The raid on the school buildings is shocking to say the least. The UK media are saying that the police did find weapons and this is the excuse they will no doubt use to defend their actions. I have said before and I will say again - this is the reason why it is so important not to resort to violent demonstrations. I am not saying this would not have happened - I am sure it would (or similar)but the few people that are using violence are making it easy for the governments and police to get away with actions such as last night. To the violent protesters - please stop. To the rest of you there - you have my support. Please be careful today.

reply to sue, your common sense message would make sense in a common sense situation, genova is not that.
the italian cops have beaten up people at border crossings
at motorway toll boothes ect ect . there is now no doubt that agent provocatuers were active disguised as anarchists.

this is repression of the highest level

Thank you for representing millions of us not in Italy.
I for one am holding you in the light.

Here is a copy of a letter I sent to the Italian Embassy in Ireland, about one hour before the despicable raids on the IMC and GSF. Another one will go out later today.
I urge all to send your protests to your local embassy, via Email, phone, fax or snail mail. Thank You.
C, Dearg,
Ireland
...


Letter of Protest to Italian Embassy

21-07-2001 (G21)
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing to you, the Italian
Embassy,in protest at the rash and unforgivable actions of
your States paramilitary police force in Genoa
yesterday (20-07-01), i.e. the murder, (not
manslaughter), of protester Carlo Giuliani, 23, who
attacked a Carabinieri jeep with other protesters
during Friday's unrest. This is the most blatant form
of State repression yet to emerge in the Globalisation
debate, or rather non-debate.

The leaders of the G8, as with those of
other such global summits, summits that effect all,
choose to meet in secret behind closed doors where no
positive debate is possible. That is why people such
as Carlo see themselves as having no other option than
to resort to violence against a global force that is
being violent towards the vast majority of the people
that inhabit this planet. In effect, what has happened
is the killing, as Carlo was brutally and
cold-bloodedly shot down (and then reversed over), of
both democratic freedoms such as the right to
progressive and positive debate and the right to
gather, organise and protest.

Also, I have no doubts that the police
force of your State (and others) have acted on
occasions as Agent Provocateurs in the protests,
thereby legitimising the unnecessary and brutal force
meted out to protesters, both violent and peaceful.
One report has come to me, via the BBC website, of up
to thirty 'officers of the law' beating four
protesters. Such acts of terror by the State can only
serve to further widen the gap between protesters and
the world leaders. This only serves to reinforce, in
my mind, the Machevallian tactics being used by the G8
to stamp down on peaceful dissent. It seems you are
with the capitalists or you run the risk of a beating
or, in Carlo's case, death for your troubles.

This death is a turning point in the Global
Resistance's existence, and although I do not advocate
them, reprisals logically appear to be on the agenda.
And who can blame us, we were angry enough to begin
with and now your State, under the leadership of Mr.
Berlusconi, has slain one of our comrades. You have
given the movement its first martyr and upped the ante
for the next round of global conferences. Let us hope
that Carlo will be remembered as the ONLY martyr to
the movement. However, that is not up to us, it is up
to the global hegemonic forces of the G8, WTO, World
Bank etc etc. The onus is now on these institutions to
open full democratic debate and desist from hiding
from the people they are SUPPOSED TO REPRESENT. While
the leaders of the G8 feast, those of us who care
about the world mourn.

I stand in solidarity, although he has now
permanently fallen, with my anarchist comrade Carlo,
if indeed he was an anarchist. Our loss is also
paradoxically our gain. Like Bobby Sands and the nine
other 1981 hunger-strikers, we will not forget him and
what he died for, a better world free from the evils
of Global Capitalism and the tyranny of the few
against the masses.
Yours in Absolute Disgust,
K Squires,
Irish Socialist

Please don't blame your fellow protesters for the violence of the cops! They are not to blame for the actions of others. We are all responsible for ourselves.

Lets not bring Bobby Sands into this.
He was a terrorist. Terrorists kill innocent civilians.
The IRA are terrorists. So is the the CIA. So is NATO.
We don't like terrorists and we don't like Bobby Sands.

I believe we should condemn all violence.
If we can have the maturity not to answer violence with violence then we will have a better chance of winning.
We can't afford to let the opposition have anything on us. If some of the people with whom we are loosely affiliated are violent then that is not only seriously damaging to our credibility but it also gives the police an excuse to brutally um.. hurt us.

rip carlo guilani st martin pray for him. only violence was from the pigs. bobby sands rip was not a terrorist he was a workin class hero and a political prisoners just like those arrested at genoa.

I can only hope that this kind of treatment,in Genoa, which seems typical of all police, against dissent, will catch up to and backfire against these brutal actions by the police,at the instigation of the governments hosting these various economic meetings, such as this G8 at Genoa. Most people might attribute the police action, of this type, as starting in Seattle, during the WTO gathering, in Nov.-Dec.1999, but how many have heard of "The APEC Affair?" I recently ordered and received a book,found through one of my emails, PEPPER IN OUR EYES: The APEC Affair, edited by W.Wesley Pue, of the University of BRitish Columbia, Canada. The event was the Asiap-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, held in Vancouver, Nov.1997. Pepper spray was there, as were people arrested for carrying signs saying "Free Speech."

I do not think the police,in Seattle, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. Philadelphia,Davos, and Sweden,etc.could care less about anarchist and peaceful demontrators,when it comes to dissent. I can only think they have orders, however direct, or implied to treat all dissent alike,with brutality, with brutal attacks,regardless of the actions of the protesters. It was reported that the police,in Seattle,ignored the anarchists and went after peaceful demonstrators and that has been the pattern ever since. I applaud the brave protesters, especially those most peaceful. The police do not seem to know what the word peaceful means. Anybody facing them is the enemy and the enemy gets no mercy, no respect,no humanity. The police must have learned their tactics from Hitler's GESTAPO, from the US School of the Americans,and maybe we can throw in the CIA and other US "intelligence" agency's, including the Executive Office.

I recently recieved a t-shirt,from the folks at fringefolk,com. It is dark blue, on the fornt is the American flag, in all its colors, below that the words "This American Patriot PROTESTS,the corporate-controlled GEORGE W. BUSH." On the back are the words "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abriding the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of greievances." The First Amendment(to the US Constitution).

The package came with a label,on it is the American flad, with a dollar sign were the stars are and next to that are the words OF THE WEALTHY, FOR THE WEALTHY, BY THE WEALTHY GW BUSH'S AMERICA. That is the theme of the likes of the G8 summit,now,before and in the future so long as these meetings take place. One thing GWBush and these other so-called leaders lack is brains. Their corporate democracy will end because infinity, in capitalism of this type cannot exist for infinity. They are just too stupid to know it,sp caught up in the wealthy for the wealthy, they forget they lack the numbers.

Coninuted good luck in Genoa,etal.

As far as we know there was no violence on the part of the people who were raided at Italy Indymedia and Genoa Social Forum.

And the so-called weapons found by the police were some kitchen knives, as far as I know.

The police lined people up and beat people to unconsciousness.

The Genoa Social Forum is the umbrella organization that organized PEACEFUL protesters. They even got the hundreds of groups they were involved with to agree to not bringing or using offensive weapons.

Latest reports of July 22, 2001 Italy Indymedia and Genoa Social Forum raid, brutality, injuries, torture, arrests. LINKS.
 http://sf.indymedia.org/display.php?id=102089

From coordinator of medical service:
" ... we were inside school. we were preparing reports; all was quiet. police came in and started to beat everyone that was around the school. police entered. police started beating people inside. we were shocked at the screams we heard. police arrived in medical room. they checked our papers. when they let us go after an our [HOUR?] ... then ambulances arrived. we were prevented from checking the status of anyone. when police left we entered the building. all the building was covered in blood. we were slipping in the blood stains when entering in school. we walked around the building, slipping in pools of blood. we were the first entering in there, after having being stopped for one hour."

Press Conference, Genoa Social Forum. Brutality. UK Indymedia reporter in coma from Indymedia-Italy raid in Genoa, July 22, 2001.
 http://sf.indymedia.org/display.php?id=102135