U.S. Declares War on Dissent in Miami

international | anti-capitalism | feature

Thursday November 27, 2003 01:20

by imc editorial Group

United Steelworkers to raise Miami police behaviour in U.S. Congress

Police in Miami

As George Bush was being greeted by hundreds of thousands of protestors in London, his little brother Jeb, governor of Florida, was demonstrating how to deal with dissent, Bush-style. The occasion was the FTAA summit in Miami. Tens of thousands of trade unionists and anti-capitalists came from all over the Americas to protest against this inequitable attempt to establish a 'free' trade area of the Americas. They were met with an unprecedented level of repression. Indymedia established a dedicated FTAA server and infoshop.org also created a special site to cover the protests. They provide a huge number of personal accounts of the violent assault on the right to protest that they encountered in Miami.

Several excellent reports are available elsewhere on the net, including DemocracyNow!'s Jeremy Scahill report on the "embedding" of journalists and assaults on independent journalists and Naomi Klein's description of the new "Miami model" of reportage as the war comes home.

The severity of the repression, including allegations of torture and sexual assaults in prisons, has provoked a backlash from organised labour. The one positive note is the increased solidarity between the more radical unions and the black bloc.

ORIGINAL NEWSWIRE STORY FROM PHUGHEDD(sic) FOLLOWS

Now that the teargas has settled, and the evidence of police violence (yet again) mounts, calls are being made for the removal of police commissioner Richard Timoney for his supervision on the assaults on protestors against the FTAA in Miami. One union has decided to raise the issue in the US congress.

Several excellent reports are available which several explicit and detailed objections to the conduct of the police.

DemocracyNow!'s Jeremy Scahill reported that the "embedding" of journalists has been imported from Iraq to the police in Miami and that severe assaults were perpetrated on anyone the police felt like. His article details the assaults upon him and another DN! reporter including a personal encounter with police chief Timoney:
http://www.counterpunch.org/scahill11242003.html

Naomi Klein in the Guardian describes this new "Miami model" of embedded journalists and paramilitary police as being an example of the "war coming home" and ends with a sinister quote about the upcoming Republican National Convention (Timoney's first blooding occurred at the RNC in 2000)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1093185,00.html

Democracy Now! of Nov 26th reports that the United Steelworkers are attempting to have the issue of the funding for this "policing" raised in congress (it was part of the $87 billion supposedly earmarked for Iraq) and also contains interviews with a United Steelworkers representative (an veteran of the Navy) who condemns the treatment of the protestors including the diversion of union members to a police trap, an interview with a "senior" who relates how his group of 13 buses of seniors had an agreement with the police that they'd be given safe passage. This was reneged on, they walked the last few miles and then were led into a police trap.
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=03/11/26/1538221

Moral of the story: don't trust the police -- they lie when it suits them.

SF-indymedia claims several serious sexual assaults have occured to the arrested protestors. I really hope this is just cop black-ops trying to instil fear in people:
http://sf.indymedia.org/features/wto/

However, on a positive note, the solidarity between awakened elements of the unions and the black bloc is strengthening:
http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2003/11/1661487.php

save preference

Comments (17 of 17)

Jump To Comment:

Mr. Hedd - maybe try this next time - or even this time

by ec

Wed Nov 26, 2003 21:56

To put international surfing to good use and Write a Feature for IMC IRL:

Anyone without HTML - write up two/three paragraphs (or more) about the subject you want featured- select a bunch of links which help tell the tale - decide whether links are (a) through highlighted words in body of text or (b) as a list of links below the main body of text .

If (a) is what you are after put the web page address in brackets after each of the words in question. If (b) just give a list of the webpage addresses below text with a 'name' for each -
ie: www.indymedia.ie - 'Indymedia Ireland'

Choose a headline and subheadline.

Choose a picture - include the web address for page containing it it below headline/subheadline.

Join Editorial list and Submit it to the Editorial list and be prepared to argue your case / work on improvements with others on list etc

Editors on here (self included) have a tendency to concentrate on National stories at the expense of international stories but that does not mean we would not like to see more international stories featured (with an Irish link/angle whenever possible of course).

If you know HTML then submit body of text already HTMLized of course.

Soldiers disguised as police and the awful new look to this site.

by Caspian

Thu Nov 27, 2003 09:02

These thugs in Miami call themselves police but they are nothing like the police we all know and love. They are para-militaries or soldiers dressed as police. This Timony character will be over here next advising our lot on how to smash protest.
The new look to Indi-media is bloody awful. So hard to find anything and so complicated. What the hell was wrong with the old look? It was simplicity itself with all the articles listed down the right hand side and so easy to read. You got it wrong this time folks. Admit it and go back to the old look.

I like the new Comments Section

by Caliban

Thu Nov 27, 2003 09:30

It makes it so much easier to check up on people.

I don't like the green colour though.

I think the police in Miami did a wonderful job in the face of extreme provocation. It's about time everybody realised there's a war on. In wartime, everybody is meant to stand together, you can't have bands of thugs roaming the streets looking to cause trouble.

While the police were occupied by these rioters, terrorists could easily have committed another atrocity.

Don't people understand that?

don't you understand.....

by barry

Thu Nov 27, 2003 20:05

the need to monitor your movements?

the need to document your aquaintances?

the need to question your behaviour?

the need to bug your phone?

the need to arrest your neighbours?

the need to crack your skull?

the need to make you disappear?

Don't worry Barry

by Sechnall

Thu Nov 27, 2003 23:14

That's why the framers of the US constitution included the right to bear arms.

If they want to take away their freedom they'll have to pry it from thier cold. dead hands.
It'll never happen. Don't understimate the intelligence of the Amurican.

Good compilation of miami info/stories here at SF IMC

Fri Nov 28, 2003 15:40

http://chicago.indymedia.org/archive/features/2003/11/2003-11.html#10064

Miami Herald declares 'Anarchists have won'

by Joe

Fri Nov 28, 2003 17:17

And here's a news flash for everyone: The anarchists won.

Their goal wasn't to cause $2 million in property damage. If they had wanted to do that, they could have gone to South Beach and torn things up. Their goal was to equate the free-trade talks with repression. And we obliged them by turning downtown into an armed camp with 3,000 cops in riot gear.

http://www.infoshop.org/inews/stories.php?story=03/11/27/8747017

Disturbing Quote from Naomi

by redjade

Sat Nov 29, 2003 12:17

''With the activists recast as dangerous aliens, Miami became eligible for the open tap of public money irrigating the "war on terror". In fact, $8.5m spent on security during the FTAA meeting came out of the $87bn Bush extracted from Congress for Iraq last month.''

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1093185,00.html

- - -

there is a serious progression of violence by and militarisation of the local police happening in America these days. And, as Naomi points out, this will probably show its ugly face at this coming summer's Democratic convention in Boston & the Republican convention in New York City, which is planned to be a virtual nuremberg rally celebrating the Sept 11th 2001 de facto coup.

FTAA Blog

Sat Nov 29, 2003 12:39

'Miami was the one of the scariest places I have ever experienced. I went down with 40 people from Antioch and I saw my friend who had been shot in the center of his forehead leaving a giant welt and another who was shot in the neck with a pepper spray round drawing blood and covering her in white powder. We were chased through the poorest neighborhoods in Miami by the police.'

http://unreasonables.org/?q=node/view/48

- - -

Photos:
http://dc.indymedia.org/media/index.php?limit_start=36

http://ftaaimc.org/en/2003/11/2098.shtml
http://ftaaimc.org/en/2003/11/1855.shtml

Photos of a police snatch squad
http://ftaaimc.org/en/2003/11/1849.shtml

Photos of school children touring the FTAA-IMC
http://ftaaimc.org/en/2003/11/1821.shtml

more photo links
http://ftaaimc.org/en/2003/11/2232.shtml

Large collection of FTAA Photos
http://tinyurl.com/whfh

- - -

'The police department?s message was clear ?You can beat the rap, but not the ride?. This tactic and mindset is extremely alarming from a civil liberties point of view. The message is that regardless of the legality of your actions if you protest against the policies of the state, you will be beaten, gassed, arrested and incarcerated, so what if the judge finds you innocent or drops the charges, you?ve already been punished. The ACLU, the AFL-CIO, the National Lawyers Guild, and many other organizations have spoken out about the police brutality in Miami, and plan further legal action.'

http://ftaaimc.org/en/2003/11/2216.shtml

- - -

Video:
'Several Ambulances were turned around by the police as protesters were being dispersed. Protesters are on the sidewalk chanting "let them through" while riot cops block the streets and turn around ambulances. At least 4 different ambulances from multiple dispatch agencies were turned around by the cops.'
http://ftaaimc.org/en/2003/11/2468.shtml

- - -

United Steelworkers of America

"Last week, the fundamental rights of thousands of Americans … were blatantly violated, sometimes violently, by the Miami police, who systematically repressed our Constitutional right to free assembly with massive force, riot gear and armaments," said Leo W. Gerard, United Steelworkers of America international president, in a letter to Congressional leaders.

"It is condemnable enough that a massive police state was created to prevent American citizens from directly petitioning FTAA negotiators for redress of their grievances," Gerard said in the letter.

http://www.uswa.org/uswa/program/content/737.php

- - -

Amnesty International

'Amnesty International called today for a full and independent inquiry into allegations of excessive use of force by police during demonstrations in Miami on 20th November. The organization has also received dozens of reports of ill-treatment of those detained during the demonstration.

Police are reported to have fired rubber bullets and used batons, pepper spray, tear gas canisters and concussion grenades on crowds demonstrating against the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) negotiations, leaving some people hospitalized and dozens more treated for injuries. Scores of people, including journalists and observers, were arrested during the demonstration, some reportedly subjected to ill-treatment in detention. Amnesty International is currently gathering more information on the reported violations.'

http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR511422003?open&of=ENG-USA

Hogtied and Abused at Fort Benning

Sat Nov 29, 2003 13:39

Some may remember Kathy Kelly speaking in dublin earlier this year. she is the founder of Voices in the Wilderness

http://www.nonviolence.org/vitw/

---

Hogtied and Abused at Fort Benning
by Kathy Kelly

http://www.commondreams.org/views03/1127-01.htm

On Sunday, November 23, I took part in a nonviolent civil disobedience action at Fort Benning, GA, to protest the U.S. Army´s School of the Americas (SOA, now called the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation -- WHISC)

Shortly after more than two dozen of us entered Fort Benning and were arrested, US Military Police took us to a warehouse on the base for “processing.” I was directed to a station for an initial search, where a woman soldier began shouting at me to look straight ahead and spread my legs. I turned to ask her why she was shouting at me and was ordered to keep my mouth shut, look straight ahead, and spread my legs wider. She then began an aggressive body search. When ordered to raise one leg a second time, I temporarily lost my balance while still being roughly searched and, in my view, ‘womanhandled.’ I decided that I shouldn’t go along with this dehumanizing action any longer. When I lowered my arms and said, quietly, “I’m sorry, but I can’t any longer cooperate with this,” I was instantly pushed to the floor. Five soldiers squatted around me, one of them referring to me with an expletive (this f_ _ _ er) and began to cuff my wrists and ankles and then bind my wrists and ankles together. Then one soldier leaned on me, with his or her knee in my back. Unable to get a full breath, I gasped and moaned, “I can’t breathe.” I repeated this many times and then began begging for help. When I said, “Please, I’ve had four lung collapses before,” the pressure on my back eased. Four soldiers then carried me, hogtied, to the next processing station for interrogation and propped me in a kneeling position. The soldier standing to my left, who had been assigned to “escort” me, gently told me that soon the ankle and wrist cuffs, which were very tight, would be cut off. He politely let me know that he would have to move my hair, which was hanging in front of my face, so that my picture could be taken. I told him I’d appreciate that.

http://www.commondreams.org/views03/1127-01.htm

ec - thanks for the help

by Phuq Hedd

Sat Nov 29, 2003 19:39

but two points:
1. It's _Ms_ Hedd
2. It's _Phuq_ Hedd, spelt with a Q not a G

and a question: So, if we newswire readers want to submit stories for consideration for the features column then we have to join the editorial list?

and a comment: one of the most interesting things that has emerged from all the protests is that the old game of cooperating with the police has been shown to be a waste of time. It was based upon a belief that there was some sort of humanity and commonality with them. This may be true in a limited number of individual cases, but overall these people are just willing to follow orders and that includes lying and deceiving us. Anyone entering a protest situation should not accept any "agreement" that puts them at a tactical disadvantage -- stay in large groups where you can be seen, don't agree to be dispersed in small manageable numbers -- that's when they beat and arrest most people.

Me name's on the list...

by Daithí

Sat Nov 29, 2003 21:53

_I_ know that it's Ms. Hedd, I've seen others make that mistake before ;-)

If you don't want to join a mailing list, you can communicate with the list (actually the imc-ireland rather than imc-ireland-editorial list, but we don't really mind) by using the Contact form on the site. Only list members can post to the list etc, there were major problems with spam etc when they were first established. There are a number of users that retain anonymity on the lists, by using web-based email addresses and not disclosing their real names. Admins on the lists just see the email address and don't have access to logs from the mail server - which is run by Indymedia.org .

The advantage of being on the list, if you are proposing a feature, is that you can discuss, read, and respond to questions raised. It's a multidirectional process, as opposed to filling in the contact form, where you don't see the resulting discussion.

sorry bout that ms hedd

Sat Nov 29, 2003 22:55

dubsky has me believing we're all 35 or less yrs old boyos.

hope you'll consider working on the editorial side of things - where we all (almost) are just the right side of 35 and boyos to a man

Upcoming Events

New Events

Other Press

User Preferences

Feeds

Blog Feeds

The Saker

Public Inquiry

Human Rights in Ireland

Lockdown Skeptics

U.S. Declares War on Dissent in Miami

Comments (17 of 17)