Protest at Spanish consulate, Tuesday 23 December #YoTambienSoyAnarquista
On Tuesday 23 December members of the MAC and others paid a visit to the Spanish consulate in Melbourne.
We delivered an open letter to a consular official and held an hour-long protest outside the consulate.
The action was held in solidarity with anarchists in Spain who have been arrested by police and accused of belonging to an 'anarchist terrorist' association. We also wanted to register our opposition to the new gag laws that criminalise political dissent in Spain.
Thank you to all who joined us.
We will continue to monitor events in Spain and to act in solidarity with our Spanish comrades.
Note: the MAC will be closed over the holiday period and re-open on January 4. Our first gig for the year is on Friday, February 6 with Kollaps, Headlopper, A Commoner's Revolt and Spacecho.
Protest in solidarity with Spanish anarchists. Against the gag laws, against state repression!
On December 16, 2014, Spanish police launched 'Operation Pandora'. Round-ups, searches, and arrests were carried out at squats in the 'Casa de la Montaña' district of Barcelona, at the libertarian San-Andres reading room, the anarchist Poble-Sec reading room, as well as 15 private homes.
Presently, 11 anarchists have been detained incommunicado by the state and accused of belonging to an 'anarchist terrorist' organisation.
At the same time as these attacks upon the anarchist movement, the Spanish government has introduced new laws which criminalise a wide range of political activity. Among other things, the new laws "allow fines of up to €30,000 for disseminating photographs of police officers that are deemed to endanger them or their operations. Further, individuals participating in demonstrations outside parliament buildings or key installations could be fined up to €600,000 if they are considered to breach the peace. Those insulting police officers could be fined up to €600. Burning a national flag could cost the perpetrator a maximum fine of €30,000".
The police action and the enactment of new, harshly repressive laws come at the same time as the Spanish state is implementing deeply unpopular austerity measures, part of a European-wide attack on working conditions. In response, mass popular movements have arisen to contest these measures and it is surely no coincidence that the state now aims to criminalise these movements and their activities.
On Tuesday, we will be joining the tens of thousands of workers in Spain who have already mobilised in response to state terror and repression to demand: the immediate release of the anarchists; the repeal of the new gag laws and; an end to the attack upon working conditions and workers' movements in Spain.
Please join us outside the Spanish consulate in Melbourne at midday on Tuesday, December 23 and let workers in Spain know that they do not struggle alone.
Stories of struggle from the streets of Spain
Join us for a lively discussion with our special guest speaker Marta de LaPiluka, from La Piluka social centre in Barrio del Pilar, Madrid.
Marta participated in the 15M/Indignado occupation of La Puerta del Sol Plaza in 2011 and has recently returned from Spain where she witnessed events surrounding the occupation of the House of Deputies on September 25.
In addition to providing an update on the current social, political and economic situation in Spain, Marta will focus on police brutality, the criminalisation of dissent, and libertarian struggles for health, education, employment & housing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gvDiiaJogY
WHEN : 2pm, Sunday, December 16th
WHERE : Melbourne Anarchist Club, 62 St Georges Rd, Northcote
75th Anniversary of the Spanish Revolution Celebration
3pm Saturday 16th of July
The Spanish Revolution was the closest the world has ever come to an anarchist inspired revolution.
We will be marking this historic event with a BBQ, games, bands and a short discussion about how we can apply the ideas of the Spanish anarchists today.
There will also be a piñata.
Download the poster (PDF, 70kb).