Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Fuck the Facists!


18 08 2009

Birmingham Riot

On August 8th in Blackpool, North England, thousands of people gathered for Rebellion Festival. Each year the festival attracts more and more people, but it has to be said, not everyone is a part of the same big happy punk family. You see, politics is pretty inherent in punk culture, and at times the relationships between the skins and punks is a tentative one (obviously we’re not including SHARPs here). Political persuasion is often very extreme in Punk from the crusty looking, animal liberating, squat punks to the working class, boots and braces, football loving skins (Ok, ok, we’ll stop with the stereotypes!). The point being despite this, trouble is often low to non-existent at the Festival. In fact, the left and right often seem to come together in face of the Police. Because well everyone hates the police, right?

It seems though that this is an exception, as while things may have been very calm in Blackpool, they were a lot more heated on the streets of Birmingham. In the center of Brumtown, left met right, or if we’re being fucking crude, white met non-whites. The English Defence League and Casual United were in Birmingham town to demonstrate against ‘Islamic fundamentalism’. On hearing about the planned march, anti-fascists, Unite Against Fascism (UAF) organised their own demonstraion. The EDL managed to call on the support of approximately 150, whilst the UAF had a rollcall of about 400.

As even a baby could predict, things didn’t run too smoothly. Pockets of violence broke out between the two groups and the police arrived in full riot gear. The general public were locked into shops as they tried to protect themselves from the ensuing violence. Shops closed their shutters and streets were closed off by steel barriers. Thirty five people were arrested and three people were injured during the riot.

It is without a doubt that events like this are an example of what is to come in the future as tension mounts between the left and right. The mass media’s focus on migration, terrorism, and the current economic climate has been a tool for the Right to expand their ranks. Enthusiasm for them is already very evident as seen in the election of BNP members into European parliament. It’s important for us, as people to read between the lines of the mass media (and here if you desire to do so) and other forms of propaganda to make up our own minds.

With more ‘peaceful protests’ planned in the future it’s time to clear the streets, or take them fucking back.

Solidarity Poster for Polykarpos Georgiadis and Vaggelis Chrisohoidis (greece)



POSTER SAYS:
did anyone speak of a
KIDNAPPING?
“…A handful of capitalists
have organized a criminal gang
and have kidnapped the proletarians,
demanding for ransom
their labor force,
merchandising their human activity,
their time (which is turned into money),
their own being itself…”
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
to vaggelis Chrisohoidis and Polykarpos Georgiadis
who the persecuting authorities, exactly because they denied to betray values and people,
accuse them as participators in the kidnapping of industrialist Milonas
anarchists from Serres from north-greece


Anarchists solidarity protest outside Korydallos prison, the main prison in Athens, at the time of the change of the year. This protest happens every New Year's Eve for the past six years. This year more than 400 people took part in the protest that interacted with the prisoners inside through shouting mutual slogans and fireworks. The main slogan was "The passion for freedom is stronger that your prisons".
NEW YEAR OUTSIDE IN KORRIDALOS PRISON 2011
Watch live streaming video from agitprop at livestream.com
FIRE TO ALL PRISONS

A society that punishes/the condition of incarceration/the prison of the mind/the prison as punishment/the rage of the damned will sound on the ruins of prisons/those denying obedience and misery of our era even within its hellholes/will dance together on the ruins of every last prison/with the flame of rebellion avenging whatever creates prisons.

To the prisoners struggle already counting one dead and thousands in hunger strike across greece, we stand in solidarity and anger until the destruction of every last prison.


ARSON AND WILDFIRE FOR EVERY PRISON

SOLIDARITY TO ALL PRISONERS IN GREECE


Keny Arkana - La Rage English Subtitles

1976 - 2000 Greek Anarchists Fight for Freedom

(December Riots in Greece)