Basque Country: workers evicted from their company

In a case that evidences the extreme injustice and irrationality of the bourgeois legal system, the workers of Troquenor (Sondika, near Bilbao) were yesterday evicted from the grounds of their manufacture, which was a perfectly viable company, producing metallurgic products in high demand. 

The legal pretext is that Troquenor owes € 250,000 to the owner of the industrial pavilion, who in turn owes millions to the public treasury in terms of taxes (€ 10.6 million) and social security (€ 7 million) but nobody is prosecuting him. 

The workers, who have not even yet formally laid out, have so far no right to even unemployment benefits. 

Therefore they have been entrenched for weeks in their workplace in demand of a solution that allows Troquenor to continue producing and generating salaries. 

However yesterday the court executed the embargo order with heavy presence of police forces, as well as one of the owners of the pavilion, Jatsu Giménez Bretón.

Source: Gara[es].

Spain: Garoña nuclear plant will be closed before July 6th

This is very good news indeed. The nuclear power plant of Garoña, located near Miranda de Ebro, at the border with the Basque Country, will in the end be definitely closed within two weeks. The closure has been a persistent popular demand in the Basque Country and Castile since decades ago. 

Basic danger radius of Garoña NPP
Cities in 100 Km radius: Vitoria-Gasteiz, Bilbao, Burgos, Logroño, Santander
Cities in 150 Km radius: Iruñea-Pamplona, Donostia-San Sebastian, Soria, Palencia

Garoña NPP is the oldest nuclear facility of Spain, beginning its operation in 1971, having a license for until July 2009 and producing some 1.4% of the electric energy of the state. Contrary to rumors of its imminent closure, the license was extended to 2013, although the owner, Nuclenor, asked for 10 years of extended authorization. 

When renegotiating the lease last year, Nuclenor maneuvered in order to avoid new increased taxes to nuclear residues, letting the term for the demand of the extension to expire with the pretext of legal uncertainty. Weeks ago, their new off-term request for extension was backed by the regulator body CSN, raising many eyebrows and renewed protests. However finally there has been no agreement and the station will be closed "before July 6th", in the words of Industry Minister José Manuel Soria.

He insisted however in the closure being only for "economic reasons" and not security ones. The station has been inactive since December 2012. 

Greenpeace action against Garoña NPP

In its lifetime, the utility has got 136 incidents, six of them of category 1 or higher. In 1989, it released some 100,000 liters of radioactive water to the River Ebro; in 1990 there was a fire in the electric connections that was classified as level 3 ("major incident"); in 2001 it had another loss of some 6000 liters of radioactive water; in 2004, the vase of the reactor suffered major cracks; in 2012 a Greenpeace cell flied over the facility, dropping smoke canisters to evidence its vulnerability to hypothetical terrorist attacks. 

Most people I know born and raised in the district has important health problems, often serious cancers in their youth, which can only tentatively attributed to the radioactive contamination by the utility. 

Garoña has many similitudes with the ill-fated Fukushima Daichi NPP, including the same type of reactor, made by GE, or the dubious contention system Mark I, which has caused serious problems since the 1970s around the World.

Therefore its closure can only be cause of celebration.

Source: Naiz Info[es].

Turkey: political raids against communists: 85 arrested

The Turkish Islamist government has initiated a campaign of political arrests, targeting the communists. At least 85 have been arrested as result.

Turkish Interior Minister Muammer Guler said on Tuesday that 62 people had been detained in Istanbul, Turkey's biggest city, while 23 others had been arrested in the capital Ankara as a result of raids in several cities.

“The operations are against members of the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party, who also attended the Gezi Park protests, as part of an investigation being conducted by prosecutors for more than a year,” Guler added.

...

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has stated that it documented “a huge wave of arbitrary detentions and police attacks” during the Gezi Park protests in Istanbul over the weekend.

In a related development, while Erdogan tries with all the might of the state to demolish the popular demonstrations, he is in parallel agitating his own party's supporters to go to so-called "Rallies of Popular Will" to be held in diverse cities. 

This way Erdogan's AKP neofascist party seems to become the only force allowed to demonstrate in all the Turkish Republic. 

They call it democracy...

Source: Al Jazeera.

Brazil: what do they want?

That's what Tsavvko ponders today, in first person plural, at his blog[por]: what do we want?:

We were 100 thousand in Rio, more than 100 thousand in São Paulo (...), more than 20 thousand in Belém, thousands in Brazilia (...)

But why?

The revolt was not born because of 20 cents, 10 cents nor 30 cents. It only EXPLODED after simultaneous rises in all the country. While the PT claims that the whole country is doing very well, the people on the streets showed that this image is not real. We are not smiling with the Cup, we are not happy with education, with culture, with health...

(...)

Natives are massacred and abused in their lands, in truth many are losing their lands, LGBT people are murdered on the streets just for being in love, the periphery cries against the genocide it suffers, and all the population revolts against a politics of identical options, without alternatives, in which PSDB and PT get dirty into mutual accusations but are just two sides of the same coin: corrupt, privatizing, giving away the nation, worried only for getting rich themselves and not for transforming the country.

(...)

We face a wave without precedent of conservatism, of religious medievalism, of attempts to destroy the judicial power instead or reforming it and turning it more democratic. The people exploded against a corrupt Congress and state parliaments, disconnected from the reality of the people. While we take the packed buses, subways and trains, the politicians impose their own private patterns using luxury cars paid with our money and live in mansions out of the reach for the vast majority of the people.

We fight and are out in the streets for dignity, for respect.

(...)

Now, why all the demonstrations through the country?

First, we are unsatisfied with the Cup, with the absurd expenditures (...) a demonstration of the political incapacity of Dilma and allies.

Second, we are also unsatisfied with the violence displayed by governments and police commanders in agreement, as well as with the scoundrel mass media which had to change sides after they were themselves victims of police violence.

Third, we are unsatisfied with the daily problems of the country: education, health, culture...

(...)

The paths are many, the claims are many and none of them is contradictory, in fact they are complementary. We want a new model of country, a human, just Brazil for us the Brazilians (and whoever else lives here, naturally), and not for a bunch of tourists who come for the Coup and then leave.

The PT does not manage to understand what happens and uses its fanatic clique in order to attempt to demobilize and also co-opt the masses. And they fail miserably.

As I said before, a large fraction, if not the majority, of the demonstrators never before protested at all and, in the case of the youth, it does not feel itself represented by the PT and much less falls in the trick of "greater evil" used by the PT. (...)

It must be said that Brazil is no island. Protests shatter the World: indignados, against austerity, against dictatorships, for freedom, against islamization... These are paths that look different but have the same character: the dissatisfaction of the population, very especially the youth, with institutional and traditional politics, a disbelief towards political parties and the search of real and effective social changes. 

(...)

Tukey: standing man arrested, protests now at neighborhood parks

The person initiating the contagious single man protest in Taksim Square was finally arrested after six hours of continuous silent protest. He was later let free. 

He has been named as Erdem Gunduz, artist by profession. 

As mentioned before, his example was followed by a growing number of silent protesters in Istanbul and elsewhere. 

However another form of protest has begun also today: people are gathering now at neighborhood parks to show their discontent with Erdogan's authoritarianism and corruption. These are some of the calls for today:

The Besiktas gathering will be held at the Abbasaga Park at 21.00
The Elmadag-Harbiye gathering will be held at the Macka Park at 21.00
The Kadikoy gathering will be held at the Yogurtcu Park at 21.00
The Umraniye gathering will be held at the Carsi Park at 21.00
#direngezi #occupiedtaksim

Source: Webguerrillero[es], Occupied Taksim.

Basque Country: new social center closed by police soon after occupation

The Youth Assembly of Santutxu, the most populous neighborhood of Bilbao, occupied on Saturday a new space for a gaztetxe (= youth house, equivalent to social center in other countries) in a space that had been abandoned for 30 years. However today at dawn, the Municipal Police broke in and changed the lock irregularly.

This is part of the model for our city defended by the bourgeoisie, which excludes any sort of popular organization, be it for festivals, social centers or anything. 

Source: Bilboko Branka[eu].

Bulgaria: 50,000 march through Sofia against mafioso totalitarian slide

The protest began gathering 7000 people but soon their numbers soared to 50,000. The protests before the Bulgarian Government have been going on for four days already. 

Protesters denounced the government as "mafia" and "trash", demanding their resignation. They also blocked a major road junction. 

The protests were triggered by the appointment as top chief of the secret services of the controversial capitalist and deputy Delyan Peevski, who controls most of the mass media in the Balcanic nation.

Peevski soon resigned but this has not calmed the popular anger, which perceives the government as a mafioso gang opposed to the popular interest. 

Source: Webguerrillero[es].

Turkey: one man protest... a zillion people protest

As police began selectively allowing individuals and small groups back to Taksim Square and Gezi Park, one man began a new kind of protest: no banners, no chants, no nothing... he just stood there for hours...

Of course, eventually, police identified and searched him, but he carried nothing suspect nor politically controversial.

He was left on his own therefore and continued there for hours and hours:

Eventually he was not anymore just one man but many:

And the "single person" protest became one of many people, again:

And the example spread around, another "single person" protest was initiated in Ankara, this time by a woman:

Source: Occupied Taksim (link 1, link 2, link 3, link 4).


Related information:

Police torture testimonial (video) → OT.

Solidarity communication by Subcomandante Marcos (EZLN) → OT.

Solidarity message by Tariq Ali (video) → OT.
...

Brazil: popular protests continue in Sao Paulo, Rio and other cities

The Brazilian social protests threaten the World Cup. Yesterday police attacked with rubber bullets and tear gas some 3000 demonstrators (right) who tried to reach the Maracaná stadium when an international match between the selections of Mexico and Italy was taking place. 

On Saturday similar incidents took place at a match between Brazil and Japan. Police charged brutally as well, resulting in 33 injured and some 20 people arrested. 

The public expenditure waste in the World Cup has become a contentious issue as the cost of life climbs up and public investment is diverted from social needs to the show.

Hundreds of thousands march in Sao Paulo

As mentioned before, some 20,000 people marched on Thursday evening through the streets of Sao Paulo, faced with the most brutal police repression. The trigger is the rise of 7% in bus tariffs, what is not trivial when transport may be 26% of any worker's expenditure and its quality is extremely low (obsolete and packed buses). Sao Paulo particularly has been developed as a business for corrupt transport companies. 

The demand of many protesters is now free public transport, as the woman at the right puts it: if you do not pay for education and hospital, why would you pay PUBLIC transport?

All public services in Brazil are low quality but it is particularly annoying when you have to pay lots for it. 

Yesterday there were more protests in the largest city of the Southern Hemisphere reaching the overwhelming figure of hundreds of thousands:

As of now, I have no reports on possible repression. However previous protests were almost literally massacred, with hundreds injured, including a journalist who will most likely lose his left eye. 

Solidarity protests also took place in Argentina, where protesters marched to the Brazilian Embassy in Buenos Aires. 

Sources: Occupied Taksim, Webguerrillero[es] (link 1, link 2).

UK planned the Syrian war years ago, admitted Roland Dumas

Former French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Roland Dumas (pictured), has revealed that the government of the United Kingdom, lead by David 'Babyface' Cameron. 

In declarations to LCP TV channel (widely quoted through World media thereafter), Dumas declared that:

I was in England, for an unrelated reason, two years before the violence in Syria began. I met with high British officials who confessed that they were preparing something in Syria.

This was in Great Britain, not the United States. Great Britain was preparing a rebel invasion of Syria. They even asked me, even if I was not anymore Minister of Foreign Affairs, if I would like to take part in it.

He also implied that the violence in the West Asian country was related to the anti-Zionist stand of the government of Damascus. In this regard, he also declared that Israel had admitted that they would try to destroy every single government in the region that does not collaborate with the Apartheid Regime.

Source: Webguerrillero[es].

Ireland: G8 summit begins amidst protests

At least 32 people have already been arrested in the protests in London (England). 

The World's Government agenda is focused on Syria, Iran and Korea, as well as the highly destructive "free trade" agreements that are being negotiated and signed all over the place.

Source: Webguerrillero[es].

Turkey: Erdogan, against the ropes, threatens now to deploy the Army

Turkish PM T. Erdogan, cornered by the indomitable revolutionary stand of the People and facing today a General Strike, has threatened to bring out the Army (which was already present at some key points this weekend).

Unlike police, which is made up of mercenaries only, the Turkish Army is based on conscription, what makes it at least possible that one unit after another rebel against the government and the officialdom. Maybe I am daydreaming but that is exactly what happened in the Russian Revolution, completely dismantling the Tsarist state almost overnight. 

What seems clear is that if soldiers conscripted from a very angry People are forced to shoot against their fellows, they will face serious contradictions and nobody knows where that may end.


Update: mainstream opposition (CHP) leader Kemal Kiliçdaroglu has spoken in the same line, warning that Erdogan is bringing Turkey to a civil war. (→ Webguerrillero[es]).

Mapping Red Istanbul

Most people from outside is not familiar with the names of the neighborhoods and streets of Istanbul. Therefore I have tried to map the reports of popular protests by Occupy Taksim for June 15th and 16th (dawn and evening) on the following map:

Red stars represent popular protester activity (larger for more reports), while blue bars represent non-uniformed fascist aggressions. Police and military attacks were not mapped.

Turkey: protest continue in spite of police but fascist thug squads reported in some areas

This evening as narrated at Occupied Taksim:

19.29 Photo from Istiklal Street:

19.37 Police are shooting gas at the people assembled in front of the Galata Tower.

19.38 Police are attacking people in the alleys of Kurtulus.

19.43 The police have attacked a crowd 1000 people in Osmanbey with water containing red paint.

19.44 The police are not allowing anyone without yellow press cards into Taksim. They are stopping everyone on the roads to Taksim and are confiscating their gas masks and safety helmets.

19.46 The Taksim Ilkyardim hospital is under a shroud of gas. According to news on sendika.org the medical attendants are coming out of the hospital and reacting to police brutality.

19.50 Tens of thousands assembled in Dolmabahce, marching towards Karakoy to cross into Taksim. The people are chanting “The People Will Not Bow Before You,” and “Side by Side Aganst Fascism!”

20.04 The police are threatening the people who have gathered at the windows of their homes in Ergenekon Avenue (Sisli). They are also reportedly collecting the emptied gas canisters.

Despite the threats of the police, the people continue clanking pots and pans in protest.

20.06 The police have attacked the people assembled near the Osmanbey Metro Station with water cannons. Bulldozers are clearing the barricades on Halaskargazi (Sisli).

20.10 Police have attacked a crowd of thousands assembled in Dolmabahce, marching to Karakoy.

20.14 An architect associated with the Council of Socialist Engineers and Architects and a reporter from the Yurt newspaper were taken into custody near Tarlabasi. They were released after 50 minutes.

20.15 Crowd assembled in Karakoy, forming barricades.

20.23 Clashes between the police and the people continue between Karakoy-Dolmabahce. The barricades in Karakoy:

20.35 Massive crowd gathered in Besiktas, Ortabahce Avenue.

20.40 The police have beaten a protester for minutes in Kurtulus. The beaten citizen was dragged to a police vehicle.

21.00 It has been reported that a group of people armed with knives and cleavers have tried to attack the demonstrators.

21.02 As in earlier days of the protests the people of Istanbul have started clanking pots and pans in various districts, later taking to the streets. The reaction is as intense as the first days.

21.10 The people have closed the junction between the TEM highway and the neighbourhood of Nurtepe. The police have attacked them with gas bombs.

21.17 A crowd has gathered in front of the CHP Istanbul headquarters in Sishane (near Taksim). They have thrown rocks at the building where two CHP MP’s were staying. The crowd later dispersed.

21.25 Attacks by AKP members have intensified. The police are taking an increasing number of people into custody. 

21.35 Around 10,000 marching on Galata Bridge.

21.46 A crowd armed with knives are attacking the demonstrators around Tophane. Aytug Akdogan has tweeted:

“I am in Tophane at the moment. They are handing out knives to the young people here. Don’t come here. I don’t know whose distributing the knives. Maybe the young people are sharing their ‘tools.’”

On Tepebasi Avenue, near the Pera Palas Hotel and Sishane there are hundreds of people from Kasimpasa armed with wooden clubs and cleavers. They are attacking the demonstrators in the alleys. More than 3 bus are full of those arrested.

21.50 The public buses in Eminonu are only taking those from the AKP demonstration earlier today. The people are reacting to this situation.

22.10 Clashes have intensified in the neighbourhood of Okmeydani.

22.13 Approximately 700 people marching in Maltepe (on the Asian side).

22.17 Excessive use of gas in the Ornektepe district of Okmeydani making it impossible to breathe (photo from Taksim, earlier today). 

22.18 Thousands of people assembled in the Gazi Quarter.

22.26 Thousands marching to Taksim from Akaretler (Besiktas) chanting “We Will Reclaim Taksim Tonight!” [→]

22.28 Thousands in Ikitelli march to Ataturk Quarter.

22.26 The demonstration held regularly in Uskudar has been attacked by those returning from the AKP demonstration. While none were injured, the demonstrators have retreated to Dogancilar Park.

A bus full of arrested people in front of the Ramada Hotel (Harbiye/Osmanbey). Police are beating those inside.

6 buses full of gendarme troops transported to Besktas.

22.52 Reports coming from those arrested that the police are keeping the under inhuman conditions. Those being taken to Vatan police station are being kept in buses with the heat on. The lawyers are being prevented from giving water to those under arrest. According to reports from lawyers, tiny cells have been filled with over 50 people.

The police are beating people with batons under Karakoy Bridge. Even the waiters and waitresses working there have been arrested. Police have used excessive violence, many wounded.

Hundreds demonstrating in Yeni Sahra.

2,000 have blocked the road in Acibadem chanting “The Government Must Resign!”

00.28 Police have attacked Besiktas.

Also...

Police using slingshots, certainly not standard weapons (→ OT):

In Ankara police has been shooting gas against the windows of neighbors who protested against the already unbearable gas levels in an area where there no obvious clashes → OT (incl. video).

Turkey: Erdogan's last stand? The most brutal repression falls over Turkey... but the revolution is stubborn

Gezi Park trees burned by police (→ OT)

As you may already know, Turkish police forces brutally attacked Taksim Square and Gezi Park occupation protest yesterday evening. The details are scary: thousands injured and arrested, burned trees, vandalized clinics, chemical weapons added to water cannons, troops in the streets of Istanbul, journalists beaten...

But the most brave resistance of the People is if anything encouraging. This is far from over. 

Chronicle by Occupied Taksim:

21.09 Police have entered Gezi Park, they are beating people up and taking down the tents. Members of the press are not allowed inside.

21.15 Police continue attacking the people gathered in the streets.

21.30 Police attack and trash medical clinic inside Gezi Park (photo).

21.37 Police have trashed the medical clinic inside Divan Hotel, Taksim

22.00 Thousands of people have assembled in Sarigazi, Cekmekoy and Kartal (on the Asian side of Istanbul) they are marching on Taksim.

Thousands of people have assembled in Bakirkoy.

22.15 Police are attacking protesters in Mecdiyekoy.

Police are assaulting the main gates of Divan Hotel where hundred have taken refugee.

More than ten thousand gathered in Gazi Quarter, marching towards Taksim.

22.19 Ali Çerkezoğlu, head of the Turkish Association of Doctors (TTB), has said "If this attack continues for even one more hour, tonight will be Turkey's darkest night."

22.37 The people of Kurtulus are on the streets chanting, the sound of pots and pans clanking in protest have filled the districts. Many have been wounded due to police brutality.

22.55 The Crowd marching from Gazi Quarter has reached 50,000. The police have broken into the Divan Hotel where the wounded had taken refuge.

23.09 Tens of thousands of people gathered in Kadıköy (Asian side of Istanbul) are meeting with the crowd arriving from Bagdat Street in order to march on Taksim.

23.12 People assembled in Ortakoy (Istanbul) are being atacked by the police. The crowd is not scattering despite the poliçe assault.

23.27 Thousands of people assembled in Bakirkoy (Istanbul), the crowd is becoming ever the more numerous as people are marching through the neighbourhoods.

23.28 Police are attacking the people of Mecdiyekoy with excessive amounts of tear gas and asphyxiating gas. Plastic bullets are being used indiscriminately.

23.33 Hundreds of people in the Gazi Quarter of Istanbul have blocked the traffic on the highway.

23.38 The Dame de Sion High School has been turned into a medical clinic.

23.40 The tens of thousands of people assembled in Kadikoy have reached Uzuncayir (on the Asian side of Istanbul, near the bridge).

23.42 The crowd in Akaretler (Besiktas-Istanbul) are holding a banner bearing the words "The Gezi Martyrs are Immortal."

23.46 The police are attacking the people in Uzuncayir. The crowd is not dispersing despite the brutal assault.

23.52 Thousands of people marching from Nisantasi to Harbiye.

23.54 The people of Gazi Quarter are getting closer to Taksim.

23.55 Thousands forming barricades on Istiklal (photo).

23.56 The German High School has opened its gates for the injured.

23.57 The minister of EU affairs, Egemen Bagis, has said "all those who participate in the Gezi protests will be tried as terrorists.

June 16th: (→ OT)

00.04 The police have blocked the entrances to Kadikoy.

00.05 The people are waiting in fron of the police barricade in Uzuncayir. The crowd keeps growing (photo).

00.06 The police are shooting gas canisters around Taksim Ilkyardim Hospital.

00.07 Head of the Turkish Association of Doctors, Ali Çerkezoglu has said: "As the doctors, we declare that we shall tend to all our citizens wounded in the protests."

00.08 Barricades formed in the fish market on Istiklal Street.

00.15 People are on the streets in Findikzade, clanking pots and pans.

00.20 Sainte Pulcherie High School has opened its Gates for the injured.

00.22 The crowd from Bahçelievler has reached Topkapi.

00.23 The crowd from Gazi Quarter has joined the crowd from Nurtepe.

00.30 Police panzers on Istiklal using water cannons against the people.

 

00.36 More than 50 people injured in Taksim Hospital, 27 injured in Sisli hospital.

00.38 Tens of thousands of people gathered in Osmanbey, chanting "the government must resign." Police are firing blast bombs on the crowd.

00.46 Police have attacked the people in Osmanbey.

00.48  The police are shooting gas canisters in Osmanbey. The crowd is retreating to Mecidiyeköy and Kurtulus.

 

00.54 The people of Gazi Quarter have reached the Sadabad junction, the people of Ornektepe have joined the demonstrators. Police have started shooting gas bombs at the people.

00.55 Detay Muzik, a store located near the place Hrant Dink was murdered is playing Bella Ciao. Tens of thousands are singing along. 

00.58 The police have attacked the people of Ornektepe with gas bombs and plastic bullets. The people are clashing with the police.

01.00 RedHack, has hacked the TV channel of the parliament.

01.02 The people have set the barricade in Nisantasi ablaze.

01.05 Thousands of people are marching on the E-5 highway to join the crowd marching to Taksim from the Asian side.

01.06 The people have formed barricades around Osmanbey Metro Station. The police are shooting gas canisters while the people are responding with fireworks.

01.28 The police have entered the Hilton Hotel.

01.40 The people of Harbiye (photo) are chanting the slogan "Tayyip Must Resign!"

01.41 The people have blocked the traffic on Incirli Street, Bakirkoy.

01.50 The people from Kartal, marching on the E-5 Highway, have passed the Bostanci junction. Tens of thousands are joining the mass.

01.54 The crowd in Uzuncaiyr (near the Bosphorus Bridge) have overcome the police barricade and are marching towards the bridge.

01.58 The police continue attacking the people in Osmanbey.

02.06 After the police assault in Osmanbey the masses have begun marching towards Taksim. The Ramada Hotel has been turned into a medical centre.

02.12 The police have attacked those marching towards the Bosphorus Bridge.

02.15 The police in front of the Divan Hotel are marching towards Harbiye. Military panzers have arrived and are attacking the people.

02.20 The police continue attacking the crowd marching towards Taksim from Osmanbey. The crowd is not retreating and is forming barricades in the alleys. The people are chanting "side by side against fascism!"

02.23 Live streaming TV channels are being prevented by the police.

02.33 The police contiune their attacks on Halaskar Gazi (Sisli). The police are trying to divide the crowd, yet they are unsuccessful.

02.40 The police have attacked the crowd marching towards the Bosphorus Bridge.

02.42 The crowd from Gazi Quarter continue their resistance near Okmeydani, despite the attacks of the police.

02.44 The crowd in Osmanbey are chanting "Taksim Will Bury Fascism."

02.49 The people of Osmanbey are on the streets (photo).

02.51  The police have crossed the barricade in Osmanbey. The people are retreating towards Rumeli Street.

02.59 The people are on their way towards the Bosphorus Bridge from Altunizade (the Asian side of Istanbul).

03.00 The police are attacking people in Okmeydani.

03.03 The police are attacking the people in Altunizade. Excessive use of gas bombs reported.

03.05 The police have used extreme violence against the crowd near the bridge, the people have scatterd to the alleys.

03.15 After the attack on Uzuncayir, it has been reported that a student of Yildiz Technical University has been hit on the head with a gas canister and has been critically wounded.

03.25 The police continue attacking a crowd of 10,000 gathered in front of Taksim Ilkyardim Hospital.

03.31 The people of Osmanbey continue their resistance. The police continue their attacks.

03.34 Soldiers are waiting on the Bosphorus Bridge (photo).

03.44 Thousands of people assembled in Pangalti.

03.48 The police and the military shooting gas bombs at the people in front of the Bosphorus Bridge.

04.00  The police continue attacking the crowd assembled in front of the Taksim Ilkyardim Hospital. The police are not ceasing their assault. 4 riot police have been seen beating a demonstrator to death in Kucukparmakkapi Alley. The protesters have carried the wounded demonstrator to the hospital.

04.30 The police is firing rubber bullets at the moment in Cihangir.

After sunrise:

04.45 Troops are on the streets of Mecidiyekoy.

05.00 Clashes continue around the Bosphorus Bridge.

05.45 Protestors are still on the streets, the police continues its attack in more than 20 quarters.

06.00 The police withdrew from Harbiye, barricades are being erected (photo).

07.00 Taksim Square is being evacuated from civilians.

08.10 Clashes settled down for now, demonstrators will gather at 16.00 at Taksim Square.

09.15 Reports indicate that clashes are still going on in Harbiye (→ live stream).

Further information:

This, repression and resistance, is not, of course, limited to Istanbul, even if the reports I have mostly focus on this iconic city, the largest by far of the Turkish Republic. At least in Ankara there are reports of huge demonstrations and police getting ready to attack them (yesterday night).

→ live stream.


A General Strike has been called for tomorrow, Monday (several scattered sources).

Beating of citizen caught under police tank → OT (video).

Chemical weapons in water cannons (unconfirmed?) → Webguerrillero[es].

Taksim Solidarity demands → OT.

Urgent: Four Immediate Demands of the Taksim Solidarity!

1. The security forces must stop this brutal attack. The government is responsible for everything happening tonight and afterwards.
2. The media must help spread our statements and must protect our people from disinformation.
3. We are concerned about the health of our citizens wounded during the police attacks. The volunteering doctors must prevent the onslaught of the police and the public health institutions must act in accordance with the current needs.
4. Tens of thousands of people are marching towards Taksim from various locations. This cannot, and must not be prevented.

The Taksim Solidarity.

Taksim Solidarity communication → Webguerrillero[es], Turkish original.

Brutal repression at Taksim → WG[es].

Repression against journalists → WG[es], English version.

Russian journalists beaten → OT.

German ZDF TV report (subtitles in English) → OT.

One thing I have clear by now: this is in no way smaller nor substantially different than what happened in Egypt in 2011.  The Turkish and Kurdish Peoples are clearly determined to remove Erdogan from power and they will no doubt succeed in spite of the brutal repression, which cannot continue for much longer without implosion in the structures of the state.

Brazil: another video of the brutal repression in Sao Paulo

Must watch video: police first attacks demonstrators chanting "no violence", then attacks the press, then it all becomes a war zone of sorts. This is what is happening in Brazil:

Upon this show of gratuitous police brutality, which happened on the evening of Thursday 13th (already mentioned from another point of view here), people began chanting: peace is over, Turkey is here. 

Protests have extended to other cities of the South American giant: at least to Rio de Janeiro and Porto Alegre. 

Grievances are not just about the bus fare rise of 7% but also there seems to be deep growing discontent in Brazilian society. Some protesters hunched at anti-abortion law, others to rising crime and then of course many at the crowded, yet expensive, public transport system.

Sources: Webguerrillero[es], Occupied Taksim.

Basque Country: thousands march against the impunity of Fascist crimes

Thousands marched through Bilbao yesterday in demand "truth, justice and reparation" for the many crimes against Humankind committed by the Fascist regime in Spain, which remain unpunished and almost totally not investigated. 

Source: Naiz Info[eu]

 

A million people were killed in the Spanish civil alone, most of them behind the fascist lines, in a murderous campaign of ideological cleansing which has never been sufficiently investigated. Many others were killed in prisoner camps for those opposed to the regime. After the war, the Fascist regime ruled with iron fist, arbitrarily arresting, torturing, imprisoning and murdering whoever stood in their way, inflicting panic to whole generations. 

Venezuela: highly suspicious armed group detonates propaganda "bombs"

One of the fireworks

Two small bombs or rather noisy fireworks exploded in Barquisimeto, spreading pamphlets of the so-called Fuerzas Bolivarianas de Liberación (Bolivarian Liberations Forces), with a single message: "we are still in time to save the revolution". 

The mysterious armed group, which issued a video-communication recently, may have existed since 1992, when they operated as a guerrilla, attacking politician Alejandro Ríos, former president Jaime Lusinchi and even designing, it seems, a plan to kill President Carlos Andrés Pérez. 

Since 2002 they declared support for the Bolivarian (PSUV) government, with a tendency to make attacks in the states of Apuré, Barinas and Tachira, in the SW of Venezuela, near the Colombian border. They also made an attack in Maracaibo with a propaganda action similar to the most recent one in which they called for the extermination of the right wing and particularly their leaders.

According to Webguerrillero[es], there are many reasons to suspect that this is a false flag group under CIA-Mossad control, in order to create a pretext for civil war and an imperialist invasion. Among their reasons are that the first to propagate the news of their actions have been reactionary media such as Globovisión and that the video of the group was mounted by CNN-Mexico.

Peru: large protests against fascist control in universities

Some six thousand students marched through the streets of Cuzco against the new University Law, which severely restricts freedom of speech and university autonomy. 

There were clashes between police and students on Thursday and Friday.

Source: Webguerrillero[es].

China: Demonstrators in Hong Kong support Snowden

Hundreds demonstrated in Hong Kong in support for Snowden's asylum plea and his revelation of NSA snooping in the USA and around the World. 

Both pro-Beijing and opposition forces have similar position in this matter, being Hong Kong, unlike mainland China, a place where Internet freedom is real and a coveted right.

Protesters gave a missive with their demands to US general consul Steve Young. 

Sources: Webguerrillero[es], EXSKF.

Syria: islamist fascists murder another child

Islamist fascist terror groups attacked a Shia village near Hatlah murdering some 60 civilians. Survivors had to flee their homes. Mosques were burned down and several people were kidnapped.

Among the murdered victims there are the wife and son of the local imam Huyyatulislam Sayyed Ibrahim al-Sayyed. 

Source: Webguerrillero[es].

The same source also reports[es] that, according to a secret NATO report, the Islamist armed opposition only has the support of some 10% of Syrians, while the Baath regime would have the support of some 70% of the citizens of the West Asian country.

Catalonia: victim of police violence who lost an eye speaks out

Ester Quintana (pictured), one of the many victims of the brutal police repression against popular protests in Catalonia in the last years, who lost (like others before her) an eye to a rubber bullet, has published an open letter, available at Webguerrillero[es]:

This is how my face has been left after the brutal aggression I suffered by the impact of a rubber bullet shot by the Mossos de Esquadra [Catalan autonomous police corps] on November 14.

15 days ago, I was operated again to get implanted a prosthesis in my left eye, the recovery and convalescence I had to bear after the three operations have been very painful, I assure you. 

I have discovered in the last months that I am a very strong person, much more than I used to think, although the physical and psychological recovery is very slow in my understanding. 

There are still more operations to come, its number and magnitude are yet to be determined and I don't see yet the end of all this process. What I am suffering I do not wish to anyone else.

Hatred, rancor, rage are words and emotions I know but that I try to keep out of my soul's dictionary, those that are not left out are responsibility, pardon, equality, justice, courage, friendship, solidarity, truth, freedom, serenity...

For all these reasons and many more we keep fighting for the abolition of rubber bullets. OJOCONTUOJO [= WATCHYOUREYE]

Let Ester be the last victim!

Italy: protests againts big luxury cruises in Venice

Venetians, with the support of many other Italians, have taken the canals with their boats in sustained action of blockade of large cruise ships, which damage the lagoon and pose a serious risk for the city itself (any accident would be a major catastrophe).

A related claim was to oppose the increased military encroachment of the city. 

Last week, they marched by land to the boarding docks but were violently repressed by the Military Police (Carabinieri), which used batons and rubber bullets against life jackets and toy rubber boats. So they took to the water, as their ancestors used to. 

It’s reported that every year the big cruise boats pass right through the middle of the most delicate city in the world around 3,500 times, with vibrations so strong that residents in the nearest houses have strengthened their walls with glued canvas.

In addition to the danger to the city’s buildings and infrastructure, the boats are a huge threat to the health of the inhabitants themselves. Indeed, each and every cruise boat produces the equivalent of 14,000 cars’ polluting gases. It’s as though the traffic of an entire city crosses Venice several times a day, every day of the year. This pollution is making an already compromised situation much worse, as the chemical plants of the nearby town of Porto Marghera are already poisoning the lagoon, its environment and its people.

Just like the proverbial elephant in the china shop. 

Source: Struggles in Italy.

USA: leak at Hanford Nuclear Facilit only gets worse

From King5 news (via EneNews):

The new video of the waste also shows much more bright green liquid than workers had seen before. The presence of green, wet material means it is new.

This particular tank (AY-102) is not the only one leaking. On February it was reported that at least six of the Hanford tanks are leaking and that the leaks cannot be contained apparently.

The tanks were designed to last just 20 years but nuclear mismanagement has allowed the facility to continue operating for more 70 years now. This is one of the major unrecognized problems (hidden costs) of nuclear industry: that facilities that are originally designed for a few decades, get their licenses extended once and again, and that theoretically acceptable management policies fall into routine, corruption and cost-reduction vices that pose immense risks to all. In the mid or long term all nuclear operations are extremely dangerous, if not outright catastrophic, and most extant nuclear facilities on Earth have long exhausted their optimal working periods, being totally senile and therefore a major local and global danger.

Turkish Revolution report (June 14)

Protests and police repression continue in Turkey. 

The differential attitude of police with the more visible city of Istanbul and the capital city of Ankara is apparent in these images from tonight:

From Occupied Taksim.

However that does not mean that Istanbul protesters are free from fear of renewed police attacks. On the contrary, they are getting ready for the worst, raising barricades and defensively equipped with gas masks and helmets. 

Still the government issued a new offer of negotiation, which is perceived with distrust by the protesters. An improvised committee of artists went to the meeting, however for many protesters Erdogan is anything but trustworthy and the committee represents nobody. One said:

Erdogan must resign because he is giving away our resources.

So far the government has made only one concession, dropping a bill that would allow forests to be developed by constructors. 

(Source: Webguerrillero[es]).

The radicalization of the protests is quite apparent for example in an article published today at Occupied Taksim, titled In Praise of the 'Marginal Groups'. Excerpts:

It must be known that those dubbed as “marginal groups” by the government are all legal organisations. Most of them are left-wing, revolutionary organisations. In spite of their legal status, they have constantly been the target of state attacks, have constantly been obstructed, beaten, arrested and gassed. Naturally, they are well acquainted with state violence and the forms of resistance required in order to counter it. These “marginal groups” have banners and have always upheld their banners. For instance the Patriotic Youth carry flags bearing the image of the Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan and demand his freedom. The anarchists carry black flags and long for a stateless society. The revolutionary groups, for example, actually want to confiscate your property, as they aspire for a world without private property. Although they continue their existence within legal boundaries and are a part of the Taksim Solidarity, they have been confined to a legal “grey area” because of the illegal state violence they have been forced to face over the years. Because they strive to continue their existence in a sphere where the law and lawlessness have become one, they are regarded as “the marginals."

...

The Gezi Park protests symbolise defiance against the deceitful media, the imprisonment of more than 10,000 people for political reasons, and the dirty war in Kurdistan. This has become a war for honour, and if this area of struggle for dignity -cleared with the pioneering of the middle classes- has been filled by the marginalised sectors of society, it cannot be said that this is the product of pragmatic politics. For it is the fulfilment of a new existence. Those who have defended the square, have in fact, defended this very existence and will naturally resist all boundaries imposed on the field where they have flourished.

It is only natural for a twelve year old Kurdish child from Tarlabasi to throw rocks at the police. A revolutionary who has been gassed and imprisoned for many years will of course march relentlessly on the police bearing revolutionary banners in hand, and young men and women will quite naturally provoke the police by defying them with their folk dances. It is only normal that those young men and women who, after leaving their manual daytime jobs, find themselves on the barricades will not disperse as if they were cattle. It is essential that certain members of this resistance grasp that for the past 14 days, the Gezi Resistance is no longer an “innocent protest,” it is a popular uprising. 

 

Kasama Project publishes a dramatic manifesto by one of such marginal groups: the Maoist Communist Party of Turkey and North Kurdistan (MKP). Excerpt:

Erdogan, the leader of the AKP government and the “Turkish Republic”, underestimated the rising masses that he flagrantly and arrogantly referred to as “three to five marauders.” Taking his arrogance even further he threatened “As a party I could gather one million.” However, once “these delinquent marauders” have awoken they cannot be broken apart by empty threats, nor will they be frightened by the blood and stench of slaughter of vampire teeth, you cannot stop them! The one with warmongering and aggressive policies in Syria, the two-faced Erdogan that has hypocritically criticized the Assad dictatorship of bringing violence and slaughter to the masses has called those filling the squares “Marauders.” This is nothing more than his fear and panic of the masses’ uprising.