Day: September 15, 2009

Zagreb: A protest of solidarity took place…

On Monday, the 14th of September of 2009., a protest of solidarity with the arrested Serbian anarchists took place. The protest was organised by the „Stop the repression!“ campaign initiated by The Network of Anarcho-Syndicalists (MASA).

The beginning of the protest took place at the Petar Preradovic Square with the gathering of approximately 30 people. Since the protest was reported to the police, quite a number of police officers were present. The protesters marched through the street of Ilica towards the British Square carrying the banner that said: „Stop the repression! Freedom for the Anarcho-Syndicalists!“ and those words were accompanied with the picture of the caged snow owl. The snow owl that is actually the logo of Anarcho-Syndicalist Initiative (ASI), now caged, became the symbol of this campaign on the international level. While the protesters approached the British Square, some of them have been distributing leaflets to people passing by. All the leaflets were distributed even before we reached the British Square.On the British Square our official statement was read, it was the same statement as the one on the leaflets. After that, our unexpected visitors, a folk band of squatters from Belgium, played for us one of their songs.But, since they were not planned, the police didn’t allow them to perform more than just one song.

After the performance had been completed, three of our delegates, accompanied by two police officers, went by bus to the Serbian Embassy, where they put the protest letter and the leaflet into the letter-box.

The letter to the Serbian Embassy

Respected ambassador!

With this letter we protest against the arrest, harassment and the media lynch of five of our fellows and friends: Tadej Kurepa, Ivan Vulović, Sanja Đokić, Ratibor Trivunac and Nikola Mitrović. The majority of them are the members of The Anarcho-Syndicalist Initiative (ASI), the Serbian section of The International Workingmen’s Association (IWA). They are accused for throwing two molotov cocktails on the Greek Embassy in Belgrade, on te 25th of August of 2009., and they are being charged for the criminal act of international terrorism. Although there are no evidence and no proof whatsoever that they commited that act , that did not prevent the media from writing about the accused as if they are proven to be guilty. This kind of behavior is deliberate and it has as its goal the ruination of ASI’s reputation and the criminalization of ASI’s syndical work. Except that, the state of Serbia would this way inaugurate a new praxis of punishing everybody who may present a threat to it, and who fight for a more just and more humane society, for a society that above all respects the human life, and not the needs of profit. The „Stop the repression!“ initiative strongly condemns this kind of behavior and demands the immediate release of the imprisoned anarchists.

If our demands won’t be respected, we shall continue with the pressure through the media and with further actions of solidarity, as well as our comrades throughout the world.

„Stop the repression!“ initiative

On 14th September, Priama akcia – Bratislava members and supporters (around 10 people) visited the Embassy of Serbian Republic.

Serbian embassy protest

Our previous action at the Serbian embassy on 7th September was met with police harassment (more info here). This time we were a bit more successful and actually got inside the consulate premises (because the door was open at the moment). We delivered our protest letters and explained the reason for the protest to an employee of the consulate. However, we did not manage to meet with the ambassador, who was apparently once again out of his office. The employee claimed he can not guarantee that the consulate or embassy would inform authorities in Serbia as it is not (their) “standard procedure”. Interesting.

http://www.priamaakcia.sk/Solidarity-actions-with-arrested-Serbian-anarchosyndicalists-and-Ukrainian-community-activists.html

On Sept. 11, a group of people from ZSP Warsaw, Anarchist Solidarity and some non-alligned supporters visited the Serbian Embassy in Warsaw to demand the release of comrades arrested in Belgrade.

On Sept. 7, some people also visited the Embassy and delivered a protest letter. Apparently the presence of even such a modest protest unnerved the Embassy people. When we arrived on the 11th, there was a police van and cops waiting.

Members of ZSP made some speeches and delivered a new statement to the Embassy, but, as the Embassy people were hiding, it only went into their mailbox. The activists harshly criticized the actions of the Serbian government, the way the comrades were arrested, police methods used, the detention of the comrades without charges, etc. etc. There was also a long diatribe against state terrorism and the hypocrisy of the government.

In rather absurd style, there was also a strange exchange with the police, who warned us against “cursing in public”, which is a punishable offence in this whacky country. The police however did not want to define which words constituted curses, but we did manage to establish that only curses in Polish are curses under Polish law.

The new embassy building is in the middle of nowhere, so there were almost no passersbys. However the picket could be heard for kilometers around due to the strange accustics in the location.

The text of our statement is publishd here:
http://asi.zsp.net.pl/statement-written-by-zsp-sept-11/

On Sept. 11, members of the Anarcho-Syndicalist Federation protested in Sydney, Australia. A video of this protest can be viewed here in the following post.

Below we print their open letter.

Open letter to the Serbian Consulate, Australia

We demand the release by the Serbian government of Ratibor Trivunac, Tadej Kurepa, Ivan Vulović, Sanja Đokić and Nikola Mitrović, members of the Anarcho-Syndicalist Initiative (ASI). We protest the unjust arrest and detainment of our comrades on trumped-up charges, which the ASI has vehemently denied.

This attack on the ASI, and by extension the International Workers Association (IWA), is an attack on organised labour everywhere. All dissenters should be concerned by the trend towards labelling all dissent terrorism. The latest escalation of oppression by the Serbian government comes after an ASI member was arrested for the trivial offence burning an American flag. Clearly there is an attempt to target the ASI.

This will not go unnoticed internationally. Even today, in coordination with this action comrades are also protesting at the Serbian consulate in Britain.

Anarcho-Syndicalist Federation Melbourne

11/9/2009

After the arrests of five people in Belgrade, Vienna today saw the second protest within a week. Despite light rain, the demo went from Schwedenplatz through the city centre to the Serbian embassy on Karlsplatz.

Embassy staff, apparently terrified by the 40 protesters, had to be protected by the Viennese special ops team WEGA and refused to accept the protest letter. As with the previous demo, the big gate to the “Otto Wagner Bau” remained firmly closed and pale faces were seen peeping from behind the curtains on the second floor

Protesters then resorted to calling the embassy’s phone line while standing in front of their door but strangely no one answered. Perhaps Dragan (the embassador) prefers to get our protest letter by fax?

On the way to the embassy, that led right through the busy city centre, leaflets in German and English were distributed. Of the 800 leaflets we had produced, there were none left after only two thirds of the way…

A couple of dozen people picketed the Serbian Embassy in London on Friday lunchtime 11th September. Not bad at such short notice. Members of SF and FAU (German IWA Section) were supported by London Anarchist Federation, libertarian students’ group Autonomy & Solidarity and others.

Embassy staff were a bit startled but took a keen interest in proceedings, and the police harassment started after we’d been outside the embassy for about half an hour. First the Diplomatic Protection Group – all wearing badges showing their support for the roadside-bomb-fodder in Afghanistan – first told us the demonstration was illegal and we should disperse; then they said it was “a public order situation” in spite of our being relaxed and peaceful; then they claimed we were obstructing the pavement in spite of the almost total absence of pedestrians and told us to cross the road (to a narrower stretch of pavement people were actually walking along). We rotated people arguing with plod as he kept changing his arguments and eventually he retired to talk to his bosses. By that stage there were six armed officer present.

We handed in a letter of protest – the door opened immediately and it was accepted. After another half hour the regular Met turned up, only one, with a Community Support Officer – plastic plod – in tow. We then became a “security risk” because apparently by standing outside the embassy we could provide cover for unspecified criminal activities. Then eventually it came down to the alleged likelihood of our committing criminal damage. Plod’s “reasonable grounds for suspicion” constituted the fact that an act
of criminal damage during the Belgrade picket of the Greek Embassy was mentioned in our leaflet! This was exposed as an obvious ploy when Plod became impatient and dropped the act, threatening us all with being searched unless we crossed the road. We continued arguing while drifting over the road, having achieved what we had set out to do. We stayed to 2 O’Clock, forcing Mr Plod and Mr Plastic (who looked like a building contractor with his bare head and yellow safety jacket) to guard the embassy from the heinous threat of handing in letters until we left. About
four police hours were expended during the course of the demonstration,
plus report writing. Result.

Around 40 anarhists have gathered in the center of Ljubljana in
Thursday evening (10.9.2009) for solidarity action to manifest our
full support to the detained Belgrade anarhists. We marched with red
and black anarchist flags through the streets towards the Serbian
embassy. Solidarity graffiti was written at the entry of the embassy:
“Freedom to anarcho-syndicalists!” and “Death to the state!”, “Freedom
for BGD5”. Statements of Federation for Anarchist Organizing (FAO)
were distributed and pasted on the walls of the embassy. The police
appeared more than ten minutes after the action had already
successfully finished which. Activists were thus able to avoid the
repression and conflict with the police. After the action the
activists retreated in the night.

Aim of the action was to express unconditional support for
Anarcho-syndicalist initiative and to our detained comrades, to inform
the public about the repression against autonomous organizing of the
workers and to press on Serbian authorities to immediately stop with
this charade.

Statement in support of the activists of IAS, Serbia

Five activists of the Anarcho-Syndicalist Initiative (ASI) Tadej Kurepa, Ivan Vulović, Sanja Dojkić, Ratibor Trivunac and Nikola Mitrović were arrested by the Serbian authorities on 4th September 2009. They have been accused of international terrorism (which is in Serbian criminal law placed in the same category as is genocide). The foundation of the accusation is the suspicion that the arrested were allegedly involved in a recent action in which two molotov cocktails were thrown at the building of Greek embassy in Belgrade. State prosecutor commanded 30 days of detention for our comrades. If the court finds them guilty of the acts that they had been accused of, they are threatened with 3-15 years in prison.

Completely unprovoked arrests and made up charges against our detained comrades are the acts of an open state pressure against ASI. It is no coincedence that precisely those members of the syndicate that have been recently the most exposed in public appearances are among those arrested. Through organized activity in the interest of workers – that is of those who are again and again separated from the fruits of their labour, the syndicate has been increasingly gaining on support, trust and credibility – exactly on everything that the corrupted Serbian political clique is so deprived of. In order to deter the political threat that an autonomously organized syndicalist movement obviously represents, this clique has in time of it’s own complete political bankruptcy taken refuge in the method that was recently dissmised even by it’s western mentors – in a pathetic effort to silence them our comrades were put into prison and accused of “international terrorism”.

The arrests and the harrasment of syndicate’s activists and of those who are affiliated with them is the real face of contemporary Serbia – of the state that is even on the ashes of neoliberalism still continuing to defend it’s project of deepening of exploitation and enslavement. This represents one more step towards establishment of an ever harsher model of repressive governance that is willing to use any means available to silence those that are showing its disgusting image in the mirror.

Federation for anarchist organizing (FAO) expresses solidarity with our detained comrades, offers unconditional support and help and is joining the calls for their immediate release and withdrawal of such absurd accusations.

FREEDOM FOR ALL DETAINED!

Federation for anarchist organizing

Ljubljana, 10. 9. 2009

on 9.9.09, 15-20 activists gathered at Schwarzenbergplatz (Vienna) to demand the release of 5 imprisoned anarchists in serbia who are being accused of international terrorism.

The demo, including many banners, one of them in serbian, went along the Rennweg to the serbian embassy where it remained for a short period of time and then moved to the opposite side of the street to express its discontent.. It then continued right outside the embassy whose employees apparently didn’t so much dare as to look out of the windows.

The demo, which was small but very loud, lasted for about half an hour and then dispersed without police involvement.

The international protests will continue until the five people are being released…we will be back, that’s no question!!!!!!!!