WSF Ends With Brutal Police Repression
Police did what police do best when they violently attacked protesters and
bystanders on the last day of the World Social Forum. It started when a
Mapuche woman who was attending the WSF and staying at the international
youth camp was arrested with charges of "obscene acts" for bathing nude in
a river. Activists saw this and organized over 400 people to protest by
nonviolently taking their clothes off in solidarity. When the nude protest
left the youth camp to march downtown the police attacked. After injuring
and arresting some of the the nude protesters the police lashed out at
journalists and bystanders. An unknown number of people were hospitalized
or arrested as a result of the police assault.
At the end of a week of rhetoric about international solidarity this is a
disgraceful example of intolerance. Unfortunately, this police repression
is consistent with past years whenever groups have protested without the
WSF and PT's (Workers Party's) consent. In protest of the PT's
authoritarian dominance of Brasilian social movements and Lula's trip to
Davos, a Brasilian anarchist pied the President of the PT during the WSF.
Video of the Protest [pt] | Deposition of a journalist wounded during the
protest [pt] | Photos of the Nude Protest Against Police Brutality |
Updates on the Prisoners [pt] | Video of people describing the attack [pt]
| More Photos
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