling society. It has been as fundamental an aspect of class society as has been the dominant media: a society in which the ruling class speaks to, and tries to convince, itself and society generally in order to ever-perfect its forms of social control. Whilst academia’s differing illusions of “objectivity” and “neutral” acquisition of knowledge have changed and developed, along with its intake, over the centuries, its fundamental prop for this miserable world has always remained.”
– cop-out – the significance of Aufhebengate
…Western Cape: clashes at Stellenbosch University as students are joined by janitorial and kitchen staff ” “We don’t have money to send our children to the universities,” said a worker who spoke anonymously for fear of losing her job. The entire maintenance staff had been asked to leave Stellenbosch this morning at 07:30, she said. About half the workers joined the student protest. The worker said she also marched because “cleaners should be insourced”.
Ethiopia: state tries to blame foreign-backed terorists for popular uprising
Turkey, Ankara: clashes with cops on anniversary of massacre
South Korea: truckers’ strike declared illegal as 7000 stop work
Kenya, Bungoma: university closed after students destroy uni property, barricade roads for hours, etc. “more than three thousand students were sent home as protests against alleged harassment by the school management turned chaotic. The students, who barricaded the Bungoma – Chwele road at the Kibabii shopping centre, engaged police in running battles for the better part of the day. They lit bonfires at the university’s main entrance and destroyed properties of unknown value at the institution’s compound. The riotous students chased away security guards and lecturers before locking all the offices and smashing windows”
Cambodia, Phnom Penh: clashes between cops and demonstrators protesting landgrab
UK, Hebden Bridge: cops get their 30 buckets of silver…Cornwall: Lidls get glowing recommendation
US, St.Louis: Columbus blushes with embarrassment for all the blood he helped spill
9/10/16:
Ethiopia: government declares state of emergency as “respect for the national flag & adherence to the governance system” are endangered “Government officials say factories, company premises and vehicles have been burnt out completely or damaged. Many roads leading to Addis Ababa were reported to be blocked.” (see entries for 7/10, 4/10 & 2/10) More here “The internet is blocked across many parts of Ethiopia, residents reported on Sunday. The government has blocked the internet for more than a week to prevent protesters from using social media to get supporters to attend demonstrations. Major towns and cities across Ethiopia’s Oromia region are experiencing unrest and widespread violent protests of people demanding wider freedoms….An American woman was killed last week when she was hit by a rock thrown by protesters. Some businesses have been targeted because of suspected links to the government….Anti-government protests continued on Sunday. Many roads into and out of the capital, Addis Ababa, are blocked by protesters and those who try to drive through are targeted by people who jump out from behind bushes and hurl rocks…The situation in many areas across the Oromia region has become so severe that law enforcement agencies themselves have become targets and were attacked with a high intensity. Moreover, the constitutional order of the country has been endangered. All in all, the value systems of the constitution like a respect for the national flag and adherence to the governance system are in danger.“
France, Coulonges-sur-l’Autize: middle school torched
Brazil: at least 50 schools occupied “Brazilian high school occupied at least 60 schools across the country– mostly in the southern state of Parana– to protest the unelected government of President Michel Temer and his administration’s assault on public education that includes an unprecedented spending freeze on educational spending for the next two decades. Occupations in Parana began last Monday before spreading to other states, including Sao Paulo. The movement is reminiscent of mass occupations last year that swept across dozens of public schools in Sao Paulo to reject austerity measures slated to shut down nearly 100 high schools in the state. The latest protests have sparked a police crackdown that pushed the students at one high school in Sao Paulo — Caetano de Campos — to abandon the occupation in the interests of keeping students safe. According to Brazil’s Midia Ninja, military police stormed the facility in an “‘investigation’ that looked more like an anti-terrorist operation.”
UK, Bradford: report of 11-year-old’s critique of humiliation masked as “education”
8/10/16:
….Montpellier: Socialist Party offices window smashed during wild meandering nighttime carnival in solidarity with Notre Dame de Landes Lots of tags (“to err is urban” as a detourenement of “to err is human” was one of the better ones), many of them anti-state and anti-banks – in fact, one bank got the whole of its windows covered in white paint sprayed from an adapted fire extinguisher; lots of fireworks, loud and/or beautiful; lots of small-types of traffic-slowing “barricades” (bins lain down in the roads, etc.). More here ….demo against “Ligue de Midi” fascists prevent the fascists from escaping their caged-in demo in park
7/10/16:
Ethiopia, Addis Abbaba: more about the riots following Irrecha massacre (see entries for 4/10/16 & 2/10/16)
“Protesters in Ethiopia damaged almost a dozen mostly foreign-owned factories and flower farms and destroyed scores of vehicles this week, adding economic casualties to a rising death toll in a wave of unrest over land grabs and rights… Fana Broadcasting, which is seen as close to the state, reported on its website that 11 companies ranging from textile firms to a plastics maker to flower farms had been damaged or destroyed, while more than 60 vehicles had been torched.”
Interesting background article on current revolutionary upswell here
(though from nationalist perspective):
“To be called a revolution, an uprising should mobilize a population for a fundamental change. Uprisings can occur in a country in different places and their causes may be also similar; but they become revolutionary only when they occur simultaneously “nationwide”. In the case of the Oromo, the uprising which occurred in a small town a small town of Ginchi, central Oromia, on November 12, 2015 had triggered such an event. Together with the prevailing contention between the Oromo people and the Ethiopian state over the so-called “Addis Ababa Integrated Development Master Plan”, widely known as “the Master Plan,” and multitudes of other illegitimate acts conducted by the TPLF regime against the Oromo, the event in Ginchi, as will be discussed in this article, could raise popular grievances to a boiling point throughout Oromia. The result is a revolution in which millions of people have taken part during the last five months. In spite of the brutal violence with which the regime has been trying to suppress the revolution, not a single day has passed without massive demonstrations, often occurring simultaneously in a number of towns, cities and districts in Oromia during the last five months. The situation has been such that it gives, at times, the impression that the entire Oromo nation is out demonstrating in the streets.
A revolution can be aborted by a counterrevolution, but that does not always mean that no change had occurred or the present is an unaltered continuation of the pre-revolution system. Whenever and wherever revolutions occur somethings will change or seeds of change are planted. One of the changes which was introduced by the 1991 Transitional Charter was the right to language and culture. In the case of the Oromo, what made this change important was the “vernacular revolution” which followed in its aftermath. The speed and efficiency with which textbooks were prepared and the change from Amharic to _Afaan Oromoo_ was implemented between July 1991 and June 1992 was stunning. What could have taken several years to organize and implement was accomplished in less than a year under the leadership of Ibsaa Guutama, a member of the OLF who was Ethiopia’s Minister of Education in the TGE. The school which, by and large, was seen as an alien institution in many parts of the Oromo countryside in the past became an Oromo institution overnight. With _Afaan Oromoo_ as a medium of instruction, it became a place of learning and engagement, where education was sought eagerly and acquired easily by millions of Oromo children. The Oromo children who started their education with _Afaan Oromoo_ as a medium of instruction in 1991-92 became the first cohort of the_qubee_ generation. The Oromo youth who are currently enrolled in grade-schools (grades 1-8), high schools (grades 9-12), colleges, and universities are over seven million.[3] [1]Without this generation, we wouldn’t have had the ongoing revolution. The strength of the current uprising cannot be appreciated without a proper understanding of the _qubee_generation’s cultural underpinnings and demographic background.
The article will discuss a crucial political identity shift among the Oromo that is caused by the atrocities inflicted on peaceful Oromo protesters by the TPLF regime’s police and security forces. It argues also that the consequences of the silence of the international community over these atrocities was, by and large, an Oromo awakening to the realities of realpolitik and strengthening of their will to defend their national rights. With the November 2015 Oromo revolution in focus, the article discusses some important similarities between the revolts of the Oromo _qubee _generation, the Intifada kids of the state of Palestine in the 1990s and the black youth of South Africa’s shanty towns in the 1970s and 1980s in revitalizing the revolutionary processes in their respective societies and in influencing positive changes in the positions of world powers on the struggles and rights of their respective peoples. On the home front, it compares the current Oromo Student Movement (OSM) with the Ethiopian Student Movement (ESM) of the 1960s and 1970s. It suggests that, because of its size, the unity of purpose and ideology of its members and their embeddeness in the Oromo society, the OSM will show more resilience against the repression of the Ethiopian regime and become more successful in achieving its goal than the ESM did…
In many cities around the world, they went out condemning the atrocities of the TPLF and chanting the slogan “We are Oromo; we are not Ethiopians.” Many had not only joined the demonstrations against the TPLF-led regime for the first time, but were also carrying the OLF flag. In a number of ways this reaction was significantly different from the mixed feeling which many Oromos had about Ethiopia in the past. What is new, and interesting in my view, is the combination of the declaration of identity expressed as “We are Oromos! We are not Ethiopians!” and the act of carrying the OLF flag, the symbol of the Oromo struggle for freedom, by Oromos who have never been members and even supporters of the OLF…”
Fortunately the real movement is by no means limited to the tribalist/nationailist perspective of the above author. As another guy from Oromo region of Ethiopia (founder of an organisation called Oromo Pride no less!) POINTED OUT IN AUGUST:
“I have not seen anything of the sort happening now in my entire life.
The closest historical parallel is the revolution that saw the demise of Ethiopia’s last emperor, Haile Selassie. Even in that case the protests were largely confined to urban centers. The current protests have swept an entire region – nearly half of the country — galvanizing two of the country’s largest ethnic groups — the Oromo and Amhara.”
Article on solidarity between two major ethnic groups HERE:
“The violent response of the ruling party to both the Amhara and Oromo protests has brought into sharp focus the shared vulnerability of the oppressed in Ethiopia. The mutual experience of loss and suffering has generated intense collective emotions, exposing the porous nature of the faultlines that both divide and unite the two communities.”
It’s also worth noting that Ethiopia is currently in the grips of what has been called THE WORST DROUGHT IN 50 YEARS — conditions mirrored by the situation in Syria:
‘From 2006 to 2011, Syria suffered an unprecedented drought which in all likelihood follows from the observed decline in Mediterranean winter precipitation over the past four decades…The drought has been far worse than any experienced during the twentieth century, and has even been described as the worst since the onset of agricultural civilization itself in the Near East. As can be imagined, this new ecological situation has worsened poverty, especially for pastoralists and agriculturalists in Syria’s rural regions, and contributed to a mass-migration of these effective environmental refugees. It has been argued that this ecological-demographic shift, which has involved an estimated 1.5 million people… liberalization of the economy itself certainly gave monopoly-capital a free hand in exploiting water reserves with abandon, leading to marked falls in water-table levels and thus greater societal vulnerability to turns of events like a devastating drought…’ (from Anarkismo site) [info and comments by SK]
Italy: protests against miseducation reform throughout country; …in Florence students who smashed gate of high school in order to occupy it are condemned by student union…confrontations with cops in Rome and Milan
France, Paris: 3 gendarmes beaten up…Mantes-la-Jolie: cops attacked with concrete blocks thrown at them on estate
US: report about CIA claiming to have technologically mastered the ability to predict social unrest 5 days before it happens “Deputy Director for Digital Innovation, Andrew Hallman, explains that the new wing of the agency is helping the CIA expand its “anticipatory intelligence.” Hallman notes that the improvements are good enough that they can predict overseas societal instability and social unrest by three to five days before the events actually occur.Should you wonder what “anticipatory intelligence” is, read on.The term encompasses a mixture of highly sophisticated analytics and algorithms able to forecast the flow of people and products, from extremists to illicit goods. By tapping into the potential of deep and machine learning, data that seem unrelated can be connected and patterns start to emerge. Analysts then scrutinize these sequences and can anticipate national security threats.”
Aside from exaggerating technological methods of repressive “intelligence” in order to maintain funding, this is more state-aggrandising propaganda aimed at making the state seem far more omniscient and omnipotent than it genuinely ever can be (who can predict a cop killing which immediately sparks off a riot, for instance?), though it aims also to help get the state’s machinery ready in advance for the more obviously predictable responses, eg in relation to some new upcoming vicious law. Which is nothing new, merely that before it wasn’t presented as something a computer could do.
A contact sent me this about the above: “I think it could have some actual usefulness when combined with “metadata”, which there is some precedent in Yemen of bombing militants (and even civilians) via cellphone/sms/gprs data……what really concerns me is the implications of this…it shows some regard in the minds of the bourgeoisie for “interventions” and “bourgeois militancy”, no? In the same way groups like the ICC and some others associated with it at whatever point place so much emphasis on the “interventions” of their “militants”. In my opinion they are clearly more equipped and better able to influence the working class than communist and anarchist agitators, but do we underestimate the importance of this type of activity? Egypt comes to mind”
UK, Cornwall: for once, cops provide the means to fill some people with joy
Eire, Dublin: 5 screws hospitalised after attack by prisoners
6/10/16:
France, Seine-St.Denis: 2 cars burnt, 3 overturned as dozens of hooded youths attack cops in front of high school… Montpellier, 34: squatted land evicted, some eople hurt, some arrests…P.M. Valls announces construction of 33 new prisons
sites of the first 9 new prisons to be constructed
Kenya, Kakamega: university closed following 3 days of student riots More here: “Learning at the institution had stopped from Monday as students spent much of their time sitting outside classes in protest over increased examination fee. On Wednesday evening, students rioted to express their anger after the management of the university allegedly failed to listen to their plea to lower down the examination fee. A contingent of anti-riot police unit was deployed to restore order. Yesterday morning, the university senate agreed to close the university until further notice. “It has been noted that the disruption of normal running of the university has been persistent. Students and lecturers have been ejected from lecture rooms for a third day and some university property have been destroyed by some groups of students. This goes against the university rules and regulations governing students discipline”…Kisii: cops stoned, burning barricades, after cops kill 2 women More here: “The women were shot dead by Administration Police officers following a slight argument between the officers and the women…The Thursday evening incident caused chaos in Kisii town with locals demonstrating to express their anger following the macabre shooting. The officer shot at the women as they tried to intervene when an accident happened between two motorcyclists. The two women were shot dead by AP officers. …So bad was the riot that by 7 pm, the body of the first slain woman was still at the scene of the incident hours after she was shot at around 5.54 pm. The killing of the two women comes days after a report was published in local dailies detailing that police have killed more people this year than criminals have.” For more information on the fascistic brutality of Kenya’s cops see this, about the deliberate systematic killing of street kids
…a firey Kisii to the night
Taiwan, Changhua: chemical factory workers facing redundancy clash with cops . Video here
South Africa, Cape Town: Nelson Mandela University shut down indefinitely in the wake of clashes between pigs and pupils…Wits medical school occupied by students, workers & parents
Colombia, Guajira: students clash with riot cops over university funding
Chile, Santiago: riot and looting follows wrestler’s book signing session Not really an example of revolt, but it’s kind of funny to see this stuff happening stemming from celebrity adoration
5/10/16:
Spain, Murcia: 28 migrants escape from detention centre after revolt
South Africa, Johannesburg: further clashes between students and the state; cop vehicle overturned…5 universities across the country closed for the rest of the week after heavy clashes between students and insecurity forces
4/10/16:
Chile, Santiago : barricades set up and clashes with cops in solidarity with “prisoners at war”
Ethiopia: parts of factory belonging to Africa’s richest scumbag, plus government buildings, destroyed by furious crowds following Sunday’s massacre by the cops; prisoners freed “Trucks and machinery belonging to the Dangote group was attacked by protesters in Ethiopia’s Oromia region. The attacks followed a deadly stampede at a festival over the weekend. The attack which took place in the town of Ada Berga targeted the cement factory owned by Africa’s richest man Nigerian Aliko Dangote….Local media added that a court building and government-owned vehicles were also torched.” More here “The protests were in response to the deaths of at least 55 people in a stampede at a religious festival of the Oromo people on Sunday. The protesters burnt trucks and machinery at the Dangote Cement Factory in Ada Berga…Protesters also allegedly freed prisoners after setting ablaze a police station in the Bule Hora area, FBC reports. A court and government-owned vehicles were also torched, it adds. Activists say the security forces opened fire at the festival, causing the stampede.”
US, Dakota: indigenous indians shut down 5 pipeline construction sites
France, Brest: cop car stoned as they try to stop “rodeo” (stolen car race)…Pantin: a utility of a company involved in prison construction burnt in soidarity with people being put on trial in Italy’s Opération Scripta Manent
Chili, Santiago: barricades and clashes in solidarity with several class war prisoners Leaflets scattered around the place, expressing their solidarity with Tamara Sol Farías Vegara, Andrés Aravena (Chico), Jean Gutiérrez (Legua) and other comrades being put on trial in “the PDI case”.
UK, Ross & Cromarty: school’s CCTV sabotaged…Belfast: report of prisoners’ fires making cell doors spring open
3/10/16:
Greece, Athens: pensioners clash with filth (video)
Poland: mass demonstrations against illegalisation of abortion…5 cops injured by angry women and men “Violence broke out at the pro-abortion protest in Poznan in western Poland. …five police officers were injured and three people were detained for throwing rocks at a conservative Law and Justice Party office building. Two police officers sustained moderate injuries: One was hit in the face with a stone, and another was burned by a flare, according to the report. Three others sustained minor injuries. Police in Warsaw also detained four men who threw objects at police during the protest on Monday…At one point in Warsaw, abortion activists also blocked access to the Law and Justice Party headquarters.”
2/10/16:
Ethiopia, Oromia: cop massacre as persecuted minority clash with the filth “As many as 100 people are believed to have drowned or been crushed to death in Ethiopia’s Oromia region after security forces faced off with protesters, causing a deadly stampede, witnesses said. Some died and many others were injured during the panicked stampede that occurred after police threw tear gas, shot rubber bullets and beat people with batons…As many as 100 people are believed to have drowned or been crushed to death in Ethiopia’s Oromia region after security forces faced off with protesters, causing a deadly stampede, witnesses said. Some died and many others were injured during the panicked stampede that occurred after police threw tear gas, shot rubber bullets and beat people with batons”
Switzerland, Chevrilles: new migrants’ detention center construction site sabotaged
1/10/16:
Greece, Korydallos: prisoners refuse to return to cells in solidarity with American prison strike
Germany, Dresden: 3 cop cars burnt out The article tries to make out that it could be right-wingers who did this, but it’s a completely arbitrary speculation as there’s absolutely no evidence nor precise motive. This gives a more likely explanation, saying that it happened close to a tag saying “The whole of Dresden hates the police” and connecting it to the annual patriotic festival of Germany unity taking place.
France, Calais: protesters defy state ban on demo; clashes with cops…3 riot cops hurt …video here
Algeria, In Guezzam: riots with burning barricades after soldier kills young man “This comes just four days after riots were triggered in Oued Souf by citizens denouncing in particular higher electricity prices. On top of this, these people had protested against the preparation of taxes to be imposed on “high energy” air conditioners. “
India, Jharkhand: 4 villagers killed by cops during anti-mine protest following liberation of arrested leader “The villagers forcefully freed Nirmala Devi and abducted Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP), Circle Officer (CO) and thrashed them brutally. Additional reinforcement were sent. The aggressive villagers continued pelting stones on the police” The State of Jharkhand has a strong aboriginal (“Adivasi”), tribal population, whose lands are coveted for large development projects and resources. A law passed in January now allows buying tribal land for commercial use.
There were important struggles against mines or dams in this State, at least since the 50’s, which were sometimes victorious.
In August, two persons were killed in another district. They were struggling against their expropriation for an electric power plant. The Indian State exploits a uranium mine in Jharkhand, as well as a nuclear waste center. The region of course became a lethal environment for the local population.
This short note is evidently insufficient to understand the local context in details. Jharkhand saw the development of lots of political formations, the Naxalite Maoist guerilla is present in the State, etc. [Pi]
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