Problem to solve ,re: Iraq War/Palestine demonstration, September 28
Clare Voyant | 16.09.2002 21:48
On Saturday September 28, there will be a national demonstration against the imminent attack on Iraq, and for a just peace in Palestine. Are we prepared for what can go wrong?
On Saturday September 28, there will be a national demonstration against the imminent attack on Iraq, and for a just peace in Palestine. For more information go to: http://www.stopwar.org.uk/
But are we prepared for what can go wrong? We should be prepared for (a) massive and aggressive policing, with the forces of order seeking confrontation; (b) the 'forces of order' having placed in the crowd agent provocateurs who will attempt to organize within the crowd that violent confrontation. I am talking about the fake Black Bloc genoa-style
What the Blair machine wants is to be able to discredit the anti-war movement, and to scare away people from such events. Are we ready to deal with this?
Have the march organizers recruited a good army of marshalls to keep the march under internal discipline? Are there enough people in such positions with the skills in conflict resolution and non-violence to keep things moving smoothly? Have good lines of communication been opened up with the cooperative kind of cops? Can we appeal to those anarchos who plan to come looking for trouble to plan their actions so that they come after a successful mass demonstration, and do not distract from it?
But are we prepared for what can go wrong? We should be prepared for (a) massive and aggressive policing, with the forces of order seeking confrontation; (b) the 'forces of order' having placed in the crowd agent provocateurs who will attempt to organize within the crowd that violent confrontation. I am talking about the fake Black Bloc genoa-style
What the Blair machine wants is to be able to discredit the anti-war movement, and to scare away people from such events. Are we ready to deal with this?
Have the march organizers recruited a good army of marshalls to keep the march under internal discipline? Are there enough people in such positions with the skills in conflict resolution and non-violence to keep things moving smoothly? Have good lines of communication been opened up with the cooperative kind of cops? Can we appeal to those anarchos who plan to come looking for trouble to plan their actions so that they come after a successful mass demonstration, and do not distract from it?
Clare Voyant
Homepage:
http://www.stopwar.org.uk/
Comments
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Stand-Up & Be Counted
16.09.2002 22:09
No. 666
some good points
16.09.2002 22:13
dh
hooray for war
16.09.2002 22:23
dh
From hard cop to soft cop...
16.09.2002 22:59
In case you haven't noticed, the big troublemakers of capitalism are organising and preparing to fling loads of big bombs at ordinary people. Yet your only concern is so called 'agent provocateurs'.
Grow up and stop pandering to the daily papers and the politicians, like some squealing lickspittle.
If people are 'disturbed' by the war, they will march and have a day out in London. If people are enraged by it and want to do something to stop it, they will use whatever means necessary.
Go and make deals with the filth somewhere else, please.
King Pleb
Careful now
17.09.2002 08:34
Now,think, what would be the best result on the day for these forces of enslavement?
Thats right, a picture of division and irrational hatred backed up with distortion and trivia.
It may well be inevitable that the march is attacked from without, responding to provocation from within by '5th columnists' ( a classic and well documented tactic employed by governments, corporations and aspiring political groups). For myself, I am ready to endure a certain amount of abuse in the knowledge that I alone cannot expect to escape the fate of the large majority of the world in this regard, I already have words put into my mouth by a complient media - I still speak truth as I find it -, I already have my freedoms and rights diminished by an enthusiastic cabal of statest agents and coniving lawyers - I still exercise my right [until death] to be free in my mind and heart -, I already have the weight of doom and destruction over my head by a rampant militeristic and corporate agenda that seeks to take what is not theirs from me and as yet unborn mouths - I LIVE AND LOVE AND LOVE AND LIVE AND THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO ABOUT IT - I think I can take some punishment from truncheon baring thugs IF at the end of it the case for war is weakened and ridiculed.
Such restaint will not be easy, anger rises only to readily to my throat { which will be in full cry at least on sat28/02 ), but nobody said it will be easy, sometimes the hardest thing to do is that which is good ...
Perseverence, life, love these are the insurmountable weapons we possess ... I aint going out like that ...
jackslucid
e-mail: jackslucid@hotmail.com
each to their own?
17.09.2002 09:08
Does no-one remember the last anti-war/pro palestine demo? The media said there were 15,000 people there when there were at least 80,000.
The government know perfectly well that most people don't want this war.
They don't care if there are 3 million in the streets waving flags and selling newspapers.
They also don't care if there are a few people smashing burger joint restaurant windows in opposition to the war.
However, if there is both mass protest and direct action of whatever kind then they might start to pay attention. It's a tall order but I think it's the only chance we've got.
eyes
Tolerance
17.09.2002 10:50
But I have to say, I find a disturbing degree of intolerance from the anti-direct action mob, who try and label anyone they disagree with as 'undercover cops', etc.
As someone who favours direct action, I generally have no problem with people who prefer to march and then listen to speeches. But if these people then go and try fingering direct actionists to the cops (which has happened on many occasions), then I have a big problem with them. In fact, if they do that, they are nothing more than very real, ahem, '5th columnists'.
Personally, I think if half a million people were to march through the streets of London aginst the war, there will be virtually nothing in most of the papers or the TV news, bar the odd line on page 10 of the Guardian mentioning '10,000 demonstrators'.
Certainly, a violent demo will get much more coverage. It won't be the sort of coverage many would like, but what else can we expect from the bourgeois media?
But are we interested in playing to the bosses media, or are we thinking about how we can effectively sabotage the state's war plans?
Serge Forward
Basically Serge
17.09.2002 13:02
Perhaps there is a case to be made for an anything goes expression of anger, we just have to be very careful about who is calling for this and why.
As we saw in Genoa it is all to easy for the 'problem reaction solution' brigade to distort the message that we do not consent to war and will not tolerate those who want to wage it, and yes there are 5th columnists whose idea of a sucessful march will be to provoke provoke provoke until in the chaos only their agenda is highlighted.
I do not support the idea that we must riot to get noticed, I do however support the idea that we individually and collectively have the right to protect ourselves from state violence even if it means using violence ourselves.
Protect ourselves and those around us ...
Refuse to be beaten off the streets ...
Sideline ego and embrace each other ...
Fuck all nazies and their mates ...
jackslucid
e-mail: jackslucid@hotmail.com
Paranoid + Naive
18.09.2002 11:29
The Anticapitalist Bloc is not about smashing windows or rioting, it is for people who recognise that only the collective direct action of working-class people can stop this war. There will be no stewards on it as people must be trusted to act in ways which they deem to be best in their circumstances.
We're meeting up at 1pm at Cleopatra's Needle, under the Anticapitalist Bloc banner. See you there...
antiwar
e-mail: anticapbloc@mail.com