A-Infos (en) Brief report on Russian involvement at the LSF, Paris

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This is a very brief report about the trip to the European and Libertarian Social
Forums made by anarchists form the former USSR (and not only) to Paris.
12th November: Arrival in Paris. Opening of ESF. Several anarchists leave for demo.
No news on this but we did meet some French and Canadian comrades who participated
in the no-border camp in Krynki (Poland) this year.
13th November - morning: Yulia Okun speaks in Saint-Denis at the plenary meeting
on ecology, talking about the campaign in Azov and other ecological problems in
Russia. We met there the Finnish journalist Esu, who drove to Votkinsk 2 years
ago, but who has been banned from entering Russia for 12(!) years.

In Saint-Denis the correspondent of Radio France
International, Yaroslav Gorbanevskiy, met with three
anarchists from Moscow and Piter, from Kiev, who gave him an
interview.

Evening: meeting of anarchists in rooms of the CNT in Rue des
Vignoles. Some anarchists went to the Paris suburb of
Ivry-sur-Seine to a concert in support of Mumia Abu Jamal.

14th November - daytime: Opening of the Libertarian Social
Forum in Saint-Ouen (also a suburb). The seminars were held
over three days, but a problem with translations was very
noticeable.

Also during the day there was an action in defence of the
rights of the sans papiers, the homeless and the deprived
with a demonstration. Present at the action was Jose Bove,
and also representatives of russian Indymedia (and others
also).

Evening: There was a picket near the embassy of Greece in the
support of the prisoners in Thessalonika.

Time unknown - There was an unmotivated attack on a Greek
anarchist from Thessalonika. The attackers, French police,
followed the Greeks from the LSF to the metro and attacked
one of them in a carriage. The anarchist got burns to eye
from tear gas and injuries to the head (from batons). The
cops screamed that this was revenge for Thessalonika (scene
of the EU Summit last summer).

During the day: anarchists attempt to squat a derelict
building in the train station in Saint-Ouen opposite the
venue of the LSF. Three activists were arrested and after
several hours released thanks to pressure from anarchists.

Late evening: There was a party with the sounds of brass
band.

15th November - morning: Opening of the Anarchist Bookfair at
the LSF. Russian and Ukrainian anarchists visited the grave
of Makhno at the Père Lachaises cemetary, recorded by an NTV
film crew.

Anarchist demo left for the march from Place des Fetes to
Place de la République, where it was to join the main
demonstration. The main contingent of the demonstration was
the CNT. On arriving at the area, it was explained that the
anarchist sector would march after the Socialist party, no
friends of the anarchists. Socialist party leaders were
firghtened by this proximity, and brought in hired
protection, which held the anarchists at a certain distance.
The confrontation began, first symbolic, verbal, then
developing into clashes. The socialists' protectors were hit
by flying eggs, empty tin cans. Then the demo began, with
both sides keeping their distance, but the clashes reached
their peak - bottles from rubbish bins were thrown into the
socialist sector, the socialists answering with tear gas,
beating several anarchists up.

After the main demo, that same evening there was a demo
against all prisons. The police surrounded us and detained
200 people for several hours (among those detained was an
activist from Kazakhstan). The same evening there was a party
at Rue des Vignoles. ESF closed.

16th November: Last day of the bookfair and LSF

Also during these days: A new squat was carried out near
Jaurès metro station. Anarchists from Russia, Ukraine and
Belarus gave a number of interviews for the anarchist FM
radio station, Radio Libertaire.


[Translated from a report on Russian Indymedia by nmcn/ainfos]


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