Brussels: Solidarity demo with prisoners of this morning's occupation
Uri Gordon | 12.12.2001 19:10 | Brussels
About 50 people demonstrated this evening in front of a police centre in Brussels, demanding the immediate release of the activists arrested this morning during the occupation of a corporate lobby's offices
The activists had been arrested during an action taken in connection with the EU summit of Laeken, when an international coalition occupied the offices of CEFIC, the European lobby group of the chemical industry. The solidarity demonstrators peacefully stood in front of the police barricades that had been erected in the streets surrounding the station, chanted and beated on drums. One activists attached flowers to the barricade.
In the morning occupation event, the activists had entered the first floor of the building early in the morning, and later a support group including a samba band arrived outside an intitiated a demonstration. Police forces, who had followed the support group, entered the building and immediately arrested those who did not manage to go up into the fifth floor. The latter locked themselves down in that location and were arrested subsequently.
In total there were about 40 peopel arrested, most of them from Belgium and the Neterlands. Initial reports indicated that some of those arrested would face charges, but subsequent clarifications carried otu by their lawyers revealed thet they had all been administratively detained and are due to be released later this evening. During the afternoon, police began putting several Dutch activists on a bus, probably in order to deport them. The activists did not
know where they were being taken, and in the commotion that arised some of them were struck by the police. At least three of the Dutch activists are confirmed to have been deported already.
The chemical industry forms an important part of environmental problems, on top of that, it tries its lobby organisation CEFIC to block an effective European environmental policy. In order to do that, the organisation tries to spread a positive image of the chemical industry. The organisation was picked as a target because it symbolises the disproportional impact of big corporations in designing the present form of the European Union and the current form of globalisation. The initiative, the goals and the form of present day European Union have not been decided by the population, but by big economic interests.
In the morning occupation event, the activists had entered the first floor of the building early in the morning, and later a support group including a samba band arrived outside an intitiated a demonstration. Police forces, who had followed the support group, entered the building and immediately arrested those who did not manage to go up into the fifth floor. The latter locked themselves down in that location and were arrested subsequently.
In total there were about 40 peopel arrested, most of them from Belgium and the Neterlands. Initial reports indicated that some of those arrested would face charges, but subsequent clarifications carried otu by their lawyers revealed thet they had all been administratively detained and are due to be released later this evening. During the afternoon, police began putting several Dutch activists on a bus, probably in order to deport them. The activists did not
know where they were being taken, and in the commotion that arised some of them were struck by the police. At least three of the Dutch activists are confirmed to have been deported already.
The chemical industry forms an important part of environmental problems, on top of that, it tries its lobby organisation CEFIC to block an effective European environmental policy. In order to do that, the organisation tries to spread a positive image of the chemical industry. The organisation was picked as a target because it symbolises the disproportional impact of big corporations in designing the present form of the European Union and the current form of globalisation. The initiative, the goals and the form of present day European Union have not been decided by the population, but by big economic interests.
Uri Gordon
e-mail:
uri@riseup.net