>--- Original Message ---
>From: Jason Schulman <jschulman at world.oberlin.edu>
>To: asdnet at igc.topica.com
>Date: 7/25/01 12:46:36 PM
>
>----- Forwarded Message -----
>
>From: George (Giorgio) Torrieri <torrieri at sbars.physics.arizona.edu>
>To: <sass at listserv.arizona.edu>
>Sent: Tuesday, July 24, 2001 7:47 AM
>Subject: An account from Genoa
>
>
>This is my quick and dirty translation of an open letter type
account of
>the Genoa demonstrations, written by the brother of the leader
of the
>Genoa Social Forum (the coalition of peaceful protesters there).
I
>cannot vouch for everything written, but it fits remarkably
with my own
>impressions (I was in Genoa for 1 day. At least, the part
of the
>police acting with random brutality but, remarkably leaving
alone the
>people doing the vandalizing I can confirm).
>
>The original is at http://www.arengario.net/piaz/piaz602.html
>
>Please forward to anyone you know
>
>---------------------
>From Stefano Agnoletto
>
>At the 23/07/01
>
>http://www.arengario.net/piaz/piaz602.html
>
>Dear friends
>
>Now, I was in Genoa, I've seen it.
>
>Don't believe the news you've seen in the press and on TV
>
>It was something insane, a massacre.
>
>It is still difficoult to tell you what happened between friday
and
>saturday.
>
>To do so, I'll use what I've seen together with my dear friends
who were
>present in Genoa with me.
>
>I ask you to have the patience to read this message, it really
is the
>chronicle of a nightmare which probably will not reach the mainstream
>media.
>
>I arrive to Genoa on thursday, after an immigrants' rights demonstration
>of
>about 50,000 people.
>
>There are arrival camps, many, thousands of peaceful people,
a
>marvellous atmosphere (remember the boy scouts?), we discussed,
sang and
>just stayed together.
>
>Clergy, activists, volunteers and just normal people, on friday
we begin
>the issue areas in a blockaded city: The various groups partecipating
>will converge in different points of the city to have a carnivalesque
>"siege" against the "red area" [The place, in Genoa, where the
G8 was
>held and demonstrations were not permitted] with street theatre,
dancing
>and slogans.
>
>At this pont, from the beach-front members of the now infamous
"Black
>Block" [supposedly Extremist groups blamed for most of the destruction
>in the city] arrive. Some are seen chatting with police, others
just
>come out of police crowds. Most of them speak German.
>
>They start to break everything. Police and Carabinieri [the
Italian
>military police] just stand there. The black block tries to
join in
>with a group of COBAS workers [COBAS is the new Italian Trade
union
>unaffiliated with party politics]. They beat up one of their
leaders,
>the group manages to stay clear of them with some difficoulty.
>
>Then the Black Block makes head for the first issue area, belonging
to
>the Italian Social Centers (Centri Sociali. Difficoult to translate
>exactly, call them Community organizations). They arrive armed
to the
>teeth.
>
>The police goes after them, and demonstrators find themselves
attacked
>first by the black block and then by the police, which starts
to charge
>violently against all demonstrators.
>
>The black block leaves suddently and appears on the square where
the
>Lilliput network is based (Fair trade, catholic campaign groups
etc).
>
>Its members try to peacefully make them leave. The police follows
and
>charges against everyone on the square. Truncheons and teargas
are used
>indiscriminately.
>
>People raise their hands, shout "Peace".
>
>The black block leaves the square and starts to vandalize the
city
>systematically.
>
>300-400 of the Black block roam Genoa, and whoever guides them
seems to
>know the city very well. Their path crosses every issue area,
where the
>campaigns of our movement are located.
>
>It's incredible. They move with military discipline, infiltrate
>everywhere, some leaders shout orders which are promptly followed
by the
>whole group. And, shortly afterwards, police and Carabinieri
make their
>appearance.
>
>Meanwhile, in the issue area where ARCI, ATTAC etc. ("mainstream"
>Italian 3rd-world campaigning organizations) are located everything
is
>fine. during the early afternoon we decide to leave the boundary
with
>the red zone were we were demonstrating.
>
>People start moving towards Dante square. Suddendly, police
launches
>tear-gas from behind our march, causing panic everywhere. Hospitals
fill
>with wounded demonstrators, but many do not go to hospital since
police
>seems to arrest everyone who turns up there.
>
>It's evening, people are downbeat, many are angry.
>
>Suddenly, no trace of the Black block.
>
>At the old city, where the camp of the Genoa social forum is,
there's
>about 10,000 of us. The news of the dead demonstrator reaches
us. We
>are scared, tales of extreme police brutality are told by many
people.
>Young men, nuns start crying.
>
>Many people are hurt. One old man is crying with a bandage
on his head.
> He is a retired metal worker.
>
>There is Don Gallo, of the San Benedetto (catholic) community
group.
>There is the leader of the mothers of Plaza De Mayo, in Argentina,
those
>women who for years have been looking for their disappeared
children:
>She says she is shaken at what she has seen, it's uncomfortably
close to
>Argentina during the dictatorship. She did not think something
similar
>would happen here.
>
>My brother Vittorio (Spokesman for the Genoa Social Forum),
Luca
>Cesarini (leader of the Social Centers) and Bertinotti, the
only
>politician with the courage to come here (the leader of the
Italian
>Refounded Communist party, sort of the equivalent of Nader in
Italian
>politics) try to calm everyone: They tell us not to come out
in small
>groups, not to accept violent provocations. We decide our
answer will
>be the enormous demonstration the next day, there'll be many
of us,
>peacefully responding to any provocation,whether from the black
block or
>the police.
>
>Senator Malabarba tells us he was at the police station. He
saw strange
>people who dressed like the demonstrators, they spoke German
and other
>foreign languages. Most of them come out of the station after
>exchanging afew words with the police.
>
>Suddently, there is a fire at a bank close to the old city.
>
>For 40 minutes, helicopters circle us, but no firefighters or
police
>arrive.
>
>At night, one of the camps were we are sleeping, the Carlini,
is
>surrounded by police: They go in and search, doing what you
want.
>People cry. They ask that brutality stop. Police enters, but
does not
>find anything in the camp.
>
>Saturday, the demonstration starts, a thousand colors. People
from all
>over the world, farmers, ONGs, workers, people from Kurdistan
... all
>singing, dancing, waving all sorts of flags.
>
>On Kennedy square there is no violence, in fact there is no
one there.
>Suddenly the Black Block appears. Police, with no warning or
reason
>given, divides the demonstration in 2 parts. A real battle
begins.
>Charges everywhere, people being beaten with truncheons. It
seems cops
>have gone crazy. Metal workers, the youth wing of Rifondazione
(the
>Italian left wing party) are charged. Groups of demonstrators
flee and
>are followed by police.
>
>Whoever is isolated is pursued and beaten. Many people are telling
of
>being beaten only for being recognized as demonstrators. Even
the
>Italian correspondent of the Sunday Times is beaten (in today's
issue of
>the paper he tells of his adventure).
>
>In a part of the march which so far was quiet, by the sea, suddenly
>teargas is fired from the roofs. Panic ensues as people cannot
breathe.
>
>The Black BLock? They appear and disappear, no one stops them.
They
>attack a youth from Rifondazione, wreck his flag, beat him.
They throw
>stones at the spokesman of the Genoa Social Forum. They wreck
stores,
>set fire to buildings. Many are armed to the teeth. How on
earth they
>managed to come to Genoa, with soldiers controlling every car?
>
>At the head of the march, things are still quiet. The Genoa
Social
>Forum invites everyone to leave calmly, and stay together.
We are being
>led to Marassi, where there are buses with everyone who arrived
this
>morning.
>
>We stopped there, and could not go further: On Kennedy square,
there is
>a war. There are many of us just sitting there. Suddendly,
teargas is
>used, panic everywhere. We try to get back to the camp of the
Genoa
>social forum. Police trucks pass us by, and policemen in them
shout:
>"we'll kill you all".
>
>The second part of the demonstration never arrives to the square.
They
>are charged by police. Many flee to the small streets, towards
the
>hills, where a real man-hunt starts.
>
>Saturday night, the demonstration has ended hours ago, the police
enters
>into the press-center of the Genoa Social Forum. They beat up
everyone
>they encounter, with shocking brutality. All they seem to
be after are
>documents (paper, video, pictures etc.) which tell of what happened
in
>the previous two days. Many of these documents ,computers, disks
are
>simply destroyed.
>
>The lawyer who coordinates the forum's legal team is arrested.
Among the
>destroyed material, there are the documents this legal team
put together
>as part of the defense of those arrested. Now, even the motives
for
>their arrest are not known. During this "search", with no legal
mandate,
>members of parliament, journalists, lawyers and even doctors
are not let
>in the building.
>
>None of us have ever seen the famous weapons shown at the press
>conference yesterday. Police departs, leaving us with only
those
>wounded and arrested.
>
>No one knows what happened to the Black Block.
>
>To sum it up, 2 nightmare days.
>
>Both the black block and the Police knew what they were doing
when they
>committed this violence.
>
>All along ,from friday, they insulted and verbally abused us
as they did
>what they did, someone seems to have brainwashed them.
>
>And today, we look at the TV and read papers. My god, it seems
like a
>dictatorship. Did everyone miss what we all saw? When I think
that
>many will read this and say "you violent protesters just talk
bullshit",
>I go mad.
>
>Please, don't let anyone fool you, find the courage to put your
faith in
>our wonderful police and democratically accountable institutions
to
>question.
>
>What happened in Genoa beggars belief.
>
>Some inauguration for the new government.
>
>Just to give you a flavour of the spin control effort, do you
know what
>the first version of the official investigation into the death,
before
>the videos appeared, was? Killed by a stone launched by the
>demonstrators.
>
>If you think that many of the documents put together by witnesses
have
>been destroyed during the "search" ... the only version left
to the
>public is that, "uncontestable", of the police. Please, forward,
print,
>talk about this document. To everyone, friends, relatives,
collegues.
>The truth has to come out. I beg you, don't look the other
way.
>
>Thank you
>
>Stefano Agnoletto
>
>
>PS: My brother Vittorio (the spokesperson of the Genoa Social
Forum) is
>destroyed. He told me: It's crazy, it seems we are in Latin
America
>during the '70s. Maybe even he did not realize fully with whom
are we
>dealing here.
>
>The truth has to come out.
>
>The preceding is a personal opinion. Try not to post more than
daily.
>
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