[van-announce] IDAPB

[Chris Shelley]

Saturday March 15, International Day Against Police Brutality

(please support this event, we are starting to get hate mail from the far
right)

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POLICE = LEGAL TERROR! DOWN WITH POLICE STATES EVERYWHERE! ORGANISE THE
INTERNATIONAL DAY AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY!

Seventh International Day Against Police Brutality March 15, 2003

March 15, 2003, marks the seventh year of this international day of protest
and solidarity against police brutality. It first began in 1997 as an
initiative of the Black Flag collective in Switzerland along with the help
of 'le Collective Opposé à la Brutalité Policière' (COBP-Montreal). Since
its first year, the International Day Against Police Brutality (IDAPB) has
been a success. This date was chosen because on March 15th, two children,
aged 11 and 12, were beaten by the Swiss police.

This day is also an opportunity to create and strengthen an indispensable
international solidarity against the ever-increasing collaboration amongst
global police forces. The IDAPB is one step in ending the isolation of
groups and individuals who, engaged in this struggle, are subjected to daily
repression.

The police, the right arm of the State, abuse their power on a daily basis
and exercise violence with total impunity. Within the police brotherhood,
the complicity of silence eradicates the possibility of one police officer's
innocence. Everywhere they continuously violate the very laws that they are
supposed to uphold. The police check I.D. without reason, ticket, harass,
steal, spy, beat, deport, arrest, imprison, torture and kill. Their primary
targets are "the undesirables of society": the poor, the homeless,
Indigenous peoples, people of colour, immigrants and persons with irregular
status ("illegal immigrants" and people working under-the-table), sex
workers, activists and student activists, the marginalised, organised
workers, queer, gender-based and feminist activists and people who question
and don't accept the legitimacy of the authorities.

In response to the breadth and depth of anti-capitalist globalization
demonstrations opposing the fortress of capitalism, the widening gap between
the rich and the poor, the deepening of poverty, the generalised misery and
deterioration of living conditions, governments invest in their police
forces, in order to maintain, at whatever cost, law and order for 'social
peace'.

The reactionary security craze following the September 11 events in the U.S.
gave free reign to world governments to create new fascist anti-terrorist
and racist anti-immigration laws. Systematic surveillance of all means of
communication, tougher border controls (if not their closure) and total
discretionary powers to all police forces directly affect all "undesirables"
(the 'dangerous' class).

Facing a global police state, we have the responsibility to act and support
all victims of State force. We urgently invite you to participate in the
International Day Against Police Brutality (IDAPB). Until now, this event
has taken place in several forms: street theatre, murals, publications,
demonstrations, conferences, postering, workshops, exhibitions, radio and
television shows and other cultural events. Some groups have organised more
than one activity while others have formed coalitions. All collectives or
individuals decide on what type of action, depending on the political
climate of their country, the energy and willingness of people to organise
an event, the resources available, etc. The key thing is the imagination and
the creativity of the people involved.

POLICE = LEGAL TERROR! DOWN WITH POLICE STATES EVERYWHERE! ORGANISE THE
INTERNATIONAL DAY AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY!

Some suggestions and needs:

* If you can't organise for March 15th, try to organise as close to the date
as possible. * If you can't or don't want to participate, please spread and
forward this message. * We need more languages, so any translation of the
message is very much appreciated. Could you please send the translations to
the below email addresses, so that we can publish them on our websites. * If
you organise anything, can you please let us know, in order to strengthen
solidarity and to be able to build a publication about this worldwide event.
* For questions, commentaries, or to find out more about COBP-Montréal and
COPB-Vancouver please contact us and visit our websites.

COBP-Montréal c/o The Alternative Bookshop 2035 St-Laurent, 2nd floor
Montreal, Quebec H2X 2T3

E-mail: cobp at hotmail.com or seahorse at odyssee.net Website:
http://www.tao.ca/~cobp

COPB-Vancouver E-mail: copb-van at resist.ca Website:
http://resist.ca/~copb-van

International: idapb2003 at yahoo.ca