Joe R. Golowka JoeG at ieee.org
"I have never read Marx. Well, I read a few pages then decided he was a bore. Karl didn't invent the class struggle, he merely wrote about it in a way that impressed some people, using lots of big words. While it can certainly be useful to know about the history of the working class, you don't need to have studied Marxist theory to know that being bossed around is degrading" - Dave Coull ----- Original Message ----- From: "Revolt News" <Revolt.News at pmail.net> To: <a-infos-en at tao.ca> Sent: Thursday, September 28, 2000 10:46 AM Subject: (en) Irish eyewitness report on S26 demonstration in Prague (part 1)
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> >From Ainriail - the Irish Anarchist list
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>
> Irish eyewitness report on S26
> demonstration in Prague
>
> This is a personal report on the
> demonstrations in Prague to shut down the
> IMF/World Bank on Tuesday by a member of
> the Workers Solidarity Movement who
> marched near the front of the anarchist
> (blue) section of the demonstration.
>
> ------
>
> The demonstration formed up around 2km
> from the congress centre in a square in
> central Prague. A meeting at the
> Convergence centre (a large industrial
> space in the suburbs) of some 3,000 people
> had taken place the afternoon before to
> discuss the plan to blockade the congress.
> The Czech organisers of the demonstration
> (INPEG) had decided to allow the delegates
> into the conference centre and then
> blockade it in order to prevent them
> leaving and attending a special Opera that
> evening.
>
> However at this meeting it became apparent
> that no plan had been made to shut down
> the metro station that would be inside the
> police cordon. It was very obvious that
> this was how the delegates would be
> brought in and out (and indeed the media
> has reported that they were brought out
> this way). The planned blockade would
> obviously be ineffective but the INPEG
> response to questions about the metro was
> to say that we couldn't shut this down as
> the ordinary citizens needed to get
> around.
>
> This led to a meeting of anarchists that
> evening beside the blue block meeting (see
> below). This decided that we would head
> up the blue block and rather then stopping
> at our appointed blockade point (which
> would have left us in a vunerable position
> between cliffs and a river) we would march
> as close as we could get to the Congress
> centre and then attempt to non-violently
> push through the police lines. Napoleon
> said a battle plan never survives first
> contact with the enemy, as we shall see
> below.
>
> Heading up the yellow block would be the
> Italian group 'Ya Basta' who had been
> delayed 24 hours on the border as the
> police tried to stop 4 of them coming in
> because they were on a (FBI) list of
> people who had attended the Seattle
> demonstration. In solidarity the 1,000
> people with them said either we all get in
> or we all stay here and proceeded to build
> barricades on the train lines. The border
> police were forced to give in and late on
> Monday 'Ya Basta arrived.
>
> Like the anarchist block they also
> intended to try and push through the
> police lines. They had come prepared with
> 30 or so suits of padded 'armour' and
> helmets that those in the front would wear
> to wade off police blows.
>
> There were three major colour blocks,
> blue, yellow and pink each assigned to
> block the access points at different areas
> around the conference centre. The centre
> itself stood at the top of a steep hill
> overlooking the city and was
> unapproachable from most angles due to
> cliffs. In addition we knew we faced
> 11,000 police with riot equipment, dogs,
> stun grenades, tear gas and water cannon.
>
> Both yellow and blue were headed up by
> groups who had stated their intention to
> push through the police lines. Pink who
> had the longest march but much easier
> access to the centre seemed to include the
> pacifists and the bulk of the Leninist
> parties..
>
> As we gathered in the square it was
> obvious that the hoped for 20,000 plus
> protesters would not materialise however
> we probably had over 12,000 (In this
> account I've tried hard to give accurate
> figures, I've seen one mainstream media
> report of 15,000 and others as low as
> 5,000). The march would be headed by
> pink, followed by yellow and then blue.
> As we reached the first point the march
> would continue and blue would split off
> and head for the area of the conference
> centre beside the river. Later the same
> tactic would see yellow split from the
> back and take a second route to the centre
> leaving pink to continue on to encircle
> the rear of the centre.
>
> I had chosen to march with the anarchist
> block that headed up (and indeed comprised
> the majority of) the blue march. The
> front of this was taken up by Czech
> anarchists followed by anarchist from the
> other Eastern European countries numbering
> perhaps a thousand in all. Holding the
> banners down one side of the march and
> taking position behind the eastern
> Europeans were anarchists from all the
> western European countries and a large
> number of automnen from Germany. This
> anarchist block probably numbered at least
> 3,000 but we may have had as many as
> 5,000. An exact estimate is difficult as
> from the front I could never see the back
> of the block and counting numbers in such
> a tightly packed formation (see below) is
> difficult. There were also large numbers
> behind the anarchist block and of course a
> least a thousand anarchists who choose to
> march with their affinity groups in other
> sections of the march. This last number
> could be larger and is based on the number
> of anarchist flags, badges and other
> identifying clothes I saw in the other
> sections.
>
> At the head of the blue section we were to
> march in tightly packed rows with our arms
> linked and banners stretched across the
> front and down the sides of the march.
> The majority of those on the march wore
> masks to protect their identity and offer
> some limited protection from tear gas.
> Those at the front also worse construction
> helmets and many had gas masks. Six of
> seven rows back a medical team marched
> also equipped with gas masks and helmets
> as we didn't expect the police would
> respect the prominent red crosses marked
> on their bags and satchels.
>
> I had chosen not to wear a mask and to
> speak to any press looking for interviews
> about why we marching today - making it
> clear this was only my view as we had no
> agreed press spokes people. I had spoken
> at the counter summit over the weekend so
> this seemed like the most useful
> contribution that could be made to the
> debate. This also means I can report on
> events with more safety then the more
> active participants.
>
> On the day the WSM and other anarchist
> groups were also distributing 5,000 copies
> of an international anarchist statement
> from a number of anarchist groups around
> the world. It explained why we were
> taking part in / supporting the Prague
> action and what alternative we had. The
> full text of this statement which was
> distributed in a four language leaflet
> (including Czech) can be found at
> http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/inter/s26.html
>
> One side note worth mentioning is that
> many of the Leninist parties had chosen to
> come to Prague with red flags emblazoned
> with hammer and sickles. The Czech media
> on the day of the protest had been sure to
> include front page pictures of them as
> these flags associated with the Soviet
> occupation and the old regime are hardly
> 'popular'. As the yellow block formed up
> in front of us the Eastern European
> anarchists greeted each of these banners
> with a chant that obviously translated as
> 'Bolshevism is Fascism'. I didn't join in
> as apart from the difficulty of chanting
> in a language you don't know I don't feel
> the equation is accurate even if in the
> context of Eastern Europe its an
> understandable reaction.
>
> As the march set off our block chanted a
> huge range of slogans, many of them in
> Czech but some also in French, English and
> Spanish. The most popular included
> 'international solidarity', 'smash, smash,
> smash the IMF' and 'no pasaran'. It was
> quite a feeling being part of this massive
> block of anarchists with people from every
> corner of Europe and beyond marching
> towards what we knew would be a hard
> confrontation with the police.
>
> The tactic of the march splitting off from
> the back worked beautifully, catching the
> police and media by surprise who were
> clustered at the front of the march. From
> here to the centre we were unaccompanied
> by both and we wound our way down into the
> valley below the conference centre. Once
> the march split up we jogged for a while
> and then in order to avoid breaking our
> formation slowed to a fast march trying to
> get as close to the IMF as we could before
> the police could react. In particular we
> were concerned that they could trap us at
> the bottom of the valley where we needed
> to take a tunnel under a railway line.
>
> In the event though the police failed to
> react and we got closer and closer to the
> IMF building. Finally we stood at the
> bottom of a steep hill slopping up to the
> centre, 300m away at the top we could see
> riot police behind a fence. On the right
> four storey building stood on the street,
> on the left a park opened up in a funnel
> shape with the wide end being at the top
> of the hill. We advanced rapidly up the
> hill and then stopped about 30m from the
> waiting police line. Here we waited for a
> minute to allow everyone to form up and
> remove the banners at the side of the
> march. At this point the non-combatants
> (including myself) moved into the park.
> Then the front charged.
>
> For the next couple of minutes row after
> row hurled themselves against the riot
> shields, before moving to the side as the
> next row flung themselves forward. The
> shield wall started to buckle and then
> break and demonstrators started breaking
> though to the crest of the hill, perhaps
> less then 100 m from the centre. The
> police brought up a water cannon and the
> first hail of stun grenades detonated
> amongst the front rows. Then the police
> baton charged forcing those who had scaled
> the fence to hastily retreat less they be
> trapped.
>
> As the baton charge reached the fence it
> was driven back by a hail of cobble stones
> and by demonstrators armed with sticks and
> protected with helmets. More
> demonstrators charging through the park
> itself began to scale the wall at the end
> nearest the congress or to try and force
> down the doors in the wall. Other
> observers indicated that at least some of
> them succeeded in this and got within 50m
> of the IMF before being driven back by
> riot police.
>
> Meanwhile at the top of the hill a furious
> battle was being waged by the anarchists.
> The police were now firing round after
> round of tear gas filled stun grenades
> into the massed ranks below them. The
> water cannon continually housed from left
> to right against the front rows. From the
> park above the road I could see someone
> holding a massive anarchist flag in the
> centre of the row, soaked and deep in tear
> gas but refusing to be driven back. A
> second massive charge began, again driving
> the police back before being again driven
> back as the police brought up two armoured
> personnel carriers and counter charged.
> Half a dozen or so Molotov cocktails were
> hurled into the police lines which brought
> them to a halt but had little other effect
> as they were obviously wearing flame proof
> suits.
>
> A stalemate developed along the fence with
> the police driven back whenever they tried
> to cross it by stick welding demonstrators
> and hails of the now plentiful
> cobblestones. Volley after volley of stun
> grenades and tear gas rained down, the
> noise apparently interrupting the speeches
> inside the hall. As the battle raged
> across the fence more and more
> demonstrators were coming to the rear
> injured or suffering the effects of the
> tear gas. In the front lines
> demonstrators could be seen wearing
> captured police riot helmets and wielding
> captured shields and batons.
>
> [end of part 1, part 2 to follow]
>
>
> http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/inter/s26.html
>
>
>
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