Bruxxel (Eng)
jeudi 22 novembre 2001
BRUXXEL.ORG

The context

* Belgium, whose capital is also the capital of the European Union, currently holds the EU's six-month presidency. On the 13th, 14th and 15th of December she will host a crucial inter-governmental conference at which the EU's grand ambitions are : draft a European constitution, enlarging the Union to the east, public services and privatisation, arranging a common asylum, unemployment, education and immigration policy, and so on.

Always pushing for more liberalisation and further away from the people that they are meant to represent, this Europe has built itself an ivory tower. Isolated from the outside it conceals from the public eye the business men and “technocrats”, and the policymaking bureaucracy, corrupted by profit and power and lorded over by non-elected commissioners. This european power is neither transparent nor democratic.

The stakes

* From 2004 onwards, there will be triannual european summit meetings in Brussels. This nice little “present” was brought to the residents of Brussels by the Belgian government returning from the summit in Nice in 2000. The news left them rather breathless. How many more building sites will have to be erected in the city to welcome these summits ? How many districts that are theoretically devoted to housing, will see the erection of modern fortresses called office blocks ?

* But it is not only a local question. The fate of the movement, that is gaining momentum and it often misleadingly labelled “anit-globalist”, is in jeopardy. Using the violent incidents at Gothenburg as excuse, heads of state are directing public opinion against anyone who dares to disagree with their idea of the future. They have initiated a mad campaign aimed to criminalise any organisation that voices opposition to their vision of Europe. This media-led campaign has rashly branded participants as “brick-throwing mob” and “politically motivated hooligans”.

* The habit of confusing lobbyists and citizens and human beings with products seems no longer enough for European decisionmakers, nor running an obscure administration and policymaking bureaucracy. They have positioned themselves to profit from the outcry that followed the violence at Gothenburg. For them “learning from past mistakes” means imposing previously inconceivable security measures, for instance as during the match of Euro 2000. The Belgian government has duly announced that it will adopt a “zero-tolerance” policy during the time of its presidency. Will they intentionally classify all protesters as hooligans from now on ?

* Unconventional measures have been announced for the six months of the Belgian presidency and specifically for the summit in December : creation of a special anti-terrorist cell close to the prime minister, prohibition of demonstration in the city, infiltration and surveillance by State Security (secret service), preventive arrests, etc.. To leave these measures unchallenged would be to set a dangerous precedent infront of our very eyes and in our name. It would also be to condemn Brussels to become, in the near future, occupied territory where only politicians, lobbyists and technocrats can walk and live at will.

The project

*Our associations and collectives based in Brussels want to host, as is proper, a true political convention. In contrast to what is planned for the heads of state, we aim to create a meeting place open to all and to create the space for political discourse, actions of solidarity, playful and creative encounters and a big fiesta on the roads of brussels. In short, the aim is to reclaim public space for the public voice.

*It is not our aim to block the summit. Instead, since the belgian government chose to entrench itself behind the royal palace of Laeken, we consider the rest of Brussels to be a free zone, which can be animated and welcoming for all those that have not been invited to Laeken.

* We want to take the chance and emancipate the voices that are drowned out throughout the year by the mainstream media. We intend to initiate meetings and establish links that bypass all poltical borders. With these actions we aim to illustrate that true legitimacy does not rest with the poltical machine that calls itself the European Union, blindly rushing in a direction where their citizens’ preferences might not lie.

* Hence the emphasis will be on initiatives that build towards a “different Europe”, one that is generous, without borders, based on egalitarian principles and solidarity. Even though the movement is often defined by what it opposes (“anti-globalisation”), the vision of a ‘different’ europe is based on a construtive collection of experiences and proactive proposals. The project is not just wishful thinking but a set of real alternatives, perhaps local in nature but tangible and real.

Preliminary Meetings

*From the 20th to the 23rd of November : First encounters on the following issues : immigration, criminalisation of solidarity movements collaborating with deported and ‘without-papers’. The idea is to create a space that encourages an exchange of ideas and experiences on topics concerning immigration. In particular : Illegal work, questions of legal status, and the unreality of the open borders of Schengen.

The following associations have agreed (some provisionally) to participate at this meeting : Forum Civique Européen (France), Conseil des travailleurs maghrébins d'El Ejido (Spain), Association des Travailleurs Maghrébins (France), Maison des Ensembles (Paris), F.F.M. (Berlin), Longo Mai (France), Collective of expulsed of Mali, but also members of a cultural and political organisation from the region of Oaxaca in Mexico, representatives from the east, Lofti Chengly d'Attac Maroc, Yann Moulier Boutang, etc.

*From the 5th to the 9th of December, the Nova Cinema will organise the first meeting of independent television stations from around europe and beyond. Objective is to bring together, often for the first time, groups that have similar experiences and methods. During the day : workshops, initiatives, conference in little groups. During the evening : Projections, presentations, discussions and public meetings. The culmination of this meeting will probably be setting up an information and resource network.

The following television channels from across Europe, pirate, local, community projects or associations, will participate during the five days : Indymedia (Belgique, USA, etc.), Zaléa TV (Paris), Kraak-TV (Germany), Clot-RTV (Spain), Coordination permanente des média libres (France), Pirata TV (Marseille), etc. Des télévisions populaires du Vénézuéla (Teletambores, Catia TVE, TVC Rubio), du Brésil(Maxambomba), from Colombia, India, Africa and from Palestine will also participate at this meeting, with the proposal to start a "JT international des quartiers".

*Radio Bruxxel - temporary radio for the time of the summit. The aim of this radio is to inform on an independent basis about the summit's stakes, with a broadening to non strictly european questions.

Launched by a collective of Brussels independent radios (Radio Air Libre, Radio Panik, Radio Campus, ...) and associations (Indymedia Belgium, Nova Cinema, ...), "Radio BruXXel" would like to call for collaboration with other partners : independent radios in others towns and other countries, sound collectives, independent producers, sound systems, journalists ....

Radio Bruxxel will be on air for four full days : from december 13 to december 16 of 2001. The studio will be located at Cinema Nova, a central and open place (that will host an international meeting of independent televisions a few days before). The programs will be broadcasted live on the FM frequencies of the participating radios. Any other place in Brussels will then have the opportunity to tune in and broadcast the programs. Furthermore, the programms will be broadcasted in live high quality audio streaming on the Internet, allowing for any radio in the world to get the signal and broadcast it in full or in part.

During the four days, the programs will be rythmed with a hourly multi-language news flash. The rest of the broadcasting will be sliced in 25 or 50 minutes modules

The radio modules will be as different and complementary as documentaries and reports, debates, analysis, interviews ; but also press reviews, cartes blanches, satirical interventions, radiophonic pie throwing, jingles, fake commercials, etc. All with a musical mix focused on diversity of genres, styles and origins, and of course with a accent on live original creations (sound-systems and live concerts).

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Activities concurrent to the “summit of Laeken”(13th to the 15th of December)

* From the 13th to the 15th of December : Belgian and foreign collectives that will participate at the demonstration and at the streetparty will be able to use the space and infrastructure provided by the halls of schaerbeek. The halls will also act as information centres, meeting points and concert venues. Computers will provide free access to specific websites for consultation and information transver.

* From the 13th to the 16th of December : Cinéma Nova will host an multitude of independent medias : The “press centre” will feature video montage, web casting and a radio studio in collaboration with Brussels’ free radios. Images and films will be broadcast via the Indymedia website. Radio programs will be transmitted via several local frequencies and will be connected to other radios in Europe (of which some will participate in the conception of the programs). Several public spaces and cafes in brussels will be equipped with computers connected to the Indymedia website. These venues will also diffuse the radio programmes.

* From the 13th to the 15th of December : forums, actions and thematic meetings in various locations in Brussels. The accent will be on representatives of initiatives that formulate new cultural, social or poltical practises. From the farming co-operatives to the collective against immigration politics, these locations -be they on the road or in centres- will host a cultural and political brain storm of ideas and open participation. * The 13th of December : Demonstration of European syndicates.

* The 14th of Decemeber : Rally with the theme : “Challenge 2001” organised by Attac.

* The 15th of December : Streetparty with sound system and loudspeakers, rally around the theme mobility : Action theatre, music and performaces throughout the city. A celebratory march that will progress towards the site of the final concert.

* The 15th of December, after the Street Party : a great free concert to close the festivities in happyness and good faith. An alternative use for public space is a coming-together to party without musical prejudice and rigid rules. The diverse origins of the music will mingle during this concert, where jams are encouraged and the word fusion should take on several meanings.

Numerous groups, sound-systems, musicians and DJs have been contacted. The following, from outside Belgium, have already given notice of their interest : Tarace Boulba(France), Babylon Circus (France), The Ex (Holland), Spaceheads (UK), Antoine Chao& Fréquences Ephémères, Amparanoia (Spain).

The location of the concert, still to be confirmed, will be determined by its capacity and the ease of access (between 5000 and 10 000 people). What we ask of the groups is that their participation is free. For our part, we undertake to raise all the money neccesary for the organisation and the infra-structure of the project. We cover expenses for the travel to and fro, the accommodation and the food. And for some groups we will organise or help organise a concert tour, normally paid, for the days before or following the concert in Brussels.

The organisers

We are a collective that unites the members of the City Mine(d), the Cinema Nova, the Collectif against deportations and the Collectif sans ticket. Created and directed by individuals, on a mainly volonteer basis, we share the will to change the status-quo in our chosen sectors.

For more information on the groups : www.bruxxel.org

Also : www.nova-cinema.com www.collectifs.net

The concert is also supported by a community group which joins already more than 30 associations, both french- and dutch- speaking, and which will organise the demonstrations of the 14th of December.

Contacts :  fiesta@bruxxel.org /  2001@bruxxel.org

text from  http://www.bruxxel.org/article.php3?id_article=40

MORE INFO AT:

 http://www.belgium.indymedia.org

Actions, Street party & concerts D15
 http://www.bruxxel.org

International Demonstration D14
 http://www.D14.be

"Another Europe for Another World"
 http://www.anothereurope.org

European Trade Union Rally - Brussels 13th
 http://www.etuc.org/en/