Action

Solidarity demo at Immigration Detention Centre in Laval

Sep 232013

Video
Camera: Aaron Lakoff and Otto Buxton
Post-prod: Submedia.tv

On August 11, 2013, around 100 migrants and their supporters descended on the Laval immigration detention centre just outside of Montreal, to denounce the Canadian government’s practice of locking up and deporting non-status people. The demonstration was held in conjunction with Prisoner Justice Day, which is marked every year on August 10 to commemorate the lives of those who struggle and die behind bars, and to reaffirm people’s commitment to abolishing jails. Some people came by bus, and others came on bike, and when they arrived, they were determined to make enough noise so that migrants inside the detention centre could hear their message.

On any given day, 400 to 500 migrants are confined behind the walls of detention centres across the country. The past decade has witnessed a significant increase in the number of migrants detained, with 82,000 detained from 2004 to 2011 and an additional 13,000 detained since 2011. Following the implementation of mandatory detention policies through Bill C-31, all those entering by so-called `irregular means` may face up to one year in detention.

Silhouettes depicting loved ones who have been removed and bright banners were hung to the fence. Messages of solidarity in Arabic, Hungarian, Spanish, Urdu, English, and French were read aloud, while remnants of clothing were strung along the length of the wall, symbolizing the violence experienced at border crossings around the world.

During the picnic, someone on the inside informed the organizers that, because of the demonstration, visiting hours had been cancelled all day, prisoners were being punished by having prayer time revoked, being prohibited from smoking, and being confined to their rooms.

Enraged by this news, people rushed back to the outer fence of the detention centre and began banging on its metal gates. Soon after, the gate was torn down and a group of protestors breached the perimeter and managed to take their rage directly outside the buildings where migrants are caged.

In the end, no arrests were made. While the act of tearing down the wall was symbolic, it was still one step towards taking down all prison walls and borders that separate people throughout the world.

Luxury businesses in Hochelaga vandalized

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May 212013

While the yearly anticapitalist demonstration was in full swing in Old-Montréal, vandals had a field day in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Montréal.

Around 6:30pm, suspects tried to arson the rental business of cars and trucks Jean Légaré, at 3035 rue Hochelaga (note: well-known to rent to police during demonstrations).

The police confirm that at least one incendiary device was thrown against one of the windows of the building, which did not break however.

No suspect was arrested in relation to this event.

Several hours later, at the end of the evening, suspects vandalized the façade of several condos and businesses of the place Valois with yellow paint.

Situated at the intersection of rues Valois and Ontario, the place Valoisl was launched in 2007, and includes first-floor businesses, condos on the upper floors, and a large public square.

The storekeeper’s in the area are of the opinion that these disgraceful acts are directly tied to the anticapitalist demonstration which took place several hours earlier downtown.

“We know it, the condos are often targeted as well as several businesses in the place Valois offering expensive products, luxurious, said a storekeeper. There are those who see the space as a symbol of capitalism in the neighborhood”.

Accounts confrimed having seen three suspects take flight after having papered the walls with paint.

As of yet, no arrests have been made by police.

Leur presse – Journal de Montréal (Maxime Deland/Agence QMI), 02/05/2013 à 21h11

Four banks attacked in Montreal

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Apr 272013

from anarchistnews

During the last week, several of us decided to self-organize and pass to the attack.

Because capitalism is totalitarian.

Because financial institutions, Desjardins banks included, are agents of this domination. Because they are responsible for the financial crisis, yet always come out on top. Because the condition of their existence is the negation of ours.

Because the politicians, no matter the party, are also agents of this system. Because they accept the rules of a game in which we are first to lose. Because they blindly embrace the hegemonic ideology of zero deficit, of State austerity measures, of growth and profit at any price.

Because the banks are the pillars of this structure which objectifies us, trades us, commodifies us.

We attacked and smashed four banks with rocks, hammers, and paint in the neighborhoods of Hochelaga and Plateau-Mt-Royal. We also vandalized the ATMs.

We know that we only struck the symbols of this domination. But the conflict takes place everyday; when you have to pay to eat, pay to go to school (which is itself subsumed to the reproduction of Capital), when the landlord comes for the rent, when the repossession agency knocks at the door.

Solidarity with the Pacific Northwest Grand Jury resistors who, despite the risk of imprisonment, refuse to bow down to the demands of the State and Capital.

– some anarchists

Fuck the Plan Nord

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Apr 102013

From Anarchistnews

During the month of March, a poster was placed at the entrance to the phase A section of the highway 167 development project that will lead to the “Renard Project” and the Stornoway diamond mine. The poster read “Attention, mine anti-personnelle sur les prochains 10 km (Danger, explosive mines in the next 10 km)”.

During the same night, the SOQUEM office in the city of Chibougamau was vandalized. The facade of the building was completely covered in paint (by an extinguisher), including all the cameras. A window was smashed with a hammer and graffiti written saying “Fuck le Plan Nord”.

SOQUEM is one of the more active partners in the “Renard Project”. SOQUEM and its partners currently finance more than $10 million of exploration in Quebec.

Fuck the Plan Nord and all mining companies!

Let’s continue the attacks!

– some anarchists

Cop car set on fire after March 15 demo

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Mar 212013

from anarchistnews

In the spirit of March 15′s past, a cop car was set on fire on the evening of March 15th,
at the Poste 33 police station in Parc-Ex, Montreal. This action was taken to complement the 17th
annual demonstration against police (and their brutality) that took place earlier that day.

We also send a message of support to Marco Camenisch in his struggles from inside prison in Switzerland.

Smile – your CCTV cameras don’t work

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Mar 082013

from SabotageMedia

During the night of February 26, inspired by the demonstrators that afternoon who attacked the police and refused to be dispersed, we used a fire extinguisher filled with paint to spray a CCTV camera and a large (A) on the walls of Cégep du Vieux Montréal. During the night of March 3, we broke a CCTV camera at Cégep Maisonneuve by dropping a slab of concrete onto it from the roof. The front entrance windows were also smashed with a hammer.

Because we’ve had enough of student democracy. Because the “50% + 1” functions to control revolt and isolates ideas and individuals. Because the majority is often found on the other side of the barricades, or simply in front of their TVs. Because we are enraged by this system of social control, the cameras scrutinizing our movements, the guards in every hallway, the police in the streets, the snitches who betray us, and we will act against all these forms of domination regardless of a vote in a general assembly.

Let our rage live in the streets and not only in the general assemblies. Let’s clear the streets of the eyes of power. Let’s live revolt.

-some anarchists

To fill fire extinguishers with paint:
– Only some extinguishers can be refilled; they are usually silver, come in smaller backpack sizes and larger sizes, and the top can screw off.
– Empty the extinguisher of its contents and pressure, and unscrew the top. For the large version, pour a gallon of latex paint into the top with a funnel, and then half that amount of water. There should still be enough room for air.
– Replace the top and shake for a few minutes to mix its contents.
– Pressurize the extinguisher to the green zone on the gauge with a bike pump.
– Wipe down with rubbing alcohol to remove any prints.
– Useful for out-of-reach cameras, enormous graffiti, riot police visors and police vehicle windows to obscure their vision during demonstrations – the possibilities are endless!

This action was claimed securely by using Tails on an anonymous laptop (not linked to anyone, with the Media Access Control address changed), and by accessing an unlocked wifi network found on the street and hidden from the view of any cameras.

Report-back from the Montreal New Year’s Noise Demo!

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Jan 162013

Over 50 people gathered in Montreal to carry on the tradition of anti-prison noise demos at prisons on the new year. The demo assembled at the designated meeting place and took to the streets behind a banner reading “Pour un monde sans patrons, ni flics, ni prisons” (for a world without bosses, nor cops, nor prisons) with a heavy police escort trying in vain to control traffic. Some of the crowd distributed flyers explaining the action and detailing the recent legislative changes the government has designed to fill up the 22 new prisons they are building.

When we reached our first destination, the Tanguay women’s prison, the chanting crowd entered through the open gate across a parking lot while the pigs held back at the entrance. Around the back entrance many speeches were given over a mega-phone addressed to the prisoners in hopes of them hearing the words of solidarity in both French and English. Bursts of chants, horns and fireworks were used to get the attention of our friends inside. Soon into the visit we heard calls of response from the windows, “Bonne année” (happy new year) which fired up even more noise and love from the crowd. The crowd spent 20 minutes exchanging chants of solidarity and well wishing with the women before promising to return and marching on to our next target.

Another 15 minute walk brought us to the Bordeaux men’s prison which is the largest provincial prison in Quebec. This time the crowd had to duck around a swing gate and confront a much grander fortress with 30 foot walls surrounding it. Exploding fireworks announced our presence and speeches were again delivered expressing our desire to abolish prisons and all authority. After much noise-making and then listening, responses came from the men inside. Again “happy new years” was heard loud and clear, we’d respond with “solidarité avec les prisonniers”. Many different voices joined in on the yelling from beyond the walls from every corner of the monstrous building. This riled the crowd up even more as we shot off the rest of our firework arsenal. The opportunity was presented for anybody to take the mic and give a personal message which would also be broadcast on local radio as the event was being documented by independent media comrades. Upon leaving we once again took the four lane street chanting “police partout, justice nulle part” (police everywhere, justice nowhere) and “our passion for freedom is stronger than their prisons”. The demo dispersed with out any pig interference at the metro station where it had begun.

A video by Média Recherche Action

An edited audio recording of the event has been published here.

The following is the text of the two sided bilingual flyer distributed during the march:

New Year’s Eve Anti-Prison Demo … or, why we hate prisons

Noise demonstrations in front of prisons and deportations centers are an ongoing tradition in many parts of the world to remember those who are detained by the state. It is a way of showing solidarity to the people imprisoned inside. Prisons were created to isolate people from their communities, so these demos are a way of coming together to fight against repression and break that isolation.

Prisons exist to enforce the authority of those in power- there can be no austerity measures, nor capitalism, without prisons who can’t, or chose not to fit into this system. In fact, prison expansion and austerity measures go hand in hand. As the government cuts more social services, it is equally busy expanding the prison system. The state is currently spending an estimated $4 million building 22 new prisons and expanding many of the existing ones across the country, while also passing new laws like Bill C-10 and C-38, which seek to put more people in prison for longer and ensure the mandatory detention of refugees. This gives the state more leeway to imprison both those who are fighting it, such as those jailed as a result of the student strike this spring or the G20 protests in Toronto 2010, as well as those who challenged its laws merely to survive. People are ripped from their communities and once inside end up serving as a pool of slave labour for industry.

Let’s let those inside know that they are not forgotten- we can share our opposition to the bars, the guards and the world of misery and exploitation that needs them. Because no one is free until we are all free. Inside as well as out, let’s revolt!

Reportback from anti-repression demo

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Nov 112012

Over several months of struggle, there have been more than 2000 arrests. Today, over 500 hundred people are facing criminal charges. It is in solidarity with our arrested comrades, as well as in response to the ongoing repression against our struggles, that about 150 people assembled for a demonstration at Carré St-Louis on Friday, October 26. The cops of the SPVM were also assembled facing the park, trying to create a climate of fear and panic with their presence. These pigs quickly declared the gathering illegal. Despite this, the demo took to the streets towards 7 pm. As it started to move, a speech was read explaining the reasons for the demo:

“After six months of striking, of battles, of riots, of solidarity, and of the ‘palais de justice’ (the court house), it seemed that pacification had taken over. Tonight, it’s time to change this. We can’t stay calm when over 500 people are facing criminal charges. These 500 people with whom we have shared the streets. These comrades who were arrested while we’re still here. Together we have faced pigs that tried to beat us, arrest us, and who are always looking for new things to charge us with. It is because of these pigs that some comrades are now risking prison or living under conditions, having their lives dictated by fear. Whether inside the walls or out, we are all prisoners of a system that stops us from living. The social peace means total alienation, the dogs of this society control our lives, isolate our comrades, and have the audacity to expect us to remain calm and just accept it. But there is nothing in this rotten system to accept. Over the last six months, three people have been exiled from the island of Montréal. The first person to be exiled is still banished from the island. Six months to watch what was happening without being able to participate. Six months of isolation. Let’s not allow state repression to derail our solidarity. The struggle is nothing if it forgets its prisoners. Tonight, let’s honour our comrades who can’t be here with us. Let’s recreate a space of solidarity, let’s not allow these dirty pigs to try to disperse us again. Let’s fight until the end. Let’s not give them a reason, let’s not allow them to take another of our comrades. We’re going to walk together and we’re going to resist together. A demo only lasts one night – the struggle lasts our entire life. The comrades who have disappeared under a pile of conditions are still a part of this struggle. They are not victims, but comrades. It’s time to find them, and to move to action. Here, tonight, and for the rest of our lives.”

After the speech, the demo departed with a lively vibe and people shouting slogans like “Solidarité avec les arrêté.es” (Solidarity with those arrested), “Les prisons en feu, les screws au milieu” (Fire to the prisons, with the screws in the middle), and “La lutte n’est rien si elle oublie ses prisonnier.es” (A struggle is nothing if it forgets its prisoners). There were several large banners at the front that said “Grève étudiant! Lutte populaire! – Solidarité avec tous ceux qui font face à la répression pour avoir participé à la lutte” (Student strike! Social struggle! Solidarity with everyone facing repression for having participated in the struggle) and “Solidarity with the smoke bombers – ‘Terrorists’ are the pigs who try to club the struggle into submission! – Not one step back in the face of repression“. Many demonstrators were dressed in black. The message of solidarity was clear to passerbys, a solidarity that allows for collective action. Along the demo route, posters with an anti-repression analysis were put up all around downtown. In this way, we re-appropriated public space that is all too often dominated by media and advertising. While the demo was being followed by bike cops and many SPVM cars, the riot squad wasn’t deployed. About 45 minutes after the start, the demo dispersed at Philips Square near McGill metro. There were no arrests.

This demo is a show of our solidarity with comrades who have been criminalized and are facing heavy conditions of release. The state’s tribunals sabotage our struggles, try to isolate us and sow fear. It is with strength and passion that we will respond. We have nothing to gain or hope for from their justice. The struggle continues, unconditionally.

Solidarity with the G20 prisoners!

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Jul 032012

we receive and publish

The month of June, 2012 marks two years since the G20 summit in Toronto and the courageous resistance shown to it. It also marks the sentencing of our comrade Charles Bicari to seven months behind bars for smashing the windows of two police cars, two stores and an ATM with a hammer. To mark the occasion, we spent a few evenings spreading anti-system and solidarity slogans with the G20 prisoners in the streets of Montreal.

Continued solidarity with the G20 prisoners!

No comrades left in the enemy’s prisons without a response!

Here are some pics:

Railroad sabotage during big capitalist conference in Montreal

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Jul 012012

June, 2012

A major railorad was sabotaged during the evening of Wednesday June 13th, in a farming area near Farnham, Quebec, in response to the call by the CLASSE for a day of nation-wide actions against the Montreal Conference of the International Economic Forum of the Americas.

The train signals system was turned on by sabotaging the electric box that controls the signals near an intersection, which eventually prompted the train traffic to be suspended for a moment. This location was carefully picked up, not only for the easy task it was, but above that for the crucial nature of the merchandise it transports, including a lot of filthy oil coming from the tar sands in the West, before this sole railway divides into different destinations such as Sherbrooke city, Bromont’s techno-park (which hosts some of the biggest names in the high-tech industry, including the infamous IBM) and further down on to New England.

This was just a beginning. There are many more fluxes that are crucial to the functionning of this system of oppression and its Holy Merchandise, and we are committed to do it again, and strike targets that will always hurt them more. Given our indefinite number (that ain’t an « invisible committee » for nothing), it is strongly recommended that each and every striker or supporter gets her/his hands dirty, alone or into groups, because we do not believe that these feel-good demosntrations will be enough to make Power change his mind. And the proof is in plain view… months of strikes, and even with our many fine hits and great achievements, especially in the face of the judicial/police despotism, the government still won’t give a damn about our most basic demands, and the cops are now clamping down on mainstream dissenters like they’d do with dangerous criminals. We are under a dictatorship, because liberty is now being considered a high crime.

To let this train ride -this very train that allows them to profit from the devastating exploitation- is to collaborate in silence. We say: « ENOUGH WITH THIS SHIT! » This can’t go on like this. The techno-industrial society, because it intoxicates the living and destroys conditions of life, must be FORCED to a stop, or else it’ll soon be forcing us into mass graves! Fukushima was only the first sign of this ongoing catastrophy.

So we will make sure that the capitalists are paying for their abuse. Maybe the bill wasn’t very heavy, but we all can add our two cents!

Sabotage isn’t some vanguardist tactic or some childish vandalism, neither it is a provocation on the part of « smashers from outside of the movement » just as the filthy cops dare to spit in our ears (but who’s still stupid enough to even listen to them?). It has long been a completely rational and legit course of action, that empowered ALL of the strikes that changed history. In the face of a machine that’ll never discuss anything and always enforces its conditions through dictates, sabotage is one of the means to communicate revolt by putting it in relation with a wider uprising, and by imposing our own conditions to the crooks in power; that they walk along with these, or die along with their system!

This small gesture of resistance to the one-way train of industrial capitalism that has now become completely out of control was committed in solidarity with all the arrestees before and during this Grand Prix weekend (where the police has put their lives on the line for Bernie Ecclestone, notorious wealthy fascist) especially with Mathieu Girard, brutally arrested and detained during the funeral of his sister (our condoleances, comrade) and Andrea Pilote, arrested on the highway in strangely the same manner they shot the legendary Jacques Mesrine. Even if we do not know them, our hearts burn with blazing solidarity for these two comrades who fell victims of police violence. We also feel as much solidarity towards the Informal Anarchist Federation (FAI) folks in Europe and South America, and for the native people around the planet who still are struggling for their land.

– Invisible Committee for the End of Their History

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