Regional Activist Gathering
Post Free Trade Area of the Americas/
School of the Americas /
Local Actions
December 6th, 2003
Hosted by the Worcester Global Action Network (WoGAN- www.wogan.org)
AGENDA in Brief:
1. Reporting back from the anti-FTAA in Miami, anti-SOA in Georgia and
from local actions.
2. Discussion of targeted repression, moving into a conversation about
oppression dynamics within the movement(s).
3. Break-Our groups for Proposals and Future Actions
4. Full group Strategy Discussion and Evaluations
Questions and Alternatives
- How do we build our movement(s) and fight repression at the same
- time? How will we find strength and support to carry on both these
- fights as one?
- How can we adopt effective security measures and yet remain open and
- inclusive?
- How can we create our movement(s) against all forms of oppression
- and repression?
- How can we identify beyond our activist circles and identity groups?
- What about expanding who we work with, especially along class lines?
- How can we play to our goals through repression? How could adopting
- a diversity of tactics further these goals?
- How can we build a media campaign that deals with the perpetrators
- of repression and sensitively takes effected people into account?
- How can we organize with our local communities in a way that helps
- build our movement(s) as a whole?
Proposals for Future Actions
(From 6 proposed break-out groups)
- Continental Anti-Capitalist Convergence. Participants in this group
- thought we could begin by coordinating the Northeast, along points
- of unity such identification as anti-capitalist and anti-oppression,
- and as horizontal and autonomous. It was suggested that we look to
- People s Global Action (www.agp.org) as an example, and that we
- communicate using the New England Global Action Network (NeGAN)
- listserve in order to create a concrete proposal. This proposal can
- then be circulated to people at events like the Autonomous Gathering
- and NCOR, etc.
- Protest for the 60th Anniversary of the International Monetary Fund
- and the World Bank.
- Northeast Regional Coordination on Miami follow-up: Participants in
- this group will issue a call for documentation, fundraising, legal
- help and local events to inform the public of what went on at the
- protests.
- The Democratic Nation Convention in Boston. Participants in this
- group thought the main message of a protest should be to get GW Bush
- out, and that the DNC should be differentiated from the Republican
- National Convention, with the goal being to hold Democrats
- accountable for the Iraq War and to get people included in the
- political process beyond voting.
- NO CAFTA- Central America Free Trade Agreement. Participants in this
- group will coordinate through NeGAN to start.
Challenges
\x{00E0}MIAMI:
- 140 people have court dates in Miami.
- 5 people suffered confirmed sexual assaults.
- 11 people were physically and verbally assaulted while under arrest.
- Several people were put into isolation.
\x{00E0}Harder line police approaches to people of color.
- Since Detroit conference, Anarchist People of Color (APOC) events
- targeted.
- 8 people from APOC are facing heavy charges.
- These are some of the obvious and apparent consequences of 9/11 for
- people of color and people from outside the U.S.
- There were entrance problems for people from other countries,
- particularly Latin America, trying to get to the protests.
\x{00E0}Participation: Who could/couldn t participate? Who couldn t
even get into the country? How does our focus on mobilization affect
this? How can local actions help? What about inclusiveness towards
working class folks?
Strategies
\x{00E0} MIAMI:
- 2 trans*/queer people want to bring charges against the cops
- Fundraising- arrestees only have $2,000-3,000 at present and need A
- LOT more money.
- Documenting, campaigning and publicizing widely about what happened
- at the protests and effects of repression.
- Housing for people especially with felonies and office space.
- Help in MAD- Miami Activist Defense offices- lawyers, office help
- needed.
- Steelworkers are calling for a congressional investigation of
- repression.
- Press releases
- Trauma and counseling supports
- AMMO- Activist Mass Media Outreach- organizing for direct action
- activists and protesters to interact strategically with corporate
- media
- Legal log jamming- hundreds of cases coming up
- Vermont medics interested in solidarity
\x{00E0} Getting Timoney fired- someone needs to confirm if he will be
the top cop for Republican National Convention, Democratic National
Convention (Boston), IMF/World Bank Protest
\x{00E0} SOA strategies: good coordination and successful marches
despite low numbers of people
\x{00E0} Security:
- overcoming fear
- building strong, tight affinity groups
- affinity group trainings on a more regular basis
- documentation at protests/events
- fighting racism, hetero/sexism and all forms of targeting
- putting together a guide of easy computer security steps and/or
- using PGP
- sometimes being public is the best security particularly for
- targeted groups
Events & Happenings
- AFL-CIO and CTC and Sierra Club and J w/ J who have all been
- involved in Miami are launching a civil liberties campaign to call
- for the arrest of Timoney, to support those affected, and to have
- Congressional Inquiry as to how that money was spent.
- May 12th at VT. Plainfield Goddard College- "Another World Is
- Possible" 3 days
skillsharing and strategizing to educate between social movements more
info see American Friends Service Committee in VT website
- Support Critical Resistance, support APOC: 718-398-2825- # for
- people who were beaten up at APOC and face 4 years in jail
- Support Estevan Nembhard of NYC, who was beaten up by the Worcester
- cops following a conference put on by Black Student Union at Clark
- University- Este should be up to Worcester in January to talk about
- strategy with all interested. Watch for forthcoming announcement of
- date.
- www.downhillbattle.org get corporations out of music
- Autonomous Gathering starts Jan 8th-Jan 14th at Unemployed Workers
- Movement Solano, Buenos Aires, Argentina- check out
- www.autonomista.org for details
- Social Movement s Network meeting at the World Social Forum,
- starting Jan 16th in Mumbai, India- www.forosocialmundial.org.br for
- details
- Institute for Social Ecology Northeast speaking tour on development
- and the Free Trade Area of the Americas, action scheduled for April
- 20th and 21st in D.C.
- Open invitation to everyone to participate in the Boston Social
- Forum
