As of yesterday, former Black Panther and member of the Black Liberation Army Assata Shakur became the first-ever woman to be added to the FBI’s most wanted terrorist list. She is currently 66 years old and living in Cuba where she has been granted political asylum.
In May of 1973, Shakur was in a car that was pulled over by police on the New Jersey highway. A shootout occurred, resulting in the deaths of her companion and fellow activist Zayd Malik Shakur and State Trooper Werner Foerster. Assata Shakur was wounded in the gunfight, having been shot twice. Accounts of what happened that night differ greatly — surviving Trooper James Harper (also wounded) claimed that Zayd Malik Shakur began firing when they asked him to step out of the vehicle whereas Assata Shakur attests that the police fired first, even after she had her hands in the air.
Shakur was convicted of Foerster’s murder and sentenced to a life in prison. In 1979, with the help of allies, she was able to escape from confinement and flee to Cuba where she still lives and calls herself a “20th century escaped slave.” (more…)
[THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz - At an anti-police brutality demonstration in Montreal on Friday March 15, 2013. Police used horses, pepper-spray and kettling tactics to clamp down Friday on an annual protest that has a history of "getting rowdy."]
MONTREAL — Police wasted little time Friday cracking down on an annual protest that has a history of getting rowdy, deploying charging squads of helmeted officers, cops on horseback and pepper spray to corral demonstrators.
Montreal police, who have been dealing with regular protests since student unrest last year, usually let peaceful marches proceed even if they have been declared illegal under municipal bylaws.
On Friday, police massed platoons of officers around their downtown headquarters — which was the target of the annual rally against police brutality — and had made their first arrest before the march even began.
“We sent up a message right at the beginning,” said Cmdr. Ian Lafreniere of the Montreal police at a late evening news conference after the march. “They haven’t shared a route, they haven’t shared their itinerary, they refuse to give us a location where they were heading. That’s the reason we made a stop to that.” (more…)
[In the capital of India, which the government has claimed is "the world's largest democracy," a brutal rape of a young woman has brought thousands of outraged protestors into the streets. Rape is a common terror that women face in Delhi and throughout India. What brought these massive protests to the streets, this time? As the following articles point out, "Police figures show that, in Delhi, a rape is reported on average every 18 hours and some form of sexual attack every 14 hours....Indian novelist Arundhati Roy saidrape is seen as a 'matter of feudal entitlement' in many parts of the country, and the reason this case had come to light is because the woman victim belongs to the affluent middle class".....She said attitudes towards women need to change in India, because a change in the law only will protect middle class women, but 'the violence against other women who are not entitled will continue'." -- Frontlines ed.]
[Tear gas and water cannon were used against protesters marching on the presidential palace]
Indian police have used tear gas and water cannons to keep back thousands of protesters marching in Delhi over the gang rape of a young woman.
Violence broke out as the protesters, mainly college students, tried to break through police barricades to march on the presidential palace.
There has been outrage in India over the attack on a bus last Sunday that has left the 23-year-old woman in a critical condition in hospital.
Six people have been arrested.
The government has tried to halt the rising anger over the attack by announcing a series of measures intended to make Delhi safer for women.
They include more police night patrols, checks on bus drivers and their assistants and the banning of buses with tinted windows or curtains.
But the protesters say the government’s pledge to seek life sentences for the attackers is not enough – many are calling for the death penalty.
Some carried placards reading “Hang the Rapists” and “Save women. Save India” as they marched on Saturday. (more…)
(Reuters) – Protesters clashed with police in Spain’s capital on Tuesday as the government prepared a new round of unpopular austerity measures for the 2013 budget to be announced on Thursday.
Thousands gathered in Neptune plaza, a few meters from El Prado museum in central Madrid, where they formed a human chain around parliament, surrounded by barricades, police trucks and more than 1,500 police in riot gear.
Police fired rubber bullets and beat protesters with truncheons, first as protesters were trying to tear down barriers and later to clear the square. The police said at least 22 people had been arrested and at least 32 injured, including four policemen.
As lawmakers started to leave the parliament shortly after 2100 GMT in official cars or by foot, a few hundred people were still demonstrating in front of the building. Most dispersed shortly afterwards.
The protest, promoted over the Internet by different activist groups, was younger and more rowdy than recent marches called by labor unions. Protesters said they were fed up with cuts to public salaries and health and education.
“My annual salary has dropped by 8,000 euros and if it falls much further I won’t be able to make ends meet,” said Luis Rodriguez, 36, a firefighter who joined the protest. He said he was considering leaving Spain to find a better quality of life. (more…)
Abahlali baseMjondolo are deeply shocked by the murderous cruelty of the South African police, and those that give the police their orders, at the Marikana Platinum Mine in the North West. The killing of more than 40 mine workers yesterday by the SAPS is immoral and brings great disgrace on our country. There were other ways and much better ways to handle the situation. Yesterday will always be remembered as a dark day in the long history of oppression in South Africa.
We wish to express our solidarity to all the families of the workers that have been killed and injured. We share your sorrow. You are not alone. We carry our pain together. Your children may not grow knowing their fathers but they will not grow alone. We have to care for each other and stand together as we struggle for a world that puts human beings first and treats all human beings equally. We wish to express our solidarity to all struggling workers. We face the same system that makes some people rich and others poor. We face the same government that refuses to recognise our humanity, which tries to force us to the margins of society and which represses us when we resist.
The ANC have shown no regard for the people of this country. They are putting us in transit camps and trying to keep us in bantustans. They are leaving us to burn in our shacks every winter. They are beating us in the police stations. They are shooting us in the streets. Millions of us cannot find work. A government that kills its citizens is immoral and must be opposed by everyone. A government that kills its citizens has lost all moral right to govern. What happened yesterday is no different from the killings of the apartheid government. This is no different to the Sharpeville massacre in 1960 which claimed 69 lives. It is no different to the Boipotong massacre in 1992 which claimed 45 lives. (more…)
July 09, 2012 via Associated Press Spanish miners in the northwestern provinces of Asturias and Leon, armed with homemade rockets and slingshots, have been battling police in protest against government cuts, including a slashing of subsidies in their industry.
Striking Spanish Miners Fire Homemade Rockets at Police
June 15, 2012 via Telegraph.co.uk Striking Spanish coal workers continued to block roads and clashed with police inside a mine in the northern region of Asturias on Friday.
After murdering high school senior Alan Blueford, Oakland police have been trying to do damage control. Initially they claimed Blueford was involved in a shoot out and shot the officer.. We now know the officer shot himself after killing Blueford.. The officer’s name was not released to the public due to California law. The police held a townhall meeting at Acts Full Gospel church to try and calm down angry residents. As Chief Howard Jordan rattled of lie after lie, folks turned their back to him..They were not feeling what amounted to a dog and pony show.. OPD cut the townhall short as folks surrounded the police and demanded justice for Alan Blueford.. We caught up with Oscar Grant’s uncle Cephus Johnson aka Uncle Bobby to get his assessment of what took place.
Chris Moreland, who cried “Justice!” at the Oakland townhall, is now in jail on $100,000 bail for battery of an officer, clearly a trumped up charge; arraignment Friday, 2 p.m., Wiley Manual Courthouse; support march 7 p.m., 19th and Telegraph
by Davey D
Alan Blueford, 18, was preparing to graduate from high school when he was murdered by police for running from them on May 6 in East Oakland.
Since the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, close to 30 Black or Brown people have been shot and killed by law enforcement – or, in the case of Trayvon, wannabe law enforcement. Many of these shootings have been highly questionable, meaning the person killed was unarmed or there are strong conflicting statements from either the police or witnesses.
Here in Oakland, California, the shooting death of Alan Dwayne Blueford is one such killing. Oakland police have been very shady with the stories they put forth to the public. It seems like a deliberate attempt to muddy the waters, cast seeds of doubt and cover up their own mistakes.
Initially police said they were in a shoot-out and Blueford shot the officer in the stomach. Later the police said Blueford shot the officer in the leg. Next the police said that it was possible the officer was shot in the leg by another officer in a case of friendly fire. Finally it came out that the officer shot himself. He shot himself in the foot.
Many believe the officer shot himself after he killed Blueford and saw the young man was unarmed. The police then doubled back and said a gun was recovered; the community has yet to see any evidence of fingerprints, gun residue etc. Many have concluded it was the officer planting a gun near the scene.
This would not be unusual in a city that in the past 10 years has had to shell out over $58 million for wrongful death shootings and police brutality incidents. This would not be far-fetched in a city that was home to a rogue group of cops known as the Oakland Riders, who were found to routinely plant drugs and guns on suspects. One of the Riders is a still a fugitive at large. (more…)
Residents hurling stones at members of the demolition team
23 hurt in demolition of shanties in San Juan By Jose Rodel Clapano, The Philippine Star, January 12, 2012
MANILA, Philippines – At least 23 persons were hurt when the demolition of shanties along P. Narciso street in Barangay Corazon De Jesus in San Juan City turned violent yesterday morning.
Members of the demolition team, San Juan Police, Eastern Police District, National Capital Region Police Office and the Special Weapons and Tactics team clashed with the residents, who threw rocks, bottles and even molotov cocktails.
“We observed maximum tolerance, but they (squatters) started attacking us. We are here to maintain peace and order during the demolition, but they provoked us,” Superintendent Thomas Arcallana said.
Among the injured were policemen, members of the demolition team and at least three residents.
They suffered injuries in the head, belly, face and thighs and were rushed to the San Juan Medical Center.
The windshields of several vehicles parked near the area were also shattered.
Grace Cortes, spokesperson for Mayor Guia Gomez, said some of the victims suffered injuries in the chest, forearm, head and mouth.
Cortes said the 123 families, whose shanties were the subjects of the demolition, were part of the 400 families scheduled for relocation since Jan. 25 last year. (more…)
13 December 2011 — More than a thousand of disabled people protested against government cuts and their impact on key benefits such as the disability living allowance, and disability pension.
Waving placards with slogans such as “No to dismantling the welfare state” and “Protect disabled from the misery, poverty and exclusion”, disabled people took to the streets of Athens center to protest at the government’s spending cuts.
The protesters, many of whom had never been on a demonstration before, included people who are virtually immobile with supporters, relatives, charities and friends.
In front of the Greek Parliament Riot Police closed the road not allowing them to go near the Prime Minister Hall, where they wanted to deliver their requests.
NEW YORK, Nov 17 (Reuters) – Hundreds of Occupy Wall Street protesters marched through New York’s financial district toward the stock exchange on Thursday to protest economic inequality at the heart of American capitalism.
Scores of police barricaded the narrow streets around the stock exchange and used batons to push the protesters onto the sidewalk as they marched from a nearby park in a bid to prevent financial workers from getting to their desks.
“I feel like this is a beautiful moment to take back our streets,” said Rachel Falcone, 27, from Brooklyn. “We need to prove we can exist anywhere. It’s gone beyond a single neighborhood, it’s really an idea.”
Chanting “We are the 99 percent” — a reference to their contention that the U.S. political system benefits only the richest 1 percent — the protesters broke off into groups and tried to enter Wall Street from various points. (more…)
Nov 2, 2011
Long before Lil’ Bobby Hutton, a 16 year old member of the Black Panther Party was gunned down by OPD (1968) to the still unnamed black man gunned down by OPD two weeks ago, Oakland’s police department has a long-standing reputation of shooting, planting evidence, harassing and otherwise terrorizing the community.
More recently, OPD raided Occupy Oakland in the early morning while protestors were asleep. That same night ,October 25th under the watchful eyes of OPD, Scott Olsen, a two-tour Iraq War veteran suffered a head wound for peacefully protesting in downtown Oakland. OPD claims not to have tear gas, rubber bullets nor concussion grenades due to federal orders currently against the department. The other 17 law enforcement agencies called in for back up are forbidden under a consent decree to bring in such weaponry as well. (OPD has been “monitored” by the feds since 2003.)
This footage is from a anti-police brutality community speak out held just in front of the Occupy Oakland camp on October 29, 2011.
The army and police committed a horrible massacre against peaceful protesters today in Maspero, Cairo. Army vehicles ran over protesters. Live ammunition was used. Extensive rounds of tear gas were fired, and showers of beatings from the military police, the central security forces and plainclothes thugs.
At least 19 people have been killed, and more than 150 injured. The toll keeps rising.
The Army also stormed Al-Hurra and 25 January TV stations, and took them off air. The Egyptian state run TV is inciting the public against the “Coptic protesters” and even called on the citizens to take to the streets to “protect the army”!! SCAF is trying to instigate a sectarian civil war.
The protesters are not only Copts. There are Muslims present in the protests too and are talking active part in resisting the police and the army. There are ongoing battles as I’m writing now. The unifying chants in downtown Cairo is against the army and field marshal Tantawi. Protesters are chanting: “Muslims and Christians… One hand!” and “Death to the Field Marshal.”
For continuous updates, please follow the Revolutionary Socialists on Facebook.
see more at: http://www.arabawy.org/2011/10/09/army-and-police-massacre-protesters-at-maspero/
[An important debate is taking place among activists in the UK and internationally about the nature of the "rebellion" or "riot" in London last month. But there is no dispute over the scale of government/police repression which is being carried out against thousands of youth--detailed in this article from A World to Win News Service.-- Frontlines ed.]
By Geoffrey Scott, London
Following the four days of rebellion that shook Great Britain last week in the wake of the police killing of a young Black man, Mark Duggan, the British state has unleashed a wave of repression whose severity has not been seen here in many years.
Almost 2,000 people have been arrested, and the police have announced that they hope to grab up as many as a thousand more from surveying CCTV footage. Most of the charges are the kind that would not result in detention, and still less in jail terms, in ordinary times. But the Magistrate’s courts have been working 24 hours a day after the upheaval and handing out three and four-month terms and worse in the name of restoring “law and order”. About half of those arrested have been sent over to the Crown courts, which alone have the authority to issue sentences of more than six months.
So far 138 youth under age 18 (legally children in England) have been sent to prison. The anonymity usually granted juveniles has been lifted by special order. The average age of those convicted in London is 19, and only one-third are being granted bail, instead of the usual 90 percent in Magistrate’s court. Jails and longer-term prisons are full to bursting, with 723 new inmates in the week before 19 August alone. (more…)
Justice Department, Homeland Security personnel present at #OpBART protests
Officers from a Department of Homeland Security Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response unit in the Civic Center BART station on August 29, 2011. photo by Geoff King
Amongst the dozens of riot gear-clad San Francisco and BART police officers that have packed Downtown San Francisco streets during the OpBART protests for the past three Mondays, you may have spotted some officers wearing khaki slacks and bulletproof vests, a far cry from the heavy duty helmets and body armor worn by officers from other agencies.
Those lightly-clad officers were part of a Department of Homeland Security Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR) unit, an anti-terror unit charged with protecting transportation infrastructure from potential acts of terrorism. VIPR units are run by the Transportation Security Administration. According to the TSA’s website, VIPR teams are terrorism deterrents that “a random, announced, high-visibility surge into a transit agency, in addition to enhancing agency resources during special events.” VIPR teams have been deployed more than 50 times since the program began in 2005, and regularly patrol New York’s Metro North and Long Island Railroad commuter systems. (more…)
