Skip to content or view screen version

refuse to collaborate!

@ | 14.09.2013 19:48 | Policing | Social Struggles | London

Open Letter

This is an appeal to friends, comrades and ‘organisers’ of protests. In light of the mass arrest of 286 anti-fascist protestors on 7th September (and Fortnum and mason, critical mass, BNP Whitehall etc) we appeal to all organisers of protests from whatever organisation to immediately cease from negotiating with the police in any form whatsoever and, for any protests currently being planned, that organisers withdraw immediately from communication with the police.

The police have become the protest organisers. It is they who organise what happens on the day, who goes where, what is said and not said, how the protest acts, behaves, moves and demonstrates. We have now not only a state sanctioned but state organised protest. Be effective and you are liable to mass arrest. Deviate from this meticulous state planning and you’re liable to mass arrest. We must not get used to this!



The police have demonstrably stepped up their intentions against street protests and demonstrations. This is a planned strategy to suppress effective protest and is part of the total policing agenda of the police. For those who believe that effective street protests are not just about letting off steam or performing a state sanctioned role in the political system, but are one of the ways to begin to achieve radical changes in society, we cannot be debilitated by these new malign strategies of suppression - kettled, arrested, processed, released under threat of being hauled back into custody if we dare attend another protest in breach of bail conditions.

The state and the police cannot be asked to stop what they are doing or behave more nicely towards protestors – Rights are requests for permission, and it is obvious to anyone at Whitechapel last week who witnessed the officialised extravaganza of police, UAF, Council officials and ‘community’ leaders all performing a protest for the cameras, exactly what that ‘permission’ to protest means.

It’s been clear for a long time that this type of state sanctioned non-protest should be ended but now its not just a matter of frustration at their ineffectiveness but a matter of the safety of friends and of those we don’t know who come to protest on the streets. All the while that this type of non-protest is accepted, everyone else who doesn’t think it is legitimate, or who doesn’t know the rules of the police’s game, is liable to arrest.

Negotiating with the police now means putting protestors in serious danger. Negotiating with the police is complicity in the suppression of protests and should be seen as such. Collaborating with the police implicates and endangers anyone who does not know of, or agree with, the state sanctioned plans of the march.

The action we must take is firstly encourage and pressure all and any organisers of demonstrations, call outs and protests from any organisation from now on to refuse to negotiate with the police in any form. No negotiation of times, dates, rally points and routes of the march.

While this probably does not prevent mass arrests absolutely - the critical mass cycle ride did not liaise with the police prior to their mass arrests for ‘unlawful procession’ - they are arresting us on mass anyway, by the hundreds. Can they arrest us by the thousands?

Maybe they can, but what it may achieve is to unify the demonstrations in that we are all acting against the police’s efforts to suppress protest collectively. There can be no false separation of good and bad protestors, legitimate and illegitimate protestors that is used to weaken protests and social movements. No treating those arrested as not ‘really’ part of the ‘real’ demo, or as hijackers causing trouble for not obeying protest restrictions. The complicity from the organisers in this police practise of de-legitimising genuine protest must end. Acting collectively in this way means that we will all be illegitimate together.

We know that this appeal will likely not be listened to by most organisations and bureaucracies that organise protests, but we must attempt to win back some space on the streets for protest ourselves.

This is a direct appeal to not be complicit in endangering those who attend by collaborating with the police on the demonstration and cease all negotiations with the police immediately.

@
- Homepage: http://refusetocollaborate.tumblr.com/post/61220400710/refuse-to-collaborate

Comments

Hide 1 hidden comment or hide all comments

It's (should be) a TWO WAY street

15.09.2013 12:06

This is a complex issue. And maybe a matter of experience. Over here where CD (civil disobedience) has a long history common for the organizers of different components of a protest to communicate and negotiate among themselves so as not to get in each other's way with what they want to do. There are often three components, those wishing to do a lawful protest, those wishing to do a CD type action (illegal but peaceful), and those wishing to do an action that is neither lawful nor peaceful.

ALL should be able to do the sort of action that they wish but that can require cooperation between them to stay out of each other's way.

Sorry, but those wishing to do actions that are neither (not lawful, not peaceful) should not seek to INTENTIONALLY "take cover" behind an action that is lawful. It's OK if it just turns out that way because of gross incompetence on the part of the police, etc. to distinguish between the three groups and similarly with those seeking to do a CD type action. But it's wrong to plan to make it unreasonably difficult for the authorities to distinguish. Why? Because then the action is depriving those who wish to do a lawful protest action from doing so.

It does not matter that those who wish to do a CD or non-peaceful illegal action have an analysis that the lawful or CD action will not be sufficiently effective. The others (with whom you would be interfering) might have their own analysis by which they judge a more violent action to be also ineffective and perhaps counter-productive.

Let EVERYBODY choose for themselves what sort of actions they wish to take.

MDN


Hidden Comment

This posting has been hidden because it breaches the Indymedia UK (IMC UK) Editorial Guidelines.

IMC UK is an interactive site offering inclusive participation. All postings to the open publishing newswire are the responsibility of the individual authors and not of IMC UK. Although IMC UK volunteers attempt to ensure accuracy of the newswire, they take no responsibility legal or otherwise for the contents of the open publishing site. Mention of external web sites or services is for information purposes only and constitutes neither an endorsement nor a recommendation.

The so called anti-fascists planned to violently attack a peaceful march

15.09.2013 14:09

The so called anti-fascists in question had planned to violently attack a peaceful march against Islamic extremism. They were the same people who violently attacked buildings in central London at the 2011 anti-cuts demonstration:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muOXqt474HI

so called anti-fascists are violent thugs!


Perception Management

16.09.2013 04:23


GOVERN MENTIS = MIND CONTROL

The police are just small cogs in the social meat grinder and most have little or no understanding that they are viewed with just as much contempt by the control freaks and money junkies as the protesters and activists they arrest.

When downloading by torrent from a file sharing network, it occurred to me... there were around 1500 seeders [uploaders] and just over 600 peers [downloaders]... almost a three to one ration of co-operation between people around the world who did not know each other.

I have also read the introduction to an article about people helping each other after a natural or man made disaster... the author then goes on to reference many historical reports to this effect. This is contrary to what we are constantly told by the mainstream media and movies... that a collapse of society as we know it will lead to looting, murder and rape, etc, etc, etc.

Those that depend on the centralized power system for their power and wealth are terrified that we might discover that we would all be better off without them.

The financial system also distorts our perceptions of the world... I have dozens of items that I have no use for and would be quite happy to share or give away, as I would imagine, most people do. In fact you might have something that you don't want, but I desperately need right now. I know people have experimented with swap shops, and I'm sure it was common practice before fiat currency and the centralized banking systems were set up.

Thank you for reading this, I needed to share these thought.

Klamber


Government and emergency.

17.09.2013 12:09

"I have also read the introduction to an article about people helping each other after a natural or man made disaster... the author then goes on to reference many historical reports to this effect. This is contrary to what we are constantly told by the mainstream media and movies... that a collapse of society as we know it will lead to looting, murder and rape, etc, etc, etc."

Actually, that is a really interesting point you make.

I read an article years back in which the author said that governments and the people have two very different approaches to natural disaster.

The people see natural disaster as being a finite event in which energy can move an effected people from a position of high stress through to complete control with the application of collective effort. People see an earthquake for instance as being an event in which chaos is simply damage to property and utilities. With a concerted effort, the effected population can undo and repair the damage done all together. When an earthquake hits, the damage is finite and it can be controlled or dealt with by nothing more than collective effort. Within days, a local group can do an incredible amount and the more that gets done, the more motivation people feel toward completing the job. It isn't altruism that drives this, it is simply an awareness that collective action is very very powerful. So powerful in fact, that even the effects of an earthquake can be controlled.

Governments on the other hand are filled with dread whatever the situation. An earthquake, even a small one, means millions if not billions in expenditure. That fact alone routinely paralyses government to such a degree that no action is taken at all. The people rot and the damage simply festers for days, weeks and years. Government cannot spend the money either because it means spending everything they have, or because it isn't there to begin with. So when natural disaster strikes, the only thing a government can do is engineer a media narrative that seems to suggest that something is being done, when in actual fact nothing at all is being done.

In Japan when the Fukishima disaster happened, the Japanese government and international media were desperately falling over themselves to pretend that what was happening...wasn't happening! Even when the reactors were physically exploding live on TV, they STILL tried to claim that what was happening, wasn't happening.

When natural disaster occurs, the government becomes at once an enemy to be avoided and repelled. People power is the only legitimate force for good.

The reason government like to build the narrative that looting and anti-social activity is inevitable in times of natural disaster, is because that is the only means available to them to get money into the governments bank accounts before the disaster hits. There is plenty of evidence that the government is likely to spend what money it has not on water sanitation and food, but on repairing the local sports stadium or local shopping mall. These things government considers to be most important for the welfare of the people!

It was a terribly interesting article and I only wish I could find a link to it.

anonymous


Hide 1 hidden comment or hide all comments