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DIRECT ACTION BLOCK FOR NEXT ANTI-WAR DEMO

kon4m | 05.03.2002 23:54

Strategies for next anti-war demo: the creation of a Direct Action block.

In the light of the events of the March 2nd demonstration I think we need to build a new strategy for the next anti-war demo, keeping in mind the needs and desires of those who want to engage in Direct Action and Civil Disobedience. Many people within the movement believe that simply walking and yelling (actually there wasn’t even much screaming to be heard!) in the streets is ineffective and unhelpful to the ultimate cause, which is to STOP the war, especially considering the non-existent media coverage the demonstrations get. It actually gives those in power the possibility to say: “look how democratic we are, we allow dissent” because they don’t feel threatened by it. I speak in the name of those who believe that we have to bring the struggle to the next level. It must be clear that this is not a violence vs. non-violence issue: it is a question of finding new creative ways to resist and to fight, and actually stopping the system from the working, to gain attention for our cause. The same way that I, as an anarchist, respect those who choose completely legal ways of dissent, at the same time the rest of the movement has to respect those who choose other forms of resistance, instead of just labeling any form of protest other than peaceful marches as “violent”. Obviously it’s crucial that everyone knows what they are getting in to and that no one from the peaceful march gets involved against its own will. So how can this be done? I believe the best way would be to form a Direct Action block that at one point brakes off from the main march to follow its own route and its own objectives. Through a democratic process we could agree what route to follow and which targets to hit. For example it could be decided that we “attack” the US embassy. The block, which should stay united at all times, could then brake off from the march and try and brake through police lines or whatever. The block doesn’t need to limit itself to one action, that’s the beauty of it: one section could blockade the road, another one could engage in property destruction etc. The whole point is that the block will be united in its broad aims and ready to accept the consequences. Under no circumstances should the rest of the march be put to risk. I think we should get together all the groups and individuals who want to join the block and the get involved in a dialogue with the Stop the War Coalition so they can then take action accordingly. How much we should actually say is an important point, as to what extent we should act as an autonomous group: from the moment the STWC organizes the march with the police if we are completely open about our aims we could be met with excessive police repression. A surprise element could play at our advantage but could endanger the rest of the march. This is a point to discuss. I hope to start an open, democratic discussion about the creation of a Direct Action block for the next anti-war march.

In Solidarity,

kon4m

kon4m
- e-mail: kon4m@hotmail.com

Comments

Hide the following 18 comments

nice idea

06.03.2002 00:38

Yeah I think that's a good idea (I've just bin watchin' footage of the '68 anti-war demos that tried to get to the US embassy - they were so fuckin' tame! Don't know what all the fuss was about...).
Anyway, that was the reasoning behind the anticapitalist bloc at the big one in November. Mass decision-making procedures were set up, but unfortunately the samba band were chosen as an easily-identifiable marker. They (or certain elements within the band) decided to act unilaterally, forget all of the previous arrangements and go and fucking stand in Trafalgar Square and listen to the fucking MPs speak.
As yet I have still heard no explanation of this.
Any takers?

red'n'black


Stick to completely legal ways of dissent

06.03.2002 00:38

"one section could blockade the road, another one could engage in property destruction etc. [...] from the moment the STWC organizes the march with the police if we are completely open about our aims we could be met with excessive police repression." That's the problem with the police nowadays - they just won't let people get together to smash things up like they ought to.

But seriously, any destructive behaviour will just do damage to STWC and endanger all their marches, and stop them getting their message across while just angering people who might otherwise consider joining with them. Okay it probably *will* get you news coverage but not all publicity is good publicity. Publicity of people engaging in property destruction is actively Bad Publicity. The only people that will attract is others who want to engage in property destruction, and those are *not* people who will stop the war. What you need to stop the war is to attract huge numbers of pensioners and middle-aged families with kids and respectable boring tax-paying people in 9-5 jobs, and those are the people who will be repelled by news coverage of people smashing things up. You hate McDonalds but most of them don't so if you smash McD's windows you just look like vandals - and then they'll never join with you. To attract these people you need a lot of Good Publicity.

Furry Dave
mail e-mail: furry1dave@yahoo.com


wrong

06.03.2002 07:07

you hijack this and you run the risk of spoling the entire stop the war movement. we are not (as of now) yet bombing mogadishu or baghdad, the time for "direct action" plus any stormings of the US Embassy (if indeed there is any justifiable time) has not yet arrived.
the movement is still in its infancy. the us action would not enjoy world opinion and the majority of people in this country arent behind the strikes. plus do you really think that smashing up grovesnor square is going to make bush back down? come to think of it he may try and bomb here

agricola


SIT DOWN FOR PEACE!!!

06.03.2002 09:14

At the M2 demo there was an attempt by a small group of anarchists bearing black flags, members of the impromtu band and other assorted discontents to hold a sit-in at Picadiddly Circus (see link below). Almost immediately the clowns (sorry stewards!) of the STWC swooped and tried to get them to march on to Trafalgar Square to listen to a load of people tell them stuff they already knew.

Next time (March 30?) lets get loads of people to join in a sit-in (at the same place?) be they anarchists, NVDA pledge signees or socialists who have had enough of towing The Party Line. A few hundred of us should be pretty hard to move and cause enough disruption to get us noticed without generating too much really negative publicity.

Thoughts?

Disillusioned kid
mail e-mail: s30party@hotmail.com
- Homepage: http://uk.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=24056&group=webcast


Direct Action isn't Violence

06.03.2002 10:49

It's absolutely vital that we begin to reject the ultra-orthodoxy of the Stop the War Coalition.

Last Saturday's peaceful sit-down by about 150 persons on Piccadilly Circus proved that anarchist-led direct action can attract popular support in a large demonstration - and that such action can be effective.

I believe that the poster of this article wants to break from the mind-control habits of the SWP and its bogus front parties. Frankly, if the SWP were in Downing Street and not Tony Blair, I woulD probably be in a concentration camp by now!

The point is creative direct action - a mass invasion of Grosvenor Square need not necessarily be violent. Why do some contributors on Indymedia still persist with the lie that all anarchists are interested in is smashing windows? Anarchism is moving beyond this mentality - we don't want to cause pointless destruction, but we do want to reclaim public spaces (including Grosvenor Square), even if the SWP thought police decide this is inconvenient for their propaganda.

Strangely enough, I didn't notice the SWP acting in solidarity with us when 50 activists were being beaten and kicked by armed cops on the very same square ten days ago. Maybe this is because an SWP member is just a frustrated riot cop.

I suggest that we hold a mass sit-in/cum picnic on Grosvenor Square on March 30, which is the day of the next big Stop the War/CND demo. Activists should not attempt to rush the square en masse, but should gather surreptitiously on the side streets. Bring costumes, hampers and picnic baskets! I'll be there half an hour after the demo starts at Speaker's Corner . . . come along if you want to make a real difference!

The time for direct action is not at some mythical point in the future . . . don't let protest be retrograde . . . the time for action is now, before Bush and Blair devastate another innocent civilian population with their cluster bombs!

MARCH 30TH, PICNIC ON GORSVENOR SQUARE, HALF AN HOUR AFTER THE DEMO KICKS OFF. BE THERE!!!

Anarchist Rioter


Bring the war home

06.03.2002 11:51

Now you're talking. At the end of the day, getting old age pensioners and tax payers involved isn't going to help unless its to get them to stop paying their taxes and assualt the Inland Revenue en-masse. Marching around is totally useless and reinforces 'dissent' as you say, and no doubt there is heavy state infiltration in the STWC.

I would definitely be up for your suggestions so email me.

S
mail e-mail: mikhailbakunin666@hotmail.com


brake the law - defend democracy!

06.03.2002 12:17

I believe before we make some real change and brake some REAL barriers there are some mental barriers that people have to break through. why is that, in the face of the violence committed everyday by our government, people still believe that the law is the line between right and wrong? I respond in particular to who said that we should stick to "strictly legal ways of dissent". do I have to remind you that those laws are made by the same people we are fighting against, AGAINST US. I bet (I hope) your fingers wouldn't be enough to count the laws you disagree with. do you not smoke cannabis because it's against the law? should coloured people in the US in the 60's have stuck to racial segregation laws without raising their voice? What will all the so-called pacifists do the day peaceful demos are banned? stay at home? Braking a law that the people believe is wrong, for a just cause is DEFENDING democracy (democracy=power to the people). democracy is not putting an x on a piece of paper. democracy is defended and lived out in the streets, in the workplace, in the schools etc. where brave people have the courage to stand up and defend their rights and those of everybody who struggles in the worlds. and guess what? that's against the law. do you still believe that makes it wrong? think about it. I agree with who suggested the mass sit-in in grosvenor square, stop the machine from working only for a day and we're guaranteed to get some attention. I'd also like to say two words about the Stop the War Coalition: I know a lot of people, me on the frontilne, don't have too much faith in them and their tactics. Still we should try and not create divisions too deep within the movement. let's open a dialogue with them and inform them about our intentions and what actions we intend to take out. that way we will hopefully avoid any tension the day of the march. remember: divisions have killed movements in the past. let's not make the same mistake. we are all united by the same aims, we all want to get to the top of the mountain, let's just accept that different people are going to choose different paths to get there.

In Solidarity,

kon4m

kon4m
mail e-mail: kon4m@hotmail.com


hey ho let's go!

06.03.2002 12:29

I was getting really bored and my girlfriend and I had just about decided to give up on these stop the war marches when we came across the sit-down. it was only a small start but it felt fucking good to actually be doing something material to oppose the slaughter of thousands that is still continuing today - fuck the StWC, i recognised a load of their stewards as SWP leaders and they gave us more hassle than the police - "one solution - revolution! (but for today we'll just go and listen to some journos and labour politicians tell us stuff we already know)". we need direct action and now that it's been shown that people are up for it on these marches it can only get bigger. so next time ignore the stewards and cause as much trouble as possible - it's the least we can do while our government is carrying out such slaughter.

(ps i particularly liked the part where some marxist party or other came past shouting 'victory to the intifada!' and suddenly subsided to embarrassed silence when the ridiculousness of such a chant coming from people not prepared to run the 'risk' of sitting down in a road in london became apparent!)

berb


Couple of questions

06.03.2002 12:31

Whilst I would love to see more direct action happening and whilst I would to see people doing more than walking a prescribed route, I also think that as soon as any kind of direct action block is announced it'll be totally surrounded by cops.

However why wait until the next "big demo" to do direct action? The war is ongoing and actions should be constantly happening. We need to offer an alternative to the STWC way of doing things, not simply subvert their existing structure.

Also, why the constant focus on London? I believe that we should be taking direct action against the military - it doesn't take many people to successfully blockade a military base, even fewer to cut into bases and these kinds of actions can have a direct effect.

E


forgive a small comment

06.03.2002 13:32

I'm not going to weigh into this (promise), it's your argument, and obviously you'll do what you want.

But plese, to Anarchist Rioter; it's really upsetting and offensive to claim we want to put folk in concentration camps. Many comrades had relatives who died in the Holocaust; and no shortage of 'Trots' were killed in Stalin's gulags too. So please, consider if it's worth causing deep offence for the sake of a bit of rhetoric.

internationalist


dont bleat too much, 'internationalist'

06.03.2002 15:09

so now poor SWP people are morally upset and crying at the harsh words thrown around;
well, sorry, but if the SWP does indeed resort to prototype Stalinist methods at the moment, how can you guarantee there will be no future gulag or auschwitz ?

'internationalist' may be a 'sincero', one of those people who joined the SWP swayed by the argument that a large party per se was a safe bet for a socialist victory IN ITSELF, when the history of the 20th century,( as opposed to the more optimistic marxs own 19th) has indeed resulted in the collapse of the mass party, in both germany and russia (in different ways, for sure) but ending up exactly in the gulag and auschwitz.

an anti SWP person


let's build something!

06.03.2002 16:02

this should be a place where like-minded people can come together and build new forms of resistance and struggle, a voice of dissent within the movement itself. let's not waste our time slagging off the SWP: yeah I know they are inside the STWC and yeah I know that through Globalise Resistance they are trying to "guide" a movement that is first of all is a people's movement, that for definition doesn't want any political party on the frontline, let alone to try and work with the system. But like it or not they are there, and instead of trying to fight against the SWP (always remember who our real enemies are) let's use our energy to build a new way of struggle that sends out a clear message: "we (us, the SWP etc.) are working for the same goal, this is how we are going to do it. we won't interfere with your methods of resistance and you won't interfere with ours". let's try and work one alongside the other, accepting our differences. the FBI smashed the movement in the 60's by turning comrades against each other, making them lose sight of the ultimate goal and who were their real enemies. let's learn from the past!

democracy!
liberty!
justice!

In Solidarity,

kon4m

kon4m
mail e-mail: kon4m@hotmail.com


Separate March

06.03.2002 18:39

How about we simply start our direct action bloc at a different location - this way we can't be seen to be hijacking and don't put the safety of others at risk...rest of idea is sound.

ZeroZero


aye for direct action

06.03.2002 19:11

It is good that people want to march to Trafalgar Square as they have been, but it is also clear that those with the courage (us) need to raise the temperature. (Tony Benn, for the first time in his life calling for direct action was clear on this).

My suggestion is that we all go on the march and do the peaceful bit (showing both friends and foes where we're coming from), then afterwards go over to Grosvenor Square and do our thing. The evenings are warming up now, so more people are going to be up for gathering more spontaneously.

As for 'adverse' publicity, could it be worse than no publicity? Well yes, if people do stuff that's really stupid, but we don't have to. The 'picnic in Grosvenor square' sounds like a good starting point.

Anyway, its encouraging to see a lot of people contributing in this vein. Am looking forward to standing shoulder to shoulder with you.

Finally, lets not have too much discussion of tactics on the net - sorry to those for whom that's obvious. No problem with a general discussion though - let the police plan to meet our more extended action, it will raise the overtime bill. Every pound spent policing London is a pound not spent on the military. In this sense, we will be standing shoulder to shoulder with our friends all over the world.

Hasta la Victoria.
See you there.

james thorne
mail e-mail: squatticus@hotmail.com


contact

06.03.2002 19:40

i think this is a really good idea, anyone who is interested in co ordinating this could you email me?

 action@letsgetfree.cjb.net

wonko the sane
mail e-mail: action@letsgetfree.cjb.net


Mea Culpa

06.03.2002 20:18

OK, the comment about the concentration camps was a little over-the-top. I appreciate that people join political parties for a variety of reasons - not necessarily to be domineering/tyrannical etc etc. I think the SWP has to wake up to the fact that its leadership has upset a whole lot of people in the way it has "hijacked" the anti-war movement since September 11.

But there is no use thrashing out this argument forever. Maybe the Stop the War Coalition should do its thing and the anarchists/autonomists will do ours, and we can all agree to disagree (at least for now).

I will post some more details about the proposed "Picnic For Peace" on Grosvenor Square in couple of weeks, and I'll try to get in touch with some more of you guys out there. I'll be Barcelona at the EU Summit for the next ten days - this should keep me busy for a while - I'll post some details of this too, in case anything *controversial* should happen!

Anarchist Rioter


Sounds promising...

07.03.2002 00:03

I think this idea has definite possibilities. I got a bit worried halfway through this thread when it looked about to descend into "lets do this because it'll annoy the SWP" (not a direct quote) but it didn't. I belive that NVDA has a place in the anti-war movement (as in other campaigns) but that doesn't mean it's always right. I've been trying to work out how NVDA could be used effectively in this campaign and it's not obvious but this idea shows definite potential. I particulary like James Thorne's idea of going on the march and then having some kind of picnic/sit in afterwards

The main point I'd like to make is that we need everyone in this movement. I don't think that just marching around London once every few months will succceeed by itself but I don't think direct action will suceed by itself either. Both of them together, combined with all the other, more local stuff might. That doesn't necessarily mean that the big marches should become direct action events though. Whoever said about remembering who the enemy is was right. Arguments within the movement will not help. That doesn't mean we should discuss tactics and it doesn't mean that if people think a tactic is actively damaging the movement they shouldn't say so but I do think we should stop critising people for marching and instead encourage those who want to/can to join in some direct action.

The point is that any action should act as a compliment to the other actions, adding to the anti-war movement, not as a focus for arguemnts about tactics nor as a divisive "do our action instead of their action" sort of thing. This also has the advantage that it will encourage more people within the movemnt to see direct action in a positive light and either to join in or at least support those who do. This is as true of the marches (which are one form of action) as it is of any direct action planned. That's why I'd like to see some direct action happen but I'd like it to fit with rather than clash with the march.

I also agree with the comment that we don't have to wait for the next big march or even focus on London. One of the ways in which NVDA can be most powerful is because you don't need thousands of people.

Anyway, I like this idea, I think it has potential so lets make it work.

Adam Conway
mail e-mail: a_d_conway@yahoo.co.uk


Reply to Red 'n' Black- from some sambaistas

07.03.2002 02:21

Alright m8!

If you'd like to hear why some of us sambaistas made the decisions we did on the second London Anti-War demo-
then yourself or anyone else is more than welcome to come and meet us at open practice meetings at QMAC, Queensland Road, N.7 on Wednesday nights between 6.30 and 8.30pm

Maybe we can talk a little, play a little..and by our interaction...

let's move some symbolic to direct actions...

insubordinate
- Homepage: www.rhythmsofresistance.co.uk/