[Nettime-bold] [allsorts@gn.apc.org: -ALLSORTS-IMC and GSF raids - one shocking eyewitness report from Genoa]

[jaromil <jaromil@dyne.org>]

----- Forwarded message from ALLSORTS <allsorts@gn.apc.org> -----

Date: Sun, 22 Jul 2001 17:17:09 +0100
From: ALLSORTS <allsorts@gn.apc.org>
Subject: -ALLSORTS-IMC and GSF raids - one shocking eyewitness report
  from Genoa

Star Hawk's eyewitness report

Day Two. StarHawk's eyewitness report of midnight raids of Italy 
Independent Media Center and Genoa Social Forum. July 21 is the correct 
date in North America for the time the raids occured. But in Genoa the 
raids went from around midnight to 2 AM July 22, 2001 according to the 
reports.

http://www.zmag.org/day_two.htm

http://sf.indymedia.org/display.php?id=102068

--------------------------

Genoa 7/21

By Starhawk

I think I’m calm, that I’m not in shock, but my fingers are trembling as I 
write this. We were up at the school that serves as a center for media, 
medical and trainings. We had just finished our meeting and were talking, 
making phone calls, when we heard shouts and sirens and the roar of people 
yelling, objects breaking. The cops had come and they were raiding the 
center. We couldn’t get out of the building because there were two many 
people at the entrance. Lisa grabbed my hand and we went up, running up the 
five flights of stairs, up to the very top. Jeffrey joined us, people were 
scattering and looking for places to hide. We weren’t panicking but my 
heart was pounding and I could hardly catch my breathe. We found an empty 
room, a couple of tables, grabbed some sleeping bags to cover our heads if 
we got beaten. And waited. Helicopters were buzzing over the building, we 
could hear doors being slammed and voices shouting below, then quiet. 
Someone came in, walked around, left. I couldn’t seem to breath deep and I 
had an almost uncontrollable cough—but I controlled it.

I lay there remembering we had lots and lots of people sending us love and 
protection and I was finally able to breathe. The light went on. Through a 
crack between the tables, I could see a helmet, a face. A big Italian cop 
with a huge paunch loomed over us. He told us to come out. He didn’t seem 
in beating mode, but we stayed where we were, tried to talk to him in 
English and Spanish and the few Italian words I know: “paura” “fear” and 
“pacifisti.” He took us down to the third floor, where a whole lot of 
people were sitting, lined up against the walls. We waited. Someone came 
in, demanding to know whether there was someone there from Irish Indy 
media. We waited. Lawyers arrived: The police left. For some arcane reason 
of Italian law, because it was a media place we had some right to be there, 
although the school across the street was also a media center and they went 
in there and beat people up. We watched for a long time out the windows. 
They began carrying people out on stretchers. One, Two, a dozen or more. A 
crowd had gathered and were shouting “Assessini! Assesini!” The brought out 
the waking wounded, arrested them and took them away. We believe they 
brought someone out in a body bag.

The crowd below was challenging the cops and the cops were challenging the 
crowd and suddenly a huge circle of media gathered, bright camera lights. 
Monica, who is hosting us and is with the Genoa Social Forum, came up and 
found us. She’d been calling embassies and media and may have saved us from 
getting hurt once the cops finished with the first building. All the time 

there were helicopters thrumming and shining bright lights into the 
building. A few brave men were holding back the angry crowd, who seemed 
ready to charge the line of riot cops that was formed up in front of the 
school, shields up and gas masks on. “Tranquilo, tranquilo,” the men were 
saying, holding up their hands and restraining the angry crowd from a 
suicidal charge. I was on the phone home, then back to the window, back to 
the phone. Finally, the cops went away. We went down to the first floor, 
outside, heard the story. They had come in to the rooms where people were 
sleeping. Everyone had raised up their hands, calling out “pacifisti! 
Pacifist!” And they beat the shit out of every person there. There’s no 
pretty way to say it. We went into the other building: there was blood at 
every sleeping spot, pools of it in some places, stuff thrown around, 
computers and equipment trashed. We all wandered around in shock, not 
wanting to think about what is happening to those they arrested, to those 
they took to the hospital. We know that they have arrested everyone they 
take to the hospital, taken people to jail and tortured them. One of the 
young Frenchmen from our training, Vincent, had his head badly beaten on 
Friday in the street. In jail, they took him into a room, twisted his arms 
behind his back and banged his head on the table. Another man was taken 
into a room covered with pictures of Mussolini and pornography, and 
alternately slapped around and then stroked with affection in a weird 
psychological torture. Others were forced to shout, “Viva El Duce!” ! ! 
Just in case it isn’t clear that this is Fascism. Italian variety, but it 
is coming your way. It is the lengths they will go to to defend their 
power. It’s the lie that globalization means democracy. I can tell you, 
right now, tonight, this is not what democracy looks like.

I’ve got to stop now. We should be safe if we can make our way back to 
where we’re stayiing. Call the Italian Embassy. Go there, shame them! We 
may not be able to mount another demonstration tomorrow here if the 
situation stays this dangerous. Please, do something! 

----- End forwarded message -----

-- 
jrml ..//korova.dyne.org
6EEE 4FB2 2555 7ACD 8496  AB99 E2A2 93B4 6C62 4800


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