Solidarity Poster for Polykarpos Georgiadis and Vaggelis Chrisohoidis (greece)

Belgium: Two Comrades Arrested

Sunday 9 November 2008

In the night of the 6th of October, Jürgen Goethals didn’t come home. He was picked off the streets by cops, put in front of a prosecutor and locked up in the prison of Ghent.

Earlier that day, a gang of fascists were hosted once more by the tolerant city of Ghent. Something, which, was apparently not appreciated by everyone. In several places, people expressed their discord by causing damage to symbols of this capitalist society. We found out later that Jürgen is alleged of having participated in these protest actions.

The following days, several people are harassed by cops. A week and a half later, a house search takes place at the house of Paolo Melis. He is requested to report two days later at the police station for an interrogation. On this day, the 21st of October, he is arrested in the afternoon on his way home. He as well, disappears behind the bars of the Nieuwe Wandeling.

On the 9th of November, the detention of Jürgen and Paolo was confirmed. The file was sent to the correctional court; they will appear before the judge within two weeks.

We will not rest until we can embrace our comrades, how and when we want to.

Jürgen and Paolo free!

Against every form of imprisonment!

For the destruction of prison and its world.

To write letters of support:

Jürgen Goethals Nieuwe Wandeling 89 9000 Gent Belgium

Gian-Paolo Melis Nieuwe Wandeling 89 9000 Gent Belgium

For financial support: 000-3244460-04 with the mention J+P

Ghent, the night of 6 on 7 October:

Splintered glass, dripping paint. The justice palace is damaged by vandals. Ten thousand euros worth of damage according to the court. What inspired the burst of fury against one of the pillars of democracy? Destructive flames are licking the plastic garbage bins all over the centre of Ghent. Money spitting ATMs, there for the comfort of the permanent consumer, are affected by the fire. Firemen and police are running everywhere at once. Chaos and sirens on all sides.

Regional television also reports that a few rightwing students are treated with a dose of physical demoralising critique (the president of the fascist student organisation NSV receives a few well directed punches). On the St-Pieterssquare, the KVHV [catholic rightwing student organisation] organises a debate on Islam in Europe. A clique of persistent rightwing “democrats”, among others Dewinter, Dedecker etc [rightwing politicians], countered by the Islamists of AEL [Arab-European League]. A few blocks away, in a university in the Voskes avenue, the NSV (the unofficial student club on the Vlaams Belang, fascist party), celebrates the beginning of the academic year. Last year, the NSV organised a debate with Filip Dewinter as speaker. The university building where this debate would have taken place was occupied by antifascists. An attack of the fascists, led by Führer Filip was countered. The obstruction of this alleged right of free speech for fascists was not to be repeated.

So, this year, an impressive police force was deployed to let the promoters of the Vlaamsche democracy do their thing without being bothered. Since a gathering on the place and time set by them would only fall flat against a blue wall, this year, the reaction took different forms. The parties didn’t go unnoticed; Ghent was startled by a spontaneous and wayward eruption of chaos.

The political advance of extreme right in Flanders is not a coincidence. The fact that fascist organisations such as the NSV and the NSA [National Socialist Action] get a free game and are zealously protected by the police forces has deep implications.

The extreme right tosses up all sorts of “problems” that have no factual base. All over the world, the rupture line between a small, superrich elite and the masses that fight daily to survive is becoming deeper every day. Everywhere, the protectors of this elite are more and more elaborated and better equipped. Hence the colourful variants of the cops who dirty our streets (grey, purple, black, …uniforms, each of them with their specialisation). Their working method ranges from a velvet ‘social’ way to hard repression.

The discourse of the extreme right; presenting Islam as a threat for the “lightened” western world, presenting people on the run for a miserable existence as parasites, not-working as scroungers,…is meant to deviate the attention from the daily war that repeats itself between the rich and the poor.

This story is brought to us by the media who act as mouth-piece of the ruling elite and continue to distract us with “tittytainment” on television and the internet, the cult of health and such. Flanders public opinion seems to have appropriated this discourse. At the bar as well, racism is never far away. The “others” are the enemy, not the puppeteers who manipulate this theatre.

The aftermath:

Justice and the government are of course not very pleased with expressions of resistance as were demonstrated that night. For a public opinion dominated by rightwing actors, somebody has to pay. That night, one person was arrested and accused of several arsons. Two weeks later, another person was arrested on similar charges.