Repression

This has been a big month for Hamilton. To contextualize Cedar’s arrest, we can start with the Anarchist Bookfair in early March, our first bookfair here in 7 years. The event was a smashing success, and brought together people from all over the continent to explore possibilities for radical change, to envision a world without enforced hierarchies and domination, to simply meet each other and learn from each other. The weekend was particularly marked by a small riot through one of Hamilton’s most affluent neighborhoods and down one of its most noxious commercial streets. The “Locke Street Riot” was a collective expression of rage, not only against the rapid gentrification of Hamilton, but against capitalism and the violent world of alienation it fosters. It led to a lot of productive conversations about the inevitability of discomfort in fighting for new worlds, and the importance of clarifying and articulating our politics . The riot also kicked up some toxic Hamilton sediment, including a mass spillage of sentimental tears for small businesses, shrieks of “terrorism” from city councillors, and anti-anarchist fervor from local alt-right trolls who saw this as an opportunity to step into the limelight. ...

Statement from The Tower, Hamilton’s anarchist social centre Early Friday morning, Hamilton police raided a home associated with some of those involved with organizing The Hamilton Anarchist Bookfair. The door was kicked in, a flash grenade was thrown into the house, and a full swat team entered. With their assault rifles drawn, the swat team proceeded to pull everyone out of bed some of whom were naked, and with one exception, put everyone in handcuffs. Three people were detained and one person arrested. Cedar, a member of The Tower Collective and our cherished friend, was arrested, taken away, and currently remains in custody. ...

“…fascism is imperialist repression turned inward” -Cope (2015) as quoted in Kesīqnaeh Following Saturday’s “Open The Borders” demo at the Lacolle Border , the message “DECOLONIZE” appeared along a canal wall in an affluent southwest Montreal neighborhood. This piece provides an opportunity to explicitly outline some links between the ongoing struggle of decolonization across Turtle Island and anti-fascist action. In Fascism & Anti-Fascism: A Decolonial Perspective , Kesīqnaeh makes some insightful links to these struggles while questioning the significance of fascism to Indigenous peoples already combatting colonial violence. For the sake of brevity, a few direct quotations are provided below: ...

We would like to extend our unconditional solidarity to individuals in Quebec City who were recently arrested, in relation to allegations surrounding the antifascist mobilization on August 20th. We do not know any details beyond what we have seen in the media, but it is clear to us that these arrests are intended by the police and Quebec City Mayor Régis Labeaume to intimidate antifascists and stifle our resistance to the far right. To those arrested, and all others who may be targeted, we say: stand strong and let us know what we can do to help. ...

Montreal, 29 August 2017 — This morning, August 29, Montreal activist Jaggi Singh was arrested and charged with resisting arrest and taking another person’s identity, for having jokingly given his name to police as former Nordiques’ player Michel Goulet on August 20. He is being transferred to Quebec City, where he is to appear Wednesday morning at 9 am in Municipal Court. This arrest came in the context of a far right hate campaign targeting Jaggi, including a petition promoted by the notorious racist group La Meute, demanding his arrest; a campaign that has been taken up by right-leaning political figures and members of the media over the past week. ...

For us, one of the most exciting elements of June 11, 2016 was the proliferation of words and ideas shared between and from anarchist prisoners. Along with spreading material solidarity internationally and keeping the names of our comrades on our lips, our contribution to facilitating that communication is one of our most important tasks. While the starting point of our project was support for Marius Mason and Eric McDavid (the first of whom remains imprisoned in an extremely restrictive unit, while the latter has been freed!), it has been through a spreading web of communications that we have expanded the scope of our project to solidarity with long-term anarchist prisoners around the world. This year, we are seeking to emphasize this communication. ...

In cooperation with CrimethInc ., Submedia.tv , and others, we are calling for a week of solidarity to support everyone targeted for standing up to the Trump regime and rising fascism. The past four months have seen unprecedented waves of action —from the post-election rebellions and the defense of Standing Rock to the J20 demonstrations , the airport blockades , and the shutting down of advocates of nationalist violence like Milo Yiannopoulos . These efforts have emboldened dissidents from Slovenia to the White House itself, catalyzing global resistance and destabilizing the Trump administration from within. In response, the authorities are bringing felony charges against hundreds of people and seeking to criminalize protest altogether. How effectively we support arrestees will determine how effectively we can continue resisting. ...

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Four adults and four young offenders were arrested and charged on July 7 or July 8 with a variety of offences. A 30-year-old woman is facing charges of assault a peace officer with a weapon. Other charges include break and enter, mischief and breach of probation. ...

On March 21st 2015, students from Quebec (Canada) launched a political strike against austerity measures and hydrocarbon extraction. Our social movement takes place in the context of generalised repression, where demonstrations are forbidden and brutally clamped down upon through various municipal by-laws. Thousands of people have thus been arrested in the last three years, receiving $640 of fines for the luckiest and criminal charges for the rest. ...

On February 14 there will be an event in the museo de la tolerancia[*] that aims to raise money for political prisoners and anarchists. Being in prison we have little information about the event. We don’t know who is organizing it, but we know our names appear on the list of prisoners for whom the event is done. We wanted to clarify that it seems strange that people we do not know and with whom we do not share affinities are using our names without notifying us. That we’re in jail doesn’t mean we have no voice. These acts of solidarity where all prisoners are mixed make us think of the blind recuperation of imprisoned people. Whether they are “Political” or “Anarchists”. Since the beginning, we always remained firm in our positions and ruptures. It seems rather strange to see our names beside those of Brian Reyes, Jacqueline Santana and Jamspa at a public event of solidarity. Perhaps their intention is to build relationships between different bands of people. That we understand, but we also know that there are reasons for this lack of relationship. There are very different methods and intentions and probably irreconcilable schisms. ...

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