mtlcounter-info

22 August – Protest the New Migrant Prison

Comments Off

Aug 132019

Join us for the first of a series of public actions in opposition to the new Laval migrant prison! These actions will take place on Thursdays at noon at various locations, culminating in a multi-city day of action on October 3rd.

The new Laval migrant prison is part of a $138 million investment into Canada’s migrant detention system under the National Immigration Detention Framework (NIDF), a new policy announced in 2016. The NIDF provides for the construction of two new migrant prisons along with expanded carceral technologies to supervise and control migrants outside these facilities.

On Aug 22nd, we will be gathering in front of the Val-David headquarters of Tisseur Inc for a family-friendly, public, information-picket. Tisseur was recently awarded a $50 million contract to oversee construction of the new Laval prison, with initial work already begun.

Companies like Tisseur are eager to help build the infrastructure of an anti-migrant future but we have a vision of the future of our own. It does not include detention, borders, or prisons and we are calling for help to realise it.

To join us on August 22nd: we’ll be driving together from Montreal, so email solidaritesansfrontieres@gmail.com to reserve your place and find out the meet up place. We’ll be meeting at 10am to arrive at noon and return to Montreal no later than 4pm. If you have a car you can bring or lend, please let us know, as well as the number of seats you can offer.

No borders, no prisons, status for all!

Background

Statement to endorse

New Wet’suwet’en Village on Unceded Land! Support Requested

Comments Off

Aug 122019

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

Many of us in the environmental movement share a dream of a free society, in which people live together, caring for the land they inhabit. We imagine such a community as an autonomous zone, existing independently of the colonial, capitalist system we oppose.

I am pleased to report that I now write these words from exactly such a place. I now find myself by the shore of Parrott Lake, on a territory belonging to the Sun House of the Likhts’amisyu Clan of the Wet’suwet’en Nation. The exact place where we now camp was a Wet’suwet’en village site for many generations. In subsequent waves of colonial violence, the Wet’suwet’en were driven from this ancestral home. Now they have reclaimed it and are building a new village, which is be a place of cultural revitalization, of learning, of healing, and of stewardship of the land.

Some context is required here. The Likhts’amisyu is one of the five clans of the Wet’suwet’en Nation. For the last ten years, the Wet’suwet’en have been resisting an array of pipelines through which industry intends to ship diluted bitumen and fracked gas to the Northwest Coast for export. The focal point of these efforts has been the Unist’ot’en Camp, a long-standing territorial re-occupation which was built directly in the path of the proposed pipeline corridor. Years of resistance have caused multiple multi-billion-dollar projects to be delayed and/or cancelled. Things came to a head this winter, when the Coastal GasLink pipeline corporation obtained an injunction against the camp. In response, a blockade was established on a neighbouring territory by members of another Wet’suwet’en clan, the Gidimt’en. This was done as an act of solidarity with the Unistot’en, and was announced in the Wet’suwet’en feast hall, with the support of all five clans.

For three weeks, the Gidimt’en Access Checkpoint, as the new camp was called, blocked pipeline workers and police from entering the territory. Then, on January 7th, 2019, militarized federal police raided the Gidimt’en camp, arresting 14 people and setting off a Canada-wide wave of protests. Two days later, the RCMP breached the gate of the Unist’ot’en Camp, and pipeline workers entered the territory, where they began destroying a vast swath of forest to make way for the pipeline right-of-way, as well as a large man camp to house pipeline workers.

It is important that people realize that this fight is far from over. Although preliminary work has begun on the pipeline, and the LNG export terminal in the coastal city of Kitimat, no pipe has yet been laid. The events of December and January should be regarded as one phase in a struggle that has been going on for a decade.

A new phase of struggle has begun, and the Likhts’amisyu village represents a continuation and an expansion of Wet’suwet’en resistance. Part of the strategy is to stymie CGL by blocking them at multiple points. Whereas at the beginning of December, there was one camp resisting ongoing colonialism on Wet’suwet’en territory, there are now three – the Unist’ot’en, the Gidimt’en, and the Likhts’amisyu.

In the wake of the events of the winter, the Likhts’amisyu decided that the time was right to assert their sovereignty, and in May of this year, they began the process of building a new village. They received a donation of a significant number of logs, which they used to begin building log cabins. This was fortunate, as all of this construction has been done on a shoestring budget, with community members paying out of their pockets for many expenses. As things currently stand, one log cabin is built and awaits the addition of a roof, a second is being built, and the foundation for a third has been laid. The roofs will have to wait until some more funds come in. The plan is to have all three cabins constructed before the snow comes this Fall. In addition to this, a kitchen / mess hall has also been mostly built, and will be completed within the week.

The reclamation of this exact location is something that members of the Likhts’amisyu Clan had dreamed of for years. This is a traditional village site, likely inhabited by the Wet’suwet’en for centuries, if not millenia. It is located some 40 kilometres South of the logging town of Houston, by the shores of a beautiful mountain lake now called Parrott Lake. Close to the lake, there are alpine meadows rich in berry patches, likely evidence of Wet’suwet’en burning practices. A historic cremation site is located nearby. Many of the folks here speak of the strength of the connection they feel to this place, and of childhood memories of good times here. Everyone agrees: it feels right to be here. One woman spoke of incredibly vivid dreams in which her great-grandmother insisted that she understand how important it was that she bring her family out here.

This place was home to a traditional village up until the turn of the 20th century, when it was burned down as part of a government plan to force all indigenous people onto reserve. Although this marked the end of the village, in the following decades there was at least one Likhts’amisyu cabin here.

Back in 1995, Likhts’amisyu chief Dtsa’hayl built a cabin here, which was burned down five years later by a foresty worker. Apparently this was accidental, but the Wet’suwet’en received no compensation. In recent years, the site has been called the Parrott Lake Recreation Site, and has been managed by B.C. Parks and Recreation, which is the branch of the Ministry of Forests that maintains camp sites. As of now, B.C. Parks and Recreation has taken a very respectful approach to the Wet’suwet’en re-occupation, and there have been talks about managing the site in some kind of partnership. This may be due in part to the very friendly, non-confrontational tact taken by the camp leaders here. The vibe here is open and welcoming. When locals do come out to camp, to swim or to go boating, they are greeted in a friendly way, and will often be invited for tea, coffee, or to share food.

On a less positive note, there have been threatening comments made on Facebook against the Likhts’amisyu village. The Likhts’amisyu village is kept occupied 24/7, due to the fear of local people burning down the cabins and out-buildings. Sadly, there is a long history of Wet’suwet’en homes being destroyed maliciously by settlers. It will be important to have support throughout the Fall and Winter in order to maintain a constant presence here.

In terms of bringing Wet’suwet’en community members together, the Likhts’amisyu camp has already met with great success. Often, especially on weekends, the camp has the feeling of a family reunion – people sharing food, telling stories and reminiscing by the fire, while kids and dogs run and play. There are paddle-boards and kayaks here, and the water is perfect. Every evening, from where we sit by the fire, we see the sun paint the sky magnificent colours as it sets over the lake. Clan members have commented on how the village is bringing their families closer together.

All this to say, there is more to the Likhts’amisyu village than opposition to the pipeline. To clan members, it represents a deep yearning for a return to their ancestral way of life. There is a hope that perhaps the day has come when they can at last return home.

There are also plans for a climate change research centre here. The leaders of the Likhts’amisyu Camp are in talks with a respected NGO and the University of Northern British Columbia to collaborate on this project. They are also planning litigation against CGL, and the governments of Canada and B.C.

Both the climate change research centre and the lawsuit reflect the view that the Likhts’amisyu have in regards to the fight against the CGL pipeline – that the struggle to protect their territory is a long-term, intergenerational one, and that it is important in this day and age to fight intelligently, using all tools at their disposal. Chief Dtsa’hayl speaks about the need to seize the initiative in the fight against CGL. The hope is that the lawsuit, in combination with the hard data gained through on-the-ground research, will enable the clan to put the pipeline companies on the defensive.

Although the Likhts’amisyu village is an indigenous-led camp, its leaders envision the participation of non-natives as equal community members. They plan to invite people to homestead here, irrespective of race. If a settler wants to live out here, and help build this community, they may be welcomed to do so. If this sounds like a dream come true for you, you are encouraged to come visit the camp.

Help with the construction activities would very much be appreciated, but we also encourage people to come just to visit. We feel that people who do so will feel a personal connection to this place, and will want to support what is happening here.

In short, what is happening here is new and different, exciting and inspiring. Thus far, there has not been as much support from environmental activists as one would hope. The vast majority of work has been done by Wet’suwet’en community members. This is partly due to the fact that the activities of the Likhts’amisyu are not yet widely known-about. To address this, we are specifically requesting that folks with media production skills, such as photography, videography, video-editing, and podcasting, support us by using their skills to help boost the profile of the Likhts’amisyu Camp.

Lastly, funds are needed. As previously mentioned, we are limited in what we are able to do by monetary constraints. We are building a second log cabin before putting a roof on the first because we need funds for building supplies to complete said roof. Any support would be appreciated – we would greatly appreciate it if supporters would consider hosting fund-raising events or make funding requests on our behalf.

If you feel inspired to do such a thing, if you would like to volunteer to produce media in support of this project, or if you could simply just like to visit, please do no hesitate to get in touch.

We also encourage folks who can to donate to the Sovereign Likhts’amisyu GoFundMe page, a link to which can be found below.

Here are some useful links:

1. The Go Fund Me page is at: https://www.gofundme.com/manage/likhtsamisyu2019
2. The promotional video is at: https://vimeo.com/332477793
3. The Likhtsamisyu website is at: www.likhtsamisyu.com
4. The Facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/likhtsamisyu/
5. The main email for people to reach the chiefs is: likhtsamisyu@gmail.com
6. The main email for people to reach the support team is: likhtsamisyu@riseup.net
7. To subscribe to the Likhts’amisyu listserv, please write likhtsamisyu@riseup.net introducing yourself and saying why and how you would like to support current organizing efforts.

We also ask that people share the above links through their social media accounts and amongst their friends and comrades. Thank you very much!

Vague Bleue 2: Xenophobes Suffer an Epic Defeat in Trois-Rivières

Comments Off

Jul 302019

From Montréal Antifasciste

The second edition of the “Vague bleue” (Blue Wave), a marginal social movement drawing in the xenophobic and Islamophobic dregs from the national-populist milieu, took place on the 27^th of July in Trois-Rivières. Since the first edition that took place in Montreal on the May 4^th, Montréal Antifasciste has documented the individuals and groups that took part in the xenophobic protest, including its “security” contingent, who is little more than a collection of cranks fantasizing about beating up antifas.

The Vague bleue 2: about 75 xenophobic clowns walk in Trois-Rivières. Photo credit: Francois Giguère, from Facebook.

Unfortunately for them, the second edition was an epic failure. While 300 people showed up to their Montreal event, the Vague bleue 2 in Trois-Rivières barely attracted 75 people. Many groups were notably absent, including La Meute, the folkloric losers from the Front patriotique du Québec, and the pseudo-militiamen of the Groupe de Sécurité Patriotique.

The security team surrounding this second edition was made up of a handful of people from Steven Dumont’s entourage in Storm Alliance and the pathetic “Les Gardiens du Québec” crew. It is definitely worth noting that Les Gardiens du Québec now counts white supremacist Michel “Mickey Mike” Meunier amongst its members, and although he was only admitted to the group a few weeks ago, just before the protest he helped get his bonehead friend Joe “White Poser” Arcand into the group as well. With these two new members, the true colours of the so-called Guardians of Québec are starting to show.

The Vague bleue 2 ends up in a parking lot… Photo credit: Casse sociale

After having their protest literally diverted by the antifascist/antiracist mobilization, the VB2 found itself (again) in the middle of a parking lot, isolated and unnoticed. During the open mic segment of the day, Diane Blain (the person notorious for screaming nonsense at Justin Trudeau in 2018) gave an extremely racist speech that summarizes perfectly the essence of what most VB2 participants (and the wider national-populist movement) think:

“We have so many enemies here, in Québec: the federal government, federast (sic) journalists, the Muslims, the Jews, the Anglos, the Sikhs…”

Her speech was filmed and subsequently shared hundreds of times in less than 24 hours, before Youtube deleted the video as hate speech. This stuff is so unbelievable it can’t be made up.

Of final note, Pierre Dion, one the national-populist milieu’s mascots, was arrested before the march even started, allegedly because he sent a private message to TVA “journalist” Yves Poirier to the effect that “Trois-Rivières, on the 27^th, I’m going to be there, and there’s gonna be blood everywhere.”

Police are here to protect…

A massive police presence was deployed in the heart of Trois-Rivières, essentially to repress the antiracist counter-protest and to let the 75 clowns from the Vague bleue protest in the city with their message of exclusion. In addition to the riot police spread out all around the city center, we saw a drone flying above Des Forges Boulevard, as well as SQ and local police boats on the river (photo credit: André Querry).

SQ blocks the way to the anti-racist demo. Photo credit: Annie Ouellet

At around 1:30PM, some SQ riot police squads arrived with their vehicles and surrounded the TRès Inclusif counter-protest to keep it from leaving its departure point, resulting in the classic game of cat and mouse in the streets, with the antiracist/antifascist protest managing to elude the riot police and get to the spot on Des Forges Boulevard where the Vague bleue march was supposed to end. The riot cops gradually formed a perimeter to contain the 150 or so counter-protesters (left at this point) in this spot, which led to a few minor incidents, including the SQ using pepper spray at least twice.

At this point, the VB’s plans had already been thwarted, and the SQ was forced to reroute their march into a parking lot a bit to the east.

We know that the police outright lied to antiracist organizers on multiple occasions:

They said that only the municipal police would be deployed, not the SQ; in fact, the SQ were there in large numbers and were clearly calling the shots.
They were told that the antiracist protest couldn’t take place at Place du Flambeau, because another event was taking place there; this wasn’t true and the square was empty.
They were told that the pedestrian section of Des Forges Boulevard wouldn’t be blocked; not only was it blocked in multiple places, access was also blocked a few blocks deep in every direction. Multiple people reported having their bags searched before being allowed to enter the area’s perimeter.

Of equal note regarding the collaboration between the authorities and the VB2 was the provision of a city bus to bring the protesters back to their starting point. Here they are from inside the bus, trying very hard to sing a shitty song from the sixties:

A successful mobilization for antiracists and antifascists

Anti-racist demo occupies the space where the Vague bleue was supposed to end its march, in front of the Frida coffee shop. [Cover photo credit: Annie Ouellet]

On our side, between 200 and 250 people from multiple antiracist and antifascist groups and collectives from Trois-Rivières, Montreal, Quebec City, Ottawa, Sherbrooke, and elsewhere came out in force in response to TRès inclusif’s callout, successfully putting forward a message of inclusivity and thwarting the Vague bleue 2’s plans in Trois-Rivières.

After a few minutes of confusion and difficulty agreeing on a plan (primarily complicated by the creeping police buildup, which voided the initial plans for the protest), a spontaneous rush by the antifascist forces helped the protest elude the police, get to Des Forges Boulevard, and seize the supposed end point for the Vague Bleue 2 protest, the space in front of Café Frida (the coffee shop that had been harassed and threatened by the organizers of the VB2 over the preceding weeks).

After a few tense minutes face to face with the SQ, a breakout group of 20 antifascists was able to get to the upper level of the promenade, where they could look down on VB2’s depressing parking lot party and mock the participants.

A poster put up in Trois-Rivières by the TRès inclusif collective. Photo credit: François Giguère

One final note: it’s important to mention the huge work of preparation, information, and mobilization that was done between the two Vague bleue events, notably by TRès Inculsif and Montréal Antifasciste, but also by other antiracist and antifascist groups, whether in person or online and on social media, to counter the xenophobic and Islamophobic discourse being spread by the VB participants. A special shout-out to the comrades who pushed through a final demobilization effort by creating fake accounts of the VB2 organizers 48 hours before the event in order to spread confusion and doubt about whether or not the event was cancelled. The always brilliant John Hex call this tactic a “cyber-attack” by “the oligarchy.” Lol. Nice work!

The usual media bungling

The mainstream media totally ignored or weren’t interested in the Vague bleue phenomenon, partly because the nationalist-populist crowd are obsessed with conspiracy theories about the media and refused to speak to them this time. That said, the two articles that came out about the VB2 were particularly terrible. The Radio-Canada article displayed a blatant disregard for research, while the one in the Nouvelliste was a VB2 puff piece, incredibly including an extremely racist quote from Stéphane Gagné (Trois-Rivières’ narcissistic racist who calls himself “General Lee of the Mauricie”), and a second quote from an Amnesty International representative who felt it important to mention that “antifacists were looking to make trouble”, while “the Vague bleue wasn’t looking for confrontation”. Question to Amnesty International: Are we to understand that a calm racist and xenophobic protest is better than a disruptive antiracist and antifascist protest? Is Vickie Schneider’s quote (which racists will use to their advantage) an official Amnesty International position? (Update: Amnesty International issued a statement on July 30 condemning “the hateful comments made at the Vague bleue rally in Trois-Rivières” and stating that Vickie Schnieders was “speaking in her personal capacity and that her comments do not reflect Amnesty International’s official position”. Thank you for this clarification, it is appreciated.)

Our work is only beginning

As we’ve written before, the present situation in Quebec is far from good for those of us who care about the health and quality of our society. The CAQ’s regressive orientation regarding immigration and the way it forced through the Loi sur la laïcité de l’État are signs of a government that shares the political aims of racist and xenophobic groups like those that organised the Vague bleue. Furthermore, it’s not insignificant that while the SQ was essentially doing the work of Trois-Rivières’ xenophobes, François Legault (the premier of Quebec) was promoting Mathieu Bock-Côté’s book on Twitter, agreeing with the reactionary sociologist’s outdated brand of nationalism.

While the Vague bleue organizers are already talking about a third edition in Quebec City, it seems likely that the anti-racist movement we are trying to build across the province will have to mobilize again in the coming weeks, months, and unfortunately, perhaps even for years to come.

A small exercise…

The absolutely wild trip that is the Vague bleue crowd’s online banter has already gotten people used to their tenuous grasp of the French language, so we’re not going to focus on that.

Let’s see if the people who think they represent “the people” are any better at math: 75 clowns in a population of 8.3 million people represents what percentage of “the people”?

Answer: 0.00001%

You’re not “the people”. You’re 75 clowns.

Atalante and Its Supporters — Part 3: Louis Fernandez et Baptiste Gilistro… the French Factor

Comments Off

Jul 262019

From Montréal Antifasciste

Since the article “Unmasking Atalante” came out in December, we’ve produced two follow-up articles concerning, respectively, the “influencer” Heïdy Prévost’s and the folk band Folk You, two cultural (or metapolitical) phenomena at the periphery of Atalante. It is difficult to precisely measure the impact our work might have on the morale and activities of this neofascist group, but we have noted fewer public outings in recent months, and those that did occur appeared to involve the same small hardcore group of militants, with the exception of a recent photo-op in Montréal, where clearly every possible sympathizer was mobilized for the occasion.

While some of those involved had no inhibitions about openly displaying their adherence to a fascist-inspired ideology, a number of the members and sympathizers we have already exposed chose to stay in hiding under their rock. It should come as no surprise, then, when we continue to shine a light on this pile of Nazi shit.

Deprived of any respectability and finding its political ambitions blocked, in recent months, Atalante’s core group seems to have fallen back into the violent subculture from which it originally emerged. Unable to effectively establish the organization locally, Atalante members are traveling overseas more often (particularly to France and Italy) and further developing their ties to international fascism, as can be seen by the French NSBM band Baise Ma Hache coming to Québec in June to play a concert with Légitime Violence. (A concert that, it should be noted, was disrupted by antifascists, who forced the fascists to chaotically regroup and hold their concert later that same evening at Bar Le Duck. No love lost here for the bar’s management, who welcomed the Nazis with open arms. Don’t hesitate to let them know how you feel about that.)

Even the launching of Atalante’s first book, Saisir la foudre [Ride the Lightening], last March, occurred without any fireworks, which is not normal behaviour for this group, which barely exists outside of social media and generally trumpets even its most minor exploits with carefully staged grandiloquent photo displays. Could it be that this first opus fell far short of its author’s intellectual ambitions. You’ll forgive us for thinking that that is probably the case.

In reality, it would seem that Atalante as a political organization has become a sideshow, while the street gang at its origin, the Québec Stomper Crew, is breathing new life — particularly since a sad little Nazi from France decided to join!

>> See “The Québec Stomper Crew, Rock Against Communism, and Légitime Violence” section of the “Unmasking Atalante” article.

It’s no secret that the Stompers have cultivated an intimate relationship with violence. There are reasons to believe that gaining admission to the“crew” is contingent upon a rite of passage or initiation that involves committing an act of aggression or other crime in the group’s name.

We could cite the example of Yannick Vézina (alias Yann Sailor), who seems to have become a full-patch member of the Québec City Stompers shortly after participating in an attack on an antifascist militant.

In a more recent example, it seems that Sven Côté (alias Svein Krampus) got his official colours on the evening of the attack on the Page Noire book store, in December 2018.

Group photo of the Québec Stomper Crew, in December 2018. In the middle, Sven Côté, freshly “patched”.

In recent months, we have easily identified two other Stompers “prospects,” one of whom has even received his gang colours. Both of them come from France and are among the rare new Atalante members: Louis Fernandez and Baptiste Gilistro.

Hit a CEGEP student and win your colours!

Louis Fernandez came to our attention after his December 2018 arrest for a physical attack on a young client at the Lvlop bar in Québec City. This violent act seems to have been motivated by hate (he asked his victim several times if he was “antifa” before pummeling him). Although police found an Atalante sticker in his wallet, the twenty-five-year-old Fernandez denied any knowledge of the group. We can now assert that it is beyond doubt that Louis Fernandez knows the members of Atalante intimately, as he became an official member of the Québec Stomper Crew following this attack.

Un preview d’Instagram, Louis Fernandez reçoit ses couleurs du Québec Stomper Crew, juin 2019.

Louis Fernandez receives his Québec Stompers colours in this Instagram preview, June 2019.

Un preview d’Instagram, Louis Fernandez exhibe une bague figurant l’emblème « White Power », juin 2019

Louis Fernandez shows off a “white power” ring in this Instagram preview. With Sven Côté and Roxanne Baron, June 2019.

Louis Fernandez s’entraîne avec des militants d’Atalante, juillet 2019

Louis Fernandez training with Atalante militants, July 2019.

Unsurprisingly, a summary examination of his tattoos proves that Fernandez is a genuine neo-Nazi “de souche.” Here he is moving his pisspot leader Raf Stomper’s washing machine:

Tattooed on his left arm, Louis Fernandez has an effigy Léon Degrelle, a Belgian Nazi collaborator much admired by European neo-Nazis, and the insignia of the Légion française des combattants, an organization created by Marshal Pétain during the Vichy regime that cooperated closely with the Waffen-SS. On his chest he sports a tattoo of a pair of Doc Martens with white laces, a symbol used by “old school” boneheads to show their support for “white power.”

“Ça ne colle pas, je suis un fils d’immigré et immigré moi-même” [It doesn’t add up. I’m the son of immigrants and an immigrant myself], Fernandez said at his bail hearing. However, here he is easily recognizable taking part in an Atalante postering run. At least it’s not one of the numerous anti-immigrant posters the group has produced and posted over the years…

Louis Fernandez participe à une action d'affichage avec Atalante, hiver 2019.

Louis Fernandez participates in an Atalante postering action in, winter 2019.

On Monday, July 29, Louis Fernandez must make a court appearance at the Palais de justice de Québec to answer charges related to the Lvlop attack. It would appear that Fernandez was released with a certain number of conditions, including that he not consume alcohol. We truly hope that no one sees the photos and videos of “Lou” with his little comrades, beer in hand and clearly inebriated. A video posted only a few days ago shows him chilling in France, sipping pastis.

Louis Fernandez fait bonne chaire avec le noyau dur d’Atalante et des Québec Stompers, mars 2019.

Louis Fernandez enjoying a meal (and beer) with the Atalante and Stompers hard core, March 2019.

Louis Fernandez, bière à la main, avec Roxanne Baron et Jonathan Payeur.

Louis Fernandez, beer in hand, with Roxanne Baron ad Jo Payeur in June 2019, in Raphaël Lévesque’s new backyard, June 2019.

Louis Fernandez (dans la cabane), bière à la main, le jour du déménagement de Raphaël Lévesque. À genoux, Baptise Gilistro.

Louis Fernandez (in the playhouse), beer in hand, on the day of Raphaël’s Lévesque’s move. Kneeling, Baptise Gilistro.

We know that on the evening of the attack at Lvlop, Louis Fernandez was not alone. According to witnesses, he was with at least two other people, including Jonathan Payeur (alias Jo Stomper), an Atalante underling and one of Raphaël Lévesque’s minions. We also know that he was in the company of a couple, one of them a young student from France who has previously been spotted at Atalante actions: Baptiste Gilistro.

From Toulon to Québec: another French immigrant expatriate fascist!

Baptiste Gilistro is a twenty-three-year-old student from Toulon, France. He comes from a bourgeois family and is the son of a top-level member of the French army, Colonel Thierry Gilistro (who now works for Dassault Aviation. A shout-out to dad while we’re at it!). During his graphic design studies at the Université Laval, Baptiste met Étienne Mailhot-Bruneau (alias Sam Ox), Atalante’s graphic artist and a member of the Québec Stompers. A quick look tells us that they have collaborated on a number of school projects and shared a prize when they completed their bachelor’s degree. It would appear that Baptiste is still studying at the Université Laval. (It’s worth noting that as part of his studies he produced a video clip for Québec Redneck Bluegrass Project, a fairly left-wing band.)

Baptiste Gilistro, with family.

We know that Baptiste Gilistro is no stanger to Atalante’s hard core, because he has been socializing with them for over a year now. He has also taken part in a number of street actions and hikes out in the bush with Atalante members (… as well as being complicit in an assault against lefty students!) It seems he only got closer to the Québec Stomper Crew over time, since he’s been spotted at most of their private events, including Raphaël Léveques’ move to a new home.

Baptiste Gilistro participe à une action de distibution de vivres d’Atalante, en janvier 2018.

Baptiste Gilistro during an Atalante action in June 2018, June 2018.

Baptiste Gilistro en randonnée avec d’autres militants d’Atalante, en juillet 2018.

Baptiste Gilistro during an Atalante action in June 2018, June 2018.

Baptiste Gilistro avec une partie du noyau dur d’Atalante et des Québec Stompers, à l'hiver 2019.

Baptiste Gilistro with some of the Atalante and Stompers core group, in the winter of 2019.

Baptiste Gilistro participe à une action d’affichage d’Atalante, en janvier 2018.

Baptiste Gilistro participates in an Atalante postering action in January 2019.

Baptiste Gilistro avec une partie du noyau dur d’Atalante, date mars et en avril 2019.

Baptiste Gilistro with some of the Atalante’s core group in March and April 2019.

The inevitable debacle continues…

Nothing is going according to plan for Atalante: its leader Raphaël Lévesque probably dreamed of a show trial following the Vice Québec affair, but the attack at the Lvlop and Louis Fernandez’s involvement may be about to steal the show. The kind of media noise that its members’ escapades attract to the organization is far more likely to undermine its legitimacy process and distract it from its political objectives than to generate the positive attention it needs to grow.

You can count on us to insist on rooting them out. We have not said our last word.

To sum up, it can be said that: 1) Louis Fernandez is a full member of Atalante and the Quebec Stompers following the Lvlop attack; 2) this assault was not a fortuitous act, but a premeditated attack motivated by political reasons, and; 3) Atalante can only recruit and retain in its ranks a minority of characters gravitating towards neo-fascist circles.

From Embers: It Matters Where We Fight

Comments Off

Jul 152019

From From Embers

An interview with a now Bogota-based member of Projet Accompagnement Solidarité Colombie, a Quebec-based collective that works to build direct solidarity with Colombian communities, organizations and social movements.

Topics include:

– the meaning of internationalism and why and how we frame our struggles in an international context.
– what North-South solidarity looks like.
– political violence and how it relates to social struggles.
– struggling alongside people who are not anarchists.

Links:

PASC

CLAC-Montreal

https://peoplesdispatch.org/

https://www.thetricontinental.org/

Olympia, Washington: We Are the Fire That Will Melt ICE – Rest in Power, Will Van Spronsen

Comments Off

Jul 142019

From Puget Sound Anarchists

Early this morning around 4am our friend and comrade Will Van Spronsen was shot and killed by the Tacoma police. All we know about what lead up to this comes from the cops, who are notoriously corrupt and unreliable sources for such a narrative. The story that we do have is that Will attempted to set fire to several vehicles, outbuildings and a propane tank outside the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma which houses hundreds of immigrants awaiting hearings or deportations. He successfully set one vehicle on fire and then exchanged gunfire with Tacoma police officers who fatally shot him. He was pronounced dead on the scene. We find his actions inspiring. The vehicles outside the detention facility are used to forcibly remove people from their homes and deport them, often to situations where they will face severe danger or death. Those vehicles being destroyed is only a start of what is needed. We wish the fires Will set had freed all the inmates and razed the entire Northwest Detention Center to the ground. And we miss our friend and wish from the bottom of our hearts that his action had not ended in his death.

Will Van Spronsen was a long-time anarchist, anti-fascist and a kind, loving person. Here in Olympia some of us remember him as a skilled tarp structure builder from the Occupy encampment in 2011. Others remember him from the protests outside the NWDC last summer where he was accused of lunging at a cop and wrapping his arms around the officer’s neck and shoulders, as the officer was trying to arrest a 17-year-old protester. The very next day when he was released from jail he came right back to the encampment outside the center to support the other protesters. He is also remembered as a patient and thoughtful listener who was always willing to hear people out.

We are grief stricken, inspired and enraged by what occurred early this morning. ICE imprisons, tortures and deports hundreds of thousands of people and the brutality and scale of their harm is only escalating. We need every form of resistance, solidarity and passion to fight against ICE and the borders that they defend. Will gave his life fighting ICE we may never know what specifically was going through his head in the last hours of his life but we know that the NWDC must be destroyed and the prisoners must be freed. We do not need heroes, only friends and comrades. Will was simply a human being, and we wish that he was still with us. It’s doubtless that the cops and the media will attempt to paint him as some sort of monster, but in reality he was a comrade who fought for many years for what he believed in and this morning he was killed doing what he loved; fighting for a better world.

This evening around 8pm roughly 30 anarchists gathered at Percival landing in Olympia WA to remember Will Van Spronsen and to oppose ICE. We held road flares and banners reading “Rest In Power Will Van Spronsen” “Abolish ICE” “RIP Will” “Fire to the Prisons” and “Stop Deportation End Incarceration.” We shared stories and memories of Will with each other, laughed, and cried. Some people split off and plastered downtown Olympia with “Immigrants Welcome” stickers, while others drove circles around downtown flying the “Rest in Power Will” from the back of a truck.

May his memory be a blessing.

Love to those still fighting.

Tisseur Inc. Awarded GC Contract to Build Migrant Prison

Comments Off

Jul 112019

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

Three years ago, the Canadian state invested $138 million to expand its migrant detention system, including plans for a new migrant prison in Laval. Since then, a multiform struggle has arisen to stop the construction of this prison. Companies such as Lemay, Loiselle, and Englobe have been continuosly reminded that anyone who chooses to implicate themselves in this project can expect major delays at every stage of the project.

Two years ago, the architecture and engineering firms Lemay and Groupe A were awarded the first contracts to design the new prison. In January of this year, a contract for the General Contractor (GC) was opened for bidding. Just like the architects and engineers, the GC will be intimately involved in every stage of construction. Along with a number of yet-to-be-exposed subcontractors, the GC will be directly undertaking the construction of facilities intended to cage migrants.

Just over a week ago, the CBSA quietly awarded the GC contract to a company based in Val David called Tisseur Inc. Tisseur is a construction company with a history of building schools and bridges, and at $50 million, this is by far the biggest contract they have received to date. They have already posted over a dozen job listings online since signing this contract.

Just like Lemay, Tisseur wants to market themselves as a “socially responsible” enterprise. Their website boasts about their green construction projects and prominently features their code of ethics. But just like Lemay and others, Tisseur is eager to profit from the misery and violence that the Canadian state inflicts on migrants. They shouldn’t expect to do this quietly.

Tisseur may think that scoring such a major government project is their big break, but the recent history of companies such as Lemay, Loiselle, and Englobe suggests that this could instead be the beginning of costly tribulations.

Fuck Borders. Fuck prisons. Fuck everyone who profits from and maintains them.

See you soon.

Staying Out Means Fighting Back! Solidarity with Cedar

Comments Off

Jul 112019

From North Shore Counter-Info

SPEECH given at the SOLIDARITY WITH CEDAR & DROP ALL CHARGES AGAINST PRIDE DEFENDERS demo, MONTREAL, July 28th.

Thank you so much for coming – everyone – beautiful queers and trans people, anarchists of all stripes, anti-fascists – allies. It is going to be an amazing night of sending our love and solidarity to our friends in Hamilton and Cedar in prison. To start out with we have a just a few things to say…

We come together today, on the ancestral territory of Anishnabeg and Haudonousanee peoples, more specifically the unceded land of the Kanien’kehà:ka Nation, in order to protest and show our queer and trans rage following the events of the last week. It is important to be stated that the colonial mechanism that stole this land in the first place, allowing so called Montreal to be built, also targeted the cultural terrain of sexuality and gender for hundreds of years. While many of our identities are so different, the concepts and notions of gay or queer or trans that non-indigenous people use are constructed in reaction to, and from white Christian colonial and capitalist culture. The very fabric and fibre of these words, while clearly imperfect, is not new, and pays hommage to the people whose bodies were born into conflict with the heterocolonial project. We recognise that numerous indigenous cultures respected more than two sexualities and genders, celebrating their two-spirited community members. For five hundred years the colonial project of the State has attacked these people, trying to extinguish or assimilate them. But indigenous land sovereignty is inseparable from sovereignty over bodies, sexuality and gender self-expression. We honor the fighters who have struggled long and hard to restore sexual diversity and gender fluidity back into their cultures and we recognize our queer struggle as being intertwined with an anti-colonial struggle as well.

On June 15th, 2019 in Hamilton, “Ontario”, Pride was attacked by a group of far-right homophobes, christian fundamentalists, neo-nazis, and queer bashers. As they did in 2018, they arrived with massive homophobic signs and banners, and immediately began to scream insults and slurs. They aggressively harassed individuals, made jokes about rape, and threatened physical violence. Things quickly escalated as the bigots violently confronted people who were holding a fabric barrier in an attempt to block them from disrupting Pride. Initiated by the far-right activists a brawl broke out – queers who refused to allow their presence to go unchallenged were attacked, but fought back. Several friends were injured and required medical attention. The police did nothing during this hour-long conflict, and only stepped in at the end when there was nothing left to do. The haters knew they couldn’t sustain their presence any longer, and welcomed the police escort out of the park. After being kicked out of Pride, this same group chased and assaulted queer youth in the neighbourhood, and then went on to attack people at Toronto Pride the following week.

Since these events, the Hamilton Police have felt quite threatened – communities that feel empowered to use force to defend themselves undermine their unquestionable authority. Over the course of the last week, the police have consequently been targeting and harassing known queer anarchists in the city as punishment for folks standing up for themselves. Our dear friend Cedar (who wasn’t even present at the event!) was arrested on Saturday, and was on hunger strike for five days. They will stay in jail until a lengthy probation hearing, a vengeful and punitive measure carried out by the police because Cedar publicly criticized the police’s actions. Later this week, two other queer friends have been arrested and charged with probation breaches based on suspicion of being present at Pride. Not a single homophobe was charged all week, despite the widespread circulation of their names, faces and videos of their violent actions, until public pressure finally forced the police to charge Christopher Vanderweide with assault with a weapon. We oppose the colonial prison system, but the repression the police directed to those they suspect as Pride defenders first is once again truly revealing of their age-old position and purpose: protecting racists, misogynists, and homophobes.

Queer might involve our sexuality or our gender, but to us it means soo much more. It’s a territory of tension that we must defend. We stand in solidarity with Cedar and those accused in connection with this event, as well as any queers held in prison for bashing back. As queers and trans people, we know that our existence has been fought for bravely by those who have come before us, not only against homophobes and neo-nazis but also against the police. Queer militancy has a long lineage. We remember, 50 years today, the Stonewall Rebellion, on June 28 1969, as a four-day anti-police riot led by Black and Latina drag queens, kings, and transsexuals, like Marsha P. Johnson et Sylvia Rivera, in New York’s Greenwich Village. It went on to become a rebellion that was both gay and trans, for in the words of Queen Allyson Ann Allante, a fourteen year old participant at the time, “because it was the first time that both came together to fight off the oppressor and it set a good precedent to do it many times since. It was a big milestone for both communities because they were both in unity to fight the common oppressor, which at that time was the police and the mafia, who controlled the gay clubs.” While remembering the flying bricks and high heels exploding from gay trans anger, we can’t forget that the gay liberation movement that blossomed systemically tried to silence and marginalize the participation of trans women of color, trying to centre attention on a white gay respectable narrative. We see this tendancy 50 years later and we know that our communities still have internalized and externalized transmisogyny and racism to work on, and we see the imperativeness of fighting common enemies like the police or the far-right, shoulder to shoulder. We remember police attacks here in Montreal, stemming back to the attack in Truxx Bar when 143 party goers were arrested and charged for indecency in 1977. We remember also Sex Garage in 1990, when the SPVM descended on 400 gay club goers, violently beating them with their batons and the ensuing 36 hour fight. We know that queer and trans homeless youth and sex workers still face police repression constantly on the streets – the only reason that the Gay village of Montreal is now this far East of downtown is that in the lead-up to both Expo ’67 and the 1976 Summer Olympics, the SPVM carried forth a brutal criminalization campaign on the city’s queers – beating up and arresting many people as well as closing down bars. We know that worldwide queer people, especially those who are racialized, are disproportionately attacked, criminalized, incarcerated and even murdered. American transphobic hate crimes have tripled in the last five years and we see a similar trend here – our work is so far from being over! Yesterday the 11th American trans person to be murdered this year was found in Kansas City – Brooklyn Lindsey, yet another black transwoman trying to live her life. We remember Sisi Thibert, who in September 2017, was stabbed in Pointe St. Charles, Montreal. This sadness and pain stays with us always. Our existence will continue to be threatened unless together, we fiercely defend ourselves, our friends, as well as the spaces we create. But marginalized people are doing that on the daily. The far-right group that mobilized in Hamilton is not too different from far-right groups that have been fought against in Quebec. Queers are coming together, like in Hamilton and countless times before, to hold, feed, listen to, and fight for each other. We know that we need to make ruins of domination in all of its varied and interlacing forms and that none are free until all are free. Fighting back is always legitimate. We are going to dance and take up space tonight, be beautiful and revolting together, as a way to blend our queer love and queer rage for the fucked up attacks on our friends in Hamilton and the police’s consequential repression. We know that we are strong together – let’s fucking show it. We are here tonight to say :

Drop all charges against Pride defenders, free Cedar now!

Queer liberation and total freedom.

A War Against Queers

Comments Off

Jul 022019

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

In the past few weeks, the state has once again revamped its war on queers. A few days before Hamilton police targeted Cedar for arrest, Quebec city police bragged online about using plainclothes cops to entrap 11 queer men who were consensually cruising. These targeted attacks will not be tolerated. Fuck the police.

Solidarity with Cedar and with all queers facing repression.

Solidarity Statement with Cedar Hopperton and the Radical Queer Community in Hamilton

Comments Off

Jul 012019

From Montréal-Antifasciste

Two weeks ago, the LGBTQ2 community in Hamilton, Ontario, was targeted for a unprecedented attack by a coalition of individuals from fundamentalist Christian groups and far-right groupuscules like the Wolves of Odin, the “Yellow Vests,” and the Canadian Nationalist Party.

Furthermore, the tense relationship between the radical queer and trans community and the police in Hamilton was exacerbated by the manifest indifference police showed to the far-right trolls, instead moving against the queer and trans folks who took measures to defend themselves… while giving the far-right attackers a free hand!

Since June 22, Cedar Hopperton, a trans anarchist militant deeply involved in those communities, has been on hunger strike while being detained for “breach of conditions.” The police accuse them of having violated their conditions by participating in a “demonstration” (a gathering that was part of the LGBTQ2 Pride celebrations in Hamilton, last June 15). The fact is that Cedar was not at this event, and everything suggests that the Hamilton police are dogging Cedar because of numerous public anti-police statements, particularly in opposition to a police presence at events organized by the LGBTQ2 community.

On the afternoon of June 15, the violence began when the abovementioned far-right militants gathered at the edges of the Pride parade, in Gage Park, to intimidate and harass participants and their allies, reciting Bible passages and shouting anti-LGBTQ2 slogans. The radical queer and trans community had anticipated this (there was a similar incident in 2018) and had built a screen out of fabric that stood several meters high to block from view any acts of intolerance directed at the parade. However, some of those intent on disrupting Pride, annoyed about having their harassment disrupted in this way attempted to skirt this barrier, eventually coming to blows with parade participants. Obviously, our comrades couldn’t let this happen without defending themselves. During the resulting melee some of them were seriously injured, primarily by the attacks of two individuals among the far-right trolls, Chris Vanderweide and YlliRadovicka, alias John Mark Moretti.

In subsequent days, rather than seeking to apprehend the authors of this very well documented violence, Hamilton police chose to target our comrades who defended themselves! As well as Cedar, four other people were arrested and released on promises to appear.

It’s worth noting that as the police allowed them to run rampant the same far-right bags of shit descended on a Toronto Pride event on the weekend of June 22–23 to deliver the same sort of violence upon members LGBTQ2 community and its allies.

These events took place in a context where, since a militant demo was held on March 3, 2018, the Hamilton anarchist community has been targeted repeatedly by both the police and the far-right groups active in southern Ontario. The anarchist space The Tower has been vandalized a number of times, raids have been carried out, and far-right trolls brag online about providing police with anarchists’ personal information.

Clearly, these far-right attacks are unacceptable, and obviously our comrades will defend themselves with the means at their disposal. That the police chose to act against the victims of the violence who were doing nothing more than defending themselves, rather than the authors of the violence, only serves to prove that the police feel no real solidarity with the LGBTQ2 community, and any statements that suggest they do are nothing more than public relations on the part of an institution that has proven itself to be profoundly hostile to the aspirations of minority groups. This is more evidence that social movements cannot and never should have any confidence in the police services.

Montréal Antifasciste and its sympathizers and allies wish to express their unshakeable solidarity with the Hamilton LGBTQ2 community and demand the immediate release of Cedar Hopperton and that all charges be dropped against all those arrested for actions to defend the LGBTQ2 community on June 15.

¡No pasarán!

Montréal Antifasciste, June 28, 2019

Update: Chris Vandeweide was finally arrested on June 26^th… as well as two more members of the queer community who defended Pride, bringing to five the number of queer comrades arrested for defending themselves.

Older Entries Newer Entries