GGCACGAGGGTAAATATGGCATAAGTTAATAACA CTTTTCCCCAAAATGGTGCTTTGGATTTGAAAAGG GTCTGATGGGGAGAAGGAGAACGTATCATCCTAGC TTCCTCTCTTAATAAACCTAGAAAAACGGGTAGTA A'ACT6T6G ATA6TCA66A A AACACCCAGC AAG6G A TGTCAGGAAATGAATCTTCCCCCCAACCC CCACCATGCAGATGGA t a gacagaatctttcctga ctagtcataaiti-prisqriaggatcaggggcctctgttggatttgt gtttcttgaagaatagctggcagagtggtataaaa gacacgaatatctcctggtctataaggatactctga CCACCATGCAGATGGATAGACAGAATCTTTCCTGA CTAGTCATTAGGATCAGGGGCCTCTGTTGGATTTGT GTTTCTTGAAGAATAGCTGGCAGAGTGGTATAAAA GACAGGAATArCTCCTGGTCTATAAGGATACTCTGA TTTGGGGTTGCATTTTTCATGGTTTTTATTTCCTGT CTTCCCAAAGTGCAiyiTI-PSYCHIATRYTGGATTTGAAAAGG GTCTGATGGGGAGAAGGAGAACGTATCATCCTAGC TTCCTCTCTTAAT.AAACCTAGAAAAACGGGTAGTA AACTGTGGATAGTCAGGAAAACACCCAGCAAGGGA C TGTCAGGAAATGAATCTTCCCCCCAACCC CCACCATGCAGATGGATAGACAGAATCTTTCCTGA CTAGTCATTAGGATCAGGGGCCTCTGTTGGATTTGT GTTTCTTGAAGAATAGCTGGCAGAGTGGTATAAAA GACACGAATATCTCCTGGTCTATAAGGATACTCTGA TTTGGGGTTTGCATTTTTCATGGTTTTTATTTCCTGT TCCTTCRIM EGGC ACG AGGGTA A ATATGGC AT A AGTTA AT A AC A CTTTTCCCCAAAATGGTGCTTTGGATTTGAAAAGG GTCTGATGGGGAGAAGGAGAACGTATCATCCTAGC TTCCTCTCTTAATAAACCTAGAAAAACGGGTAGTA AACTGTGGATAGTCAGGAAAACACCCAGCAAGGGA CACAGCTGTCAGGAAATGAATCTTCCCCCCAACCC CC ACCG ATAG A AGTC ATTAGG ATC AGGGGCCTCTGTTGG ATTTGT GTTTCTTGAAGAATGCTGGCAGAGTGGTATAAAA G A C A C G A AT AT C T C C T G G T C T AT A U T O N O M Y A A G G ATA C T C T G A TTTGGGGTTGCATTTTTCATGGTTTTTATTTCCTGT TCCCCCTGGAGTTTTCCATTAGTGAGTTTTTG GGCACGAGGGTAAATATGGCATAAGTTAATAACA ATI N S UR R ECTIO INI A AGG ATG ATAG GTT ATAG TAGTAGTATGTG GTCTGATGGGGAGAAGGAGAACGTATCATCCTAGC “We don’t vote with ballots.” insurrectlon/crime/autonomy/anti-psychiatry/anti-prison :Contents: -Editorial notes. -Social repression in the anti-terrorist age: Squatting stories from Portugal. -Harry Roberts update. -Campaign Against Prison Slavery. -Prisoner news. -For the Spread of the Riots. -Prisoner Support. -Notes from the International Gathering against Prison Society. -Reclaim Your Mind: Manifesto -Freedom for Action Directe prisoners -The Clairvaux et Troyes Revolts. -Boycott the Olympics! -Rigaerstr.94, Berlin. -Terra Audio: Parties &. Politics -Marini trial conclusion -The IOM, Spies and Migrant Hunters -Encryption -Prison Technologies- An Appraisal of Technologies of Political Control >contact contribute distribute< 325collective@hush.com 325 (is) a data network for direct action. 325 (is) a media framework for social war. 325 (is) the refusal of fixed territory. 325 editorial krew. August 2004. This irregular collection of texts is dedicated to open minds and the free society. Let one thousand flowers bloom. 325 are concerned with transforming social reality, creating areas of horizontal control outside the gaze of the capitalist system. 325 distribute and incite perception, providing doorways into the net of hidden utopias that resist attempts to censor and destroy autonomous areas/individuals ♦groups. We advocate direct action to reject the violence of the capitalist system. Short-circuiting the social processing of everyday life into fresh spaces and hidden alleyways we re-affirm our intention to gather, communicate, organize, and resist. Space is something we are not encouraged to fully inhabit. Private space, public space, mental space: all are domains the ruling classes would like to section off and exploit. Rates of mental illness and stress-related sickness are accelerating, civilisation's advance is marked by an increase in manic-depression, neurosis, schizophrenia and suicide. The notion that we live in any kind of democracy is absurd, police & state exist to protect and promote industrial interests. Civil rights are a myth, society is maintained with coercion and murder. States have no interest in social justice, only in profit. Our equality is spoken in fascist dialogue, everyone is equal to consume, everyone is equal in that they have a price. Politicians and other soft cops in the mass media try to steer human activity in directions that can be used to their advantage, we are dispensable to them, they need us to make a living, government bodies go about their business with the sole intent of furthering their own class position and bank balance. Global Capitalism is the real force of international terror, the tyranny of privilege and exploitation at the expense of the global poor. Waging undeclared war on the entire planet, the consumer spectacle has gone hyperdelic, splintering into thousands of copies of itself, mass produced commodity death, annihilation of the organic into quantitative abstract mechanics. It is crystallising into ever more intricate versions of the same thing, a psychotic blueprint writing its infection on the landscape, killing everything through mathematics. "The spectacular character of modern industrial society has nothing fortuitous or superficial about it; on the contrary, this society is based on the spectacle in the most fundemental way. For the spectacle, as the perfect image of the ruling economic order, ends are nothing and development is all- although the only thing into which the spectacle plans to develop is itself** - Debord. In Fortress Europe disappearance is a good survival skill, life in a superstate means mass-profiling, and constant electronic surveillance; In an increasingly digital future there are few places to hide, population displacement, 'migrant management', growing incarceration rates, all this feeds corporate prisons, for the protection of Capital and Empire. As European anti-capitalists we must strengthen our networks, legal and underground, within the EL), and within future EU members, of the aim to weaken capitals advance and provoke splits in the EU, the breakdown of the the EU politically and militarally, without resorting to nationalism, or statism of any kind. To build for community organisation and resistance, without resorting to moralistic or reactionary methods or ideology, based on principles of mutual aid and co- operation. The overwhelming force of the State continues to mean that the tactics of evasion, attack and disappearance are the most useful. Defending ourselves, whilst engaging the industrial complex, we avoid the forces of the state and seek empty areas, occupy, organise, sabotage, rewrite, attack and scatter to begin the process again. Fight disinformation with information and action on all levels, preventing media smears, with our honesty, dignity and throughness. Likewise, use the splits in our critics to play them off against each other then finish them off. Despite the police brutality and clampdown across Europe, the resurgent anti-state/anti-capitalist social movements are looking like the only opponents of a system of class-slavery, sickness and ecocide. The circle of bosses must come undone, the farce of the European Parliament underlines the essentially economic-militarist nature of the EU. As the EU consolidates its borders and internal security laws, to create a single State, the most repressive legislation is utilized from each country, regardless of the actual situation from country to country. The incoming legislation is in fact not really a new set of laws, but rather an amplification of existing laws. The main areas of amplification relate to terrorism & immigration - specifically deportation and extradition procedures. At the same time, enough decentralization is maintained to allow internal security services to retain enough autonomy to operate according to specific local situations, through individual State legislation created in relation to specific local conditions, e g.: the criminalisation of the Basque social movements, or the fit-ups in Italy against anti-globalists and anarchists. As the rich consolidate their power and violence it is clear that anti-terror repression is for monitoring and controlling the broader population. This zine is the collaboration of a range of people across Europe coming together in the hope of opposing the Bosses, and radically living our dreams of a better future, and not waiting for it, and never giving up. The New EU laws will: * give control of operations to the newly- created EU “Task Force of Chief Police Officers which has no legal basis for its activities. * create mechanisms for “operational “ cooperation for which there are no legal powers. * legitimise the ongoing surveillance by "police and intelligence officers " (internal security services) of “persons or groups likely to pose a threat to public order and security". * create national databases of “troublemakers “ based on suspicion and supposition without any legal standards or data protection and the unregulated exchange of this data. * allow EU member states to pass laws to prevent people from going to protests in other countries if their names have been recorded as "suspects “ or if they have been convicted of minor public order offences (obstructing the highway). * the EU plans threaten the right to free movement and the right to protest. T; . * seven EU governments -Germany, Sweden, Portugal, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom -wanted to go even further and create an explicit EU-wide database of “troublemakers " and to introduce travel bans on suspected "troublemakers “ across the EU. '-V v , V *>?!%. *.v •• * •! \ * the plans will lead to the surveillance of everyday political activity, with no limits or data protection, which is quite unacceptable fcn democracies. F. * the plans were rushed through in secret meetings in Brussels without any parliamentary scrutiny (national or European}*; and no chance whatsoever for civil society fcbjjf register its objections. ' k 'V , •• •&- * the plans will have little effect on the ground and the only option is going to be the increasingly authoritarian policing of protests in the streets - the overall effect is legitimise surveillance and to criminalise protests. source State watch % *- ■ ANTI-COPYRIGHT NET W 0 *R K Social repression in the Squatting stories from Portugal C.O.S.A is an occupied social centre in Setubal since October 2001, where, in an anti-authontarian and self-organised way, people develop alternative activities like workshops, video sessions, debates, non-commercial parties, concerts, vegetarian -dinners and more. Last year in the Bela Vista neighbourhood a policeman shot a young man to death. The squatters worked on solidarity actions with the people denoucing police brutality and impunity. For that they had the banners on the roof of the squat with sentences against police repression. On September 2003, with a paper permission from the court, the police were able to enter the house in order to confiscate the banners! The 4 persons in the house were enclosed in a room, handcuffed and were given a moral authority lesson which include physical aggression against the detainees. The police also found and took 2 innocent cannabis plants sitting beside some parsley. 3 of those people are now being charged on minor drug-traffic offences and invasion of public space. Now the squatters are having legal support from a lawyer who says the accusations are not very strong or consistent. The accusa- tions are made in order to force the shutdown of the squat but when scrutinised it is possible to fight it in a court of law, also because the squatters never broke in- the door of the house was open and was used by junkies, a detail that decriminalizes the action under the Portugese civil code. Also the owner actually never presented a complaint against the occupation. The policeman who killed the young man was declared innocent by the judge of Setubal’s court It was considered to be an action of self-defense (against an unarmed boy!]. The court case was manipulated, with police lies and schemes to give a false image of the young man as being armed and violent, when there was even a video showing that there were no weapons what so ever but only the police weapons. In this way. again, the ’justice' system proves not to be reliable. Squatters are on alert to what can happen in the court of injustice and the tricky actions of police. The C.O.S.A appeals to the solidarity of everyone to protest, to squat more and more, to mutliply the activities of squatted social centres in Portuagal and everywhere else, to resist in the defense of squatted places. They can stop some squatted houses but they can never stop our ideas, the love for freedom is stronger than police and state repression! A new era of repression (more explicit) in Portugal has begun since the Social Democrats and the Popular Party (both right wing parties) together became the new government in the beginning of 2002. At that time there were two squats in Lisbon, one in Caldas da Rainha, one in Queluz and one in Setubal (at least!). In the first months of the new government, the squat in Caldas da Rainha and one the Lisbon squats (Casa da Luz) were evicted. New social housing policies were being planned in order to give a ’new face' to Lisbon, more open to Capital, free of old buildings, with more parking lots for cars and more shopping centres, and with a new expensive project for building a big casino in the capital city, with 4000 homeless people and 90000 abandoned houses! Later, at the end of summer 2002 the Lisbon city hall and the media started a propaganda campaign to shut down the oldest squat in, Portugal - Casa Encantada (since 1996), declaring that the kids didn't have good conditions there, that the house was dangerous to live in, and that they had to tear it down for safety reasons. In a big police operation, squatters and their support- ers were expelled from the house, and before the destruction of the house started, the media made 'partial pictures' in order to prove the bad conditions of the building, not including that it was actually not so easy for the machine to destroy the roof of the Totten' building. A political act, included in the city hall's program, for the 'eradication of poverty' (and the poor!), was made clear in the authoritarian statement; "In Lisbon there is no tolerance for squatting!" The following year there were at least ten attempts of squatting new houses mostly in the metropolitan area of Lisbon, and all of them were evicted very soon with many different situations including violent police actions with shotguns being fired, people arrested, illegal procedures the police and media poison helping the credibility of the authoritie’s procedures, denying the development of squatted social centres for alternative relationships and activities between people. There was a new big squat - Kasino which lasted six months with lots of activites (Kung fu, cakes, art space, alternative journal, bar, acoustic concerts, debates on abortion, prison repression ). There was a trial for acting on the eviction orders without the squatters being informed! Still, there are thousands of empty houses, as much as the desire to squat and transform them.. What does not kill us makes us stronger! After being a paradise for cheap labour, Portugal is now being abandoned by multi-nationals who prefer to open their factories in cheaper countries in Eastern Europe or Asia, creating a new situation of increasing unemployment (above 10%). The prime minister calls it the respectable sacrifice of the Portugese population: People are losing their jobs and their houses because of government economic goals to reduce the deficit percent- age. Squatting can be in future a necessity for the increasing number of homeless people and families fucked by the pro-european govern- ment they voted for. The indifference of this quite mediteranean population can crack in a blow of hot emotions ! The global- social-civil war has already begun, you cannot stop it, you can only chose how you contribute for it.. Portugese squatters together with other groups and individuals try to create connection to other squatting or other anti-capitalist movements in the rest of Europe. In this corner of Europe we know isolation is a poison of self-defeat Zaragata - Taska Contra-Cultural: Estrada da Graca no190 Setubal C.O.S.A - Rua Latino Coelhno no2, centro Setubal (zaragata@portugalmail.pt) Centro de Cuftura Anarquista - R.Mov. Forces Armadas, Ferreira Alentejo Harry Roberts 7 1 defies common sense that a civilized and democratic society can endorse a procedure which allows people to be imprisoned without ever being told of the reasons for their imprisonment. m Harry Roberts has now served more than 37 years in prison, despite having a tariff of 30 years. He is 68 years of age. A ruling by the Court of Appeal today means that Harry Roberts can be detained in prison until he dies on the basis of 'secret' evidence which will never be disclosed to him or his legal team. In a judgment relating to the parole review which will determine whether Mr Roberts should be released from prison, the Court upheld the decision of the Parole Board to allow a procedure that has previously been used in other contexts only with express parliamentary approval in exceptional circumstances affecting national security. The procedure envisages the appointment of a special advocate to consider the ‘secret’ evidence which will not be disclosed to either Harry Roberts or his legal team. Without the benefit of consultation or instructions from them, the special advocate will be required to make representations concerning the ‘secret’ evidence at a hearing which will itself be conducted in secret. The Court justified its finding on the basis of the risk of ’inadvertent disclosure’ of the secret material to Mr Roberts if it was made available to his legal team. Previously, the only time when such a procedure has been allowed before a tribunal of fact in England and Wales has been for the Special Immigration Appeals Commission relating to suspicion of involvement in terrorist activity on the part of detainees currently held at Belmarsh prison (the SIAC procedures). The procedures in that context, estab- lished by Parliament after a full debate, were said to fulfil purposes of protecting national security and were specifically restricted to a very small category of detainees. It was argued on behalf of Harry Roberts, supported by an intervention from JUSTICE, that extreme measures of this nature should only be permitted with express Parliamentary approval and that tribunals such as the Parole Board do not have the necessary legal standing to introduce such measures. The finding of the Court of Appeal effectively means that any court or tribunal can adopt such a procedure in the future. The implications for Harry Roberts are devastating. As Terry Waite and others wrote in a letter to the Times published yesterday (27 July 2004) expressing their concern that we could be witnessing another episode in this country’s history of miscarriages of justice, the ruling may mean Harry Roberts will now die in prison without ever knowing why he is being denied release. Simon Creighton, solicitor for Harry Roberts said: "It defies common sense that a civilized and democratic society can endorse a procedure which allows people to be imprisoned without ever being told of the reasons for their imprisonment. It should be remembered that Mr Roberts has long since served the term that succes- sive Home Secretaries deemed to be appropriate and he is now an elderly man. Aside from the terrible implications this ruling will have for my client, the Court of Appeal has also set a precedent enabling any court or tribunal to adopt a proce- dure so unsatisfactory that it has previously been restricted to the need to protect national security. It is difficult to understand how such a major incursion into the normal standards of fairness and civil liberties can be sanctioned without an informed and democratic debate. “Mr Roberts has asked me to convey his own frustration at his treatment by the authorities. He has been given detailed material recommending him for release from prison but has been told that secret evidence means he should not be released. He has spent the last 3 years fighting for the right to know what those allegations might be so he can try and defend himself. He likens his position to those prisoners held by the US Govern- ment in Guantanamo Bay and is shocked at the hypocrisy which allows the Government to protest about those procedures abroad whilst endorsing them in this country." Simon Creighton. Wednesday 28th July 2004 Simon Creighton Bhatt Murphy Solicitors 27 Hoxton Square, London N1 6NN Tel: 020 7729 1115 Fax: 020 7729 1117 Messages of Support/Solidarity Harry Roberts 231191 HMP Channings Wood Denbury Newton Abbot Devon TQ12 6DW CAMPAIGN AGAINST PRISON SLAVERY Slavery has NOT been abolished in Britain, behind high walls and locked doors it still flourishes. Working class people are being forced to toil in poor conditions, beyond the reach of health and safety inspectors, denied even the most basic employment and trade-union rights, and severely punished if they refuse to work. In British prisons, there have been savage cuts in education budgets over the past half decade, any pretence at rehabilitating prisoners and empowering them with trade skills has been abandoned. They are now seen as a readily exploitable labour force, a Third World colony in Britain’s own backyard, cheap, non-unionised, available, and literally compelled to work. If prisoners refuse to work, or are not considered to be working hard enough, they are punished — placed in solitary confinement, brutalised, denied visits, having days added to their sentences. Private companies are making enormous profits from prison labour, £52.9 Million in 1999, and that figure is growing rapidly. They use it because it is CHEAP— prisoners may be paid less than £5 for a week's work - and for prisoners there are no ’sickies’, no holidays, no union meetings, no transport problems, and if there’s no work they can simply be locked back in their cells. Prisoners are treated as the bosses would like to treat all of us. The issue of prison slavery is an issue for ALL working-class people, not least because it undermines workers’ pay and conditions generally. Not because prisoners are somehow ’stealing’ jobs, they have absolutely no choice in the matter, but because companies can drive down the wages of their own employees by using prison labour, and it brings with it the threat of short-time and redundancies. The employees of Dysons, the vacuum-cleaner manufacturer, for example, were thrown out of work when Dysons decided to use cheap non-unionised labour in Malaysia, but how many Dysons’ workers knew that for some time the company had been using cheap, non-unionised labour at Full Sutton prison? Not surprisingly the latter-day slave-masters are desperate to keep their involvement secret, from their own employees, and from the wider public. The Campaign Against Prison Slavery exists to challenge and bring about an end to forced prison labour, and to expose the companies that exploit it. In the 21 st Century it is high-time that slavery in all its forms was ended for good. JOIN US! Individual Subscription— £2 per year [further donations welcome) Press Subscription— £20 per year Affiliation [Trade unions and organisations) - £50 per year CAPS. PO Box 74, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 4ZQ. Againstprisonslavery@mail.com , RESISTING TOM V WHIPLASH AMD THE PRISON SLAVERS The Campaign Against Prison Slavery was formed in February 2003 to fight against the exploitation of forced labour in British Prisons. It was decided at our inaugural conference to target the ubiquitous high-street chain Wilkinson's, which uses slave labour in a number of English and Welsh prisons to package their goods. This company is owned by Tony Wilkinson, one of the country’s richest men, worth around £300 Million, it makes huge profits, and opens new stores regularly, with a wide geographic spread across the country (though the company have not yet spread into Scotland.) Tony Whiplash likes to present himself as a liberal, and on the Wilkinson’s website the company is portrayed as having a 'caring outlook’, they are supposedly 'partners in the community’. Yet the reality is that they are a ruthless and greedy company who underpay and underemploy, who are fiercely anti-union, and who wish to further increase their profits by using the slave labour of prisoners in British jails. In terms of targeting Wilkinson’s, and alerting the public to what they are really about, CAPS has organised pickets outside their stores all around the country. Probably at least a hundred have taken place so far, with leafleting carried out most weekends. CAPS has also leafleted several prisons to let prisoners’ families know about the campaign. CAPS is made up of autonomous groups and individuals working together for the common purpose of ending prison slavery. Organising a picket is simple, you can download two different leaflet designs from the CAPS website at www.againstprisonslavery.org and a visit to the Wilkinson’s website will give you the location of your nearest store. Alternatively, the website regularly lists upcoming actions and you can subscribe to the CAPS e-mail list by e-mailing againstprisonslavery@mail.com In addition to the pickets there have been other anti-Wilkinson’s actions, these have ranged from graffiti attacks, sit-ins, and trolley runs (groups of people loading up trollies and then refusing to pay) to more playful ideas like shopping in handcuffs. CAPS even made a short film with a ‘guard’ and 'prisoner* shopping and looking for work in the store. Two designs of stickers have also been produced, one is a facsimilie of Wilko’s own yellow ‘Low Price’ label which informs potential customers just how little the company is paying it's prison slaves, the other reads This product may have been packed by slave labour in British prisons’. Wilkinson’s first reaction to the campaign was to deny that they used prison labour at all, then they admitted they used it, but claimed only a minority of their products were packed by prisoners, and that they were helping "to rehabilitate prisoners and increase employment skills." This is a line taken from the Prison Service, but a recent internal report on Prison Industries in England and Wales obtained by CAPS shows it to be a blatantiie. in ttTe report it is admitted that contract labour "noddy shops” have little value in terms of rehabilitation, that the work is mind-numbing and offers no useable employment skills, and furthermore that the profits of the private companies exploiting prison labour are being subsidised by the taxpayer to the tune of more than £7 Million a year. With regular actions and pickets of their stores, and growing public awareness of their involvement in the prison slavery business, Wilkinson’s are certainly beginning to backpeddle on this issue. Their press spokesperson recently told a journalist that if CAPS could prove that prisoners were forced to work they'd cease their use of prison labour. The proof is in the Prison Rules, prisoners can be forced to work for as much as 10 hours per day. So far Wilkinson’s boast to withdraw has been an empty one, but CAPS is growing daily, and we’re constantly thinking of new ways to target this greedy company. Prisoners certainly have a part to play in CAPS and we encourage all actions and initiatives which undermine their role as slaves for slave-labour companies. We also need accurate and up to date information on the companies making profits out of prisoners, and the best source of information for that is prisoners and their families. HMP GORTON VALE: PROBLEMS EXPOSED AT WOMEN'S JAIL Cornton Vale, has been highly criticised in the past, addiction and mental health problems are rife among inmates at Scotland's only women's jail, according to the chief inspector of prisons. Andrew McLellan draws attention to the vulnerable nature of many female prisoners in his latest report on Cornton Vale near Stirling. Nine out of 10 women admitted to the jail have addiction problems. Eight in 10 have a history of mental health problems and 60% have been abused, his report says. Mr McLellan said: "Medical records confirm the impressions formed during even a short inspection, that some of these women are very disturbed indeed. "It is unrealistic to expect prison to cure mental illness or to overcome the effects of abuse. " Dr McLellan praised the management's sense of direction. His inspection report does praise management for a "clear sense of direction". There have been no recent escapes or suicides. A new addictions strategy is described as "impressive", as is help given to women finding it hard to cope. But night toilet access has not improved with some prisoners claiming to use sinks. Population rise The chief inspector also draws attention to a rapid increase in the female prison population. It is now two-and a-half times higher' than in 1990. The previous inspector of prisons, Clive Fairweather, published a highly-critical report about Cornton Vale in November 2002. He said overcrowding and a high level of sickness were creating a "recipe for disaster". The report highlights the view of Anne Owers, chief inspector of prisons for England and Wales. She said: "It is quite clear that there are people in prison who don't need to be there and who are being made worse by being in prison and who could benefit from other provisions outside prison." Mr McLellan also questions the suitability of prison, especially for many of the women offenders in Cornton Vale. "This is not a cross-section of society," he said, "these are very damaged women. "What will prison do for them?" DURHAM JAIL ‘OPPRESSIVE AMD MOT FIT TO HOLD WOMEN” High-security prisoners, including the serial killer Rosemary West, are to be moved out of a jail denounced today by inspectors as "oppressive and claustrophobic" and unsuitable for holding women. The Home Office acted as the chief inspector of prisons, Anne Owers, protested that the grim conditions at Durham Prison, which has been hit by a spate of suicides, aggravated the "distress and disorder" faced by inmates. In one of her most scathing reports, she demanded the closure of the women's wing at the Victorian jail, which has been handling high-risk female prisoners for 30 years. She said: "Durham is a constricted and forbidding physical environment, with little space for association or activity on the enclosed wings and a particularly dispiriting and bleak exercise yard. This is scarcely likely to enhance the mental state of women who are feeling depressed and anxious and who may spend years in this environment." Six women have killed themselves at the jail in two years and Ms Owers listed a series of "systemic failures" in the handling of prisoners at risk of self-harm. She said: "We found good examples of staff caring for some very damaged women, but it was clear the high levels of disorder of a few women made it very difficult to pick up and deal with the quiet despair of others, such as lifers at particular times in sentences." She said there was "insufficient constructive activity" for inmates who were a long way from their families, no strategy for tackling drug abuse and no help with resettlement after release. The women's wing of the 700-inmate jail holds about 100 women. Among the male populartion are a number of high-risk prisoners, including Michael Sams, who is serving four life sentences for murdering Julie Dart and kidnapping the estate agent Stephanie Slater. Past female prisoners have included the Moors murderer Myra Hindley and IRA terrorists. I NO QUEREMOS IMPERIOS CAPITALISTAS In an announcement coinciding with the inspection report, the Prison Service said Durham was being "re-roled" to become a "community prison". Its female inmates will be transferred to new jails at Ashford in Middlesex and Peterborough while "category A" male prisoners will be moved to other high-security prisons. Martin Narey, chief executive of the National Offender Manage- ment Service, said Durham's and staff had carried out "a very complex job in difficult circumstances". He said: "They have been looking after a great variety of prisoners, both men and women, with very different needs. The pressures they are working under are enormous and yet, despite that, as I witnessed on a very recent visit, there is lots of evidence of real care for prisoners and a determination, against very difficult obstacles, to make a reality of resettlement." Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said: 'The Home Office's policy on women offenders is shot with contradic- tions. On the one hand it is launching an action plan to reduce women's imprisonment and on the other investing an extra £16m in new jail units for juvenile girls." "REAL CARE"? HMP Durham has had a reputation for brutality for more than 25 years, with the 2 Segregation Units operating a regime of terror. Hence, it's choice as the site for holding defence witnesses in the 1999 trial of those accused of participating in the 1997 Full .Sutton prison uprising - So as to intimidate people from giving evidence for the defence. As one of those witnesses, from the moment I arrived there I was threatened and there were attempts to intimidate me. "You're going to give evidence against officers", I was told. Despite being a Category B prisoner I was placed in the High Security ’Cat.A' Seg Unit, where I was denied exercise, books, showers, and all the other facilities I was lawfully entitled to. I was stripped of my clothes and forced onto a blanket protest, my food was stolen, my drinking water adulterated, and I was subject to frequent threats of violence. It was only the massive international solidarity I received at this time, in the form of letters, faxes, and phonecalls to the prison, which I believe saved me from serious brutality -That and the fact that I might still appear in court - Which I did, and all the men I gave evidence for were acquitted. In circles outside the Prison Service this kind of behaviour might be regarded as an attempt to pervert the course of justice, but what do the Prison Service know about justice. Such behaviour was only ever tolerated because of the indifference of the likes of Martin Narey. "Real care"?! Martin Narey would be better employed as a comedian. Mark Barnsley, JOHN BOWDEN ASKS FOR LETTER WRITING CAMPAIGN The following is a letter campaign appeal on behalf of John Bowden, an anarchist and long time prison resister. The Governor recently put a taped message on the front of prisoners phone calls warning whoever they called that the person making the call is an inmate in a maximum security prison. Her alleged reason for this is that she claims she has a duty to protect the public’. Their calls are already closely monitored and recorded, and all phone numbers are vetted and checked by the security department. The imposition of the phone message would have a seriously detrimental effect on prisoners contact with their family and friends because they would now be reluctant to phone their wives and girlfriends, etc, at work or their children if they were in foster homes. The governor, who recently imposed a ‘no physical contact’ rule on visits, has tried to argue that she is legally obliged to impose the phone message, which is not true as prisoners in the English system successfully challenged through the courts an attempt by the English Prison authorities to impose a similar phone message. Please send your letters of complaint to: Governor Kate Donegan HMP Glenochil Tullibody Clackmannanshire FK10 3AD U.K. A Climate Of Fear The recent bout of media attention concerning the beating up and torture of prisoners at Wormwood Scrubs prison is surprising only in as much as that probably for the first time prisoners’ claims of maltreatment are being taken seriously. Brutality at the Scrubs is nothing new and has been part of the jail's regime since at least August 1979 when the notorious Mufti (Minimum Use of Force Tactical Intervention) squad was first unleashed against prisoners in the jail's long term wing, leaving over 60 of them seriously injured. It would seem that the only people who didn’t feign shock and surprise at the media's expose of staff violence at the Scrubs were prisoners themselves. The truth is that prisoners have been blowing the whistle on staff brutality for years in a multitude of protests and legal actions, and up until now those protests have been almost completely ignored by the media and consistently denied by the prison authorities, resulting in a con- spiracy of silence that has held fast for decades. Even when the voice of prisoners has made itself heard, as at Strangeways in 1990, a combination of the prison authorities and the mainstream prison reform lobby have succeeded in shifting the focus of public attention away from prisoners' complaints about staff violence and centering it instead onto rather less controversial issues, such as jail overcrowding or the problem of unmanageable prisoner troublemakers' Unfortunately, what characterizes the recent media treatment of staff violence at the Scrubs is the impression given that only a tiny group of 'rogue' officers, a few bad apples, are exclusively respon- sible for the brutalization of prisoners. But how it was possible for such a numerically tiny element of staff to terrorize an entire prison and keep it quiet for so long? Apart from uniformed screws, prison staff are comprised of governors, chaplains, probation officers, doctors, teachers and psychologists - and of course the Home Office appointed Board of Visitors have members in every prison. None of these publicly blew the whistle on what had been going on at the Scrubs. Inevitably, it was the prisoners who succeeded in doing that There is a wider social and political context to the unlawful behaviour of prison officers at the Scrubs, and therefore a need to properly attribute responsibility to where it ultimately belongs - with those who have deliberately cultivated a climate of fear and law and order authoritarianism over the last couple of decades. The truly surprising thing about the recent media ’concern’ about brutality at the Scrubs is how it differs radically from an otherwise constant media demand that prisons be made far ‘tougher’ and punishment orientated. Over the last four years especially, prisoners have been demonised and used to fuel a moral panic that has reached lynchmob proportions in some areas of the press. So called 'failures’ such as riots and, in particular, escapes, are at best used as the excuses for further repression; at worst deliberately orches- trated in order to provide such an excuse. The prisons are deemed to be in 'crisis' and the only way out of the crisis is to be more vicious to prisoners. The true reality of why prison staff at the Scubs and elsewhere behave in a brutal way is that they have been encouraged to believe that there is now a strong degree of official acceptance of such behaviour towards prisoners. Since the Strangeways rebellion in 1991 and the subsequent shortterm liberalization of penal debate and policy, first Howard and then Straw have sought to instigate a backlash of repression and reaction against prisoners, shifting the balance of power back in favour of authoritarian prison staff and creating a climate of intolerance and revenge, an inevitable consequence of which has been systematic abuse and ill treatment. The behaviour of prison officers at the Scrubs has to be viewed in the context of a prison system that over the last few years has been subject to sustained political pressure and manipulation, and wielded as a blatant instrument of vicious social control and fear. John Bowden (Written in HMP Hull] (John is a long time prison resister, currently residing at Her Majesty's pleasure: John Bowden 6729 HMP Glenochil. King O'Muir Road, Tullibody, Clackmannanshire, FK10 3AD.) UK Home Secretary David Blunkett is now moving to get prisoners to pay for their own incarceration by introducing so-called part-time prisons, so no doubt they're going to also be required to do part-time jobs. As prisoners already do work for Wilkinson’s (being paid the princely sum of £1.20 per day) we thought the firm might be interested in employing a part-time prisoner in one of their stores. Suitably dressed, Insecurity Guard Mark Barnsley and Part-Time Prisoner Wolfie went to Hull Wilkos to find outEntering the store handcuffed together the pair first tested just how little £1.20 will buy you in Wilkinson’s. A pack of toilet rolls, the sort of item prisoners are increasingly having to pay for themselves, proved too dear, but Guard Barnsley was very interested by the bags of ‘mixed screws’ at 2 for £1.20. Just the type of thing prisoners are forced to pack for Wilkos. Our prisoner was less impressed as of course he’s none too fond of screws. Moving on. they decided it was time to try and see what Wilko’s attitude to employing part-time prisoners would be, none too forthcoming of course, with nothing actually > available. We strongly [ suspect they’d be no keener to employ the ex-prisoners who’ve previously slaved for them inside, not least since unlike in prison they’d have to pay them minimum wage. The Hull store did present one opportunity though, in the form of a photo booth, which Guard Barnsley thought might be a good place to take Wolfie’s new ID photo. To Wilko’s evident lack of amusement the pair’s visit was in any event discreetly filmed and recorded, not discreetly enough it seems because Wilkinson's own Security started pulling their hair out and triggered an alert, which brought security guards running from all corners of the precinct in which their Hull store is located. They only arrived in time however to see prisoner Wolfie being liberated, and departing with his former guard, chuckling all the way to the pub. The CAPS ‘Part-time Prisoner* video is now available to download online [Quicktime - 17mb] at http://www.mydadsstripclub.com/ wilkoprisoner.htm Looking For Part-Time Work in Wilko’s. According to the UK Hardware store ’Wilkinson’s’ , their use of compulsory prison labour is, "helping to rehabilitate prisoners and increase their employability". This is of course a thin smokescreen for ruthless opportunism since it’s hard to imagine how packing small items for Wilko’s is going to rehabilitate prisoners, who prior to the intervention of these greedy private companies, had far greater access to education and were able to learn proper trade skills. Companies like Wilkinson’s merely see this slave labour force as something to exploit in order to increase their profits, and all subsidised by the taxpayer. For the spread of the riots: Manifesto in favour of violent direct action Report prepared by social activists from Madrid (Spain), Basque Country and Argentina. From relevant groups within the Anti-globalisation movement, the usage of violent direct action on behalf of diverse collectives, which take part in these actions, has been ruled out, and even condemned. By means of these lines, we mind to supply simple issues as part of a debate, which might help to respect political tendencies combining both pacific and self-defence strategies. We do not intend to place violent direct action neither ahead of union labour, neighbourhood or faculty work. The previous issue is main, fundamental; this lays the foundations of every struggle ever meant to be for the people’s sake. But there are several questions to be studied fearlessly, avoiding the pressure inherent to the ruling class' deceptive speech. &Js direct dash against anti-riots police and capitalist symbols positive? ^Is the usage of violent direct action advisable? Around Seattle, Prague or Gothenburg events, world leaders seemed rather agitated, something never seen since the disappearance of the USSR: Standstill summits, delegations being moved out and leaders being evacuated through the backdoor. This came to pass because riots were to be performed not by hundreds, but thousands of people. The spread of the riots went beyond the police ability to suppress them. Therefore, it is a fact that actions carrying an outstanding load of violence play a special role within the resurgence of social clash lately. This need turns up in those cases in which means and procedures for protesting -which social movements have came to impose within the so-called parliamentary democracies- are exhausted. In these cases the system shows crystal clear its vision of these means as items with no other aim besides the maintenance of social balance and stability, avoiding the achievement of real successes. Popular movement struggle, when extending and deepening its protesting actions, comes to confront the repressing system, and to infer that no partial solutions are worth -as ever, provisional-, but the destruction of capitalism and its replacement for social relations based upon equality and solidarity themselves. Not because of direct violent action, since the main issue for the system here is to take political advantage of this state of disadvantage, launching an attack against the entire movement on the theoretical speech of "confront- ing the extremism of certain groups”. Violence is not being called forth by any particular organisation within the anti-globalisation movement. Violence belongs to the capitalist system’s perpetuation process as a natural part, since it is continuous (being implemented upon people beyond any reason or justice: through over-exploitation or labour insecurity, housing shortage or social services denationalising) and able to be brought directly at any time, in order to keep action in check. The latter turns out to be the most common type, but should not outshine the daily violence held up by the ruling class. In such a way, if by facing the lack of real solutions people take the streets by thousands in order to stop physically the wild policy developed by the FMI, the system will not consider this as ’’demo- cratic’’ or ”in order", since it is about a direct confrontation against the system itself. Therefore, repression is taken up. Genoa was a clear example on this. Such was the denial in practice of the right to demonstrate during the G-8 summit, that even thousands of pacific demonstrators were forced to raise barricades and throw all kind of items in order not to be run over by the police. Several left-wing groups argue that violent direct action can contribute to an increase in overall repression towards social movement. But we must not be confused about this matter: What in fact sparks off repression is the heightening of the clash, as a result of the organized struggle questioning the very basis of the system: the governments’ ability to decide how to rule economy. And therefore, any kind of clash, though it may be pacific or even legal, will be crushed no matter what. Domination or control violence comes to fruition when- ever the system intends to put a social group back into its previous state of passiveness. And whenever conscious commitment increases along with demand for solutions, violence is also to be increased in order to stop them. In Genoa, while activists were arranging demonstrations pro peace and against economic genocide, the govern- ment was fixing up torture rooms within its police departments. While the former called up and coordinated people by thousands, the latter mobilised and organised armed policemen by hundreds. The right to dissent in being surrounded by the rules of the so-called state of democracy. That is why the need for a spread of the riots and sabotage comes up. Because the system is not planning to dismantle itself, and because it does not leave any other chance to protest besides. Next will be outlined how violent direct action is not only valuable, but also necessary, as a complement to pacific struggle, because of its connection to expression, disobedience and justice. 1. Stands for a way of expression. Whatever we will not be allowed to express through their newspapers or networks, will be expressed by attacking their symbolic dominance. Qur nonconformity and basic opposition to the neo liberal policy is expressed whenever we fight those repressive elements attending to protect that policy. Obviously, there is a clash. In exchange, the media attached to neo liberal policies obtain a piece of news not only suitable for the information show biz context, but also desirable in order to criminalise social movements. But we ought to bear in mind that violent direct action and sabotage are also means to break the media blockage. The piece of news, still distorted, comes out in the media and, while we struggle daily in order to produce our own spreading channels (and to achieve self-management district by district, faculty by faculty), direct action stands out not only by making possible the expression of our discontent, but also by constituting the means for us to break the silence argued by the media towards our work. It is not our responsibility to avoid facts from being twisted and commercialised by the official media, for that is its raison d’etre. Our duty, in this case, is to denounce the purpose of banks and repression forces within society. Therefore, political actions against both previous become legitimate and essential, for it is about a will -physically asserted- to set up dissent, and to boost anti capitalist conscience by pointing at those responsible in fact for neo liberal policy. 2. Stands for a way of reversing the establishment. It is a disobedience procedure facing law, a way of doing “what you are not supposed to do" pervading actions with a full political sense. But we must bear in mind that specific riots may be easily taken up by the establishment, for being understood as collateral damages, that is, the unavoidable results for neo liberalism policy; The same formula put into practice when is about the so-called delinquency, drug trafficking or raping. They all make up inherent issues to a society fueled by inequality, oppression and patriarchy. With regard to anti globalisation movement, the Spanish govern- ment has often stated that "we are ready to hold talks with anti globalisation groups, but strictly with those which may condemn the usage of violence along with riots caused by radicals". In spite of the establishment being able to absorb riots (whenever they come on small scale), it is fact that these collateral damages do mean harm to establishment’s both harmony and stability. And that is why they attempt to condemn and isolate this practice. And for this particular reason we ought to consider those "scratches" as potential means for destabilising, and to call forth an area for people’s power out of this concept, that is to say, a right and a weapon achieved by struggling movements in order‘to fight injustice. Even if it is not allowed to break, we break. But not just anything: we break the representation or samples of capitalist domination, which may be anti-riot police, bank branches, private operators phone- boxes, McDonalds joints, etc... 3. It stands for a way of doing justice. It is fair to provide direct responses against the violent imposition of the establishment, its labour scarcity, criminalisation of dissent, pressure from the media and its propaganda, etc... It is fair and legitimate to rebel against the unquestionable fact of violence monopoly held up by the system. It is fair and essential to draw by ourseh/es an area for politics labour of our own, outside the law limits; limits which are nothing but a self-defence instrument developed by the system, which defines levels of confrontation in order to control it. and justifies repression inside this context. Small successes have been achieved already within the complex and wide front against neo liberal globalisation on account of a method which, even though it might not be as fundamental as base work, is working out as a crucial supplement; sticks and stones. ITALY- ‘TERRA. SELVAGGIA’ RAIDS S. REPRESSION In June 2004 Italian police raided a house in Pisa and arrested five people. The five are said to have links with "11 Silvestre" which publishes the radical eco/anarchist magazine ‘Terra Selvaggia*. A few days after the initial arrests the police raided & arrested a sixth suspect. All six are accused of promoting revolutionary activities such as sabotage. They are also accused of having links to the revolutionary Marxist group COR (Cells of Revolutionary Offensive), which has carried out politically inspired direct actions. This is despite the fact all those arrested as eco- anarchists not Marxists. One of the six, Alice, was freed soon after her arrest. Three more, Betta, Leonardo and Gioacchino, were placed under house arrest. However two of the six were re- manded into custody. Costantino spent a few days in custody before being released under house arrest. Alessio Perondi is still in custody. ELP is offering our full support to the II Silvestre six. The charges against them are totally bogus and are more to do with media censorship rather than any serious attempt to stop COR activity. ELP will naturally keep you informed as to the progress of this case, but in the meantime please alert people to what is happening in Italy and help raise international awareness lo this blatant act of media censorship by the authorities. They may not like the news we are reporting but that doesn't mean we dont have the right to report that news! MORE IL SILVESTRE NEWS In January 2004 ELP reported a trial in Italy where members of II Silvestre were accused of participating in an alleged riot which resulted when the Italian authorities tried to stop 300 people protesting against GM crops. We reported that 13 people were on trial and the authorities are asking that four of the thirteen, who they accuse of being ring-leaders are jailed for two years each. The other nine are looking at possible 18-month sentences. The trial was meant to have its latest hearing in June 04. However the Judge failed to turn up to the trial! And the trial has now been put back until December 04. One of the people accused of being a ring-leader in these protests is Costantino Ragusa who is currently under house arrest following the police censorship raids in Italy. For more information about the anti-GM protests or should you wish to show your support with those arrested write to II Silvestre, via del Cuore, 1, 56100 Pisa, Italy ELP has learnt that the Italian "II Silvestre" defandants who are under house arrest, are in complete isolation and they are not allowed any letters or visits for the time being. Therefore until further notice please do not send letters. And despite the fact the II Silvestre defandants under house arrest are being denied their mail. ELP would also like to clarify that Italian animal rights prisoner Sergio Stefani, who is also under house arrest, is still allowed letters of support and letters of support for Sergio should be sent to: Sergio Marie Stefani Via Leonardo Fibonazzi, 197 00166 Roma Italy. On 20/05/04 Italian animal rights activist. Sergio Maria Stefani. was arrested in Rome by police investigating damage carried out against several fur stores, butchers and the discovery of an incendiary device in front of a butchers in March 2004. Sergio is involved with several animal rights campaigns, and in particular the Close Morini Farm Campaign (Morini is a laboratory animal supplier which breeds dogs and rodents for torture & death at the hands of vivisectors). EarthLiberationPrisoners was founded, in Britain, in 1993 to support jailed eco-activists. ELP supports the prisoners by producing regular prisoner lists: Spirit of Freedom is ELP's international bimonthly publication (available via e-mail or in a paper version]. If you would like to receive a copy contact: Spirit of Freedom, B[V1 Box 2407, London, WC1N 3XX, England. Or e-mail ELP4321 ©hotmail.com www.spi ritoffre edom .o rg. uk BERLIN MAYDAY PRISONERS 34 people are still in prison Berlin, prisoner support groups have contacts with 21 of them (in all there have been 177 people imprisoned because of the events on 1st of May and the night before in Berlin and 186 warrants). Markus Bederke (16 years old). Jugendarrestanstaft Berlin, LutzowstraBe 45, 12307 Berlin-Lichtenrade, Germany. All the other prisoners who have contacts with support groups are in Moabit prison: Justizvollzugsanstalt Moabit. Alt- Moabit 12a. 10559 Berlin- Tiergarten, Germany. One of them speaks only French- his name is Julian Fiorentino.The others are: * MARTIN NOWAK * HENRIK WOHLER * SVEN PITEREIT * LUKAS REITER * STEFAN MITTAG * SILVIO USCHNER * MARCO KQSWISNA * RECK STADTLER * JANECK EISSLER (buchnummer 325-04-6) * KAI LANGEMEIER * MARIO ALTKAT * MIRCO KADUK * SVEN KINPPING * DENNIS WITT * HANNES JAGER (buchnummer. 1618-4] * MARKUS HERZBERG * SVEN RUMBACH * JOHANN CHRISTIAN SOLLF * THIEMO TROBITSCH-RULL You can write them with their name and the address of the prison. This year the State is being very hard on those arrested. It's not possible to bail somebody out (for example in one case they don't accept lO.OOQEuro- ?!). One of the prisoners has already got 2 years without probation. All the impris- oned women are free now. ROB THAXTOISI MOVED US Anarchist prisoner Rob Thaxton, otherwise known as Rob Los Ricos, has been transferred. After 5 years at Oregon State Penitentiary he was moved in the middle of the night to the following address: MCCF Robert Thaxton 12112716 4005 Aumsville Hwy Salem OR 97301 USA CAMPAIGN AGAINST PRISON SLAVERY - ANTI-WI LKO’S ACTIONS IN CWBRAN, WALES CAPS activists in Cwmbran have been busy highlighting the role of prison slavers Wilkinson's in the light of the new Wilko's superstore due to open in the town. The store is due to open in August in the Prudential shopping centre, but Wilko's have already begun recruiting local labour. In response to a recruitment stall set up in the town CAPS activists turned up with leaflets exposing the real nature of this greedy slave-labour company. Lots of anti-Wilkinson’s stickers have also started to appear around Cwmbran, and the local CAPS group is committed to continuing to expose Wilkinson. To get in touch with the group email: gwentanarchists@yahoo.co.uk or write to them at the following address: Gwent Anarchists PG Box 7 Newport NP20 5XX Prisoner Support Why? Prisons are the bottom line in the state's control over us. Resisting the prison system is part of challenging the status quo, but supporting those who get caught and imprisoned for their beliefs should be a vita! part of any movement, too. Writing to Prisoners Prison is designed to grind you down, and it isolates people from the outside world. Writing to prisoners helps break this down. It might be intimidating to sit down and write a letter to a stranger, but you can keep it short the first time. Just sending a card with a few well wishes and some words about who you are can brighten up someone's day and make them feel remembered. It can also possibly lead on to a correspondence. Some people, when they write to prisoners are afraid of talking about their lives, what they're up to, thinking this might depress someone locked up or just not be of interest. But prison life is dead boring, and any news that livens it up is generally welcome. Use your sense, don't write about tilings that are likely to get the prisoner into trouble with the screws or get you or anyone else into trouble. Remember to include a return address, also on the envelope. Don't necessarily expect an answer - some prisons restrict the number of letters a prisoner can write or receive, or the person may be out of stationery/stamps, or just not be very good at writing letters. Passing cards round meetings, the pub or among your friends for people to sign with messages of support is an easy thing to do to brighten up a prisoner's mailtime. Or maybe you have the time to start up regular letter writing sessions with your friends, with the pur- pose of motivating each other to write. Sending Stuff Tf you are up for it - don't offer your help if you aren't - ask what items the prsoner can receive in the post, or give the prison a ring, as this varies from prison to pnson. It also often depends on which screw handles your post and what mood they're in! Stamps: You can usually include a couple in a letter without problems - mention that you have m your letter (they might just disappear Otherwise). If writing to someone outside the UK, you can include some International Reply Coupons (IRC's) that are available at any post office and can be used in place of stamps. Stationery; Remand prisoners are normally allowed to use writing paper (not wire bound) and envelopes sent in to them. Ask convicted prisoners what they're allowed. Books: There are different regulations on this too, so ask. More than often a prisoner can only receive books directly from, the publisher - this goes for alternative magazines as well - or via a recognised distributor or bookshop. A friendly bookshop will usually oblige if you buy the book and pay for the postage. Pamphlets/Zines: These seem to get through to most prisons in the UK okay if they're not too big and folded up inside a normal sized envelope, for some reason. They are often counted as photocopies which are, up to a certain amount, usually allowed. Tapes: Home-recorded tapes are often allowed, but ask. Use see-through ones. Visiting If you are up for travelling to visit a prisoner, mention this to them. But bear in mind that convicted prisoners are only entitled to a limited number of visits (remand prisoners to much more), usually about 2-3 a month lasting up to 2 hours with 2-3 people. The prisoner will then have to send out a visiting order (V.O.) to the persons wanting to visit them, fully naming each visitor. You will need to identify yourself at the gate, so take along sufficient I.D., and ’clean up' before you go - getting caught with even the tiniest bit of drug residue or anything else dodgy can have serious consequences for the prisoner. Other Support Ask whether the prisoner you are in touch with wants publicity for their case, or protest letters written. If you can raise money, ask where it's needed. Groups/con tacts There ane a number of prisoner support groups around Get in touch to find out more and to r ead about some of the prisoners that shou-dn t be forgotten Brighton Anarchist Black Cross Po Box 74, Brighton, BN1 4ZQ. mail@briglitonabc.org.uk www.brightonabc.org.uk i Earth Liberation Prisoners BM So* 2407 London WON 3 XX earthhbpr!Soner@*hotmail Animal Liberation Front Supporters Group BCM 1160, London WClN 3XX Miscarriges of .Justice Organisation (MOJO) 52 Outmore Rd, Sheldon, Birmingham, B33 OXL. 0121 7898433 / 07946 367447 mojonational@aol.com www.mojo.freehosting.net Haven Distribution (books to prisoners- BM Have n , London W C 1 N 3XX ON LOCKDOWN ECO-DEFENCE PRISONERS Tre Arrow, c/o Rudy Kischer, Embarkation Law Group. 609 W. Hastings St.. 6th Floor. Vancouver. BC. V6B4W4, Canada. On remand accused of involvement in an arson on logging trucks and an arson on vehicles owned by a sand & gravel company. Both arsons occurred in the USA. Dr. Yuri Bandazhevsky, Ul. Kalvarijskaya 36. PO Box 35K, Minsk 220600, Belarus. Serving 8 years for telling the world that the nuclear radiation around Chernobyl is worse than the Belarus Government has admitted. Marco Camenisch, Postfach 3143, CH-8105 Regensdorf, Switzerland. Serving 27 years imprisonment 1) Ten years for using explosives to destroy electricity pylons leading from nuclear power stations. 2) Seventeen years for allegedly murdering a Swiss Boarder Guard whilst on the run having escaped from prison. In 2002 Marco completed a 12-year sentence in Italy for blowing up electricity pylons there. Marco reads French. German. Spanish & Italian. Betta, c/o II Silvestre, via del Cuore. 1. 56100 Pisa, Italy. Under house arrest accused of promoting sabotage and participating in direct action. Angela M Cesario, 66522-065, Federal Prison Camp Dublin. 5675 8th St. Camp Parks, Dublin CA 94568, USA. Serving 41 months for an arson attack on logging trucks at the Eagle Creek logging site. William Cottrell. #29526112. Metropolitan Detention Center. PO Box 1500, Los Angeles. CA 90053, USA. On remand accused of involvement in a series of ELF actions that saw the damaging and destruction of approximately 125 SUVs. Ibai Ederra, Carcel de Pamplona, C/San Roque. Apdo. 250, 31080 - Irufiez - Pamplona. Navarra (Espafia), Spain. On Remand awaiting sentencing for sabotaging the controversial Itoiz dam construction site. Ted Kaczynski (04475-046), US Pen - admin Max Facility, PO Box 8500, Florence Colo- rado 81226, USA. Is serving multiple life sentences for the infamous 'Unabomber' anti-technology bombing & murder campaign. Manase Furima. Lembaga Pemasyarakatan Manokwari,' Jl. Sabang No. 4, Manokwari, Papua, Indonesia. On remand for taking part in a road block to prevent illegal logging. Gioacchino, c/o II Silvestre, via del Cuore, 1. 56100 Pisa, Italy. Under house arrest accused of promoting sabotage and participating in direct action. Ihaki Garcia Koch, Carcel de Pamplona. C/ San Roque. Apdo. 250. 31080 - Iruhez - Pamplona. Navarra (Espafia), Spam. Serving just under 5 years for sabotaging the controversial Itoiz dam construction site. Leonardo, c/o II Silvestre, via del Cuore. 1. 56100 Pisa. Italy. Under house arrest accused of promot- ing sabotage and participating in direct action Jeffrey Luers, #13797671, OSP . 2605 State St. Salem. OR 97310, USA. Serving 22 years & 8 months for arson on a car dealership & attempted arson of an oil truck. Craig Marshall. #13797662, SRCI, 777 StBnton Blvd, Ontario, OR 97914 USA. Serving 5 years 5 months for conspiracy to commit arson and possession of incendiary devices, having used the devices to destroy SUV's to raise attention to the environmentally destructive nature of these vehicles. Matius Nasira. Lembaga Pemasyarakatan Manokwari. Jl. Sabang No. 4, Manokwari. Papua. Indonesia. On remand for taking part in a road block to prevent illegal logging. Alessio Perondi, Casa Circondariale di Prato, Via La Montagnola 76, 59100 Prato, Italy. On remand accused of promoting sabotage and participating in direct action. Costantino Ragusa. c/o It Silvestre. via del Cuore, 1. 56100 Pisa, Italy. Under house arrest accused of promot- ing sabotage and participating in direct action. Also accused of being a ring- leader of a large anti-GM protest. Jeremy Rosenbloom, 66521-065, Federal Prison Camp Sheridan. PO Box 6000, Sheridan OR 97378, USA. Serving 41 months for an arson attack on logging trucks at the Eagle Creek logging site. Fran Thompson, #1090915 HU 1C, WERDCC, PO Box 300, Vandalia. MO 63382, USA. Serving Life for killing, in self-defence, a stalker who had broken into her home. Before her imprisonment Fran was an eco, animal & anti-nuke campaigner. John Wade #38548-083, FCI Petersburg Low, PO Box 1000, Petersburg. VA 23804, USA. Serving 37 months for a series of ELF actions against a number of targets including McDonalds & Burger King; urban sprawl; the construction industry, and an SUV dealership. Helen Woodson, #03231-045, c/o Bates County Jail, PO Box 60, Butler, MO 64730, USA. On remand for accused of pouring a tin of red paint over the security desk of a federal court, posting 4 letters that contained threats; and making a threatening telephone call. Before her arrest Helen had just completed 27 years for various Eco &. Peace direct actions. ANIMAL LIBERATION Dave Blenkinsop EM7899, HMP Rye Hill, □nley, Warwickshire, CV23 BAN. England. Serving 10 years. 1 ) Three years for a stave attack on the Managing Director of HLS. 2) 18 months for rescuing 600 guinea pigs from a lab supplier. 3) 5M> years for planting incendiary devices under abattoir vehicles. Paul Le Boutillier KA9326, H.M. Prison, Hull. HU9 5LS. England. Serving 5 years for making threatening phone calls to various animal abusers including people associated with vivisection, blood sports and farming. Hanna Ekegren. Box 1005, 718 92 Frovi, Sweden. Serving 10 months for an accountable action that saw the damaging of a hatchery egg conveyor belt and the destruction of thousands of eggs. Paul Holliday KA9328, HMP Lindholme. Hatfield Woodhouse, Doncaster, Yorkshire. DN7 6EE, England. Serving 18 months for making silent phone calls to various animal abusers including those associated with vivisection, blood sports and farming. Sergio Maria Stefani, Casa circondariale di Arezzo. Via Garibaldi 259, 52100 Arezzo, Italy. On remand accused of criminal damage to butchers and fur stores. Also suspected of involvement with the planting of an incendiary outside a butchers shop. PARTY & PROTEST Around the world there have been several massive protests against global capitalism and its environmental impact. The following have all been jailed in connection with the protests. James Borek LL6B03, HMP Wandsworth, PO Box 757, Heathfield Road, London S W 1 8 3HS, England (54 months) Robert Thaxton #12112716, OSP. 2605 State St, Salem. OR 97310, USA (86 months) PLOUGHSHARES & ANTI-WAR Ploughshares is an international movement which uses accountable non-violent direct action to disarm weapons of mass destruction. Sister Carol Gilbert. #10856-039, FPC Alderson Rl, Box A, Alderson, WU24910, USA. Ploughshares activist serving 33 months for anti-nuke action. Sister Jackie Hudson, #08808-039, FPC Victorville, PO Box 5100, Adelanto, CA 92301, USA. Ploughshares activist serving 30 months for anti-nuke action. Sister Ardeth Platte. #10857-039, FPC Danbury. Route 37, Danbury. CT06818, USA. Ploughshares activist serving 41 months for anti-nuke action Igor Sutyagin, c/o Irina Petrovna Manannikova, Obninsk. Kaluzhkoy oblast, ul. Zvezdnaya, dom 1 A, kv. 82 239039 Russia. Serving 15 years for espionage after he openly distributed anti-nuclear weapons informa- tion. RUSSIAN N.R.A. PRISONERS New Revolutionary Alternative was a group that apposed the war in Chechnya by targeting military conscription offices, Government buildings and other military buildings Olga Aleksandrovna Nevskaya. UU163/5. 7 Otryad, pos. Dzerzhinskiy. Mozhaysk 140090 Moskovskaya oblast, Russia. Serving 6 years for arson, criminal damage and causing explosions. Olga is an eco- activist & former member of Rainbow Keepers. Larisa Valerevna Romanova, pos. Golovino, OD 1/2. Sudogordskiy Rayon, 601395 Vladimirskaya OblBSt, Russia. Serving 5.5 years for arson, criminal damage and causing explosions. Larisa is an eco-activist & former member of Rainbow Keepers MOVE MOVE is an eco-re volutionary group who carried out protests in defence of all life. There are currently eight MOVE activists in prison each serving 100 years after been framed for the murder of a cop in 1979. 9th defendant. Merle Africa, died in prison in 1998. Debbie Simms Africa (006307), Janet Holloway Africa (006308) and Janine Philips Africa (006309) all at: SCI Cam- bridge Springs. 451 Fullerton Ave, Cambridge Springs. PA 16403-1238, USA. Michael Davis Africa (AM4973) and Charles Simms Africa (AM4975) both at SCI Grateford, PO Box 244, Grateford. PA 19426-0244, USA. Edward Goodman Africa (AM4974), 301 Morea Rd, Frackville, PA 17932, USA. William Philips Africa (AM4984) and Delbert Orr Africa (AM4985) both at SCI Dallas Drawer K, Dallas, PA 18612, USA. Mumia Abu Jamal, (AM8335), SCI Greene, 175 Progress Drive, Weynesburg PA 15370, USA. In 1981 Mumia, former Black Panther and vocal supporter of MOVE, was framed for the murder of a cop. He was originally sentenced to death but is currently awaiting re-sentencing following a court hearing in 2001. INDIGENOUS LAND RIGHTS Leonard Peltier #89637-132, PO Box lOOO, Leavenworth. KS 66048. USA. Serving Life after being framed for murdering 2 FBI agents. Eric Wildcat Hall, #BL-5355, Unit I/A 10745 Route 18. Albion, PA 16475-0002, USA. Serving 35-75 years for helping ship arms to Central American indigenous activists. ANTI-FASCIST Matthew Lamont T90251, CSP/A5-114, PO Box 901, Imperial. CA 92251, USA. Serving 3 years for possessing an incendiary, intended to be used to disrupt a neo-nazi gathering. Support Anti-Fascist prisoner Tomasz Wilkoszewski Tomek Wilkoszewski was jailed in March 1996. He's been deprived of his freedom for more than five years. According to the verdict of the local court he must spend ten more years in prison. What did h do to deserve such a sentence? Tomek comes from a little village near Radomsko (a typical small town in central Poland) He was a go student and was finishing a technical highschool. He wanted to continue his studies afterwards. He w working to pay for his studies. He had never been convicted before and had never been in contact wit the Police before that fateful day of March 1996 But he ran out of luck: First, there was a nazi-skinhead group in Radomsko who was trying to rule the town. The assaults and the bullying were daily occurences that were overlooked by the Police and the local authorities. Most of the time "strangers" would be attacked, i.e. newcomers like Tomek who was driving to Radomsko each day. Someone who had been beaten by a band of these nazis went to the police and he was told: "If you weren't looking for fights, you wouldn't have been beaten. You should st quiet." Tomek had been a victim of the attacks several times. Once, someone tried to pull out one of f eyes. What happend next was nothing more than the logical consequences of this situation: With no help i be found, the terrified youngsters tried to defend themselves. The death of a young man was no mor than a part of this tragedy (after one of those fights, a nazi-skinhead died from loss of blood while waiting for an ambulance). Second, Tomek was accused of the murder. As he had often been assaulted, he had a motive and. according to a few witnesses, he had a knife. This so-called crime instrument, which was used as evidence by the prosecution, has been subject to no examination or investigation that could unequivo cally confirm the accusation. During the judical procedure there were a number of similar uncertaintie but that wasn't taken into account by the Judge who at that time bowed to the pressure of public opinion which was asking for the most severe penalties. Third, the prosecution and the Judge wanted to demonstrate something. The fifteen year sentence given to Tomek and the lesser sentences given to the eight other defendants were outstandingly severe. The witnesses of this judicial process were outraged by the justification of the sentence which "should have an educational function for the convicted as well as for the entire underworld!" No extenuating circumstance were recognised and Tomek received one of the highest penalties in Poland But on the other hand, nazi-skinheads, or other criminals would get away with an eight year sentence for murder with premeditation and were out of jail after four years. This is what this justice is about: high penalties for the nonconformists and the poor who can't afford a good lawyer and mild penalties for the Mafia and the thugs. But Tomek had also a bit of luck. Anarchist Black Cross groups and other anti fascist groups got interested in his case. Polish TV transmitted a movie called "Riot", and the biggest Polish newspaper published a long article about the case. While being interviewed for a newspaper as well as in front of the cameras, the nazis spoke openly about their actions of cleaning the town of all kinds of strangers These two documentaries were quite highly publicised across Poland, but were ignored by the court. In prison Tomek managed to finish his schooling, he got a job and the prison authorities have a good opinion of him. After four years Tomek's supporters managed to have the appeal trial (kasacyjna) held. It happened on 27 September 2000, but it was dismissed by the Court for buerocratic reasons. Unfortunately until now, all requests for parole have been denied. In the current situation the only chance for getting Tomek parole passes, chances to study or change his prisoner-status would be with legal help from a lawyer. However, the costs are beyond our capabilities. You can send letters, fanzines, tapes, CDs. Write to him (in English preferably ): Tomasz Wilkoszewski Zak 3 ad Kerny ul. Orzechowa 5 98-200 Sieradz POLAND Source: ABC Bialystok I Solidarity for Marco Camenisch Marco Camenisch was born in Switzerland in 1952 In the late seventies. Marco, as a militant of the movement against nuclear power plants, was engaged in many struggles to fight the local Swiss nuclear mafia. Direct action was the base of such struggles; cutting down pylons, sabotage against power stations, attacks against the people involved in nuclear mafia In January 1980 Marco was arrested and sen- tenced to 1G years for his assaults against NOK power station, responsible for destroying the natural environment of the Gngioni area in Switzerland. During the trial, Marco refused to talk to the judge, but read a statement in which he claimed his actions as a protest against the criminal bosses of the class dominion, and for the liberation of the Earth. In December 1981, Marco escaped from the prison together with another five prisoners. A prison warder was shot and another seriously injured After 10 years of hiding and clandestine struggle, Marco was arrested again (1991], this time in Tuscany, Italy, and sentenced to 12 years. He was also sentenced for a series of acts of sabotage including the killing of a border policeman which he has always denied. In the Italian prison system Marco went through terrible conditions of detention, aimed at destroying his strong personality and breaking the International solidarity network towards him. Such solidarity has never stopped, on the contrary it has been increasing more and more, both through public demonstrations and direct acttons. In April 2002 Marco was extradited to Switzerland, where he was sentenced to another 8 years for his escape from prison in 1981 and the killing of a border policeman. In Switzerland too. Marco has been subjected to a regime of isolation and every kind of abuse and oppression including continous transfers from one prison to the other, without any regard for his conditions of ill health. special treatment. Moreover his correspondence is strictly censured and his incoming and outgoing mail often doesn't arrive, he spends recreational period in handcuffs and chains to his feet, he has closed visits after a few months waiting And finally the torture of having spent 20 minutes inside? a scanner machine with his wrists handcuffed behind his back, not to mention the humiliation of having walked though the long corridor of the hospital with his feet in chains There are Demonstrations in Bergamo, Bologna. Florence. Genova. Naples, Triest, Madrid 14 September 2002- Turin, Italy - Windows of Credit Suisse broken in via Bertola 16 September 2002- Pavia, Italy - Fire to a mobile phone antenna in solidarity with Marco and all prisoners in struggle December 2002- Rome, Italy - An envelope full of bullets is sent to the Swiss ambassador in Rome with the message: Free Marco, death to the Swiss State and its cops. 12 January 2003- Paris, France - During the night a few boutiques of Swiss bosses were damaged and the surrounding walls filled with writings such as 'Free Marco' 'Switzerland is destroying you, we are gonna destroy it'. The locks of Adia and Adecco (Swiss work agaencies) and of Lloyd Continental were blocked with glue 18 January 2003- Buenos Aires, Argentina - Posters claiming Marco's freedom are put on the walls of the Swiss embassy and Swiss International Air. From today Marco is on hunger strike in protest against his conditions of detention. Demonstrations also in Brussels in front of the Swiss embassy 18 January 2003- Abetone, Pistoia - The ski lift in this ski resort in Appenines is completely destroyed by fire, causing 6 million euros of damage, sabotaging the tourist industry for the season The claim 'Fire to the Exploiters, f ree Marco’ 20 January 2003 Carrara, Italy 3 mobile phone transmitters are destroyed by fire in solidarity with Marco. 29 January 2003 Bergamo, Italy - A RAI (Italian national TV) transmitter is set on fire I February 2003 - Barcelona, Catalonia - The locks of Zurich Insurance Company are blocked with glue and on the glass of the windows is written 'Destroy all Prisons’ 'Free Camenisch' 'Stop nuclear power' II February 2003 - Impena - Fire to Dmnitel transmitter. The claim 'Free Marco' Between September and October 2003, following the orders of the Genoa Public Prosecutor, a senes of raids takes place all over Italy against a great number of comrades who showed their solidarity to Marco All those who were raided are eco-activists/eco- anarchists who have actively supported Marco either by taking part in demonstrations outside Swiss Embassies or by creating websites and other information about Marco The measure starts on 17 September when the ROS (Carabinieri Special Operations) search Marco's cell and seize his computer, notes and letters. Soon after even Manuella, Marco's wife is searched. Both are accused of 'terrorist activities'. About one hundred Italian comrades from north to south underwent the same treatment and are still under investigation. Marco CBmenisch, Postfach 3143, CH-8105 Regensdorf Switzerland. Here are few of the thousands of actions in solidarity with Marco Camenisch. 25 July 1999- Novarra, Italy - Demonstration of solidarity outside the prison. 1 August 1999- Turin, Italy - Explosive device full of red paint is thrown against Swatch shop in via Garibaldi 13 September 2002- Interna- tional day of solidarity with Marco, he has just been through 3 months of International gathering against; -the Prison society Barcelona, Spain. 23, 24 & 25 April 2004 This international gathering aims to relaunch the campaign of struggle, critique and action against prisons and the society of control. It will be an open space for debate, and exchange of ideas, experiences and critiques; an attempt to extend the radical analysis not only of the prison system, but of the society that produces it. Right now we find ourselves in a critical period, as the politics of social control and repression in the Western World are converging. This is not just a coordination of governments to make repression more effective: it is part of an ideology and world view that aims to create a social consensus based on a culture of fear and a generalised need for security. Bombarded with media propaganda, society finds itself in a constant state of terror; terrorised, society becomes more domesticated and more accepting of the ideologies of power. Security measures and repressive policies are introduced, supposedly for citizens safety. centres, the young offender institutes and the psychiatric hospitals; level two is confinement outside the physical walls: tagging, conditional discharge, suspended sentences, bail; and beyond the criminal justice system itself there is a third level of control: cameras watching your every move, bugging of e-mails and 'phonecalls, control of the free movement of people and much much more. In the name of our security we find almost all forms of freedom being restricted. Once it is internalised and normalised, this paradigm of terror creates a process of self-legitimation of the dominant system, which leads to the criminalisation of any form of resistance to, rejection of, or attempt to question that system. This is clearly evident in the European Commission's definition of "terrorism": "offences., intentionally committed by an individual or a group against one or more countries, their institutions or people with the aim of intimidat- ing them and seriously altering or destroying the political, economic or social structures of those countries will be punishable as terrorist offences" (From the EC proposal for a Framework Decision to combat terrorism, article 3, approved 2001] In the prison society there are different levels of imprisonment. Level one is physical confinement: in the jails themselves, the immigration detention When we speak of of the prison society we are not simply referring to the bricks and mortar of the jails. We are talking about whole series of mechanisms and structures designed to control and manipulate people's behaviour, using punishment and the manipulation of people's needs and expectations. The need to consume and to have a secure and stable life creates the need to work. Our lives are forced into a uniform rhythm: our time and our movements are controlled. Prison society, in its most subtle form, gets inside people's heads. It imposes a way of thinking and a conformity (for example, using schools, jobs, control of our time, control of our movements etc.) This conditions the way we see the world, making it difficult or even impossible to see alternatives or to think beyond the norm. This can- be seen in the way the language used by those in power manipulates people's perceptions of reality and stops them from seeing other realities: "terrorism", "violence", "justice", "freedom"... In this context we feel it is vital to find a space like this gathering, to debate analyses and new strategies of action against State/ Capital's projects; to extend a more profound critique or prisons and the society that produces them; and to build affinities through communication and exchange of ideas. * NOTES TAKEN AT THE INTERNATIONAL GATHERING AGAINST PRISON SOCIETY. ESPAI OBERT Social Centre. 23-24-25 April 2004. BARCELONA, SPAIN. Approx. 160 people. Tn the attempt to transcribe the general discussion, there may well be discourses absent, technical inaccuracies or errors in translation. Any contributions or criticism welcome. PARTICIPANTS: ENVOLEE: A radical anti-prison paper from France. -A Prisoner orientated radio station in Paris. -A Geneva based group involved in similar struggles. VIVE LES MUTINS: French group involved in the active support of the Clairvuaux et Troyes prison revolts. Anti- F.I.E.S & Ex- F.I.E.S prisoner support groups from Spain. Valencia ABC + Prisoner report paper TOKATA Y FUGA. Abolitionist Group from Marressa, north of Barcelona, fighting against a prison being built. CAMPAIGN AGAINST PRISON SLAVERY: UK, MARK BARNSLEY talks about his experiences inside jail and the fight against prison profiteers. ENDIKA ZULUETA, a lawyer from Madrid, talks about new European security legislation and Europol/Eurojust. -Also other individuals. DISCUSSION: Opening assertions from all participants, were of this gathering as a place to exchange tactics and ideas, to strengthen existing links and network new ones, and further the abolitionist struggle across Europe and beyond. Presentation of projects involved in the creation of an international network of communication, discussing the struggle against prison society, and the different experiences of groups/individuals participating. The groups & individuals present felt it was important to support prisoners regardless of their political position, (apart from fascists) though working with specific cases shouldn’t be sidelined. Many present felt frustrated working alone, so building a common platform to work around similar aims was seen as a good idea, but it should allow the maximum amount of local autonomy and diversity. SPAIN & FIES Spain’s prison system is not as advanced in terms of infrastructure compared to the rest of Europe, and certainly not as complex as the USA's prison industry. There is little or no involvement of private companies in the prison system, although this is changing. Many anti-terrorist measures recently introduced into Europe after the events of September 11, were already in place in Spain to combat ETA, and repress broader Basque society. An example of the widening definition of terrorism is the illegalisation of Batasuna in the Basque country. All prisons in Basque country are run from Madrid. In 2002 the government passed the - “Organic political group law" which bans any particular collective that questions the legitimacy of the State or its apparatus. Prisoners who are considered "Subversive", ‘Terrorist" or dangerous to the State, are held in the brutal F.I.E.S isolation units, they are used against existing anarchist/ social movements that are critical of the government. Politically motivated property damage has been classified 'Urban Terrorism’. With no lawyer of their own choosing, detainees reside in particularly poor conditions, in locations far away from their families, held incommunicado, often tortured, routinely not given food for 24 hours, no books, nothing on the walls, only 2 hours per week outside, weeks of abuse, no contact with other prisoners, they can be legally held without medical care for up to 40 years. F.I.E.S is administered from within a separate sector of the prison system using arbitrary detention, closed trials, and specially trained sets of guards and judges, this has led to a situation of repression with no accountability, frequently worse than any other time in Spain’s history. At first there was an initial difficulty of getting people to understand what F.I.E.S was, but in a short time information and awareness has spread quickly. Many Spanish anarchists who are in prison are going into the F.I.E.S units, spending a long time before trial locked up, often with no evidence produced by the state to justify the imprisonment. The F.I.E.S prisons are often in inaccessible locations. Sometimes its not uncommon for mothers to sleep outside the jail, one 70-year-old mother was found sleeping outside. This is why we must start to provide networks and structures of proper support, before the prisoners can really take us seriously. There has been a great deal of resistance against the F.I.E.S system, and it continues. There are no FI.E.S units in Catalonia, but sometimes Catalonia is seen as the centre of the anti- FI.E.S struggle, because so much organising is done here. In Valencia there was an active struggle on the streets, some activists were detained, imprisoned, there must be constant harassment against the government - an example from the FI.E.S struggle illustrates this: Activists infiltrated a sports event dressed as stewards, and gave out colour papers to sport fans, advising them at a given sound to turn over the papers and hold them up. At this moment the whole stadium rippled with the slogan 'NO F.I.E.S!’. In Madrid a more combative approach was used, but wasn't seen as being too successful for those inside. A lot of pacifist actions have been seen as to have been working, but all attempts by reformists to raise awareness and change policy within the government has failed. Previous Madrid hunger strikes fell apart after some anarchist groups refused to support anyone who wasn’t an anarchist. Other pacifist & reformist groups didn't want any prisoners fighting back, as their support groups were much more integrated into society. After the open-term hunger strike against FI.E.S ended, some prisoners were repressed heavily, some died, were dispersed, some support groups lost contact with prisoners -Hunger strikers need close support; the situation can become very dangerous without support, and can be turned into a spectacle. The strikes need to be directed by the prisoners themselves. The struggle needs better continuity, stronger links, we need to get tighter with the prisoners and their families themselves. The prisoners have a lot more to lose, so we must not deceive from them the limits of our abilities. At a town council meeting near Madrid, where the State was planning to build a new high security prison, some abolitionists were putting forward their ideas and getting a cold reception from politicians. An old woman stood up who had been imprisoned and tortured under Franco. She declared her agreement with the activists, and other local people voiced their own agreement. This had the local politicians worried, they didn’t want people coming to their own conclusions, but wanted to dominate the proceedings to their own ends. In Marressa, the struggle locally is diverse, there is an anti-prison group campaigning against a planned high-security prison run by the Catalonian state. The group have gained a lot of support, but sometimes it was more about the location of the prison close to peoples homes, rather than the radical perspective, that informed their view, but there was support nevertheless. The group want to network with other groups locally to give the abolitionist view, challenging moralism and reactionary attitudes to incarceration, and point out who the real criminals are. Two months ago, as part of their action & discussion events, they organised days of action, street theatre, discussions, propaganda, and demonstrations to the site where the prison is being constructed. Lawyers spoke against the prison system and psychologists talked out about about the harmful effects of repression at an individual and collective level. The workshop was a good tool to show how horrific repression is, and how we are all the same in the face of isolation., the outcome of this was that the effects of repression are more or less the same for everyone, at both levels. People on the frontline of oppression react in similar ways. What this means is that our struggle is the same, this shows what prison is and what it means to the psyche and what applies to all of us. Only a few juvenile prisons and detention centres are private, but this is limited to private enterprises within prisons, such as catering services, cleaning etc. There is at least one state built juvenile centre managed by private companies, El Cortes Ingles (Famous store in Spain] are one of the companies that profit from prison labour- This is the same model exported from the US to the UK, although its not yet as developed. ITALY The Italian comrades presnt said that it was generally difficult to talk about specific prisoners, as the situation in Italy is so overwhelming, The preliminary hearings have begun around the 29 Italian policemen and officers who face charges related to the brutal night time raid on the Diaz school in Genoa, Italy during the Anti-G8 demonstrations there in 2001, where scores of people were beaten, many left unconscious and hospitalised, (the police broke the lung of one Indymedia journalist.] Many people were tortured in Bolzaneto detention centre. There are 50 activists still on trial from the Diaz school, and many people have been charged for 'rioting' and ‘devastation’. There is also a campaign for a prisoner falsly arrested for subversion and explosives. Milan- 2 months ago there was a demo against the fascists, some Nazis were stabbed by antifascists, the court case continues. There was another demo against fascists, later on the train leaving, the police accuse antifascists of robbery. I think the point being made here was that they charged the anti-fascists with robbery so as to try to pretend it wasn’t a political action, the cops said one of the fash had his jacket nicked. Also there is the case of Massamo & Tabalino, arrested for beating an undercover cop at an anti- EU demo, in Rome, October 2003. They alledgedly attempted to steal the officer's pistol also. They are accused of being involved with the letter bombs sent to Romano Prodi. Presently there have been 27 raids in Italy, in connection with the recent anti- EU letter bombs. A European wide anti-anarchist unit has been set up in the belief that anarchists & ecological radicals have formed a common collective to attack the EU apparatus.This european police unit was formed in Madrid, but is headed by Italian Carabineri, However police units from Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, UK, Greece, and France are participating in the task force. They believe anarchists have strong links within Italy, Greece and Spain. The last raids connected with this investigation were in Rome - 88 houses-7registrations. When the prisoners are released after searches, raids follow the next day. There have also been related raids and inquests in Bologna & Torino. In October - 95/96 45 investigations of anarchists began that have started from non-serious crimes, public order offences etc, and then escalated into more serious charges usually relating to 'Public Security', ‘Membership of an Armed Group' and 'Subversive Association*. Headed by Judge Marini this inquest charges many people with being part of ORAI, (Revolutionary Organisation of Insurrectional Anachists). The State claim that ORAf has 2 levels. The Outer form is the social movements, the Inner form is underground- armed units. 6 people have recently been imprisoned as a result of the investigation, including the author Alfredo Bonnano. The Italian State passed Article 270 "Subversive Association" for use against domestic & International groups / individuals fitting conspiracy cases against social movements under the guise of fighting terrorism. The definition bf terrorism Sr subversion as the same crime is about criminalizing anyone who publicly supports proscribed groups the state doesn’t like. The first trial of this law was in Feb. 2002, against Tunisian anti-imperialists, In Feb.2003 3 anti- imperialist / pro-Palestine / Kurdish activists were imprisoned for writing leaflets, taking money and printing t-shirts. The existing laws to deal with Brigade Rosse serve as the basis for a new expansion of anti-terror laws, so it comes as no surprise that the government are fitting people up with ‘subversive association' to criminalize social activists The re was a recent arms cache found, and the State is building an inquest around this, talking about the resurgence of new Brigade Rosse units. In Italy 16,000 Arabic prisoners segregated in isolation from other prisoners, based on their countries of origin, rather than being Muslims. I.e. Christian Syrians. There are many Palestinian prisoners and International migrants coming from ‘suspect’ nations that are detained indefinitley- the laws are aimed at them. Marco Camenisch- Operation Blackheart: The Italian and Swiss police are spreading smears, and fitting people up. The Italian government claims Marco acts as a secret mafia boss of an eco-terrorist organisation, In Autumn last year around 100 people were raided and investigations continue. There are 22 new prisons being built in Italy. FRANCE The French groups present were involved in helping specific families and resisters inside the prisons. There was a riot in Clairvuaux et Troyes prison outside Paris; because of this 20 people were put in. isolation. The support group are helping these isolation cases. There were 3 days of campaigns around these cases, in the form of actions, demos, and pickets outside prison. It was an important period of time, and the campaign received lots of support from people nationally in France, many people helped during the trial of the alledged rioters. Previously, within the last month there was major disruptions during the trial, by activists highlighting the injustice of the trial. It was a good example of a broad social movement happening for the cause of prisoners. In France there is a bleak situation, the rise of the rights wing, the end of trade union/syndicate struggle, other forms have emerged, social change seems very unlikely. The Leftwing has been so co-opted and canonised, that weak syndicates are not controlling the social rage any more. The French government has recently published a report saying that in the next 2 years armed struggle groups will emerge again, due to the mass social movements being unsusceptible to co-option, despite of the ongoing repression. They are very scared of broad, popular movements to be talking about the re-emergence of armed struggle. There are 22 new prisons being built in France. A gentleman arrived from France who used to be a member of Action Directe in the '70’s, before they became an armed struggle group. He is involved in supporting members of Action Directe that are in prison, through a support group based in Marseille. The situation is very bad. 4 people are seriously ill, due to their conditions in jail. One person has lung cancer, another a brain tumour, one woman has had 2 heart attacks, the other person has a mental illness. They have spent 7 years in isolation. Last year the French state passed a law that suspends conviction of very ill people; the state passed this law a week after some comrades had died in prison, although in practice they remove you from prison 1 or 2 days before death. A prisoner organising against this law has been punished severely with 80 days isolation and punitive conditions. This has sparked a lot of rebellions and riots. 200 people are imprisoned for political activity in France, with no widespread understanding in the general public. The majority are Basque, there are some libertarian-communists. Breton nationalists, and some are anarchists. He came to the gathering to meet people and link together, he remarks that Action Directe fought against Franco also. The gathering will give a lot of energy to prisoners inside, to know that many young people are ready for the struggle against oppression, and that it continues. HOLLAND Maarten’s campaign. Comrade getting extradited to Gothenburg after the Anti-EU demo there, he was arrest ed trying to escape the police, the cops blocked his exit and arrested him for assaulting police. There is no evidence of such actions, video footage shows him helping comrades over container to escape then getting busted without resisting. The Dutch authorities won’t look at the evidence MARK BARNSLEY/CAPS: Private Prisons - Exploitation - Prison struggle Taking action against prison labour, organising inside and outside the walls. Mark Barnsley started with a brief personal introduction, Spoke how he was inspired to be in Barcelona, as in some of his darkest times had found a lot of support & energy from comrades here. Said that he was not an intellectual, but he knows about prisons, having spent a portion of his life there. Born in Sheffield in 1961 and been involved in anarchist politics all his life from 14. In this period activists were more exposed to the ideas of armed struggle, he went with other anarchists to Lebanon in 1978, when he was 17, to fight against fascism. He fought in Lebanon for 2 years and was involved in armed struggle in other countries. When he was 19 he was arrested in Dover, UK for possession of explosives. After serving 3 years he was released, and he was involved in a variety of anarchist projects, editing a Sheffield anarchist paper [The Sheffield Anarchist’], anti-fascist activities, strike support, class struggle, whilst facing repression from the police in the form of raids and harassment. In the course of his activism he went to prison again for refusing to pay court fines. In 1994 the police fit him up after being stabbed, bottled and beaten up by 15 drunken middle-class students. The Detective Inspector of the police station where Mark was charged was the same officer that had arrested him in Dover. The cop had been working for Special Branch, the political police. Mark served 8 years of a 12-year sentence, he did not see prison as a time to rest, or give up the class struggle, and so he constantly fought back against the authorities. He was involved in a lot of resistance, and since he was released 1 1 /2 years ago he has been causing trouble for the state as much as he can, as revenge. The Campaign Against Prison Slavery is an anti-prison, anti- compulsory work campaign. They are currently fighting against Wilkinson’s high-street stores, who, amongst others, benefit from prison labour. There has been regular actions, with many people involved, the good public support has meant CAPS is a high profile campaign, attacking the prison system in ways to show how prisoners are kept, worked, held for the benefit of big business. CAPS Pickets have been very successful, being able to talk about prison abolition from the starting point of attacking one specific form of repression- i.e private prisons/ private companies- we can win - not by hiding our politics but presenting it in a different way. Public support has been very receptive. Having links with a lot of people inside is important, for information on resistance and attacks against forced labour / refusals / go slows / sabotage / strikes/riots Prisoners risk losing contact with their families in isolation units, or loss of privileges for organising inside the jails so its important to support them. We must attack the companies from outside, prisoners who resist must know that they are supported when repressed. Prisoners are paid almost 1 euro per day for a full days work. CAPS work not only on anarchist prisoners, but for all prisoners. This is essential - CAPS regard many social crimes as political crimes. America since WW2 has acted as a cancer in the EU. in the form of cultural imperialism, worker-bashing labour practices and imported penal policies. The Trojan horse has been the UK- Airstrip 1. From the UK economic and penal policies have been transported into Europe. USA has the biggest prison population in the world. 5% of all men and 1 in 5 black men are in prison, on parole or probation. 1/3 of the adult male population has a police record. Prison society is spreading into general society. Britain has the highest per capita prison population in Europe, with mandatory sentencing, and a 2 strikes law, David Blunkett, the UK Home Secutary is introducing many repressive measures against the general society, prison populations and migrants. Britain is becoming a place where we are imprisoned in our streets and in our homes. Prisons are often workhouses for capitalist bosses, hungry for a strong profit at the expense of a captive workforce denied the right to refuse. The British model will become the EU standard. Mark recommends people read about the US and UK prison systems as they will be increasingly enforced soon across Europe. Every week there are an absurd amount of new laws, a lO-year sentence can mean parole for the rest of your life when you get out. The Prison industry is booming, as is the prison population, privatising the prisons leads to a rise in the overall prison population, and the futher lockdown of society in the grip of capitalism. Mark ’s Recommended books! Lockdown America by Christian Parenti The Celling Of America edited by Daniel Burton-Rose Scientific + Technological Options Assessment: (STOA) Prison Technologies -An Appraisal of technologies of political control. Final Study European Council Study. Ref. no. #P.E 289. 6 66/ Fin. St./ FIN [available on internet) The huge rise in the technological means of control is seen easiest in the use of electronic tags for people on bail, migrants and uncharged terror suspects, or for people released because of legal action. Electronic tagging means prisons in peoples homes, being your own guard in an internalised regime. In prison you have a few decreed rights according to the law, in your own home, you have no rights. Many people prefer tags to prison, Mark refuses this, - this equipment is the imprisonment of the mind, or a social imprisonment, and should be resisted. Prisons in homes saves money for the government. Scientists found that tags are given for offences they'd never go to prison for anyway, rather than decrease the prison population, it leads to an increase. Research also found that use of tags lead to a very negative effect on prisoner’s mental health, and grave misuse could lead towards a totalitarian society. Politicians in EU are taking steps to hide the STOA report mentioned above, because the findings are so far-reaching and severe. It observes that US means of repression are being imported into the EU, and advises it leads to a police state, deliberalisation and a mass prison society. Electronic tags that monitor adrenalin levels, drug Si alcohol use, have been developed, which use an electronic charge to knock the wearer unconscious if drugs, high levels of adrenaline or alcohol are detected in the wearer, or if the wearer enters an area of denial (curfew conditions etc.) Another weapon the French State has been developing is a sonic weapon intended for use against rioters, [actually used by French in 1968, but the new technology is far more advanced. In most big towns all over the United Kingdom, there is a local prison filled with mostly short sentences and unconvicted prisoners on remand etc. All have segregation/isolation units There are 5 maximum-security jails; in 3 of them are the most secure segregation units, originally for IRA political prisoners, now they are intended for terror suspects -These prisons are called Dispersal prisons, or Category A prisons, below this Cat B, then C, & D prisons. A prisoner is supposed to be transferred increasingly to a lower security jail as his/her sentence progresses, according to behaviour and conduct. Under 21 ’s are treated as Juveniles, in a separate system. Mark was held in a high security prison when he was younger, as he was political prisoner.Later when he was in jail after the fit-up he was held perpetually in high security, segregated from other prisoners in isolation often, ‘ghosted’ many times - The practice of moving a prisoner without warning, to prevent prisoner solidarity, to prevent the family and lawyer knowing where their loved ones are being held, to disorientate and intimidate the prisoner. In 10 years Mark was moved 30-40 times, in 1994 he was put in a private prison for the first time- Don’t rest inside, resist inside! Mark organised work strikes, protests and sabotage, he was involved in uprisings that destroyed prisons, costing the prison service and government many millions of pounds. One time the State chose 10 prisoners at random to charge for a revolt, as they couldn't identify any one individual. Mark was not charged, and became the main defence witness. All charged men were acquitted, no one got sent down again- Treatment after the trial became even worse. In 2000 Mark was moved again, beaten, and then held in total isolation in Wales for 2 months, then moved again in total segregation. Moved to the Alcatraz of the UK, the Isle of Wight, ghosted 5 times in one month. Authorities hate solidarity, if you stand up for yourself they punish you, but if you stand up for another prisoner, the screws punish you heavier, to break mutual aid, destroy support and breed isolation amongst the cons. When inside it's important to subvert and spread trouble to show the state can never succeed. When Mark was inside in isolation, he felt very strong when he knew support was coming from inside and outside the prison walls. When he was transferred to the Isle of Wight, he had been ghosted, and arrived knowing no one. Immediately the other prisoners knew who he was and wanted to help. Offered from their cells, tobacco, a newspaper sandwich and a book. One con called out "Do you want a cup of tea?" Mark was baffled "How are you going to get me a cup of tea?" ”1 have hot water & a tea bag. I’ll send them on the line" (A line hung between the levels-cells by cons to defeat being locked in their cells ) -So 10 minutes after arriving in isolation. Mark had tea & a newspaper. —Strong solidarity between prisoners is essential — Repression continued until 2002 when he was released, although most prisoners go through the Cat A-B-C-D system of declassification, this never applied to Mark. One minute he was in handcuffs, next he was in the street, no advance warning. Mark advised people to hold into their integrity inside, as outside it’s the only thing you’ll have left after a long sentence. Struggle in the UK- Resistance & Repression. In the late 1960’s prison conditions were very bad, until ’63 screws could still whip prisoners legally, and a punishment diet of strictly bread + water was still used. The government created the maximum-security category A prisons, and put all the dangerous and political prisoners inside them. This was a big mistake, political ideas spread amongst the convicts. 1969 - The Parkhurst uprising, a furious revolt where many screws were battered [seriously injured - a few were stabbed). The prison service remained terrified for years. At this time militancy inside reflect militancy outside. For 15 years after the Parkhurst riot prisoners got a lot of autonomy. Most screws were terrified of the Cat A prisons, and for good reason, prisoners understood their collective power. Local prisons however remained very bad; Lock up for 23 hours, 3, sometimes 4 people to a 2 x2 Metre cell. ’70s- many uprisings, protests, riots in the jails.lncluding the formation of prisoners groups: PROP- Organisation for prisoners resistance. PLA- Prisoners Liberation Army - Shot some screws at a time of serious clampdown & brutality, won serious gains for treatment of cons. The IRA had influence in prisoner organisations; they also had their own body for resistance amongst their cadres. 1976- Hull, North UK. Prisoners fought very hard for improval of conditions, and largely got them. 1991- Strangeways riot, Manchester. The convicts arranged to rise-up from the chapel, attacked the guards - took the keys, released other prisoners, took control of the prison, went to the roof so everyone could see from outside - Strangeways is in a fairly public part of Manchester, next to a busy main road. For 2 weeks the prisoners were at siege in the prison, demanding improvals in conditions and public awareness of their demands. The government after recommended a new penal shake-up, importing many policies and measures from American methods, to prevent any further revolts, and smash the prisoner’s resistance movement. Further events in the early '90’s gave the State more reasons to be furious 1994-95 - 4 IRA prisoners escape from Whitemoor Maximum Security Cat. A Prison. Guards were playing cards, were alerted when the prisoners were already on the wall, one of the escapees produced a pistol and shot a guard. Although the prisoners were quickly captured this was a big embarrassment for the State. -Isle of Wight escape. Simply amazing, Governor had a habit of pointing key at prisoners when he spoke, a crafty con took a good look and managed to make a copy, and just walked out. This was a very bad incident for the State(!), and the head of the prison service was sacked. -The Government commissioned 2 reports about security measures, although it was supposed to be a set of independent reports, the information that the reports carried had been decided previously. The UK was to adopt US prison/industrial methods. In application this led to repression across all levels of the penal system, any benefits fought for were removed. Whole ranges of measures were brought in to destroy resistance, although these measures were fought -The State introduced the most repressive measures first inside local prisons, where resistance was weak, and waited until the largest group of political prisoners- the remaining IRA inmates - had been sent back to Ireland, to implement the measures in maximum security jails. -The State undermined prisoner solidarity and struggle in 1995 with 2 measures: Compulsory urine testing Class system / Privilege system This led to a predictable outcome- Booming smack use - cannabis is detectable for 50+ days, a culture of cannabis use existed in the prisons, almost tolerated and encouraged. Heroin is only detectable for 1-2 days. This destroyed solidarity and led to cons being forced to work for cash, stealing, lies, fights, informing. In conjunction the authorities introduced a divide & rule class system, based on incentives & special treatment, in exchange for compliance and co-operation. Basic treatment is segregation, Standard on the wing, 1 visit a month and 1/2 hour per day outside. Enhanced treatment gains prisoners a money bonus each week , longer outside time, with the pay off being that many of them are informers. Many prisoners bowed to the scheme, when the scheme was introduced there was little difference between the levels, now there is a big difference. There are few fighters left in prison, Thatcher smashed prison struggle to quite a considerable extent, so it's really important to not forget those still in jail now. Repressive measures have set back the prison struggle 20 years, in the new struggle against the modem prison system many prisoners will get long periods added to their sentences, will be effected by heavy conditioning, will be pressured into becoming informers, to be totally compliant in a private prison system of personal gain. A number of rebels are active in the UK system at the moment, many may not be political, and CSC units are used to smash prisoners, similar to the F.I.E.S. units in Spain. Very brutal, total isolation for an indefinite time, sleeping on concrete, no pens, 6 Riot Pigs escort con to eat & wash. They are often used as a punishment, for when the prison service can’t get additional charges to stick against a rebellious prisoner. All the men that have been subjected to this system have developed mental problems; even some of the guards have developed them as well. These units are often not used against political prisoners because of what happened last time in the 70’s. Mark organised a work strike against the CSC units for 3 days, he was not moved there. Instead he was isolated and ghosted with other prisoners who had also participated. In1991 the Conservative party opened the first private prison in the UK. Built by the state, run by Group4, the US security company. Group4 now run much of the Penal/Justice system, in a Public Private Finance Initiative supported by the Government. Wackenhut are other US company profiting from the prison system in the UK. Involved in Scab labour, breaking strikes & private investigation across Australia, America and now the UK. 1994- Wackenhut's first prison opened in Doncaster, in a working class area, to recruit local unemployed people as guards, at low wages and little training. This is the same pattern they use in the US, exploiting those inside and outside the prison walls. Private companies tend to employ a lower number of guards, but use a lot more technology. CCTV, Electronic Gates, Intercom. 3 Weeks after it was open, Mark was transferred there. The prisoners took advantage of the inexperience of the screws, to create a degree of autonomy that allowed them to take control of the prison, the governor was scared to come out of his office, the cons refused access of their cells, or to whole wings of the prison. After the main revolt there were a further 9 months of struggle. Wackenhut refuse to have Mark back in any of their facilities, as he had been a temporary thorn in their side and had cost them loads of money. Tony Blair said he'd end private prisons, when his New Labour party came to power in the UK. This has not happened, the industry has expanded massively. The first private prisons were built by the State and run by security companies. Now the companies build them and manage them. This has increased their profits massively; in 2 years private prisons make enough money to pay for their construction costs. The owning companies can look forward to another 23 years of profits before they will have to review the situation according to their models. There are huge profits to be made from the UK prison population, and the political parties consorting with them in the form of kickbacks and party donations. In the US private prison companies influence prison policy. There is little evidence of this in the UK yet, however this is changing. 1980’s- The Conservative Home Sec. -against all his principles- told judges to look at giving prison sentences as a last resort, advised releasing people for good behaviour, recommended giving shorter sentences, due to the desperately overcrowded situation in the jails. 20 years later the number of people incarcerated is higher than ever before, the system doesn’t have enough cells. Today’s situation is that the private prison companies can bankroll the governments costs, so the State can imprison more people than ever before, and introduces more repressive legislation against any sectors of society it dislikes. In this situation we can see that Statist powers needs venture capital to directly increase repression. Some US companies have come to the EU looking at the rich profits to be made. For Mark, he says he isn’t bothered if the prison he's in is private or state owned, but we must analyse the situation and fight back. As private prisons expand, and practices spread into state facilities, we can expect to see forced labour for private gain everywhere, which will undermine existing conditions for working class people, everywhere. Prisoners refusing the compulsory work schedule are punished with isolation, benefits withdrawn and their sentence extended. Forced labour has always been integral to the penal system; however, in the past the work was non-productive. In the UK the name for a prison guard is 'screw', this term is around 200 years old. It comes from a punishment where prisoners had to turn a handle all day long, and the guards would come with a key to turn a screw to make it more difficult for the cons to continue. In the 198D‘s non- productive labour was the norm, the state didn’t think it could get away with turning a profit from prisoners, due to the resistance inside and outside the jails. Non-productive labour included sewing postal bags that were never used, they would be sent to another prison where they would be dissembled by prisoners and sewn again. Work was a punishment, using antiquated methods with cons sat in rows. It was never thought of they could enforce work across all sectors of the prison population due to militancy. In the USA, even though there has been a huge rise of the prison complex, private gain was banned until recently, as it was seen as being unfair to existing capitalists. 10 years of repression have changed things. Now it’s necessary to work, regardless of the fact you are forced. The government has reduced the amount of commodities it supplies to prisoners; private companies run the canteen, medical centre, and store. Often charging expensive rates from captive consumers who worked to produce the goods themselves. Exploitation is obviously increasing with the expansion of the private prison industry. Wackenhut opened a prison in Lowden Grange in Nottinghamshire, and told cons they would get better conditions if they applied to go there. The wage was supposed to be £30 week. Wackenhut only wanted fit, healthy men who would sign away their rights to medical care and day visits. The prisoners got very little money, a percentage went into an account for the 'victims of crime’, a percentage went into forced savings account, which means the company doesn’t have to give them any money when they leave, and made them pay for renting the cells they were kept in. All money must be spent in the company store, which the company owns. This is the ideal capitalist economy, owning workshops, stores and the prisoners themselves. Private companies in the UK are subsidised by the State at a rate of £7 Million a year. Prisoners are no longer encouraged to study or learn. They are exploited in low-skilled manual labour. In one maximum security Cat. A prison they had the cons folding paper party hats. The government commissioned a secret report on the prison service; Mark managed to receive a copy. The report found big levels of incompetence within the prison service, and large degrees of corruption, incomplete and illegal contracts with private companies and a large amount of ridiculous conclusions. For instance, across the penal system there was a total shortage of toothbrushes, but there was enough stationary to last 450 Million years!! In Wakefield, prisoners were packing drain pipes; some refused the work and were forced into segregation. Comrades took direct action against the company involved, in the UK & Malta -where a subsidiary was located- 30 people invaded a factory of the company, locked the gates with their locks, copied leaflets in the offices and distributed them to workers. Many of the employees didn’t know about the companies’ involvement in prison labour, one of the workers was a former anarchist comrade. When the fire service turned up they refused to cut the locks on the gates, as it was an industrial dispute. Local workers were very supportive, and as a result of the office occupation the company cut its contracts in prisons. Private companies aim to keep it secret from the public and its workers that they are involved in prison labour, but its quite easy to research information about the industry, due to their links. Sometimes publication of their activities is enough to stop them exploiting prisoners. When CAPS decided to target Wilkinson's, another company involved in prison labour, action was widespread, there were over 100 pickets of their stores and it was very popular with the general public. Campaigning against forced labour for private gain is a good tactic to keep prison struggle on the agenda, and can be a good way to present people with an abolitionist perspective as well. CAPS have taken part in a BBC Interview, and it appears to be a winnable campaign. Companies don’t want people outside their stores, its bad public relations. The bigger picture is that prison labour also underorasifis general workers struggle, it forces down pay and conditions on the outside, the threat of loss of jobs, short time, casualised labour. One company sacked their entire workforce and replaced them with prisoners. Added to this these companies make a considerable profit selling their products on the high street. In the US private prisons compete with outside companies. The companies are effective in that they have little overheads as they pay their workers- prisoners very little. They set up in working class/ poor areas where there is high unemployment, and work to keep wages low. A local worker living next to a private prison frequently has the choice between working as a screw on a low wage, or become involved in the black economy and risk imprisonment. Mark Barnsley spoke about some of the problems the Saloniki support campaign had in the UK, noting that the campaign had only ever really focused on Simon Chapman [UK prisoner), and whilst there had been some good actions- Greek consulate attacked, Banner drops, propaganda, some important demos and benefit events all over the country, when Chapman was released the campaign folded, and energy that should have been pushed forward was lost. One of the problems was the organising was mainly done centrally from London, and the prime focus on Simon. Although the Saloniki prisoners have been released, or had their charges exchanged for less serious ones, if we don't support those left in prison we create a dangerous situation for them. For years the prisoner support groups in the UK had no co-ordination, they were fractured and very weak. Brighton ABC does a lot of international & domestic work and is well organised. The ALF Prisoners Support Group gives strong support for Animal Rights activists, and Earth Liberation Prisoners support Eco-Anarcho, Indigenous and Anti- Imperialist prisoners, but of course they all overlap. Many groups are only doing letter writing, this is not enough. *ln Crete 1 person was killed by police at a support demo for the Saloniki prisoners - There were many solidarity actions in Greece for the imprisoned comrades- Graffiti, rioting, trashing, firebombs, many large gas canisters used as bombs in banks, car show rooms, prison guards cars / security / police. In Cuitat Vella, a district of Barcelona, B people were arrested in relation to a letter bomb sent to the Greek Embassy, in solidarity with the Saloniki prisoners. People going to the support demos have been arrested with heavy charges Mark rounded up by commenting that he was pleased to see a lot of interest in prison abolition, and that he was pleased to see many people were aware and agreed with an abolitionist view. He remarked that it is an issue that anarchists retreat from, but as anarchists we should be intrinsically opposed to prisons, they don’t work, they protect the rich, and they make good people bad, and bad people worse. Prisons, capitalism and mass imprisonment are a recent concept, for 1000’s of years people dealt with anti-social behaviour without prisons, in ways that were often more humane. No anarchist society should have prisons, who could be the jailer? Questions as to what we do with fascists and police who refuse to disarm after the ^revolution? Its for the community to decide, but Mark points out that Anarchy is not a kind of Liberalism, and he is not a liberal - Shoot them. END REVENGE FOR CARLO GUILIANI EIMOIKA ZULUETA. Madrid based Lawyer, specialising in European law. Zulueta begins by stating that it’s Important to understand the general EU picture as this will become the norm for all states. Usually the state spies on all his public talks, this is flattering as they are concerned, he'd love all the tapes. - 30 years ago armed struggle groups existed all over Europe & Latin America. Every EU state had armed groups acting at the same time in a coherent manner. Every EU state maintained lists of supporters of the armed groups, and social struggle was very strong. Now a ceasefire is in place amongst the social movements. This is changing. In 2001, before S11, ETA was almost the only group still in existence. Almost all groups fell with socialism. Some survived, but they were mainly nationalist. Despite this general society is dis-informed and manipulated into thinking they are at greater risk of terror than ever before, there is no security socially, only for those in power. Depression, delinquency, anti-social crime- Governments try to make us believe terror comes from the poorest sectors of society, but it originates directly from the boss classes who systemically use it for social control. Many anti-terror laws are being implemented throughout the world, even though there has been a decline in the frequency of terrorist operations globally. Collective security is a myth to increase control, we are losing the few public spaces left we have, all freedom of speech, of association. The more repression is increased, so more poverty will increase. Under the guise of the anti-terror laws, the fight against the social movements is intensified. When actions do happen, the media quickly co-opt them into a vehicle of neo-liberal propaganda. The new declaration of a war on terror is an ill- defined war against all, without specific targets or objectives, beyond securing the global market for Imperial powers. Unreal threats shape society, the anti-terror laws may have a new appearance but they are reaWy an amplification of existing infrastructure. Political adversaries take the first blows, although the heaviest attacks are reserved for mass society via preventative anti-terror measures. Economic globalisation means more insecurity & inequality, a greater divide between classes even in prosperous states, frequently 1 st world states have areas of 3 rd world poverty within their borders. 3 richest people own more wealth than BOO million people. Russia was the first state to follow the US- Justtifying its brutal war against Chechnya - Utilitising indefinite detention, closed military trials, execution without appeal, kidnappings, disappearance, torture, mass social repression. Israel - Palestine- Israelis assassinate their political opposition; break international laws, Isreal is a completely closed military police state - Aided by the US and UK. The terror threat comes from the same people who commit economic terror. States globally severely amplified their laws to combat their political and social opponents - Usually always Muslims. The Afghanistan war was supported by the EU, even though there was no threat by to the EU at this point. The actions made against Afghanistan were a poltical statement in favour of the US war machine. The US shot down Sudanese plane because they said 6 people on board were terrorists. Migrants in US can be indefinitely held incommunicado. 1000’s have been interned because the FBI suspects them of being sympathetic to ’terrorism’. In the time of Martin Luther King, the FBI turned into a mass system of social control - Later CGINTELPRO - Anyone threatening the social-economic system will be crushed, any movements which are rebellious, anti-statist, etc All Europol/ Eurojust documents targeting anarchists & anti-capitalists are because of the political threat to entrenched ecconomic interests. Rich states need laws to protect their interests. Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain, they are worried about the disappearence of the traditional left and the resurgence of genuinely radical activity. Europol formed in 1999, we don’t see this force on the streets, it has no operative functionon the streets, and is presently an intelligence agency predominantly concerned with databasing and surveillance. Computer surveillance and intelligence gathering usually, co-ordinating information surveys. All internet service providors are controlled and censored by EU states- Hotmail, Yahoo. AOL, Microsoft. All these companies have arrangements with security services. Anyone considered anarchist, subversive or terrorist by the state has his or her details given to Europol. Statist power seeks to control absolutely all territory with its own agenda, to be emmeshed within all courts, all electronic systems, bank accounts. Phones, public utilities, computer networks, media, NGO's. One idea is to use PGPencryption, Linux etc. Europol have offices in all State capitals in the EU, with police from those nation states acting within it. Europol is immune to State political & social control. On the 29 January 2001 Europol met in Madrid to start discussing, and acting against anti- terrorist operations. They created a definition of ‘anarchist terrorism’ and began the process of defining other radical groups as a threat. After the big demonstrations in J18, Prague, Gothenburg, and the continuing resistance in Spain, Italy and Greece from anarchist & anti- capitalist groups, Europol decided to co-ordinate an anti-anarchist unit throughout the EU. Terrorism of the state is becomes legalised. Spanish delegates initially proposed this course of action against anarchists, however the beginnings of the talks were very difficult for the particular parties to agree on common grounds of repression, as each nations police force wanted to keep their own ways of controlling and managing groups within their borders. To borrow from the Italian example of creating laws to fit the situation. Europol is being used as part of an attempt to end or co-opt all political activity outside the mainstream. The head of Europol attends all meetings of the European Union with the rest of the heads of state. In Genoa there was an exchange of personnel, training and information. With the Italians showing off their own ways to humiliate, torture and beat demonstrators and prisoners. For every international manifestation now this is routine. Europe is becoming identical to the US. The UK is the only EU country to suspend the Human Rights Act, Berlusconi’s Italy has created a new way of using laws - making it up as they go along. Saturday Night. 24 April. Anti-Prison Demonstration. Around 500 people met in the Placa de Cathedral, in the centre of Barcelona. It was a hot day and the city was quite busy, The crowd moved north towards the Jail, letting off fireworks, and spraypainting slogans on the banks, estate and job agencies on the route. Many places were flyposted, traffic intersections were frquently blocked, with some people beeping their horns in solidarity. The police hung around at the back of the march and didn’t interfer until later on. Many people had blazing torches made from scaff poles, these were later used to destroy a posh car and a few banks and estate agencies. The walls of the prison were graffitied, and stones thrown at the jailers observation towers, along with fireworks of course. The police then dispersed the demo. Many people felt if there had been better preparation we could have been a lot more together when the police intervened. There was not many cops, and they could have been confronted. It was difficult for people from other cities and internationals, as they don’t know for sure what the response of the police will be, they have to follow people who know the city. For some disorganisation was seen as a strength not a weakness, there was at least one arrest, and some people got their passports controlled the next day in the area. Most people thought it was a great demo apart from the part when we ran away from the police. Some people thought that more people should have got involved to provide a frontline, however these things are loosely formed. If the demo had happened in the UK or Germany everyone would have been arrested and cordoned, but the crowd managed to escape into the city. There was lots of noise & fireworks. It undoutably meant a lot to prisoners inside. (Over the next week a riot happens in another prison, the UGT (a reformist union) supports the screws - Anarchists/ Anti-Authoritarians take direct action against the union during Mayday, a week later, smashing their offices up and pouring paint everywhere.) Some ideas and starting points... Next day ideas discussed were that groups should focus on Anti-Terror legislation, the spread of private prisons -Learning from the UK model, and Re-iterate an anti-capitalist & abolitionist perspective, and continue to work on specific topics to the locality. I.e. Private prisons in the UK, F.I.E.S in Spain, the fit-ups and repression in Italy. Different situations apply to different countries, what functions is we penetrate our own countries on the issue that applies to them. It would be a mistake to ignore the conditions particular to the locality, also ignoring the overall picture in Europe is suicide. We need to use a combination of techniques and methods when organising. We need to build a stronger bases and support structures, and not allow the state to define labels they use to criminalize us as Violent’ or ’dangerous’. Resistence will always bring repression, It’s needed for the State to fear the consequences of its actions, so there needs to be a deterrent, our actions. Rooted in a broader social movement against repression, its harder to isolate and break- up groups if they feed into a lot of other struggles. More active solidarity is needed, we’ve got to earn the respect of the prisoners. Fighting the prison system is essential in an organised practical fashion, so we have to be consistent.. Organising in smaller places outside cities, where the prisons themselves are going to be built raises a buzz quickly, which often spreads into the cities. Look inside other class conflicts and areas where we can disperse ourselves. The clampdown is against all the lower classes, and although social strata’s are a little different now, we need to attack the system now, not later. If we’re not prepared for the repressions, we have to organise now to deal with it.. A proactive, responsive approach is essential, more than just propaganda, and must be based in the social movement. Repression touches everyone; it impinges on all strata’s of society. Almost everyone who has been in prison, or is family can understand that prisons do not work. We don’t need to be too theory-heavy, building massive platform maybe impractical, local autonomy, horizontal, is better for focusing on issues particular to local regions. Network across Europe, work against EU repression collectively, but remain self-organised. Building a platform might take sometime to iron out. Informal networks may be better to allow flexibility, as laws/ conditions change very rapidly. We’re not here to decide a common line, but a plurality. It is essential to build an actual network of mutual aid and solidarity. We need to form an infrastructure of contacts, with houses near isolated prisons for families and friends of those imprisoned to stay at. We need the ability to fund and arrange travel, train/taxi money, food, and lawyer’s fees. We need to treat prisoners as comrades and collaborators, rather than victims. It is important to overcome divisions, building partnerships between the mass social movements, and bringing to the fore neighbourhood organising for non-political prisoners. Locally focused action co-operating with, not co-opting families & prisoners struggle, comrades, not victims, partners in struggle together. Not immersing them in something alien. We must voice the demands of the prisoners on the streets, when they write communiques we must distribute them as soon as possible, as far as possible. Every time there is a revolt inside its really important to show up, make noise, print up actions as soon as possible, network info as it can be difficult to connect between prisons in some countries. In the UK its fairly easy as prisoners are often aware of what is happening in other prisons. In Durham, UK there was a case of prisoners being mistreated and segregated in units. Supporters shot fireworks over the isolation units, which led to prisoners being moved out. Also in Lewes prison, UK, Fire works were set off by supporters over the prison the night after a riot in solidarity. Have to be careful of not creating ghettos when working in de-centralised groups. Carrying the critique of the totality of the prison system within concrete specific topics. Stop working in isolated activist ghettos and expand into other areas, connect with others, but not thinking in terms of more contact with activist groups, but contact with prisoners themselves and communities themselves. I Communication methods must be improved and worked on, we need to be ready for future conflicts immediately. Problems of translation must be sorted out.. Its essential to create new areas of discourse. Different forms of social decomposition need different forms of resistance. Defeat decomposition through resistance and solidarity The Saloniki funding was said to have been organised well, very straightforward - The Greek anarchists said We Need X amount’ so people could focus on that and raise money until they got it. The creation of a bank account for better use of funds was dismissed in favour of using existing accounts, of existing ABC groups - harder to trace, don’t need to add to the electronic trail. Better support for recently released prisoners: -A comrade from Spain was in prison for years, he was very dis- orientated when coming out. He was of an older generation, and found the outside world strange. There was little support network for him, he had difficulty adjusting, and being surrounded by younger comrades who helped him a lot, but had not much in common with, displaced him, as he did not fit within the sub-culture very well. He became a heroin addict, as a result of his alienation. Drug abuse is a big issue, and especially its place within the anarchist/ activist milieu, a scene that can be very footloose, shifting, inconsistent and irresponsible. It’s a big mistake to ignore the situation after prisoners get out, or to fail to provide solidarity though hard periods. Aspects often not spoken about are feelings, emotions, these things never become public. It is taboo. The institutionalisation of prisoners, and the trauma inflicted on family and friends requires support, energy and commitment.. FIN// Four groups of people leaving Barcelona after the gathering were stopped in their cars, the people had their passports controlled and had material related to political activity removed from their possession. } i i 2 o V 0 0 0 0 CO ct 0 ct 0 m C apitalism is Terror Reclaim Your Mind: Manifesto Urgent message for all those who have or are in danger of being labelled mentally ill Selling cures for the problems they created It is well known that depression has been on a steady rise in the past few decades. This increase apparently isn't about to stop since the World Health Organization (WHO) recently predicted that, by 2020, depression would be the second most prevalent health problem in the world, just below heart disease, and offered as an explanation that this was due to a previous underestimation of the number of people suffering from this "illness". Couldn't the increasing feeling of emptiness and worthlessness characteristic of depression be related to the society we live in, at a time when people lose themselves in consumption and mass entertainment to avoid thinking about their miserable life, their economic survival or the ongoing destruction of the planet? While the "experts" paid by pharma- cology corporations will invariably answer that depression is a brain disorder due to a "chemical imbalance", the result of some faulty genes they have yet to identity, we cannot help to wonder how this could not be environmental considering there was no such thing as depression in Africa before colonization? Depression has widely been touted as endemic to the 20- something generation. Severe depression is 10 times more prevalent today than it was 50 years ago, and it strikes a full decade earlier in life on average than it did a genera- tion ago. Such feelings and behaviours testify to frustration and despair that have nowhere to go when the social landscape is so frozen. Disaffection or even opposition are quickly marketed into sellable style images; alienation as fashion. Meanwhile suicide, perhaps the ultimate regres- sion, has been on a steady rise for several decades. - John Zerzan At best depression is considered as a necessary side-effect of "progress" - just like civilian murders are a "collateral damage" of war - but "experts" always affirm that more scientific research is the only solution to the problem. Until these mythical genes have been found and we can all live in the promised techno-virtual "paradise" as genetically-modified human beings, the pharmacology industry is of course delighted to sell drugs to help humanity deal with its "chemical imbalances", just like we are sold bottled water to "solve" the problem of water pollution. A brave new world? Unfortunately if they discover a perfect drug to remove all the symp- toms of depression and stress, they won't stop here. As it is becoming increasingly clear, their interest is not happiness and well-being of the whole of humanity, as they promise, but "progress" and the on-going technological race. Such a drug would in reality be an opportunity to increase the demands of society and the stress- and depression- inducing effects of our environment. Our dependency on drugs will force in turn others to use them to be able to compete and survive. Imagine a society that subjects people to conditions that make them terribly unhappy, then gives them the drugs to take away their unhappiness. Science fiction ? It is already 'P happening to some extent in our own society. Instead of removing the conditions that make people depressed, modern society gives them antidepressant drugs. In effect, antidepressants are a means of modifying an individual's internal state in such a way as to enable him to tolerate social conditions that he would otherwise find intolerable. - Theodore Kaczynski While until recently society had to adapt to the limits of human beings, the situation has been reversed and it's now human beings who have to adapt to society. Is that their idea of a "perfect world"? And more importantly, is that yours? Since this essential question never generates any debate in main- stream media, it seems that pharmacology corporations have already answered for us. Using the false promises of consumerism - "our product will solve all you r problems and make you feel fullfilled just like these idealized images you see on our ads" - the sales of anti- depressants has increased by 800% in the 90's alone. They now claim that one american out of five, a market of over 50 millions people, "needs a cure urgently". Is it urgent because people are finally waking up and they need to be plugged back into the Matrix of illusion before they see the desert of the real world they live in? The myth of permanent happiness One effect of the excessive marketing from the pharmacology industry, and the many other industries promoting "health" as a value, is the creation of an unique ideal that everyone is supposed to cling to. These "fullfilled" consumers we see on ads have become, consciously or unconsciously, some kind of role models for most of us. They make us believe that permanent happiness is possible, the biggest myth of them all IF YOU’RE NOT BUSY BEING BORN YOU’RE BUSY BUYING - LIFE IS SO BORING - The real stae secret is the secret misery of everyday life Suffering is a misunderstanding, it exists. It's real. / can call it a misunderstanding, but / can't pretend that it doesn't exist, or will ever cease to exist... There are times / - / am very frightened. Any happiness seems trivial. And yet. / wonder if it isn't all a misunderstanding - this grasping after happiness, this fear gf pain... If instead of feanng it and running from it. one could get through it. go beyond it. / don't know how to say it. But / believe that the reality of pain is not pain. If you can endure it all the way. - Ursula Le Gum Human beings, like any conscious organisms, are dualistic by nature. We can't know the sweet without knowing the sour We can't experience happiness without experiencing sadness. With our attempt to eliminate sadness, with our obsession for positivism, we have only found emotional death. This is the way someone suffering from depression feels. In fact, it could be argued that a depressive person is different from a "normal" person only in her awareness of the poverty of her emotional life. Too afraid of terror, we have become unable to feel joy. To be able to go beyond that, pain should be embraced like any other feelings. Chagrin, shame, fear, terror, anger are transient madness. - Benjamin Rush, father of American psychiatry Individuals labelled with manic-depression (bipolar disorder), on the other hand, experience both states intensely. While mania is accepted and even promoted by our society (think about shopping sprees), the depressive episodes are frowned upon. Take a minute and ask yourself: is this intensity necessarily bad for the person or is it a problem only because it doesn't fit in the myth of permanent happiness promoted by modern society? Yes, manic-depression cause suffering and makes it difficult to live a "normal" life, but isn't it also a way to experience life more deeply? Normality vs. diversity What we observe is that, while some problems such as depression and stress seem to be the result of our decadent mental landscape, other states of mind have become a problem only because they don't fit within the grand schemes of civilization, where normality makes it easier to enforce "order". They use cultural differences for marketing purpose but in the end everyone is supposed to buy the same products and have the same desires: a stable income, an happy family, a nice house, a perfectly-sized body, a great confidence. Those who can afford it have "choices", but they are mostly limited to different tastes, such as the color of their car. Yet diversity is essential for the survival of any eco-system. If nature has survived until our "conquest", it's because of this biological diversity. If the climate or environment changed, some species would die but others would survive, making it possible for evolution to continue. When civilization will have reduced cows to one "perfect" race, it will only require one virus to kill them all. What interests us most though is diversity amongst human beings. We see that society doesn't support this simply by the way public schools work: all children have to follow the same subjects, regardless of their interests, and even if at the end of compulsory school they can "choose" between different careers, this is because of the needs of the job marketplace only. As a result a lot of teenagers finish school alienated from their initial aspirations and struggle to find a job which interests them. Disorders as differences Let's now look at some other widespread "mental illnesses" from the point of view that they are more a difference, part of the diversity of any ecosystem, than a disorder: Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a particularly sad example of the world we live in: many children are unable to stay all day long in these prisons called "schools" because they have too much energy and creativity. "Concerned" about their future in this society, influenced by psychiatrists, their parents feed them with Ritalin, sometimes since the age of 4, to numb them down and kill their flame. They fit again in the illusion of normality, but does that makes them hcjppier? Schizophrenia is often mentioned when talking about mental illnesses for it can be deeply disturbing and very long. To understand this "illness" we should take a look at "primitive" cultures: in all of them, we can find shamans who had the gift to travel on the "other world" and heal people. The initiation was involuntary (although young shamans could be identified early by their tribes) and required several deeply disturbing years until the shaman was able to master his or her skills. What's interesting is that the effects of this initiation are extremely similar to the "symptoms" of schizophrenia. Indeed some primitive tribes were fooled by western psychiatrists that their future shaman was "schizophrenic" and had to be medicated. Unfortunately it appears that anti-psychotic drugs prevent, the process to be finished, in such a way that the individual gets lost in the void between the two worlds. People are increasingly put under the label of Asperger's syndrome or highly-functioning autism. Individuals diagnosed with this "disorder" usually have a high IQ and no impairment other than a difficulty to interact and communicate with others. We suggest that their isolation and obsessive thinking may set them apart and make communication more difficult (or less meaningful) as they are not on the same wavelength as others. That doesn't have to be a disadvantage though: some psychiatrists have in fact recently "back-diagnosed" Newton and Einstein with Asperger's syndrome. The question is: would these two geniuses have delivered their wisdom if they had been labelled as autistic and medicated in their youth? Social anxiety is also on the rise. Apart from the fact it's easy to become self-conscious about our behavior and look when we live in a society which judge everyone on their appearance, it's worth mentionning that amongst all animals a percentage of them are naturally shy. Shy animals have greater chances of survival since their fears put them less at risk. For human beings, shyness may make it more difficult to be part of society but it's also a great opportunity to develop inner capabilities that others, too busy socializing, dont have the time to care about. What we observe is that most of the pain felt by "mentally ill" individuals is caused more by a rejection of society than by the "illness" itself. Alienation, loneliness, homelessness, low self- esteem are all the destructive results of a society which doesn't tolerate differences. Furthmore, the belief that there is something "wrong" that has to be "corrected" (or at least repressed) can only alienate people from themselves and make them feel miserable and worthless. Indeed almost all of these "illnesses" are usually coupled with depression. Our society tends to regard as a "sickness" any mode of thought or behavior that is inconvenient for the system, and this is plausible because when an individual doesn't fit into the system it causes pain to the individual as well as problems for the system. Thus the manipulation of an individual to adjust him to the system is seen as a "cure" for a "sickness" and therefore as good. - Theodore Kaczynski Healing or repression? All this makes us wonder if psychiatrists and psychologists are really interested in healing or if their role is to keep the illusion of "order", "normality" and "sanity" within society? Indeed the primary goals of asylums has always been to keep the "insanes" outside of society because they were considered "dangerous". But how are they dangerous considering that there is statisti- cally the, same amount of criminals amongst the "sanes" than amongst the "insanes"? Is it perhaps because they do not fit in society and their mere existence exposes the lies of this system? It's interesting to note that, before the appearance of asylums, heretics, witches, prostitutes, madmen and basically anyone "socially deviant" were being "treated" (tortured, exorcised, burnt) by the Inquisition and, when the Church started to lose its power, some of the witch-hunters "converted" to psychiatry and kept on doing basically the same job, using pseudoscience instead of religion to put themselves above the possessed/ mentally ill and try to adjust them to society's standards. These standards change enormously through time and space. For example, homosexuality was considered to be a disorder by the bible of psychiatry, the DSM, until the 7G‘s. Curiously, many psychiatrists today believe that witches were "misdiag- nosed". that they were in fact "suffering" of "mental illness", not "demonic possession". They are the only ones who don't believe in the theory of the scapegoat (a figure whom the fears - or repressed desires - of society are projected on), agreed by all historians. Could it be because this theory also applies perfectly for the "mentally ills" of today? The ones suffering the most from psychiatry are perhaps the children, who do not have choices regarding their medication because they are not supposed to be "responsible" enough. Apart from ADHD and Asperger's syndrome mentionned previously, the label of "Oppositional Defiant Disorder" offers a convenient explanation for parents who do not want to understand why their children are rebelling against their oppressive ideology and pointless consumer lifestyle. For these parents, medication appears to be the only "solution", especially if they are themselves victims of the psychiatric industry. Psychiatry as political repression More striking cases of how the myth of "mental illness" has been used by the system for repression include the Soviet Union where political dissent- ers were regularly "diagnosed" as "mentally ill" and confined in asylums. Similar repression was done in the USA where socially deviants were locked - such as Timothy Leary for advocating the use of "illegal" drugs. And as recently as April 2003 someone who was reading and talking about conspiracy theories within the US government was diagnosed as "paranoid" and held in an asylum for 9 days! The excess of the passion for liberty produced, in many people, opinions and conducts which could not be removed by reason not retrained by governement... The extensive influence which these opinions had upon the understand- ings, passions, and morals of many of the citizens of the United States, constituted a form of insanity, which / shall take the liberty of distinguishing by the name of an archie. - Benjamin Rush, father of American psychiatry Just like new laws are constantly added to create new classes of criminals and force people into an ever-narrowing range of legality, new mental disorders are "discovered" all the time to create new classes of "insanes", open new markets for the pharmacology industry and force people into an ever-narrowing range of "sanity". Actually, the "symp- toms" of mental disorders - the only things on which the existence of these "disorders" are based on - are so broad and common that anyone could be "diagnosed" with 2-3 of them by just visiting a psychiatrist! We need a program of psychosurgery and political control of our society. The purpose is physical control of the mind. Everyone who deviates from the given norm can be surgi- cally mutilated. The individual may think that the most important reality is his own existence, but this is only his personal point of view. This lacks historical perspective. Man does not have the right to develop his own mind. This kind of liberal orientation has great appeal. We must electrically control the brain. Some day armies and generals will be controlled by electrical stimulation of the brain. - Dr. Jose Delgado This quote, coming from a psychiatrist who was recruited by the CIA for the MKULTRA program of mind control after having served the fascist regime in Spain, could not be more explicit. This obsession for control is nothing new for the male-driven civilization we live in. and controlling the human mind is no doubt their biggest challenge. They dream to kill the animal (the life-force) in us, to finally transform us into perfect machines working exclusively in the name of "progress". The founding father of American psychiatry. Benjamin Rush, even considered insanes as "untamed animals whom it is the psychiatrist's duty to discipline", a comparison which remind us of the way non-white people were treated during the colonization. The reality of medication Electroshock "therapy" and lobotomy are not as common as a few decades ago, although the fact these barbaric practices still exist is deeply revealing of the society we live in. Forced medication has been mostly replacing them, often with a threat of forced confinment if the drugs are not taken. This change is not caused by a new sense of humanity amongst psychia- trists but by pressures from insurance companies who find it cheaper to send patients back home with drugs prescriptions, as well as from the needs of the pharmacology industry to increase its revenues. Another cause is that people are generally more willing to get "fixed" but we shouldn't necessarily see voluntary treatment as a progress over forced one. Indeed, it may just prove that we have been so effectively brainwashed that we do not resist anymore. Of all the tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. - C. S. Lewis Let's have a look at the way these prescription drugs "work". While ads and psychiatrists explicitly or implicitly claim that they help to heal, the reality appears different: they work by merely hiding the "symptoms" and keeping the brain quiet. Once the drugs have finished their effects, the individual is on the same situation as before or even worse, since all antipsychotic drugs can damage the brain after several months or years of "treatment", a phenomenon known as tardive dyskinesia. All of them are strongly addictive as well. So we see that drugs do nothing other than keeping an artificial state in the brain which makes things more bearable for the individual. There is nothing wrong with that, considering that some mental disorders are deeply disturbing and can push to suicide, but it's not fair to tell people that their medication is going to heal them. Prescription drugs, like any other drugs, should be used as cautiously as possible and along with a real treatment, assisted or not by a professional. Otherwise the person will stay a consumer/victim of the pharmacology industry all her life. Sadly, this may be what they are hoping for. Natural healing The most problematic effect of these drugs, however, is that they often prevent individuals to go through the natural healing process which requires a dynamic chaotic void before a healthy restoration is possible. Real healing is not a slow gradual process, as psychiatrists would like to believe, but is cyclic, with its lows and its highs, until the brain has been "purged" from old conditionned neurons and a new freedom can be found. Unfortunately the people working on the mental health field don't like anything chaotic so they do all they can to suppress these "symptoms", preventing at the same time patients to reach the end of the tunnel. If a person is lucky enough to be "allowed" to complete the healing process, it results in a new outlook on her image, life, reality and society, allowing her to adopt a more healthy lifestyle, perhaps away from mindless consumerism and weapons of mass distraction like television. Challenges and difficulties are necessary elements of any spiritual growth, and what could be more challenging than a mental "illness" which forces us to understand how our brain works and to evolve our consciousness in order to be able to keep on living? Our "disorders" truly are dangerous gifts which should be cultivated and respected rather than repressed and hated. Reclaiming our rfiinds Make no mistake: this lengthy analysis on civilization and psychiatry is not used to push off our responsibility, to blame all our problems on others. We are all too eager to finally reclaim our minds! We don't need "professionals" to tell us how to live, people have found this by themselves for millions of years, and those "experts" prevent people thinking for themselves, providing instead ready-made explanations for any difficulty they may encounter in their development. Either you think - or else others have to think for you and take power from you. pervert and discipline your natural tastes, civilize and sterilize you. - F. Scott Fitzgerald Victimism leads people to feel that they must have some kind of professional to help them - mental health agent, religious leader, educator, fashion advisor - because they are incapable of indepen- dently making their own decisions or carrying out their own activities. This is not the case! We are all capable of finding our way to healing, it's only the belief that we are not which makes us stuck! Who can know better than ourselves what's going on in our minds? Our deep fears, motivations, desires are usually beyond words and they reach such a deep layer of our reality that few psychiatrist could find about them, especially not under the pressure of insurance companies to be more "efficient". The way we think and see the world is entirely dependant on our past experiences. No one can truly understand us without re-experiencing our whole life! The idea is not necessarily to reject psychiatry as a whole but to let people choose what they feel is best for them, by showing them the different alternatives available and educating them about the lies of the mental health industry. Most importantly, we are not looking for an unique 'Truth", we want each individual to understand how their mind works, seek their own solutions and have the freedom to enact whatever course of action they feel is best. Self-exploration allows any of us to evolve from the status of helpless victims to the one of healers. This is the spirit of do-it-yourself applied to the brain! Alternatives to traditional 'treatments" exist and most have existed long before a professional class of psychiatrists was created. Medita- tion, yoga, magick, self-hypnosis, herbal & nutritional treatment, cognitive therapy, neuro-linguistic programming [NLP] are all useful pieces in our toolboxes. Most of them also have a holistic point of view, which emphasizes the importance of the whole and the interdepen- dence of the parts, an idea most psychiatrists completely reject! The solution will not come from above or outside, but from below and within. Our unconscious wants to help our conscious mind to heal, if only we listen to it. Changes inevitably happen when we finally take responsibility for who we are, for our life, for our community, for our planet, for our future. We aren't fooled anymore by society's doubletalk which tells us to be "responsible citizens" while asking us to follow orders from above without questioning. We want real responsibility and real freedom! \ More than healing At this point something should be clarified: this is not just about healing, because this idea would suppose there is a plateau to be reached, a sense of eternal well-being to be found. There isn't any, except on fairy tales and advertisements. Remember: permanent happiness is their myth! Spiritual development [or whatever name you prefer to give it] is in fact an on-going cyclic process where the travel matters more than the destination. To be able to travel more freely, you'll want to unload from your shoulders all the burden of psychiatric conditioning and especially the idea that there is something wrong with you. As it should be said more often: you are perfect as you are! You have done your best given your situation and, even if the path you took until now has been more difficult than others, this doesn't mean you're a failure! "Normal" people will have to go through this one day too, or else they will never have the chance to grow up. You are what you believe you are. If you insist on believing that you are a helpless victim of a terrible illness whose salvation lies on the hands of a few mega-corporations, this is what yotfH eventually experience all your life. What do you want? They lied to you. sold you ideas of good & evil, gave you distrust of your body & shame for your prophethood of chaos, invented words of disgust for your molecular love, mesmerized you with inattention, bored you with civiliza- tion This last measure signifies that the contacts between prisoners are reduced to a strict minimum... and this lasts for ten years, fifteen years. Sometimes longer... We are talking about a political strategy of an psychological annihilation, and the prisoners have no choice but to fight against it SOME REVENDICATIONS! Let's support this revolt! Attend the trial of appeal at Reims where the prosecuted prisoners of the burning down of the prison of Gairvaux are indicted. And along with the prisoners' movements, we demand: 1- the immediate liberation of minors, sick prisoners, those who have become mentally troubled, and illegal immigrants; 2- the automatic remission of sentences as well as systematic release on parole, and the pardoning and re-examination of sentences; 3- the improvement of conditions of prisoners by the re-opening of cell doors in the high-security prisons, the abolition of solitary confinement/ "the hole", the ER1S and body searches; 4- proper conditions of visiting hours and to stay in proximity to one's family members and close ones, in order to retain close ties with them; 5- to abandon the project of the construction of new prisons, particularly high-security penitentiaries. WE DID NOT COME TO PRISON TO WORK! OR, WHY I BURNED THE WORKSHOPS OF THE PRISON OF CLAIRV AUX. By Pascal Brozzonx First of all, and certainly to the regret of some, what took place the 16 th of April 2003 at tht high-security prison of Clairvaux was not an uprising, not even the dawning of the "biy night"... Nor was it premeditation, nor was there any dialogue, nor organization. A motive? Well.... It's simple, it's just the satisfaction to see a prison that's.... And also, there was no coincidence: the attitude of Danet (the prison's ward) and the entire clique of the administration had been there for too long, we basically needed an explicit way to give them back what they deserve. Danet, you played, you lost! Are you going to replay? The administration had, for example, recently changed the regulations regarding the visiting hours to their close ones, without informing the prisoners in any other way but a pitiful poster to which no one had paid attention. What needed to happen happened: the refusal of visiting hours for families who travel hundreds of kilometres to visit their loved ones in prison and for whom the ten unfortunate minutes of being late become fatal for them. Those who refuse families their visiting hours really do exist and are cowards. Following some inmates' protests, as soon as the next day, the administration gave them a piece of paper informing them of the change in regulation. . . But the prisoner and his/her family had already been made the fool of, and admitted fault will not be forgiven. During this time, and under the fallacious pretence of the uprising of Building A of February 2003, the visiting hours no longer had heating facilities nor were they cleaned... forcing us to meet with our close ones in conditions very... well, no need to give details here! And imprisonment? The same arrogance of the administration continued! For example, it had already been three years that the prisoners complained of the fact that there was only one telephone per 90 inmates, and two washing machines (constantly out of order) for 150 inmates, and that the price for the exterior cafeteria were outrageous... At every motive of discontent, the administration always responded by turning the other way... In short, at the silence and cowardness of these fools one must respond! There are thus thousands of reasons to be sick of being treated like an idiot, so when the 16 th of April 2003 came, I showed them the bill: burning down workshops... It seems that the damages amount to over four million euros... I was, with twelve other innocent inmates immediately transferred. Direct to the hole of jails in the Parisian region (Fleury, Osny, Fresnes, Bois d'Arcy) or in the east (Varennes le Grand, Besangon). Others were placed in (solitary confinement punishment) at Clairvaux, then in solitary confinement, before being transferred to Fresnes. All these great people were thus assigned to a new prison at the beginning of September... Nothing was offered, everything was taken... And eveiything rests to be taken! Following this beautiful day, or rather this fire, obviously, no more work for the prisoners and also, even a prisoner dared to say in I'Envolce : "the ambiance was no longer there... They reframed the prison like a high-security quarter. . .it's not convincing, if s really whatever.." What a beautiful story! So, that it remains clear, we did not come to the prison for its ambiance, and when someone complains that they had lost their jobs, well there, let s just say that we are not here to work! No joke! We don t give a #!@# about working! We're in jail, and some want to follow the rules of the penitentiary and of justice: behave, pay one s debt to society and eveiything will be better? Yeah right! No compromise is possible, and even those who collaborate (we ve seen the depositions, hah hah!) are never well paid by the justice system in return... Whoever can understand... Instead of thinking about your job, it would be better to be fighting (or support those who are in struggle!) so that justice respects its own Jaws, notably: half-sentences, half pardons... for everyone. In all the struggles in prison, whether that be for "free" (of what, actually?) visiting hours, the television, access to the telephone, ...for every improvement of the living conditions of inmates and for the accommodations that the inmates' close ones have benefited from, for all that, there had been deaths, as well as additional prison sentences distributed to the few who dared fight What's been acquired in the uprisings, collective movements... from '74 to the early 80s is today in the process of disappearing and nobody will fight in our place, and certainly not those who self-proclaim as the representatives of inmates and of their close ones... Nothing was offered, everything was taken... And everything rests to be taken! 1 DBawed OonmiiQue #13 Filter 1: Profit Size, ownership and profit orientation of the mass media. Filter 2: Advertising The media doesn’t make money unless the advertisers buy space. Filter 3: Sources of Mass Media News Most of the news comes from the government through information packaging. Filter 4: “Flak” discipline of the media. Opposition, alternative, campaign and critical groups provide alternative views. Filter 5: Universal Dangers Was Communism and is currently Islamic Fundamentalism. To return to the judiciary consequences of 16 April 2003, one has to first say that there were no preliminary investigation; meaning that the police officers came to interrogate us between mid-June and the beginning of July, but that nobody saw' the examining magistrate. It is in receiving, at the extreme limit of ten legal days, the convocation for the hearing of 15 December that we each discovered our counts of indictment Moreover, it's better to say that on this issue they didn' really bother to take a look at things ... it was pretty much the same for everybody. To tell you how many of these indictments are phoney concerning what the others were charged with: one of them had continued working at the workshop' of Clairvaux, following which he had even been nominated to other positions... until they made him pay for his participation in a movement of protestations last November by charging him with this. They've got a nerve! Awful! So, the 15 lh of last December, we all came by the hearing and we succeeded in pushing back the trial until March 9 th . It doesn't mean that it wasn't a grand masquerade... So, the 9 lh of March, we will do it over again! 1 will tell Danet and his acolytes, to the procurator, to the judge, to those who would really like to listen... every thing I'm saying now, and if I don't hide the reasons for which I set everything on fire, at least the Penitentiary will also have to respond to its acts. Even if the administration at Clairvaux considers days spent in the hole, months added back to laxed sentences, transfers that further distance inmates from their families... that all this are mere "blemishes"... I would not accept these "blemishes"; I also wouldn't accept it that those who are innocent have years added to their sentences. So, better that I ask to be committed for trial according to the charges, instead of there being a dozen on trial, I would be by myself. . . this would only be better, I'd like to have the place to myself!! I assume what I did, better that I take the responsibility for it That will perturb the talkers, those who always want to be responsible, but never guilty. So yes, responsible, guilty and proud of my acts. Hoping that the message has been clear: the demands of transfer of inmates need to be taken care of immediately and effectively. It's out of the question that we rest rotting in jail when it's been months that we want to leave... And that the penitentiary administration respects our families... I m going to take advantage of this moment to send a warm hello to those who were present at the hearing on the 15 th of last December and/or to those who will come nexf March 9 th to show solidarity with the indicted innocent and with myself, and in genera! with the struggle of prisoners and their families. High-security prison of Moulins, February 2004 The Repression Goes On... All prisoners transferred following the burning down of the prison or who were indicted were all further separated from their close ones and the conditions of their imprisonment worsened. "Collateral Damages" the Administration says. . . But some are still in solitary confinement, others continue to be held in jails for those serving short sentences. Regarding Pascal Brozzoni, the principal accused for the fire at the prison of Clairvaux, the day following the trial March 9, he had been transferred from solitary confinement at the prison of Moulins to a new jail in Rouen (Normandie). Today, Pascal does not belong in a jail: as someone with a long sentence, he should stay incarcerated in a prison, with a more favourable type of detention (mainly longer visiting hours, access to the telephone). And he also does not belong in Rouen, farther away from his close ones. This transfer belongs to a long series of disciplinary measures taken up in reaction to his position assuming responsibility during the trial and his participating in a collective movement of prisoners at the beginning of March at the prison of Moulins, for which he had already spent ten days in the hole. This measure must be understood in the general context of repression which affects the prisoners who have participated in a collective movement at Moulins since the beginning of 2004. transfers (and thus further distanced from close ones) of Basque prisoners whose companions revolted against the exceptional measures taken during their visiting hours, Laurent Jacqua placed in solitary confinement for over a month, and most recently, transfers and beatings of Jean-Marc Rouillan and two other prisoners. Brief History of a Mobilisation... The mobilisation of the first trial was the result of a collective effort of different groups, individuals, locally (at Troyes) and throughout France. If at the first two hearings, the courtroom was filled with support from the prisoners, the last day, the prison guard's union had tried to fill the room... The people present in solidarity with the prisoners received their own repression as well: having been held in police custody suspected of Egging anc * putting up posters of support; police intervention (early in the morning) of a place for debates and concerts at Troyes where some of the comrades were staying... I he city of Troyes was pretty covered w ith tags and posters of solidarity — these same posters were seen at Paris -, anti-carceral radio shows, different militant newspapers, etc. did a good job informing people of the trial and w hat was at stake. And there w T ere several articles, surprisingly good, on the indicted in the local national presses. BOYCOTT THE OLYMPIC GAMES The Greek bosses were afraid that the Olympic stadiums and venues wouldn’t finish on time... So they turned the construction sites into gulags so as to finish the work in time and not to be embarrassed in the eyes of international mainstream media. Furthermore, the British tabloids were pressing them as well so they used this as a further excuse to impose the modern Olympic gulags. They didn’t pay attention in the safety procedures, they used inexperienced workers and they even used illegal immigrants, who are forced to work with low salaries, for maximum working hours and without any complaints [modern slave labour)! The result was that workers got killed... both the media and the bosses don't speak of this and when they are asked they say, "accidents always happen"!!! The official number of the murdered workers is 14 but after some research we found out the names of 18 workers who died in Olympic construction sites. Workers in Greece say that the number of the killed ones in the supporting infrastructure for the games is more than 100 !!! But it seems that the media and most unions are totally controlled by the state and such information is censored. Here is the bloody list: [ date - name & surname (age) - construction site ] 01. 14/12/01 - Hristos Miamis (62) - Olympic Village 02. 15/01/02 - K. Mpourmpoulas (32) - Metro, Sepolia 03. 22/02/02 - Thanasis Papagiorgis (45) - Olympic building “Athens 2004" 04. 26/03/02 - Kotsi Astrrt (35) - Olympic Village 05. 01 /05/02 - L Marinakis (29) - Hippodrome, Markopoulou 06. 10/06/02 - Vaggelis Imeri (45) - Olympic Village 07. 15/07/02 - Ali Varet (29) - Olympic Shooting Range, Markopoulou 08. 19/07/02 - Manea Marinel (32) - Olympic Village 09. 27/01/03 - Panagiotis Mpolanis (58) - Mass Media Centre 10. 30/03/03 - Hias Mauropoulos (48) - Hippodrome, Markopoulou 11. 14/04/03 - Mihalis Evaggelou (46) - Olympic Gym, Galatsi 12. 05/06/03 - Giani Krekou (29) - Olympic Shooting Range, Markopoulou 13. 06/06/03 - kostantinos Zervoudakis (33) - Attikis Highway. Aspropirgos 14. 09/10/03 - Alex Mpatsi (32) - Olympic Village 15. 16/12/03 - Ntoka Ntalip (51) - Olympic Village for the Press, Marousi 16. 08/10/04 - Milo Zote (23) - Metro, Dafnis 17. 12/01/04 - Vlassi Marzinis (36) - unkown site, Patra 18. 20/06/04 - Sotiris Seka (51 ) - Olympic Village for the press The Olympic stadiums and venues were built on workers blood! Is this the athletic spirit they speak of? SPREAD THE NEWS! LET THE WORLD KNOW THAT A CRIME IS TAKING PLACE IN GREECE! AN OLYMPIC CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY! SOLIDARITY ACTION IN ATHENS. GREECE. FOR THE PRISONERS’ STRUGGLE AGAINST THE OLYMPIC STATE OF EMERGENCY. DISCRIMINATIONS AND TERRIBLE LIVING CONDITIONS. Friday, July 30 2004. About 70 anarchists and anti-authoritarians made a demonstra- tion with motorbikes to the front gate of Koridallos prison, taking by surprise the cops and prison-guards. People chanted solidarity slogans for the prisoners who are refusing for more than a week to take food -in most prisons of the country- as a protest for the states decision to deprive them of the five-day leaves (exits of prison), a measure that will last all August because of the Olympic Games security state of emergency. The prisoners’ protestis also for the living conditions inside the penitentiaries, the exterminating penalties they are convicted, the discriminations that immigrant prisoners are suffering and the new isolation cells. After leaving the central prison gate, comrades made the round of the facilities and stopped again in a back street where eye- contact with the prison cells is possible. Many flyers were thrown up from the walls inside the prison yard and prisoners came at the iron-cladded windows of their cells shouting together with the demonstrators: THE PASSION FOR FREEDOM IS STRONGER THAN ALL PRISONS. SS-COPS AND JUDGES, FIRE TO THE CELLS. RIGHT ARE THOSE WHO REBEL AND NOT THOSE WHO COLLABORATE AND SUBMIT... FREE ALL PRISONERS! All the way from Koridallos suburb back to the centre of Athens, flyers were given to passers-by and there were slogans against prisons and the Olympics of repression. A short note for the Olympic police state and the myth of “tolal control": Despite the zeppelin spying airship flying above us, the hundreds of surveillance cameras and the police army patrolling the streets in view of the Olympic games, the surprise the cops experienced was absolute! Riot cops outside the prison started running, dropping their sandwiches and beers and rushing to their van to put on helmets and take their shields. Police inpatrol cars were confused which direction they should follow, resulting in running up and down, trying to wear their bullet-proof vest and simultaneously grab their machine guns when a comrade started firing a flare-pistol and while the watch-post of the prison guards was under a rain of stones. The riot cops in the central streets of Athens had exactly the same ridiculous reactions when seeing the motorbike demonstration stopping in front of them, militants shouting COPS PIGS ASSASSINS, with some comrades placing trash-cans in the middle of the streets... r RIGAER STR.94. Fighting the Landlord in Berlin In the 1980's a huge squatting scene spread accross West Berlin. Hundreds of buildings were occupied and used as houses, bars, concert spaces, libraries, schools, infoshops. cafes... When the Wall fell in 1989 the scene spread into former East Berlin. Amongst the hundreds of houses that were squatted in Friederichshain (the centre of the squatting scene in East Berlin) was the Rigaer Strasse 94 (R94). The house was squatted in 1990 and was legalised in 1992. It has been a collective housing project eversince. The groundfloor of the building housed an open workshop (for repairing bicycles etc...) and a bar and concert space, known as the Kadterschmiede. The bar was open five nights a week, for concerts, cheap food, info evenings, video showings, meetings, discussions and drinking. Over the last few years Suitbert Beulker, who calls himself the 'owner' of the house, has been trying to evict the house project so that the building can be rented, at a higher price, to new tennants. The Background In Spring 2002 the Kadterschmiede and the open workshop were told that they would be evicted on 28th May. Immediately, in Berlin and accross Germany, the mobilisation to resist the eviction began. However, much to everyone's suprise, on 23rd of May - only three days before the date set for the eviction - the Council of Kreuzberg- Friedrichshain. and the City Council, fearing confrontation in the streets, offered the R94 an alternative house. The eviction date was postponed for three months whilst negotiations took place between the Rigaer 94 residents and the district and city councils. In many ways it was seen as a positive sign that the council felt that they needed to enter into negotiations to try to keep peace in the neighbourhood - negotiations that could have, potentially, led to a new house project. But at the same time, the negotiations left many with a somewhat counter-revolutionary taste in their mouths. On 26th June the negotiations collapsed. The only house offered by the council was too small, with too high rent and - importantly - was not an empty building. Shame about the Stones... On Wednesday 4th September, early in the morning, the Kadterschmiede and the op’en workshop were violently evicted. Masked SEK (’Special Mission Commandos’ - basically para-military police) destroyed the barricades to the house and stood on the roof brandishing machine guns. One crashed through a ground floor window, swinging on a rope from the roof. The groundfloor rooms were handed over to Beulker who himself welded shut the doors of the Kadterschmiede. At 4:00am the police closed off the area surrounding the R94 to prevent barricades from being built in the street. The principle plan for resisting the eviction was foiled. There was, however, some resistance. 3-400 people turned up - very early in the morning - to try to defend the house. A digger, two undercover cop cars and several dumpsters were burnt. Small barricades were built and stones were thrown at the police. Two days after the eviction over 500 people took to the streets and attempted - unsuccessfully - to squat a new home for the Kadterschmiede. And Now...? The struggle for the rooms in the R94 will go on. Eviction orders have been issued against four of the twenty flats in the house. It is expected that the next eviction will take place in early October. It is being seen as important to organise resistance, devise strategies against the eviction and to be prepared. Simultaneously the local and district councils are being harrassed, to make it clear that they are respon- sible for the evition. The users and residents of the house and the project rooms are prepared to discuss with the council and make compromises in an attempt to secure an alternative project. But they are making it clear, that they will not just accept anything. The project must be saved for the long term! Build two, three many Kadterschmiedes "HISTORY" OF RIGAER 94 June 1990 Rigaer 94 is squatted March 1992 contracts are signed for the Rigaer 94 (The City Council forced all of the existing squats into contracts under a policy called 'Berlin Line’. The ones who refused were evicted.) 1 / 14/2000 police raid: cops close down the bar 'Kadterschmiede on the ground floor claiming we had illegaly torn down some walls and stolen electricity 4/27/2000 police raid: cops break into our house with a search warrant claiming we were stealing electricity. They start evicting part of the house and bricking up the ground floor windows. After a couple of hours they stop the eviction. 6/14/2000 police raid: police carry away everything that is still inside the Kadterschmiede (furniture and cases of beer) and scrap a car and a motorbike which are parked in the yard. August 2000 The Kadterschmiede can open up again because we removed all of the structural alterations the cops claimed to be illegal. Sept. 2000 Rigaer 94 is bought by Beulker, after we had already established a cooperative with the intent of buying and managing the house ourselves. Sept. 2000 police raid: Police try to enter the house through a window because of disturbance of the peace (a radio turned up too loud) Okt. 2000 The occupants of Rigaer 94 attempt negotiations between us, Mr. Beulker, the City Council and the District Councel for a solution, which could perhaps best suit the interest of all. But from the beginnig it is apparent that our plans of self-organized living would not be possible as long as there is a hierarchial structure with the landlord in place. Beulker puts the negotiations to an end just a month later and instead tries to gain access to our house by getting a court’s decision. He is not succesful. 1/3/2001 Eviction notices by Mr. Beulker for all of the house. Mr Beulker demands an empty house until the end of January. 2/14/2001 police raid: cops want to break in because of 'loud music'. They break off saying they would just catch some disease. 2/15/2001 Mr. Beulker announces he will send out more eviction notices if there are any more events at the Kadterschmiede and demands a key to our house. 2/16/2001 police raid Mr. Beulker claims that some of the flats are squatted and he does not know who is living there, even though the names were given to him. Seven doors are destroyed, occupants, who tried to keep the cops entering, are thrown down the stairs by police. Finally, police are stopped by some members of the City Council The cops have to apologize for illegaly breaking into our house. April 2001 Beulker goes to court to get an eviction warrant for all of the twenty appartments the house officially is divides into. The case is dismissed. 6/7/2001 We are forced by the court to give Beulker a key to the house. That way the court allows Beulker acces to the house without primary anouncement. The court says that the tenants only have got the right not to let the owner into their flats at any time, but this right does not apply to basement, attic and stairways. However, while normal tenants’ have got locks at the doors to their single flats, we only lock the main front door, because we live in the house collectively, not in single flats. That means, Beulker in fact also gains access to the rest of the house. 5/27/2002 We find out that the house we are offered is not vacant. We tell the City Council that we will sign the contract under the condition that ail of tfie tenants of the new house agree. The City Council stops the eviction. 5/28/. 2002 Demo with 200-300 people in support of Rigaer 94 and street party celebrating the stopped eviction. 5/29/2002 Beulker threatens to send out more eviction notices unless we would finally give him a key to the house which the court had decided he was entitled to. Meanwhile, the negotiations with the City Council about the new house fail: the people living there would be forced to move out, there is not enough space for us and the rent would be unaffordable. That means, that the eviction is on again: It is scheduled for the 4th of September. 8/27/2002 Cops attack the Kadterschmiede in the middle of the night. 11 persons are arrested for ‘public drinking’ which had never been illegal before. 50 people spontaniously form a demo headed for the prison. The demo is attacked by the cops and cannot go on. Police check everyones ID. July 2001 Beulker enters the house under the protection of police to get to the fusebox and exchanges our new fuses for old ones. 7/7/ 2001 While the Kadterschmiede had opened up in August again, the windows were still bricked up. Finally the bricks are removed. Police show up and try to stop people from doing so. After they have left the work is continued. giving 8/10/2001 Again Beulker sends us eviction notices for all of the official 20 flats more than 14 reasons for quitting the tenancies. 12/18/2001 Court issues eviction warrants for five flats and the a/ *+/ ciuut; i ne aay ot eviction of the Kadterschmiede. At four o’clock in the morning 300 cops and masked SEK (’Special mission commandos’} carrying machine guns close up all of the area and start the eviction. It takes them several hours to open up the barricades the house is secured with. The concept to block all of the roads to keep the cops away from the house does not work though, since there are just too many cops too early for the people to seriously stop them. However, some stones are thrown at police some dumpsters, a digger and an undercover cop car are set on fire, a car, set on fire, is used to block one of the main streets around the corner, some smaller barri- cades are built on the streets, and several hundred people gathering in front of the house show their protest. There are several demos against the eviction throughout the day. Kadterschmiede, for which written contracts cannot be found anymore. People had lived their from the beginning on and even paid rent which before had always been enough for the court for deciding in favor of the occupants. 12/20/2001 In addition to the individual contracts for the twenty flats our house is officially divided into, We also had signed a ’frame contract' for all of the house in ?91. The frame contract was to legally preserve the collective living structure, for example by giving us the right to choose ourselves who we want to move in. Beulker had promised with a written statement to bring that contract up to date, which he did not do. The occupants decided to file a lawsuit against Beulker with the hope of obtaining such a contract. But the court dismissed the case, which means that our collective living structure has got no legal safeguard anymore. Spontanously, 50 people assemble in front of Beulker’s house to show their protest. 1/26/2002 Demo with 1000 people: ’Build up the left network’ ‘Defend Rigaer 94’. 9/6/2002 At a demo against the eviction people demand a former school building, now empty, as new house for the occupants of Rigaer 94. Police try to keep people from getting on the grounds and arrest several people when an attempt is made to break through. Novembre 2002 The occupants of Rigaer 94 get a letter from the electricity company that the landlord has not been paying for the electricity of stairways, attic and basement for over a year. For that reason they intent to disconnect us. The occupants finally manage to sign contracts with the electricity company themselves. ^2/5/2002 The Kadterschmiede is resquatted; Police and firemen need three hours to break through the barricades. Only the part of the Kadterschmiede in the front is evicted, the back part stays squatted! 12/13/2002 There is supposed to be a party because of the resquatting of the Kadterschmiede. But police prevent the party from happening. At night there are several demos, with more than-. 200- people, some dumpsters are set on fire. 5 / 6/2003 Eviction of the Kadterschmiede is announced for the 28th of May. Immediatley, the mobilisation to resist the eviction begins which over time grows quite strong. May 2002 Shortly before the announced day of eviction, we again get some eviction notices by Beulker claiming we still would not gain him access to the house. Also, Beulker demands that all personal belongings have to be removed from the attic and stairways until the 27th of May, otherwise they would be thrown away at our expense 5/24/2002 Fearing confrontations in the streets, the City Council offeres us another house. We are to decide within three days wether we accept that offer or not. If we accept, they will stop the eviction. February 2003 We get new eviction notices from Beulker. Supposingly, we let people move in without asking him. 2/22/2003 1500 people demonstrate for leftwing projects. The demo is attacked by police, there are several arrests and at least one person severly injured. 4/17/2003 The eviction of the remaining five flats we ’lost’ at court is scheduled for the 7th of May. After we had already got the announce- ment sent by mail, undercover cops show up at the Kadterschmiede to hand out the letter personally. 5/6/2003 Around 1000 people demonstrate against the eviction of Rigaer 94. 5/7/2003 Day of eviction. At five in the morning the cops beat up 100 people blocking the entrance to Rigaer 94 At six 300 cops and SEK start breaking through the barricades. A helicopter is circling above the house. 5 flats are finally evicted. The evicted rooms are being smashed. Beulker personally takes an axe and joins in. At night, there is a demo with around 400 people in support of Rigaer 94. Two houses are squatted in solidarity. 5/8/2003 Beulker hires some workers who continue to smash the evicted flats and tear down some walls separating our house from a house in front of ours. 5/9/2003 Early in the morning Beulker’s workers carrying crowbars try to smash the front door and break into the house. When they do not succeed, they break through a wall between our house and the neighbouring house. Once in, they smash the glass filling of a cupboard, the doors of our washing machines, tear out washed clothes and spill paint over it, smash bikes and a pingpong-table with an axe. Then they call police claiming they have been attacked. Police arrest three people, that are arbitrarily accused by the workers.The workers continue to smash up the evicted rooms. Everything they can carry is thrown into containers and taken away. Beulker hits one of the occupants and people gathering outside in the streets in support of us are chased down the street by workers with clubs. Police don’t intervene. 5/10/2003 Police vans patrol around our house. At four o clock in the morning police break into the house for no reason. 5/11/003 In the morning, police appear in our yard and police vans are parked in front of the house. Yet, nothing happens. In the afternoon, 500 people demonstrate in support of Rigaer 94. 5/12/2003 A helicopter circles above our house. 300 cops and SEK close down the roads and again break into our house. We finally learn that they wanted to see if the evicted flats have been squatted again. When they find out that they have not, they leave. Some supporters of Rigaer 94 occupy an office of the PDS ('Party of Democratic Socialists'; they are, together with the SPD, part of the government of Berlin], At night some films are shown at the occupied office. Private securities are hired by Beulker to ensure that the flats are not resquatted. For that reason, tenants and visitors have limited or no access to the house anymore. Since then. .. Apparently, Beulker is almost bankrupt; We learn from Beulker’s former secretary who has been dismissed, that Beulker has piled up depts amounting to 240,000 EURO. He did not pay the people working for him, often his bank accounts were frozen and some companies had to keep some of his tools as security. In one case he fired 17 workers that had not been paid for months. At the same time he continued to illegally get money from the job centre. He told his secretary he would find a way to get the house empty and suggested to an electrician to change the voltage of our electricity from 220 to 380 volts. Beulker sued a paper for libel, that published the secretary’s information but he lost at court. We got letters from the refuse and the water company, that they would cut us off their services because they had not been paid by Beulker for quite some time. Meanwhile we found a solution with them. So... it looks as if we might have a chance to get rid of Beulker, and we are still living in Rigaer94. The situation is at the moment: No stress with police, part of the house is (officially) evicted, Beulker ran out of money and hopefully he does not turn completely mad and burns down our , ^ house...Of course we neither like courts nor all of that stupid legal stuff, but we ^ < had to put up with it, since our house is "legal” for 12 years now. There also is a homepage about Rigaer 94: www.rigaer94.squat.net For pictures you can also check: T www.krasse-zeitan.de y ans www.krasse-zeitan.de 1 f 5/13/2003 The PDS-office remains occupied. There are loads of solidarity actions and demos. Some houses are squatted and a couple of bank- and court windows are smashed. Some people meet in front of Rigaer94 for breakfast. They are attacked on the street by the private securities with truncheons and coshs. A person is caught in the door of a car by the securities, they smash the camera of a journalist taking pictures of that.. Occupants of Rigaer94 are refused entry to the house. 5/ IB/2003 They almost turned our house into a prison: an iron gate is installed in the entry way, which can only be unlocked by the securities. Floodlights illuminate the entrance.The workers try to throw away personal belongings of the occupants that were stored in the basement. 5/^15/2003 Only a few people are let in. Securities patrol inside the house to ensure that they stay in their flats and do not leave them.Tenants of Rigaer 94 get a court order that they must be let in, but the securities refuse to do so. People are consistently refused entry because the securities do not like the way they look or act, or whatever. People who want to visit some of the few tenants who managed to get in, are refused entry arguing it's too late for visitors or the tenant has already got some visitors. Securities ask people for their IDs, which is illegal. Police refuse to intervene, whenever people are not let in. However, when people attempt to get in, police block the way and try to charge people with trespass. People who are officially registered as living in Rigaer94 are denied entry by the cops saying they have been put on a ’list of unwelcome persons by the landlord. June 2003 It’s increasingly easy to get into the house. Finally, the securities leave. Later, we learn that they have not been paid by Beulker The occupation of the PDSoffice is voluntarily put to an end. Rqectmg Militarism, the arm of Capital that protects private ownership of resources, we have squatted an Lx- 1 er ri tonal Army base and have turned it into a Social Centre. Organised collectively with a clear dismissal of lerarchy, we hope to provide a space to allow autonomy, creativity and resistance to flourish. AH governments and military institutions are killers and tortur- line dieir pockets with the blood of the Earth and its people. Re- moved from the consquences of their acdons in 'safe* western na- tions these people live out lives of affluence and comfort, in a posi- tion that billions of people can only dream of. Whilst these people destroy our communities and environ- ment for profit, they can expect nothing but attacks upon dieir in- stitutions and systems in self-de- fence. Spontaneous popular up- risings involve all stratas of soci- ety in response to an impossible day-to-day living situation. Resist- ance which takes place in the street e ”“T 8 trUly dem ^ dC total soctal chat^ infuse thT™^ UnaCCOUntable assa “ lts populations, which seek to consolidate existing power hierarchfes increase the system of domination under which we live, and must be fought. ’ What's happening? Free space for people to meet, conspire anc communicate. Presentations on social issues and practical skills. Cheap food and drink. Film showings/cinema. Pat stand/Free Shop. Notice board and information station. A place to plug into the network of cul- tures on the outside... Where? Brighton, Lewes rd, we are on die left- hand side next to B&Q Squat fone **** ******. verv lonvT^ ^ P olitical re P ression that is PoliceState EU means that it is unlikely that this centre will exist for very ong. This suits us as it allows us to scatter, regroup and occupy a different area bailiffs and the whoLrot7 Ut ^ m K etUn S rld of PoiiUcians, police, landlords, bosses, “ V, " SyStCm of WOrk ’ P nson ’ ,mser y and alienation. 1 ERRA AUDIO: Breathe sound and act... In June '>003 a group of friends in Brighton, UK decided to occupy an empty Territorial Army base to co- inside with the G8 Summit taking place in Evian, France. We wanted to provide a space for resistance and interchange of ideas and information. There was an implicit anti-militarism, as Iraq was being invaded by its former allies the US & UK at the time, and many demonstrations had been happening against the war, and t us was a continuation of anti-war, anti-system activities. We wanted to pull people together to create a horizontal space and at the same time expand our networks and informal cells, creating electronic and social resistance. ' Publicity was a bit of a problem, too much and die police and local authorities might get wind of what we were up to and make life difficult for us. Too litde publicity and maybe no-one would turn up. 1 he base was a bit out of town for passers-by, and we were concerned about lack of interest. A flyer was written, posted on Indymedia UK and a couple of other bulletin boards. We gave out flyers through the streets and put a few in cafes we liked. We had soundsytems involved so could make good use of their party hues. ?| A previous attempt to make use of tins neglected space: "Space Invaders- Festival of Resistance was shut down prematurely by police and council threats, however this had enabled people to sort out much of the work needed to the interior, and assemble a good crew of people. At the time the local paper printed a one- sided article with a self-congratulory statement from the copper involved. Not in my manor, not in my yard, the cop had said. 3 months later we were back. r The base consisted of a long stretch of garages which were trashed and graff d up, next to an open piece of training ground, with a huge Victorian style house that was too dangerous for living in, opposite a fairly modern expansive building, which we used for die social centre^ If haven’t blown your head off^Tiaven’t done our job properly* - old US. military saying, few of os are standing in the shoottiigi-ange of the abandoned Territorial Army centre on ^®j^s^fBri^ton.^6vedie^^|^eJ^^ethes^ S y^«^«ngtoWast^ we’ve put up a couple of dotitoredwooden boardsrOngthally reading TO THEU ITLRMOST WsAiTSVand taken fro.n whatyis.gd tc^b raiapel iu die gymy the olde-skool gold lettering now Inside were many conference rooms with bars, locker rooms with showers, gym area, lots of toilets, soundproofed shooting gallery that was top for tar- gets and soundsystems. Huge kitchen, secure lockable arms rooms, flat upstairs with CCTV. Unfortunately the fact that the centre was so secure and self-con- tained worked slighdy against us, it was difficult to know when people wanted to come in, and it was a tittle off-putting to those who wanted to visit. A lot of the time it became phone-only entry via the squat-fone no# that was posted on the flyers and the net. It became impractical to have the door open all day when no-one was arnvtng, and nobody wanted to sit by the door all day, especially as we were having problems with aggressive junkies and street-drinkers. Exten ing solidarity to people who turn up to cause trouble, demand to stay, then attack people or rob isn t sorted, it s stupid. TERRA AUDIO: joined up thinking and direct action. TERRA AUDIO: sustainability and adventure. TERRA AUDIO: nature-based design and creative resistance. It’s like MC Gorge Bush says in his oozing Texan accent: “DJ vinyl is my favourite by product of the petrochemical industry”. The place got plastered with im- ages and made as safe as possible, a time-line of the ongoing events in Evian was put up, alongside in- formation about political prison- ers, reports of local and global di- rect action, indigenous resistance, anti-civilisation/radical environ- mental fight backs, anarchist poli- tics, anti-genetics stuff, ID Cards, animal rights, soundsystem culture, independent media photos collage and text. Ill ere was an info stall with free pamphlets, posters, stickers, zines, videos and lots of other tat peo- ple came and left. We didn't really want anyone coming to use the place for making money without putting anything back. The building was occupied for 7 weeks, about £320 got made, and this was split between die squat fund (for crowbars, lock barrels, general tat), some went towards the cost of printing all the posters and information, stickers etc. What was left was donated to anti-capitalist/ anarchist prisoners. The idea is in fact very simple: open up an empty building, and gadier together outside die limitations of die capitalist system of profit and exploitation. Plot the demise of diis same racist and anti-nature, anti-life control apparatus. Share ideas of how this can be done, demonstrate positive ways of bypassing the reign of terror. BE THOROUGH. Find your rhytiim and range. In our over-extended long-distance culture, what are the essentials to ensure life in its variety? Clean air to breathe, fresh water to drink, unpolluted food to eat, shelter, creativity and shared responsibility. Investigate and sort out the basics, and you will find diat every aspect of life soon changes to accommodate the new knowledge and experience. What are you prepared to do, to give up, for life to continue? Resist and create. . . People came through often enough to give the place a buzz, but the immensity of the build- ing ate people, in the week the place was mostly quiet, maybe we were a litde too far out of town or had too little publicity. It meant tho' that a more relaxed living space was created where people could speakeasy and take their time, useful diy and squat- ting skills were taught and ex- changed, co-operating on some notable stealing expeditions, skipping/dumpster diving treks, lots of anarchist flyposters put up in town, graffiti, a string of banks trashed, petrol stations de- faced, propaganda given out, in- citement, cookery skills, black- market economics, invisibility, disappearance. The first Terra Audio event kicked off on a Saturday with around 600 people in attendance, killer 2-System link up in the shooting range. Tekno, jungle, breaks, chill-out rooms upstairs, decor, lights, the whole place rammed, totally positive havin’ it vibe. A few idiots and undercover in at- tendance, but they were sussed and the whole night passed without bad incident. However we’d brought attention on ourselves, and the day of our second event was also the day we were in court for eviction proceedings- Friday 13th. At court the judge was witnessed to have said ’’well I remember a responsible squatting movement, but you have to be aware of the law- lessness these events cause.” The authorities claimed we were running the whole place off stolen elec- tricity from a streetlight across the road, were junkies that littered the place with used syringes, were abusive etc. All untrue: we tidied for needles (free space always has to be safe for children); spirited ourselves in through a window and behind that some seemingly strong bars that turned out to be plastic and came away in eager hands; and replaced the high amp fuses with squat tek know-how. The council provides for business interests: Salisbury’s gets planning permission for another un-needed supermarket that bypasses the needs and wants of the local community and damages the environment in its mono-cultural, pesticide-reliant farming practises; and the judge rubber-stamps the eviction papers - no community space allowed. The council’s lawyer is furious we’ve turned up to fight the power and expose the lies. Although we don’t recognise the legitimacy of a legal system that protects the rich, denying the poor justice while refusing to actually enforce laws across the board (the government and state apparatus breaks laws at all levels every single day), sometimes it makes sense to briefly engage before disappearing again. After agreeing not to throw us out immediately, the judge applauds our agent for her integrity, and we leave smiling, planning the weekend’s events... We knew about lawlessness- Local hardcore diy record label Sub-Cultural Radikal Arts Productions (SCRAP) were putting on bands at the event tonight- Attack of the 50ft Squat Punks, featuring live bands Crowzone, Flatpig, Wall of Denial, Manic Cough, projections by Secret Films. Also present was the 2-System Link-up pushing out storming frequencies, secondary rig with disco/ reggae flavour. There was a serious party atmosphere, and the next thing the situation went mental. Earlier in the evening 2 young lads had turned up, squaring up to people and claiming to have been stabbed with a syringe in the car park opposite. Whilst it was thought that they were lying and looking for a fight, this story had actually got on the local radio, with all the usual crap about squatters, drugs and violence. They had fronted up and then left promising to return with guns, but it seems that they came back with some- one’s mum. She had hit 3 people with a meat-cleaver outside, and was with a gang of kids who had been harassing people coming and going from the centre throughout the evening. The kids and the woman with the blade got into the building, and it took quite a bit of fuss to get them out without more people getting hurt. One of the people who had witnessed the slashings had called the cops, and they turned up as the woman was getting kicked out. It seemed that the cops and her were actually related, and she tried to get them to shut us down, they weren’t interested in finding out if she’d stabbed anybody. The Cops were invited inside by one of the organisers, but they took one look inside and thought better of it, leaving the scene. Later on, after the bulk of people had left, the stress of having to secure the main door from violent idiots was showing, and a few people had been roughed up or punched. 2 of the crew had loekecfthem selves in a room with the dis- manded soundsystems and other valuable tat to protect it from scumbags who were roaming around the squat. Eventually the idiots left and the place could be sorted out. There was a whole Sunday planned of feedback from people who had been in Evian, with footage from the inde- pendent media feeds. This was cancelled. m m a V J ■J c/f 5 a — — msmm mm w FUCK GLASTONBURY :; v , .c' ‘ : A - ten se Vs tand-off - jfollt>wing; ^ vicious attack L b ^jaot^golicc. “Tbere’i noth onfe ./> wttlf ^ __ Jjg- At the end of June it’s Pilton Festival (aka Glastonbury). While Pilton started as a people’s festival apparendy designed to pay off farmer Michael Eavis’s overdraft, it’s turned into Glastonbury, a bloated and exclusive Babylon in the Somerset and Avon countryside (where land use revolves around farming and the military). The enormous fence is designed to keep out those unable to afford the £100 tickets. Cashpoint machines and CCTV make city dwellers feel at home. In the past travellers set up in a field adjacent to the main festival, and were given free tickets to enter. This was largely a gesture to offset having their way of life attacked on every level - sites taken, pirate economy undermined, culture transformed into a shadow money- making exercise by the mainstream. At least in previous years travellers were ‘allowed’ in die area... Free parties have come under attack in Avon Sc Somerset, the police have been known to make raids with clouds of CS gas and flailing batons. Early in the year the pigs warn the underground away from Pilton. One crew manage to set up a rig near one of the gates of the festival and are threatened by security and removed from the area. Ji fjM fJT 5N iV Meanwhile Terra Audio go to make a party with a crew from Bristol we met at a tekmval (tekno festival) at Hereford earlier in the year. We bring the free party vibe to nearby Rode, on a disused bird sanctuary. It’s a lovely site, with a lake, woods and glades, big, empty bird cages nestling sporadically, and an empty house. Two rigs set up on Saturday afternoon. The nearest home is several hundred metres away, the owner likes what we’re doing, thinks we’re nice people, and promises to let the police know his only concern is dangerous parking on the main road outside the site. The police block the entrance to site, and wait for orders from up top. We call Bindmans solicitors, a firm who have built up their reputation on social justice cases. Despite their promises we receive no telephone call or assistance (we’re still waiting for an explanation...). The cops want us to leave the land, but we still rock the part)’ that night, it’s a cracker. Sunday afternoon over 1 (X) riot police intent on violent confrontation rush on site, battering people and spilling blood. We pack the rig in record time and jump in the van to try and drive off, but after wrestling for control of the vehicle we have to retreat. The stormtroopers smash up a car and take the sound systems. On Monday some of us go to Frome police station to see what’s happening with the kit - whether they’re intending to return it, or take us to court and try to have it destroyed. The pigs contradict each other in their efforts to lie as much as possible. One of them is threatened with having acid thrown in his face. “Right, I’m calling for the riot squad”. “Don’t worry officer, if my mate tries to throw LSD in your face, I’ll jump in the way, I wouldn’t want to waste good acid,” says a party-head. The riot squad arrive, they’d love to batter us in their car-park. They attempt to taunt us: “That was a smashing weekend, reminds me of the Beanfield” (a reference to 1 985, when the Peace Convoy was trapped by pigs on its way to Stonehenge for the Summer Solstice, and people were attacked and had their vehicles/homes destroyed. See ‘Operation Solstice’ http://tash.gn.apc.org/ op_solstice.htm) . The sound systems are returned four days later, but the Bristol crew’s amps, cross-over, and decks are smashed (after months of following them round Avon & Somerset, the police finally get their revenge. At one party the cops had arrived in a riot van, and the sound system crew put a ratchet strap all the way round the van so the cops couldn’t get out. Proper). As we make ready to leave, by way of a warning the officer in charge says “You don’t want to do parties round here”. “We just did”. Resistance to growing fascism in eastern Europe continues - check out ‘Abolishing the Borders From Below’ magazine At the end of July, three Terra Audio crew head to eastern Europe for the 10th Czech Teknival (tekno festival), the biggest of its kind in Europe since the clampdown on the scene in France a couple of years ago. [The French government brought in its equivalent of the Criminal Justice Act, and crushed large-scale free parties. Four times a year now there are enormous parties of up to 100,000 ravers on gov’t sanctioned sites. Resistance continues, in the summer of 2003 at a free party in Brittany, 10,000 party-goers are cornered by 1,000 CRS — the right-wing riot police — who fire volley after volley of concussion grenades, finally blowing off a party-goer’s hand, and going on to confiscate 23 sound systems]. In Czech the party site is on hired land, but very cheap (under £100). We nearly don’t make it to Czech when a shaft in the gear-box shears going up a hill in East Germany, but after sweating through a nervous wait - we might have to pay exorbitant repair costs at a Mercedes garage - the insurance policy rescues us with a hire car. Through the lovely Czech forests by night, Czech Tek is signposted by lasers relentlessly searching the skies above. We pass hundreds of people walking country lanes with their festival tat. Our initial walkabout puts big grins on our faces - there are sound systems of all shapes and sizes and thousands of happy freaks. Anyone who’s into tekno culture should go to Czech Iek. At the height of Saturday night there are probably 50,000 people, 80 sound systems, and some of the best vibes at a party we’ve encountered. 6 We hook up with Czech accomplices, and set up a record stall at the end of their bar; independent production and distribution create an autonomous, pirate economy. Six Czech crews have put their rigs together, twelve stacks each 10ft tall pumping out the bouncy, fast and psychedelic Czech sound. It’s truly awesome, and wandering round site there are on-it crews from all over Europe, and lots of happy people. After the revolution in Czech, sound system culture made a visit and a big impact. Now there are lots of Czech crews, and a unique style of music coming out on vinyl. Having endured repression for years, Czech people really appreciate their culture, there’s an active enthusiasm and positivity that’s so refreshing. With so many rigs there’s also a lot of boring music (‘hardtek’), people content to repeat formulas rather than tapping the hidden potential of sound. Tekno expanded beyond records onto computer/hardware a long time ago, but considering the power of these machines, the lack of variety of sounds is shocking. Exploration and experimentation is the way forward throughout the DIY creative resistance movement. One potential of free space is to be able to combine elements to demonstrate active directions for future research into better ways of living. The possibilities of crossover between ecological direct action, appropriate technology and ■& — — X Am free parties are rarely manifested. If you’re coming to Czech, you’ll need proper documents for your vehicle at the stringent border control, j see any bands here at the festival, this would be another area of crossover. CzechTek - last weekend of July. More info on teknivals and calendar of parties: www.partyvibe.com * UPDATE: CzechTek 2004 was stopped by police, who arrived on site monday evening and set about dismantling sound stytems. The pigs were attacked with a variety of projectiles, and responded with teargas. Apparently ‘private’ farmland had been used without the consent of the ‘landowner’. The crackdown on free parties and coincident control of space and movement follows the ‘harmonisation’ of EU policy . __ n . and repressive legislation. Acid Anonymous (AA) sound system from Holland *Death & Disappearance at Fundirect* DIRE TORS III N KRAI This is an account of a squat taken in September 2003 and used for a Halloween weekend free party. The night was dedicated to a top squatter and good mate called Ben, he died recendy and is missed by many. Hie building was a funeral direc- tors in the centre of Brighton. Gated drive with 3 offices, chapel buildings and a garage big enough to stash plenty of vehicles, mechanics pit as well. A big upstairs with working CCtv, lots of unusual death related tat - die hood of a hearse, caskets, a morgue, basement, plus loads of rooms. An event here, right in the centre of town, would attract loads of people. We wanted to kick off some creative under- ground mayhem in an increasingly yuppiefied zone, bring a bit of renegade spark into town, do a party beyond the mainstream - For free, widi all dona- tions going to Brighton Anarchist Black Cross, lo- cal campaign group for prisoners. Also put together was an info-stand, with shirts, zines, music, flyers. There were walls of photo collage and text, all about the death and disappearance of the natural environment, tribal peoples and animal kingdoms. Odier themes were people who have been 'disap- peared' or murdered for fighting for human, ani- mal and environmental rights. There was a space dedicated to prisoner support, with prisoner lists and campaign materials, plus lots of other info on the struggle against capitalism. The place was cracked, but left for a couple of weeks as diere wasn’t enough people around at die tune to fill it properly. After that there was plenty of people and a drive to do something with the place, plus soundsystems pulling their hair out to mash it up. However, as a crew we needed somewhere to five, so an event was postponed for at least a month so we could chill out for a while. We had reckoned without die stress from die pub next door who gave us die usual second-hand direats and vague menace. Sometimes, after a skinful, regulars would ’try and kick die door in, harassing anyone seemingly connected with us. We had a good barri- cade but diey were bringing it on top. One time this regular muppet was shouting about how criminal he was and threatened to "bring the guns”; he told us if there was any trouble with cops he'd kill all of us. Just as he was talking nonsense an unmarked car full of plainclodies police arrived and went through the routine, we gave it the mouth and claimed no knowledge of anything. In the three weeks before the event the pigs came down a lot, they loved the place it seemed. "Let's keep it on the low-down - it wasn t happening. Iwo cops came down and served a search warrant for narcotics, holding a squatter in cutfs. i hey found a stolen moped, some empty baggies and rizla. They were a bit spooked and stressed out, called for back-up but didn't get it, then started demanding the barricades be taken down, the gates unlocked and a clear path tor them to leave be made, quick. Also, some inept undercover cops came down pretending to be a film crew, but were rumbled and bundled out of the door. We also got trouble from people that were supposed to be on the same side as us, but didn't act it. A tew graffiti artists came down and painted up, tbanks and props to: DAS, HOT, ROSE, ODISY, BIRDS(?) and everyone else. When the party came on the 1st of Nov, the whole place was rammed be- yond anything we knew (6004- peo- ple), our only problem was having to turn people away because one of die floors was unsafe, diankfully diere were no accidents, and wricked vibes all nite were in full effect. Tli ere was a punk basement featur- ing Dirty Squatters posse/ SCRAP Records. CrowZone and Chihua- hua Zycantah played and were both proper killin' it Upstairs there was a disco/dub/punk/80s rig in die room next to die bar, dien in the garage a massive space for ravin': Terra Audio 2- system link up, video jammin', hard tekno free party mash up. The police turned up at the gates and wanted to come in, some peo- ple were nice to them, but they were, told in no uncertain terms that if they tried to get in by force diey would be fought They didn't have any le- gal powers to attempt to come in anyway, so they made some threats and left, promising to return later. The main copper came back later asking "Why here? The centre of town for god's sake!" He gave us more direats and left. Brighton’s resident rave undercovers had been clocked as diey entered die building early, they looked a bit blowm away by all the people and how organ- ised die event was. Word went round about who they were, and we let some fireworks off, aimed at the police station. *TERRA AUDIO* Free Party means not running for the loot. Free Party means esca- lating a culture of resist- ance. Free Party - The Enemy of the Leisure Industry. THE NEW INQUISITION: 4 MORE ANARCHISTS IN PRISON IN ITALY AS JUDGE MARINES FARCE REACHES ITS CONCLUSION In Italy a considerable number of anarchists are active in the struggle, using all the means they think fit: newspapers, leaflets, squatting buildings, supporting prisoners, demos, sabotage, etc. This disturbs power at a time when it needs to show that ‘everything is under control’. Yes, anarchists are a nuisance. They won’t keep quiet or accept the logic of dialogue with the institutions. This disturbs. Over the past two decades small acts of sabotage have spread and multiplied throughout Italy. The means used are simple and easy copied. The analysis is also simple and crystal clear: we must self-orgamse our lives and our struggle, and attack power in all its manifestations before it is too late, before the technology of control begins to take over our very minds. So in a world now divided into good and evil, into social integration and criminalisation, the delicate balance of capitalist relations could be tipped at any moment, and the forces of power know this well. For many years the Italian police and judiciary have tried to keep anarchists quiet and criminalise their publications by accusing them on every possible occasion. This had always given poor results until, in the middle of the nineties, five comrades were arrested following a bank robbery in the Trentino region. Before long, they also found themselves accused of another two robberies that had been carried out in the area and had remained unsolved. Anarchists from all over Italy immediately gave their solidarity through many kinds of initiative: leaflets, posters, benefits, a written dossier, a constant presence at the court hearings, fireworks and smoke bombs outside Trento prison, etc. The subsequent attention of the ROS (Special Operations Carabinieri) and the judiciary in Rome, resulted in the rigging of the most grotesque frame up against anarchists in Italy since the fascist bombs of piazza Fontana m 1969 which anarchists were accused of. . .. One year after the robbery in question, massive raids were carried out all over Italy on orders of Public Prosecutor Antonio Marini, and many comrades were given formal warnings that they were under investigation for robbery, kidnapping and o belonging to an ‘armed band’. At the same time Marini ordered the search of the cells in which the anarchists serving prison sentences for one reason or another were being held. This huge police operation was carried out with the precious help of the Italian media, on lanuarv 3 1996 many newspapers featured the news prominently, describing the anarchists under investigation as ‘kidnappers’ and ‘terrorists’. The only evidence to support these accusations was the ‘confession’ of a ‘repentant terrorist (pentita) a young girl who had been the girlfriend of Carlo Tesseri, one of the comrades arrested after the robbery in 1994. She was not known in the anarchist movement at all, nor had she taken part in any anarchist activity, but Judge Marini and the Carabinieri of the Special Operations Group managed to convince her to ‘confess’ to one of the unsolved robberies in the Trentino region and name Carlo and the other comrades (plus a few more) as her accomplices At the hearings that followed the girl’s faltering statements were strongly contradictory and meaningless. Nevertheless, Italian legislation, of which Marmi is quite a significant representative, gives full credibility to whatever pentito comes forth to collaborate with the police in exchange for a monthly salary and protection for life. So the e irl’s confused and absurd ‘confession’ was deemed true and reliable by the court. Thanks to his false pentita and protege Marini was able to extend his Inquisition. His aim was to eliminate any anarchist who claimed the necessity of insurrection and whom he considers a grave danger to the system and his miserable social class of parasitic defenders of law and order. On September 17 1996, a second wave ot raids took place resulting in over sixty anarchists being formally accused of belonging to a hierarchical armed clandestine organisation. Arrest warrants were issued for 29 of them, some of whom were already in prison on various charges. That same day judges Marini and Ionta of Rome called a press conference to show off the result of their brilliant operation. They announced that they had just disbanded a criminal armed gang named ORAI (Revolutionary Organisation of Insurrectional Anarchists), a strange name that had never been heard before. They also stated they had found the leader of the gang, a well known anarchist, Alfredo Maria Bonanno, who has been active in the struggle for years, mainly through his insurrectionalist theses in anarchist publications Anarchismo , ProvocAzione and Canenero of which he was editor. For decades various judges had tried to silence him with accusations related to these and other publications, without much success. Then, thanks to Marini s theatrical coup, he and many other comrades were tried and found guilty on heavy criminal charges. At the first appeal trial some of these charges were dropped and a number pf comrades were acquitted. Those who remained on the ‘guilty’ list had a considerable number of years added to their sentences. So, on April 20 this year, at the second and final appeal at the Court of Cassation in Rome, the following sentences were confirmed.' Alfredo Bonanno - 6 years; Angela Maria (Marina) Lo Vecchio - 15 years; Orlando Campo — 10 years and Carlo Tesseri — 3 years and nine months. Two others, Gregorian Garagin and Francesco Porcu, are already in prison serving sentences of 30 years and life respectively. Rose Ann Scrocco, also sentenced to 30 years, is fortunately still a fugitive. So, after so many years and so many words, this judicial farce finally reached its conclusion on April 20, almost in silence. We know that the comrades are not spending their lives behind bars for the ‘crimes’ they have been accused of, but because they are a thorn in the side of power. The system fears what it does not know and will never understand: the thousand ways it can be attacked and subverted, without anyone giving or taking orders. Measures such as this abject frameup dreamed up by one of its zealous servants do nothing to check wild insurgency against the existent, but push us all, comrades and rebels everywhere, to sharpen our steps in the subversion and destruction of the present order. Our passion for freedom, and our disgust towards prison, cops, judges and all their accomplices, continue to grow unbound. Insurrection now! Destroy all prisons! A few Brixton anarchists Here are the addresses of the comrades imprisoned as a consequence of this trial: Angela Maria Lo Vecchio, via Bartolo Longo, 92, 00156 - ROME. Alfredo Maria Bonanno, via Papiniano, 1, 34133 - TRIESTE. Carlo Tesseri, c.c. La Dozza, via del Gomito, 2, 40100 - BOLOGNA. Orlando Campo, via Raffaele Majetti, 165, 00156 - ROME. Gregorian Garagin, via Leopardi 2, 61034 - FOSSOMBRONE. Francesco Porcu, via Provinciale San Biagio, 81030 - CARINOLA. For further information contact us c/o elenhantx2003@vahoo.com Website in preparation: www.frameup.tk 1 The iOM, Spies and Migrant Hunters. Campaign to Combat Global Migration Management When the IOM was founded in 1951 it has been intended to create a counter-agency to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The IOM, like the International Organisation for Labour (ILO) reflected the Cold War and Truman doctrine; amongst others it played a role in an early brain drain from the Eastern Bloc to the West and in establishing new pro- capitalist states. Under the leadership of the USA, the IOM, other than the UNHCR has not been based on humanitarian principles but on economical considerations. Their basic policy is not concerned with the well being of people but the well being of economies. Secondly, their ideology is based on racist principles of homogeneous ethnic states and xenophobic concepts of 'home*. That says it all. In an era of globalisation migration appears as a major social movement against the imperialist concept of zones of differenti- ated reproduction cost. The IOM has been best prepared to implement concepts of enforcing the borders necessary to uphold such a regime and to conform to new forms of neoliberal migration management. Today, the IOM has 91 member states, its headquarter is in Geneva, where the annual general meetings are held. Its Technical Cooperation Centre (TCCj is based in Vienna and is policing South, Central and East Europe, whilst Polish policy is overlooked from the Berlin office. There are 19 regional sub- offices: the Brussels office covers- cooperation with most other West- European governments, only Germany and Italy have their own representa- tions in Bonn and Rome; the Helsinki office works towards the Balticum; and the Budapest office covers southeast Europe. Its over 100 Field Offices and representations act as a ‘warning system migration’. They spy on migrants, migrant networks and NGOs. They report back to the EU and US and recommend action. Wherever migration occurs, new border regimes are erected and new technologies introduced under the hospice of the IOM. They recommend migration hostile policies, they sell the latest cry of control technology, they train police officers and border troops to combat migration, they plan and build control posts and detention camps. They pride themselves to have been involved in the movement of 11 million people (sic), in 2000 they facilitated the movement of about 45G.000 people, mostly 'return', repatriation’ or 'resettlement' cases. However, the direction is wrong and the people do not volunteer. The list of destinations reads like a list of war torn regions; the major targets were Timor, North Iraq, Kosovo, Angola and Afghanistan. These plus countries like Somalia, Sierra Leone, Liberia or Sudan may be understood as those single governments find it too difficult to transport people too. National governments are called ‘customers' and the IOM sees their role as a service business for 'voluntary return’. But voluntary’ usually means nothing else than either you are detained and deported or you agree in leaving without resistance. That is most obvious with Roma or Kosovars who frequently resisted against such treatment. The IOM contributes to break such resistance, arranges the journey, buys the ticket and away with you. Consequently, the Roma National Congress calls the IOM 'the enemy of the Roma People*. Any 'merce- nary' reputation the IOM might have is a mere cover for their true politics. It is a Janus faced organisation, aiming to win trust, cooperate with and using NGOs on the one hand but acting as a reliable partner of national governments. Be aware! About the Campaign against the IOM “Migration is a fact, its autonomy could and still cannot be regulated as states and transnational organisations would wish for. Migration is a consequence of economic exploitation, political repression and war, but also of the legitimate interest of people to find better or different livingconditions.” This is the call to the international border camp, which is taking place in Strasbourg between 19 and 29 July. In proposing an international campaign against the IOM, we argue in favour of the autonomy of migration, and target one of the most important institutions responsible for the implementation of the global migration management regime. This first edition of a newsletter is aimed at exposing the role and function that the IOM has in implementing the dominant and repressive migration politics. At the camp in Strasbourg, we will present the campaign and thereby hope to win more groups to join the campaign in the coming weeks. Under the slogan “Against Global Migration Management - For Freedom of Movement", the European anti-racist ‘noborder’ network further calls for decentralised international action days between 11 and 13 October. In this context, some groups from different countries are already planning rallies and other actions in front of IOM representations. We believe that targeting the IOM is the best start in launching a campaign against the international regime of migration control. Not only for political reasons, in which case the IGC or the EU would represent the same importance. But because of their annual meetings, their many offices, their international presence, their widespread net of seismographic stations, the IOM seems the most vulnerable. This is because of their large network of representations which can be targeted but also the crucial role of the lOM's cooperation with other NGO's make it a worthwhile target, with the aim to break this coopera- tion. One way to do this, is to show that the IOM, in contradiction to the image it portrays to other migrant organisations and humanitarian NGO's, is in fact not a mercenary agency, but acts on behalf of state interests only. Their false image could be efficiently undermined with an image-pollution campaign. We therefore believe that there is a good chance to push back the IOM, at least in those projects, which are heavily and obviously involved in the construction of border controls, or rather, in the construction of an even more repressive border regime. the noborder network www.noborder.org " Computer technology is on the verge of providing the ability for individuals and groups to communi- cate and interact with each other in a totally anonymous manner. Two persons may exchange mes- sages, conduct business, and negotiate electronic contracts without ever knowing the True Name, or legal identity, of the other. Interactions over networks will be untraceable, via extensive re- routing of encrypted packets and tamper-proof boxes which implement cryptographic protocols with nearly perfect assurance against any tampering. Reputations will be of central impor- tance, far more important in dealings than even the credit ratings of today. These developments will alter completely the nature of government regulation, the ability to tax and control economic interactions, the ability to keep information secret, and will even alter the nature of trust and reputation. The technology for this revolution— and it surely will be both a social and economic revolution— has existed in theory for the past decade. The methods are based upon public-key encryption, zero-knowledge interactive proof systems, and various software protocols for interaction, authentication, and verification. The focus has until now been on academic conferences in Europe and the U.S., conferences monitored closely by the National Security Agency. But only recently have computer networks and personal computers attained sufficient speed to make the ideas practically realizable. And the next ten years will bring enough addi- tional speed to make the ideas economically feasible and essentially unstoppable. High-speed networks; ISDN, tamper-proof boxes, smart cards, satellites, Ku-band transmitters, multi-MIPS personal comput- ers, and encryption chips now under development will be some of the enabling technologies. The State will of course try to slow or halt the spread of this technology, citing national security con- cerns, use of the technology by drug dealers and tax evaders, and fears of societal disintegration. Many of these concerns will be valid; crypto anarchy will allow national secrets to be traded freely and will allow illicit and stolen materials to be traded. An anonymous computerized market will even make possible abhorrent markets for assassinations and extortion. Various criminal and foreign elements will be active users of CryptoNet. But this will not halt the spread of crypto anarchy. Just as the technology of printing altered and reduced the power of medieval guilds and the social power structure, so too will cryptologic methods fundamentally alter the nature of corporations and of government interference in economic transactions. Combined with emerging information markets, crypto anarchy will create a liquid market for any and all mate- rial which can be put into words and pictures. And just as a seemingly minor invention like barbed wire made possible the fencing-off of vast ranches and farms, thus altering forever the concepts of land and property rights in the frontier West, so too will the seemingly minor discovery out of an arcane branch of mathematics come to be the wire clippers which dismantle the barbed wire around intellectual property. ...” T.C. May. 1988 AGAINST THE INFORMATION ECONOMY NON-STOP PRODUCTION INDUSTRIAL MURDER Scientific + Technological Options Assessment: [STOA] Prison Technologies -An Appraisal of Technologies of Political Control Final Study European Council Study. Ref. no.# RE 280. 6 6 By Fin. St./ FIN (available on internet] at http://cryptome.org [below are edits from the document] ABSTRACT The objectives of this report are fourfold: (i) to provide Members of the European Parliament with a guide to recent advances in the technology of political control; (ii) to identify, analyse and describe the current state of the art of the most salient developments; (iii] to present members with an account of current trends, both in Europe and Worldwide; and (iv) to develop policy recommendations covering regulatory strategies for their management and future control. The report contains seven substantive sections which cover respectively: [i] The role and function of the technology of political control; research is needed to make such regulatory controls effective. The report includes a comprehensive bibliographical survey of some of the most relevant literature. .." EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The objectives of this report are fourfold: (i) to provide Members of the European Parliament with a guide to recent advances in the technology of political control; (ii) to identify, analyze and describe the current state of the art of the most salient developments; (iii) to present members with an account of current trends, both in Europe and Worldwide; and (iv) to develop policy recommendations covering regulatory strategies for their management and future control. The report includes a large selection of illustrations to provide Members of Parliament with a good idea of the scope of current technology together with a representative flavour of what lies on the horizon. The report contains seven substantive sections, which can be summarised as follows: (ii) Recent trends and innovations (including the implications of globalisation, militarisation of police equipment, convergence of control systems deployed worldwide and the implications of increasing technology and decision drift); (iii) Developments in surveillance technology (including the emergence of new forms of local, national and international communications interceptions networks and the creation of human recognition and tracking devices); (v) The use of science and technology to devise new efficient mark-free interrogation and torture technolo- gies and their proliferation from the US & Europe. THE ROLE & FUNCTION OF POLITICAL CONTROL TECHNOLOGIES This section takes into account the multi- functionality of much of this technology and its role in yielding an extension of the scope, efficiency and growth of policing power. It identifies the continuum of control which stretches from modem law enforcement to advanced state suppression, the difference being the level of democratic accountability in the manner in which such technologies are applied. RECENT TRENDS & INNOVATIONS Taking into account the problems of regulation and control and the potential possessed by some of these technologies to undermine international human rights legislation, the section examines recent trends and innovations. This section covers the trend towards militarisation of the police technologies and the paramilitarisation of military technologies with an overall technological and decision drift towards worldwide convergence of nearly all the technologies of political control. Specific advances in area denial, identity recognition, surveillance systems based on neural networks, discreet order vehicles, new arrest and restraint methods and the emergence of so called 'less lethal weapons’ are presented. The section also looks at a darker side of technological development including the rise of more powerful restraint, torture, killing and execution technologies and the role of privatised enterprises in promoting it. The EU is recommended to: (i) develop appropriate structures of accountability to prevent undesirable innovations emerging via processes of technological creep or decision drift; (ii) ensure that the process of adopting new systems for use in internal social and political control is transparent, open to appropriate political scrutiny and subject to democratic change should unwanted or unanticipated consequences emerge; (iii) prohibit, or subject to stringent and democratic controls, any class of technology which has bee shown in the past to be excessively injurious, cruel, inhumane or indiscriminate in its effects. DEVELOPMENTS IN SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY This section addresses the rapid and virtually unchecked proliferation of surveillance devices and capacity amongst both the private and public sectors. It discusses recent innovations which allow bugging, telephone monitoring, visui surveillance during night or day over large distances and the emergence of new forms of local, national and international communication! interceptions networks and the creation of human recognition and tracking devices. The EU is recommended to subject all surveil- lance technologies, operations and practices to (i) procedures ensuring democratic accountabil- ity; (ii) proper codes of practice consistent with Data protection legislation to prevent malprac- tice or abuse; (iii) agreed criteria on what constitutes legitimate surveillance targets, and what does not, and how such surveillance data i: stored, processed and shared. These controls should be more effectively targeted at malprac- tice or illegal tapping by private companies and regulation further tightened to include addi- tional safeguards against abuse as well as appropriate financial redress. The report discusses a massive telecommunica- tions interceptions network operating within Europe and targeting the telephone, fax and email messages of private citizens, politicians, trade unionists and companies alike. This global surveillance machinery (which is partially (vi) The implications of vertical and horizontal prolifera- tion of this technology and the need for an adequate political response by the EU, to ensure it neither threatens civil liberties in Europe, nor reaches the hands of tyrants. The report makes a series of policy recommenda- tions including the need for appropriate codes of practice. It ends by proposing specific areas where further CCt V Camc-n (iv) Innovations in crowd control weapons (including the evolution of a 2nd. generation of so called ‘less-lethal weapons’ from nuclear labs in the USA). (v) The emergence of prisoner control as a privatised industry, whilst state prisons face increasing pressure to substitute technology for staff in cost cutting exercises and the social and political implications of replacing policies of rehabilitation with strategies of human warehousing. r controlled by foreign intelligence agencies from outside of Europe] has never been subject to proper parliamentary discussion on its role and function, or the need for limits to be put on the scope and extent of its activities. This section suggests that that time has now arrived and proposes a series of measures to initiate this process of reclaiming democratic accountability over- such- systems. It is suggested that all telephone interceptions by Member States should be subject to consistent criteria and procedures of public accountability and codes of practice. These should equally apply to devices which automatically create profiles of telephone calls and pattern analysis and require similar legal requirements to those applied for telephone or fax interception. It is suggested that the rapid proliferation of CCTV systems in many Member States should be subject to a common and consistent set of codes of practice to ensure that such systems are used for the purpose for which they were authorised, that there is an effective assessment and audit of their use annually and an adequate complaints system is in place to deal with any grievances by ordinary people. The report recommends that such codes of practice anticipate technical change including the digital revolution which is currently in process, and ensure that each and every such advance is subject to a formal assessment of both the expected as well as the possible unforeseen implications. INNOVATIONS IN CROWD CONTROL WEAPONS This section addresses the evolution of new crowd control weapons, their legitimation, biomedical and political effects. It examines the specific introduction of new chemical, kinetic and electrical weapons, the level of accountability in the decision making and the political use of such technologies to disguise the level of violence being deployed by state security forces. The research used to justify the introduction of such technologies es safe is reanalysed and found to be wanting. Areas covered in more depth include CS and OC gas sprays, rubber and plastic bullets, multi-purpose riot tanks, and the facility of such technologies to exact punishment, with the possibility that they may also bring about anti- state retaliatory aggression which can further destabilise political conflict. This section briefly analyses recent innovations in crowd control weapons (including the evolution of a 2nd. generation of so called ‘less-lethal weapons from nuclear labs in the USA) and concludes that they are dubious weapons based on dubious and secret research. The Commission should be requested to report to Parliament on the existence of formal liaison arrangements between the EL) and the USA to introduce such weapons for use in streets and prisons here. The EU is also recommended to (i) establish objective common criteria for assessing the biomedical effects of all so called less lethal weapons and ensure any future authorization is based on independent research; (ii) ensure that all research used to justify the deployment of any new crowd control weapon in the EU is published in the open scientific press and subject to independent scientific scrutiny, before any authorization is given to deploy. In the meantime the Parliament is asked to reaffirm its current ban on plastic bullets and that all deployment of devices using peppergas (OC) be halted until such a time as independent European research on its risks has been undertaken and published. NEW PRISON CONTROL SYSTEMS This section reports on the emergence of prisoner control as a privatised industry, whilst state prisons face increasing pressure to substitute technology for staff in cost cutting exercises. It expresses concern about the social and political implications of replacing policies of rehabilitation with strategies of human warehousing and recommends common criteria for licensing all public and private prisons within the EU. At minimum this should cover operators responsibilities and prisoners rights in regard to rehabilita- tion requirements; UN Minimum Treatment of Prisoners rules banning the use of leg irons; the regulation and use of psychotropic drugs to control prisoners; the use of riot control, prisoner transport, restraint and extraction technologies. The report recommends a ban on (i) all automatic, mass, indiscrimi- nate prisoner punishment technologies using less lethal instruments such as chemical irritant or baton rounds; (ii) kill fencing and lethal area denial systems; and (iii) all use of electro-shock, stun and electric restraint technology until and unless independent medical evidence can prove that it safe and will not contribute to either deaths in custody or inhumane treatment, torture or other cruel and unusual punishments. INTERROGATION, TORTURE TECHNIQUES AND TECHNOLOGIES This section discusses the use of science and technology to devise new efficient mark-free interrogation and torture technologies and their proliferation from the US & Europe. Of particular concern is the use and abuse of electroshock devices and their proliferation. It is recommended that the commercial sale of both training in counter terror operations and any equipment which might be used in torture and execution, should be controlled by the criteria and measures outlined in the next section. REGULATION OF HORIZONTAL PROLIFERATION The implications for civil liberties and human rights of both the vertical and horizontal proliferation of this technology are literally awesome. There is a pressing need for an adequate political response by the EU, to ensure it neither threatens civil liberties in Europe, nor reaches the hands of tyrants. The European Council agreed in Luxembourg in 1991 and in Usbon in 1992 a set of eight Common Criteria for Arms Exports which set out conditions which should govern all decisions relating to the issue of licences for the export of arms and ammunition, one condition of which was ‘‘the respect of human rights in the country of final destination. M Other conditions also relate to the overall protection of human rights. However these eight criteria are not binding on member states and there is no common interpreta- tion on how they should be most effectively imple- mented. However, a code of conduct to achieve such an agreement was drawn up and endorsed by over 1000 Non-Governmental Organizations based in the European Union. Whilst it is recognised that it is not the role of existing EU institutions to implement such measures as vetting and issuing of export licences, which are undertaken by national agencies of the EU Member States, it has been suggested by Amnesty Interna- tional that the joint action procedure which was used to establish EU regulations on Export of Dual use equipment could be used to take such a code of practice further. Amnesty suggest that the EU Member States should use the Joint Action procedures to draw up common lists of (i) proscribed military, security and police equipment and technology, the sole or primary use of which is to contribute to human rights violations; (ii) sensitive types of military, security or police equip- ment and technology which has been shown in practice to be used for human rights violations; and (iii) military, security and police units and forces which have been sufficiently responsible for human rights violations and to whom sensitive goods and services should not be provided. The report makes recom- mendations to help facilitate this objective of denying repressive regimes access to advanced repression technologies made or supplied from Europe. FURTHER RESEARCH The report concludes by proposing a series of areas where new research is required including: (i) advanced area denial and less-lethal weapon systems; (ii) human identity recognition and tracking technologies; (iii) the deployment of ‘dum-dum’ ammunition within the EU; (iv) the constitutional issues raised by the U.S. National Security Agency s access and facility to intercept all European telecom- munications; (v) the social and political implications of further privatisation of the technologies of political control and (vi) the extent to which European based companies have been complicit in supplying equip- ment used for torture or other human rights violations and what new independent measures might be instituted to track such transfers " "... Is there any signifi- cance in the fact that former communist regimes in the Warsaw Treaty Organisation and continuing centralised economic systems such as China, are beginning to adopt such technologies? What are the reasons behind a global conver- gence of the technology r > jf i — it of political control deployed in the North and South, the East and West? What are the factors respon- sible for generating the adoption of such new policing technology - was it technology push or demand pull? What new tools for policing lie on the horizon and what are the dynamics behind the process of innovation and the need for a vast arsenal of drfferent kinds of technology rather than just a few? Are the many ways this technology affects the policing process fully understood? Who controls the patterns of police technology procurement and what are the corporate influences? there has been a profusion of technological innovations for police, paramilitary, intelligence and internal security forces. Many of these are simple advances on the technologies available in the 1970's. Others such as automatic telephone tapping, voice recognition and electronic tagging were not envisaged since they did not think that the computing power needed for a national monitoring system was feasible. The overall drift of this technology is to increase the power and reliability of the policing process, either enhancing the individual power of police operatives, replacing personnel with less expensive machines to monitor activity or to automate certain police monitoring, detection and communication facilities completely. A massive Police Industrial Complex has been spawned to service the needs of police, paramilitary and security forces, evidenced by the number of companies now active in the market. An overall trend is towards globalisation of these technologies and a drift to increasing proliferation, without much regard to local conditions. Paramilitarisation of police forces. One core trend has been towards a militarisation ot the police and a paramilitarisation of military forces Europe. Often this begins via special units involved ir crisis policing, such as the Special Weapons and Tactics Squads such as the Grenz Schutz Gruppe in Germany; the Gendarmeries National in France; the Carabinieri in Italy; and the Special Patrol Group in the UK or the federal police paramilitary teams in tf United States (FBI, DEA & BATFJ that adopt the san weaponry as their military counterparts. Then a growing percentage of ordinary police are trained in public order duties and tactics which incorporate some element of firearms training The tactical training is often a mirror image of the low intensity counter-revolutionary warfare tactics adopted by the military. In Britain, where 10% of police on a revolving basis train according to a military style manual/Publii Order - Tactical Options’ using batons, shields and colonial style military wedges. In the US, one study uncovered a pattern of former and reserve soldiers being intimately involved in police operations with almost 46% of trainees drawing expertise from ‘police officers with special operations in the military" {Kracker & Kapella, 1997) In some European countries, that trend is reversed, e g Last year, the Swiss government (Federal Council and the Military Department) made plans to re-equip the Swiss Army Ordungsdienst with 118 million Swiss Francs of less-lethal weapons for action within the country in times of crisis. (These include 12 tanks, armoured vehicles, tear gas, rubber shot and handcuffs). The decision was made by decree preventing any discussion or intervention. Their role will be to help police large scale demonstrations or riots and to police frontiers to ‘prevent streams of refugees coming into Switzerland’. A disturbing case of police deploying riot weapons against a peaceful festival occurred last year in Zurich on 1 May. using water cannon laced with CN irritant and rubber bullets below the- advised 2 Q metres threshold, shows the process of conver- gence well. Convergence is the process whereby the technology used by police and the military for internal security operations converges towards being more or less indistinguishable. The term also describes the trend towards a universal adoption of similar types of technologies by most states for internal security and policing. Security companies now produce weapons and communications systems for both military and the police. Such systems increasingly represent the muscle and the nervous system of public order squads. For example, according to BSSRS(1985), GCHQ’s telephone interception network was used to track UK miners during the 1984-5 strike, so that when miner’s cars were stopped, police knew who they were and punishment or dissua- sion could be targeted appropriately. ..." Area Denial ".... replaces personnel guarding either £f*eas or perimeters. It has involved deploying technology which can either create punishment when its limits are infringed or systems with built in intelligence which can both locate the point of infringement and activate a corrective response. Sophisticated varieties incorporate punishment mechanisms which vary from pain induced by electroshock to kill fences and fragmentation mines. Many European companies make electrified razor coil stun fences e g. Bollore, Cogny & Santerne in France; Birmingham Barbed Tape, Gallagher and Armbell, in UK; Reinaet Electronics in the Netherlands. Many South African companies remain in the market from the snake of fire’ days, e.g., Edair; Grinaker; Microfence. -Nowadays, the South African Government has introduced new regulations on the maximum voltage for stun fences and new criteria for not mixing barbed wire and stun capacities - if snagged a victim can’t be repelled and continues receiving current. Europe needs to adopt best practice in this regard It would also be useful if existing research justifying company claims for sub-lethality of stun fences should be made public These systems are not cattle fences and the same criteria cannot be used Neural networks with semi-intelligence are being introduced to protect sensitive control zones. Systems produced by companies, such as Productivity Systems in France and Cambridge Neurodynamics in the UK, can allow pattern recognition and an ability to learn. Neural systems will ploy an increasing role in sentinel duties as robot technology improves Already prototypes known as insectoids are being evolved to cheaply replace personnel on routine guard duties that require 24 hours cover and can be programmed to track the fence and carry either lethal or sub- lethal weapons.. Surveillance Technologies "... are one of the fastest growing areas of the technology of political control and a key problem is how to deal with the torrent of information it yields The term covers a vast range of products and devices but the overall trend is towards miniaturization, more precise resolution through the adoption of digital technology and increasing automation so that the technology can be more effectively targeted. The technology also parallels political shifts in targeting so that instead of investigating crime, a reactive activity, the fastest growing trend is towards tracking certain strata, social classes and races of people living in red-lined areas before any crime is committed. Such a form of proactive policing is based on military models of gathering huge amounts of low grade intelligence. With new systems such as Memex, it is possible to quickly build up a comprehensive picture of virtually anyone by gaining electronic access to all their records, cash transactions, cars held, etc. Such pre-emptive policing means the majority are ignored and policing resources are more tightly focused on certain groups. Such powerful forms of artificial intelligence need continuous assessment. They have an important role to play in tracking criminals. The danger is that their infrastructure is essentially a massive machinery of supervision that can be retargeted fairly quickly should the political context change. Automatic fingerprint readers are now common place, and many European companies make them. But any unique attribute of anatomy or personal style can be used to create a human identity recognition system. For example Cellmark Diagnostics(UK) can recognise genes; Mastiff Security Systems(UK) can recognise odour, Flagen Cy-Com(UK) and Eyedentify Inc.(USA) can recognise the pattern of capillaries at the back of the retina; whilst AEA Technology (UK) are capable of signature verification. Over 109 companies in Europe are known to be supplying such biometric systems. DNA fingerprinting is now a reality and Britain has set up the first DNA databank, and is already carrying out mass dawn raids of over 1000 people at targeted suspects. Plans are being drawn up by at least one political party to DNA profile the nation from birth. The leading edge companies are racing towards developing face recognition systems which they see as being able to revolutionise crime customs and intruder detection as well as service access control. Whilst fully reliable systems are perhaps five years off, prototype systems have been developed in France, Germany the UK and the USA. Night vision technology developed as a result of the Vietnam war has now been adapted for police usage. Particularly successful are heli-tele surveillance versions which allow cameras to track human heat signatures in total darkness. The art of bugging has been made significantly easier by a rapidly advancing technology and there is a burgeoning European market. Many systems described in Section 4 (below), do not even require physical entry into the home or office. For those who can secure access to their target room, there is a plethora of devices, many pre-packaged to fit into phones, look like cigarette packets or light fittings and some, like the ever popular PK B05 and PK 250, that can be tuned into from a suitable radio. However, the next generation of covert audio bugs are remotely operated, for example the multi-room monitoring system of Lorraine Electronics called DIAL (Direct Intelligent Access Listening) allows an operator to monitor several rooms from anywhere in the world without effecting an illegal entry. Up to four concealed microphones are connected to the subscribers line and these can be remotely activated by simply making a coded telephone call to the target building. Neural network bugs go one step further. Built like a small cockroach, as soon as the lights go out they can crawl to the best location for surveillance. In fact Japanese researchers have taken this idea one step further, controlling and manipulating real cockroaches by implanting microprocessors and electrodes in their bodies. The insects can be fitted with micro cameras and sensors to reach the places other bugs can't reach. Passive Millimeter Wave Imaging developed by the US Millitech corporation can scan people from up to 12 feet away and see through clothing to detect concealed items such as weapons, packages and other contraband. Variations of this through-clothing human screening under development (by companies such as the US Raytheon Co.], include systems which illuminate an individual with a low-intensity electromagnetic pulse. A three side very-low X ray system for human useage, in fixed sites such as prisons, is being developed by Nicolet Imaging Systems of San Diego. Electronic monitoring of offenders or ‘tagging*, where the subject wears an electronic bracelet which can detect if they have relocated from their home after certain hours etc, has entered into use in the 1990‘s after being developed to regulate prison populations in the USA (Schmidt, 1988). Satellite tracking of VIPs, vehicles, etc., is now facilitated by the once military Global-Positioning System(GPS) which is now available for commercial uses. Vehicle recogni- tion technologies are discussed in Section 4 below. Data-veillance - The use of telematics by the police has revolutionised policing in the last decade and created the shift towards pre-emptive policing. A comprehensive analysis of how such equipment has led to widespread abuse of civil liberties and human rights has been published by Privacy International (1995) and includes 100 pages of all the companies involved in servicing the security requirements of many brutal regimes around the world. Using data profilers, torturing states have used these systems to compile death lists. For example, the Tadiran computer supplied to Guatemala and installed in the control center of the national palace. According to a senior Guatemalan military official, "the complex contains an archive and a computer file on journalists, students, leaders, people on the left, politicians and so on." Meetings were held in the annex to select assassination victims. A US priest who fled the country after appearing on such a death list said. "They had printout lists at the border crossings and at the airport. Once you got on that - then its like bounty hunters.” Within Europe, systems, such as that produced by Harlequin, allow the automatic production of maps of who phoned whom to show friendship networks. Other companies such as Memex described above, allow entire life profiles of virtually anyone in a state having an official existence. Photographs and video material can be included in the record and typically up to 700 other databases can be hoovered at any one time, to extend the data profile in real time. Significant changes in the capacity of new surveillance systems can be anticipated with the advent of new materials such as Buckminster Fullerene, which will lead to minaturisation of systems by several orders of magnitude. Discrete Order Vehicles Hundreds of companies are now manufacturing police and internal security vehicles in Europe. The newer companies entering the market for law enforcement vehicles tend to manufacture for both military and police purposes (e.g., armoured personnel carriers, patrol, riot control, mobile prison, perimeter patrol etc.) and configured to have a non-aggressive design*. In real terms this means that their external appearance rather than their operational characteristics are modified to give a non-threatening appearance. Such ‘discreet order vehicles’ look benign - like ambulances, whilst retaining a retaliatory capacity, capable of dispersing, containing or capturing dissident groups or individuals. Some models such as the Amac vehicle and more recently the Talon incorporate repellant electrified panels as well as a weapons capacity such as water cannon. Such vehicles are frequently used to seal people into a dispersal zone where the riot squads are at work, rather than chase them out. Less-lethal Weapons - The essential role of new crowd control weapons and tactics is to amplify the level of aggression that can be unleashed by an individual officer. Thus the same rationale lies behind the use of the new US side handle batons, the use of horse, riot shield charges using riot wedges and snatch squads and the new martial arts style arrest techniques which entered European policing training in the mid 1980’s.. The biggest growth area however, has been in what used to be called non-lethal weapons.’ The fact that some of these weapons kill, blind, scalp and permanently maim led the authorities and manufacturers to act - they came up with a new name - “less-lethal weapons” - i.e. they only sometimes kill. Again a PR objective is catered for in the names which sound as if the security forces are using relative restraint. Whether it be in Belfast or Beijing, these technologies are converging around the same design types. That is, after the Tiananmen Square massacre, the Chinese authorities needed weapons options which would not excite international criticism, particularly when some much lucrative foreign investment was entering the Tiger economies of the Pacific Rim. UK Biometrics i r Whsf is Biomeirics? V J The most commonly used biometric techniques involve the measurement of external physical characteristics. While fingerprint recognition and related techniques such as hand geometry recognition and ear shape recognition are now widely accepted biometric techniques, other techniques are increasing in popularity. Iris recognition analyses the patterns in the coloured ring of tissue that surrounds the pupil. Facial recognition uses geometric analysis, where the distances between facial features are measured and thermal analysis, where the thermal pattern caused by blood-flow in the face is analysed. Body odour recognition analyses the mixture of volatile chemicals given off by an individual. Voice and speaker verification recognises patterns evident in the way a person speaks. DNA analysis is now routinely used in criminal investigations, and while automated biometric methods are still some way away, this route to automatic personal identification may soon become a reality. Signature verification techniques look not only at the shape of a signature, but also at the pressure and style used in making it. Acoustic emission analysis listens to the sounds emitted as a person makes a signature and uses that acoustic signature to identify an individual. Movement pattern recognition can be combined with digital video recording and can be networked and transmitted quickly y and widely. Hand geometry recognition and ear shape recognition are also recognised methods of identification. f Applications and Uses • Automatic banking machines • Theft prevention • Log-on routines and passwords • Security cameras used in public for PCs areas like railways, subways. • Access control motorways, airports, city centres. • Online payments football matches • Content providers • Traffic analysis • Secure communication • Forensics • Smart cards such as passports, • Image recreation identity cards, driving licenses ) Market Size The biometrics market was small and not generally profitable through 1999. Greater demand for security and widespread adoption of smart cards and fingerprint technologies bolstered the market, and profitable companies are now more prevalent. • Total industry revenue in 2000 was US$196 million, 100% growth on 1999 (DTI). • Biometric industry transactions in 1999 equalled approximately US$225 million in 1999, according to the McLean group. • The total biometrics market is forcast to reach US$1 billion by 2003, according to Elsevier Advanced Technology. • The biometrics equipment and software markets are estimated to be worth approximately £107 million in 2003, according to research firm Frost and Sullivan. • The biometrics device industry is estimated to be worth US$400 million by 2004, according to Lehman Brothers. • In 2000, the fingerprint market represented 50% of the biometrics market. Hand geometry was second with 15%, followed by face, voice and signature verification technologies at 12%, 10% and 8%, respectively. Iris recognition, keystroke dynamics and retinal technology are expected -to be big players in the biometrics market in the years to come. [ What is Pattern Recogniiion? J Right: AURA based pattern recognition systems supplied by Cybula Ltd. are capable of quickly recognising 3D image data such as faces and molecules shown here. copyright^ cybula ltd. Pattern recognition starts with classification. In order to recognise something we must decide which class it belongs to. We do this by looking at the features of an object. So, if we were classifying people we might class them as tall, short, fat, or thin. So as to decide which class a person belongs to we might make some measurements of height or weight and use these numbers as the basis of our decision. This process of getting these figures is called feature extraction. In all pattern recognition applications, the concept of clustering is used. A cluster is a number of similar objects (patterns) that are grouped together, so our group of tall people might be considered as a cluster. But pattern recognition is not always so deterministic. Somebody of average height might overlap the classification of both short and tall, so the concepts of 'degree of belonging’ to a particular group emerges. This results in fuzzy clusters where a cluster centre and cluster boundaries are identified, and the degree to which an object belongs to a particular cluster is determined using fuzzy logic, a field of mathematics designed to accommodate uncertainty. Advanced artificial intelligence systems can be used in pattern recognition. One example of this is the neural network, in which the information and its connections are modelled to resemble the information and learning process of a human organism. A neural network is designed as an interconnected system of processing elements, each with a limited number of inputs and an output. These processing elements are able to "learn" by receiving weighted inputs that, with adjustment, time, and repetition, can be made to produce meaningful outputs. Simple drawing techniques such as data visualisation can also be used in pattern recognition. In this case the relationship between data elements is physically drawn, and human or machine intervention can then be used to assess the patterns produced and so deduce a relationship that might otherwise be too complex to understand. This sort of technique has been successfully used in applications as diverse as spotting insurance fraud and identifying rings of drug-dealers. UK Pattern Recognition Companies Cybula Ltd Retail Decisions Safemark Computer Security Barclaycard Merchant Services Epdq Infoshare Ltd Tolerant Systems Ltd • Aba thorn Ltd digital signatures that stay with electronic and printed document • ABM United Kingdom Ltd facial recognition • Bio4 Ltd facial verification systems for both mobile and fixed applications. • Borer Data Systems Ltd security information and control system for a large campus complex or an organisation with sites many miles apart. • Btexact Technologies develops advanced communication technologies for companies worldwide • Cyfaula Ltd high performance software and hardware for undertaking search on large unstructured text datasets. • Document Flow Limited CADsign software to sign and approve AutoCAD drawings digitally • Domain Dynamics Ltd voice authentication and word recognition • Evive • EyeTicket at Heathrow Airport iris recognition • Identalink PKI, digital signature and biometrics • Image Metrics pic intelligent CCTV, face recognition • ISL Informer Systems Ltd authentication to networks, remote access, application databases and the internet • Neusciences Biometrics SMART cards, multiple biometrics (hand vein, face and voice) (see success stories) • Cambridge Neurodynamics Ltd pattern recognition technology, esp. fingerprint and facial recognition and verification, used by South Yorkshire police • Open Seas (UK) Ltd smart cards and biometric devices for physical access control, and network and data access control down to individual file level. • PenOp pioneer in digital signature • Pentyre Pic software for security & surveillance, transport and communication systems • Portcullis Computer Security Ltd access control • Premier Electronics Ltd iris, voice, face, fingerprint and signature recognition • Sapphire Technologies Ltd biometrics and SmartCards • Secure PC Limited biometrics in computer theft prevention (939SSS33! UK Government's national inward investment agency Helping companies to set up or expand business in the UK • Securicor Information Systems systems integrator, face recognition, used by Essex Police • Selectamark Security Systems Pic supplies security marking and electronic identification • Smart421 Ltd SmartCards • System Software Solutions Ltd IT security • TSSI Verid fingerprint recognition. Mandrake face recognition • Third Millennium Systems Ltd access control readers and electronic systems • Triteq Ltd software and hardware design, biometrics, tracking and location monitoring, telemetry • Unilink Computers Pic complete management system for a UK Immigration Detention Centre using both fingerprint and facial recognition • Viacode Ltd digital certificate technology • Wildspace Ltd dedicated biometric distributor, including fingerprint, facial, hand/palm, iris, voice, signature, keystroke EUROPE London Headquarters InvestUK 1 Victoria Street London SW1H 0ET Tel: +44 (0) 20 7215 2501 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7215 5651 Email: invest.uk@dti.gsi.gov.uk Website: www.invest.uk.com recycle or die