The Police: A bunch of organized and legalized criminals at the service of capitalism and the state.
Police are constantly a part of our lives. In the urban centers of our region, it is normal to cross a patrol car every two minutes. We are no longer surprised or alerted when we see police officers. On the contrary, we are surprised when they are absent! Police are everywhere and justice is nowhere to be found; the forces of "law and order" reinforce a regime which seeks to crush and criminalize the poor and the powerless when they protest their class conditions. Stealing food from a supermarket is "illegal" because it protests the commodification of food supply and distribution rackets. Acting politically in a direct and autonomous fashion is "anti-democratic" and "illegal", since "legal" politics are strictly reserved to politicians and lobbyists. Police prevent demonstrations which question the social peace of our rulers from taking place, claiming them to be "illegal" assemblies. The police break-up picket lines of "illegal" strikers to let "legal" scabs pass through. Police evict people from their homes and squatters from their squats in the name of a "legal" notice emitted by real estate owners... It's no coincidence that it's often one class of people who end up in "illegality" and a whole other class of people who end up in "legality". While the police protect the privileges of the powerful, the decision makers, the rulers, the rich and the owners... it tries to prevent the rest of us from struggling, organizing and even sometimes from satifying our most basic needs. But, on top of maintaining the chains of capitalism and the State on us, the police often take pleasure in squeezing them, increasing their tension until our bones break and our blood flows. Police beat, torture, brutalize and kill. This year, on March 15th 2002, we will walk and protest in solidarity with Carlo Guliani, an anarchist, 23, killed last July in an anti-globalization demonstration in Genoa, Italy. We will be with Timothy Thomas, a young black man, 19, who was shot by police last April, becoming the 15th black victim of police murder in Cincinnati in the last 5 years. We stand with Abner Louima, victim of one of the worst cases of police brutality in New York City's history. Our solidarity will also be extended to the insurgents of Argentina, Bolivia and elsewhere, particularly to the martyrs of the uprisings. Even more, we would like to emphasize our support of all the anonymous victims of the forces of the State. People who while having faced acts of brutality, often find themselves isolated in their legal struggle against the police to regain their dignity and some sense of justice. It is extremely important to let these people know that they shouldn't be disempowered by acts of police brutaility against them and that we are right in being outraged! We salute the work of groups like the Collective Opposed to Police Brutality (COPB) from Montreal, who actively support victims of police brutality. On top of guiding them through the legal process, COPB brings friendly solidarity and tries to demonstrate that a larger, collective struggle is possible against this form of oppression. They teach us all the precious lesson that in face of repression, solidarity is our strongest weapon! We believe that it is by organizing and struggling with people who have been closely touched by the police plague, these people who often share our rage against authority, that we will be able to build a mass revolutionary movement that will trace extreme manifestations of authority to it's source: the domination of one class over another, the rule of the rich and the rulers over the poor and ruled. We call on all revolutionary anarchists and all the supporters of anti-authoratarian revolution, on all the victims of police brutality and all the people who can no longer stomach this system of injustice to participate in the 6th International Day of Police Brutality. Like in the last six years, this day is as important as ever. The culture of resistance to the police is growing! This day is truly international, in past years, March 15th demonstrations have been held in Colombia, Chile, Switzerland, Chattanooga Tennessee etc. This year, our organization, the Northeastern Federation of Anarcho-Communists (NEFAC) has agreed to join COPB locally in Montreal to help mobilize for the March 15th demonstration. Events around IDAPB will also be held in different cities of our region. In Montreal: Demonstration called by COPB. Friday March 15th. Berri Square. 5p.m. Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In Quebec city: March 15th Cultural event. Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] In Toronto: March 15th. Mass flyering in the working-class (and police occupied) neighborhood of Parkdale. Contact the Freyheyt Collective at [EMAIL PROTECTED] In Boston: Educationnal. Lucy Parsons Center. Contact : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Police injustice will no longer be tolerated! Our struggle has no borders, it's the struggle of our class thoughout the world! For Anarchy and Communism! Northeastern Federation of Anarcho-Communists (NEFAC) www.flag.blackened.net/nefac *For more information on International Day Against Police Brutality. Visit the COPB website at http://www.tao.ca/~cobp/index.html
