Police went on the attack in Khayelitsha, Cape Town today, arresting the three filmmakers (two from IMC Italy, one from IMC New York) who escaped their custody yesterday. The filmmakers were taking food to jailed striking privatised water workers when police swooped on them. Two were later released but P**** who was driving one of the getaway cars from yesterday is being held alone at the Makhaza Police Station and has been charged with malicious damage to property.



Police went on the attack in Khayelitsha, Cape Town today, arresting the three filmmakers (two from IMC Italy, one from IMC New York) who escaped their custody yesterday. The filmmakers were taking food to jailed striking privatised water workers when police swooped on them. Two were later released but P**** who was driving one of the getaway cars from yesterday is being held alone at the Makhaza Police Station and has been charged with malicious damage to property. This is grossly unfair since P**** and other filmmakers, including one from IMC South Africa who has now had to go into hiding, were simply trying to avoid being unlawfully arrested.

The IMC South Africa person who drove the other car yesterday has laid charges of attempted abduction against the police because of their attempt to illegally arrest people yesterday. They were filming a strike at the time and there is nothing illegal about this. They did not particularly see why they should be arrested for doing nothing wrong. IMC is trying to pressure the police to release P**** tonite.

All indications are that the management of the privatised water plant (Suez Lyonnaise subsidiary) are very serious and vicious about breaking the strike and all media coverage of it. All the striking workers have been in jail for the entire weekend, charged with illegal striking, and are appearing tomorrow in court. The IMC lawyer has confirmed that there is no such crime as illegal striking. In the past striking was illegal as it was banned political activity. These days anything to do with striking is a labour relations issue and only involves internal disciplinary issues.

Mandela Park Anti Eviction Campaigners who were interdicted by the five big banks of South Africa two months ago are now also being targetted by the police for the arrest although this is a totally separate issue – just because they live around the water plant and Max Ntanyana happens to be a striking shopsteward. His detention on the basis of breaking his interdict which forbids him from inciting people to oppose evictions is totally unlawful since he was arrested under totally different conditions. Three of AEC members have gone into hiding.

IMC is appealing to all who read this to phone Officer October at the police station and urge him to release italy imc activist tonite. We are concerned for his safety as he is alone in the holding cell and does not speak much English at all. Anti-Eviction Campaign and IMC Cape Town people cannot go there as they will face certain arrest if they do. There is someone who can bail him out tonite and he can appear in court tomorrow. If enough people phone the station, this will at least ensure that police know the activist is a very important international filmmaker and maybe this will deter them from harming him. Please ask that he be put into his own cell. The cops number is +27 21 8571023.