Introduction

From the 21 January to 25 January the WEF (World Economic Forum), a meeting of the richest multinational corporations and government bureaucrats more than 2.000 (mostly european) "global leaders" from politics, media and economics are meeting in Davos ski resort, Switzerland.

They discuss in a "private setting" ways of making oppression and exploitation more efficient and more profitable. The WEF, which claims its mission is to help "eradicate poverty, promote security and enhance cultural understanding", is more often that not seen to represent the interests of multinational corporations.

It's members include Microsoft, Coca Cola, Nestlé, Shell and hundreds more. For 31 years the annual meeting of the WEF has taken place in Davos, except in 2002 when the WEF went to New York City. This year again the WEF comes back to Davos for its annual meeting.

The WEF summit in Davos is another attempt to minimise social and political rights in favour of the benefit of the owners of capital. The last summits have shown that a critical public isn't welcome, neither inside nor outside the conference buildings. Due to the past years mobilisation in Davos, the Swiss authorities had supposedly authorised the demonstration in Davos on the 25th of January 2003, but in reality they did everything possible to deny access to demonstrators. Only half of the crowd accessed Davos. The others were victims of heavy repression, as in 2001 when the demonstration was forbidden, and all who protested against the meetings with their voice and their presence were confronted with massive repression on the part of the police.

The state authorities protect the bosses and the politicians with every method available (legal but also illegal) and try to suppress every single critic. 2004 will surely be the same. But we are going to confront the rulers with resistance that cannot be ignored. In Switzerland and in other countrys some autonomous groups have met to prepare and co-ordinate the actions against the WEF summit in Davos, and also to support international mobilisation.

The following four points show the basis of our cooperation and our political self-image:

1. We disapprove of the WEF and our attitude towards it is confrontational. It is impossible to reform the WEF: because of this we don't want to have any dialogue. Our aim is to smash the WEF and to prevent their meetings. But the WEF is only one specific institution of the capitalistic system of exploitation, which we disapprove of completely. Our protest does not end with a smashed WEF, our fight is against capitalism, which cannot be civilised. Its own logic and rules, together with other forms of oppression like sexism, racism, homophobia and antisemitism, characterise the injustice of our world.
2. Our protest is against categorising, marginalising and excluding people and social groups; our aim is a society that is oriented to the needs of all and not to the profit of a few. Our protest contains the use of resources and information equal to all people. In our actions and in our kind of organising we try to live our own utopia. We are against a society based on hierarchy and control. We disapprove of the state as a place of capitalistic actions and we also refuse the new institutionalisation of the capitalistic exploitation by the World Economic Forum, International Monetary Fund or World Trade Organisation. Our answer is our protest, which are our own actions. We do not rely on political parties or lobbies; we express our criticism together, independently and unmistakeably. The ways of protesting and showing the criticism depend on the people who express them. In our resistance there should be room for different kinds of actions and there should be no limits to creativity.
3. the protest against the WEF summit in Davos is only one part of the global resistance against oppression and exploitation. Our solidarity is with all oppressed, who do not want to accept the prevailing contradictions without criticism, and our solidarity is with all who realize their power and organise emancipated resistance. But as we are part of the prevailing contradictions, we have to question our positions all the time. Our action is a reaction to the prevailing situation, and is a logical and necessary answer to the ruling politics and the politics of the rulers.
4. the WEF summit is used by the Swiss government to create a distinctive image of themselves as equal partners in the international context. Our protest against the WEF summit is connected with our resistance against the Swiss government's politics, against racist and sexist politics and against the neoliberal basic position of our society.

Protest and actions programme against the WEF 2004

• Saturday 10 January 2004 14h30 Winterthur Place de la Gare: Demonstration against the WEF and for an anticapitalist alternative
• Saturday 17 January Swiss wide ANTI-WEF action day!
• Free trains and cities protest tour starts Fribourg: 13.00 Place Python > Berne: 14.30 Heiliggeistkirche (in front of the station) > Burgdorf: 16.30 station > Langenthal: 18.00 station then concerts. Mail for info | Poster
• Lugano in the swiss-italian canton of Tessin: Anti-WEF Carnival.... > > 12.00 Minestrone, Musica e Scoregge Anti-WEF > 13.30 start of the demo SCACCIA WEF (Hunt the WEF) > 15.30 theatre and games : Il Frutto del Desiderio (the Fruit of Desire) > 21.30 Concerts Zapatistes with : TRACCIAZERO (punk rock), MERDONALDS > (punk-oi), > RADICAL SOUNDS (reggae) Mail for info | Homepage
• Zurich:Volkshaus de Zurich, Stauffacherstr. 60, the other Davos, conferences and workshops and seminars from 10am to 10 pm.
• Geneva: International demonstration against the WEF (HQ in Geneva), time and place to be confirmed. mail for info | Homepage
• Wednesday 21 January 2004 decentralized blockades swiss wide but mostly concentrated on the road in between Zurich and Davos to block the WEF delagates to join Davos. Workshop and infos to prepare the blockades
• Sunday 18 January 2004 in Zurich, place and time soon: Homepage | More info | even more info
• Lugano on Saturday 3nd and Sunday 4th January 2004 from 10.00 to 16.00 info: csa Workshop and infos to prepare the blockages il molino (091.9421221) o molino@inventati.org. info on more activities
• From 19 to the 25 January 2004: snow and slide and more with the global leaders in Davos free programme (Do it Yourself with us !) bring your winter stuff
• Saturday 24 january 2004: Big international demonstration in Davos 14:00 in front of Davos-Dorf train station. SMASH THE WEF ! WIPE OUT WEF !
• Sunday 25 January 2004: Revenge on the slides and in Davos (Do it yourself with us !)
• Sunday 18 January to Sunday 25th January: Preparations for actions and demos (talks and concerts) possible to sleep and cook (but limited) In Coire (Chur), not so far from Davos. /a>e-Mail | Homepage

Hope to see you all around !

WIPE OUT WEF ! anti-wef Switzerland December 2003

Accomodation and facilities for you in Switzerland

If you want to sleep in Davos here are the cheapest:

• 60.- Swiss Francs/night, but possible to sneak.
  Hostel Name: Jugend Hostel (YouthPalace) Davos
  Adresse: Horlauberstrasse 27, 7260, Davos, Switzerland
  Phone: ++41 81 4101920
  Fax: ++41 81 4101021
  Web: Homepage
  Very central !!!! 5mn walk to congress center
  
• From 17.- Swiss francs, common room with your sleeping bag to 37.- in a nice bed in a room alone! Possible to cook! Owned by nice people ; ) but not central ! 10 min bus to congress center or good 30 min walk!
  Herberge Reception from 9 am to 12 and 19pm to 22pm
  Fam, Olaf Kreuzen/Stroo
  Höhwald
  CH 7265 Davos Wolfgang
  Schweiz/Suisse/Switzerland
  Tel. 0041-81-4162040
  Fax. 0041-81-4130936
  Handy 078-7483078 (004178 from outside of Switzerland)
  Web: Homepage | E-mail

Useful Info

Maps of Switzerland

Trains: buy a cheap train ticket "carte journalière" = daily pass (a week in advance !) Swiss Transport Homepage

If you want to rent a car, shop around widely because there can be great price differences!

Food prices in Switzerland from the supermarket:

1 kilo pasta = 1 to 2 Euros, 500 g bread = 2 Euros, 100 g chocolate = 1 Euro, one apple = 50 cents, a piece of cheese 250 g = 3 Euros.

Restaurant prices in Switzerland:

A pizza in a ristorante = 9 Euros, Nice meal in a restaurant around 16 Euros to 20 Euros, a beer in a bar around 2,5 Euros, a beer from a shop 1 Euro.

USEFUL LINKS

• Davos webpage
• The WEF's webpage
• Indymedia switzerland
• "Correct" Mass media infos
• Wipe Out WEF 2004(Italian)
• Anti-WTO Bern (German)
• Smash WEF (French/German/Italian)
• Alternativ-Revolutionären Kräfte (German)
• The Other Davos (French/German)
• Rebellion (French/German)
• Revolutionärer Aufbau Schweiz(German)
• WEF Blockadenetz (German/English)
• DADAvos (German)
• Autonome Gruppen Oberland (German)
• Anti-WTO Bern (German)
• Contre-Attaque WEF(French)
• Erklärung von Bern
• Antirep (German)
• Stop WEF (German)
• Perspektiven nach Davos (German)
• Stop WEF (German)
• maps
• trains
• Carte journalière= cheap train pass
• Davos cheap hostels:Youth Hostels | Herberge
• Last years protest pictures