Protest French Consulate UK Tues 9th Feb : re : Violent police raid in Calais

Can someone confirm or deny that UKBA were involved in the raid on the No Borders warehouse?

I can't confirm or deny whether they (UKBA) were directly involved but will try and find out and would also be very interested as if they were this would give grounds for a legal challenge to what happening there in the UK, ( according to legal advice I received a while back,)
What I am sure of is that is impossible to separate what is happening in Calais tonight and over the past six months of increased repression from the policies of the British state, the home secretary and UKBA. Firstly because the British border is there in France and second because it is a British "problem", in the sense that the migrants are only there because they want to come to the UK. I doubt that UKBA would be stupid enough to get their foot soldiers involved in these sort of operations but you can bet your bottom euro that the needs and political aims of the UK immigration policy and however the agreements between Sarkozy and Brown from their chats at the G8 about closer co-operation back in July will be having a strong influence on how the CRS and French border police are behaving. The stated French policy to make Calais a migrant free zone is a racist/fascist policy which will have sanction from a very high up level. Whether this has to do with EU migration policy, (ie more surveillance, more control, less human rights) the coming election (ie trying to out right each other in the anti immigrant stakes), the recession, (ie we don't need as much cheap, precarious labour right now) or a combination of all three it is clear that what we are seeing in Calais is leading towards a general acceptance of a new round of bash the immigrants- if we let them!
PS did you see the quote from Bob Ainsworth, (defence secretary) discussing plans for greater military co-operation between France and UK
"He pointed to Pas-de-Calais, which plans to market itself as “part of Britain” for the London Olympics in 2012.
“Borders don’t exist anymore,” he said. “They are irrelevant. Look at companies like EDF [the French-owned utility]: borders mean nothing to them.”
 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/defence/7169268/French-support-Bob-Ainsworths-plans-for-entente-cordiale-says-ambassador.html

i don't think it's helpful to paint no borders as some kind of charity or help organisation. The press reporting on this story have all made this mistake and therefore must assume that Kronstadt was just another mini-Sangatte.

but no borders hasn't got the resource capacity or political desire to "help desperate migrants". if that was the intention what we do on the ground would be totally inadequate. The Kronstadt hangar should have been a place of solidarity, organisation, meeting - as well as a small improvement to living conditions for the transitory migrants in the area. Shame it was shut down - but this response also showed that we were doing the right thing.

"PS did you see the quote from Bob Ainsworth, (defence secretary) discussing plans for greater military co-operation between France and UK"

My reading of the article is that the quote is from Maurice Gourdault-Montagne, the French ambassador.

The migrants ARE desperate and many are fleeing war. No Borders is doing a brilliant job in helping them in solidarity.

The Krondstat Hangar was a place for meeting, solidarity, information sharing, to cook wash and a dry space for migrants to sleep overnight if they so wished.

The police have raided and chase migrants relentlessly throught Calais.

To say that No Borders "does not have the political desire" to help desperate migrants when that is exactly what No Borders is doing is misleading. This is not the same thing as describing the camp as "another Sangatte" which no one has done. No Borders is doing an amazing job and is far from "inadequate".

Hmmmm it seems that a sly UKBA agent is saying "don't paint no borders as helping". Whoever this was is slyly and subliminally thrusting the idea into people's heads that Krondstat was a "mini Sangatte" and that No Borders are "inadequate". As for the facetious remark "shame it was shut down...but this repsonse show we were doing the right thing"... Hmmmm
It looks like someone from the UKBA posing as "noborderer" has written a purposefully misdirected comment to mislead people about Krondstat.
It has to be said that no borders are a great campaign and have helped many. I don't think that they've ever pretended to be a charity either so I don't think that the no borderer comment is a genuine one but a UKBA agent's comment aimed against no borders.

Wow. Now you really have plumbed new depths.

gosh you must have spent too much money in French discount boozers! Stop being so paranoid - as if the UK Border Agency really cared about some stupid thread on indymedia.

All I was saying is that it's limiting to paint ourselves as some kind of apolitical aid organisation as the original post did "no borders are a group that held desperate migrants". if that's what we were about we could do much better joining one of the numerous associations already on the ground.

we are a political group fighting for freedom of movement for everyone, desperate or not. Amazing work is being done in Calais, including solidarity and support work - because you can't be political if you lack the resources for survival. But surely the camp in the summer has already shown that migrants don't just want our 'help' - they want to cross into Britain and many accept that this requires a political movement that can challenge border controls.

Kronstadt could have provided a base for exactly that, so this should feature in our 'messaging', not just the fact that we're handing our blankets etc.

And sorry, let's not fool ourselves that our help in Calais is 'adequate'. It certainly isn't - as hundreds are still sleeping rough, without washing facilities etc. The point is it can't be as long as it doesn't challenge the status quo.

Don't get so defensive - everyone knows that this is some of the most practical and antagonistic 'activism' doen for years. But see it for what it is and don't attack anyone with slight concerns about the wording of this campaign as an agent of the state!!!

This is all a bit silly. Instead of arguing over how things are worded or nit picking at each other we should be thinking how we can do something practical to help. I'm sure the first poster is probably just impressed with no borders and what they are doing.
Reality is that migrants are unlikey to be homeless in Calais unless they are desperate however. Whatever anyone is doing, no borders or whoever, they deserve praise.
Any photos of the protest at the French Consulate today?

Firstly I'm fairly sure that the person running no borders is not a spook [agent of the state].

Secondly I have no problem with anyone from no borders wishing to clarify their position on here.

I wish everyone from no borders all the best.

Mandy Ford