IMCUK breaking news from Seville EU-Summit, Friday 21st
IMC-UK | 21.06.2002 16:37
Seville woke up today with a disproportionate police presence. People have consistently been harassed, assailed and identified all over the city by undercover and uniformed police. Some actions and workshops planned for today have not taken place due to repression and materials being confiscated by police.
From the early hours of the morning police surrounded and consistently harassed two social centres in Seville where many materials, banners, and props prepared for today’s demonstrations and actions, as well as personal belongings, were confiscated. Reports of police using batons and kicking people during the raids.
During the night, police blocks and checks were set up in roads and motorways heading to Seville, preventing many people, from all over the Spanish State and beyond, from arriving to the city. There are also reports of around 2000 people being stranded at the border between Spain and Portugal, due to the fact that the Schengen Treaty of “people’s free movement” has been suspended once more by the Spanish government.
Despite all this repression and heavy police tactics, people in and around Seville are still determined to show their rejection to the policies being decided behind closed doors by our so-called leaders in the EU-Summit. Some actions, assemblies, debates and workshops have been happening all over the city during the day, and calls for a Disobedient action and a mass demonstration have been made for tomorrow Saturday.
Watch this space for the latest news from the streets of Seville.
Friday 21st BREAKING NEWS
23:30pm - Sevilla: More people that had been in the RTS demo are arriving to the free gig and party at La Alameda.
23:00pm - Sevilla: The students,enviromentalists and anarchists demo has now finished. There are now 2000 people gathered and partying in La Alameda.
Demos in Spain meet police repression pics
22:00pm - Seville: The student's demo has grown in numbers considerabily with the presence of environmentalists and Anarchists against Capital. People tried to move towards the commercial area of the city where a big McDonald's 'restaurant' and a big Corte Ingles megastore are situated, but police prevented them from doing so. They are still marching down La Alameda.
21:45pm - Seville: The march against social exclusion and casualisation has moved towards the working class areas of Sevilla. People are dancing in a festive atmosphere.
21:10pm - Seville: The students demo has now joined up with the one organised by Anarchists Against Capital and are moving towards La Alameda. Also a group of envirnonmentalists that was marching with a samba band against GM products have joined up. Police presence is increasing.
20:45pm - Seville: The students demo is moving towards Plaza San Francisco with a big banner at the front that reads "With an education system that is public and of quality another world is possible". Aroun 20 riot police vans are circling the demo and the crowd is shouting 'we are students, not terrorists".
20:40pm - Seville: The students demo has arrived at Pza. Pumarejo. Many more people have joined in and police is now changing into full riot gear. Fears that a police charge may take place soon.
20:25pm - Seville: The student demonstration in Jardines del Valle has started now. People have managed to break the police circle and moved to the middle of the road. Unionist from CGT are also present. People is marching behind a banner that reads "Lets Globalise the Resistances". Police tactics seem to have soften a bit now.
20:20pm - Seville: Reports that police are setting up controls at the main entrances to Sevilla. Many busses trying to get to the city are being stopped. Also reports that police are filming and retaining everyone who is arriving with foreign vehicles.
20:15pm - Seville: The demonstration against social exclusion and casualisation is still in Ronda del Tamarguillo. Very heavy police presence and tactics are stopping the march from moving. Apart from the spanish CGT union, there are present members from 4 Freench and 2 Greek unions.
20:10pm - Seville: Students demonstration: Around 1500 people are gathered in Jardines del Valle. Some 200 riot police are surrounding the crowd. There are also aroun 30 riot police vans around the park.
19:58pm - Seville: The feminist demostration has now finished in Triana bridge where a big banner has been hung,
19:55pm - Seville: The Reclaim the Streets acton has started with a samba band drumming away. So far no trouble with the police. report and pics
19:50pm - Seville: Around 100 people are gathered in Cruce de la Ronda del Tamarguillo for a demostration against social exclusion called by the CGT union. Heavy police presence and people are standing with a banner reading "Europe Against Capitalism"
19:45pm - Seville: The feminist demo that was supposed to start from Torre del Oro is now taking place in another part of the city. Around 500 people are marching in Puente de San Telmo without much police presence. Groups such as Women Against War, Women in Black and the women's group of the Sevilla Social Foreum are present.
19:30pm - Seville: Eight riot police vans are in Torre del Oro where an action called by the feminist workshop was to take place. So far no demonstrators have showed up.
19:15pm - Seville: People are trying to gather in Plaza Pumarejo for a Reclaim the Streets action called by Anarquists against Capital. Heavy police presence identifying everyone in and around the square so not many people are managing to gather. Reports of around 50 people resisting in the square.
14:15pm - Seville: Sa'ez that welcomes participants and gives them lodging, as well as hosting the assemblies is surrounded by an anti-riot cord. The same goes for the press center in the Pza. Pumarejo, where the access to many streets is blocked. There are also reports of police infiltrators and use of tear gas.
14:00pm - Seville: It is now clear that the activities planned for "the Global Zoo" could not take place due to the forthright political harassment and repression suffered by the participants (ID-checks, registrations, expulsions and evictions from the area).
13.30pm - Seville: Police arrested a Venezualan man walking near Plaza del Pumarejo.
13.30pm - Seville: A bus from United Left from Euskadi was retained an hour and fifteen minutes when entereing Seville. Police took away banner sticks and a juggling club, and fined them for carrying them.
13:30pm - Seville: In the San Salvador area people are creating an antimilitarist puzzle with pieces of cardboard. This work, of about 4 x 3 meters, says "the military expenses for social uses schools, day-care centers, work and hospitals". It has brought around 300 people. The atmosphere is calm and excessive police presence is not apparent here.
13:16pm - Seville: Several people went naked in the area of San Francisco. All took a sign with one letter covering their genitals, and formed the phrase "Against the Europe of Capital".
13.15pm - Seville: At the moment, the participation in the actions is low. The enlarged police presence is dissolving and harassing people in the streets who try to make protests or performances, preventing the development of the planned activities.
13.00pm - Seville: The vice-rector of the University of Seville has forbidden the installacion of a hutch, meant to be the axe to the exclusion of the Social Forum. The university also banned an activity meant for children.
12:57pm - Seville: A gathering of 150-200 of people arrived for "the abolition of the external debt" at the area of San Francisco, singing folk music.
12:50pm - Seville: In the area of San Francisco, a group is doing a performance called "paraiso fiscal". Seated they wash bills with detergent and put them to dry. 50 people are participating.
12:45pm - Seville: Police presence and harassment has not allowed the action called “Global Zoo” to go to Hotel Alfonso XIII, where apparently several Heads of State are staying. The people who managed to congregate momentarily, have been ID-ed and expelled from the area, like all those that have come near it.
12.45pm - Seville: The police took away the papers, passports and some film of a group of people handing out flyers by the Puerta Jerez. After a lawyer intervened the police gave all of it back.
12:20pm - Seville: Police numbers are increasing in the streets.
11.40am - Seville: The police has attacked four people from the Anarchist Coordination in Antonio Saez street, near Plaza del Pumarejo. They were kicked in the face and head and searched. The police did not identify themselves and said they would give them a beating and throw them in the van next time. The building that the people have squatted is surrounded by the police in four streets.
10:30am - Seville: A shanty town was constructed at the campus of Queen Mercedes in support of the migrant people locked there. Participation was low.
10.30am - Seville: Exaggerated controls on a caravan of busses coming from Granada.
10:21am - Seville: Police have evicted by surprise the occupied space "Ship of Seville", which the network "Anarchists against Capital" were going to use for their activities.
Night - Seville: Eyewitness reports state police raided squatted social centres during the night. They searched everyone, checked IDs and at least two people were beaten during the raid. When they left, the police took materials for banners, props and gas masks with them.
Thursday breaking news
IMC-UK
Comments
Hide the following 2 comments
squats NOT evicted
22.06.2002 12:31
One woman suffered baton blow to thigh during police passport check - for singing! Just bruising though.
Also a couple of banks had their windows broken.
ginger
Solidarity from G-8 in Kananaskis, Canada
25.06.2002 04:01
what democracy looks like.
In solidarity!
Ms