www.Usenet.com
www.Usenet.com
| <-- __Chronological__ --> | <-- __Thread__ --> |
News for Anarchists & Activists: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo CounterPunch November 26, 2003 London and Miami Cops in Two Cities By ALEXANDER COCKBURN The climax of the big demonstrations against President Bush on his recent London jaunt was the toppling of a papier mache statue of the commander in chief, a reprise on the carefully staged pulling down of Saddam's statue in Baghdad earlier this year. If those London jokesters had tried this in Miami during the recent protests against the Free Trade Area of the Americas summit, it's a pretty safe bet they would have been gassed, tasered with electric stun guns, battered with rubber bullets, arrested and charged with felony counts costing them thousands until a judge threw the charges out. Mainstream coverage of the protests has missed a very big story, which is Miami proved once again that these days lawful political protest is a very dangerous business. Top cop in Miami was none other than Miami police chief John Timoney. Back in the summer of 2000 this same Timoney was police chief in Philadelphia, trampling on rights to lawful assembly during the Republican National Convention. His storm troopers were found later by the courts to have have infiltrated protesters' meetings and acted as agents provocateurs; to have acted with undue force; to have illegally detained peaceful protesters. The macabre climax of Timoney's rampages was the arrest as he walked down the street of John Sellers of the Ruckus Society. Sellers famously became the first American ever accused of brandishing a cellphoner with intent to commit a crime. Bail for Sellers was initially set at $1 million before a judge threw the charges out. Listen to Jeremy Scahill, producer-correspondent for Pacifica's daily "Democracy Now" program. "No one should call what Timoney runs in Miami a police force. It's a paramilitary group. Thousands of soldiers, dressed in khaki uniforms with full black body armor and gas masks, marching in unison through the streets, banging batons against their shields, chanting, 'back . . . back . . . back.' There were armored personnel carriers and helicopters. "The forces fired indiscriminately into crowds of unarmed protesters. Scores of people were hit with skin-piercing rubber bullets; thousands were gassed with an array of chemicals. On several occasions, police fired loud concussion grenades into the crowds. Police shocked people with electric tasers. Demonstrators were shot in the back as they retreated. One young guy's apparent crime was holding his fingers in a peace sign in front of the troops. They shot him multiple times, including once in the stomach at point blank range." Scahill says there was no need for any demonstrator to hurl anything at the forces to spark police violence. "It was clear from the jump that Timoney's men came prepared to crack heads. And they did that over and over." Miami got $8.5 million in federal funds from the $87 billion Iraq spending bill. Miami Mayor Manny Diaz called the police actions last week "a model" for homeland security. As in Philadelphia, the model also included deployment of undercover police as provocateurs. At one point during a standoff with police, Scahill recalls, "it appeared as though a group of protesters had gotten into a brawl amongst themselves. But as others moved in to break up the melee, two of the guys pulled out electric tazers and shocked protesters, before being liberated back behind police lines. These guys, clearly undercover agents, were dressed like any other protester. One had a sticker on his backpack that read: 'FTAA No Way.'" Former California assemblyman Tom Hayden described later how: "Protesters seemed to skirmish with heavily armored Miami police outside the Riande Hotel Thursday morning, but nothing is at it seems . . . These 'anarchists' were undercover police officers whose mission was to provoke a confrontation. "The crowd predictably panicked, television cameras moved in, the police lines parted, and I watched through a nearby hotel window as two undercover officers disguised as 'anarchists', thinking they were invisible, hugged each other. They excitedly pulled tasers and other weapons out of their camouflage cargo pants, and slipped away in an unmarked police van." Undercover cops embedded themselves amid demonstrators and journalists embedded themselves with the cops. Scahill describes how he and his colleagues were suddenly confronted by Timoney and a crew of cops on bicycles: "As Timoney was talking with his men, one of the guys on the bikes approached us with a notepad. 'Can I have your names?' he asked. I thought he was a police officer preparing a report. He had on a Miami police polo shirt, just like Timoney's. He had a Miami police bike helmet, just like Timoney's. He had a bike, just like Timoney's. In fact there was only one small detail that separated him from Timoney--a small badge around his neck identifying him as a reporter with the Miami Herald. He was embedded with Chief Timoney. "That reporter was one of dozens who were embedded with the Miami forces. We saw a Miami Herald photographer who had somehow gotten pushed onto the "protesters side" of a standoff with the police. The photographer grew angrier and angrier before he began hitting one of the young kids on the line. He punched him in the back of the head before other journalists grabbed him and calmed him down. His colleagues seemed shocked at the conduct. He was a big, big guy and was wearing a bulletproof vest and a police issued riot helmet, but I really think he was scared of the skinny, dreadlocked bandana clad protesters. He had this look of panic on his face, like he had been in a scuffle with the Viet Cong." If Timoney had been in charge of the London cops during Bush's visit we'd probably now be looking at news film of funeral processions for demonstrators crushed to death in police-inspired stampedes. That's the way the "Miami model" is headed. ***** CounterPunch November 26, 2003 Militarization in Miami Threatening the Right to Protest By RUSSELL MOKHIBER and ROBERT WEISSMAN There was a real threat to the social order on the streets of Miami last week, during the Ministerial Meeting of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). It wasn't protesters, not even those calling themselves anarchists or even those dressed in black. No, the threat came from the Miami police, Florida state troopers and the other police and military forces patrolling the city. With more than $10 million in special funding (including an $8.5 million allocation in the federal government's Iraq appropriations bill), 2,500 or so officers -- many clad in full body armor and backed up by armored vehicles -- turned Miami into a veritable police state. As was almost inevitable, the police used wildly excessive force to deal with protesters. They launched unprovoked attacks against people who were doing nothing illegal. They sprayed tear gas and pepper spray at protesters -- including retirees -- and shot many with rubber bullets. They used taser guns. They knocked down peaceful protesters and held guns to their heads. They blocked thousands of retirees and union members on buses from joining a rally and march for which all required permits had been obtained. They attacked journalists viewed as hostile. They arrested approximately 250 persons, according to the best estimates, with little or no rationale. Credible reports have emerged of brutality and sexual harassment against several of those jailed. At least as serious, the police deterred thousands from even considering joining the FTAA protests -- and protests into the future. In sunny Miami, it was a dark week for the First Amendment, for civil liberties and for the right to dissent. A South African activist told us how deeply frightened she was walking down the streets of Miami. Even before the police violence erupted, marching in the streets amidst thousands of armored police sent chills down her spine, she said. Last week's outrages had their roots in months of planning led by Miami Police Chief John Timoney. He whipped the city and the police force into a frenzy. The absurdist invocation of an anarchist threat convinced the local media (especially television reporters) and much of the local population that downtown would be a riot zone. That was enough to empty the downtown, and scare many local Miamians from joining any of the protests, no matter how tame. We had first-hand experience with this problem. We had been involved in a planning a small demonstration on Tuesday -- two days before the main protests. We had obtained all requisite permits from the police. With agreement from their teachers, hundreds of high school students were ready to join our small action highlighting how the FTAA and trade agreements interfere with anti-smoking and other public health measures. But no teacher could feel comfortable sending students to a militarized downtown, and so the students were not able to demonstrate. We turned our rally into a news conference. This was a small incident. Our demonstration wasn't going to change the world. (We do, however, intend to win on our demand to exclude tobacco products from all trade agreements.) But as an illustrative example, it is incredibly important, for it shows how police overdeployment, scare tactics and militarization intimidates people from marching in the streets and opposing corporate- and state-approved policy. It wasn't just the public and media that Timoney managed to frighten. There's little doubt that the police themselves buy the propaganda. After months of excessive training and hearing about the dangers posed by protesters, and empowered by new body armor, shields, batons and other equipment, the police were, to say the least, overeager to lunge at protesters. (Said one of a group of 10 cops on bikes as they crossed the street to assess the scene at our news conference, and with one of us standing right next to them, "Let's go fuck 'em up.") By the time of the main demonstrations on Thursday, the police couldn't hold themselves back. In different circumstances, it would have been funny to see the police outnumbering the direct action protesters, or the comically attired "undercover" agents who were a bit too well built to credibly seem part of the ranks of the slight direct action protesters -- many of whom are vegans. But it wasn't funny. Not when the police -- responding to the smallest provocations, such as a couple small fires lit in trashcans -- went berserk and attacked large crowds of protesters. Not when credible reports say some of those undercover agents may have been provocateurs, and when several of them emerged as some of the most brutal in attacking protesters. There is immediate need now to support those who were jailed and mistreated, and force the city to drop trumped up charges against protesters. You can help by sending a fax to Miami Mayor Manuel Diaz protesting the violation of constitutional rights. Public Citizen has established a free fax site at: http://www.citizen.org/ Those who are facing charges will need legal help. You can donate to support them by going to: http://stopftaa.org/ or to http://www.unitedforpeace.org Activists, the National Lawyers Guild, the American Civil Liberties Union and other civil liberties standard bearers must do all they can and will do to oppose the rising repression evidenced in Miami. But that's not enough. There will, undoubtedly, be civil lawsuits down the road, and, if there is any justice, they will succeed. But that's not enough, either. As important as such litigation is, it is clear from recent crackdown on protests around the United States that police forces are willing to absorb the costs of these suits. The present cycle is that the media and political establishment applaud the police for running scare campaigns, militarizing cities, directing violence against protesters and blatantly violating civil liberties. Often, as details emerge, criticism emerges from those same pillars of society. This must change. The establishment must speak out now, immediately after the abuses occurred. They are apparent to anyone who cares to know about them. In the future, the establishment -- we mean newspaper editors, political leaders of all parties, lawyers, even corporate executives -- must insist on appropriate police tactics in advance of large-scale protests, and they must make clear that regular police and top officers alike will be held personally accountable for abuses. If they fail to pursue this course, the consequences for the right to protest will be grim indeed. Russell Mokhiber is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Corporate Crime Reporter. Robert Weissman is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Multinational Monitor, and co-director of Essential Action, a corporate accountability group. They are co-authors of Corporate Predators: The Hunt for MegaProfits and the Attack on Democracy (Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press; http://www.corporatepredators.org ). ***** CounterPunch November 26, 2003 Anarchists on the Beach Some Impressions from Miami By TOM CRUMPACKER In the long media buildup to the November FTAA negotiations, we Miamians were often told that of the tens of thousands of outside protesters who would be coming to our city, 90% would be decent citizens who were exercising their rights of speech and assembly, but 10% were "anarchists" who were coming to destroy our businesses and property. To me an anarchist had always seemed a rare kind of utopian intellectual proposing a theory that all government is inherently coercive (with a connotation of violence deriving from 19th Century assassinations by bearded men). Official estimates said there were about 10,000 protesters. Another 10,000 in 280 buses had not been permitted to enter the city, and many Miamians and others had been excluded from the downtown area. There were over 5000 police involved in this operation, which was said to be financed by $8 million from Homeland Security, $1 million from Miami-Dade, and $1 million "plus" from "private donations." The police were in new kinds of outfits, most black (foot phalanxes) which pushed and herded protesters with their shields and bats around the streets, white shirts (bicycle patrols), brown shirts (tear gas and special weapons), and blue shirts (horseback patrols). They had and used new tanks, gunboats, bats, plastic shields, tasers, tear gas, stun guns, rubber bullets (which cause severe injury at close range), pellet bags and concussion grenades. They had no bone to pick with the unions or the involved South Florida progressives and their groups, but clearly were after the anarchists, who are discernible by what they wear -- boots, dark pants and shirts and often bandanas on their faces like bandits, which they think protect them from the gas. All week the anarchists were constantly being stopped, questioned and searched without cause or suspicion. There were hundreds of injuries, dozens of hospitalizations, 220 arrests leading to charges, many more taken into custody and eventually released without charge. I doubt seriously that any of the charges will hold up in court, if the accused can afford the cost to contest. The police motto was "You can beat the rap but not the trip." To my surprise my 32 year old daughter turned out to be an anarchist. She had come with a group of fifty from Austin. By hanging out with her a few days I was able to get a clearer picture of what they are about. In general they are Americans from all walks of life, all ages (mostly young), who are idealists and activists -- they had come at great personal sacrifice to face substantial physical risk in order to help create a better world for themselves and their families. They don't seem to discuss theory, and it's clear there is no common ideology. Some may be traditional anarchists, some economic-political decentralists, some "pagans," socialists, ecologists, democrats, liberals, conservatives, whatever, many have no interest in theory. They have differing affinity and geographical groupings within the larger circle, and decisions seem to be made by rough consensus after all who want are heard. The smaller groups decide what actions they do, but all agree to support each other to the extent they can. Their "convergence center" is a warehouse they rented in central Miami for eating, sleeping, messages, conferences, discussions which had to do with tactics and practical matters. They call their demonstration tactics "nonviolent direct action." This is really what they have in common. They emphasize responsibility and accountability and their ethical standards and solidarity seem strong: many of them are still here a week later trying to raise ransom money or help those coming out of hospitals. One important purpose they had was to demonstrate that our hallowed constitutional rights are meaningless, and in this they were successful. Because of the buildup, the local media gave substantial coverage to the events of demonstration day, however national coverage was eclipsed by the apparently significant Michael Jackson arrest story. At the rally and marches they had lots of American flags, African drums, political puppet shows, many were in costumes or on stilts. Their "cheerleader" groups sang chants and songs about the Bill of Rights. As they were being searched they would say "What about the Fourth Amendment," and as they were being pushed around the streets by police phalanxes they would shout "These are our streets." Their "weapons," used only in defense, were a few smoke bombs and small balloons filled with white paint, which sullied a few new police uniforms. The local media reporters were initially antagonistic toward them but slowly began to come around when they saw what was really happening. At the end of the day, when they finally began to interview some of the anarchists on TV, they were quite articulate about the trade agreements and their effect on our society. The TV constantly searched for instances of anarchist violence, like throwing rocks or breaking windows, but never found any. Our police chief John Timoney often complained on TV that they were "outsiders" here to cause trouble, but he himself is some kind of an outside "crowd suppression" expert hired a year ago to come here to mastermind this operation. Regarding the negotiations, as I understand it, there wasn't any negotiation, or even discussion of the differences which had surfaced in Cancun. All that happened was that some Miami businessmen and Florida politicians (including our governor) tried unsuccessfully to woo or pressure the South Americans. As the self-styled "Gateway to the Americas" Miami hopes to be the future FTAA headquarters, supposedly a financial boon for all of us here. Mexico and Chile, already on the hook, were disappointed. The US will now negotiate bilateral agreements with the smaller, weaker nations of the Caribbean and Central America. As for the agreement signed, the Sun-Sentinel editorial recommended FTAA be put off to 2010 and the Miami Herald said its "crowning achievement" was the promise to continue talking in the future. In other words, the only purpose of this conference, which was scheduled two years ago, was to preserve the public illusion that that the talks are progressing. While the demonstrations might have helped, I think the real reason for FTAA's unseemly demise is the increasing poverty and misery which unregulated capitalism is bringing to South America. The Herald summed it all up with a large color photo of a police phalanx on the front page, with the caption "Free Trade Area of the Americas." It was a political cartoon but the drawing was a real photo. Tom Crumpacker is with the Miami Coalition to End the US Embargo of Cuba. He can be reached at: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] -- Dan Clore Now available: _The Unspeakable and Others_ http://www.wildsidepress.com/index2.htm http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1587154838/thedanclorenecro Lord Werdgliffe & Necronomicon Page: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/9879/ News for Anarchists & Activists: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo "It's a political statement -- or, rather, an *anti*-political statement. The symbol for *anarchy*!" -- Batman, explaining the circle-A graffiti, in _Detective Comics_ #608 ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark Printer at MyInks.com. Free s/h on orders $50 or more to the US & Canada. http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5511 http://us.click.yahoo.com/mOAaAA/3exGAA/qnsNAA/2bSolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
| <-- __Chronological__ --> | <-- __Thread__ --> |
