A-Infos (en) Denmark, Copenhagen Summit: Info from Global Roots

[ksvensson@hushmail.com]

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Political info from Global Roots on Copenhagen Summit (a PGA 
compatible grouping).


1.Inbjudan till fight

Line of Action during the presidency

Several earlier summits of the world elite has been 
characterized by violent confrotations between 
protesters and police. Global Roots is determined to 
avoid this kind of clashes during the danish 
EU-presidency. Global Roots will work toward a support 
of our strategi which implies confrontative, but 
non-violent disobedience actions.

Why avoid violent clashes with the police?
First and foremost we will like to point out that we 
find the public debate on violence during the summit 
hypocritical and out of proportion! The European Union 
and the United States is leaing a war i Afganistan 
demandig the lives of thousands of civilian victims, 
a war against Iraq is in preperation and the economic 
model EU is maintaining costs thousands of human lives 
each day, still the media chooses to spend miles of 
columnage on a couple of flying bricks and bottles in 
European cities.When we, in our actions during the 
summit choose to be non-violent, it is not because we 
reject violence as a mean in political struggle nor 
because we want to dissociate ourselves from the clashes 
between police and protesters which we have seen during 
earlier summits. We see these clashes as a clear sign 
of the growing distance between those in power and those 
without in the era of the neoliberal globalization, as 
well as a direct result of the brutal attack on the 
rights of protesters, by the authorities. Our rejection 
of violence during the presidency is grounded in a 
political analysis.
Even though the clashes has been an expression of a real 
political conflict the authorities and their loyal media 
has succeeded in twisting and turning this political 
conflict into a question of law and criminal political 
issues of vicious and violent troublemakers.
On this ground the authorities has very much succeeded 
in depolitisising the globalization critical movement 
and equal radical critique next with violence and terror. 
These clashes has also caused a great deal of fractioning 
in the movement against the company controlled 
globalization. Large parts of the movement has felt their 
activities overshadowed by the riots. At the same time 
the depolitisation justified a greater militarisation of 
our society. Enormous police forces with advanced equipment, 
absurdly harsh punishments, mass arrests and closing of 
borders.Because of this we do not feel that violence 
during the EU presidency will serve our purpose: 
strengthening of the global social movement against 
company controlled globalization.

What is the alternative?
The fear of clashes has caused a number of organisations 
to go in another direction. Some mean that there should 
be no demonstrations at all, some wants to place 
demonstrations far from the summit and others reject all 
illegal action. Global Roots see this alternative as just 
as wrong as the violent clashes. Just as we dont want 
to participate in the millitarised schemes of the 
authorities we stand firm on the thought that the 
resistance should be clear and break the authorities? 
false image of social peace. In short it is about finding 
a form of action which can give the just indignation and 
powerlessness a way of being expressed other than through 
violent confrontations. It is about continuing the 
confrontation without making us easy victims to the 
demonization and marginalisation of the authorities. Our 
alternative is social disobedience. We want to involve as 
many as possible in illegal direkt disobedience actions 
aimed at the EU summit and other institutions representing 
the company controlled globalization.

What if the police attacks?
In the global Roots action zones we will not meet police 
violence with violence. By doing this it will be up to the 
authorities whether clashes will occur or not. Attacks 
from the police will be met with sticking together an 
non-violent self defence techniques.

Respect for other analysises.
We will like to point out that Global Roots respects that 
other activists has other analysises and therefor other 
forms of action than us. We will not help the authorities 
split us up in ?good? and ?bad? demonstrators. But we 
expect that this respect is mutual and that groups who 
doesn?t wish to participate in our actions and accepting 
our strategy, make their own actions, separated from ours 
in time and geography. We recommend that every organisation 
take responsability and consider if their actions leaves 
room for other parts of the movement.

Political Focus
We recomend to all progressive movements,organisations 
and to the civil society as a whole that: they reject the 
disproportioned focus on the issue of violence/non-violence 
and the following depolitisation of the resistance against 
capitalisic globalization, and instead engage in the struggle 
against the structural and millitary violence of the global 
authorities, against peoples and progressive movements all 
over the world.

WHO ARE THE VIOLENT ONES?

Being aware that there is a dramatic focus on the issue 
of violent confrontations during the Danish presidency we, 
the participants of the meeting in the Nordic Network for 
a Globalization from Below, declare the following:

1) We find the entire discussion of violence hypocritical 
and disproportioned! The European Union and the United 
States is leading a war in Afghanistan with thousands of 
civilian casualties, a new war is being prepared against 
Iraq and the economical model, which EU participates in 
maintaining, costs thousands of lives each day. Nonetheless, 
the media chooses to use miles of newspaper columns on a 
couple of flying bricks and bottles in European cities.

2) Wherever in history there was exploitation and oppression 
there was also resistance. The violent confrontations, we 
recently saw, in Prague, Gothenburg and Genoa took place on 
the background of a growing distance between those in power 
and those without it in the era of neoliberal globalization. 
Often the clashes have been a direct result of brutal and 
planned police attacks on protesters. Therefore we do not 
condemn those who fought back.

3) And yet those in power and their loyal media have 
succeeded in twisting and turning this political conflict 
into a question of penal policy issues of vicious and violent 
troublemakers. In this way those in power are trying 
to depolitize, marginalize and split the movement against 
capitalist controlled globalization. These last couple of 
months we have seen how the authorities, and the press, 
again are trying to show our movement as apolitical 
troublemakers, and place our radical critique of the ruling 
order aside violence and terror.

4) We turn against these attempts to criminalize, marginalize 
and depolitize our movements. We are social and political 
movements and organizations fighting for a world where people 
come before profit. None of the participating organizations 
of the Nordic PGA meeting are preparing or planning to 
participate in: violent confrontations with the police during 
the Danish EU presidency. We come to Copenhagen in order to 
participate in demonstrations direct actions and social 
disobedience, and by doing so expressing a clear and radical 
resistance against EU and global capitalism. To avoid 
furthering the strategy of depoliticizing and marginalizing 
resistance, militarizing repression and terrifying people 
away from expressing their dissent, we shall do our outmost 
to avoid violent incidents occurring, in our activities, 
during the December summit in Copenhagen. We recognize the 
need for mutual trust among the different groups involved in 
the protests. Therefore we respect the general lines of action 
Of the organizers of the different activities.

5) We recommend to all social movements, organizations and to
society as a whole, that they reject the disproportioned focus 
on the issue of violence / non-violence and the following 
depoliticization of the resistance against capitalistic 
globalization and instead engage in the struggle against the 
structural and military violence of the neoliberal world order.

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WHY WE ARE AGAINST THE EUROPEAN UNION:

1: The European Union is a parody on true democracy. In a 
closed and impenetrable system, the lobbyists of transnational 
corporations live side by side with EU officials and politicians, 
detached from real democratic processes.

2: The values of the EU are not freedom, community and 
solidarity. EU is a project promoting capitalism. From the 
Coal and Steel Union, via the Inner Market, to the introduction 
of the Euro; the interests of capital have always been the 
ones maintained.

3: The policies of the EU and its support of the economic liberalization 
enforced by the WTO, have contributed to the growing gap between the rich 
and the poor; both inside the Union and on a global level. This development 
is creating social and political tensions which must be controlled. One of 
the tasks of the European Union is to survey and seek to control these 
tensions caused by globalized capitalism. This is done using economical, 
military and juridical instruments of power. The EU was created as and is 
still working as; an instrument of capitalism.

4: EU?s foreign policy is becoming more and more militarized. By building up 
intervention forces, the EU shows that it considers violence a legitimate 
political instrument. To call the EU a ?peace project? starckly contrasts 
the rearmament, of military and police forces, which has occurred in the 
last decade.

5: Today millions of immigrants are denied the basic democratic rights 
connected with citizenship. Even worse is the situation for the ?illegals?, 
being super exploited and working under inhuman conditions. At the same time 
an undeclared war is being waged at the frontiers of Fortress Europe. 
Thousands have allready died and the numbers are increasing every day.

6: We are not defending the nation state and we are not anti-globalists, nor 
are we troublemakers without politics, even though the media tend to portray 
us as such. Our resistance against ?globalization from above? is not a 
rejection of a global society. But we want to globalize equality, solidarity 
and community - not inequality, egoism and poverty. We want to globalize 
diversity and ecological balance - not ruthless exploitation of human being 
and the environment. We want to globalize cultural exchange and freedom of 
movement - not conformity and repression. We want to globalize freedom and 
democracy - not state control and market domination.

7: We want democratization and decentralization of power so that people, in 
local communities, are able to take control of their own lives, as well as 
our common future. For this reason we want a Europe which opens up to the 
world. For this reason we fight for a different Europe, which can play an 
active role in a globalization from below.

The Nordic network for an Alternative Globalization
The nordic network for an alternative globalization is a network of 
organizations and groups adherent to the hallmarks of Peoples Global Action:
1. A very clear rejection of capitalism, imperialism and feudalism; all 
trade agreements, institutions and governments that promote destructive 
globalisation;

2. We reject all forms and systems of domination and discrimination 
including, but not limited to, patriarchy, racism and religious 
fundamentalism of all creeds. We embrace the full dignity of all human 
beings.

3. A confrontational attitude, since we do not think that lobbying can have 
a major impact in such biased and undemocratic organisations, in which 
transnational capital is the only real policy-maker;

4. A call to direct action and civil disobedience, support for social 
movements' struggles, advocating forms of resistance which maximize respect 
for life and oppressed peoples' rights, as well as the construction of local 
alternatives to global capitalism;

5. An organisational philosophy based on decentralisation and autonomy.
The Nordic Network for an alternative globalization will gather at least 
once at year. Actions in the name of the Network must have been approved by 
the network. We have one emaillist on which all arganizations shall be 
represented. The Network strives for equal gender participation on our 
common meetings and activities. Network gatherings are organized by one of 
the associated organizations, on a mandate from the network.


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