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IMCUK breaking news from Seville EU-Summit, Saturday 22nd

IMC-UK | 22.06.2002 14:37

Immigration, illegality and the closing gates of fortress Europe are top on the agenda of both the politicians in the Seville EU Summit and the protesters outside. Spain, as the final act of its EU presidency, wants to come to a joint immigration and asylum policy that would make Europe as inaccessible as possible for anyone from outside.

Saturday 22nd BREAKING NEWS here

In protest to these EU policies more than 400 illegal immigrants are today staging a sit-in at the Pablo Olavide University, while around 200 supporters of their cause have locked themselves in the San Salvador church. Read their manifesto. Their actions called by the Disobedient Laboratory kick-start a summer of actions on the issue of migration, including the NoBorder Camp in Strasbourg next month.

In the afternoon a mass demonstration called by the Sevilla Social Forum, unions and social movements of the Spanish State will take place. People will protest against the Europe of Capital, as well as demanding an end to social exclusion and the casualisation of labour.

This EU Summit will try to institutionalise the criminalistion of legal and illegal migrants already taking place in EU member states. Despite the popular support many of the governments claim to have for their policies, today's actions in Seville and throughout Europe this summer show that they will not have as easy a time doing that as they think they will.

Watch this space for the latest news from the streets of Seville.

Saturday 22nd BREAKING NEWS:

00:54am - Seville: Outside the indymedia centre in Seville, in Pumarejo square, there is a group of police that is asking for identification to anyone trying to approach the centre without any exceptions. The situation in central Sevilla is now calm.

00:30am - Seville: There are still some very small groups of people moving around the area. Some banks have had the windows their windows broken in the streets of central Seville.

00:20am - Seville: Members of the collective Anarchists against Capital have reported that the police charge has been very minimal. It seems that the demonstrators arrested at the entry of La Barquilla bridge may be from a Black Block group. They have been arrested by undercover police and that provoked the skirmishes with the people still gathered there.

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23:50pm - Seville. The people left in the Puente de la Barqueta are slowly leaving now. But there are some groups holding a sit-in in the middle of the nearby Jimenez Becerril street.

23:35pm - Seville. At the beginning of the bridge there are still around 1000 people but they are slowly leaving. They have tried to stop various police vans from cutting off the bridge but no serious incedents have occured.

23:25pm - Seville. Some black block groups are now leaving the area, and the situation seems to be getting calmer by the minute.

23:15pm - Seville. Police have arrested two people at the back of the demo. Some people tried to defend those being arrested by throwing stones at the police. The clash ended with a police charge.

23:00pm - Seville. The end of the demo has arrived at the bridge. Some masked up people have taken stones and been followed by large number of corporate press. After some sporadic skirmishes the tension lessened.

20:22pm - Seville: Different Communists groups are crossing La Barqueta bridge now. They are a multinational group but chanting anti capitalist slogans in english.

22:12pm - Seville: A black block group has appeared at the end of the demo carrying self defence materials, but they have been
booed off by the crowd. Large numbers of people have joined up to push them out of the demo. Police have appeared there in large numbers.

21:50 - Seville: The Sevilla Social Forum has officially called the end of the demo, although there are still many groups arriving. The Social Forum has asked everyone to move towards the free gig/party and to leave the bridge. Police riot vans are stationed nearby.

21:45 - Seville: The bridge Puente de la Bargueta is completely filled with people. A group against the debt are holding up big banners.

21:35pm - Seville: A sound system has joined the head of the demo now. People are following it in the direction of the free party due to take place later on. Large numbers of police riot vans have approached the demo from the back.

21:30pm - Seville: The head of the demo is now arriving at the end of the route in La Barqueta, where police presence is very large. More riot vans are arriving.

21:25pm - Seville: Other large groups in the demo are a Cuba solidarity campaign, a millitant farmers' union, an anti-racist block that denounces Spanish immigration laws with banners in Spanish and Arabic and several 'Black Bloc' groups.

21:15pm - Seville: The anarchist block is made up of around 500 people. They carry a banner saying "For Social Globalisation".

21:05pm - Seville: The head of the demo is entering Murallas of Macarena in downtown Seville.

20:58pm - Seville: The atmosphere of the demo is still very festive. Many neighbours are relieving the heated demonstrators by throwing buckets of water. The immigrants' block is one of the more festive ones, with people dancing and drumming.

20:50pm - Seville: As the demo approches the Seville city center police presence gets bigger, with riot police protecting banks and shops.

20:46pm - Seville: A group of people ahead of the demo are playing "football" with a giant globe and spray painting a large shopping center with the words "thieves" and "exploiters".

20:30pm - Seville: A group of feminists have appeared at the front of the demo with a banner reading "if it is another world, it must be feminist".

20:24pm - Seville: So far there is very little police presence at the end of the demo, but there are police vans around sides of demo.

19:38pm - Seville: When leaving they read a communique that called for "Disobedience as a tool for resistance and struggle". They also stated that the police tried to break in several times, but that the priest of the church and a family attending a wedding, prevented them.

19:31pm - Seville: The people locked came out of the church shouting 'Noone is Illegal', report. People outside moved to protect them and now they are marching together down Jose Laguillo to join the mass demo.

19:17pm - Seville: The activists from inside the church are coming out now. Police have taken positions outside the main door. A press conference it is expected soon.

19:04pm - Seville: Photo of today's lock-in in the curch of San Salvador.

18:20pm - Seville: Listen to statements in spanish, catalan, english, french and german from activists inside the church here and here.



18:10pm - Seville: More and more people are arriving outside San Salvador church to show support to the activists locked there. Police is also increasing in numbers.

18:05pm - Seville: Large numbers of police have occupied the central Plaza Pumarejo identifying and searching anyone in the area.

17:20pm - Seville: People locked in the church are now negotiating with the police so to prevent any police attacks when they leave the church tonight at 19:00. People inside are calling everyone to gather there so they can leave safelly in block and join the mass demonstration due to start at 20:00.



17:00pm - Seville: Five riot coppers entered the church, but left ten minutes later. The situation is extremely tense.

16:50pm - Seville: 400 Portuguese activists have been violently retained at the Rosal de la Frontera border. They have been beaten.

16:30pm - Seville: Police in full riot gear have surrounded the San Salvador Church. There is immediate threat of a police charge.

15:30pm - Seville: The repression continues today in Sevilla. Police continue to harrass and ID-check anyone coming in or aout social centres. Personal belongins are also confiscated without any explanation.Report and photos.

13:30pm - Seville: Activists are holding a press conference inside the church reading the manifesto in different languages.

13:15pm - Seville: A member of the collective New Kids On The Black Block managed to enter the official buidings of the EU-Summit. He took the oportunity to show his opposition to the immigration and social policies being discussed in the summit. Photo

12:55pm - Seville: There are several police officers inside the church, guarding the door and making rather erratic threatening gestures to the people inside. Outside, a large crowd of demonstrators continues to shout “No human being is illegal”. Those locked in are hoping to convince the Social Forum organizers to reroute the demonstration this evening through the church in order to close the lock-in with a highly visible event.

12:30pm - Seville: The atmosphere is somewhat more calm now in and around the church. The locked-in demonstrators have finished their assembly. They are presently negotiating by telephone with the Social Forum organizers, who in turn are negotiating with a government delegation.

12:15pm - Seville: 100 activists locked-in the Salvador church to draw attention to the lock-in of migrants without papers. They are surrounded by police, situation unstable. Report.

Friday's breaking news
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