-Caveat Lector-
>
>It saddens me to read this letter. It shows that the authorites were
>atleast partialy successfull in their divide and conquer campaign to
>diss-credit the black bloc. The acts of violence against protesters and
>indiscriminate property distruction attributed to the black bloc in that
>account were actualy perpetrated by police and fascists dressed in black.
>The real black bloc are moral, devoted activists, and they actualy
>defended many of the pacifists from the fake black bloc. See
>www.indymedia.org for more details. It's inportant for the movement to
>respect the diversity in tactics and not give in to the devide and conquer
>plot.
>-abe
>
>
>On Fri, 27 Jul 2001, Tracy Barnett wrote:
>
> > Hello There,
> >
> > Below is the most chilling summary I've read to date about the recent
> > events in Genoa. This open letter from Stefano Agnoletto (brother of
> > Vittorio Agnoletto, spokesperson for the Genoa Social Forum) records the
> > reactions of many who assembled to protest against G8 in Genova. It
> > challenges mainstream media reports, and outlines what people saw, causing
> > them to believe that violent (seemingly 'Black Bloc') actions were
> > undertaken with police cooperation. Please consider passing the letter to
> > others.
> >
> > Saturday's midnight police raid on IMC-Italy can be seen as the coup
> > d'grace, eliminating the possibility that a widely believable alternative
> > narrative would emerge out of last weekend's tumultuous events. President
> > Berlusconi of Italy owns his nation's three largest television networks. And
> > last I checked CNN was still reporting "half the news all the time".
> > Yet, the rest of the story continues seeping out...
> >
> > John Tarleton
> > New York City IMC
> > (www.nyc.indymedia.org)
> >
> > >Dear friends
> > >
> > >Now, I was in Genoa, I've seen it.
> > >Don't believe the news you've seen in the press and on TV
> > >It was something insane, a massacre.
> > >It is still difficoult to tell you what happened between friday and
> > >saturday.
> > >To do so, I'll use what I've seen together with my dear friends
> > >who were present in Genoa with me.
> > >
> > >I ask you to have the patience to read this message, it really is
> > >the chronicle of a nightmare which probably will not reach the
> > >mainstream media.
> > >
> > >I arrive to Genoa on thursday, after an immigrant's rights
> > >demonstration of about 50,000 people.
> > >There are arrival camps, many, thousands of peaceful people, a
> > >marvellous atmosphere (remember the boy scouts?), we discussed,
> > >sang and just stayed together.
> > >Clergy, activists, volunteers and just normal people, on friday
> > >we begin the issue areas in a blockaed city:
> > >The various groups partecipating will converge in different points
> > >of the city to have a carnivalesque "siege" against the "red
> > >area" [The place, in Genoa, where the G8 was held and
> > >demonstrations were not permitted] with street theatre, dancing and
> > >slogans.
> > >
> > >At this pont, from the beach-front members of the now infamous
> > >"Black Block" [supposedly Extremist groups blamed for most of the
> > >destruction in the city] arrive. Some are seen chatting with
> > >police, others just come out of police crowds. Most of them
> > >speak German.
> > >They start to break everything. Police and Carabinieri [the Italian
> > >military police] just stand there. The black block tries
> > >to join in with a group of COBAS workers [COBAS is the new Italian
> > >Trade union unaffiliated with party politics]. They beat up one
> > >of their leaders, the group manages to stay clear of them
> > >with some difficoulty.
> > >Then the Black Block makes head for the first issue area, belonging
> > >to the Italian Social Centers (Centri Sociali.
> > >Difficoult to translate exactly, call
> > >them Community organizations). They arrive armed to the teeth.
> > >The police goes after them, and demonstratos find themselves
> > >attacked first by the black block and then by the police, which starts
> > >to charge violently against all demonstrators.
> > >The black block leaves suddently and appears on the square were the
> > >Lilliput network is based (Fair trade, catholic campaign groups ecc).
> > >It's members try to peacefully make them leave. The police follows
> > >and charges against everyone on the square. Truncheons and
> > >teargas are used indiscriminately.
> > >People raise their hands, shout "Peace".
> > >The black block leaves the square and starts to vandalize the
> > >city sistematically.
> > >
> > >300-400 of the Black block roam Genoa, and whoever guides them seems
> > >to know the city very well. Their path crosses every issue area,
> > >where the campaigns of our movement are located.
> > >It's incredible. They move with military discipline, infiltrate
> > >everywhere, some leaders shout orders which are promptly followed
> > >by the whole group. And, shortly afterwards, police and
> > >Carabinieri make their appearance.
> > >
> > >Meanwhile, in the issue area where ARCI, ATTAC ecc. ("mainstream"
> > >Italian 3rd-world campaigning organizations) are located everything
> > >is fine. during the early afternoon we decide to leave the boundary
> > >with the red zone were we were demonstrating.
> > >People start moving towards Dante square. Suddendly, police
> > >launches tear-gas from behind our march, causing panic everywhere.
> > >Hospitals fill with wounded demonstrators, but many do not go
> > >to hospital since police seems to arrest everyone who turns up there.
> > >
> > >It's evening, people are downbeat,many are angry.
> > >Suddently, no trace of the Black block.
> > >At the old city, where the camp of the Genoa social forum is,
> > >there's about 10,000 of us. The news of the dead demonstrator
> > >reaches us. We are scared, tales of extreme police brutality
> > >are told by many people. Young men, nuns start crying.
> > >Many people are hurt. One old man is crying with a bandage on his
> > >head. He is a retired metal worker.
> > >
> > >There is Don Gallo, of the San Benedetto (catholic) community group.
> > >There is the leader of the mothers of Plaza De Mayo, in Argentina,
> > >those women who for years have been looking for their disappeared
> > >children: She says she is shaken at what she has seen, it's
> > >uncomfortably close to Argentina during the dictatorship.
> > >She did not think something similar would happen here.
> > >
> > >My brother Vittorio (Spokesman for the Genoa Social Forum), Luca
> > >Cesarini (leader of the Social Centers) and Bertinotti, the only
> > >politician with the courage to come here (the leader of the Italian
> > >refounded communist party, sort of the equivalent of Nader in Italian
> > >politics) try to calm everyone: They tell us not to come out
> > >in small groups, not to accept violent provocations. We
> > >decide our answer will be the enormous demonstration the next day,
> > >there'll be many of us, peacefully responding to any provocation,
> > >whether from the black block or the police.
> > >
> > >Senator Malabarba tells us he was at the police station.
> > >He saw strange people who dressed like the demonstrators, they spoke
> > >German and other foreign languages. Most of them come out
> > >of the station after exchanging a few words with the police.
> > >
> > >Suddently, there is a fire at a bank close to the old city.
> > >For 40 minutes, helicopters circle us, but no firefighters or police
> > >arrive.
> > >At night, one of the camps were we are sleeping, the Carlini, is
> > >surrounded by police: They go in and search, doing what you want.
> > >People cry. They ask that brutality stop.
> > >Police enters, but does not find anything in the camp.
> > >
> > >Saturday, the demonstration starts, a thousand colors.
> > >People from all over the world, farmers, ONGs,workers, people from
> > >Kurdistan... all singing, dancing, waving all sorts of flags.
> > >
> > >On Kennedy square there is no violence, in fact there is no one there.
> > >Suddently the Black Block appears. Police, with no warning or reason
> > >given, divides the demonstration in 2 parts. A real battle begins.
> > >Charges everywhere, people being beaten with truncheons.
> > >It seems cops have gone crazy. Metal workers ,the youth wing
> > >of Rifondazione (the Italian left wing party) are charged.
> > >Groups of demonstrators flee and are followed by police.
> > >Whoever is isolated is pursued and beaten.
> > >Many people are telling of being beaten only for being recognized
> > >as demonstrators. Even the Italian correspondent of the Sunday Times
> > >is beaten (in today's issue of the paper he tells of his adventure).
> > >
> > >In a part of the march which so far was quiet, by the sea, suddently
> > >teargas is fired from the roofs. Panic ensues as people cannot
> > >breathe.
> > >
> > >The Black BLock? They appear and disappear, no one stops them.
> > >They attack a youth from Rifondazione, wreck his flag, beat him.
> > >They throw stones at the spokesman of the Genoa Social Forum
> > >They wreck stores, set fire to buildings. Many are armed to the
> > >teeth. How on earth they managed to come to Genoa, with soldiers
> > >controlling every car?
> > >
> > >At the head of the march, things are still quiet. The Genoa
> > >Social Forum invites everyone to leave calmly, and stay together.
> > >We are being led to Marassi, where there are buses with everyone who
> > >arrived this morning.
> > >We stopped there, and could not go further: On Kennedy square, there
> > >is a war. There are many of us just sitting there.
> > >Suddendly, teargas is used, panic everywhere. We try to get back
> > >to the camp of the Genoa social forum.
> > >Police trucks pass us by, and policemen in them shout: "we'll kill you
> > >all".
> > >
> > >The second part of the demonstration never arrives to the square.
> > >They are charged by police. Many flee to the small streets, towards
> > >the hills, where a real man-hunt starts.
> > >
> > >Saturday night, the demonstration has ended hours ago, the police
> > >enters into the press-center of the Genoa Social Forum.
> > >They beat up everyone they encounter, with shocking brutality.
> > >All they seem to be after are documents (paper, video, pictures ecc.)
> > >which tell of what happened in the previous two days.
> > >Many of these documents ,computers, disks are simply destroyed.
> > >
> > >The lawyer who coordinates the forum's legal team is arrested.
> > >Among the destroyed material, there are the documents this legal
> > >team put together as part of the defense of those arrested.
> > >Now, even the motives for their arrest are not known.
> > >During this "search", with no legal mandate, members of parliament,
> > >journalists, lawyers and even doctors are not let in the
> > >building.
> > >None of us have ever seen the famous weapons shown at the press
> > >conference yesterday. Police departs, leaving us with only
> > >those wounded and arrested.
> > >
> > >No one knows what happened to the Black Block.
> > >
> > >To sum it up, 2 nightmare days.
> > >Both the black block and the Police knew what they were doing
> > >when they committed this violence.
> > >All along ,from friday, they insulted and verbally abused us
> > >as they did what they did, someone seems to have brainwashed them.
> > >
> > >And today, we look at the TV and read papers. My god, it seems
> > >like a dictatorship. Did everyone miss what we all saw?
> > >When I think that many will read this and say "you violent
> > >protesters just talk bullshit", I go mad.
> > >
> > >Please, don't let anyone fool you, find the courage to put
> > >your faith in our wonderful police and democratically accountable
> > >institutions to question.
> > >What happened in Genoa beggars belief.
> > >Some inauguration for the new governament.
> > >Just to give you a flavour of the spin control effort, do you know
> > >what the first version of the official investigation into the
> > >death, before the videos appeared, was? Killed by a stone
> > >launched by the demonstrators.
> > >If you think that many of the documents put together by witnesses have
> > >been destroyed during the "search"... the only version left to
> > >the public is that, "uncontestable", of the police.
> > >Please, forward, print, talk about this document.
> > >To everyone, friends, relatives, collegues. The truth has
> > >to come out. I beg you, don't look the other way.
> > >
> > >Thank you
> > >
> > >Stefano Agnoletto
> > >
> > >PS: My brother Vittorio (the spokesperson of the Genoa Social
> > >Forum) is destroyed. He told me: It's crazy, it seems we
> > >are in Latin America during the '70s.
> > >Maybe even he did not realize fully with whom are we dealing here.
> > >
> > >The truth has to come out.
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