It's also worth noting that the Spanish governemnt has been leading the way in Europe with proposals that seek to classify anti-globalisation protests, anarchist protests, other political groups and activities, as well as 'youthful urban violence' as TERRORIST ACTIVITIES!

Some of their more hardline proposals have met with disapproval, but many of their proposals have found support and have been, and are being progressed in the EU...

LINKS:

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Last year's (june) Barcelona demonstrations, during the protests around the cancelled World Bank conference, is attacked by police using undercover officers to start fights and 'justify' the riot police attacking the crowd (as reported by mainstream media):
 http://uk.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=6475

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From Statewatch:

EU Presidency presents draft Council Decision to target protestors as "terrorists"

The Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union has presented the EU Working Party on Terrorism with a draft Council Decision (under Article 34 of the Treaty on European Union) which would introduce the exchange of information on suspected protestors to protect EU Summits and other international meetings. What appeared to be a "maverick" idea from the Spanish Presidency has become a serious proposition.

The Spanish Presidency proposal said such protests were:
"the work of a loose network, hiding behind various social fronts, by which we mean organisations taking advantage of their lawful status to aid and abet the achievement of terrorist groups' aims."

And went on to propose that the Council of the European Union should introduce "a standard form for exchanging information on terrorist incidents" as this would be very helpful in:

"prosecuting violent urban youthful radicalism, which is increasingly being used as a cat's paw by terrorist groups in order to achieve their criminal aims"

 http://www.statewatch.org/news/2002/feb/07protest2.htm

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From Statewatch:

Anarchists to be targeted as "terrorists" alongside Al Qaeda

Europol has produced a Situation and Trends report on terrorist activity in the European Union.

One new category added in 2001 was "eco-terrorism" on which the report gives no examples. It is thus hard to see the distinction between activity which might be termed a criminal offence as distinct from a "terrorist" offence.

Another new category which is even more problematic is that of "anarchist terrorism".

In February 2001 a Europol seminar on counter-terrorism held in Madrid agreed on a proposal by Spain, Portugal, Greece and Italy to set up a joint investigation team
on "anarchist terrorism".

It appears that after Genoa in July 2001 Europol may have
set up an "analysis file" on "anarchist terrorism" which in turn fed through into this Situation report.

Spain has been criminalising a number of Basque nationalist groups and left-wing activists by claiming that they are "part of ETA".

Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, commented:

"The exclusion of right-wing bombing attacks in Italy - let alone violent and murderous attacks on migrants in several EU countries by racists - suggests that the inclusion of "anarchist terrorism" and "eco-terrorism" in this EU Situation report is aimed at criminalising the radical left and expanding the concept of terrorism"

 http://www.statewatch.org/news/2002/feb/10anarch.htm