all4all.org | G20 Melbourne: court appearance April 2007

G20 Melbourne: court appearance April 2007

by sources: various - 24.04.2007 17:24

G20 Melbourne November 18 and 19, 2006 - Australia

Five people were arrested in Sydney on March 15, 2007in relation to the G20 protests in Melbourne in November 2006.

The 2006 G20 meeting of finance ministers, reserve bank governors and heads of the World Bank and IMF took place in Melbourne on November 18-19. This was the most significant gathering in Melbourne of people responsible for pushing corporate-led globalisation, neoliberalism and capitalism since the World Economic Forum in 2000.

http://www.nadir.org/nadir/initiativ/agp/free/g20/melbourne/

G20 protests Melbourne Nov. 2006

April 24, 2007: media release - court appearance

This morning the first four arrestees appeared in the Melbourne Children's Court, part of the continuing politically motivated police and state campaign against protestors following the demonstrations at the G20 in November.
A solidarity action was held at 10am outside the courtroom in support of the arrestees.

These arrests have taken place as part of a wider campaign of repression against those who took to the streets to directly confront the illegitimate institution that is the G20, whose neo-colonialist policies perpetuate inequality and suffering around the world, and whose member countries engage in war, violence, and internal repression every day.
"The Ongoing G20 Arrestee Solidarity Network supports protestors directly confronting institutions such as the G20 and the wider system of which it is a part," said Anita Thomasson, of the Ongoing G20 Arrestee Solidarity Network (OGASN). "Direct action and civil disobedience have long been part of a worldwide campaign against global capitalism and other issues. These tactics have a proud history of success from the suffragettes movement, to the struggle for the 8 hour work day, to the gay rights movement in Tasmania."

In the past months, vast resources have been dedicated by the government to the police to carry out dawn raids, undertake extensive surveillance, and slap protestors with ludicrous charges and repressive bail conditions. "This demonstrates the politicized nature of policing in this country," says Anita Thomasson. "These charges are simply an attempt to allow only a certain form of protest that can be more easily contained and ignored, especially in the lead up to the APEC summit in September, where global leaders including George Bush will meet in Sydney."

On Saturday the 21st of April, 2007, Liz Thompson, speaking at the David Hicks rally in Melbourne, drew links between the ongoing prosecution of G20 arrestees and broader attacks on civil liberties as seen in the case of David Hicks. "Why is it that the full force of the state, snatch squads, federal police, anti-terror units, have been deployed against the G20 protestors, when Paul Wolfowitz, architect of the Iraq invasion, a man whom almost a million Australians, and millions more around the globe protested against, gets a special invitation?" she asked. "The criminalisation of solidarity and resistance will not prevent us from taking actions in our own defence – it simply makes the law look more and more like an instrument of the rich and powerful to use against the poor and powerless." We are calling for all charges to be dropped.

April 24, 2007
A rush and a push: Discussion on politics from the G20 protests in Melbourne:

http://arushandapush.blogsome.com

http://www.g20melbourne.com

Stop G20: Carnival Against Capitalism

Global corporate capitalism is a ruthless system - a system with scant regard for the interests of humans. It has co-opted and corrupted the political leadership, and the leadership of many other countries. The action was to be seen as a vote of no confidence in this leadership, an act of defiance and resistance, and a demand that democracy should value the interests of humans and the environment above all else.

http://www.melbournesocialforum.org

http://www.aspaceoutside.org

http://www.melbourne.indymedia.org/news/2007/04/143994.php

http://www.melbourne.indymedia.org/news/2007/03/142403.php
Repression as State Strategy:

http://melbourne.indymedia.org/news/2007/03/142096.php
Ten Lessons from the Criminalization of Dissent (by Camilo Viveiros):

http://www.greenscare.org/pdfs/tenlessons.pdf
www.stopg20.org (no longer accessible)
critiques of summit protests as anti-capitalism:

http://stopg20.blogsome.com

more links:

here are some links to resources and discussions on tactics and soli in the wake of the repression of g20 protests in melbourne. learn, adapt...
from autonomist/anarchist/horizontalist/direct action types:

http://insultadarity.blogspot.com/2007/04/i-really-couldnt-have-put-it-better.html

a soli campaign site:

http://arushandapush.blogsome.com

surviving trauma after actions is movement responsibility:

http://melbourne.indymedia.org/news/2007/04/143580.php

On how to block just about everything:

http://www.globalinfo.nl/content/view/1200/30/

8 good reasons to block the G8 summit:

http://www.globalinfo.nl/content/view/1209/30/

Harry Cleaver: Neozapatismo and Autonomy:

http://auto_sol.tao.ca/node/view/2553

G8 overview:

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/03/364925.html

and yet even more links:

http://www.aut-op-sy.org

http://narconews.com
News from Chiapas:

http://www.eco.utexas.edu/~archive/chiapas95/

http://noborder.org

http://slash.interactivist.net