Radical anti-abortionists of „Euro Pro Life e. V.“ and „Arbeitsgemeinschaft Lebensschutz München“ are planning a „1000 crosses for life“ march through the city of Munich on the 27th of October to protest against abortions.
We will not accept this kind of antifeminist and homophobic propaganda and will respond to the march accordingly. That’s why we’re calling for a feminist demonstration to claim our right for physical and sexual self-determination and creative actions to sabotage the march. Join us at 1pm at the Max-Joseph-Platz in Munich.
27th of October 2018, 1pm, Max-Joseph-Platz, Munich
In times of mass-mobilizations by right-wing forces we have to defend hard-fought achievements, forge alliances and join forces to develop our emancipatory positions further and bring them to the streets. This is especially relevant because the „Pro Life“ movement is hugely benefitting from the right-wing backlash. They don’t only profit from it, with their concept of the heterosexual, white family, they are also intentionally spreading (extrem) right positions.
On the 27th of October radical anti-abortionists will march through Munich. They have a Christian worldview and are demanding to make abortions illegal.
They pretend to be „pro life“ and pretend to represent a „culture of life“ … this is complete travesty when you look at the 47,000 people dying each year worldwide because they do not have access to safe abortions.
Pro Choice doesn’t mean pro abortions. But a world where no one needs abortions won’t exists. There always were abortions and there always will be abortions. This is why we’re fighting for a world in which a pregnant person can take a decision without being harassed and pressured by radical anti-abortionists, stigmatized by the society or criminalized by the State.
Contrary to the assumption of many abortions are still illegal in Germany and will be prosecuted with up to three years in prison if the pregnant person doesn’t stick to the rules. One of these rules is that someone who wants to get an abortion has to go to a counselor to get a certificate and wait for a minimum of three days before a doctor can perform the abortion. To apply criminal law to abortions is the ultimate expression of our patriarchal society. This is why wedemand to eliminate §218 StGB!
Another paragraph that anti-abortionists misuse to pressure doctors is §219 StGB, which regulates advertising for abortions. Due to the ambivalent legislation people who need factual and balanced information about abortions struggle to get it. This is why we demand to eliminate §219a StGB and express our solidarity with doctors who are affected.
Many positions of „Pro Life“ activists are conservative, right-wing and nationalist. They’re pushing the white, heterosexual small family as the sought after norm and thereby agitate agains queer people and LGBTI*. They’re collaborating with (extrem) right forces such as the parties Christlich Demokratische Union/ Christlich Soziale Union (CDU/CSU) or the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD). A high-level representative of the CDU sent his greetings to the homophobe „Marsch für das Leben“ (march for life) in Berlin, an AfD representative publicly wished that „migration to Germany should happen through the birth canal of German women“. Others relativize NS crimes by putting abortions on the same level as the Shoa calling it „Babycaust“.
These disgusting positions can’t go unchallenged – not in Berlin, Salzburg, Bern, Munich or anywhere else in the world. Because we love who we want, and we live how we want.
Our demands
self-determination when it comes to gender and sexuality
the elimination of §218 and §219a StGB
full cost reimbursement by the insurances in case of an abortion
more clinics and medical practices where abortions are carried out
abortion as a compulsory part of the medical education
elimination of the possibility to not perform an abortion due to doctor’s conscience issues
access to free contraceptives
social rethink: it shouldn’t matter if a child is born with or without a handicap. We are against the normative selection through prenatal diagnosis
equality for all ways of living
Our feminist struggle includes the fight against state, nation and capital. If you can identify with these demands, join us on the 27th of October 2018 at 1pm at the Max-Joseph-Platz in Munich. Protest for an emancipated society and against patriarchy.
Right-wing and conservative forces are not welcome at our demonstration.
Tuesday, October 2nd 2018, Jazzy and Winter were released after their court hearing.
Both of them sat more than two weeks in pre-trial detention. Now the Düren district-court decided not to continue enforcing the restriction-order.
Both of them are now free, and their identities still unknown to the authorities!
But there are still three “Hambi”s in Prison: UPIII, Andrea (UP 20) and Eule. All prisoners need our support! You can write an e-mail to abc-rhineland@riseup.net and they will print it and send it to them.
The Hambacher Forst is in the focus of the media, since Thursday 13.09. is a major police operation inclusive SEK (Special Deployment Commando) evicting the tree houses. There are different ways of resistance, but especially the left press and NGO’s like to report about non violent protest, to claim it for themselves. In our report we want to focus on militance, but we don’t see it as the only important part of the protest. Here follows a chronic of militance, resistance and repression in Hambacher Forst. Of course this chronic is not complete, because many actions are done by small groups and we only know about the actions, that where told to us.
Since 13.09. a few thousand cops are nonstop in the forest, to finally evict and destroy all of the tree houses. But the eviction of the forest and the preparation for it started way earlier. In August, there was a call on the Hambi blog to prepare for the eviction. In the call was assumed, that the eviction is planned between 22.08. and 22.09.2018. Because of this many activists came to the forest, to fight against the eviction. Daily people built barricades, new platforms, lock-ons etc. to make the eviction more difficult. It was also made clear to the cops and RWE securities, that the forest is a dangerous place for them, where they should not feel comfortable.
The way to the Danger Zone
As a few cop cars are standing in one of the main entrances of the forest on 21.08., they are kept in distance by a big group of militant people with mollies and stones. On the next day, the cops stop two cars with pointed guns in the village Buir. They confiscate one of the cars, which is the bus of the Alf kitchen collective. They try to make the Alf collective responsible for the mollies and even after they give the bus back, the bus gets raided several times again. The bus is not only a home of people, but also an important kitchen for the forest.
On the 24.08. there is a major police operation with heavy machinery to evict barricades. Probably it is especially about the barricades in the forest entrance at the Secu-Road. In the evening, new barricades are being build in the entrance and the cops come back to destroy them and to steal the tools. This time they are chased out of the forest with stones. While the cops run away, one of them even pulls out the gun and aims at the people who run after them. Reinforcement and 2 ambulances arrive to pick up the cops.
On 25.08. the cops discover another car barricade and a possible explosive near to Lorien and they want to remove it. They are being attacked by mollies, stones and fireworks and have to leave the forest, when it starts to get dark. In a press release, the cops ask for a peaceful action consent and for distancing from violence.
One day later, about 400 cops come to the same place to evict. Some 25 masked people fight them with stones but are forced back by the great number of cops. Meanwhile new barricades are set up. But the barricades could only be defended for a short time each.
On the next day again a few hundred cops are in the forest and the Meadow Camp is surrounded. The operation is probably a preparation or a test.
On the 28.08. there is a raid in the Meadow, supposedly to search Molotov cocktails. The majority of the people at the meadow are brought to the police station in Aachen, because they don’t give their identities to the cops. All the others are send off until the evening. The Cops use the day to steal everything what’s possible. They take glass bottles, slingshots, crow’s feet, climbing gear, money, id cards and electronic devices. With the reason, that you can commit crime with it aka build barricades they steal wooden pallets, solar panels and water canisters. In the end tunnels where filled up to prevent danger and a lock on is being removed. With that the cops also destroy the library. In the evening, all of the people are released from custody, of some of them, the cops could not find out the identity. At the day after the raid was a solidarity demo from Buir to the Meadow.
In the following days cop and security cars are being attacked several times with stones and fire. Also diggers of RWE, that are working close to the forest, are chased away repeatedly. After one of these actions, more than 20 RWE securities run after the activists. The activists fight back with mollies and stones. Some of the secus are throwing stones but only dared to go a few meters into the forest.
Meanwhile the police union demands not to put the cops into the dangerous forest, until the cutting season of the forest is clear.
Since 31.08. the forest and the surrounding area is declared as a “danger zone” and the cops try to search every car and person, that is on the way to the forest.
In the evening of the 02.09. there are burning barricades and a cop van is attacked and damaged with stones.
Ongoing escalation
The next major police operation is taking place on the 5. and 06.09. The cops want to evict all the ground structures and barricades inclusive tripods and monopod. Some of the structures where defended with piss and shit, that is flying from above to the cops who have to leave the area.
There are solidarity demos again from Buir to the forest. On Sunday the 09.09. more than 1000 people are participating in the forest walk where one week before about 400 people joined.
In the morning of 10.09. a cop car and a secu car are being attacked each with stones and fire. Also the front window of an RWE vehicle gets smashed. After these attacks the cops call the forest phone and threaten to clear the undergrowth next to the secu road, in case of another attack. In the same night the secu road is blocked by a burning barricade. A cop van that comes close to the barricade gets covered with stones and has to escape. While the barricade is burning, the secu-point, that was converted into a fortress after several attacks in the past, gets attacked by many people with stones and molotovs. At the same time barricades are being build on the old highway. After a short time, about 40 armored cops and an eviction tank line up in the secu-point and go towards the attacking people who move to a hill. When the police tries to surround the attackers, it is raining stones from above. According to whitenesses, one could hear several cries of pain from underneath. After the cops keep distance again, the activists move back into the forest.
In the next morning the burning barricade is maintained with new firewood and there is another attack to a secu car. The cops threaten, that they will come on the 12.09. with a huge presence plus SEK and to shoot, when things would be thrown at cops.
On the 12.09. there are burning barricades in different entrances of the forest. A group of cops gets attacked by a few people on the secu road with stones. One cop shoots in the air and than aims at the attackers.
Final eviction (?)
In the morning of the 13.09. the major operation starts, which is planned to be the final eviction of the forest. Heavily armed SEK and climbing cops start to evict the tree houses. The people in the houses thought about many things, how they can make the eviction as difficult and expensive as possible, so the cops make progress very slowly. One of the first tree house villages that should be evicted is The North. When the first barricades in front of the entrance to The North are getting evicted, the cops are being attacked with stones, slingshots and Mollies. The cops escape into their cars and try to defend themselves by driving with full-speed towards the attackers. They did not get anyone but the cars remain with scratches and dents.
Afd-Nazis, that dare to go into the forest with police escort to watch the eviction, are being chased away by a group of militant people with shouts and stones. The escorting police is running faster than the Nazis.
When the first machines try to cut a way to the The North, again masked people run towards cops and RWE workers and throw with stones. The workers have to move back, you can hear cheering from the treetops and the work can not be continued for a while. The armored cops that are in the majority can force the attackers slowly back. BFE (arrest units) troops come to reinforce the cops and the activists have to move away.
In the evening, the cops manage to get more and more control over the forest and it is getting harder to attack the cops in the forest. But there is still attacks for example with shit, which are especially shitty for the cops and there is a call for decentral militant actions 1
Also there are more and more people showing solidarity with Hambi. Everyday, hundreds of people try to get into the forest and on the forest walk of 16.09., about 9.000 people are joining. Only a few of them manage to brake through the police chains. There are solidarity actions and demos in many cities.
Some thoughts
The broad Solidarity is helpful for the Hambi to stay and it causes more pressure on RWE and the cops. One example is that 3 companys takes back the lent cherry-pickers after a few days of eviction. It would be nice, but it’s probably not the case, if many of the people in solidarity are also in solidarity with the militance. And that they realize, that the struggle is in the eyes of many people in the forest not only about the preservation of a small peace of forest neither the exit of brown coal. These reforms would not change anything in the whole shit of capitalism and state. The people, that can not go on their forest walk anymore want to have back their state of law and their democracy but they don’t realize, that there is almost nothing more totalitarian than a democratic state, that promises fundamental rights as long as the people obey. As soon as people question the authority of the state and it gets more dangerous, the state is adjusting the laws.
We stay militant, no matter if in Hambi or somewhere else. No matter if the wide public accepts us or if we have to fight against this whole shit with a few good comrades. Hatred and violence against the fucking cops, against RWE and any other large enterprise, against democracy and any form of authority. Our hearts are burning as our mollies do!
Notes:
It should be mentioned, that such forms of action exclude other forms of action completely:
In the moment it is quite easy for the cops to make a difference: reflecting safety jacket + industrial safety helmet = RWE, or at least press; and people dressed in any way don’t belong in the forest and are targets for them. In this situation there would be many possibilities for false signals of group membership:
Acitivists with reflecting safety jacket and industrial safety helmet could often easily get into closed areas in – for the cops – stressful situations, and suddenly lock onto their heavy machines.
If their is stress and chaos among the police in the woods, they would also let pass any car with RWE-Brand, and so forth …
If then the Cops have to start controlling ANY person with great detail in this area, the RWE dudes as well, it would be a massive obstacle for his eviction.
But such methods of creating (even more) chaos drop out completely if you have to worry getting stones and molotov cocktails thrown at you if you wear cop feinting outfit.
Here it seams best to use militancy especially against things. There are more than enough moments when cop cars and RWE machines are without people inside in the woods, to which then for instance you could set fire.
This is ABC South-West speaking. We would like to introduce ourselves as the newly-founded Anarchist Black Cross (ABC) group for Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany and its surrounding areas. ABC’s goals are to show solidarity with prisoners and people suffering from repression, to connect those affected as well as solidary people and to offer support. This includes following and accompanying legal processes, so that cases of repression and violence are made public and nobody has to fight alone. In this context we will regularly post reports of ongoing court cases. We plan to create a list of prisoners in the region and – with your help – write letters to them, turning solidarity into action.
Part of our aim is also to go beyond mere descriptive work and to criticize and attack the roots of imprisonment and repression, namely state, borders, police brutality and the justice system.
The ABC seeks to offer information, discourse and networking for self-defense and self-empowerment. The website should act as an information platform where you can contribute texts and reports for publication, where a collection of helpful links and other material such as zines can be found, and where the framework for exchanging experiences is given. In time this will create an archive made up out of the collected contents, which can aid in observing and understanding developments in repressive structures as well as the corresponding possibilities to counteract them. In order to develop an overview of ongoing legal cases we are working on creating a chronicle of repression and solidarity. In order to do this we need your help! Send us (encrypted) information on legal processes, police actions, prisoners, acts of solidarity and so on.
A further important issue is the documentation and criticism of the continuing militarization of police, state, and companies, as well as public surveillance and militant law-making, justified by the pretext of fighting terror and the creation of imaginary enemies.
It is not our goal to be an anti-repression-service-center, but rather to unite to fight repression with you. The ABC South-West considers itself a horizontal anti-authoritarian group. In the moment we are still under construction and so are not able to take on new members for the time being. We are working towards local and international networking and would welcome the broadcast of the ABC homepage, as well as any helpful tips and information from your part. Check out the website’s download area where you can find posters to print and distribute yourselves.
Throughout a history of relentless and brutal police interventions, those occupying Hambacher Wald in opposition to RWE’s ecological devastation and structural violence, have been forced to seek recourse in even more inventive methods of non-violent resistance, often putting their own safety at risk.
Over the years many of us have been physically violated, persecuted and put in jail for defending life in Hambacher Wald and beyond. Incessantly the police has chased us down – in this fatal instance in a tragically literal sense.
Even if no direct causation can be established between police activities and Stefan’s lethal fall, throughout the current police operation a series of life-threatening interventions have been observed, such as the cutting of traverserses with people in them and – Germany, what?! – the emission of carbon monoxide in a subterranean chamber.
How many more broken bones do we need, how many more fatalities, until we will collectively open our eyes to the reality of police violence, to the role of the police in perpetuating mass-destructive corporations structural violence and to the police’s institutional function of protecting the interests of the wealthy to the detriment of the oppressed? The sudden death of Stefan has not altered our initial motivations for being here. However shamelessly the police may proceed to evict the Hambacher Wald occupation, we shall not flinch, we shall not surrender – we are here, and if we must, we will come back. For the forest and for Stefan.
On Wednesday afternoon about 3:45 pm, the movement journalist, blogger and activist Steffen Horst Meyn, died in the tree house village Beechtown in Hambach Forest. He crashed while attempting to document an ongoing eviction action by the Special Task Force of Police (SEK), from a suspension bridge from about 20 m height. Rescue workers on the ground tried to resuscitate him. However, he died a little later, still in the forest, in a rescue helicopter. Photos taken by Steffen shortly before the accident
According to our information, there is no direct connection with the acute local police action at the time of the accident. But we know first-hand that the deceased only climbed into the trees because he was permanently prevented by the police from doing his press work on the ground.
“ After the press was often restricted in their work during the last few days in the Hambach Forest, I am now 25m up on Beechtown to document the evacuation work. There is no barrier tape up here.” Steffen Horst Meyn
“A friend who has accompanied us as a journalist for a long time in the forest, fell today from a suspension bridge over 20 meters high in Beechtown and died. At that time police and RWE tried to evict the tree house village. The SEK was in the process of arresting an activist near the suspension bridge. Our friend was apparently on the way there when he fell.
We are deeply shaken. All our thoughts and desires are with him. Our compassion goes to all the relatives, friends and people who feel concerned.
We urge the police and RWE to leave the forest immediately and stop this dangerous operation. No further lives may be endangered.
What is needed now is a moment of rest.
Even if this is difficult for you at the moment, just as it is difficult for us to give such a factual hint: We recommend, in order to protect all activists, do not give any statements, nor even make any testimonies at the police. The accident must and will be reappraised, but the police are not the place to do that. Their interest is to blame activists.”
Update: The deceased was a photographer and longtime friend of the occupants ande he was doing a report on the eviction of tree houses. He fell on his back from a height of about 20 meters, not having resisted his injuries. The police invasion is over for now.
Call for reoccupation on a massive scale in Hambach Forest. Callout for international solidarity
Right now a large scale police action in the Hambach Forest occupation is taking place! The protest camp fighting against energy company RWEs destruction of land and climate must be sustained until the last tree is standing! The eviction of the occupation is coming ever closer, and the struggle is becoming clearer every day now.
The Hambach Forest is occupied, because the big business concern RWE wants to clear and bulldoze it away. It wants to use the coal which lies underneath the forest to generate electricity and make money. The forest is occupied to draw attention to the consequences of lignite mining, to hinder the destruction of the forest in a direct way and to make it as hard and expensive as possible for RWE.
You can read more about how to be informed on the blog hambachforest. Come into the forest, whether alone or with your affinity group, doing solidarity (climbing actions, painting banners, hanging up posters, sabotage, demos, lectures… whatever, everything goes!
Climate change does not stop at the borders, and neither does our movement! Therefore we are calling for actions of solidarity to take place all over Germany, all over Europe, and all over the world!
The Hambach Forest occupation has become a focal point in the struggle for climate justice worldwide, and now, as we are preparing for the struggle to come, we need all your support!…)
So whether you are climate activists, anarchists, antipolicebrutality organizers, or you simply believe in fighting for justice, the callout is clear:
Organize yourself, take action, and show your solidarity
First appeared as „Ein Gespräch mit einigen Militanten über die informelle Koordinierung im Vorfeld der G20“ in Rauchzeichen, a magazine published by Autonomous Groups, Fall 2017 and now first published in English on https://anarhija.info/library/the-local-kids-issue-1-summer-2018-en . This is late, but not too late. We can use this conversation to prepare something for the coming black bloc attack next year in Biarritz/France, where the G7 summit will be end of Summer 2019.
AG: At the end of the summer of 2016, several communiques propose an informal coordination of radical groups in the run-up to the G20 summit in Hamburg. You took part in it. What interventions were you aiming for and which perspectives did it entail for you?
[Chuzpe]: “On the occasion of several big events like the G8 in Heiligendamm in 2007 or around the Destroika prior to the inauguration of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt in 2015, there have been similar proposals and radical campaigns. It is not a very new idea. Starting from an anarchist analysis, I see the necessity of a permanent conflictuality and I’m sceptical towards this staging of a political play where everyone has its role. Focusing on such an event leads often to the side-lining of everyday struggles. But at the same time, I see the possibility of a tension opening up in such moments, in which the scope of our interventions can amplify. Towards this end, I think that a focus on the practice of radical actions rooted in local struggles while referring to each other, can be a good way to resolve this contradiction and to work towards sustained action. Meanwhile, the practice of direct actions inside the mobilisation gives the possibility of showing this means of struggle, which can motivate and inspire other people.”
[Peter Pan]: “I think that a lot of the actions that happened during the year are part of specific struggles. Each specific struggle is valid on its own and is important, but the articulation of shared points gets lost. To create a certain ambience, but more so, to find shared points in the different strategies and analyses, points of reference are important. Which are created rather well with this kind of coordination. Individuals, groups, but also movements, that don’t know each other, can in this way communicate and get in touch.”
[HoodLum]: “The aim was to go beyond a political campaign and to set out lines on a European level, on which to work together. Events like the G20 mean that texts are more translated and diffused than normal. Through these, it becomes possible to affirm affinities towards other struggles or structures and to build upon them. For example, currently the actions against the construction of new prisons in Switzerland are inspired by the struggle on a similar topic that took place in Belgium. We have to express our utopian dreams. Or at least can we develop our dreams more if we know we’re not the only ones working to bring them about. I think a lot of groups reconsider their offensive when they don’t see immediate results, and that the feeling of isolation and futility of radical actions proliferates. Coordination like the one of the G20, the Greek call for a Black December, or from before, the campaign against the Olympics, can find a resonance beyond the event. If it is formulated well.”
AG: Can you give some examples of what resonated in the run-up to the G20 or of shared points between different struggles?
[Peter Pan]: “Good question. The G20 was probably itself the biggest shared point, that also explains why there’s always a certain calm after such an event. But I think the context of the “campaign” against the G20 has created the possibility of different tendencies to focus on the same topic. Before, each tendency put forward different positions. Now, through the coordination, a shared position was developed by different tendencies. One of the most evident shared points was the choice of method, expressing the incompatibility with the rules of the state and the values of society which have been indoctrinated. It’s from there that we consciously encountered each other.”
[Chuzpe]: “I have the impression that there was a stark need for an international dimension, which is also rather evident with a topic like the G20. A point of reference – one that was soon to emerge after the first attacks and that became clear through the choice of targets, as well as in the texts through the analyses and research – was the attacks against big companies that are known to be profiteers of crises through the rule of the Troika and the managing of German imperialism. This can also be considered as a continuation of the discourse expressed prior to the inauguration of the ECB in Frankfurt. Besides companies like Cosco, Telekom, Hochtief, Deutsche Bank, Allianz and others that profit from the privatisations in Greece, also multinationals like ThyssenKrupp, Thales, Actemium, Sodexo and much more have been targeted. What I find interesting, is the international scope that has been developed. This creates the possibility of correspondence with other struggles elsewhere and most of all, in resonance with it, the expansion of terrains of struggle. For example, there was the burning of a car of a French diplomat in solidarity with the ZAD, or a police station that had its walls blackened by flames in solidarity with Greek prisoners.”
[HoodLum]: “Those who follow texts from other regions, will notice that, for example, the security industry is, worldwide, more and more attacked, and that sabotage of cable connections and antennas increases. In texts, there are often comments that imply that people are aware of what is going on in Germany and vice versa. That is the precondition that will allow people to really meet, that discussion will take place and that something like a strategic orientation can be found. Furthermore, the people who participated in the direct actions in the run-up of the summit, and who were partly also in Hamburg, are evidently a target of political pressure in their regions and cities. Pressure from the side of our political enemies from the Left. In Italy or in France, there have been many times fights in demonstrations with labour unions or their security stewards. In Greece, there is a dispute over the right moment and objectives for radical actions. The dissociations and, hopefully also, ruptures after Hamburg make it more easy to find conditions that entail shared points. For us this means that we also wanted to strengthen the tendency that some might call insurrectionary or nihilist, which are not adequate terms. Through the communique from the attack on the police station in Zografou (Athens), it becomes clear that some have taken up the call to do something in their own city if they’re not coming to Hamburg. I think that is great!”
AG: It seems that the international dimension has played a significant role to you. At the same time, there was also a lot embedded in struggles on local levels. In which way does it make sense to combine such projects with a mobilisation like the one against the G20?
[Chuzpe]: “I think we should never only concentrate on the dates set by our adversary, like the G20, because we get often stuck in an abstract relation. In this sense I think it is important that we try to connect our struggles – in which we are engaged and which are directly related to our lives – with such moments. In the run-up to the summit, there were mostly struggles against displacement of people and redevelopment of cities that are in lots of places a terrain of permanent conflict. But in the end it is about the question of the development of a revolutionary perspective. With only an event, how good it might be, these question don’t find their solution. Therefore this means that without a daily practice, we will never be able to experiment with our theoretical reflections and to question them. The mobilisation against the G20 cannot be seen as more than a fragment. One that allowed us to create situations to encounter each other and to have shared experiences in the streets. I don’t think we can consider this as different projects that take place detached from each other.”
[Peter Pan]: “The G20 meeting is a meeting of the self-proclaimed elites of the world to discuss different topics of world politics. Decisions that concern different themes all over the world are prepared or finalized there. So this happens also on the side of resistance. Different spheres fight on different levels for totally different areas. A shared reference point is what is lacking at times without a polarizing moment. To make this coordination permanent, it could be useful to focus it in something concrete.”
[HoodLum]: “Between us, the discussions of the last year have been concentrated on not having a typical campaign with an occasion, a beginning and an end. We rather wanted to try to provoke a permanent state of attack, that maybe already exists if we look attentively at the daily messages of resistance worldwide. Lots of things are only visible on a local level, either because the participants don’t diffuse them, or because they get lost in the information stream. The G20 was for us only the vehicle to use to propagate that what we practice every day. And that also got more attention and resonance due to the behaviour of the cops during July in Hamburg. There are regularly calls to radically act about something, but most of the time such calls are last-minute and very specific, which makes it difficult to respond to them. The anarchist call against the G20 summit in Hamburg was diffused from August 2016 onwards and was quickly translated into several languages. And it was rather open, which invited a lot of persons to participate. The radical campaign against the G8 in Heiligendamm from July 2007 started even sooner, namely with the first attack during the summer of 2005 against the CEO of Norddeutsche Affinerie, Werner Marnette. But these were very specific attacks, that raise the bar high on the level of research and explanation. Without having in mind the texts of that time, I think there were other main emphases made. For Hamburg it was more important to us to make the practices of resistance that are already present more palpable.”
AG: Do you see a possibility that the calm – that has set in after the summit – dissipates, and that the dynamics from the run-up to the G20 can be taken up again? Also, to respond to the desire that the coordination doesn’t vanish into thin air after the end of the event?
[Peter Pan]: “I think that for a lot of people the summit, but also the period of the run-up, was very impressive. It is very probable that for a lot, especially youths, it was the first time to see whole units of riot police fleeing in panic. Even for the older, lots were impressed by the ability from all these people to coordinate and organize and to not keep quiet in the face of, on one side, an apathetic and disinterested society, and on the other, a highly militarised and repressive state. These are the kind of experiences one doesn’t forget easily. Personally, but also collectively, this summit will be remembered and in some years we will be still able to build upon it. The period after the G8 in Rostock was not characterized by a blaze of activity, but it lay the first building blocks for the following mobilisations, for example the one of 2009. Also, some persons who weren’t pleased by the clashes in the Schanze quarter or who took it personally when the connection of their mobile phone was interrupted due to attacks on antennas, have asked themselves why this happened and have looked into texts for explanations. That this entails a potential danger, seems to have become clear to the state. This will also have been a reason for the taking down of linksunten.indymedia.org.”
[HoodLum]: “This perception of calm is also relative and surely subjective. It is clear that for some months there have been less things going on in Hamburg or Berlin, but that doesn’t matter so much. Neither sabotage, nor riots recognize borders. Since the G20 there has been worldwide a big part of the capitalist structure fucked up, and in numerous riots cops have been attacked. We have to stop measuring our effect or potential on a local level. The statement of Panagiotis Argyrou from a Greek prison, is for me more meaningful than the rhythm of attacks in Germany. Through this we see the proof of an emergence of affinities based on the combination of words and deeds that are spreading to more hearts in fortress Europe. The rulers can shut down internet sites, diffuse false information, or bring out their servants dressed in magistrate robes to enforce their law; there will certainly be other attacks. The formulations of coordination will not disappear when we get into the habit of putting as much importance into the follow-up as the preparation, when we make the effort of translating the texts from us and our international friends, when we are able to put into practice the necessary solidarity with prisoners and, finally, when we practice what has for a long time been deformed by some; riot tourism. All the talk about international coordination is useless when we don’t find ourselves together with our people from other regions in the streets or the forests. We have to broaden our horizon and experiences.”
[Chuzpe]: “I think we have to be careful to not fall into the illusion that only the amount of direct actions says something about the condition of our struggles. We would be making the same error as lots of others, who tire themselves with counting heads and for whom the motto “More is Better” becomes a paradigm. This way of thinking comes from a capitalist logic and is not suitable for us. We should rather examine things based on our principles and convictions, and take care that the way we fight and the perspective it holds, indicate a bit towards our utopian dreams. That does say something about the quality of our actions. If there is now a bit less things going on, it could be because people are in a process of reflection and are questioning themselves about how to go on. I think that also for this, you have to take time. And it would be wrong to fall into a blind activism, only to maintain the illusion that everything seamlessly continues.”
AG: The G20 is over now, and the experiences have surpassed our expectations. Would you say that they are also the outcome of the actions in the run-up?
[Chuzpe]: “It would be too flattering to locate the origin of the collective rage during those days in the mobilisation through radical attacks. Of course, these have contributed to an ambience and motivated some milieus to travel to Hamburg. But I think that the events just before the week itself; like the generalized state of emergency in Hamburg, the rude expulsions of the camp, the brutal repression of the “Welcome to Hell” demonstration and other episodes – that were supervised by the police boss Dudde & co – were surely more important factors. We know from other mobilisations that the idea of actions by small groups are not the ultimate thing and that we have to be able to question its limits. With a sober look, we also have to admit that the desired proliferation of certain types of intervention doesn’t last in the long term. At the same time, we can see that this practice can provide us the necessary skills to face the police apparatus. Certainly in Germany, where the power relation in demonstrations is seldom in our favour and where a riot can only be provoked with considerable risks and efforts. Several times it would have been useful to have the know-how to realize decentralized actions. I think that during the G20 there was a good mix of different forms of action that interacted with each other, which led to the loss of control on the side of the state. On one hand, the spontaneity of the masses, on the other, pin-pricks well-prepared by small autonomous groups or wild, swarm-like demonstrations like on Friday morning in the Altona district. Ultimately, we could say it’s because of this mixture that a police force of 30,000 was pushed to its limits. But also thanks to the fact that there are groups who have a practice of attack during the whole year and that bring with them a certain experience in these situations.”
[HoodLum]: “Absolutely, as always for such type of mobilisation, it’s about creating a certain ambiance. It seems that we were able to transmit to a lot of people in Germany and Europe, the feeling that in Hamburg – despite the high level of risk – there was something possible. The conditions were present. On one side, the determination for confrontation. On the other, the capacity to attack highly secured places and to put out statements that speak to the hearts of many. There have been also mobilisations that produce negative resonances. For example, the yearly Munich Security Conference (SIKO). Prior to the event, there is the eternal communist babble that ends with a march, that is eventually hemmed in. In such circumstances, there’s nothing that could have happened and that would be appropriate to the topic. But in Hamburg, there are also youths and other dissatisfied who haven’t been perfectly assimilated by the system and who – traditionally – are close to the radical left or chaotic resistance. They always came to the block parties in Schanze and look for any occasion to get back at the state for their daily humiliations. The fact that a lot of people were up for it, is partly thanks to our agitation but also to the media scare prior to the summit. When the media write that on this day and at that place, there will be a lot of stones hurled at the cops, then lots of people will turn up to do exactly that. That the media reinforce this message through their propaganda, contributes to the mobilisation; we don’t demand anything, we only want to attack the state and the society that legitimises it.”
AG: To conclude, a look towards the future. A lot of persons are still in prison and will be sentenced to quite harsh punishments. We can also expect more investigations. On that level, there will be for a long time a shadow cast on the G20. How to go on? How to deal with repression and which perspectives can we envision from these days in Hamburg and the preceding days?”
[HoodLum]: “How we see it, there are already some groups that are busy with gathering funds. Our task is in showing to prisoners and other accused that we not only support them through words and materially. We have to continue to push forward the struggle of the prisoners. There are already letters from those who assert their positions. Ideally, our message is that their repression will not stop people from acting. It will increase tension and people who otherwise wouldn’t have met, will come together. But in general, we’re not very well organised on a level of repression. In Germany there’s more of an individual approach than elsewhere. I doubt that it’s clear for everyone that more resistance will entail more prisoners. For me, the perspectives are connected to knowing each other better, knowing our ways of acting, and the cities and situations from where they arise. We should confront our – frequently too abstract – theories with their workings. For example, what our affinity really means. After a long period of moving around to riot, the coordination of the struggles also has to advance. We should be able to talk concretely about things and not only through public texts. It could be the next phase if, throughout Europe, we can coordinate on a topic or companies against which to act. Or to find each other next time in the streets without public call. We have to destroy this feeling of a “Heimat” [a specific German word that could be translated as “home”, “homeland” or “nation”, but always with connotations of tradition, identity and territory] and be ready to be everywhere to take part in struggles. For example, I was surprised that in March there was a riot in Copenhagen for the 10 year anniversary of Ungdomshuset’s eviction, and that almost no one knew about this in advance. It could be a development to share more plans and discussion prior to this kind of actions, so as to have more people participating.”
[Peter Pan]: “I share this feeling of not being well prepared to face repression now and also in the coming times. But I think some letters and statements of prisoners have been encouraging. From certain statements, we can understand that the struggle doesn’t stop with incarceration, but on the contrary, is part of it. Also, a lot of solidarity actions with those afflicted by the repression show that connections made prior are continuing to take shape. The actions in Hamburg, but also the actions from before, as well as the media frenzy, show that the ambiance we invoked earlier, cannot be stopped from a certain moment on. Then the state can try to do whatever it wants… I think the campaign in the run-up has created a nice perspective to continue connecting different intentions and forms of actions in everyday struggles. Maybe this will continue?”
[Chuzpe]: “The terrain of repression provides us, in general, with a good target. Especially now, when the digitalisation of surveillance and security technologies is developing fast and when big events are used as testing grounds for counter-insurgency methods. This could be taken as a challenge to expose the shit that is going on and attack the companies that profit from it. Law enforcement is being outsourced already for a long time. And the cops are dependant on the technology of private security firms who provide the useful software. That can be seen very well for example in Hamburg. Never in the history of criminality in Germany has there been such an abundance of images and video material obtained by the authorities. On a snitching portal specifically set up for this occasion by the cops, there have been 7,000 files uploaded apart from the ones of the cops. Before, because of the overload of data, it would have been impossible to find a needle in a haystack. While now, with the help of facial recognition software – like the one from Cognitec, a company from Dresden – the data can be analysed in a small amount of time. That is a new level of repression, which we cannot ignore. We have to have discussions and share information to be able to develop counter-measures, but also to integrate in the struggle against repression on a practical level. Something that already happened during the yearly police congress in Berlin, but was also focused on in actions in the run-up to the G20. I see perspectives there of how to oppose the repression with an offensive response in a concrete struggle. Furthermore, I share what has been said before about continuing to be mobile. After Athens, Frankfurt, Milan, Paris, Hamburg, there will be other places where to meet and conspire. Outside the metropolitan areas, there are lots of interesting struggles that also contain this possibility. Like the Hambach Forest, Bure or Notre-Dame-des-Landes, and still more places where there is an autonomous zone to defend. These moments of coming together are very important and make it possible to together accentuate and develop projects which can continue on a local level.”
AG: Thanks a lot for this conversation. I hope to see you soon in the streets, on the barricades, or at Rewe.
[There has been a significant intervention during the process of translation. When in the German version, the interviewees use the term “militant” (and its variations), here this has been translated as “radical”. These two terms have both a similar generic and ambiguous character while “radical” avoids the immediate negative overtones the English “militant” would garner. In a German context this term is still widely used, although also – notably – consciously rejected (as a positive thing) by some. Specifically here, the insistence on speaking of “militants” can be seen as a symptom of the vagueness about what constitutes the bases of the desired informal coordination. – TLK]
Unknown persons destroyed the windows of the russian visacenter in Kanalstr. 14a, Hamburg, the night of the 22.06. Also “FUCK FIFA!”, “FIGHT REPRESSION!” and”(A)” was spraypainted on the fassade.
Since autumn 2017 there are repressive attacks against anarchists in different russian cities, in Belarus and in the Crimea. With torture, intimidation, blackmail and imprisonment they are targeted.
At the same time the football worldcup as one of the biggest spectacles of power is happening in Russia. The rich can enrich themselves even more and behind the cameras, all this, as with the Olympic games or summit-meetings, can be used to develope repression and control against marginalised, poor and unwanted social groups and to develope aggressive gentrification.
This campaign is complicit and supportive of the one which, since 2012, has become one of the symbols of the fight for the liberation of the Earth from the chains of capitalism: the resistance to defend the Hambach forest!
Since 6 years people from all over the world, through blockades, sabotage, and occupation of trees, have give birth to a grassroots resistance to oppose the action of devastation carried on by the energy corporation RWE which, since the end of the 70’s has colonised one of the last virgin forests, converting Hambach into the most extended open-cast mine for the extraction of lignite (brown coal) in Europe.
Earth Riot invites you to a series of fundraising initiatives on the subject of Earth liberation, which aim to support those who everyday oppose to the dynamics of repression and domination typical of the capitalist system.
Earth Liberation is Total Liberation!
It is not just a captivating slogan, but it is the essence of the fight for total liberation which, in order to be beneficial and feasible, it has to go through a process of restitution to Earth of everything the capitalist system has stolen in time, depriving every living being of real freedom, in the name of fake progress and of that presumed supremacy imposed by anthropocentric culture and money god.”
EVENTS CALENDAR
11/4 – Torino – 8pm, via Baltea 3 – MercoledìXtra-Or Edinari, Support Hambi Resistance: Earth Liberation is Total Liberation
21/4 – Modena – 8.30pm, Stella Nera via Falloni 67 – Sound of Silence vol. 3
12/5 – Brescia – 19pm Circolo Anarchico Bonometti via Borgondio 6 – Support Hambi Resistance: Earth Liberation is Total Liberation
8/7 – provincia di Milano, Villa Fiorita (Cermusco)
This campaign was started to give an anarchist answer to the repression following to actions of the 31st of May 2017 in Nuremberg. For further information about that day and why it is important to combine our anti-rascist, anti-repression and anti-state struggles within this campaign, view the text below.
Contact us:
If you have questions, wish for further translations and/or want to send us information about solidarity actions to be published on this blog, please write us an encrypted message to: ausbruchaufbruch[at]riseup.net.
You can find the PGP code under: https://ausbruchaufbruch.noblogs.org/kontakt/
This is the text of the campaign’s flyer:
On the 31st of May 2017, a student of a vocational school in Nuremberg (Germany) was to be deported to Afghanistan. His classmates did not accept this and reacted, together with hundreds of others, with a blockade to the attempted deportation. The police‘s answer to this was as typical as it was brutal: In the end, there were several injured and arrested people.
To penalize those who opposed the deportation, the judicial authorities made use of remand prison and are applying the recently tightened law about „resisting and/or attacking an officer of the law“ (§113/114 StGB). Dozens of people are accused of participating in the blockade. To distract from the good reasons for the demonstrators‘ actions, their anti-racist protest is being criminalized. This proves to be a strategy that the german state frequently and willingly uses to prevent an effective approach against its racist practices of sorting out and deporting people. The fact that the 31st of May was a great example of how successful direct action in solidarity can be, is probably just another reason for the state to show exceptional harshness against the accused.
With Jan being one of the accused (among many others), the repression now is also directly concerning an anarchist. We – friends, comrades and supporters of Jan – are convinced that this link is no coincidence. Right after the 31st of May, the Bavarian government tried to split the protesters into ‚non-violent students‘ and ‚militant radical-left autonomists‘. This division is supposed to support their tale of a friendly, peaceable police, which only had to become excessively brutal to react to the attacks, that militant opposers of the deportation allegedly had started.
As a consequence of steadfast antifascist action, Jan has been condemned in court before. This earlier conviction makes him perfectly suitable for the picture of an activist who is threatening to the state and to cops. Somebody who they successfully criminalized in the past already for his anti-authoritarian actions.
It have been Jan‘s anarchist ideals which made him oppose the violent deportation of a young person on that 31st of May. Because of his radical anti-state convictions it is to be expected that the legal authorities will feel called to aim at an extraordinarily rigorous penalty for him.
And yet, despite having been criminalized before, in the end Jan is only one of so many accused after the 31st of May, some of who face trials under similar conditions. And with regard to the large number of anarchists who currently are threatened and affected by state oppression, his case appears to be almost insignificant.
But the repression against Jan must not be seen isolatedly. It is part of the list that is growing longer each time when the state once more tries to silence anarchists. Our bitter anger against the penalty that is threatening Jan, fans the same fury that we feel when we read about the cruel arrogance, with which the german state locks up comrades after the g20-summit.
It is the same cold rage coming over us when we hear about the state murdering an anarchist in Argentina, who fought against capitalistic land-grabbing. It is the same relentless fury that drives us, when we find out about the greek government tearing down refugees‘ squats; when we see the turkish state invading and trying to destroy the free and emancipatory communities in Rojava.
It is our struggle for freedom that unites us with all of these anarchist comrades and friends all over the world. For a freedom in solidarity, where society no longer feels like it needs to guard itself with prisons and oppression from those ideas, that could actually put an end to the omnipresent exploitation and inequality. Where ‚state‘ and ‚police‘ have become nothing more than a very bad joke, and where prisons and the repression authorities have been torn down once and for all!
So let us give an appropriate answer to the state‘s attempts to intimidate us: Let us give a clear expression of our rage against the attacks on Jan and all of us! And let us keep on taking no matter which actions to oppose racism in state and society in each and every possible way!
You’re invited to an Intersquat Block at the Chaos and Discussion days in May in Berlin. We want to offer the space for an exchange on our tactics and techniques, discussions and information within the Chaos and Discussion days at Rigaerstrasse.
Structurally we don’t plan on this being an equal replacement for the past Intersquat meetings, unless you want to make it such. We do think this is a good opportunity to connect the general discussions on the sense and future of urban struggles with questions that come up when considering squatting as more than a tool to satisfy basic housing needs. We hope for a discussion on the importance of squatting for other liberatory struggles, houses as political tools, questions on working within and with neighbourhoods and more.
Evictions, Repression, Surveillance, Prisons, the maggots using and supporting oppressive structures are everywhere let’s get together to support each other and smash the ball not just into their court but through its heart.
If you personally or as a group are interested, have workshops, stuff to discuss, an info event or anything else in mind for the intersquat block or the whole weekend, just write us @ rigaerstrasse [at] riseup [dot] net PGP-Key-ID 0x3971B260E4B15B69
You can find more info about the weekend on gegenstadt.blackblogs.org some informations are updated in german first and translated a bit later though
From Rigaer Street, we send signs of solidarity and rage to anarchist prisoners in Russia, responding to the call from Russia for International Days of Solidarity with Russian Anarchist Political Prisoners.
These days we heard from the arrests of antifascists and anarchists in Russia. Already before, in the months of October and November 2017, in the city of Penza, six people got arrested and brutally tortured by the federal secret service FSB. In January this year, in the city of St. Petersburg, a second wave of arrests followed with two persons first being kidnapped by the FSB for one day and only the day after being officially registered in remand prison. The secret services‘ offensive, led by Putins regime, was accompanied by house raids in different cities of the country. As a reason for the repression the FSB constructed an anarchist terrorist group, named „Net“, planning a series of attacks on the presidential elections in March 2018 as well as on the World Cup in June / July 2018 in Russia leading to armed insurrection and which is supposed to exist in several cities of Russia and Belarus. There is no evidence proofing the real existence of the group. The only evidences used are the statements of the arrested, which the FSB extorted from the prisoners using torture and the threat of further acts of torture. In Penza, the group got constructed by the statements of the first arrested person. The link between the „members“ of the group is having played airsoft games together. Except of this first person, who got released beginning of the year into house arrest, all the others are still kept in the remand prison.
The experiences of intimidation and physical violence in the remand prison which the prisoners were subjected to, reveal the cruelty of the state apparatus. While democracy in Germany is still trying to veil the brutality of state power, the accounts from Russia affirm us, that the watchdogs of the system – the wretched trash of the executive – are capable of maintaining their authority only by the threat and implementation of physical violence.
Repression is meant to discourage us, to defeat movements and strain us individually into the controlled system or even destroy us. It‘s anything but easy to not feel powerless, to not feel incapable of opposing their massivity. But if we listen to the messages of rage and anarchist struggle from exactly these places, the lines and images encourage us. They show us, that in every place where there is a human heart beating to the rhythm of rebellion, moments of resistance are likely to occur. They show us, that no matter how fierce the repression may be, there will be people who do not surrender to fight for their ideas. The resonance of solidarity is our weapon.
From the G20-prisoners in Hamburg to the prisoners in Penza or St. Petersburg to Berlin – the stronger their repression, the more furious and passionate our resistance.
Spontaneous protest against repression in the streets of many German cities after police raids in early December 2017 (in Kiel, about 70 participated in the protests)
Summary for our internationalist comrades
G20-Repression
Prisoners * Conditions in the prison * Trials * Video- and Photo publications * House raids
The G20 summit and the euphoric days in the streets of the Schanzenviertel were shaped by the massive anger and motivation to attack, which we did not expect since Heiligendamm and Frankfurt.
The wave of repression that followed afterwards, and actually had already started before the summit with the implementation of the new §114ff and preventive policing, reached its climax with the publication of dozens of mug shots, by the special commission „Soko Schwarzer Block“ on December 18th, 2017.
The wave of repression, remained rather unnoticed from comrades in others countries who fought with us on the streets and euphorically followed the riots in the media. They told us, that they did not receive any information on the prisoners, the condemned and the persecution mania by the state.
Part I: Prisoners
The situation in december 2017
The cops implemented a 40 man strong Soko (1), which searched the Internet for pictures and videos, in order to further criminalize activists. About 200 cops are currently sitting in front of their computers, watching special face detection softwares do most of the investigation work. Even when you think, you have nothing to hide or you are sure, you always changed in a dark alley: Solidarity doesn‘t just start, when the repression hits you or your friends. The state, including the media, cops and active citizens, is clearly trying to redefine the riots. We managed to dominate the discourse of these days during the summit, but we have to recognize that in the face of brutal sentences, denunciations and public agitation, we are being pushed back into a position of simply reacting: Day X demos, prison rallies and a couple of broken windows here and there. Prisoners and the trials:
After the three days of riots in Hamburg, 51 people had been taken into custody. Ultimately 28 remained in the JVA (prisons) Billwerder, Hanhöfersand and Holstenglacis until their trials. Being mainly non German, the prisoners came from the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Austria, Spain, Italy, Poland, Hungary and Russia. Additionally several hundred people had to stay in the GeSa (custody) for a short time and had to give their fingerprints and pictures.
The remaining G20 prisoners are accused of various crimes, which in many cases would not justify longterm custody. The charges go from violating the law of gathering in public spaces and breach of the peace, to resistance and assault against officers. The last one can, after the laws were tightened last year, be punished with up to three months in prison, in severe cases with up to six months.
Currently, in the beginning of January 2018, 7 people are still imprisoned in Hamburg. Additionally, many comrades are going to appeal their sentences. For example Peike, who was sentenced to 2 years and 7 months prison, in the first G20-trial.
The conditions in „Gesa“ (short term/provisional prison) and „U-Haft“ (detention while awaiting trial)
Over 100 lawyers worked in 24 hours shifts at the GeSa in Hamburg- Harburg. 250 people were attended to during the summit. Several prisoners said, they were denied basic hygienic articles, even though they asked for it repeatedly. In one case, the request from a young women was met with the statement: „Demonstrators don‘t get periods.“ In another case a young women said, she had to insert a tampon in front of police officers. It was burning up in the cells, there were up to eight prisoners in one cell, instead of five, even though not all the cells were occupied. The prisoners got two slices of bread in 24 hours, access to restrooms was granted very scarcely. There where few mattresses and no blankets. With kicks against the cell doors, the prisoners were kept awake. Some cells had constant light, while others had none at all. An injured women, who was taken to the GeSa on Friday (July 7th) with a suspected nose break, did not receive food for 15 hours. Her injury was not x-rayed. She was only seen by a judge 40 hours after her arrest, who released her at 11pm that same day. The prisoners in custody are generally only allowed visitors with a permission from the judge. These visits where being strictly surveilled (letter from Fabios mother to her son from August 7th, 2017). Additionally, it was impossible to send packages with clean clothes to the prisoners for weeks. The continuance of the custody was justified with „defending the law“.
Fleeing or hiding evidence, which is usually the reason for enforcing custody, did not play any role. Therefore the custody itself presents as a preventive measure. A non-German passport, strenghtened the accuse – of being a potential enemy to society – leading to longer custody and harsher sentences. Additionally many released prisoners received letters, asking them for a voluntary DNA analysis.
Part II: Trials and Sentences
In general, one can say it became pretty obvious through all the trials that no matter which person was in front of the judge and no matter what the charges were – every single one of them was blamed for the riots, especially those on Friday night and ultimately sentenced for them. This type of mass participation during street fights and attacks on cops should be prevented in the future. The fear of the power hungry advocates, became clear in the politically motivated pleas, in which they tried to paint the activists as isolated criminals, without any political identities. A technique used worldwide. In order to understand the outrage about the sentences and its justifications, it is important to explain how German police is regularly trying to get sentences with the use of „Tatbeobachter“ (Tabos), loosely translated as crime witnesses, as well as isolated video scenes. Arrests, especially during demonstrations, are often only based on alleged observations by „Tabos“. In the past, their statements could usually not stand the cross examination in court, so that few people (excluding especially Kurdish activists), were placed on probation, but very rarely received prison time.
Another issue can be found in the German so called left scene: In the 80s a campaign arouse from the German left scene: „Anna and Arthur shut up“. A campaign, which was based on the right to refuse any statements. According to this right, anyone who is arrested or on trial can refuse any statement in front of the cops or the judge, except stating the details on the passport. Understanding this right as a weapon- as a way of protecting structures or other people – but also as an act of resistance – in the sense of withdrawing yourself from any dialogue with the state, is sadly not a given anymore. A decision of making a statement in court or not, is often an individual one or left up to the strategy of the lawyers.
The strategies from the lawyer often focused on reaching deals, which can be described as an understanding between the judge and prosecutor and the defense attorney – which usually forces the defense to agree to certain points brought up by the judge in exchange for a softer sentence and in confessions, which under certain circumstances can be justified. Though there were not only deals and confessions within the prisoners, that could under certain circumstances be a valid choice, but it went as far as prisoners apologizing to the judges and cops, as well as to the HASPA bank and Budnikowsky (store). One Example: A 28 year old guy from Hamburg read his confession out loud. He said, he did not know what possessed him that evening. It was simply his curiosity that drove him to the Schanze, after he saw pictures of the riots in TV. Upon arrival, the crowd swept him along. „If I could turn back time, I would just stay home that night and watch everything on TV.“, he said on Tuesday. He was actually on his way to Barmbeck that night, where he know lives, when he coincidentally passed the riots at Pferdemarkt, where he was attacked with pepper spray, which made him angry, additionally he had taken cocaine that night as well. The verdict: 3 years of prison.
Fabio marks a clear exception here, he wrote a political statement, which he read out in front of the court. This is not only sign of bravery and political knowledge, it is also an important step for all of us to fight against the repression, not buckly in the face of danger and fight against the criminilisation of our struggles.
There are several examples of the G20 trials at the end of the article. Until today, Konstantin’s, Christian’s and Fabio’trials are still ongoing and their documentations can be found on the „United we stand“ web page. Some are also in English. Keeping the raids and the recent publication of mug shots in mind, more trials are probably soon to follow.
Part III: First raids before the summit
During the evening of July 1st, the apartments of two comrades was searched by police. As far as we know up until now, the raids were carried out due to „danger prevention“. During the raids, USB sticks, computers, private cell phones and clothes were taken. One affected person was charged with planning crimes in the context of the G20 summit. Observations were noticed in the days before the raids. The second person was released that same evening.
Raids on July 8th
After the G20 Summit, Hamburg police raided the international center B5 in st Paul. At 10:45 AM, riot police stormed the center and attacked the people who were present at the time.
Without stating any reason, the people were handcuffed and the rooms on the center and two adjoining private apartments were searched. Also the cellar and the adjoining B-movie and FoodCoop was ransacked. Allegedly, the police suspected Molotov cocktails in the center, which turned out to be a complete defamation.
Raids concerning the looting
The hamburg police raided 14 residences, shortly after the summit in Hamburg and Schleswig – Holstein. Reason for that, was the looting of the Apple Store during the riots on Friday night. Several cell phones were located and the owners were charged with concealment of stolen goods. Also one cellphone store was searched, where allegedly several of the „illegally possessed cell phones“ were sold.
Ban of Linksunten.indymedia.org
On august 25th, Bundesinnenminister (Interior Minister)Thomas de Maiziere, banned the online-platform „linksunten.indymedia.org“ on the grounds of society laws. For the German left and radical left scene, Linksunten was the platform, where all the Call ups, daily political news and explanations for attacks where published. It was as important to the left scene as it was apparently to the cops, intelligence service and media, since it was obviously seen as a reliable source and early-warning system for pending riots. The operation of Linksunten since 2009 as an open network for left media activists was declared a crime by de Maziere. This led to several raids in Baden- Würtemberg, which luckily did not leave anyone arrested. Currently the BKA is searching for the location of the servers, that were being used by the platform. More raids are to be expected. The timing of this whole action can only be speculated about. It is possible that the Ministry of Interior wanted to polish up their image, after the weekly press releases about the massive police violence against the anti summit demonstrators.
Part IV: Nation wide raids on December 5th, 2017, investigation „Rondenbarg“
In the early morning of December 5th, 2017, over 600 cops raided 23 private homes and 2 social centers in Nordrhein- Westfalen, Niedersachen, Baden- Würtemberg, Hamburg, Berlin, Hessen, Sachsen- Anhalt and Rheinland- Pfalz. According to police statements, mainly laptops, cellphones and USB sticks, but also several legal weapons were upholded. None of the affected activists were arrested. All the raids were concerning the events during the first day of the summit. Approximately 200 militant comrades, were on their way to the inner city in the early hours of July 7th, when they met riot cops at Rondenbard, after which the demonstration was destroyed and left many injured. Several dozen people were arrested right there on the spot, their details were recorded and Fabio sat in prison since then. Almost all the raided people, were within the arrested group from that day.
They are being charged with severe breach of the peace, attempted physical assault and resistance. Since, this particular group of arrested people represented the majority of the arrested overall and the cops were not able to arrest many organized militants, they together with the help of the media, tried to paint a picture of the „Rondenbarg- group“ as extremely violent and probably responsible for all the destruction and direct actions during the summit. Also the raids can be connected with that attempt, the „success“ of these raids, were presented by the cops during a press conference on December 5th.
We clearly see the raids as a public spectacle as well as an attempt to uncover the alleged organisational structures behind the actions, rather than collecting evidence concerning alleged individual participants. Not confirmed by official sides, but published in several press releases, the cops were mainly searching for evidences on structures, which prepared militant actions and made them possible in Hamburg. Especially around the area of the Elbchaussee, the cops allegedly discovered containers with masking material, fireworks and clothes, which the police interpreted as evidence for the theory, that local groups organised the logistics for international comrades. Though the police suspects mainly international comrades for setting over 20 cars on fire in the Elbchaussee during July 7th.
Part V: Mug shots from hamburg police:
During the night of july 8th, the hamburg police established an online portal for tips and leads. They appealed to the curious crowd, to upload any picture or video material from their own smartphones and cameras. Only 12 hours later, they celebrated the fact, that they had already received over 1000 files. With this call out for denunciation and betrayal, the police provoked an online coursing. The Soko „Black Block“, is working on 12 terabyte of picture files. In total 163 cops are working on 3340 cases. On monday, december 8th the hamburg policed published 104 pictures of 104 alleged criminals and 5 videos concerning the „Elbchaussee“, the „G20 not welcome demo“, „looting“, „attacks with bottles and stones“ and „Rondenbarg“(here you can find an anonymous link to the pictures). Additionaly several pictures made it into the german media. The hamburg police anounced: „There will be more mug shots, because we have a lot of material, which has not yet been evaluated.“
Five G20 Trials: The first trial was held against Peike, from the Netherlands. He is being accused of having thrown two bottles at Berlin police in the Schanze on the 6th of July. The only two witnesses, cops from Berlin, had suffered from major memory loss and both described a bottle throwing person, who did not look at all like the defendant. The prosecutor explained his persecution for prison time, by taking Peike into responsibility for the „civil war like circumstances“ on Friday night (where Peike was already in custody!). The judge Johann Krieten, known as a right wing hardliner, proclaimed his judgment as followed: „Police officers are not fair game for the fun society, they are not fair game for action orientated criminals“. He called the riots on Friday night, riot tourism with the aim of hunting cops and smashing the windows of the HASPA bank. The harsh punishment was necessary, due to reasons of „preventing violence.“ The pig proclaimed the sentence of two years and seven months. Peike is appealing against this judgement.
2nd Trial: The defendant was stopped and searched on Saturday, July 8th, close to Dammtor train station. He was insinuated with being on his way to the „g20 not welcome“ demonstration. In his bag pack, the cops found pepper spray, diving goggles and small fire crackers. He is being accused of violating the „law of gathering“, and laws against carrying weapons and explosives. Again, the trial ended with an obszene harsh punishment of 6 within 2 years of probation. Prosecutor Elsner seized the moment to proclaim his personal propaganda: „The attacks on cops with bottles and stones increased dramatically during the demonstration. The defendant should be writing a thank you letter to the cops, who arrested him, had he thrown anything during the demonstration, he would be going to jail for a long time.“
3rd example. The prosecutor accused the 21 year old defendant, of having thrown six bottles in the direction of the cops during the demonstration on the Fishmarket, as well as resisting during his arrest. After the judge explained the right of refusing a statement, the lawyer explained extensively the defendants plea deal. In the last two months, that he spent in jail, he had learned a lot about loneliness. He never wanted to get himself or his family in such a hell like situation. He was now aware of his stupidity. Cops are also only humans. The judge, sentenced the defendant to 1 year and 5 months on two years of probation, as well as a 500 Euro fine, which should be donated to the widows and orphans of police officers.
4th example: The charges: Criminal assault with a dangerous weapon (glass bottle), as well as resistance against police officers. The defendant confessed the charges and regretted his actions. He agreed to a DNA sampling, which took place on a break during the hearing. The TABO Hachmann allegedly followed the defendant after he allegedly threw the bottle and saw him, taking down his mask in a little kiosk and changed his clothes on the next street corner. Verdict: 1 year on 3 years of probation. The defendant, had questioned the monopoly of the state and did not see the human in uniform during his actions. The police deserved respect and honour for their committment and should not be targeted.
5th example: Fabio was released from youth arrest in exchange for a bail of 10000 Euro. His trial is still ongoing. The charges: Severe breach of the peace in the case of „Rondenbarg“. This is an excerpt of Fabios declaration during the trial: First of all i want to say that the ladies and gentlemen of politics, police inspectors and prosecutors probably believe they can hinder the dissent on the streets if they arrest and lock up a bunch of kids.
Likely they believe that prison is enough to hold back the rebellious voices that arise everywhere. Likely they believe that repression will stop our thirst for freedom. Our will to create a better world. I have made my decision and i am not afraid if there, unjustly, will be a price i have to pay for that. Nevertheless is there something i want to say to you, if you believe me or not: i do not like violence. But i have ideals and i decided to fight for them.
Explanations
„Tatbeobachter*innen/Tabos“ (Crime Observer):
Tabo‘s are dressed as demonstrators, sometimes they would be dressed colerful, sometimes with a beerbottle in their hand, sometimes they would be masked. They run side by side with us in the demonstrations and they can be hard to detect. They watch alleged crimes, without intervening. Later they are called as witnesses in front of court. Tabos are cops from a certain unit. On the contrary, there are cops dressed as civilians, the so called PMS. These civil cops usually move around in bigger groups, very obviously next to the rows of cops, they carry earphones and weapons and they pass on information about well known activists to the BFE (unit, responsible for arrests and securing evidence).
Tightening of laws:
Since the 30th of may 2017, the paragraph 113 ist now divided into §113, which includes acts of resistance and §114, which scales assault. The newly structured §114 includes the assault against officers (cops, paramedics) as its own element of a crime. An assault can be any kind of act against the body of an officer, for example when you try to to free yourself from the grip of a cop during an arrest. The minimal sentence here would be a three months prison sentence. Additionally, simply carrying a weapon or a dangerous tool, can be defined as a severe act of resistance or assault, independent from your intentions with that tool. You can also be charged, for your comrades carrying such a tool like a glass bottle or another sharp instrument.
(1) SOKO is an abbreviation of the term “Sonderkommission” (Special [Police] Commission – meaning special investigation team) in German.
Society has failed, when it imprisons those who question it!
Fire and flames to repression!
Arriving early in the morning, the cops were met with activists occupying blockading-infrastructure, including 2 tripods, 3 monopods, a skypod, and a 3 meter deep tunnel.
The cutting of the Hambacher Forest was officially stopped early this season, on a court-decision, postponing cutting until October 1st 2018, however the risk of eviction of the occupation is as great as ever.
The ‘Hambi 9’ would love to get mail! Exact information, including adresses and languages, can be found on the blog of ABC Rhineland.
In December the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has rejected the review of the sentence of our imprisoned comrade in Cologne. That is why the sentence of 7 and a half years of prison became final. The decision of our comrade is to be extradited to Spain, as soon as possible, to be close to her environment. At this moment she is still imprisoned in the same prison in Cologne and can received letters.
On the other hand, in the same month, the Aachen prosecutor’s office has withdrawn the appeal against the acquittal of our comrade in Holland, after almost a year. We are very happy for her! (more information at solidariteit.noblogs.org
The police state unleashes its full range of possibilities: early this Monday, presumably 100 faces of people, who took part in the events of Hamburg, got published. The state campaign yielded completely its disguise of prosecution and started a smear, that should break any kind of resistance. Let’s not be silent towards these incidents, this general attack on the last social and resistant elements remaining. To burn this society of snitches and murderers and fascism at the stake is a still unaccomplished duty.
It is clear to every reasonable human being, that the episode of Hamburg was absolutely necessary. The lies and fake debates of the repression authorities and the system conformant and right wing media did not achieve to rewrite the successful resistance against the G20. In one of the most self-confident democratic regimes of the whole world with a differentiated apparatus of power and the image of invincibility, ten thousands of people dared to upraise, taking great risks and partly serious consequences for their own lives. A composition of protests, resistant and offensive actions transformed the summit of the ruling powers into a disaster. A disaster for the brand of Hamburg, Germany and the most powerful themselves, whose most important meeting now has an unpredictable future.
A disaster is what the summit was also for the police. This institution that has, in the German empire as in fascist Germany and that of democracy never just been the executive but first and foremost the legitimating power of this nation of murderers and losers. We all know how deeply ingrained the ideology of the police-state is in our society.
A society that threw a dead Rosa Luxemburg into the Landwehrkanal, even behind a bookshelf chased Anne Frank and sent her, with millions of other “subhumans” to Death-camps; this society which in the end declares a German-national military(1) as the “resistance”, is fascist. The security-apparatus of the BRD, formed by the same butchers that hunted partisans and antifascists for the german nation all over europe without mercy , is fascist. The wider society and the executive powers reunited in the hunt on communists and brought the machinery against the guerilla groups that fortunately shot the bullet at the german embodied fascist Hans-Martin Schleyer to a till then never seen perfection, just a few years after the “liberation”.
The faces of the resistance were pasted up on wanted-posters on every corner, on every intersection one had to expect to be controlled by heavily armed police, the reintroduction of death-sentence was taken into consideration and put into practice through police work. The discourse in society, directed by the staff of media, politics and police set the course for countless fatal shootings , white torture and special laws against large parts of society. The police state, still in its infancy at the time of the murder of Benno Ohnesorg and under permanent threat of an uprising, has throughout the years developed into a state within the state. With the end of the urban guerilla and the new social movements we are faced with a society unable to bring forth a relevant opposition against this system. Not even when people are cruelly tortured and murdered in the bunkers of police stations like Oury Jalloh from Dessau, who was burnt alive by a fascist pig.
The only retarding factor in the perfection of the totalitarian police state seems to be the careful proceeding of the head-strategists, as to not raise too much concerns with conservative civil rights activists. Like us, they have less and less means and backing in a civil society that has decided, what the state does can not be wrong; what the press says is right, resistance is senseless.
The times of comfort zone protests have definitely passed. To this regard the German society got to the point again, where it has not been since 80 years. These are the key innovations and challenges for the resistance:
The mere participation on a demonstration can mean longtime prison.
The police can define areas, where their own law are in force.
The police can classify anyone as potential offender (“Gefährder”)(2), to be able to imprison people without a court decision and watch over them completely.
Already before the G20 summit, measures against the people of the resistance have been taken. Persons, who are classified by the police as potential offenders, received bans to not come to Hamburg. Obligations to register with the police have been issued and enforced under threat to be punished by a fine and imprisonment. Furthermore visible observations with the purpose of intimidation and for sure area-wide undercover surveillance have been made.
There is no need for further explanation that during the summit the complete city of Hamburg has been under control by the police, which lead to “adaptation” of civil rights and massive violence by the heavily-armed police troops.
The police activities before and during the summit did not show a new quality. Every major event of the past was accompanied by attacks by the security apparatus on societal conventions. But the mass of attacks and their implicitness with which they were exercised against formerly self-evident forms of protests in Hamburg were remarkable.
What’s been started after the summit is a qualitative leap. There are those claiming the riots were started by the state to smash resistance structures in a final campaign. This line of thought is bullshit as we know we all politically wanted the state disaster in Hamburg. To put an end to these conspiracy theories once and for all we take the political responsibility for everything that happened in Hamburg: from civil protests to the last stone that was thrown at cops. As a part of the rebellious structures we called for a demonstration in solidarity with all those facing repression shortly after the summit, in the future we will also not hide from the responsibility to further the revolt. Those that only see a state conspiracy behind everything are incapacitating the resistance in all its properties and have no legitimization to speak in its name.
It’s clear now, that the state is fighting for its power of definition concerning this event in the same way as it seeks to rule over everything. Over our lives and social structures, the nature and the techniques. In this battle for the capitalist and national idea the state will always use the means of fascism. It’s always the same methods being used again and again to denounce the resistance as criminal, non-political and unsocial(3). Doing so, the German state can rely on its police, its media and its people with their representatives. It’s hard to say, who is the most disgusting one of these creatures. Is it the chief of the special investigation group “Black Block”, who would hunt down anyone and everyone held in front of his fangs? Or is it Brechmittel-Scholz(4), who’s representing the dirty Bourgeoisie of Hamburg with their luxury limousines? Or the newspapermen being the executive
power of the police’s propaganda. Or the collaborators with their smartphone footage handing over thousands of people to the hands of repression because they are cowards that fear to take control over their own lives and would love to march behind every Hitler.
Some of us were laughing about the last wave of raids, which was leaked before. Or about the fact that Fabio, the sympathetic boy, is becoming a problem for the strategy of repression. Nevertheless the police strategy should not be underestimated. An important part of the strategy involves a long term propaganda to gain back the power of definition about the events of Hamburg. Who could believe that several months later, the G20 would still be on the daily agenda thanks to frequent press conferences organized by the police? And who could believe that the professional propaganda with almost endless resources would fail without our contribution?
That’s why we – at this point of extensive manhunt – renew our confession to the struggle against the state, the fascist organizations like the police, the secret services and right-wing structures as well as collaborators and snitches within the population and the press. Fabio and all those, who even in court keep their straight stance, are our role-models to defy fear and send greetings of freedom and solidarity to all those who face the repression, and the world of the G20.
On the occasion of the manhunt and because of the calls for denunciation of 100 people we decided to publish pictures of 54 police officers, who were part of last years eviction of Rigaer94. We would be happy to receive hints of their private addresses. They can be held responsible for the eviction as well as for the violence of the three weeks of occupation.
It’s important now, to put an end to our waiting attitude and empower the mobilization and solidarity of active structures. The demonstration after the wave of raids was a starting point(5). But with the next raids we have to grow in numbers. If we don’t have any other means, we at least have to take to the streets to take responsibility for our friends who are hunted by the state.
Everyone to the streets! Resolute and angry we fight the ruling order and stay strong in the face of repression!
(1) Stauffenberg was a high ranking general who tried to kill Hitler. He was member of the aristocracy, who basically criticized Hitler for a bad strategy (2) “Gefährder” is a term created by the german police and widely used in public debate to stigmatize and criminalize muslim people. The use against leftists and anarchists is quite likely to be more widely adopted. (3) originally “asozial”, something between antisocial and unsocial (4) Brechmittel-Scholz: Major of Hamburg, who is renowned for ordering the use of poison (Brechmittel) by the police that would make people vomit in order to find out if they swallowed drugs (5) On December 5th police cracked down on several homes of people that were identified as participants of a block that was attacked by the police in the Rondenbarg street during the attempt to block the summit. As a reaction there were demonstrations in major cities all over germany.
Banner dropped in Polytechnic University in solidarity with Lisa, accused of bank robbery in Germany.
Today, 21st of December, taking part on the International call for solidarity with the comrade Lisa accused of bank robbery in Aachen, Germany, we decided to hang a banner in the Polytechnic University, in Exarcheia, Athens.
The last 7th of June, she was sentenced to 7 years and 6 months in prison by the judge and the prosecutor of Aachen. Now she’s waiting for the appeal maid by her lawyers. If the court accept it, it means that she would eventually have a second trial.
The fact that our comrade is in prison makes us even more angry, but we know that all this revenge by the state is making us stronger everyday reaffirming our ideas.
We will keep on fighting, to remember all our comrades in prison. We have clear in mind who are our enemies. This is our decision, to fight against the states, police, judges, prosecutors and all those who are part of the system that is making people life miserable. We won’t stop, this is about our life, this is about our struggle!
Here is a small sign of solidarity with the comrade, but it’s also a claim to keep going with the struggle inside prison as in the streets. We’ll never let any comrade alone in the hands of the state.
Until all are free, strength, fire, love and fight!
We want her free, we want her in the streets!
For anarchy!
To write to Lisa:
Lisa, nº 2893/16/7
Justizvollzuganstanlt (JVA) Köln
Rochusstrasse 350
50827 Köln (Germany)
DAY OF SOLIDARITY WITH IMPRISONED COMRADE IN COLOGNE
21st of December we call to let the imagination flow and to express solidarity in its multiple forms. Once again we will show that our imprisoned comrades are not alone but present and on the streets with us.
They want to raise even higher walls, not only of concrete and iron, but also of loneliness and isolation. And these walls we want to break down, with love, affection, rage and solidarity for our comrade Lisa.
You can sand pictures and audivisuals tosolidaritatrebel@riseup.net
Having received a sentence does not imply that the imprisoned person is “only” at the mercy of the prison system. The policial and judicial machine of the State continues to investigate, observe, analyse, and decide over the fate of the imprisoned. Especially when the prisoner has not fallen to her knees asking for mercy in front of the court, has not humiliated herself by some kind of gesture seen by the enemy as “reconciliation”, the ways in which the justice system can demonstrate that they are not through with her yet are numerous. The refusal to cooperate with the police is considered proof of guilt and can be used to maintain the investigation open for an indefinite period of time. The silence and dignity in the face of the executioners and their accusations is considered concealment of the crime, and can generate new investigations.
Furthermore, being socialised as a woman and not reproducing the assigned roles, in this case for example having a rebellious attitude or a non-submissive position towards the institution, generates multiple sentences which go beyond a conviction at a juridical level, since there is also the intervention of moral and social condemnations, inherent to the patriarchal framework, which ist framing prisoner to the circumstances of the imprisonment.
To continue expressing your political convictions and ideas from within the walls and not denying who you are is considered a lack of repentance and an argument for why a prison sentence does not suffice.
And when the legal arsenal is exhausted in a “reasonable” sentence, that is, sufficiently heavy to accommodate the accusation, but the ethic of the imprisoned person stays intact, the justice system does not hesitate to attack the relations with the outside world, the family ties, sentimental bonds and friendships. Besides the concrete, the iron bars, the artificial lights and security cameras which not only cut off life but also suffocate it, they add mountains of paper which need to be traversed in order to obtain simple human contact with the people close to you. Requests, permissions, authorisations, postponements, which put
the will to not feel defeated to the test.
On the 7th of June Lisa, our anarchist comrade, was sentenced by the court of Aachen (Germany) to seven and a half years in prison for robbing a bank. At this moment we are awaiting the outcome of an appeal written by the lawyers which, if accepted, will involve a revision of the sentence and imply that the case will be brought to court again.
Therefore our comrade is still held in preventive arrest in the prison of Cologne. Due to an illness which lasted various months, her mother died in the beginning of November. During this time, the prosecutor as well as the judge, alleging “flight risk”, have denied her the possibility to visit her mother in hospital and also the permission to be present at her funeral.
The enemy does not only use juridical argumentation, but employs many more insidious mechanisms. Like in so many other cases, when the thirst for revenge of the justice system is not satisfied with a simple – however large it may be – prison sentence, the enemy continues to be hawk-eyed, searching for every supposed weakness of the prisoner in order to submit her. It is clear that this is a purely vengeful means, an answer to the comrade’s firm and non-collaborationist attitude. An additional punishment, invented to aggravate the already tough sentence of confinement; yet another attempt to make her bow down, this time aiming at her private life and personal circumstances. A logic, nothing new, of judicial blackmail with the aim of undermining her coherence and political convictions.
With hate for the enemy. We do not forget. We do not forgive.
– Last news: Deforesting work in Hambach Forest temporarily stopped!-
The courtcase which gave the Forest of Hambach a little more time to prepeare for cutting season is lost. RWE started today with clearing bushes to prepear for total cutting. The preparations for an massiv police action are obviously. They announced that they want to evict the whole occupation. We expect them latest on Monday for evictions. They are already in the forest protecting machinery.
But to make it possible that Hambach Forest stays we need you and your friends/comr@des!
At best come around.
At best bring with you:
sleepingbad, matress
your friends
an idea of what you wanna do (the Infrastructre of RWE is too huge as
they could protect all)
waterproof boots, camouflage-cloths
camera (for recording police violence)
working gloves
toothbrush
1st aid stuff
rainstuff
a small tent (not necassary but if you have)
no drugs
no passport (if you need it for travelling, bury it somewhere in the
woods)
What you can do from outside:
spread the news
do what ever you like to show solidarity
distract police forces (they will need cops from all germany to evict us)
attack the veins of capitalism & its fossil fuel industry
We, individuals and groups from the Rigaer Street, welcome the initiative to start a discussion about an insurrection and fill it with experiences from the past, current theories and practical possibilities.
This is how we understood the call for the insurrection festival (insurrectionfestival.noblogs.org) in Athens.
In the program, we discovered several aspects, that we in the Nordkiez of Friedrichshain are engaged in. There is no anarchist, anti authoritarian or left radical movement in Berlin, there is just a scene.
The dullness of the majority of a fascist society makes it complicated to get moving. In order to destroy overall power structures, we need to search for the confrontation in our local communities. A concentration of people, ideas and structures working against the state, are necessary to be able to protect oneself from outside aggression and be able to actually develop.
Over the last couple of years, because of the intensity of our actions and the repression of the cops, this process has been started in the Rigaer street. Our actions do not simply concentrate on material violence, they are trying to destroy the social norm and values. In that sense, to change the meaning of property, safety and fear, as well as work and competition.
In Berlin it is forbidden to organize a flee market, where everything can be given away for free, it is forbidden to play music in public spaces or just gather in the street with many people. It might be allowed if one requests a permission with the police. We did all of these things without having a permission and every time we did, the police came and attacked us. As a response, many stones were thrown towards the cops and their cars.
Maybe the Police occupation in Exarchia is more violent, but in Friedrichshain they are more close – the occupation force is waiting in front of your door.
Another way of preventive counterinsurgency in Berlin is, next to repression, the integration. By using various politicians and “good” cops, the administrations are always coming up with round tables. The idea is to bring inhabitants from the Friedrichshainer Nordkiez together with representatives from the administration offices, An image should be created in which the politicians listen to the concerns of the public and all parties involved come up with a solution together. This way there is no need for real resistance anymore, and “social peace” can be
restored. We must fight the integration like the repression.
Due to gentrification, the population in our part of the city, is being slowly replaced. If you don‘t have the money, you can‘t pay the rent anymore an you have to move. This is why several luxury cars and new investors are being attacked in our neighbourhoods. Controversial questions within our circles are for example the relationship to the neighbours. Some people are sympathetic with us and hate the cops. But how do we interact with those who do not want to have any position in this conflict or who just want to keep on living their capitalist life without any disturbances?
We are only a few in this city, very few. When the state attacks us, like last year, when the cops raided the Rigaer 94 twice and once occupied the house for over three weeks, while destroying large parts of it, it becomes possible for us to mobilize many people from outside our circles. For weeks over the summer 2016, cars all over the city were burning and during a bigger demonstration many people attacked the cops.
But an insurrection can not be planned, it arises from social tensions, where radical tendencies are integrated in a larger social resistance.
Another question would be if we should look for people in this individualised and estranged society or if it would be better just to put an utopia out there, that speaks for itself ?
On the 16th of June this year, an utopia was a hip hop concert in the streets. As expected the cops soon attacked and it lead to riots, which would only be worth a little note in Athens, but became a headline story in Berlin. Press and politicians compared the Rigaer street with the war in Syria. Should we escalate the situation even more, even though we are few people?
The autonomous mouvement was fueled in the 80s by the difficult housing situation and the many squats, that existed all over the city. The experiences since then, show us that as soon as we take one step backwards the enemy moves up right behind us. In the cases, where squatters negotiated with the state, they always lost. In the cases, where we did not negotiate, we may have also lost, but by fighting the struggle we won new activists for our structures.
As a realistic stop over, we are trying to make one part of the city impossible to control, a process which should be expanded chronologically and spatially. Maybe the cops will attack our spaces in Friedrichshain again in the near future. Then we will ask you for help, by attacking authority, no matter where you are. Just like we in Berlin are trying to react to the state organised operations against the resistance in Athens and elsewhere.
Comrades and friends of Rigaer 94 and the resistance in Friedrichshain
* the Police uses the label Dangerzone for a kind of martial law which allows them stop-and-search from people without reason, breaking in homes without search warrant or confiscating everything.
On october 18th 2017, the trial against our friend and comrade Nero took place at the Amtsgericht in Moabit. He was charged with blinding a police helicopter with a laser pointer. On that same night, a concert was taking place in Rigaerstraße, which led to riots in the streets.
Nero was arrested in the Südkiez in Friedrichshain, assaulted in the police station and let go again the next morning. A month later, civil cops where waiting at his work place and arrested him upon his arrival.
Since then, it has been three months, where he has been in custody in the JVA Moabit.
Cops where already waiting in front of the court house in the Turmstraße and civil cops where snooping around the neighbourhood, to harass visitors. Press and police witnesses had gathered in front of the court room. The trial was supposed to start at 9:20 AM, though it took over an hour before the press and visitors where allowed inside. After having read out the charges, the judge declared, that a deal had been agreed upon, stating that the sentence should not be over 20 months, should the defended admit to the charges that is. The confession included the blinding of the helicopter with the intention to support the riots in the Rigaerstraße. These charges can legally be met with 1-15 years in prison. With a simple “yes” under pressure, the sentence was set between 16 and 20 months.
Afterwards the pilot was called to the stand. Angelo Koepp is not only a pilot but also a great actor. Obviously, he had practiced his performance many times, to create dramatic scenes, in order for our friend to receive a harsh punishment. Without naming any sources, he talked about a long term disabled colleague, who allegedly after a similar attack still requires a reading aid. He also explains, that usually the helicopters are only equipped with one pilot. But as chance might have it, during all the laser pointer attacks, two pilots where on board to prevent a crash. Angelo was not shy about imagining catastrophic scenes in case of a helicopter crash by explaining how the 330 liters of kerosene, that where still in the tank could have created a monstrous fire ball. Strange, how when two helicopters collided at the Olympic stadium, no such fire ball could be seen, even though a lot more kerosene was in play then. Only the steep corner, with which the laser was pointed at the helicopter, prevented such a disastrous fire ball.
This way the pilots were able to follow Nero, arrest him and afterwards return to Rigaerstraße. Already before the shift that night, they had been told to expect attacks with laser pointers in the rigaerstraße. Just as well, since the helicopters have been terrorizing the neigbourhood for decades and it‘s not just the squatters who are fed up with it. Coming to an end, the witness was asked to name the number of operations carried out in the rigaerstraße. Relaying on a missing permission to testify, he refused an answer. After finishing his performance, Angelo joined the irritated visitors, to follow the rest of the trial. After that everyone agreed, that it was unnecessary to hear any more witnesses. Only one friend was heard from the judge. He stated
that Nero was staying at his place and was in fact not homeless but just one of the many people in this city in trouble of finding an apartment and being a worker has limited time to stand in an endless line at the Bürgeramt to officially register. Apart from a couple of stupid questions from the jury, there was nothing left to say and the judge retreated until the proclamation of sentence.
When the doors to room 101 opened again, all the cop witnesses had occupied the visitors seats, even though they were no longer needed. The three cops who had been in the helicopter and Mister Habedank, the director of LKA 5, who did not mind to show several visitors, that he knows exactly who they were. Everyone was excitingly awaiting the sentence. During the proclamation of sentence, the judge did not miss the chance to give a seemingly endless moral speech towards the audience. He integrated all the horror scenarios, that had been brought up by the pilot in his sentence. He agreed with the prosecutors demand of 18 months in prison, without parole, since that would only give Nero the chance to continue his fight against the police. We hope that he will fight this struggle in there, just as successfully as he did it out here. Lastly the judge decided against letting Nero out for a while before his sentence started. He also held another long moral speech before he proclaimed his decision, saying that since our friend did not apologize for his actions, there was danger for repetition and his missing rent contract was taken as a flight risk.
Therefore our friend is and will stay in prison.
Blow up the prisons, blow up the palaces, blow up the pigs!
The start of October also marks the start of the annual cutting season – the time between October and February during which RWE has permission to clear the forest. The company cuts 70-80ha every year. But not much is left of the Hambach Forest, and the occupied trees are again very close to the clear-cut edge. In order to prevent that the majority of the remaining forest will be cut in the coming months, and the occupation from being evicted, we have to be many. That’s why we hope that as many people as possible can join us this Autumn and Winter – protecting the forest and actively working against climate change and the exploitation of people and the environment.
We have put together a call to action and translated it into different languages. Please help us spread it!
We do not only want people to come, but we want everyone to be able to be active in the best way possible. That’s why we put together a plan and hope we’ll be able to realise it together with you
October onwards
Beginning in October and continuing to the end of the cutting season, we will bring life to the area designated for deforestation to such an extent that RWE won’t be able to cut. To achieve this, we want to occupy as many trees as possible, so that they first have to evict the entire area before starting to cut. We will accompany any evictions with our own media channels. We will show the world that RWE wants to profit from destruction at every price. Our strongest weapon is, that we take care of each other. Everyone should only do actions with which they feel comfortable. The large tree houses should be accessible for everyone and be used as spaces for relax and take a break. We will try to carry repressions communally. We have organised out of action spaces throughout Germany.
We believe that we can stop deforestation as a group! Turn theory into praxis and live a life of resistance! In Hambach and everywhere else.
Pack list
If you want to come by during the cutting season, the following things might come in handy:
Any medicine you need to take
Water tight shoes, even better if you’ve got two pairs, in case one needs to dry…
Rain clothes
Sleeping bag
(Air) matress
Camouflage clothing (trousers, jacket, balaclava)
Knife
Head torch
Lighter
Toothbrush 🙂
If you’ve got one, a tent, otherwise we’ll find a place for you to sleep
If you have allergies, food that is suitable for you
small book for personal notes
sturdy, robust clothing
harness, if you’ve got one. There are some communal ones in the forest
