Nothings going to happen: a report from the G8
pergus | 14.07.2009 16:39 | Analysis | Globalisation | World
A report and analysis on the g8 in L'aquila and rome, looking at the actions that happened, the protests and trying to understand what went wrong.
Nothings going to happen…
The G8 in Italy this year from an activists perspective was a disaster, but what did happen, what went wrong and what, more importantly were the implications of the G8 being held in L’aquila: a disaster zone where thousands of people are being housed in camps?
Firstly, a brief analysis of placing the G8 meeting in L’aquila: it is clear that this was a matter of deep cynicism on the part of Berlusconi to look sympathetic and caring towards the people of L’aquila. This is cynical firstly because the people of L’aquila have been completely ignored and mistreated after and before the earthquake, many of those that died, died because of badly built housing, and since the ‘reconstruction’ - which is taking place outside of the town and will likely be ugly housing blocks, already suffering damage from after shocks despite apparent earthquake proofing - the poorer of the village will be effectively annexed to a housing estate outside of the city. Secondly the cynicism betrays the general fortification of society and the new Empire. L’aquila was already an exercise in controlling a population under a state of exception born of a disaster, similar to New Orleans, yet clearly on a much smaller scale. The G8 meeting being held in L’aquila betrayed the exclusion of this governing body - through its conflation of super-national (IMF, WB etc.) national, and international bodies of power - from legitimate politics; and betrays the movement of the new Empire - it’s oscillation and conflation of these modes of power - against the multitude. A state of exception is laid upon a state of exception, disaster upon disaster. The Irony only reaches those that can see through the banal real-politik of this organisation, where the choice of L’aquila is justified through it’s relation to the current economic crisis in a passive comparison of disaster upon disaster , we see instead the choice being justified through the relation L’aquila has with the G8 in terms of an active exploitaiton: the common being sold off to powerful bodies unrelated to the multitude of the region, as the property developers circling around L’aquila, so with the ‘development’ of the world: alienation, land displacment, ineffective security, loss of the means of production and a further abstraction of power into a body without precedent.
Genova was a moment of bio-political inscription; the force of law was inscribed on the corporeal body of the protest movement with devastating effects, which are most palatable here in Italy. L’aquila is a bio-political moment not of an inscription of the force of Law but as a consolidation of it’s effects upon the functioning of society, the control of space and consent of our bodies.
So what went wrong with the protest movement? Firstly in Italy the effects of Genova, as stated, have been much more effective than in the rest of Europe. The movement is fractured, many leaving the fight for the consolidation of a form of living outside of Capital (communes, small holdings, the ELF, etc.) others moving into other methods of resistance (the largest representation at the gatherings that did take place were COBAS a non hierarchical grass roots union group who were against any form of direct action at the protests). The small group of DA's there were polarised by this larger group who had negotiated with the government for access to L’aquila, the release of Prisoners arrested after pre G8 meetings held around Italy and didn't want the black block messing things up. This led to arguments between them which were tragic to watch as the riot cops stood at the side sneering. Lastly and importantly the call out was never made, the G8 was to be a national event. There were only one group of activists that I meet who were involved with internationals and the squats were closing their doors to internationals who had come down for the G8 meeting. This last point was particularly hard to bare and won’t be forgotten quickly, as after protests I saw internationals from all over Europe wandering around aimlessly into the night with no where to go; especially bad news considering the amount of fascists in Rome.
The actions that took place, and there were a few, were meet with massive hostility from the cops, being to small to put u a decent enough fight, they were either dispersed or crushed quickly, the action on Monday which started at a convergence centre in the student district was bold but soon feel apart as Riot cops rushed us immediately after we had blocked the road around the pyramid. After several attempts to reform after running from the oncoming riot vans, throwing rubbish bins in the way of cars, we amazingly found ourselves at the convergence centre again... after getting everybody out and strangely having to help an old lady out of the street(which almost got me nicked!) we dispersed. Only two people got arrested at this action but for some reason around twenty activists didn’t think that the convergence centre had been compromised and were arrested after going back there after the action! This probably amounted to half the internationals on the first few days of action.
The Police were out in force and looked almost frustrated at the lack of action, when there was one they reacted with the bravado and fascism I’ve become used to in Italy. At an action in the main train station where protestors mounted the tracks around a hundred riot police from both the Polizia and the Caribinerai rushed into the train station, knocked down any one that got in there way ran up to the platforms, were of absolutely no use as undercover’s did all the apprehending, turned round and marched towards the exit in file banging their truncheons against their shields the whole display was comical and terrifying in the way only fascists can be…
My impression of the G8 is of photographers, cameramen, journalists flocking the streets, in a mass crowed. Many young and probably idealistic, with a conflation of sympathy for the protests and the desire to get the big story that will make their career, a tragic conflation which betrays capitals moment of compromise: ‘shit, shit my career, quickly, I’ve got to get out of here and find the really big story’. They mirror many of the activists here, chasing an echo I can still hear in my ears ‘Genova, Genova, Genova’; a call and a death knell at the same time. I forget what I’m looking for here in Rome. I catch a trace smell of it, as usual it has passed; or perhaps, still to come.
For the people of L’aquila the situation is different, and I experienced there a solidarity and hospitality I did not find in Rome. Perhaps it is here that the key lie’s: in the local struggles against capital. But again, these will easily perish if they do not hear the solidarity of our calls, as in the action at the immigration camp on Thursday, where we could hear the cries from the camps echoing ours: ‘liberta, liberta, liberta’. This has been a moment of a stall, something has faltered, but the movement of Capital and the exploitation of the multitude continues unabated. The need to face up to, resist, and stop this Imperialism, in solidarity with the multitude has not diminished but become almost paralysing in its necessity.
The G8 in Italy this year from an activists perspective was a disaster, but what did happen, what went wrong and what, more importantly were the implications of the G8 being held in L’aquila: a disaster zone where thousands of people are being housed in camps?
Firstly, a brief analysis of placing the G8 meeting in L’aquila: it is clear that this was a matter of deep cynicism on the part of Berlusconi to look sympathetic and caring towards the people of L’aquila. This is cynical firstly because the people of L’aquila have been completely ignored and mistreated after and before the earthquake, many of those that died, died because of badly built housing, and since the ‘reconstruction’ - which is taking place outside of the town and will likely be ugly housing blocks, already suffering damage from after shocks despite apparent earthquake proofing - the poorer of the village will be effectively annexed to a housing estate outside of the city. Secondly the cynicism betrays the general fortification of society and the new Empire. L’aquila was already an exercise in controlling a population under a state of exception born of a disaster, similar to New Orleans, yet clearly on a much smaller scale. The G8 meeting being held in L’aquila betrayed the exclusion of this governing body - through its conflation of super-national (IMF, WB etc.) national, and international bodies of power - from legitimate politics; and betrays the movement of the new Empire - it’s oscillation and conflation of these modes of power - against the multitude. A state of exception is laid upon a state of exception, disaster upon disaster. The Irony only reaches those that can see through the banal real-politik of this organisation, where the choice of L’aquila is justified through it’s relation to the current economic crisis in a passive comparison of disaster upon disaster , we see instead the choice being justified through the relation L’aquila has with the G8 in terms of an active exploitaiton: the common being sold off to powerful bodies unrelated to the multitude of the region, as the property developers circling around L’aquila, so with the ‘development’ of the world: alienation, land displacment, ineffective security, loss of the means of production and a further abstraction of power into a body without precedent.
Genova was a moment of bio-political inscription; the force of law was inscribed on the corporeal body of the protest movement with devastating effects, which are most palatable here in Italy. L’aquila is a bio-political moment not of an inscription of the force of Law but as a consolidation of it’s effects upon the functioning of society, the control of space and consent of our bodies.
So what went wrong with the protest movement? Firstly in Italy the effects of Genova, as stated, have been much more effective than in the rest of Europe. The movement is fractured, many leaving the fight for the consolidation of a form of living outside of Capital (communes, small holdings, the ELF, etc.) others moving into other methods of resistance (the largest representation at the gatherings that did take place were COBAS a non hierarchical grass roots union group who were against any form of direct action at the protests). The small group of DA's there were polarised by this larger group who had negotiated with the government for access to L’aquila, the release of Prisoners arrested after pre G8 meetings held around Italy and didn't want the black block messing things up. This led to arguments between them which were tragic to watch as the riot cops stood at the side sneering. Lastly and importantly the call out was never made, the G8 was to be a national event. There were only one group of activists that I meet who were involved with internationals and the squats were closing their doors to internationals who had come down for the G8 meeting. This last point was particularly hard to bare and won’t be forgotten quickly, as after protests I saw internationals from all over Europe wandering around aimlessly into the night with no where to go; especially bad news considering the amount of fascists in Rome.
The actions that took place, and there were a few, were meet with massive hostility from the cops, being to small to put u a decent enough fight, they were either dispersed or crushed quickly, the action on Monday which started at a convergence centre in the student district was bold but soon feel apart as Riot cops rushed us immediately after we had blocked the road around the pyramid. After several attempts to reform after running from the oncoming riot vans, throwing rubbish bins in the way of cars, we amazingly found ourselves at the convergence centre again... after getting everybody out and strangely having to help an old lady out of the street(which almost got me nicked!) we dispersed. Only two people got arrested at this action but for some reason around twenty activists didn’t think that the convergence centre had been compromised and were arrested after going back there after the action! This probably amounted to half the internationals on the first few days of action.
The Police were out in force and looked almost frustrated at the lack of action, when there was one they reacted with the bravado and fascism I’ve become used to in Italy. At an action in the main train station where protestors mounted the tracks around a hundred riot police from both the Polizia and the Caribinerai rushed into the train station, knocked down any one that got in there way ran up to the platforms, were of absolutely no use as undercover’s did all the apprehending, turned round and marched towards the exit in file banging their truncheons against their shields the whole display was comical and terrifying in the way only fascists can be…
My impression of the G8 is of photographers, cameramen, journalists flocking the streets, in a mass crowed. Many young and probably idealistic, with a conflation of sympathy for the protests and the desire to get the big story that will make their career, a tragic conflation which betrays capitals moment of compromise: ‘shit, shit my career, quickly, I’ve got to get out of here and find the really big story’. They mirror many of the activists here, chasing an echo I can still hear in my ears ‘Genova, Genova, Genova’; a call and a death knell at the same time. I forget what I’m looking for here in Rome. I catch a trace smell of it, as usual it has passed; or perhaps, still to come.
For the people of L’aquila the situation is different, and I experienced there a solidarity and hospitality I did not find in Rome. Perhaps it is here that the key lie’s: in the local struggles against capital. But again, these will easily perish if they do not hear the solidarity of our calls, as in the action at the immigration camp on Thursday, where we could hear the cries from the camps echoing ours: ‘liberta, liberta, liberta’. This has been a moment of a stall, something has faltered, but the movement of Capital and the exploitation of the multitude continues unabated. The need to face up to, resist, and stop this Imperialism, in solidarity with the multitude has not diminished but become almost paralysing in its necessity.
pergus