Barcelona: undercover police "agent provocateurs" in action (pics)

copy&paste | 28.06.2001 01:52

These people pretending to be masked-up demonstrators carrying wooden and metal sticks, are actually Spanish police "agent provocateurs" detaining protestors in last Sunday's 40,000 strong anti-globalisation demonstration in Barcelona.
Now the Campaign BCN-2001 is filling a legal suit to force the Spanish Ministry of Interior to acknowledge in court police’s illegal conduct over the weekend of actions against the World Bank in Barcelona.

Barcelona: undercover police "agent provocateurs" in action (pics)

copy&paste
e-mail: _

Comments

Hide the following 18 comments

?

28.06.2001 10:11

Can't really see what is going on in these pics. Please give some more details.

%-0
mail e-mail: blindmind@runbox.com

explanation of pics above.

28.06.2001 11:30

well... people pretending to be masked-up demonstrators carrying wooden and metal sticks, are actually Spanish police "agent provocateurs" detaining demonstrators.

Last Sunday there was a 40,000 strong and peaceful anti-globalisation demonstration in Barcelona. At the end of which, the police "agent provocateurs" staged clashes with the riot police so to provoke a full scale riot in an attempt to further criminalise anti-capitalist and anti-globalisation social movements in the Spanish State. The crowd didn’t fall for it, even though, the riot police charged the demonstrators gathered in Pça Catalunya several times. This has been widely reported in Spanish corporate press and TV stations, and now, more than 300 groups and social movements involved in organising Sunday’s demonstration, are filling a legal suit to force the Spanish Ministry of Interior to acknowledge in court police’s illegal conduct over the weekend in Barcelona.

That’s what the pics above are all about...

dtby

fucking pig scum die

28.06.2001 13:04

to all the real fighting class people give them under cover fucking pigs a beating smah there heads and piss on them wipe u ass on them fuckers our world our fight smash the wto imf wef burn it all down now

the ghost
mail e-mail: no way

hit the fuckers back

28.06.2001 14:18

Good on you mate, that's the spirit, don't moan about the "bad cops", "oh my go what are they doing! Why do they not recognise our constitutional rights? We only wanted a day out and they spoiled it by taking our rhetoric seriously". The cops are the fucking enemy, either we want revolution or we don't? The cops might have started it but what was to stop the 40,000, well a lot of them from kicking the shit out of them? the State protects Capitalism, we must smash one to destroy the other, unless we want to replace Capitalism with another fucking draconian society?
The next time we see the cops attacking someone on the street, don't fucking moan about the "legality" of it, fucking stop them?
Cheers
All power to the people

alfonso
mail e-mail: al@bigfoot.com

Global Terror

28.06.2001 16:32

The World Government is feeling smug, just look at smirking Bush and leering Sharon, they have been implementing the NWO for over 75 years without any resistance or challenge whatsoever...all that's about to change, turn the tables and wipe the smile off their faces.

Mossad

"arrest" the pigs

28.06.2001 20:41

Damn right. The dirty fucking pigs'll do what they can to provoke the violence they strive on in their everyday lives in OUR cities. Next time, WE need to "arrest" them and demand release of OUR comrades....or the pig scum gets it. If they wanna turn up on OUR streets in OUR clothing, then they can expect to get it!
No Surrender!!

Trouble

undercover police

28.06.2001 20:56

The biggest threat to any demonstrator is not the uniformed Police but the undercover ones. A tactic used here in Seattle ( essentially by Anarchists) and in Eugene, Oregon to counter these tactics is the employment of 'un-arrest' squads who shadow those who might be arrested ( for whatever reasons) and pounce on any Policeman trying to make this arrest. It sounds simple... but I've seen it work.

m.
mail e-mail: hackworth.m@ghc.org

Provocative provocateurs

29.06.2001 12:03

I'm not convinced that 'kicking the shit out of them' is the best response. After all, by their very definition 'agent provocateurs' are there to provoke a reaction - and a reaction that doesn't take much to ignite in a lot of us (myself included). I'd imagine that those police monitoring this topic are loving it. Personally I'm more in favour of the 'un-arrest' squads.

b-alert

Arrest

03.07.2001 14:34

I like the idea of treating the police just like they treat us. If the police starts arresting demonstraters, we car arrest them for kidnapping. As soon at our comrads are released, we can use exsactly the same means back on the police. We shal not treat them any better or worse then they treat us. That ll be justice.

At least we must be a lot better organized in Genoa etc. than earlyer. The police are better prepered than ever, so must we be. I was in Gothenburg and felt like a sheep in a flock hunted on by wild predators. Never agin.

Kimrun

Got slated

03.07.2001 20:32

A few weeks ago I got slated on these very pages for saying that violence was playing into the hands of the police. i stopped short of saying that the people being violent on marches were undercover cops, or at least hired by the cops to start trouble, but wanted to say it, but now I wish I had.

Matt
mail e-mail: nashmatthew@hotmail.com

Agent Orange

04.07.2001 22:01

Un-arrest squads and a coating of flourescent orange paint or spray, or even harmless powder would quickly mark out any agent provoc's/undercover police whilst they perform
their clandestine duty.

AnarchyAnt
mail e-mail: 4tony@pragma2.fsnet.co.uk

violence cannot overcome violence

08.07.2001 11:32

“darkness cannot overcome darkness, only light can do that. Just as violence cannot overcome violence, only love can do that” martin luther king

wandock
mail e-mail: ollyw@iinet.net.au

mlk

09.07.2001 20:48

... you're kidding?

m.
mail e-mail: mogwai 98102

agent provocateurs enter discussion?

11.07.2001 13:53

If ghost & alfonso aren't agent provocateurs they are simply naive idiots who react in exactly the manner that the provocateurs wish. You make it easy for them. Putty in their hands. 'Kick the shit out of the cops to bring down capitalism,' you're taking the piss right! The rest of us need to be more forceful in telling the idiots they are a damaging force within the movement, or face a pathetic defeat. We need to stop saying 'hey man I'm not sure thats the best way of responding.' It quite clearly isn't and needs to be stated as such. You going to bring down the most militarised regimes in history with violence? Where do you keep your fleet of bombers and ballistic missiles? It is of cause the logical extension of using violence as a means. Same old mistakes again and again.

phil
mail e-mail: philchapman@avu.org

phil

11.07.2001 20:17

It's all about self defense. No one is talking about missiles or bombers. People have a right to demonstrate. I live in Seattle and the Police here (and elsewhere) have become increasingly aggressive- especially towards peaceful demonstrators. The issue is not whether the state can be overcome by violence- it obviously cannot at this point in time be done. The issue is how to respond to state violence... I'm willing to listen to any ideas you might have... I think a combination of tactics- both violent and peaceful- are nessecary to keep the authorities off balance. But let's stay away from this 'agent-provocateur' nonsense... it only serves to divide and marginalize the tactics and beliefs of those you may not agree with... but should at least respect... The Police need no excuses... believe me...

Trade unions the key

19.07.2001 10:56

Its absolutely right to say that self-defense is no offense. Its also a good idea for activists to try to anticipate the actions of police; whether in corralling protests, random arrests or trying to provoke trouble. Certainly the stakes seem to be raised with every action. We are hurting them!

However, tactics on a demonstration are really only a small part of the overall battle, and should be weighed up in terms of how do they help us achieve our aims? What forces outside those currently demonstrating should we appeal to for support?

In my experience, once a movement becomes a real threat to the state, there are two factors that determine the amount of police intervention on demos: (a) trade union support, involvement and mobilisation, and (b) sheer size.

Naturally, these are not mutually incompatible, but the first is more important. Thus the Welling (UK) demonstration against the Nazis was attacked in 1993, a demo which had over 60,000 people on it. The police, then and now, defended the Nazis. Why? Because the UK trade union leaders hid behind a general opposition to racism and supported a *different* demo the same day (in the centre of London, pulling a few hundred).

The point about that demonstration was that 60,000 people came together, including many individual trade unionists, to stand up to the Nazis, and came away much more clear about the nature of the state. Instead of weakening the ANL, it strengthened it.

Back to the present. I think the main question facing us is how to get large numbers of trade unionists onto our more militant nonviolent activities, rather than allow them to be shepherded away by the trade union leaders. The 'trick' is to work together in solidarity beforehand and afterwards, supporting any action they might wish to take against their own employer, but raising the general politics. Privatisation and neo-liberalism, health and safety issues and the environment, rights to organise and rights to demonstrate. These are the same problem from different standpoints. United, we are the many, they are the few but also, we are the strong and they are the weak.

Sean Wallis
mail e-mail: s.wallis@ucl.ac.uk

unions

19.07.2001 20:34

I agree that getting the unions involved is crucial. The unions (especially Seattle area unions) filled the streets with thousands of additional marchers and that was crucial to the success of WTO 1999. But in the U.S the Union leadership is very politicized and can be easily bought... they can also be rather timid and at a very crucial time the Union marshals steered thousands of people away from the impact zone... leaving many people exposed to police abuses. There has to be a way to radicalize the rank and file... to break with the traditional Union hierarchy. I can't speak for Britain... but I do not trust at this time my Union... they would sell me and all my co-workers for just a moment in the spotlight with a politician! The irony here is that we still need them...

Divide and rule

22.04.2002 15:39

apart from agent provocateurs, the forces of the state(s) capitalism and fascism (which is showing it's ugly, but heavily made up face again) have one major weapon against all of those who stand for freedom: they are united in their aims and methods. This discussion is demonstrating the divsions of the moderate left, liberals and anarchists that have plagued the fight for human rights for far too long. we need to unite in our aims and first get rid of Governments whose agenda is 'rule by the rich, of the rich and for the rich. Do not get hung up on small ideological details or your movement is doomed to failure. Take a lesson from the tragic Spanish Civil War.

objectivity