Mass protests in Quebec yesterday including the demolition of a large section of the 3km fence sealing off the city centre forced the opening ceremonies of the FTAA to be delayed by 90 minutes. Police attacked demonstrators with rubber bullets, tear gas, water cannon, dogs and baton charges. They have arrested many activists; most sinisterly a secret police snatch squad in an unmarked vehicle kidnapped key organiser Jaggi Singh [1] off a quiet street away from the confrontations.
A report[2] from the North Eastern Federation of Anarchists posted to a-infos indicates that many anarchists are amongst those arrested including a couple of NEFAC members who were arrested before the protests started. This confirms the political nature of the arrests being made, which are primarily aimed at weakening the effectiveness of the protests. NEFAC also warn that "The police is looking for scapegoats." and ask YOU to "..put pressure on Canadian embassy and consulate NOW. We also call a world wide support demo Monday morning (they are going to court then)."
Those struggling to shut down the FTAA summit are part of the international surge in struggle against capitalism. Those of us who couldn’t be in Quebece can contribute by picking up the phone and putting pressure on the Canadian regime via their consulates and embassies. Demand the immediate release of all those arrested. Also you can email any or all of the addresses at the end of this message. Below is a form protest letter you can copy and paste into your mail. I strongly suggest you personalise it a little before you send it for maximum effect.
SAMPLE PROTEST EMAIL
"To whom it concerns:
I am alarmed at the political repression of protesters your regime is carrying out on the streets of Quebec. The arrest of activists before the protests, and in particular of Jaggi Singh by a secret police snatch squad, demonstrate that the major purpose of these arrest’s is to make the protest less effective. I demand you release all those arrested now.
Signed"
Emailto pm at pm.gc.ca, deontologie- policiere.quebec at secpub.gouv.qc.ca
FOOTNOTES AND CONTACT DETAILS
[1] http://dc.indymedia.org/display.php3?article_id=813 9 [2] http://www.ainfos.ca/ainfos03372.html
Dublin embassy Address: The Canadian Embassy, 65 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland Telephone (011 353 1) 478-1988 Facsimile (011 353 1) 478 .. Email: cdnembsy at iol.ie
Other embassies http://www.medhunters.com/candlicinfo/visa- info/CANembassy.html
Mailing Address
The Right Honourable Jean Chrétien
Prime Minister of Canada
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada
K1A 0A2
Telephone Number
(613) 992-4211
Fax Number
(613) 941-6900
Email Address
Member of Parliament http://www.parl.gc.ca
Complaining to Quebec Police deontologie-policiere.quebec at secpub.gouv.qc.ca http://www.opcc.bc.ca/Police%20Complaint%20Procedur es/Quebec.html
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