Warsaw: Demonstration against European Economic summit
From Polish IMC | 29.04.2004 20:19 | Globalisation
people in the streets
more people in the streets
riot cops looking hard.
Warsaw: Demonstration against European Economic summit
12. 30: Poland-Indymedia informs La Haine that about 2500 persons march at this moment against Warsaw´s European Economic Forum. There is a cheerfull mood in the crowd y numerous militants from anarchist grooups, trade unions and religious groups give color to this unitary demonstration that began at mid-day and will continue until 5 this afternoon aproximately. There is a huge police presence but their attitude is calm.
13. 30: The demo is marching through the whole center of Warsaw with the Libertarian Group coalition at the front row. The libertarians carry a banner which reads "For us this summit is over" refering that the Economic Forum does not represent the citizens. The end of the demo will be in front of the Goverment´s house, but there is a point of the march that is only 500 meters away of the European Ecomic Forum´s meeting place and incidents could break out there. Banners with messages like "Capitalism kills, kill capitalism", "Money for them, a nightmare for rest" and "Against the union of heads of State and heads of armies" can be read.
In this march its worth highlighting the presence trade unions of workers, the OPZZ and the National Protest Comitee (NPC). The NPC is an organization which gathers workers of polish factories against unstable work and companies closing. A group of this organization that is present today, composed by workers of a cable factory, squatted during 6 months the factory they were fired from becaused the company it closed, with a big repression by security guards paid by the owners.
Also participating in the march is an organization of unemployed´s from the north of Poland, from the poorest regions where during the comunist regime the mines were of colective property and now people live out of a very small social help. Today those mines are closed and in order to survive people have to dig holes and get coal to sell it, which is illegal and is repressed by the government. This organization is organised with no help from any political party or government institution. the police is present now, with water-cannons and anti-riot tanks, but is not bothering demonstrators.
13.40: When the demonstration was passing in front of the head office of Peugeot, two persons have begun to shake the fences that protect the building. The organizers have impeded the action and they have called this as a "provocation".
14.00: A group of demonstrators have "assault" the riot police with toilet paper crying "this is what you are, this is what you are useful for". The agents have not reacted.
14.35: The demonstration, composed now by around 7.000 people of different ages, has passed in front of the Treasury crying "the government must go to work for 150 euros". This is the minimum salary in Poland and a lot of workers survive with that money.
15.00: At this moment the walk is travelling across one of the most important streets of Varsovia, "New World" street. The traffic is stopped due to the great afluency of demonstrators that are crying "the authorities not only for the rich people". From the Information Centre of the anti-FEE organization it is said that a group of nazis has threatened to attac the place but nothing has passed until now.
15. 45: The demonstration, which is taking place in a festive manner and with the participation of a lot of citizens that have joined in the way, has entered the street in which the US Embassy is and the protesters are shouting "bring the troops home" and "no more blood for oil".
16. 30: The march is getting to the polish Government´s House, the end of route. An activist from Poland-Indymedia tells La Haine she´s pissed off at the government´s demonstration of strenght. "The mayority of the protesters wanted a peacefull march in response to the huge criminalising campaing that the governments propaganda has done on the protests. They´ve spent a lot of of money on security, they have water-cannons with ink to ´mark´ the ´most dangerous´ protesters, they´ve prepared 1500 beds in hospital´s to attend the ´possible injured´...what were they looking for, a masacre? Mass-media have created a social alarm with no sense, and even if they won´t change their information politics, at least the citizens of Warsaw have seen we are not violent y that the government has created an almost-most ambient to prevent people from coming to the protests. Finally, people with their children, old people and of all ages have participated in the movilization".
This Indymedia activist has related to La Haine how dificult work is being for alternative media. "We are in a room of 20 square meters, with people continously coming in and out to post pictures, videos or writing cronicles. Here we eat and sleep. The police has blocked the access to this space and only people with an special pass can enter, although we are not inside any officially established security perimeter."
16.54: The demonstration is finishing. The participants are slowly leaving.
12. 30: Poland-Indymedia informs La Haine that about 2500 persons march at this moment against Warsaw´s European Economic Forum. There is a cheerfull mood in the crowd y numerous militants from anarchist grooups, trade unions and religious groups give color to this unitary demonstration that began at mid-day and will continue until 5 this afternoon aproximately. There is a huge police presence but their attitude is calm.
13. 30: The demo is marching through the whole center of Warsaw with the Libertarian Group coalition at the front row. The libertarians carry a banner which reads "For us this summit is over" refering that the Economic Forum does not represent the citizens. The end of the demo will be in front of the Goverment´s house, but there is a point of the march that is only 500 meters away of the European Ecomic Forum´s meeting place and incidents could break out there. Banners with messages like "Capitalism kills, kill capitalism", "Money for them, a nightmare for rest" and "Against the union of heads of State and heads of armies" can be read.
In this march its worth highlighting the presence trade unions of workers, the OPZZ and the National Protest Comitee (NPC). The NPC is an organization which gathers workers of polish factories against unstable work and companies closing. A group of this organization that is present today, composed by workers of a cable factory, squatted during 6 months the factory they were fired from becaused the company it closed, with a big repression by security guards paid by the owners.
Also participating in the march is an organization of unemployed´s from the north of Poland, from the poorest regions where during the comunist regime the mines were of colective property and now people live out of a very small social help. Today those mines are closed and in order to survive people have to dig holes and get coal to sell it, which is illegal and is repressed by the government. This organization is organised with no help from any political party or government institution. the police is present now, with water-cannons and anti-riot tanks, but is not bothering demonstrators.
13.40: When the demonstration was passing in front of the head office of Peugeot, two persons have begun to shake the fences that protect the building. The organizers have impeded the action and they have called this as a "provocation".
14.00: A group of demonstrators have "assault" the riot police with toilet paper crying "this is what you are, this is what you are useful for". The agents have not reacted.
14.35: The demonstration, composed now by around 7.000 people of different ages, has passed in front of the Treasury crying "the government must go to work for 150 euros". This is the minimum salary in Poland and a lot of workers survive with that money.
15.00: At this moment the walk is travelling across one of the most important streets of Varsovia, "New World" street. The traffic is stopped due to the great afluency of demonstrators that are crying "the authorities not only for the rich people". From the Information Centre of the anti-FEE organization it is said that a group of nazis has threatened to attac the place but nothing has passed until now.
15. 45: The demonstration, which is taking place in a festive manner and with the participation of a lot of citizens that have joined in the way, has entered the street in which the US Embassy is and the protesters are shouting "bring the troops home" and "no more blood for oil".
16. 30: The march is getting to the polish Government´s House, the end of route. An activist from Poland-Indymedia tells La Haine she´s pissed off at the government´s demonstration of strenght. "The mayority of the protesters wanted a peacefull march in response to the huge criminalising campaing that the governments propaganda has done on the protests. They´ve spent a lot of of money on security, they have water-cannons with ink to ´mark´ the ´most dangerous´ protesters, they´ve prepared 1500 beds in hospital´s to attend the ´possible injured´...what were they looking for, a masacre? Mass-media have created a social alarm with no sense, and even if they won´t change their information politics, at least the citizens of Warsaw have seen we are not violent y that the government has created an almost-most ambient to prevent people from coming to the protests. Finally, people with their children, old people and of all ages have participated in the movilization".
This Indymedia activist has related to La Haine how dificult work is being for alternative media. "We are in a room of 20 square meters, with people continously coming in and out to post pictures, videos or writing cronicles. Here we eat and sleep. The police has blocked the access to this space and only people with an special pass can enter, although we are not inside any officially established security perimeter."
16.54: The demonstration is finishing. The participants are slowly leaving.
From Polish IMC