june 2018

 

2018  2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 

“The Junes were free and full…impending thunder…Now there comes catharsis, the cleansing downpour Breaking the blossoms of our overdated fancies Our old sentimentality and whimsicality… If only you would come and dare … If only now you would come…Now if now only”

Louis Macneice, June Thunder

“June – croon to a tune, backed bright by bassoon by the light of the moon, at the night of noon…too trite, too soon”

Joe Quing

“June cackled with delight, muttering, “Whoops!” as a car almost killed them.”
Rick Riordan

(July here  &   May here)

30/6/18:

Nicaragua, Managua: several people wounded in new clashes as demos spread throughout countryThis says 1 killed The first attack happened at 9:30 in the morning in the vicinity of the National Autonomous University (UNAN-Managua), taken by students for weeks. Two police patrols opened fire on the barricade located near the entrance to the Lomas de Monserrat districtThe socio-political crisis leaves more than 212 dead in Nicaragua, according to the CPDH. Although organizations such as the Nicaraguan Association for Human Rights (ANPDH) indicate 286 murdered.Other reports say that 2 were killed; certainly 2 have been reported as brain dead.

Sadly, for the moment, no internationalist perspective here

Iran, Khorramshahr: heavy clashes between state and protesters against water shortagesThis reports solidarity demos in 5 towns…More hereThis says crowds have armed themselves with captured assault riflesthough this says just one rifle with a few bullets was capturedand this says 4 were killed

South Africa, KwaZulu Natal: cop hospitalised as service delivery protesters use rocks against rubber bullets, pepper spray & water cannons

US, Oregon: clashes between fascists and antifas

29/6/18:

El Salvador, San Salvador: students and university workers block roads during riot against water privatisation

Kenya, Uasin Gishu: man shot dead after commanding officer is stoned during demonstration against  arrests

South Africa, Free State: service delivery protesters petrol-bomb town hall, a   Local Municipality financial office & cop’s house

28/6/18:

US, Washington DC: 100s of women arrested following occupation of section of the Senate against ICEOregon: cops dismantle anti-ICE camp “Protest coordinator Lillith Sinclair told local news station KGW8 that Homeland Security officers “have been playing mind games” for several days – placing cardboard cutouts of officers in the ICE building to make it appear as though their presence was larger, blaring Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” to keep protesters awake, while one officer walked around the encampment with an eagle mask on his head.”but this says the occupiers remain in place “DHS officers, adorned in full riot gear and brandishing automatic weapons and shields, announced a final warning to clear the entrance over a loudspeaker as they moved in, rousing sleeping occupiers and pulling down tents. By sunrise, a handful of protesters had been cuffed (seven got misdemeanor charges for failing to comply with federal officers’ orders) and the entrance to the ICE building, which had been closed since June 20 due to the protest, was protected by a line of federal officers. The office was opened and remains open, despite the contentious standoff between the feds and protesters—separated only by police tape—which was still ongoing as of Friday afternoon….”Eyewitness accounts reveal certain miserable contradictions amongst the campers “At the Portland occupation, I saw some people aggressively shamed for tagging the Tesla showroom. They were screamed at and kicked out of the occupation at 3 am. I also saw those same people later being described as white, although half of them were people of color, because it didn’t fit into the leadership’s privilege politics narrative to admit that many people of color are invested in confrontational politics and escalation. As they were verbally assaulted and kicked out of camp, they were told that because they had tagged the Tesla showroom, it would be their fault if the police came to the blockade and took children away from their parents. At the Tacoma blockade, one afternoon, a nonviolent direct action training took place. It began with two white people and one person of color aggressively shaming everyone in the space for the actions of the police. According to them, it was our fault that the ICE agents were torturing and raping people inside because demonstrators had been standing in the street the night before. It was our fault the ICE agents were torturing and raping people inside because a couple demonstrators had been drinking beer.” A correspondent writes re. the above: “As we address the spores of bureaucratic rot and the ideologies that justify it, these commentaries showing the swiftness with which things are bureaucratized and the widespread prevalence of identity politicians – who are never silenced and never physically suppressed. Their defeat should be benchmarks of political advance and of judging the coherence of the actions themselves, as much as their avowed aim of blockading ICE. If these identity politicians continue to stand in the way of a genuine proletarian internationalism, the movement will stall and be defeated.”

Portland: no ICE on the track

“…the Olympia blockade… barricaded an active railroad for 12 days. The entire neighborhood was covered in anti-police graffiti. Cement was poured on the tracks. Security cameras were taken down. Parking meters in the area were broken. At any given time, the greatest number of people you might find at the blockade would be ~50-100. At night, it was down to 5-20 people. By contrast, if we count from the first day of the overnight occupation in Portland to the day the ICE building was reopened, the Portland blockade lasted 10 days—and the number of people at that blockade was often 1000 or more.The graffiti—and the smashed parking meters, broken security cameras, and so forth—at the Olympia blockade did not cause the police to come sooner. It actually took them longer to come, despite the blockade being only a fraction of the size of the Portland blockade. At the Portland blockade, people were busy policing each other.” – here

Interesting take on Trump’s immigration policies and propaganda  …what we are living with is pre-fascism. It is easy to dismiss Donald Trump as an ignoramus, not least because he is. But he has an acute understanding of one thing: test marketing. He created himself in the gossip pages of the New York tabloids, where celebrity is manufactured by planting outrageous stories that you can later confirm or deny depending on how they go down. And he recreated himself in reality TV where the storylines can be adjusted according to the ratings. Put something out there, pull it back, adjust, go again. Fascism doesn’t arise suddenly in an existing democracy. It is not easy to get people to give up their ideas of freedom and civility. You have to do trial runs that, if they are done well, serve two purposes. They get people used to something they may initially recoil from; and they allow you to refine and calibrate….” This is very obviously limited  – not just because it comes from a journalist who intrinsically is incapable of speaking outside the parameters of bourgeois democracy, but also because, even within these very confined parameters,  he doesn’t develop his perspectives much at all. Still, a start.

Nigeria, Ibadan: police station torched after cops kill 5 during attempt to relocate butchers’ market.More here “Thursday’s clash began when some of the butchers accused their leaders of taking gratification from the government to support the relocation order.”

Ibadan

Kano: university closed after riot in May is revealed to have destroyed $1.4 million worth of property

27/6/18:

France, Essonne: 2 separate incidents of cops being stoned and/or petrol bombed by about 20 youths in banlieu; no arrests

India, Jharkhand: man dies during 20-hour faceoff between cops and villagers after 3 cops are kidnapped …when the police tried to enter the Torpa village to search for the missing policemen, the locals gathered in strength. Since afternoon yesterday, around 300 police personnel tried to reason with the villagers, asking them to go home peacefully, the police said. The face-off continued through the night and the violence started this morning, when the locals attacked the police with traditional bows and arrows, an officer said. The police then used batons and tear gas to disperse the crowd. Locals alleged that one of the men died after being beaten up. Another sustained serious injuries and is currently undergoing treatment at a local hospital.This story is not clear – the journalist mixes this account with the rape of some anti-human trafficking “activists”, but who raped them or what the connection is with the kidnapping of the cops is not clear to me at all (but then, I’m tired). It might well be that this story is not worthy of the name “News of Opposition”.

South Africa, Western Cape: roads blocked with burning cars as informal settlers protest eviction threat Residents of a newly established informal settlement named after President Cyril Ramaphosa in Philippi brought part of busy Govan Mbeki Road to a standstill and allegedly set alight five private vehicles. Traffic lights were also damaged during yesterday’s protest, sparked by rumours that their shacks would be demolished. The scores of residents said they were prepared to fight for their homes, which have been erected on privately owned land for about five months….Resident Zusiphe Ndlova said they couldn’t agree to be thrown out of their house, especially in winter. “I have three young children. I wouldn’t want to sleep outside. For the past five months we have been fighting for this land. Our materials have been taken and damaged during the evictions. We have been living as a big community which is over 300 people now” …A pregnant Xolelwa Halon said: “Many people were injured when rubber bullets were shot and one of them was admitted to hospital as he was critically injured. We were told that once he is discharged he will be arrested. We are willing to die for this land”

Peru, Lima: brief clashes between striking teachers and cops as cops stop them entering square using teargas & water cannon

Guinea, Siguiri: 10 wounded by state bullets as clashes continue over electricity cuts; governor’s plea for protesters to go home is rejected

26/6/18:

Iran, Tehran: 3rd day of angry protests (see entry for 24/6) Demonstrators had taken to the streets of Tehran on Tuesday for the third day to protest against the country’s deteriorating economy and sharp fall in the value of the national currency. Online videos showed demonstrators again confronting police on Tehran’s streets and alleyways. Similar confrontations had taken place on Monday where police fired tear gas at protesters near the parliament building. Video footage posted on social media Tuesday showed protesters setting fire to garbage dumpsters in Tehran streets to block riot police from attacking them. Other videos showed riot police breaking windows of closed shops and striking parked motorcycles with batons. The police has accused protesters in recent days of causing damage to public property. Metro stations near the bazaar were closed for hours as the result of protests, state media reported. Pictures also showed shopkeepers were on strike in other cities including Arak, Shiraz, Tabriz and Kermanshah. The protesters chanted anti-government slogans in various commercial centers in the capital”

Guinea, Siguiri: roads barricaded in protest against month-long electricity cutHQ of country’s gold company, its security offices  and a bank are smashed up

Canada, Quebec: crane operators submit to their trade union boss and the state’s courts and return to high-risk wage slavery See entries for 25/6, 22/6, 21/6 & 18/6 below. Trot report here

South Africa, KwaZulu Natal: cop shot during service delivery protest

25/6/18:

Canada, Quebec: unions show their policing function as illegal crane operators’ strike continues “The president of the Crane Operators Union again asked its members on Monday to respect the decision of the Administrative Labor Tribunal. “I urge you to go back to work and stop all strikes or slowdowns,” said Evans Dupuis, president of the Crane Workers’ Union”

South Africa, Gauteng: municipal offices barricaded in service delivery protestKwaZulu Natal: service delivery protests block roads in 2 areas of Durban Protesters burned tyres, stoned vehicles and blockaded the road in the Ridgeview Road in the Cato Manor area. Durban Metro Police spokesman, Senior Superintendent Parboo Sewpersad said: “Protesters threw also threw rocks, chairs and sofas onto the freeway”. Community Policing Forum groups and Rescue Care paramedics who were on scene also reported that a bus had been burned….around 70 people were involved in the protest action…. protests were also reported this morning in Sydenham’s Randles Road when dirt and burning tyres were strewn across the road in the area. It’s believed the disruption extended to Sparks Road towards Shifa Hospital area as well.”

US, Michigan: another ICE office occupiedNew York: ICE forced to postpone deportation hearings

24/6/18:

China, Jiangsu: violent repression of 5-day demonstrations by military veterans demanding better welfare rights, etc.  More here “After several more recent veteran protests in Beijing and other cities across China, last week a mass demonstration took shape in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, with veterans demanding better welfare rights and castigating violent attacks against other similar campaigns in China….the demonstrations show how even under the sweeping dominance of President Xi Jinping discontent persists, taking forms that can catch the government by surprise. The veterans, coming from across the country and with tight bonds formed in military service, are a particularly stubborn headache.”

Russia: Al Jazeera report on how the world cup is used as a distraction from intensified misery, surprise surprise  “While the Russian population is focused on the World Cup, the Kremlin decided to start on one of the most unpopular reforms it has had to do: increasing the pension age from 55 to 63 for women and from 60 to 65 for men….Apart from serving as a cover for unpopular reforms, the World Cup is also an opportunity for the security apparatus to flex its muscles. The authorities carried out a number of sweep operations before June 15. Earlier this year, for example, the FSB arrested a number of Antifa youth and accused them of creating a “terrorist organisation” and preparing a “coup” against the government. On June 16, during a court hearing, Antifa activist Dmitry Pchelintsev, who is one of the accused, said that he has only two chewing teeth left in his mouth; the rest were lost during torture at the detention centre where he was held….” Not so much News of Opposition, more News of Counter-revolution.

Iran, Tehran: large spontaneous demos against fall in value of rialmore here The Iranian rial has lost nearly 50% of its value in six months … Traditionally conservative, the mighty “bazaar”, as the traders are known in Iran, backed the Islamic revolution of 1979, but has used its influence several times since then to push back political plans that it considered going against his interests….In the covered streets of the Grand Bazaar near the Place aux Herbes (Meidoun-e Sabzeh), there is no open shop. Passersby walk along a succession of closed metal curtains. “It’s like that in the whole bazaar,” says a 45-year-old carpet merchant who grew up in the family shop before taking it back, “it’s the first time in my life I’ve seen this.” “The riot police intervened in the morning” against a bazaar demonstration, “arrested two men and calm returned.

23/6/18:

US, New York: loading dock of ICE HQ blocked as “Occupy ICE” spreads throughout countryMore anti-ICE protests “At a facility in McAllen, Texas protesters briefly blocked a bus that was carrying immigrants. “Shame! Shame!” they shouted at border agents….protesters set up tents outside an ICE facility in Los Angeles.”

22/6/18:

Madagascar, Port Bergé: prison & gendarmerie attacked, 2 administrative offices torched and head of official association’s house looted after arrests during conflict over natural reserve

Canada, Quebec: crane operators refuse to return to work despite the threats of heavy fines and/or imprisonment by the ruling class See entries for 21/6 & 18/6 below.

Left: “It’s not the Minister of Labour who risks his life on the construction sites”.

Right: “The state and the bosses understand just one language: strike, blockade, sabotage”

USA, Virginia: homeland security minster’s home and land lacks security The protest, organized by the progressive group CREDO Action, took place at 7:30 a.m. In the pouring rain, protesters shouted several chants over megaphones, held posters that read “Child Snatcher” and played the audio clip released by ProPublica over a speaker system.”

21/6/18:

Canada, Quebec: courts order illegal strike by crane operators to return to workThe dispute is rooted in the changes that were made to the training of crane operators on May 14th [the abolition of a training diploma to operate the cranes; rather than having to spend seven months learning the ropes, the new provision would require only 150 hours of  training ].The crane operators, discontented, claim that the changes will harm their own safety and that of the public….The CCQ warns crane operators of the penalties they could incur if they chose to challenge the prescription. “These people face fines of $ 10,000, or $ 100,000 for a corporation, and even a term of imprisonment. ” Even though the CCQ had declared an illegal strike and demanded an order to force the crane operators to return to work, they did not show up for a fourth consecutive day on Thursday, despite the call by FTQ-Constructionto return to work the day before….They demonstrated outside the offices of the CCQ, at the intersection of Crémazie Boulevard and Christophe-Colomb Street, in Montreal…. we’re being bullied from a health and safety point of view, and we’re going to come back with dead people. Before that, we had 4.5 deaths a year; after the creation of the DEP [diploma of professional studies], we dropped to 1.5 deaths per year. What will happen is that we will go back to 4 dead”.

Nicaragua, Masaya: further clashes Church sends in bishops, as if proletarians in this city haven’t suffered  enough.

France, Paris: 2 management meetings of multinational company competing for privatised railway companies invaded by union-organised striking train company workers This action probably has very little independent about it, and is probably a desperate attempt to reinforce the unions’ (in this case, Sud-Rail) militant image, a sop to those  behind-the-scenes- strikers who complain about the union but do nothing to develop independent actions. Which is not to say that the union isn’t under pressure from its base, but that unless workers begin to explicitly critique the union hierarchy, and begin to critique the social function of unions, they’ll invariably be “sold out”. See the appendix on Sud here.

India, Assam: new version of the rat race

20/6/18:

Nicaragua, Masaya: resistance to state continues, as locals set up new barricades throughout cityMonimbó neighbourhood resist state attack

South Africa, Eastern Cape: protesters against electricity cuts blockade roads with burning tyres, etc. …about 100 residents barricaded the Addo Road in various locations up to the intersection of the R335 and R334 in Motherwell….four municipal vehicles including a truck, a VW Caddy and two bakkies were damaged by an unknown amount of suspects at the Municipal Depot in R335, Motherwell. Damages ranges from broken windows to batteries being stolen. Value undetermined…protest action also erupted on Wednesday morning on the Malabar back road towards Gelvandale.”KwaZulu Natal: striking water & sanitation workers use bulldozers to dig up road in front of their department’s officesWestern Cape: 2 trucks torched in service delivery protest

US: report on man who refused to collaborate in the US state’s child abuse policies …as Homeland Security Secretary gets  her Mexican meal ruined (video here)…and in Oregon ICE  building is blockaded by activistsforcing offices to shut down temporarily


19/6/18:

Nicaragua, Masaya: at least 5 dead as state begins to re-take the town “Shooting at will, riot police and paramilitary forces took control of part of the City of Masaya, to the east of Nicaragua’s capital on Tuesday, after they broke down roadblocks, which had been set up by civilian protesters…Government’s forces also rescued the city’s Police Chief, Ramon Avellan, held up at the police station, which protesters had surrounded for nearly a month. Masaya, a city located 25 km to the east of Managua, had been under residents’ control, protesting against President Daniel Ortega and demanding his resignation ever since April 18th…The latest violence comes two months after a civic rebellion against Ortega broke out on April 18th, which has left an estimated 215 fatalities and over 1400 people injured” More hereThe city of Masaya, 30 km southeast of Managua and 100,000 inhabitants, declared itself in rebellion on Monday to demand that the president of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, and his wife and vice president Rosario Murillo abandon their power.As a result of the state attack, the police delegation of Masaya managed to be resupplied with arms and food, after a month of being isolated, because the population kept it under siege.”  It seems, from this distance, naively tolerant to have kept the police under siege and then declare a kind of independence from the official state without seizing the police station and getting rid of the cops inside, or locking them up.

South Africa, Gauteng: service delivery protests block highway with burning tyreslocal residents hijack construction vehicles to create speed bumps after hit and run accidentKwaZulu Natal: 2 lorries torched2 others looted, during protests “the protest is a result an industrial action by workers in the area. It was unclear what the protests were about “

US: head of Tesla complains about saboteur in its ranks (video)

Ukraine, Kiev: workers from different sectors clash cops as they try to break into parliament in demo for more money from the state More here

18/6/18:

Canada, Quebec: illegal, but union-organised, strike by crane operators

Gambia, Faraba Banta: fury after at least 2 protesters against sand mining are shot dead by cops …some youths gathered on the highway in order to stop ‘Julakay’ Company’s trucks from entering and leaving the village, loaded with sand. PIU Officers stationed in the village, approached them to calm their nerves, only to see reinforcement of more PIU Officers who arrived and started shooting at them. The youth who spoke to our reporters indicate that they were armed with only sticks and stones to defend themselves from the live bullets of PIU Officers, who shot at point blank range and killed two of their own. According to the youth protesters, this is what broke the camel’s back; that the fighting ensued for several hours amid chasing, stone throwing and firing of live bullets, leaving two people dead, one in a critical condition and three others seriously injured….These reporters saw the charred remains of three trucks and two mechanised shovels commonly referred to as bull dozers. The newly constructed house for PIU personnel was razed to the ground by the rampaging youth of the village. Several compounds of alleged collaborators were all burnt to ashes, by the rampaging youth.”

Australia, Tasmania: prison riot “Five prison guards have been taken to the Royal Hobart Hospital after being attacked by inmates at Risdon Prison.

Colombia, Cordoba: electricity company HQ torched during riots and road blockade following electricity cut

17/6/18:

Nicaragua, Managua: phoney truce shattered as cops set fire to house, killing 8, following refusal of occupants to allow state snipers on their roof “Local television showed images of firemen carrying two soot-streaked toddlers in diapers from the burning building. “This is a massacre. A barbarity. These police surrounded the house and burned it after my nephew refused to let them put snipers on the roof,” Jose Maria Hernandez, 63, uncle of the building’s owner who died in the blaze, told Reuters outside the smoking wreckage.” President of Agricultural Workers Union participates in talks with these mass murderers State propaganda here Nicaragua is calling for peace, said Nicarguan Vice President, Rosario Murillo, condemning the acts of terrorism and violence that caused eight deaths in this capital. ‘We had never seen so much monstrosity, so much profanation of our faith and Christian practices,’ referred Murillo, while she was lamenting the death of six people, including two children, in a fire, and the murder of two citizens by criminal groups. According to Murillo, these terrorist practices, of disrespect for the human condition, are intended to intimidate, hit, panicize the population, and in this case in particular, the Sandinistas. ‘A disaster caused according to those sinister, malevolent, perverse plans that not only provoke tragedies, pains, crimes, suffering, pains, tragedies, crimes and the suffering that they have caused,’ she said. It is totally perverse, abominable, causing pain, crime, aberration, and then, accusing. ‘How much impudence and how much evil,’ she denounced.” – vice-president Murillo looking in the mirror.

totally perverse, abominable,  pain-causing,  abberant, impudent, evil criminals

16/6/18:

Vietnam: scab (state-run) unions do their best to stifle movement “… by June 16, most of the protesting workers resumed their work, said an official of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL). Ngo Duy Hieu, head of the VGCL’s Labour Relations Department, attributed the result to efforts made by all-level trade unions nationwide which had stepped up the communication work and joined hands with the entire political system to stabilise the situation. The official said since the beginning of June 2018, there have been online calls to employees to skip work and take to streets to oppose the National Assembly’s discussion on the Law on Special Administrative-Economic Units of Van Don, Bac Van Phong and Phu Quoc and the Law on Cyber Security. Many leaflets with similar contents have also been scattered at rental houses and workplaces of workers in some cities and provinces, he added. The first incident occurred at Pou Yuen Vietnam Co., Ltd. in Binh Tan district, Ho Chi Minh City. It was followed by several foreign-invested businesses in the southern provinces of Tien Giang, Tay Ninh and Long An, and Thai Binh, Quang Ninh and Bac Ninh provinces and Hai Phong city in the north, according to Hieu. The situation reached its peak when workers of 38 enterprises in HCM City, and Long An, Tay Ninh and Tien Giang provinces missed work to take to streets on June 11. VGCL leaders said the missing was not related to labour relations but sparked by external impacts. Although there have been no losses of human life, machines and facilities, business owners expressed their concerns as their production activities have been affected. The VGCL has coordinated with the Ministry of Information and Communications to send messages to residents and workers, urging them not to join crowds and stop working, and stay vigilant over bad people. The agency has also delivered documents, leaflets, video clips, photos and appeals of the VGCL President via its website and facebook page, and newspapers in order to call on workers to reject false allegations of hostile forces. Of note, all-level trade unions have dispatched its officials to localities to deal with issues relating to labourers, asking them to keep a close watch on the situation. VGCL leaders have also underlined the need for all-level trade unions to intensify the information work and swiftly popularise policies and laws among workers. It is a must to protect rights and interests of workers in line with legal regulations, they said”

France, Bure: construction company windows smashed, stones thrown at cops, etc. during demo against construction of nuclear waste sitelots of graffiti here

Switzerland, Zurich: Gay Pride organisers collaborate with cops in violently arresting more radical gays 8 people were violently arrested during a protest against Pride’s commercialization at Zurich Pride. The action was directed against the omnipresent sponsors and the unreflected participation of the police. With the ruthless action of the Zurich police it became clear that the big annual Pride Party has nothing in common with the political origins of …the Christopher Street Days (CSD), which were originally designed to commemorate New York’s Stonewall riots……Pride visitors were given various leaflets to draw attention to the commercialization, the presence of the police and the involvement of bourgeois political parties in Pride. The head of the Pride organization intervened unexpectedly fast in the action and tried to take away the banner with the inscription “Stonewall was a Riot!”. This response underscored Zurich Pride’s strategy of eliminating critical voices as much as possible. Shortly after this confrontation, several police officers stepped in, in uniform as well as in civilian clothes. Violently and without hesitation, they arrested 8 activists with unexpected severity. Some people expressed their solidarity and shouted slogans to draw the attention of Pride visitors to the arrests and demand further solidarity. A large part of the “demonstrators” of the official parade ran past them indifferently and continued to celebrate their party. The protesters condemn the brutal intervention of the police and the silence on criticism of  existing conditions….The participation of the Pink Cops in Pride is particularly absurd …Especially for queer and trans people as well as people of color, police checks and arrests are very threatening situations. After the eight people were handcuffed away, critical queer people distributed leaflets to the participants in the procession. The arrested persons are now all free again. The activists want a queer movement that fights discrimination of all kinds, both outside and within the movement. A movement that clearly and loudly …must question its own privileges  and fight in solidarity instead of celebrating individualism.” See also this from 1979: “…the role of playing with sexual roles is so pedestrian that it is highly consumable even for the most hungup midwest tourists. While the participants in the annual gay parade may harbor illusions as to the social-political import of their regalia, the tourists go to the heart of the matter: they come quite correctly to see America’s biggest yearly fashion show”

15/6/18:

France, Essonne: individual sets fire to cop car

Papua New Guinea, Southern Highlands: 9-month state of emergency declared after airplane burnt during riots against regional Governor “Armed crowds angered over the failure of a court challenge to a regional governor’s election burned an airplane, looted a warehouse and torched buildings in Mendi” More hereBetween 100 and 200 furious men armed with sticks and guns arrived from surrounding villages in flatbed trucks when they heard of the failure of the court challenge to last September’s election of a political opponent as governor, Bongi said. They set fire to the plane before moving into the township, setting ablaze houses and two court buildings, he said. Nobody was hurt or killed and the men left by nightfall.” Undoubtedly when it concerns elections one can imagine that these men were supporting an opposing party, but maybe there were other factors behind this also.

China: report on truckdrivers “strike” See also entries for 11/6 & 8/6.

South Africa, Western Cape: report about land “invaders” (ie expropriators of the exproriators) building super-shack for 200 people

Israel, Mitzpe Ramon: prison riot following cell phone search

US, California: dangerous criminals attack everything that’s wunnerful about the US of A (stunningly insightful video!!!)

Cameroon, Nkolafamba: flea market traders riot against state after state tries to re-locate them to untenable area

14/6/18:

South Africa, Pretoria: 2nd day of clashes between service delivery protesters & cops “Hundreds of residents held protests from 5am in the morning that saw all entrances from Stormvoël Road blocked, stones hurled and rubber bullets fired by police.”protests continue after death of man due to teargas asphyxiationMpumalanga: sabotage during electricity workers strike Eskom…the power utility warned that the generation and distribution of electricity across its network was constrained on Thursday due to acts of alleged sabotage and intimidation that have characterized the current industrial action by members of the trade unions. “There have been several incidents of road blockades, attacks on staff, and wilful damage of electricity infrastructure. As a result, all road coal deliveries have been stopped for security reasons….”…Workers are demanding salary increments of up to 15 percent while Eskom is offering none.”unions show what angels they areNorth-West: roads barricaded to demand release of 5 people arrested for looting chickensWestern Cape: massive housing riots …residents have described housing riots in the area as a “war zone” or a “hostage situation” as reports started filtering through that more access and entrance points in the coastal holiday town would soon be blocked by protestors. Residents entering or exiting Plett towards Knysna have been redirected via Airport Road as the N2, from the footbridge, had been blocked by rioters. Although unconfirmed at this stage, reports have suggested that Airport Road would also be blocked today. Several schools have been closed as a precautionary measure, and motorists have been warned to careful….The seaside town of Plettenberg Bay, which comes alive during the December holidays, is a place where – like many others on the Western Cape’s picturesque “garden route”, the contrast between rich and poor is stark, and lack of housing and service delivery for the poor has come to a head in the chaotic protests this week. The protests seem to mirror similar actions across the Western Cape in recent weeks. Disgruntled residents living in an area called Esterhof took to the streets over a lack of housing and service delivery. A number of shops were looted and there was a heavy police presence in the community. Calm has since been restored in the area. Demonstrations have also taken place in Vrygrond, Parkwood, the Siqalo informal settlement, Hermanus and Gansbaai”

Burnt-out industrial estate, Western Cape, South Africa

Nicaragua: official opposition try to recuperate movement with general strike supported by businesses & the church, amongst others More here New deadly violence erupted Thursday in Nicaragua, paralyzed throughout the day by a general strike, bringing to more than 160 the number of dead since the beginning of the wave of protest against the president Daniel Ortega, harshly repressed by the regime. At least four people – including a 15-year-old – have been shot dead in recent hours by riot police and paramilitary pro-government militias against barricades erected by protesters…”For me, what is happening is a civil war,” said a student leader dubbed “El Gato” (The Cat)More here in EnglishDespite the 24-hour work stoppage that gave the capital Managua the air of a ghost town, fierce unrest in other areas persisted, leaving at least four dead during pro-government attacks on activists guarding barricades. Managua’s auxiliary bishop Silvio Jose Baez reported that a 15-year-old altar boy from the country’s second largest city Leon died after a paramilitary’s bullet struck him in the chest. “God welcomes (him) to the altar of heaven,” the bishop tweeted. He also warned of riot police indiscriminately shooting in the streets of Nindiri, a city 20 kilometers (12 miles) southeast of Managua. The Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH) raised to 162 the death toll from two months of sociopolitical upheaval…Amid the confrontations that saw a bus set alight, hundreds of women took to the streets banging on “cazuela” clay pots, waving handkerchiefs and shouting at aggressors to “go away” — a tactic that ultimately worked, according to local footage…The country was otherwise closed for the strike slated to end at midnight, the streets desolate and shops, banks and eateries locked shut….Activists have erected blockades on more than two-thirds of the country’s roads in a bid to fend off Ortega-backed forces.” The Church up till recently has consistently supported Ortega, especially when abortion for whatever reason was outlawed in 2006 (a law which was also supported by the opposition parties now vying for control over the management of misery). After all, what does it matter if a woman gives birth to a child despite her desire not to have one? – such a child may well eventually be welcomed by God, the Supreme Justification for the State,  to “the altars of heaven” having been forcibly sacrificed despite  the fact that God’s son had already died for his sins. The duty of womankind is to provide God and the State with its army of cannon-fodder. And the meek shall inherit the earth under which they’re buried. The Church, having initially broken off talks with Ortega, has returned to them – after all, challenging one form of hierarchical Order could end up with other forms, such as that of the Church, being threatened. What’s sad is that those who are now taking enormous risks against the State still seem to think that merely changing the personnel of the State, is going to somehow allow them to determine their lives, despite the fact that 40 years ago or so changing from a right-wing state to a left-wing one hasn’t helped them determine their lives at all. As is well-known, insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

France, Bouches-du-Rhône: blockade and occupation of university costs state €400,000 The list of damage is long: audio-visual material stolen, classes and amphitheaters tagged, detritus in the courts or broken locks.

El Salvador, San Salvador: demonstrators demanding withdrawal of threat to privatise water invade legislative assembly and smash things up a bituniversity postpones exams to allow students & teachers to attend demo “…the group of protesters threw stones, broke doors and windows in the legislative building. The splinters of the glass caused people to get injured, including cameraman Walter Aparicio, who was covering the event.

13/6/18:

Palestine, Ramallah: Palestinian Authority shows its collaboration with the Israeli state “…on Wednesday the PA’s response was severe: police arrested 69 activists, some of whom were arrested after the protest while they were receiving treatment for their wounds in the hospital. Security forces attacked journalists, women, the elderly, and bystanders, confiscating and breaking cameras and phones. Meanwhile, groups of Fatah youth dressed in civilian clothes infiltrated the protest and meted out their own violence.” Report on previous demo and the reasons for these demos here “…since April of last year the Palestinian Authority has placed severe sanctions on the Gaza Strip, including by refusing to pay for the electricity supply from Israel; refusing to pay the tax on diesel intended for Gaza’s power plants, leading to a major electricity crisis; cutting salaries of the PA staff in the Strip, as well as a plan to force PA officials into early retirement; refusing to guarantee medical treatment for seriously ill patients who asked to leave the Strip in order reach hospitals in Israel or the West Bank….The Palestinian Authority has been able to break the popular resistance inside Ramallah, and people are feeling desperate.”

Bolivia, La Paz: students & teachers demanding increases in education financing in heavy clashes with the state (video) More here “They have used a series of explosives, such as firecrackers folded in a very exaggerated form, sticks, stones and other things that have been used as projectiles,” denounced the Departmental Commander of the Police, Departmental Commander of La Paz, Joaquín Rivera, to Network One “But what I want to draw attention to is the use of Molotov cocktails that have physically damaged our police –  we have five injured who have been evacuated to hospitals”.

South Africa, Pretoria: area on lock-down as service delivery protesters clash with cops “Eersterust was put on “lockdown”. Upset with what they said was slow service delivery in their community, residents barricaded roads to vent long-standing grievances, which they said continued to fall on deaf ears.Constant electricity cut-offs, high rates and taxes, water restrictions and flawed RDP processes count among the issues residents are angry about. Hundreds of residents held protests from 5am, which saw all entrances on Stormvoël Road blocked, stones hurled by residents and rubber bullets fired by police.Residents who tried to get to work were turned back, but schoolchildren were given a free pass in and out the township. The City suspended its morning Mamelodi Bus Service operations in Eersterust because of the violence. Protests intensified throughout the day. Police retaliated with rubber bullets and tear gas when protesters hurled rocks, smashing the windows of police vehicles, and also striking some journalists. Law enforcement was forced to beef up numbers and a massive contingent was brought in, which included members of the SAPS and metro police….The police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to try to disperse the crowd. Youths burnt rubble and tyres along Stormvoël Road. Some residents claimed that corruption had infiltrated the municipality, accompanied by nepotism and the flouting of procurement processes. Others complained about the lack of job opportunities. They said it was a failure to recognise coloureds as a legitimate community. …“We refuse to be harassed. We won’t back down until our demands are met” “

France, Lorraine: sabotage of railway tracks by SNCF strikers causes traffic jam between Metz & Luxembourg

Germany, Bavaria: heavy clashes between cops and migrants at detention centre when migrant resists transfer

12/6/18:

Vietnam: ultra-left report “…a few in the crowds carry signs demanding things like “freedom of religion” and “freedom of expression.” In part this may be in response to a proposed cyber-security law set to pass this week that would give the state authorization to censor posts on social media and force companies like Facebook to hand over their data. Beyond that it is not unheard of for people to join nationalist rallies with various other demands and interests as the Vietnamese government is (or at least historically was) perceived as being more permissive of these sorts of protests since its legitimacy is based on its history as a “national liberation movement.”…So far, protests have included the following:

  • wildcat strikes in factories not far from Ho Chi Minh City (e.g., Dong Nai and Binh Duong provinces) and possibly at some smaller workplaces;
  • “mass protests” in (at least) Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang and some provinces;
  • blockading roads, including a 10-hour blockade of National Highway 1, the main north-south route that ties Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City;
  • attacking police squads and stations, including surrounding a squad of heavily equipped riot police and making them surrender (and strip!) before they were allowed to beat a hasty retreat;
  • attempting to seize government buildings, prevented in Bình Thuận only by the use of water canons and, in Phan Thiet, apparently successful, as a crowd took the local People’s Committee building.”

and the disarming of the cops – video from last 2 days:

South Africa, Gauteng: local mayor and leading political party leader chased out by service delivery protestersNorth West: service delivery protesters barricade roadsWestern Cape: truck torched, motorways blockaded during protests No indication of what these protests were about.

France, Neuilly-sur-Seine (near Paris): clashes with riot cops as train-drivers try to storm TV station after transmission of bullshit propaganda “…a group of striking railway workers tried to force their way through the entrance of the headquarters of the M6 ​​channel to protest against a report on the show Capital they thought was lying. The CRS posted there in anticipation of clashes firmly pushed them back. Protesters responded with projectiles and smoke. The railway workers present expressed their anger at the broadcast of an issue of the show devoted to the privatization of transport in various European countries, broadcast by M6 on the evening of June 10 and described it as “propaganda” …They denounced as manipulations and lies  the edition about working time, the age of retirement, their status and accuse it of presenting the reform in a particularly positive light….The unions will meet on the 13th to prepare for a round table organized on June 15th by Elisabeth Borne, the Minister of Transport, where they will meet employers and government.

11/6/18:

South Africa, Western Cape: looting during housing protestsOlivier said some protestors broke into Diamond Liquors where they started looting the liquor store.“Police, Bitou law enforcement and the PBCPA responded to stop the looting. The looters however retaliated by throwing stones.” He added that the situation was eventually brought under control, but it was then discovered that several businesses and factories had been burgled.”

China: ruling class issues censorship instructions about nationwide truckdrivers’ strike “All websites in all regions, immediately delete upon discovery all news on multi-province freight truck drivers, leave no stone unturned. Increase oversight, and strictly guard against related overseas media reports and provocative commentary.”

Vietnam:  demonstrations were also against laws on “cyber security”… More here “…one prominent complaint, expressed by many protestors, was against the planned cyber security law, which the National Assembly is also expected to vote on this week. It is not clear if this vote will now also be delayed, though observers say it seems unlikely. The government has worked on this draft legislation for months, which if passed could censor almost all critical comments expressed online. One article of the draft legislation rules it a crime to post material online that “offends the nation, the national flag, the national emblem, the national anthem, great people, leaders, notable people, and national heroes.” Another requires companies that host websites where such content is posted, including Facebook, to regulate material. Controversially for foreign-based firms, they will also be required to store data domestically. “The goal of Vietnam’s proposed cyber security law appears as much to protect the party’s monopoly on power as to protect network security,” Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a press statement.”

Nicaragua, Managua: at least 4 barricaded popular areas invaded by heavily armed cops The assault began at dawn with a simultaneous operation in El Edén, Larreynaga, Costa Rica and Ducualí, where police and civilians armed with AK-47 rifles raided homes, shooting people. “The police entered in vans and on foot firing at those who were in the barricades on the El Paraisito bridge and behind them came the ‘mobs’ (paramilitaries) smashing the barricades,” a neighbor told a dpa agency. “People had erected barricades with paving stones to stop the nightly harassment by the paramilitaries who move in trucks,” … hours earlier, in Las Maderas, some 50 kilometers north of Managua, the National Police and the “para-police” forces attacked peasants who were blocking the road  in protest against Ortega. In that place at least two dead and five wounded were reported,…Violence in Managua preceded violent riots on Sunday night around Chinandega (northwest), Boaco (center) and Sébaco (north), where police and paramilitaries attacked demonstrators who had placed “barricades” (roadblocks). ). In Boaco, protesters reported skin burns when sprayed with an unknown acid by government-affiliated groups on Sunday night.” Milukuku: 2 cops killed, 1 kidnapped in assault on cop station More here The blockade of almost 70% of the roads seeks to protect the cities from attacks by paramilitary groups and to pressure the government to agree to negotiate an agenda to democratize the country…Some 6,000 cargo vans from Central American countries that were in transit through Nicaragua were trapped with merchandise on the country’s roads…The operation against the blockades began early Monday morning in the capital, where villagers placed barricades of paving stones to protect themselves from paramilitaries who move in trucks and fire at night at everything that moves….The American airline American Airlines canceled its flights to Nicaragua scheduled for Monday and Tuesday for security reasons due to “civil unrest”…In Leon, 90 km northwest of Managua, civic groups called for a work and school stoppage for 24 hours in response to the government’s repressive escalation….Between Thursday and Sunday, six people were reported dead in Managua, Masaya, Sébaco, Jinotega and Mulukuku (northern Caribbean region) during attacks by irregulars and anti-riot forces on positions of entrenched settlersmap of major roads barricaded

Mali, Kayes:   protesters against lack of local employment in gold mine torch Prefecture offices and houses of Prefect and Vice-Prefect, as well as new biometric voter cards; protester killed 

Bangaldesh, Dhaka: garment workers clash with cops

France, New Caledonia: 800 meters of conveyor belt at mine destroyed by arson attack, the 3rd this yearVendée: overhead cable of trainline sabotaged during railway workers’ strike

US, Pennsylvania: earth-digger immobilised in solidarity with ZAD struggle in FranceIowa: anti-drone/military graffiti

10/6/18:

Nicaragua, Leon: 3 cops sequestrated by locals are freed

Vietnam: clashes during protests (rare in Vietnam) throughout country over proposal to grant companies lengthy land leases to Chinese ruling class as well as a new Big Brother Cyber-law More here (semi-Maoist site) “..this insurgent popular nationalism is increasingly an obstacle, rather than an asset, to the ruling Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP) and its development schemes. In this post, Đã Thành Đồ Sơn digs below the surface to contextualize recent events in terms of widespread Vietnamese Sinophobia….rallies were held all over the country. A collection of videos can be viewed here. From chants of “99-year SEZ, object, object!” protestors moved into more militant language as the day progressed, such as “Overthrow China!”(đả đảo Trung Quốc) and “Overthrow the Cyber Security Law,” a new measure that will suppress anti-regime speech and greatly restricts the de facto freedoms afforded by Facebook….Significant resistance to police repression took place in the seaside province of Bình Thuận. Home to Chinese-invested coal plants that have polluted the ocean and destroyed the fishing economy, ethnic hatred has been further compounded by the fact that many of the impoverished local families have been forced into peddling services, including sex work, for the Chinese plant administrators and engineers. This local situation has no doubt added fuel to the fire there….The protestors subsequently besieged numerous government buildings throughout the town, forcing the local government to flee….a proletarian movement that is both anti-regime and anti-nationalist seems to have become nearly unthinkable in present-day Vietnam.” …and here “… police in Bình Thuận used tear gas and water cannons but failed to prevent protesters from entering a government building they later vandalised” and  here “… protesters in Bình Thuận province on the south-central coast had blocked traffic and thrown rocks at police.” (videos here, here, here & here)Cops uniforms and equipment burnt en masse after they surrender to the protesters. “On Friday a small march took place in Bình Thuận. And on Saturday, the workers at the Pouchen textile factory on the outskirts of Saigon went on strike and blocked State Highway 1, the country’s largest highway….Some iteration of the China conspiracy haunts them all. From the failing Hanoi metro project, to theTaiwanese Formosa Plastics invested steel plant.. all are framed as the latest move in a millenia-long chess match wherein Viet independence faces off with timeless expansionism…. Opposition to the planned project first arose in late 2008 on the grounds that the projects would devastate the environment and further marginalize the area’s already oppressed ethnic minority communities. … Vietnam. Bin Thuan. After surrendering to the opponents of the special economic zones, the riot police units had to put down their shields and all their equipment. The rioters then set them on fire.”

See below:

 

US, California: fuck golf!

9/6/18:

Vietnam, Saigon/HoChiMinh city: workers at  textile factory go on strike & block country’s largest highway More here “The anti-China protests – the worst seen in Vietnam since 2014 – began on Saturday at Taiwanese-owned shoe factory Pou Yuen in Ho Chi Minh City…Thousands of workers have also taken part in strikes across southern Vietnam since the unrest began, including at Pou Yuen and Ching Luh, another shoe factory in Long An province, and at Tan Houng Industrial Park in Tien Giang province, according to Minh Hanh. Adding to the simmering anger towards the government is a new cybersecurity law that will require digital businesses like Facebook and Google to store the data of Vietnamese users in Vietnam.”

Nicaragua, Masaya: pro-government sniper killed during clashes 

A man holds a homemade mortar shell used by anti-government protesters in Masaya


“No smoking” signs are everywhere in this wooded area near Masaya, a town in western Nicaragua that has become the epicenter of violence in recent days. But it is not tobacco that is problematic: the area contains all the explosives needed to make homemade mortars. The demand for these shells tinkered on an improvised bench corner has increased sharply in recent weeks. They are now the favorite weapon of demonstrators fighting the riot police of President Daniel Ortega’s regime…In a small clandestine workshop in the open air, a man wearing sunglasses, his face covered with a blue cloth not to be identified, mixes by hand the necessary ingredients: potassium chlorate associated with carbon, sulfur , aluminum and some sand to give weight. He pours the mixture into a tube of artisinal paper, adds a stiff wick and knots the whole thing with a red cord…From his small factory that he nicknamed “The artisans of Monimbo” – the name of the Masaya district at the forefront of the rebellion against the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza, which in 1979 brought Daniel Ortega to power and whose inhabitants have risen against this Sandinista leader – he explains that these weapons are used for protest and self-defense, adding that they “do not cause lethal wounds. It’s a way to protect ourselves during this fight,” he argues.Alvaro Torres, a mechanic in Masaya, makes the launchers with tubes and military equipment, assisted by his neighbors. The whole district is mobilized “to prevent the massacre of  people,” he says. “This is obviously artisanal – but it works to repel the enemy,” said the 47-year-old, saying that making these mortars – which takes him about an hour each – is vital “to be prepared.”  These weapons aim above all to frighten; once fired, the shells explode almost instantly, causing a loud explosion and an impressive cloud of smoke. A mortar shell that reaches its target can hurt, recognizes a 20-year-old activist nicknamed “The Fox”, but the goal is mostly to push government forces away from the barricades in the streets by the protesters. A mortar wound will cause “just a burn or sore but it’s not deadly,” he says. For this resident of Masaya, protesters are in any case engaged in an asymmetrical battle because “the police are armed with Kalashnikovs” and “they are the only ones to have access to weapons. People repel them with stones, Molotov cocktails or mortars, these are the only things we can use to beat them.” The dozen mortar shells are trading between 400 and 450 cordobas (12 to 14 dollars), but prices are on the rise because the government has imposed restrictions on the sale of powder.  As for the companies that market the chemicals necessary for the preparation of ammunition, they are now closed, complicating the task of manufacturers, says the founder of “Artisans de Monimbo”.  But it will continue, he says, because mortars help keep security forces at bay and help protesters achieve their goal: “peace in Nicaragua, not war.” The mechanic Alvaro Torres is of the same opinion. “In the end, I think everyone will have to arm themselves,” he says. To achieve a simple goal: To keep defending ourselves until everything stops.” –
here

Before: mortar bombs, Masaya

After: mortar bombs, Masaya

Below: facilities of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (Magfor) in  Jinotega torched

Australia, Brisbane: cops retreat after concert-goers kicked out of venue clash with cops Video here

France, Gard: war memorial tagged

Above: The inscription below, which read “Glory to our eternal France, glory to those who died for her” has been changed to “…glory to those who died for nothing”

Below: other side of monument – “The police kill”

8/6/18:

China: truckdrivers block roads as they go on strike against high fuel prices  in different parts of  country …the Hong Kong-based China Labor Bulletin, which monitors labor unrest, counted strikes in at least a dozen places. Touching off the protests was an unsigned message that circulated widely on social media. “We can’t take it anymore, we have no choice but to stand together!” it read. “We definitely won’t survive with the ridiculously low transport fees we’re being paid.” That message was deleted by censors, as were photos and video footage of striking drivers and traffic at a standstill” …More hereThreats of retaliation were also issued against drivers who did not join the strike “anyone still hauling cargo be warned: we will smash your vehicle,” the message said.”

Nicaragua, Jinotega: 12-year-old shot dead by Sandinistas as barricades continue to spread  The calm experienced in Jinotega broke down at eight o’clock on Friday night, minutes after the bishop Monsignor Carlos Enrique Herrera managed to get the leaders of the barricades in the city to commit themselves  to not continue building more barricades and to maintain the peace….When Monsignor Herrera returned to the episcopal palace of the cathedral jinotegana, paramilitary groups opened fire on those who were on the barricades and merchants  taking care of their businesses…Archbishop Herrera said that before the calls for help he communicated by telephone with the Sandinista mayor Leonidas Centeno and with the police chief…to help the wounded, and to deliver  the body of the 12-year-old boy Abraham Antonio Castro Jarquín, who died of a bullet impact, to his parents”

Belgium, Liege: wildcat train strike “Train traffic of the SNCB is experiencing disturbances this Friday morning, with several cancelations of convoys, due to a movement of spontaneous discontent by several drivers who were to start work at the Welkenraedt depot.… the socialist trade union has “nothing to do with this action”.  The discontent is linked… to a file “passed on Wednesday by the joint sub-commission” for a revaluation of the position of train drivers within the company. If this revaluation goes hand in hand with an upward wage review, an increase in productivity is also expected, which would be the source of discontent on the part of some drivers.” More here The wildcat strike at Welkenraedt may be spreading, but the CGSP trade unionist says “it’s very hard to say … it could start up anytime, anywhere.”

7/6/18:

Canada, Quebec: minor clashes with cops at anti G7 summit

6/6/18:

Nicaragua, Masaya: youth killed on 4th day of total blockading of town by insurgent youth Entering Masaya is practically impossible. All the streets of Masaya have barriers, which are being surveilled by the inhabitants of the neighborhoods – they are well organized. These have been made since last Sunday, since people became tired of these (of the mobs) coming to kill people, looting businesses and setting fire to businesses and houses… until yesterday there was no shortage of basic grains or perishables in the shopping center, since the small producers of districts near the center of Masaya continued to take their products to the municipal market” More here and here in English Dozens of barricades, cobbled together with tree trunks, concrete paving stones, metal signs and nail-studded planks, block the path into the heart of what was once a bustling tourist town famed for its artisan market. Mortar-wielding combatientes stop, question and search passersby. Stencil artists have set upon homes and businesses with spray cans to pour more scorn on their president. “Go to hell Daniel, you murderer,” is one recurring motif. Meanwhile, perhaps 50 police officers are said to be pinned down inside a local station. “We have no more law,” said Father Edwin Román, a local priest”

barricades in masaya

Ivory Coast, Abidjan: students clash with cops over lack of medical facilities and housing Police fired tear gas at stone-throwing students in Ivory Coast’s main city Abidjan on Wednesday after they blocked a key bridge to protest at living conditions. Students from the National Institute of Youth and Sports blocked traffic for nearly an hour on the 1.5km Henri Konan Bedie Bridge – one of three vital arteries that span the city’s lagoon. The demonstration broke out after students tried to get treatment for an classmate who had been injured while playing sport. “The (institute’s medical) centre was deserted… and there were no ambulances either. He was transported to hospital, where he died,” student Henri Kao told AFP, saying the death was a symbol of official indifference. The students also complain over the fate of 4 000 housing units built for the 2017 International Francophone Games. “We were promised housing but we are still waiting”

France, Calais: clashes between riot cops and migrants – cop knocked out “The police and the riot cops are stoned almost every night”

Israel, Tel Aviv: shop windows smashed during riots between pro- and anti-government Eritreans

5/6/18:

Mexico, Jalisco: indigenous Indians take 15 federal, state & municipal officials hostage for 9 hours in land dispute The incident took place early yesterday morning after the officials arrived in the Wixárika town of San Sebastián Teponahuaxtlán. But when they failed to deliver documentation regarding the allocation of funds to a social program intended to help solve the territorial conflict, Wixárika representatives suspended the meeting…The meeting was a follow-up to agreements that were reached last month after blockades cut off access to 35 communities and closed schools and health clinics.”

Peru, Lima: cop vehicle burns during demonstration against luxury purchases by congress while  austerity’s imposed on the vast majority

Lima

India, Utter Pradesh: corporation workshop bus, motorcycle and police jeep torched by students in riot against eviction from university hostels during summer break

France, Valence: 2 screws’ cars torched outside prison Morehere“Photos of the private life of a guard were left behind and an inscription was tagged on a wall saying “first warning “.”

4/6/18:

South Africa, KwaZulu Natal: parents close down school over health hazards, etc. Pupils and teachers at Wentworth’s Austerville Primary School arrived at the school on Monday to find they had been locked out. Concerned parents and community members have vowed to keep the school closed until the KZN Department of Education addresses urgent matters of mismanagement at the school. These include toilets that have been labelled a health hazard to pupils and a “crisis” with the school’s financial management.”Western Cape: service delivery protesters burn tyres, chuck molotovs

Uganda, Mbale: truckdrivers block streets and council gates in fight against awarding of  offloading and loading contract to large company “Over 300 truck drivers and owners stormed the streets with their trucks and blocked republic street and gates leading to the Mbale Municipal Council main building. They staged a demonstration and held a procession into town. They were chanting songs and sending insults to Mbale municipal council deputy town clerk, Kenneth Khatuli, they accused of being corrupt. They blocked the streets, leaving other stranded and paralysed. This forced the Police to heavily deploy in order to calm the situation. Most Mbale Municipal Council employees who had already entered the council premises locked themselves inside their offices. A group of truck drivers launched a hunt for the deputy town clerk and councillors in town, but fortunately, they had been informed and fled to safety…. “We are not going to pay taxes until Mbale Municipal Council aAuthorities resolve the matter. Equator company belongs to UPDF senior officer Kayanja who has now deployed his juniors to collect the loading and offloading fees,” he said….Mbale Municipality Mayor Mutwalibi Zandya said …“The rules are clear that the contract cannot be given to people who are not organised.”

UK. London: particularly obnoxious “comedian” has his Rolex robbed and Range Rover wrecked

3/6/18:

US, Oregon: fireworks and bottles chucked at cops as antifas clash with nazis More here

India, Tamil Nadu: cops impose reign of permanent fear on Tuticorin See entries for 25/5, 23/5 & 22/5 here

Georgia, Tbilisi: metro closes down as “illegal” strikers go on hunger strike

UK, Fife: youths torch monument  celebrating ruling class massacre horror shock!!! Cowdenbeath Conservative councillor Darren Watt has condemned the thoughtless act and is urging parents to make sure their children are aware of the history behind such monuments. He said: “The residents of the town are absolutely furious and disgusted at the latest vandalism of the memorial…. to target a memorial for fallen war heroes is simply unacceptable….I hope… [parents] try educate them about remembering those men and women who sacrificed their lives so they can enjoy the freedoms they do today.”The memorial was previously targeted in March this year when vandals drew on it with marker pens. The Ancre Somme Association of Scotland also condemned the latest attack….“War memorials are not political or religious symbols, they are part of who we are as a nation. Whoever did this needs to be educated. They also need to be exposed to Police Scotland as soon as possible. Our brave men and women are respected by the vast majority of tolerant and decent Scots.” War memorials are undoubtedly part of what individuals who identify with a nation have been reduced to:  hypocritical representations of respectable “decency” –   the  “lest we forget” mentality that  forgets that war memorials are generally a way of justifying capitalist  war, wars that have the pretension to be ones fighting for our freedom, when we know full well that any  margin of freedom we have, a “freedom” that is “enjoyed”  less and less, is one that was fought by our side in the class war. In this upside-down world, an attack on these monuments to sacrifice is considered “thoughtless’, the knee-jerk cliché  of those who accept dominant thoughtlessness. Of course, religion and politics are not simply symbolic – they’re invariably used to inculcate  the ideology of sacrifice to the rulers’ nation; and these twins are part of the conditioning that demands people who attack these monuments to atrocities be “exposed” to the police as part of their “education”, which undoubtedly shows us what dominant “education” is all about. Whilst war atrocities continue and those who lead them are in power, fortunately some people show how “decent” they are by refusing to “tolerate” the memorials put up by murdering scum who justify them. [see entry for 9/6/18 – France, Gard – above]

2/6/18:

Nicaragua: at least 6 dead as Masaya, La Concepción and Diría experience street confrontations with the state

Greece, Athens: clashes between self-styled anarchists and self-styled police

Germany, Hesse: 100 music festival-goers attack cops with stones & bottles The clashes injured 15 law enforcement officers, more than 80 of the attackers were detained. Most of the detainees are young men, although among them were women. Among the protesters were the Germans and the foreigners. Many detainees were in a state of strong alcoholic intoxication….The police suggest that many small groups have joined the attack “for the company”. Investigators didn’t find any “strategy” in the actions of the attackers, in particular, the political background.” More here The interior minister of the state of Hesse, Peter Beuth, condemned the attacks, calling for the minimum sentence for such offenses to be raised from three months to six months. Such attacks did not just represent an offense against police, but also “against our constitutional state and our society”

1/6/18:

France, St.Etienne: fires & anti-cop graffiti follow near-death at motorbike cops’ hands (same thing on 2nd June) In press releases, the cops “justified” their deliberate driving into the side of the 4-wheeler bike (the favourite method of the French filth, often causing death) because the guy had no helmet and the bike had no registration plates. Result: multiple fractures and severe head injuries. Witnesses said that the cops also tampered with the scene. On the Friday, there were 18 fires, on Saturday something similar. On Sunday a gathering of 200 people took place at the location of the “accident”, demanding justice.Drôme: 2 industrial wind turbines torched

Jordan: anti-austerity protests in several cities “Protests hit in several other cities, including Irbid and Jarash in the north, Zarqa in the east, and the southern city of Maan, which was rocked by deadly riots in the late 1980s over rising food prices. Police said some demonstrators overnight “attacked” law enforcement agents and “tried to attack public and private property”. They warned they would resort to force if necessary. “ More here “…protesters called for the fall of the government while blocking roads with cars and blazing tires. “Riots and protests reported in almost every corner of the countryreport by an apparently anarchist architect & academic  …right- wing report on aspects  of JordanSaudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates …pledged to provide Jordan with a cash infusion of $2.5 billion to help the arid kingdom prop up its free-falling economy. Separately, the European Union announced that it would provide Jordan with $23.5 million. The hefty Gulf State bailout is testament to how seriously they view the problem. Jordan has recently experienced a spasm of popular unrest and widespread demonstrations, sparked by tax increases and painful austerity measures implemented by King Abdullah II’s prime minister, Hani Mulki, to deal with growing debt. In 2016, cash-strapped Jordan secured a $723-million loan from the International Monetary Fund. The economic reforms instituted by PM Mulki were tied to this loan but proved to be widely unpopular. Jordanians watched as subsidies on basic food items were eliminated and standards of living declined while taxes increased. Paychecks got smaller while everything became more expensive. This was enough to push Jordanians over the edge. As the riots spread to every province and major town, Abdullah moved quickly to quell the unrest by firing his prime minister and reversing previously implemented tax hikes and austerity measures. The move has ameliorated tensions and demonstrations have tapered off for nowthe monarchy’s years may be numbered. The Gulf States are cognizant of this, hence their willingness to dig deep into their coffers to sustain a fellow Sunni ally.”

Mali, Bougoudalen: on 12th day of protests against mine company’s expropriation of free-for-all gold panning site, 4 protesters are killed “A demonstration of the people of the village of Bougoudalen in the circle of Yanfolila against the restrictions of the general management of the Komana Mines Corporation (SMK-SA) degenerated into a clash with the police. The provisional report mentions four civilians killed by gunshot and about thirty wounded, four of them serious. … a gold panning site called “Dola” …, several decades old, is a place where the inhabitants of the village came looking for gold to meet their daily needs. Unfortunately, since the installation of the new Komana Gold Mine, the miners have been ordered to leave the site on the grounds that the site is in the exploitable area … the people demonstrated on Sunday, May 20, by attacking the facilities of the SMK. According to our sources, a white worker in the company was even held hostage by angry protesters for a long time. Faced with the anger of local people, the mine management sought and obtained reinforcements from the security forces to maintain order. The closure of the gold panning site of Dola in Bougoudalen by SMK on May 28, 2018 set fire to the powder. After hearing the news, some 100 angry people made their way to the mine’s facilities on Tuesday, May 29, 2018. During the clashes between the police and the demonstrators, live ammunition was fired. The toll is heavy: four civilians killed and thirty wounded including four serious. On the mine side, several materials were ransacked. Several demonstrators were also arrested….among the demonstrators were several foreigners including Burkinabe, Guinean and Senegalese….At the time of going to press, the situation was still tense and the populations intended to continue their demonstrations until the stop of all the activities of the mine….”

 

Comments

29 responses to “june 2018”

  1. Daisy avatar
    Daisy

    More news of proletarian revolution brought to us through the good auspices of dialectical delinquents, our daily gleaner.

    Hip hip hooray babylon a fall down:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLydP8KvdrI

  2. James avatar

    Long live the dictatorship of the proletariat [without apology]

    http://diariometro.com.ni/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/2.jpg

  3. James avatar

    “Police reportedly detained more than a dozen people in the capital Hanoi and halted demonstrations in other cities.”

    Bum-Bah-Claats (BBC, 11/6/2018)

    The pictures betray a different story.

  4. James avatar

    Sam:

    “What’s sad is that those who are now taking enormous risks against the State still seem to think that merely changing the personnel of the State…”

    The proletariat has no illusions in political change. You make a sad mistake to imagine such vain things.

  5. Sam FantoSamotnaf avatar

    You’ve spoken to “the proletariat”? And “it”‘s assured you that “it” has “no illusions in political change”? more likely is that you presume to represent “it”. And this from someone who retrospectively idolises Haile Sellassie! The fact is that enormous amounts of proletarians – in Nicaragua and elsewhere – talk about getting rid of their present elected rulers and replacing them with others. There are, of course, proletarians who have no such illusions but it’s Leninism (ie “the proletariat” as representation) to say that “the proletariat has no illusions in political change” – the proletariat consists of masses of individuals not some amorphous mass with one opinion.

  6. James avatar

    “…the proletariat consists of masses of individuals not some amorphous mass with one opinion.”

    A social class is not an amalgamation of individuals. You are the one, Sam, that thinks you can get into the mind of a social class.

    1. Sam FantoSamotnaf avatar

      You don’t respond to the contradiction I pointed out in what you say – ie that “the proletariat has no illusions in political change” whilst you continue to have some illusions in a fucking Emperor – a repulsive politician.
      And having firstly said “The proletariat has no illusions in political change” then say it’s me “that thinks you can get into the mind of a social class”, though apparently saying “the proletariat has no illusions in political change” is not indicative of a belief that you have got into the single mind of the proletariat (single because it is not an amalgamation of individuals).

      Also, as usual, you give no explanation or evidence of where I think I “can get into the mind of a social class”. Really your will to self-contradictory one-up-manship makes all discussion with you, who apparently is not an individual but merely part of “a social class” without individuals, impossible. You’re so dominated by Left Communist ideology (or some variation) that you can only imitate things that you clearly haven’t struggled to sift through, to sift out the good from the bad, and so end up making sense only to yourself – the route to solipsism..

      1. Sam FantoSamotnaf avatar

        Admittedly, I should have said “many of” before “those who are now taking enormous risks against the State still seem to think that merely changing the personnel of the State, is going to somehow allow them to determine their lives”.

  7. James avatar

    The proletariat has no illusions because it is a social class, not an individual, therefore has no mind, to have illusions or consciousness.

    As to my Jewish religion — acceptance of Menen Asfaw and Haile Selassie as the long awaited messiah — that is a purely individual matter, as His Majesty rightly pointed out.

  8. Sam FantoSamotnaf avatar

    I guess it never bothers you that all your sophistry doesn’t connect or contribute to anyone or anything – because, as the representative of a proletariat that has no mind, illusions or consciousness, you are incapable of being bothered by such things – since it requires a mind and certainly consciousness to be bothered. But I’d also guess that sometimes even you have doubts, niggling doubts that cross your mind before you repress them consciously.

  9. James avatar

    It was just a little criticism I made of something you have written on this page. I don’t think my criticism justifies your tirade. I think the criticism is valid.

    The people engaged in a civil war with the state are not the same people that hold illusions as to the efficacy of political change.

    1. Sam FantoSamotnaf avatar

      Of course if these people ” has no mind, to have illusions or consciousness” then by definition they have no illusions. But yet again you assert something without the slightest evidence, and yet there have been interviews with insurgents where they just talk about getting rid of Ortega and having a better form of government. Which is no surprise to anybody other than you who assert the contrary out of some abstract optimism. But then you’re always asserting abstract stuff and often not making sense (as if the proletariat, supposedly the class of consciousness, has no consciousness), and almost invariably providing not one single concrete speck of evidence. Which is why your “criticisms” definitely justify my tirades: you do no research nor attempt to recount anything specific or give any indication that everything you say is just an opinion you send to the site like other spectators might have an opinion that they just hurl at the screen. I constantly have the feeling that you’re just waiting for some big event that measures up to your notion of an uprising but will do nothing towards this event.

  10. James avatar

    Insurgents cease their insurgency to give interviews?

    There really is no end to your bluster, Sam…

    1. Sam FantoSamotnaf avatar

      If you check out this, for instance, you can see (through Google translate if you don’t read Spanish), that this woman involved in the insurrection speaks of “returning to a democratic state with strong institutions”: https://www.laprensa.com.ni/2018/06/03/suplemento/la-prensa-domingo/2428873-enrieth-martinez-de-la-coalicion-universitaria-esta-es-una-revolucion. There are innumerable other instances – such as the placing of the national flag on the barricades in Masaya and elsewhere – which show that this movement obviously – like almost all movements throughout history – has illusions and contradictions. Only you believe that things are far far more simple than they are because such a belief allows you to come out with optimistic slogans as a substitute for some kind of reality-check, as a substitute for some kind of research, other than the useless abstractions that dominate your discourse and that come out of your head because you believe they’re true, but can’t be bothered to find out if they are – something you constantly do and which make what YOU say mere “bluster”.

  11. James avatar

    “13/6/18:

    Palestine, Ramallah: Palestinian Authority shows its collaboration with the Israeli state…”

    All national and international states — including Palestine and Israel — form an unholy alliance against the working class.

    ‘We watched, mouths agape. “I cannot believe they are this violent — these are Palestinian police, not Israeli soldiers,” I [democratic petty bourgeois] said to Taysir [when one of his panoply of illusions forms a puff of smoke in his vacuous mind] .’

  12. James avatar

    “It seems, from this distance, naively tolerant to have kept the police under siege and then declare a kind of independence from the official state without seizing the police station and getting rid of the cops inside, or locking them up.”

    Sam, you sound like Marx admonishing the Communards for not attacking Versaille. Perhaps you are both right, perhaps not. It is easy to act the General when we are not in the thick of it.

    1. Sam FantoSamotnaf avatar

      As I said – “from this distance”; nevertheless in Thala in Egypt during the Arab Spring young men attacked and took over the police station after the cops had started killing, so really sometimes it’s just a matter of taking a very courageous risk with the possibility of dying because if you don’t take that risk you know the years ahead are going to feel like being buried alive and may even lead to a horrible death as well. In Bin Thuan in Vietnam cops were disarmed just a few days ago – so, although it’s certainly easy to act the General when you’re not in the thick of it, there are lots of instances when those in the thick of it don’t hold back..

  13. James avatar

    Of course, there are obvious reasons why the course of action you propose (retrospectively) would have been unwise under the particular circumstances. For one, hostages serve no military purpose if they are dead; another would be the superior fire power of the police. The weaponry available to the insurgents was adequate in a defensive capacity but quite inadequate offensively.

  14. Sam FantoSamotnaf avatar

    In Thala they seized the arms at the police station. History is littered with examples of insurgents seizing the state’s arms.

    1. James avatar

      Speaking from personal experience, it would be one matter to set up defensive barricades in my town against police incursions, quite another to attempt to capture the highly fortified police station which lies outside of town. I do not know the logistics of Masaya or even whether overrunning the local police station would have any strategic importance — presumably the local police are heavily reinforced by armed forces from outside of town.

      Just to demonstrate my ignorance of history, the Communards did attempt to capture Versailles and were sorely routed. I will leave it to our soldiers on the ground to do as they fit. I certainly do not ascribe their tactics to naive tolerance. That is just not how I perceive it.

  15. Dave avatar
    Dave

    I’m Vietnamese and living in Vietnam. The latest protests, while mobilizing many workers, are not proletarian and not anti-nationalist. They’re mainly motivated by their hatred of China and of the government, there’s almost no sign of class consciousness. In fact, these protests could be considered pro-Western, because the ultimate organizers are Vietnamese living in Western countries and serving the imperialist agenda. Furthermore, the government has ruined the name of communism here so much that communism is like a curse word in many Vietnamese’s minds, including the workers.

    BTW, that province’s name is Bình Thuận, not Bin Thuan.

    1. Sam FantoSamotnaf avatar

      ” the ultimate organizers are Vietnamese living in Western countries and serving the imperialist agenda”
      How are they organising from outside the country? And what does “serving the imperialist agenda” mean? US imperialism as opposed to Chinese imperialism? Since the US has massive investments in the country are these seen as beneficial even though they pay poverty wages? And what about the demonstrations against cyber security? Surely there’s a margin of class consciousness (or at least a consciousness against the state) in those aspects of the demonstrations?
      And what was the wildcat strike on 9th June in Saigon about? Only about Chinese economic imperialism or about something more?

      Be really interested if you could provide more details (without risking endangering yourself, obviously).

  16. James avatar

    “…the government has ruined the name of communism here so much that communism is like a curse word in many Vietnamese’s minds, including the workers.”

    This is universally true, in my country as in every other. Just because the word is a dirty one does not mean that the actual movement for communism is not alive and well, in Vietnam, as elsewhere.

    “Since the proletariat must first of all acquire political supremacy, must constitute itself the nation, it is so far, itself national, though not in the bourgeois sense of the word.”

    Communism is NOT “anti-nationalist”. The events documented on this page ARE demonstrably proletarian in nature.

    1. Sam FantoSamotnaf avatar

      The confusionist says “Communism is NOT “anti-nationalist”, and yet we know that the workers have no nation. James invariably re-organises what constitutes a revolutionary perspective to mean absolutely anything, and therefore means nothing. I don’t know who that quote is from, but it’s Leninist bollocks and – insofar as there have been politicians like Stalin who’ve taken this as a green light for acquiring their political supremacy in the name of the proletariat – a good reason to hate “communism” as an ideology (not as the real movement, but the word is so tainted it seems pointless to retain it). Whilst aspects of the actions are definitely anti-hierarchical and independent of any political factions to confuse the issue by saying that the movement against this world is not “anti-nationalist” is truly absurd, even by James’ absurd standards.

      At the same time, it’s obvious that one cannot reduce movements to their explicit “conscious” content – the Paris Commune started off as a defense of France from the German army. Whilst the movement in Vietnam has not gone as far as to take over a whole city, in Bình Thuận they forced the state to disarm and – if the reports are correct – the local state had to leave town, at least temporarily. However, the nationalist (ie the anti-Chinese state ) aspects are easily recuperated by sections of the Vietnamese Communist Party vying for control. Dave – I’d be interested in how these opportunist factions are seen – by you and by others you know and how you think those demonstrating see these factions. Obviously it will depend on whom you speak to.

    2. Sam FantoSamotnaf avatar

      James – if you continue writing rubbish (and often rubbish contradicted by facts which you don’t bother to answer when I point out the contradiction) you’ll be banned. You’re just a spectator similar to all the rest though with an eccentric Left Communist ideology that makes you believe you’re a bit different. You’ve obviously settled down to a complacent mentality that doesn’t experiment or research or do anything but state things without the slightest will to discover or revolt or do anything other than just state an abstract opinion. An opinion just to prove you’re not silent, but not stated from a desire to unravel the truth of a situation, or from a desire to make some consistent sense or from a desire to contribute to your own and others struggle against external authority and received ideas.

  17. James avatar

    FYI, the quote is from the manifesto of the communist party. issued by the League of the Just, latterly The Communist League, in 1848, if my memory serves me correctly. It is not News.

    1. Sam FantoSamotnaf avatar

      So if Marx (Engels contributed little to the Manifesto) believes “Since the proletariat must first of all acquire political supremacy, must constitute itself the nation, it is so far, itself national, though not in the bourgeois sense of the word” it must be true, because Marx is the great guru of communism and everything he said is by definition the way, the truth and the light – even if he sometimes contradicted himself. But James sees no contradiction in putting down a Greek group for being “national anarchist” (when in fact, they’re internationalist but operate mostly within the borders of Greece): see comments under one of his various pseudonyms from here onwards:
      http://dialectical-delinquents.com/news-of-opposition-5/2018-2/february-2018/#comment-276662

      In fact, it’s obvious that this quote by Marx could have been used by Stalin to justify ‘socialism in one country”. The struggle against alienation is also a struggle against politics and nations (and what other sense of the term “nation’ is there other than a bourgeois – or feudal – one?).

      Those who adopt and imitate the opinions and writings of others without filtering them through a nuanced critique or testing them in practice, hardly reflecting on their own lives and experience in anything but the most vague and general manner, invariably sound like, and are similar to, fundamentalists quoting the Bible or the Coran as Truth, a symptom of their need for some fixed petrified hierarchical security as distraction from the struggle for the more uncertain questioning of connecting to a community of struggle, the only basis for developing genuine security without external authority .

      All further contributions to pointlessness by James will be suppressed. If, however, he provides this site with some interesting facts, they’ll appear here. In the extremely unlikely instance of him providing interesting insights rather than repeating other people’s abstractions, these too will be allowed. But I’ve tolerated his constant time-wasting for too long. As the introduction to the site says: “This is not an open access site: it has no pretensions to being “democratic” in the sense of being welcoming to absolutely anybody. Anyone who persists over time in dogmatic ideological arguments which go nowhere will be censored and/or banned. Undoubtedly there will be many who have ideologically petrified notions whilst also having some lucid ideas and interesting facts to contribute. But if they persist in pursuing their dogmas impervious to argument, then their comments will be suppressed. The aim of this site is not to get into head-bashing ego-battles, to repeatedly refute the same stale ideas, but to develop perspectives that clarify and help advance social contestation, to bring a breath of fresh air.”

  18. James avatar

    Oh Sam, I just read the bit about quoting the bible:

    “And all who shared the faith owned everything in common; they sold their goods and possessions and distributed the proceeds among themselves according to what each one needed.”

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