Solidarity action at Italian Consulate in Manchester

WE ARE ALL BLACK BLOCK! WE ARE EVERYWHERE!

Serious Disturbance at Italian Consulate in Manchester

Several people got into the Italian Consulate this morning [Monday 23rd July], to protest against the police violence in Genoa. Leaflets were handed out, walls graffitied, fire extinguisher sprayed into their computers, and the fire alarm was set off causing an evacuation of the whole building (which was sweet, as Murdoch's News International is also based there, and his paper the New York Post had recently declared that Carlo Giuliani deserved to be shot). Italian fascists, including old women, physically confronted the protesters.

Meanwhile outside the building about 10-12 others displayed placards and banners about the deaths caused by globalisation, and specifically showing the aftermath of police violence in Genoa. Hundreds of leaflets were handed out to (largely sympathetic) passers by.

The action was organised from the Okasional Caf squatted social centre in Manchester, which had held an open weekend with protest films, plus info and displays about Genoa. Manchester's political samba band also took to the streets to hand out leaflets in the shopping area on Saturday. For more information on actions in Manchester phone 0161 226 6814, or email mancef@nematode.freeserve.co.uk

Below is the text of the leaflet disributed this morning...

WE ARE EVERYWHERE!

Since Thursday there have been huge protests on the streets of Genoa in Italy. This is because the heads of government of eight of the most powerful countries in the world (the 'G8') are meeting there to discuss how to push forward with globalisation, and carve up our future.

*Murderers*

On Saturday, a 23 year old Italian called Carlo Guiliani was killed by the Italian armed police - shot twice in the face and then run over. A french woman remains critically ill in hospital after being hit in the head by police while she was running away.

*Violence and censorship*

On Saturday night, two buildings opposite each other in Via Cesare Battisti in Genoa, hosting the Indymedia Centre and the Genoa Social Forum were brutally raided by police just after midnight. Police used tear gas inside the buildings and baton charged against people sitting on the ground. 20 people are confirmed to be severely injured, one of them an IMC UK reporter. Police claim to have looked for weapons under Article 41 of the Italian law permitting a search without warrant, but have destroyed the legal teams' computer equipment, confiscated videos, floppies and hard disks, and have beaten people indiscriminately. 8 arrests have been made of which one person has been released, reporting to have been beaten heavily.

PTO………………



*So why are so many people still out there on the streets risking their lives to protest at this meeting?*

Globalisation is all about the wealthy exploiting the poor. We've seen it for years in this country - the rich business people getting rich off our backs - globalisation just takes things further. Big multinational corporations are the new empire builders of the world - exploiting the labour and the resources of third world countries to make bigger profits for their shareholders. Ford motor company is now worth more than Denmark!

And here we've been affected too - selling off our public services has been part of pushing for free trade. The Private Finance Initiative is Blair's version of this. Foot & Mouth was caused by the big supermarkets controlling farming and agriculture……the list goes on. People are angry about the suffering caused by globalisation and are fighting back - and now it seems the globalisers will go to any lengths including murdering the protesters to make sure that they can carry on making their money regardless.

We denounce TV reports that it is 'black block' anarchists, who are unaware of the issues, who are sparking the violence. The hundreds of people who die every day as a result of globalisation, the massive environmental destruction, the unarmed man shot in Brixton, the people homeless on our streets, the innocent people in prison, the needless slaughter of animals - this is the real violence going on all day every day in today's society at the hands of the bloody system we live under. Anyone who has a vision of a better world, and fights for it in whatever way they feel appropriate, anyone who is prepared to stand up to police guns, tear gas, water cannons with whatever sticks and bottles they find in the streets - are heroes & heroines.

We are out here to show our solidarity with those suffering extreme violence at the hands of the Italian police.

For more information on protests in Genoa, look at http://uk.indymedia.org

For more information on anti-globalisation issues - www.infoshop.org

Info on meetings, actions and events in Manchester, pick up a copy of Loombreaker, monthly free news sheet. Contact us for a copy - loombreaker@nematode.freeserve.co.uk, or 0161 226 6814, or for the next week pop by the Okasional Café on Charles St (off Oxford Rd by BBC) and pick up a ton of info (sporadic open times, knock and ask for info)