World Feature Archive

Despite previous denials from the Pentagon, the US military are now admitting that napalm, or a very similar chemical weapon, was used by their forces during the recent invasion of Iraq, despite a United Nations convention banning its use.

Now reports are coming from members of Red Cross International who have broken the prohibition of speaking out about what they see in the USA-run detention camp of Gulag – Camp Cropper, on the outskirts of Baghdad International Airport. They have told Amnesty International about the shocking conditions in which 3000 Iraqi prisoners, most of whom have not even been charged, are held.

The summer of Resistance Camping is still ongoing. Starting of with the convergence of protesters against the G8 in Evian, tents and food kitchen have moved on to the noborder camps and various other activist gatherings in the sun, organised around particular pressing issues, such as computing (also see WSIS [1,2]), antinuke or ecology.

Coca-Cola stands accused of violence, intimidation and murder in Columbia. A new global boycott and direct actions looks like the Real Thing...

"If I go to jail, then I will go to jail not based on my actions, but based on what I think" - Sherman Austin.

The shut down of Raise The Fist website was first reported on LA Indymedia and San Fransisco Indymedia when the heavily armed FBI raided the home of the webmaster in February 2002.

Now, on August 4th 2003, the court ruled one year in prison, exceeding everybodys expectation. Sherman took a plea bargain because he feared his case was eligible for a terrorism enhancement, which could have added 20 years to his sentence. The plea deal had called for him to serve four months. more info.

An Audio report is available on Radio4all.

Recent actions by the Ecuadorian Government appear to confirm fears that new oil concessions will be made in the near future, affecting millions of acres of pristine Amazonian rainforest and their indigenous inhabitants.

For a year now, Palestinian, Israeli and international peace activists have been calling attention to the building of the Separation Wall by Israel in Palestinian areas. Although it is the most acute threat to Palestinians, getting bigger as we speak, the US sponsored Road Map to peace nor the corporate media paid attention to their pleas. But, it seems that this month the world is finally starting to listen. Dozens of pictures on the mainstream newswires and heated debates on Indymedia UK, and yes, protests too!

Timeline and reports from Summer of Resistance actions in Genoa, July 2001

The National Center for Rural Workers (CNTC) in Honduras, Central America asks for urgent support for their communities after 2 activists are murdered and 30 detained in two separate attacks July 16 and July 17th.

In June and July of this year, two Argentinian women toured the UK to talk about the wave of social change which is sweeping their home country. Graciela and Neka talked about the Piquetero movement, which has seen unemployed workers taking control of over 200 factories, and organising a direct democracy through neighbourhood assemblies. The movement has also organised road blockades in resistance to the neo-liberal reforms which are leaving many Argentinians unemployed.

The tour was organised by the Argentina Autonomist Project (AAP), an group which seeks to educate people around the world about the struggles in Argentina.

I met up with Graciela at the Glasgow event, to find out more...

The 20th of July will mark the second anniversary of the murder of Carlo Guilani by the Carabinieri (Italian paramilitary police force) during the protests against the G8 summit of Genoa 2001. In those remarkable days, where Berlusconi's goverment gave orders to stop protesters by "whatever force necessary", the independent media centre was brutally attacked by police, resulting with the arrests, tortures, assaults and beatings into coma of many protesters.

Update Saturday 19: Simon, thessaloniki prisoner, has just phoned and said that letters, which DO NOT have a return address on the ENVELOPE will not be delivered to prisoners.
If you want to send a card Simons 30th birthday is the 24th of july.
This new procedure applies to all prisoners.

Update Sunday 13: The greek government has seized the account at the Pireus bank which had been opened to receive fundings for prisoner solidarity (concerning the last EU summit in thessaloniki). It's important to avoid depositing any money into it, and to wait for more updates before sending more funds. Meanwhile for financial support please contact: financial2003@disobey.net

Update Saturday 12: On Thursday, 10th of July Solidartiy actions so far known of, were taking place in London, Brussels, Graz, Athens, Thessaloniki, Madrid, Bilbao, Torino, Rome, and Buenes Aires.

Update Friday 11: Letter received from Simon Chapman from Thessaloniki's prison.

Thursday, July 10, will mark an international day of solidarity with the eight protestors arrested and imprisoned after demonstrations against the European Union summit in Thessaloniki three weeks ago. In London, supporters will gather at 3 pm at the Greek tourism office and the Greek airline, on Conduit Street, to raise awareness about the injustice being perpetrated by the Greek government.

On the 30. Juni 2003 a demonstration took place against borders, deportations and the new visa-regulations in Warsaw, Poland.
This noborder demo in Warsaw on June 30 ended with 16 arrests for a short time.
A website with templates for appeals to authorities and more info was prepared.

The demo ended a noborder conference and an International Anarchist Meeting preceding the Krynki bordercamp which started on June 2nd.

Martin Shaw, who has been injured during a non violent direct action at the Anti-G8 Protests in Lausanne, near Evian, has been released from hospital.
In a press conference, new video material was presented, which demonstrated the neglicence of the police at the scene.

A noborder demo in Warsaw on June 30 ended with 16 arrests. A website with templates for appeals to authorities and more info is prepared. The demo ended a noborder conference and an International Anarchist Meeting preceding the Krynki bordercamp which starts on June 2nd.
A Financial Call for people arrested and injured during the Evian G8 Protests was sent out.
The Uk supporters for people held in prison following the EU summit in Thessaloniki are sending regular updates [Update #2 | Update #3].

The ship from "Women on Waves" (WOW, polish: Kobiety na Falach), arrived the 22nd of june in the harbour of Wladyslawowo. Polish women organisations celebrated the arrival of the floating abortion clinic. Beforehand the landing of the ship was prevented by the authorities.
At the same time abortion enemies attacked the ship with eggs, bottles and stones. The authorities have searched the ship and sealed all drugs.

On 25 June, a court hearing took place against 8 protesters who were arrested during the demonstrations against the Thessaloniki EU Summit on June 22. A British protester, and 6 other people from Greece, Spain and Syria will be remanded in custody for the next three months until their cases are dealt in Court.
They were charged on three separate counts, all of which carry sentences ranging from 7 to 25 years in prison.

Supporters are calling for a protest at the Greek Embassy in London on Saturday 28th June, 2PM. Reports [1 | 2 | 3].

Update #3 | Update #2 | Support for Simon (UK) and Jonathan (US) | Anarchist Call | Situation in Thess Prison | International Solidarity Group

Latest reports from the legal team state all 22 accused of minor charges are already or will be released tomorrow.

The 2 Austrians have been released on Tuesday morning, one of the Spanish activists is due to be released tomorrow, the US cititzen has apparantly been released on bail and then been rearrested for deportation, whilst trying to fetch his personal belongings.

However, due to the mainstream media hype and political pressure in Greece, all remaining minor accusations were changed into major offences, with charges constantly changing.

According to reports, all prisoners have been tortured in jail, all of them were beaten up, some had parts of their hair pulled out. One person was treated in hospital because of a leg injury, all others were not allowed to see a doctor, although rips of one person have been broken.

First solidarity actions for the prisoners have been taking place, such as the occupation of the greek embassy in Berlin, a solidarity demonstration in Graz, Austria and an antirepression demonstration in Milan. More solidarity actions in Berlin, Barcelona,Graz, Vienna, London and elsewhere are announced and called for.

Already, on Monday, the legal team has issued an urgent call and momentarily still continues to search for witnesses, film and photo material to prove that the police assignes self-produced, fake evidence to the accused.
The other 8 activists, accussed of major offences, were brought in front of the magistrate on Wednesday. It was decided, that 7 of them have to remain in prison. Amongst them are 4 internationals, one Briton, one Spanish and one Syrian, whom awaits the death penality if deported to Syria. All the other 3 activists are greek. In front of the court building an solidarity demonstration including banner drops, took place.

After Saturday's siege at the university, people could finally walk in and out since the early hours of Sunday, and police, both riot and plain clothes, left the area. People in the building earlier in the night gathered for a meeting and prepared this statement in solidarity with the prisoners.

This building was used for an Independent Media Center (IMC), the radio station and the medical teams. They made a video to show no damage had been done to the building. At noon local time, the occupation was ended peacefully.

At the Courthouse in Thessaloniki there was a solidarity demonstration for the arrested activists. Reports say there were over one hundred arrestes saturday, of whom at least 25 will appear in front of a magistrate. However, this appointment was postponed for several activists. Currently, there are still twenty to thirty five person in jail linked to Saturday's events, all others have been released. The demo at the Court got surrounded. Heavy police attacks and violence... Read information from Indymedia Athens.

Earlier in the afternoon people showed what they thought about the Greek court and police (see picture).

[Dispatch].

In the afternoon several hundred people demonstrated outside the Courthouse, supporting people who have been arrested. Some of these people have suffered beatings and tortures.Police release here.

Timelines:
sunday evening, from alasbarricadas.

foto's [ 1 | 2 ]

Saturday sees the continuation of demonstrations in Thessaloniki. There are reports of more than 100,000 people in demonstrations called by the Greek Social Forum, Action Thessaloniki 2003, and other organizations. Summaries: [1] [2][3].

An international march started at 5.00pm in the city of Thessaloniki, in protest of EU policies on immigration [1|2|3] war, pension reforms and a European common army. An Anti-EU-summit concert with the participation of Greek and international groups is planned for the evening.

Anarchists occupying Thessaloniki University marched this morning through Eganatia street, damaging two banks and a McDonalds restaurant. There are also conflicting reports about anarchists vandalising offices of the Greek Communist Party. The police responded with a lot of tear gas, and repelled the demonstrators. Reports of anarchist marches [ 1| 2 | 3] Photos [1| 2|3| [4]

In the evening the University campus was surrounded by riot police and the demonstrators withdrew into the campus, which police are not legally allowed to enter. The campus is surrounded by police, although everything is reportedly calm at this point. The live stream radio stopped its work. People remaining in the University have constituted an assembly which has issued a declaration. Read the latest information from the university: [1] [2 (audio) | 3 ]

Timelines:
translated --from la haine
--from Neos Marmaras area
-- ImcSwitzerlands timeline

Breaking news as it comes.
Personal reports: [1,2, 3, 4]
Summary: collection and translation of personal reports.

Friday, 20 July, Thessaloniki (Greece)
The Day of action in Thessaloniki against the EU summit sees two demonstrations proceeding against the institutions of power.
The red zone was attacked. The police fought the demonstrators, including the Disobedienti, off with CS-gas. Another demonstration went to the Macedonian/Greek Border to support the Roma in the refugee camp with food and medicine, but the activists were refused entry to Macedonia.

Reporting Both IMC Athens and IMC Thessaloniki are momentarily experiencing technical server problems.
Quick,comprehensive coverage at our timeline | Personal Reports [1|2|3|4|5] | [Short Update|Longer Update| Legal Team Update | report from Struggle Initiative | Pictures: [LaHaine|2|3]