protests – Pike & Hurricane

Women’s march: feminism from below smashing the patriarchy

Silas de Saram — Tue, 24 Mar 2020 15:09:55 +0000

On March 8 (International Women’s Day), I had the pleasure to attend the women’s march in Malmö, which was organized and attended by multiple feminist and leftist organizations. Especially prevalent were the groups ‘Feminism Underifrån’, a feminist group from Malmö, ‘Activista Feminista’, a Malmö based anticapitalist collective fighting for Women’s rights and LGBTQ+ emancipation, and ‘Mangla’, a group fighting for women’s rights and trans rights in Sweden.

The demonstration began at Möllevängstorget, where speeches by various organizations, as well as by the swedish Left Party (Vänsterpartiet), who’s protest occurred earlier on the same day. One speaker stressed the importance of fighting fatphobia as a part of the fight against sexism and racism. Another speech was held on the topic of LGBTQ+ rights in Poland under the Polish far-right administration. The third speech was held on the topic of Rojava, the Kurdish autonomous region in northeastern Syria.

After the speeches, the procession began moving through the streets of Malmö’s Möllevången and Rådmansvången.

Especially visible was the banner of ‘Revolutionär Kommunistisk Ungdom’ (RUK), the youth wing of the Swedish Communist Party (Kommunistiska Partiet), a revolutionary Marxist-Leninist party.

Multiple anarchist groups were in attendance, such as Sveriges Arbetares Centralorganisation (SAC), Syndikalistiska Ungdomsförbundet (SUF) and Red and Black Collective.

Many different feminist issues were represented at the Women’s March. One specific issue that was represented is the horrible abuse of women in Mexico, and the staggering numbers of femicide in the country.

Overall there appeared to be a large anticapitalist presence, this women’s march was attended by a more revolutionary audience than the protest of the Left Party, earlier on the same day.

by Silas de Saram

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YNTR – February 2020: Greece’s floating wall, protests in Chile, Trump’s impeachment, and more

EditorChief — Sun, 23 Feb 2020 16:41:50 +0000

Greece. The Greek government has proposed to set up a floating wall to stop refugees from reaching the island Lesbos by blocking the main sea route between Greece and Turkey. Around 20 000 refugees are currently being held in a camp on Lesbos with a holding capacity of less than 3 000 people. According to Vasileia Digidiki and Jacqueline Bhabha of The Guardian, the floating-wall project is a sign of the failure of European migration policies.

Chile. The protests in Chile, which began in October 2019, are continuing despite concessions made by the government, including the drafting of a new constitution, submission for approval of which is scheduled for late 2021 provided that the required public spending can be afforded. While the concessions might have appeased some Chileans, others continue to protest against inequalities within Chile, as well as against the human rights violations and police repression (having led to the death of several protesters) they accuse the government of.

Switzerland. While most attendants of the 2020 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, which took place in January, arrived by private jet, a group of climate activists set out on a three-day protests march from Landquart to Davos. The march was one of several protests organised around the World Economic Forum to raise awareness on climate change and put pressure on politicians and big companies to take climate action.

USA. In a vote on the US president’s impeachment, Donald Trump has been acquitted of charges of impeachable crimes laid against him as all Republican members of the Senate except Mitt Romney voted against Trump’s impeachment. With the presidential elections in November, however, the long-term impact of the impeachment process remains to be seen.

Great Britain/ EU. On 31 January 2020, Great Britain left the European Union (EU). The European Parliament voted with a majority for the Brexit contract. While the Brexit party was celebrating the decision, the majority of delegates in Brussels were less enthusiastic about the development and some wore scarves with the writing “United in Diversity” on them. As a good-bye, they stood up together and, holding each others hands, sang the European anthem. During the one year transition period following the Brexit there will be a lot of work and (re-)negotiations to be done.

Australia. The Australian bushfires of the past months have fuelled the debate on climate change. Climate activists organised big demonstrations in major cities in Australia, but also worldwide, to protest against the coal mining industry, emission politics and for more climate action. The Australian prime minister Scott Morrison, who was on holidays in Hawaii shortly after the fires started, was widely criticised for his reaction to and handling of the situation, as were other Australian politicians. Morrison admitted that climate change could have a part in the events, but also said this is not the time to discuss it since there was an emergency to deal with. The public (domestically and internationally) expressed a lot of support, respect and empathy for the firefighters as well as critique of the government, because the firefighters do not receive enough resources.

Photo Credits

pi-IMG_5623, zhrefch, CC0 1.0

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YNTR – January 2020: Heat record in the EU, India’s Citizen Amendment Act, the cost of Australian bush fires, and more

EditorChief — Mon, 06 Jan 2020 17:44:49 +0000

Australia. As of January 6, 24 people and almost half a billion animals have died in Australia’s bush fires. Thousands had to be evacuated, almost 2 000 homes and vast amounts of land have been burned and the fires are still raging. A heat wave with a new temperature record followed the driest ever recorded spring contributing to this summer’s fires being particularly destructive. The smoke from the fires has made Sydney air quality one of the worst in the world on some days, and ash and debris threatens to contaminate drinking water, which without significant rain and tighter water restrictions might run out in Sydney by May 2022. The situation confirms scientists’ predictions that climate change will lead to more extreme bush fires, and has put focus on the Australian government, which is influenced by Australia’s mining history and the coal lobby, having failed to cut CO2 emissions. In December, protesters camped outside PM Morrison’s residence in Sydney demanding immediate climate change actions.

European Union. In the end of a decade of heat records, the EU has declared the climate emergency. The declaration includes a call for the Commission to ensure that all proposals are in line with the 1.5°C target, and urges EU member states to cut emissions so that European climate neutrality will be achieved by 2050, to “at least double their contribution to the international Green Climate Fund” and to stop all fossil fuel subsidies by 2020. The symbolic move is supposed to increase pressure on the upcoming European Commission to take a stronger stance in the fight against climate change. Yet, environmental campaigners warn that the declaration is not backed by sufficient action.

United Kingdom. In the UK’s third general election within 4 years, on 12 December 2019, the Conservative Party under the lead of Boris Johnson gained the biggest majority since Thatcher. Johnson had called for early elections in the hope to increase his parties majority in parliament and have his Brexit bill passed so that the UK will be able to leave the EU on 31 January 2020 which now is a likely possibility. The Scottish National Party (SNP) gained seats as well, whereas Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) lost votes so that now, nationalists are outnumbering unionists in Westminster for the first time.

Finland. After two weeks of nationwide postal-led strikes, Antti Rinne (Social Democratic Party) resigned from his post as Prime Minister following criticism voiced by his coalition government of how he handled the strikes. He was replaced by Sanna Marin who now is the world’s youngest serving PM. All five party leaders of the coalition government are women of which four are in their thierties. The government changes might have an impact on the EU as the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU is currently held by Finland putting the country in a central role in establishing the EU budget.

France. The nationwide strike against planned pension reforms that has caused major disruptions mostly to public transport is France’s longest strike since May 1968. Talks between unions and the government are scheduled for 7 January, yet Macron is intend to not back down on his plan that he argues is necessary to make the pension system fairer and more sustainable. Unionists warn that workers will lose out due to an increased age of retirement and decreased payouts. They call for blockades and mass protests from 7 to 10 January.

India. A citizenship law, the Citizenship Amendment Act, which excludes Muslims has sparked mass protests in India. PM Modi’s government has reacted with bans on protests, curfews and the shutdown of internet services. As of 31 December at least 25 people have been killed as police used water cannons, batons and live ammunition against protesters. Dozens were injured and more than 1 500 arrested by 21 December, among the detainees are journalists, activists and intellectuals. Some, however, see a positive development in the reluctance to discuss politics before the protests to a more open conversation about political matters.

USA. House Speaker Pelosi (Democrats) ordered an impeachment inquiry of Trump following allegations that the US president pressured Ukraine’s president to investigate the family of former Vice President Biden. On 18 December, the House voted to impeach Trump on grounds of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. A two-third majority of the Senate is still required. In the impeachment trial set for January, 20 Republicans would have to vote in favour of the impeachment along with all Democrats for it to go through.

Iran. The year 2020 wasn’t even a week old as the USA carried out an airstike in Baghdad that killed general Soleimani who is seen by many as a hero and revolutionary freedom fighter. Iran reacted by vowing revenge and pulling out of key agreements of the 2015 nuclear deal that the USA had already pulled out of in 2018. Trump, on the other hand, claimed to have acted to prevent a war and described Soleimani as “terrorist number 1”. He tweeted, the USA would attack 52 Iranian sites if Iran retaliated.

Photo Credits

pi-IMG_5623, zhrefch, CC0 1.0

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“#GejayanMemanggil”

Naufal Rasendriya Apta Raharema — Wed, 06 Nov 2019 12:38:41 +0000

Since mid-September, several protests have taken place in several cities in Indonesia due to current domestic political and social issues, including the controversial draft bill that is believed would threaten the freedom of the people within everyday life. A lot of the protests have turned violent. Both protesters and authorities have resorted to violence, resulting in numbers of injured protesters and some casualties. In Jogjakarta, university students, collaborating with civil society under the name of “Aliansi Rakyat Bergerak” (ARB) or Proggresive People Alliance, voice their opinions to preserve the democracy of the country peacefully. The nonviolent movement is named #GejayanMemanggil.

Gejayan as Jogjakarta’s Waterloo

Waterloo, Belgium, was the place where Napoleon Bonaparte-led French army was defeated by the Seventh Coalition; the coalition of the states who opposed Napoleon. This very place marked the end of Napoleon’s journey as the Emperor of France. In 1998, thousands of students from various universities in Jogjakarta fought for freedom by demanding the resignation of Soeharto, then dictator who had ruled the country for 31 years, on the street of Gejayan. Until now, this street has its own value of freedom and democracy, especially for those who are involved in activism.

In 2019, Gejayan was back on and #GejayanMemanggil, or #GejayanCalling in English, became a meeting point for those who had felt that the current government has threatened the freedom of the people on the 23rd and 30th of September.

Prior to the first protest in 23rd of September 2019, Aliansi Rakyat Bergerak (ARB), had 7 specific demands against the government. The alliance rejects the controversial articles in (1) RKUHP or Draft Bill of the Indonesian Criminal Code (which consists of articles that may restrain the freedom of the people in various aspects such as prosecution for spreading Marxist teachings, having extramarital sex, or even insulting the President or Vice President); (2) Draft Bill of Employment (generally perceived as unfavorable for the workers); (3) Indonesian Land Law; and also the recent (4) UU KPK or the Law of Corruption Eradication Commission. The people believed that this latest law would weaken the Commission and provide a greater space for corruptors to do their work within the country. In addition, ARB also demands the government to (5) push the ratification of RUU-PKS, or the Draft Bill of the Abolishment of Sexual Violence with the aim to legally accommodate the victims of sexual violence, to make them feel better and safer. Lastly, the alliance demands the state to (6) investigate and prosecute the elites who are responsible for the environmental catastrophe within the country and (7) stop arresting activists trying to maintain the democratization process in Indonesia.

Currently, ARB has added some more demands towards the state; including pushing the state to stop any repression and criminalization against people’s struggle and open up democracy space in Papua by withdrawing the military and investigating the human rights violations in the area.

The Flower of the Partisan

What’s unique with Aliansi Rakyat Bergerak-initiated #GejayanMemanggil is that this action completely adheres to nonviolent values. Quite similar with the rising popularity of global nonviolent protests and movements on many different issues, a lot of nonviolent methods were also used within this protest. During the first protest on the 23rd of September, the protesters first marched down from three different meeting points, located in three different universities, to the main meeting point: Gejayan.

Public speeches were held at the meeting point, followed by music performances, heating up the people to start singing. Among the protesters, a lot of slogans and symbols could be seen written on their banners, posters, and displayed communications they brought that day. In addition, leaflets and pamphlets were also distributed to the people, with the goal to make them fully aware that the current political situations is not in the best form.

The fact that this protest was completely nonviolent also lead to the appreciation from the residents within the surrounding areas. Some people from a fruit stand distributed free fruits to the protesters, and others gave free drinks to them. In fact, the local police department also respected and praised the protesters due to the fact that they could deliver the demands peacefully and orderly, leading to the absence of repression by the police. To emphasize this point, some of the protests in other cities have turned violent and resulted in a lot of injuries on both sides, including some casualties.

Weakened Pillars of Support

A lot of people have criticized the protest as it will only be “ridden” by opposition groups; especially the fans of the lost presidential candidate. The stigma is still widespread that criticizing the government means that you’re from the opposition groups. In fact, #GejayanMemanggil proved that the reality is not that black and white. The #GejayanMemanggil movement is a pure nonviolent action, without any political affiliation, consisting of people who felt the urgency to perform a “check and balance” on the government, but not to overthrow Jokowi as the legitimate president. The success to prevent any provocation and being ridden by any group, resulted in a more successful nonviolent action. In this very point, the government’s pillars of support have already started to cripple.

According to Popovic, rulers cannot rule by themselves due to the fact that they need people who provide such services to the rulers by doing certain tasks such as collecting taxes, preparing for the national budget, or even enforcing repressive laws. These group of people are called as the pillars of support, if the nonviolent movement able to make them withdraw their support, the opponent’s control will start to collapse. In the case of #GejayanMemanggil, it can be argued that there are three pillars of support that have started to withdraw their support for the opponent, in this case the government, they are: educational system consisting of students and teachers; the local community, especially the citizens; and the media.

In terms of the educational system, the teachers and students’ role is very important for the government. To emphasize this point, Popovic argued that the teachers shape the minds of the students while the students have the ideas and privilege as the role models of the society. Hence, they are arguably the ones that constitute the future of a country. Meanwhile, the media has a role to spread the messages from the students to a bigger scale of society. In this case, the media, especially students’ press and online newspapers, also helps the nonviolent movement to grow bigger by spreading the news and attracting more people to join the line.

Prior to the first action of #GejayanMemanggil, a lot of posters have been uploaded on Instagram to inform more people about the movement. Added to that, the coverage done by the media during the first action also contributed to the widespread of the messages. Lastly, the citizens within the local community also shows that they withdraw their support for the government as well as their consent from the government. The fact that a lot of Jogjakarta’s citizens decided to join the movement, not to mention those who help the protesters by giving fruits and drinks, shows that another pillar of support has started to crumble.

#GejayanMemanggil is not an “event” that took place only once or twice. Instead it is a continuous process. As for now, those who are involved are still preparing for a manifesto that consists of alternatives which, later, will be delivered to the government with the hope that the demands can be fulfilled. Several committees have also been founded in some universities, hence the spirit of resistance can be maintained. Lastly, the students will keep everyone’s spirits to fight for democratic rights so that the movement will not lose its momentum.

by Naufal Rasendriya Apta Raharema

Photo Credits

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Vantage Point Europe: A Revolution of Priorities

Merle Emrich — Thu, 16 May 2019 11:14:25 +0000

On Monday, 15th April 2019, Notre-Dame de Paris burned. While the incident is undoubtedly deplorable, calling it a ‘tragedy for the whole world’ is not only incredibly West-centric but reactions like these shine a spotlight on the hypocrisy of our society.

In a time span of not even four days, large corporations and several wealthy individuals donated a total of €850 million without hesitation. However, what we need is not a symbolic gesture of the 1% or shedding tears for a damaged church certain to be rebuilt, as it should be, no matter how magnificent. What we need is a revolution of priorities, a revolution of compassion and solidarity, which sparks awareness and leads to action.

Let’s start at home

While a handful of people possesses the wealth to be able to liberally pledge up to €200 million each, almost 9 million people in France have less than €1026 each month and thus 14% of the population live in poverty, mostly single parent families, unemployed and young people but also farmers and artisans. Many in France have at least heard of people who have to sleep in their cars because they cannot afford rent despite a job. And often the Gilets jaunes, who are taking to the street every week since November 17, 2018, name being out of money by the middle of the month due to the wage-living cost difference as one of the reasons why change is necessary. While, according to an EU statistic cited by Le Figaro, France has one of the lowest poverty (risk) rates in the EU (with the poverty line at 60% of the median income), beating Sweden by 0.9 percent points in 2015, Germany by 3.1 and Spain by 8.5, the statistics do not necessarily represent lived every day experiences.

“The real violence is: 9 million poor, 80 billion tax evasion, Google isn’t paying taxes, the loss of our schools and hospitals, the BAC [brigade anti-criminalité]. Not the three broken shop windows.”

In France’s neighbouring country to the north, the UK, policies have been implemented to reduce poverty of the elderly. And while this is undoubtedly an important step, another age group has been neglected: children. Due to stagnating incomes and benefit cuts relative child poverty might rise to 37% in 2023/24 exceeding the last high of the early 1990s. The Resolution Foundation states that a wage growth of only 1% could improve the situation, but it is up to the government to take such measures, or if they fail to do so it is up to the people to demand change.

Even further north, in Sweden, overall living standards have risen. However, this mostly applies to the wealthiest 10% while relative poverty is increasing fast. Sweden once had a considerably higher standard of social justice than other industrialised countries but in the last decade the income gap in Sweden was the fastest growing one of 34 OECD countries. It does not mean that the situation is now worse in Sweden than in other industrialised countries but it indicates that Sweden is moving from a poster child of social justice closer towards the rest of the industrialised world. And this trend is further supported by recent tax cuts for the wealthy which have left experts warning that, with many Swedes being increasingly unhappy with public services such as policing and schools, tax cuts might fuel xenophobia and populism.

Democracy and Journalism

Populism is not the only current threat to democracy. In April, Reporters Without Borders published the 2019 World Press Freedom Index. In their report, the organisation states that the situation for journalists has generally worsened, also in Europe – despite it still being the safest continent – due to journalists increasingly having to work in a ‘climate of fear’ and the rising number of attacks on journalists. It is not only politicians who seek to discredit the media, in France several journalists report to have been specifically targeted by police officers during the Gilets jaunes protests.

During Act 23 of the Gilets jaunes in Paris on April 20, journalist Gaspard Glanz was arrested and taken into custody for 48 hours. After having been hit by splinters of a tear gas grenade also containing 25g explosives which according to Glanz landed in the proximity of a group solely composed of journalists, he demanded to speak to the commissioner in order to receive an explanation for the incident. One of the police officers thus pushed the journalist back to which he reacted with a rude gesture. It followed the arrest and a, now revoked, ban on being in Paris on the first of May as well as on every Saturday until the trial in October. In an interview with Le Média, Glanz commented that it was not normal that journalists represented 10% of the injured (according to journalist David Dufresne’s count on his twitter account 10.2% by March 30, having increased to 12.9% by May 14) while making up only 1 or 2% of all people present and, in most cases, not having their protective gear confiscated by the police.

But the issue is not contained to France alone. It is a general European, and global, trend that shows itself through incidents such as the killing of Jamal Khashoggi as well as those of Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta and Ján Kuciak and his fiancée in Slovakia, and the excessive and arbitrary imprisonment of journalists in countries such as Turkey. It is also visible in more low-key developments such as the increased verbal abuse and discrediting of the media. It is a trend that, for instance, saw the UK fall on place 40 out of 180, behind Uruguay, Chile and Samoa in Reporter Without Borders’ ranking.

Across the Sea

Increasing social inequalities and worsening conditions for journalist stand in a contrast to the European Union’s (EU) values such as equality, human dignity, freedom and democracy. But even more so does its policy concerning refugees. Article 2(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights states: “Everyone’s right to life shall be protected by law. No one shall be deprived of his life intentionally […]” following article 1 that declares the EU’s commitment to respect human rights which according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights also includes the “right to life, liberty and security of person” (article 3) “without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status” (article 2).

And yet, the EU has abandoned its efforts to save drowning refugees in the Mediterranean and has even gone so far as to criminalise NGOs and civil society groups rescuing refugees and to deny their vessels access to European ports. Iverna McGowan (Amnesty International) commented this development by saying that “EU leaders have chosen to pander to xenophobic governments who are hellbent on keeping Europe closed, and to push even more responsibility onto countries outside the EU.” Meanwhile, French interior minister Castaner is siding with Italian right-wing Deputy PM Matteo Salvini as he accused NGOs of being accomplices of human smugglers. It is an accusation that is not based on facts so much as on La République en Marche’s fight against immigration, counters the director of Médecins sans Frontières, Michaël Neuman.

It becomes blindingly obvious, that it is not eras of carefreeness that show our true nation. On the contrary, it is times marked by challenges, inconveniences and crises that reveal the true value we place on human life, dignity, compassion and kindness – and to whom we apply that value and to whom we don’t.

A New Hope

To a certain extent it is understandable that Notre Dame evokes stronger emotions than international – if not global – problems, be it poverty and social injustice, infringements of democratic principles that we so want to belief in, or the death of strangers due to wars that we, by means of arms exports, profit from. It is closer to home, more relatable, easier to process and easier to fix. However, the hypocrisy of painting the accidental burning of a church as a global catastrophe while closing one’s eyes from the real catastrophes calls for a revolution of priorities, a kindling of compassion and solidarity.

There is one thing each of us needs to reflect on – student, politician, bartender, banker, arms producer, accountant, police officer: what can the Notre-Dame incident symbolise? To me the fire of something so old and seemingly eternal, in a world that too often appears to be meant the way it is, shows that a structure thought to last for all infinity can be broken up. There lies chaos and confusion in this destructive force. And yet, it is a creative power because who knows what will happen after. Who knows how we can shift and remodel the debris. Who knows if we cannot construct something even more magnificent. And we have it in our power to do so.

The strongest example of this power at the moment are perhaps environmental movements such as Fridays for Future and Extinction Rebellion. They speak – with urgency but also with hope – of an awakening to challenges superseding the individual in the here and now but applying to all of global society, present and future. At the same time the people of Algeria and Sudan are fighting for their democratic rights, Europe-wide protests against the EU’s refugee policy take place and the Gilets jaunes movement unites concerns for social justice with demands for more inclusion of the people in democratic processes and for more environmental justice. And even the arrest of Gaspard Glanz had positive effects since it resulted in a wave of solidarity expressed by various media channels and journalists and raised awareness on the often precarious situation of independent and young reporters who might not even have a press card.

At times the injustices and horrors of our society might seem overwhelming, and thus mentioned in this article are only a few and very much focused on Europe. Simultaneously, Venezuela is shaken by conflict, the war in Yemen is still ongoing, the suffering of the Rohingya has not ceased, … But amidst all this, it is more important than ever to not walk through this world with an averted view but to meet all tragedy and challenges with compassion and kindness, with courage and solidarity, and to take hope from every positive development, however small, and from the knowledge that we are not alone as we decide to walk this path.

by Merle Emrich

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“The Sea Level Is Rising and So Are We!”

Nina Kolarzik — Tue, 02 Apr 2019 14:03:48 +0000

Water pollution and contamination, overfishing, floods, rising water temperatures and sea levels, lack of fresh water… Our planet, whose surface is covered by more oceans than continents, is threatened by a rapid change of climate and environmental degradation. In mid-March, thousands of young students all over the globe stood up and fought for the acknowledgement of these threats to our life basis and demanded of world leaders to take action–for the sake of our future.

“1-2-3-4 climate is what we are fighting for, 5-6-7-8 tell the world it’s not too late!”

FridaysforFuture in the UK (Brighton), …

15th of February at 10:40 am, at the clock tower in Brighton, UK. The sun is shining, perfect demonstration weather, people are walking around in T-shirts, even though it is, according to the calendar, winter. The strike will start in 20 minutes, but already a big group of people is gathering, unpacking their posters, talking, giving interviews to curious journalists. Once in a while they break out in spontaneous chants:

“What do want?–Climate action!

When do we want it?–Now!”

With every green traffic light, more people are coming and are welcomed with loud cheering from the crowd.

“Skolstrejk för Klimatet”

… Germany (Erfurt), …

The by now often told story sounds almost magical, how fast the FridaysforFuture movement gained popularity and support. It began with one girl, at that point 15 year-old Greta Thunberg. She started missing school and instead striked every day in front of the Swedish Parliament in Stockholm, next to her a self-made sign, while informing people with flyers about the dangers of climate change. After the general elections in September she continued striking every Friday until now, planning to continue until Sweden has met the goals of the Paris Agreement. This inspired students in other European countries and beyond to organise their own strikes. The movement quickly picked up speed. Latest, after Greta was holding a speech at the annual UN Climate Conference at the end of 2018 in Katowice the world took notice of her. Through demanding cooperation instead of competition, she is now nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Not that it would have always been easy. Greta answers accusations about being paid, used by others or not writing her speeches herself. Others criticise that students are missing classes. Politicians threaten with penalties for those students who are missing out on their education, arguing that children would not know enough about how the world functions and should leave politics to the adults. Others, like Greta’s headmaster, a range of university professors, scientists, politicians, and a wide public morally support their students.

The movement’s message is not about knowing it better than adults. It is about reacting. To treat it as the crisis it is, even though it has been unfolding over centuries. To make the concerns of the future generations regarding the climate a priority.

Several organisations, protest movements and famous personalities exist that take action for a change in climate politics. What is different about this one?

“Only one climate, only one chance!”

The first particularity that catches the eye is the age of the protesters: it is a demonstration of children. Parents, who are joining their kids raise the average age about years. The majority consists of the youth–from primary school to university age. She is “just a child” was said about Greta Thunberg. World leaders should not forget or underestimate the power of children. And especially in issues as those regarding the environment, where the future counts more than the present, they have to say something, engage in politics and are not the disinterested as sometimes referred to. Politics is oriented towards the interests of ageing societies, while the students standing on the streets these Fridays will have to live with the policies made for a different generation. This is why, beneath climate action, a voting right from the age of 16 is one of the main demands of the crowd.

Even more impressive is the energy of the kids. When you are standing in the crowd of young people, it is hard to believe that the accusation the students would only enjoy a day without school has any solid foundation. They are standing there for a reason; because they are concerned about their future. The effort they put in designing their colourful posters is telling: they want to be able to do something and not only listen the news of hazardous weather catastrophes. It seems like Greta has shown not only world leaders that they have to act, but also the Youth. We need to show that we care about our future, because when we are loud enough about it others will have to listen. One person and her endurance was enough to trigger thousands to raise their voices. These young people are aware of their privileged situation in Europe–and they don’t rest on it but demand from themselves to take action.

… Sweden (Malmö), …

“Many people don’t seem to understand why we are doing this”, says one of the speakers. They value their education, but want to have the right education. The environment and climate change should not be marginalised in schools, where it is only mentioned occasionally in geography lessons. Instead, it should be a priority and an issue addressed in many subjects, move to the centrality it deserves. The strike in Brighton does not only involve noise-making on the streets but also workshops to learn something from this day. Without teaching about the seriousness of climate change and solving approaches, future generations might not be much different from the present ones and will not save the planet.

“My arms are tired”

15th of March, a Friday again. Around seven months after Greta’s first strike, the movement has reached its peak to date with a world wide strike: the girl who started it is now joined by around 1.4 million students in 128 countries around the globe.

The weather is less good than last month, but even more people have been coming. The youngest participants are likely to be less than ten years old but are chanting like everyone else. Some parents are accompanying their children, you can spot teachers and an old lady in support of her grandchildren’s future. People are coming out of their houses and shops to watch and applaud. One man says: “Well done, kids.”

The energy of the children has no limit. When it is too silent for a few seconds, one person starts chanting and the rest responds. Some are angry shouts against certain politicians, others rhymes for climate action. When the crowd reaches the park, you can finally see the true amount of people–and they are getting more.

… and France (Toulouse).

The one or another political group is trying to use the dynamics for their cause. But the movement itself does not belong to any organisation or institution. As an example of mobilising modern activism it arose from nowhere–and might disappear when its purpose is fulfilled. A community for a moment, united to draw attention on the human impact on our environment. And attention is something they certainly attracted as the biggest climate protest ever to take place so far.

One of my favourite signs says at the back that the student is tired of holding it. It is time to act, for children and for adults.

Greta Thunberg became vegan, travels only by train and convinced her family to do the same. But she knows that strong political and economic actions are needed to bring about the necessary change. Not only personal hope or movements like the “FridaysforFuture” are important, but especially action.

And no matter what pessimists say about the usefulness of these students’ actions: when politicians start to get worried because students are now missing one day of school weekly, it means they notice that something needs to happen. Until then, the students might not come back.

by Nina Kolarzik

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Les Gilets Jaunes: The Uncovering of Violence

Merle Emrich — Tue, 26 Feb 2019 20:00:57 +0000

It is Saturday. A man wearing a yellow high-visibility vest shouts at a group of police officers in riot gear who are speed-walking past: ‘It is us, the gilets jaunes, who are the nice guys!’ One of the officers sarcastically replies: ‘Oh, really?’. Scenes like these are not unusual these days. Since November, the gilets jaunes (‘yellow vests’) are protesting in France; the media shows images of rioting protesters, comparisons of the police nationale with the Gestapo are thrown into the room by protesters. Yet, the story of police violence and riots leaves more to uncover than might be apparent at first glance.

The Same Procedure as Last Saturday? The Same Procedure as Every Saturday!

Since a good three months, the gilets jaunes are protesting all over France leaving the occasional trail of anti-Macron graffiti, destroyed ATMs and broken windows of luxury shops. Their protests follow a similar pattern every Saturday: It starts with a happily chatting and singing crowd gathering at midday. Some bring drums, others flags and banners. As the protest continues the chants calling for Macron’s resignation begin to mix with those directed against the police. Some have brought white roses as a sign of peacefulness, others hold up pictures of bloody faces – the faces of those wounded by the police.

The clashes and destruction that occasionally follow are not the result of an irrational mob, a ‘hateful crowd‘, set out to destroy whatever stands in their way. Of course, there might be some that see vandalism as a sport. But altogether, it is the anger and frustration of those who felt unheard and forgotten for far too long and where exposed to non-physical violence in form of social injustices. It is an anger which now surfaces with the destructive force of a tsunami. The sad thing is that for some physical violence as response to this economic and psychological violence appears to be the only way to be noticed.

It is a shame that the French government did not react until after increasingly violent protests in early December. It seems to confirm that the only way to be heard by those in power is chaos and destruction. It is a shame that the images of the gilets jaunes shown on the news seem to portray little else but this chaos and destruction. And it is a sad commentary on this society which appears to be only interested in the news if it shows violence and scandal.

Scenes From a Protest

Not all of the violence, however, originates from the few gilets jaunes that are prone to destruction. According to government figures, the protests have seen at least 1700 protesters injured and ten dead in the time until early February. The far-left Parti Ouvrier Indépendant (POI, Independent Workers’ Party) speaks of more than 2000 injured protesters, 124 severely wounded gilets jaunes, 20 blinded by LBD 40 flash-balls, 4 hands torn off by GLI-F4 grenades the use of which has been defended by Interior Minister Castaner despite the known mutilating potential of these tear gas and stun grenades.

It does not come as a surprise that these incidents of police violence only spark more anger. That is, once again, not to say that all gilets jaunes are nothing but peaceful, or that those protesters who resort to violence and vandalism should not be held accountable. Neither is it to say that all measures taken by the police and the government are unreasonable. Yet, it certainly prompts questions about limits of state violence and the legitimacy of the use of force by the police.

The group of protesters stands facing the police in full riot gear. There are metres of empty space in between them and, apart from perhaps one or two bottles that shatter in front of the feet of the police, the situation is peaceful. It is impossible to say whether the trigger was a smoke bomb which someone brought, or if the police decided that the protest had gone on long enough, but suddenly more police are coming from the other end of the square and thick clouds of tear gas hang in the air. From now on the protesters are met with tear gas in almost every street, often launched at them from every direction making the air unbreathable. Shortly after sunset a group of protesters, their hands in the air as a sign of peacefulness, heads down a narrow street that is blocked by the police. All of a sudden, the group of police officers charges at them. One of them fires something, perhaps a flash-ball or a stun grenade, into the crowd that turns on their heels and takes flight.

A Stanford Prison Experiment on the Streets

Does that mean then that all cops are indeed bastards? Not quite. As Jérôme Rodrigues, one of the more prominent figures of the gilets jaunes movement said, ¨this violence is applied by the police simply because they are the shield of the powerful that tremble under the pressure of the people.¨ The Stanford prison experiment helps to better understand the link between the protests, the police and violence. While there is an abundance of criticism directed at the experiment and its findings, it nonetheless demonstrates how our environment influences our behaviour and how power can corrupt and provoke extreme actions.

The first important thing to note is that there is a clear power asymmetry between the gilets jaunes and the police. While the protesters usually don’t have anything but makeshift means to protect their mouths, noses and eyes from tear gas, as well as the occasional glass bottle, the police is equipped with professional protective gear including gas masks and shields, batons, water cannons, pepper spray, stun grenades, tear gas and flash-balls. During the experiment about a third of the participants assigned a role as guard began to abuse their power which escalated into degrading behaviour towards the ‘prisoners’. And even those who did not like their role as guard and where thus not prone to abuse their power did not step in. It implies that if there are institutions and structures creating a power imbalance, people can be corrupted by this power and behave in extreme ways which might explain incidents of extreme responses of the police to the gilets jaunes’ protests.

The second idea the Stanford prison experiment suggests, supported by Milgram’s obedience study, is that we behave as we believe we are expected to behave, especially if these expectations come from a superior authority . Thus, police officers using more force than necessary can be traced to obedience towards superior officers or institutions. In such a case it is very likely that the police officers in question do not act out of an intent to hurt anyone but believe in fact that they merely do what is necessary to control the situation.

What transpired in the analysis following the experiment was that a lack of criticism by authorities can be – consciously or subconsciously – interpreted as approval or encouragement and further increase the abuse of power. And indeed, the responses of the French government to the harm caused by flash-balls and stun grenades were either defending the use of them or an outright denying the injuries caused. On February 8 the Conseil d’État, France’s highest administrative jurisdiction, furthermore allowed the police to continue launching flash-balls at protesters, despite criticism by human rights organisations such as the Ligue des droits de l’Homme. This decision legitimises the violence against protesters – and not only against those who actually attempt to start a riot but also against those who peacefully exercise their right to protest since a flash-ball launched into a crowd can hit anyone who happens to stand in its way.

While tear-gas and flash-balls are a relatively effective means to disperse protesters – at least temporarily – they don’t do much to appease the situation. Instead they foster more anger and resentment against the government and its tool of state violence, the police. As Louis Boyard, president of the union nationale lycéene (UNL) who was wounded by a flash-ball or grenade, said according to the POI’s newsletter: ‘A government that uses violence against its youth is a government that is scared, it is a government that is close to giving in. […] I will give in neither to violence nor to fear.’

Macron’s Great Mess

Violence against protesters frequently takes place on the street but also in the courts. It finds expression in preventive arrests that reportedly are at times based on nothing more but a slight suspicion, and in France’s new anti-rioting bill that according to critics does not only target rioters but can easily be abused to limit the people’s freedom to protest in general. It is a form of violence that cannot be explained with simplistic answers pointing i.e. at corrupt police. Rather it has its roots in often undiscovered or invisible institutions and power structures that are now brought to light. It is evidence of a government so out of its depth that it hides behind a shield of an instrumentalised police and judiciary apparatus, and which has lost the trust of the people. Yet, repressive responses to the frustration and despair of the gilets jaunes will not calm tempers. Neither will Macron’s grand débat which is seen by some as a PR strategy giving it the nickname grand dégat (‘great mess’). The only sensible thing Macron’s government can do is to take decisive actions that demonstrate a convincing step towards the ordinary people.

by Merle Emrich

Photo Credits

Related Articles:

Les Gilets Jaunes: A Discovery of Revolution

Photo Essay: A Nation Sees Yellow

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The #Resist Phenomenon

Ioana Pavel — Tue, 28 Feb 2017 10:26:41 +0000

An epic battle is taking place in Romania, of all places, between two 9-headed dragons trying to slay each other: us vs them. On their side, they have the corrupt government officials armed with absolute political power and paid internet trolls, a self-perpetuating system. On our side, we have the hipsters and the corporate lackeys, as they call us, armed with pins that read “resist”, signs that read “thieves”, flashlights and colorful pieces of paper.

On their side, they have the Parliament and the government, the former elected by the majority vote and the latter appointed by the former, eloquently exemplifying the tyranny of the majority. On our side, the judicial system, desperately trying to send the other side to jail. Them, passing laws that help themselves. Us, hundreds of thousands of people protesting in the streets for days on end.

This particular battle has been waged for 28 consecutive days at the time of publishing, although the war is years old, perhaps as old as time. Each evening protesters gather in front of the government building demanding the government’s resignation, denouncing the epidemic of corruption among public officials and expressing their support for the judicial system. While the judiciary is trying to send corrupt politicians to jail, they are trying to discredit, weaken or outright dismantle it.

Specifically, in the dead of night, on the 31st of January, the Government passed an emergency decree effectively watering down anti-corruption laws and keeping some of those in power safely in their seats and comfortably out of jail. It later emerged that several governmental advisory bodies had advised against this decree, citing insufficient evidence for the urgency of the move. In spite of this, it appears that they were strong-armed into destroying the original negative notice and providing a positive one with the same registration number. Yes, that is illegal.

While the protests were massive – the biggest since the fall of communism back in 1989 – the government had a rather slow reaction time, presumably because they were expecting the protests to die down. As instead of dying down, they merely expanded in number of participants and number of cities, the government decided to throw us a bone and rescind the decree, not without wallowing, complaining and maintaining that they were right all along. The official reason for the take-back was “maintaining peace”. That’s hardly a legitimate reason, as the protests were so peaceful that people comfortably brought their young children along. Even that was a source of discord: parents were denounced to the National Authority for the Protection of Children’s Rights for supposedly using their children to get political advantage, i.e. taking down the government.

The two dragons are relentless and creative. There is no doubt that ours is the smaller one with the broken wing and nostrils that don’t always blow out fire but rather hot, thin smoke. Nonetheless we are a large group of self-organizing people, using social media to find each other and volunteering our skills for the greater good: copywriters, graphic artists, lawyers, programmers, people from all walks of life and all demographics are coming together to fight the bigger, uglier, stronger dragon. Whether we win or not is irrelevant, because we woke up from our apathy, we reached out and we found each other.

Romanians are facing an uphill, long-term battle, but mine is a message of hope. In the face of adversity, injustice, disproportionate advantage, don’t panic. Organize!

Ioana Pavel, A Concerned Romanian

Pictures taken by Octav Drăgan

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Break the Silence

Laura Korte — Mon, 03 Oct 2016 12:18:02 +0000

It is not too often you see more than 15,000 Finnish people gather together in one place. Unless, of course, one recalls May 16, 2011. Finland won the Ice Hockey World Championship games. Beyond that day of endless drinking and celebrations, a recent occurrence on Saturday September 24, 2016, was somewhat startling. A great number of Finnish people had come together to protest and show unity.

It was all triggered by the murder of 28-year-old Finnish man, Jimi Karttunen, on September 10. While out in Helsinki, Karttunen approached a neo-Nazi Finnish Resistance Movement demonstration. Wanting to challenge their ideology, the conversation escalated and he spat at them during the exchange. The group conceded that they then “confronted” the victim in police reports. More specifically, it was found that Karttunen was beat down to the ground by a 26-year-old suspect with a history of violence and neo-Nazism, Jesse Torniainen. The suspect was placed in custody. Several days after the initial attack, Karttunen died in hospital from a brain hemorrhage.

The news of the tragedy travelled fast. Outside of Helsinki Central Station, a small vigil sprang out of the growing dialogue. Flickering candles illuminated bright yellow chalk that read ‘Stop the Hate.’ Soon, there was an event on Facebook for an anti-racist protest. At first, there were 200 people going, then 1,700 people going, 5,000 people going, and, suddenly, 7,000 people going. And on that autumnal Saturday of September 24, 15,000 protesters marched against the neo-Nazi Finnish Resistance Movement.

With an ever more socially-conservative mass media and government, there has been an undercurrent of tension between the right and left. Though, the issues of neo-Nazism and right-wing populism have taken root and flourished in Finland despite opposing will. It is a sign that, although liberal Finns are cautious, demonstrations against such hate should have occurred sooner. And perhaps now, the silence surrounding the unresolved leniency banning such racist organizations, like the Finnish Resistance Movement, has resulted in a homicide.

The passive acceptance of racism and xenophobia has been present in Finnish culture for some time now. All the different movements, such as “Close the borders,” have certainly gotten stronger over the past few years as the refugee crisis and the sanctity of the European Union has been questioned, putting real and imagined pressures on Finland. It is the more moderate and open-minded Finns who have realised it is time to come together and preserve tolerance.

Neo-Nazism reared its ugly head and showed Finland just what happens when people are told to fear refugees and open borders. After this tragic escalation of intolerance, Finland has displayed solidarity and unity outside of hockey games. With the eminent rise of the far-right in Finland and throughout Europe, it is disheartening that it took such violence to break the silence.

Laura Korte

Image 1: Susanna Pesonen; Hopeful anti-racist protestors at the demonstration in Finland on Sept 24.

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