Friday 28 June 2013

#June30 - time for a second revolution in Egypt!

 

EGYPT will once again take centre stage in the dramatic global uprising against neoliberal tyranny this weekend.

Opponents of the US-backed Morsi regime will be taking to the streets on Sunday #June30 to call for a second revolution - a year after the increasingly unpopular and despotic leader came to power.

There were already chaotic scenes in Alexandria on Friday, as revolutionaries were attacked by government supporters, with reports of at least one death and many injured.

The Muslim Brotherhood in the coastal city was also said to have been set on fire (see photo) - previously such attacks have been claimed by Egypt's thriving anarchist Black Bloc movement.

Rumours were also circulating on the internet that the regime was planning to shut down Egyptian TV channels over the weekend in a desperate bid to retain power, reminiscent of the final days of the Mubarak regime.

Officials have already ordered the arrest of a talk show host and demanded a TV station be shut down for "inciting mutiny in the army and for insulting the armed forces and the police".

One live feed from Egypt on Sunday is being offered here, starting 6am Cairo time.

Tuesday 18 June 2013

Brazil and Turkey rise up!





The global uprising against neoliberalism continues to erupt in unexpected places, with Turkey and now Brazil displaying mass resistance.

Says a report from anarchist news service ainfos: "Just like Turkey, Brazil has recently experienced relative success in economic terms. But just as in Turkey, the spoils of this economic growth are divided extremely unequally.

"Just like in Turkey, a relatively small provocation has sparked a much more widespread chain reaction. Unlike in Turkey, that provocation is a direct attack on living standards. But the anger exploding as a result of it appears to run just as deep. ---- Brazil has seen strong economic growth in the past decade, although this is slowing. In 2010, the economy grew 7.5 percent; for 2011, the official IMF estimate is 2.7 percent.

"This temporary slowdown is supposed to be followed by stronger growth in 2013, although, with IMF statistics, you can never tell. However, the parallel with Turkey -- also a rapidly developing economy gradually moving into slowdown -- is striking. Economies like Turkey and Brazil are becoming quite an important force in the world economy.

"What happens there matters to the rest of the world. Better watch out -- and better be prepared to extend the hand of solidarity when it is needed.

"Right now, what is happening in Brazil and Turkey is revolt. In Turkey it was the defence of Gezi park that provided the spark. In Brazil, it is transport fares that drive people to the streets in anger.

"On 2 June, authorities in the metropolis of Sao Paulo raised the price of a single fare from $1.40 USD to $1.50. This hike, moreover, is being made in a context of 15.5 percent inflation.

"And for thousands of Brazilians, it proved to be the proverbial last straw. From June 10 onwards, the city was rocked by four consecutive days of demonstrations and riots. On June 13, 5.000 people took to the streets and clashed violently with police."

Anarchists on the streets of London


 
Despite brutal police repression, anarchists in London succeeded in getting across a powerful message of anti-capitalist resistance ahead of the neoliberal G8 summit in Fermanagh.

Monday 3 June 2013

Hot summer of anti-capitalism kicks off



A HOT summer of anti-capitalist resistance is kicking off, with the Blockupy protests in Frankfurt coinciding with huge anti-government and anti-police protests across Turkey.

Anti-capitalists will also be taking to the streets of London for the Stop G8 week of action and J11 Carnival Against Capitalism.

The uprising against Turkey is against an increasingly authoritarian neoliberal regime - very much following the plutofascist globel model - with the added local ingredient of religious intolerance of secular society.

The spark for the protests was plans to build a shopping mall on much-loved Gezi Park in Istanbul, part of the relentless capitalist enclosure of space and destruction of the environment in the name of profits.

Reports CNN: "Critics are unhappy at the rapid pace of urbanization in Turkey's metropolitan cities. Erdogan is planning to build a third airport, a third Bosphorus bridge and a canal linking the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara, which are likely to destroy millions of trees and a delicate ecosystem in northern Istanbul. A staggering $4.7 billion was spent on ambitious construction projects last year in Istanbul alone."

Nothing can be allowed to stand in the way of machineries of profit, hence the savage and murderous attack on the Istanbul protesters by the state and its thugs.

Hence also the repression meted out to the thousands of protesters who physically confronted the capitalist system in Frankfurt on May 31 and June 1.

Reuters reports:"Anti-capitalist demonstrators from the Blockupy movement paralysed Germany's financial center on Friday, cutting off access to the European Central Bank and Deutsche Bank's headquarters.

"Riot police, showered with stones and paint bombs, used pepper spray to prevent the protesters breaking into the ECB. Several protesters were injured and police made some arrests."