The city of Barcelona was shaken on Thursday 10th as thousands of people took to the streets in a day of protest against the killing in Iraq and the permanent war. Many businesses were closed, following a call by several anarchosindcalist unions [CGT | CNT | SO] for a general strike of 24 hours. Actions were continuing until the late evening.
Since the early morning, groups held protest actions in front of banks and chain shops, shutting down many of them and convincing others to participate in the general strike. Around midday, large groups of people - often forming spontaneous demonstrations - converged from all sides onto the city centre. There, at least ten thousand people started a loud and colourful cacerolazo demonstration, banging on pots and pans, lamp poles and police cars, and setting up mobile sound systems. Protest rallies ("escraches") were held in front of a big bank (more pics) which is involved in the arms business, at the stock exchange (more pics 1 | 2) and at the ministry of the economy.
Moving back to the city centre, a group of protestors shut down the Burger King "restaurant" at Plaza Catalunya and opened a popular kitchen on the street in front of it (more pics) as part of the campaign "Active Boicott". Demonstrations continued until the late evening, including an anarchist demo, a shut-down protest at a petrol station, and a human mosaic. As every night during the past weeks, a giant cacerolazo ended the day. All over the city, people got out on the pans. As every night, a deafening roar filled the streets, a massive outcry against the war, whilst, at the same time, expressing the increasingly popular demand of "Que se vayan todos!" (They all must go!), a slogan taken from the streets of the Argentina's popular revolt and now shouted in Barcelona as a rejection to the right wing Spanish government of the Popular Party.
This day of action was just the latest in a long series of events against the war, that under the slogan "Guerra a la Guerra" (War to the War), have been taking place in Barcelona and elsewhere in the Spanish state during the past weeks. Seven houses all over the city were squatted for anti-war events, demonstrations took place on almost a daily basis transforming the city onto a continuous state of protest, and several camps were set up in the city centre, one of them directly in front of the doors of the local government palace, were activist groups and social movements have been discussing the war, the relation of the anti-war movement to other social movements, and where actions have been planned. For this weekend further protests are being planed in the city, including a Reclaim The Streets street party.
In Madrid there was also mobilisations during the whole day (more pics) as well as in Valencia and in many other cities and towns all over the Spanish state. Other recent international anti-war reports received in the IMC-UK newsiwre include:
• Civil inspection of a NATO base in Valencia (Spanish State)
• 1,000 people gathered outside the Dail on April 2nd to protest about Ireland continued use as a US BASE [video | audio]
• A 20.000 strong demosntration in Athens on April 3rd.
• Around 1,000 people marched once again to Shannon airport in Ireland on April 12 to demand for the immediate withdrawal of US military aircraft and personal from the airport. pics and video
• Photo of April 12 San Francisco (US) peace march. See photo gallery
• 3,000 people marched in Oslo(Norway) against the attack on Iraq and for peace (pic) on April 12.
• A 3 year labour camp sentence imposed on an Armenian conscientious objector.
• USA: Conscientious objector sent to Iraqi War Zone.
IMC-Barcelona in English language | IMC-Global
