Joe R. Golowka JoeG at ieee.org Anarchist FAQ - http://www.anarchistfaq.org
"Anarchism is not a romantic fable but the hardheaded realization, based on five thousand years of experience, that we cannot entrust the management of our lives to kings, priests, politicians, generals, and county commissioners." - Edward Abbey ----- Original Message ----- From: "dr woooo" <vornman at excite.com> To: <a-infos-en at ainfos.ca> Sent: Thursday, June 14, 2001 12:46 AM Subject: (en) Canada, MEDIA: Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) attacks
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> by TJ 1:01pm Wed Jun 13 '01 (Modified on 3:22pm Wed Jun 13
'01)
>
> Yesterday, the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty -
> one of the most exciting and militant direct-action
> organisations on the continent - kicked off its 'Fight
to
> Win!' campaign - which will culminate in massive
> direct-actions and unions strikes this Fall - by
trashing
> the Ontario Finance Ministers riding office.
>
> Poverty activists vow to increase civil disobedience
> Flaherty's office attacked: 'This campaign is going to
escalate,' says
> OCAP member
>
> The destruction of the Ontario Finance Minister's
constituency office
> yesterday is the "first skirmish in what will be an
> all-out war" against the provincial government, a
controversial
> poverty activist group has warned.
>
> About 20 members of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty
barged
> into the Whitby office of Jim Flaherty, overturning and
> destroying office equipment, scribbling obscenities on walls
and
> throwing furniture on to the street.
>
> "Jim Flaherty is not fit to govern and we evicted him," Lana
Rabkin, a
> member of OCAP said yesterday. "I think it would
> be a mistake to see today's act as an act of vandalism.
Today we say
> enough and this campaign is going to escalate,"
> she said, adding the incident was just one of a "host of
different
> tactics" to be unleashed in the near future.
>
> At about 11 a.m., dozens of OCAP members who had chartered a
> bus from Toronto to Whitby began marching on Mr.
> Flaherty's office.
>
> "All of a sudden, we heard people on megaphones screaming
> obscenities and yelling," said Donna Barnes, an
> employee of Hakim Optical, which shares the building. "And
that's
> when all hell broke loose."
>
> Six members went inside the lobby and began screaming at
> employees -- a full-time staff member and three summer
> students -- behind a counter, police said. One employee
pressed a
> panic alarm and called 911.
>
> "At that time, another group behind them came in and they
started to
> jump the counter and started to rampage the place," Sergeant
Paul
> Malik, of
> Durham Regional Police, said.
>
> Furniture was destroyed and filing cabinets and display
cases thrown
> down as pamphlets and papers were strewn along the floor.
The
> vandals began
> hauling out files, papers and furniture -- including desks,
chairs and a
> microwave -- and dumping them on the street.
>
> One member took a knife and sliced through the plastic
awning
> bearing the Minister's name.
>
> Others who were still inside the office scribbled "F--- your
corporate
> pride" on closet doors and "F--- gender" on the door of the
women's
> washroom.
>
> When police arrived, activists were still throwing objects
on to the
> road. The group scattered but two were arrested at the
scene. The
> rest boarded their
> bus but it was later stopped by police. One female officer
was hurt in
> the struggle.
>
> Twelve people, all from Toronto, were charged with mischief
over
> $5,000, unlawful assembly and causing a disturbance. A
number
> were also charged
> with assaulting police, assault to resist arrest,
obstructing police,
> assault with a weapon and breach of court orders.
>
> Mr. Flaherty, visibly shaken after hearing the news, cut
short his work
> at Queen's Park and rushed to Whitby to check on his staff
and
> inspect the
> damage.
>
> "It's wanton destruction by some people. I don't know why
that would
> happen. Certainly it's unnecessary," he said.
>
> After surveying his office, he said he was shocked and upset
by the
> sight, adding his staff was "terrified" by the ordeal. "It's
violent and it's
> totally unfair to
> the young people who are working here."
>
> Ms. Rabkin said Mr. Flaherty was targeted first because his
policies
> of privatization make him a "particularly offensive example
of the Tory
> government."
>
> Sue Collis, an OCAP organizer, said in a statement: "Today's
action
> is the first skirmish in what will be an all-out war on this
government."
>
> OCAP is planning a rally this weekend to commemorate the
first
> anniversary of the Queen's Park riots, in which 18 people
were
> arrested when
> protesters clashed with police on the steps of the
legislature.
>
> www.ocap.ca
>
> add your own comments
>
> Hmmmm... (english)
> by Matt 2:38pm Wed Jun 13 '01
>
> I don't want to pass judgement, as this is very cleqarly a
corporate
> media account and may not be accurate. But judging by what's
> written here, this sounds to me much like some of
Weatherman's
> actions in the late 60's early 70's. Such tactics were not
all that
> productive, and often turned away much of the base that the
> movement was trying to build (Weather then viewed those
folks as
> not radical enough--not a winning strategy to build a
movement). An
> action that I've read about which particularly comes to mind
is
> Weather's trashing of a war research office based at
Harvard. Eric
> Mann, currently the head of the militant and amazing
> Labor-Community Strategy Center in LA, spent at least a year
in jail
> for that action. I'd be curious to know if he know feels
that it was
> worthwhile. He's certainly organizing differently now, and
has had
> some pretty impressive results.
>
> (For the record, I was born in 1976, when Weather hardly
existed any
> more, and I have no connections to OCAP or Eric Mann.)
>
> response (english)
> by Stuart 3:22pm Wed Jun 13 '01
>
> First off this is not indicative of all OCAP actions. OCAP
is very
> effective at doing direct action in situations were people
are being
> denied their social assistance and are have their general
human
> rights violated. There have been countless examples of how
they
> have helped undoing the wrongs of governmental forces within
> Ontario.
>
> Second you have to have a good background of the Mike Harris
Tory
> Government within Ontario to truly realize why these tactics
are
> necessary. We now live in an environment in Ontario where
after 5
> years of tory rule, 60 hr works weeks and reduction in
overtime rights
> have been introduced, Privitization of Universities are now
allowed,
> Social Programs such as public education, hospitals, welfare
/
> workfare have all had their infructure gutted.
>
> Reduction in govermental water safety regualtions in the
province of
> ontario lead to the deaths of 5 people in Walkerton, and
thousands
> more were severly ill. The government has been shown to know
> about the concerns with water safety in the province and in
walkerton
> specfically and did nothing to provide warning or allievate
the
> problem.
>
> Dudley George a member of the Indigenous Community at Stoney
> Point was murdered by Ontario Provincal Police for non
violently
> defending his communities land rights at Ipperwash
Provincial Park.
> Mike Harris and his Government ordered the police action and
have
> now undertaken a massive coverup campaign to hide the blood
on
> their hands.
>
> Many people within the province of Ontario refuse to sit
silenly by
> while their rights and the rights of their communities are
threatned by
> the devasting "leadership" that is provided by the Mike
Harris
> Goverment. Passivity in the struggle to remove Mike Harris
from
> office to some degree failed in it's first attempt around
1996-7 when
> they began implementing their neo-liberal agenda. Groups
like the
> Ontario Coalition Agaisnt Poverty and it's many allies are n
ow
> undertaking a widespread disruption campaign that cannot be
> ignored. It is time that the government of ontario learns
that cannot
> screw us over without a fight. This action and the many
future actions
> will show that.
> Mark Gollom and Robert Benzie
> National Post
> http://indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=46629&group=webcast
>
>
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