231 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
231 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
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Counter Information No. 40 - Part 2
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Seeds of Revolt
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In India a grassroots movement has formed to protect the
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future of seed.The power of multinationals to control
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the genetic information of life itself has been greatly
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extended under GATT (General Agreement on tariffs and Trade)
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and companies have placed patents on animals, micro-organisms,
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the brain coding of human beings etc..Western multinationals
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are trying to steal indigenous plants and knowledge from
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Third World people and turn what should be a common human
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resource into a trade commodity. The seed trader company
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Cargill even claims to own pollen and speaks of bees as
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"usurping the pollen."In the autumn of 1993 more than
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half a million peple gathered together in Banglore, South
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India, to protest the freedom of seed.In defiance local
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seed banks are being set up at village level in order to
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keep seed, regarded as sacred, free from big business
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control.
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In Britain too grassroots resistance to the rape of
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the planet is growing. There has been a spate of Earth
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First! actions, mainly against the Tories crazed roadbuilding
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program, and more are to come! There seems to be an increasing
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success rate with road schemes cancelled under Earth First!
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pressure including the M1-M62 link in Yorkshire, the Leadenham
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bypass near Lincoln and a link road development in Leicester.
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Earth First! direct action is on the increase especially since
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the high profile coverage given to Twyford Down and the brief
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but glorious establishment of the autonomous republic of Wanstonia
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which was viciously smashed by our police state. The violent
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response of the state and its unheeding destructon of irreplacable
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enviroment has convinced many that it's more than just the
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transport system we need to change. Earth First! has no
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centralised structure; no offices, leaders or official spokespeople
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so anyone who wants can form an Earth First! group or do Earth First!
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actions.There are probably as many different opinions on how and
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why we should save the planet in EF! U.K. as there are people
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involved. There are constant undercover actions such as the two
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attacks on an ARC office (a roadbuilding company) where nearly
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50.000 pounds worth of damage was done which of course North
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Wales EF! "doesn't know anything about"...or brazen ones like
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Glasgow EF!'s occupation of Glasgow Council's roads department
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building in protest at the proposal to run a road through and
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develop Pollok Estate. There is mass local opposition to the
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proposed destruction.
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In America there is ever increasing co-operation
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between indigenous people whose land is being torn from them
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and eco-activists. There is need for more solidarity between
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the class struggle and the enviromental struggle.Everywhere
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it is poor people who are the most immediate victims of enviromental
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destruction: exposed to toxins at work and in poor quality housing,
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pushed aside by business development and deprived of the right to
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land. Resist Much: Obey Little!
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See also Aufheben No.3 2 pounds (or 5 pounds for 3 sub)
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from Aufheben
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c/o Prior House, Tilbury Place, Brighton, East Sussex, BN2 2GY UK
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"To the Runways!"
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THE STRIKE by Air France ground staff last October against
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4,000 redundancies, a wage freeze and the abolition of
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bonuses holds important lessons. On 20 October transport
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minister Bosson declared this plan "irrevocable". On 24
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October the French government withdrew the plan.
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Why? Because for 5 days up to 3,000 workers invaded
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the Roissy, Orly and Toulouse runways and stopped all
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freight and passenger traffic.
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Riot police were driven off. "The lads drove into
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the cops with runway vehicles and the cops ran away,"
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explained a striker.
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Solidarity was exemplary - on 25 October 3,000 Orly
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strikers went to the police and successfully demanded that all charges against strikers be dropped.
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To the Union Bureaucrats' dismay the Union-called
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assemblies were quickly terminated by cries of
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"To the runways!"
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But there were weaknesses. The workers did not
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co-ordinate between sectors and sites outside of
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the Unions, who negotiated a return to work without a
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signed agreement withdrawing the redundancies. The
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movement needed to spread more to other industries.
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Nevertheless the Air France strikers have shown all
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workers the formidable power of mass workers' direct action.
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See Contra Flow for extensive report.
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Smashing way to change
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40,000 young people and students held a victory parade on
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31st March in Paris after the French Government caved in
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to their demands. Casseurs ('smashers' - disaffected youth)
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left a trail of destruction during the celebration
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attracting tear gas from the riot police. The march also
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called for the release of demonstrators detained in earlier
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actions and the return of two Algerians deported after the
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Lyons disturbances.
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Throughout France, notably in Lyons, quarter of a million
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students had demonstrated throughout France against plans
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of the conservative Government to reduce the minimum wage
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for people under 26 by 20%. This scheme only applied to
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young people with less than two years higher education.
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This attempt to increase divisions based on qualifications
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was resisted by school-students, students and the unemployed.
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With 23% unemployment amongst under 25s, anger was widespread
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against a system of poverty, little training and
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exploitation.
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Faced with falling profit rates, the Prime Minister,
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Balladur, tried to implement capital's aim to drive wage
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levels downwards in a climate of insecurity. In the last
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few years, under Socialists and conservative coalition
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Governments, 50% of French workers are employed with no
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job security leading to an attack on wages and
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conditions.
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Following the example of Air France strikers, and
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peasants, the protests limited the power of left parties
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and unions whose aim is to defuse discontent and contain
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unrest. Instead, a climate of confrontation and direct
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action forced the Government to capitulate. The repressive
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power of the State was unable to counter spontaneous demos,
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sit-ins, rail and road blocks & other tactics. Loose
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'coordinations' bypassed official channels. Although not
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revolutionary in aims (unlike the rhetoric of 1968), they
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prevented protest from being stifled. Worldwide, such
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self-organisation is essential to inflict more defeats on
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the ruling class.
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Zapata Worldwide
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Calcutta: Dec. 19th. Workers occupy jute mill after being
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locked out for demanding wages which had not been paid.
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Production was restarted and workers' committees set up
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alongside a communal kitchen. Jute workers throughout the
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region sent messages of support. The courts ordered the
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occupation illegal and closed the mill. On January 1st a
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worker died of starvation in the mill's living quarters as
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his wages had not been paid for six months. Reginald Brealey, owner
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of Sheffield United F.C. owns the mill.
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Assam State, India: Police kill 4 tea plantation workers
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for demanding unpaid wages.
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Delhi: April. Tens of thousands protest the signing of the
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GATT deal by the Indian government.
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Serbia: A ten week strike by Radio Pancero against the censorship
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of Serbian government ended in January The strike was supported
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by independent media.
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29/11/93: 12,000 hospital workers in Kraljevo strike against
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low pay and bad working conditions.
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The strike lasts a week.
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24/25/12/93: 15,000 railworkers strike against
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"a bad union under state control"
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29/12/93: 60,000 coalminers and power plant workers
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go on strike causing power cuts for 2 days. January
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sees ringleaders arrested.
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USA: Decemeber, 18 childcare workers in Raleigh, North
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Carolina strike for higher pay. Kindercare offer 15 pay
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rise, the workers are looking for 20%. THis is one of
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the first strikes by childcare workers in the US.
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Ecuador: 100,000 teachers who had been on strike since
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October 4th return to work on January with a 50% pay rise.
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Germany: September 27th, 30m of railtrack are lifted in
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protest at spent nuclear fuel being transported from
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Bavaria to Sellafield. November, 100 protestors
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block a fleet of trucks removing spent fuel from
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Brokdorf. Water cannons brought in to disperse demo.
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Israel: January 7th, Gush Shalon peace activists
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distribute leaflets on the main Jerusalem-Bethlehem
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road saying: "Dear Citizen, You have left the
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territory of Israel. You are now a guest of the
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neighbouring Palestinian State. Please avoid
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antagonising the local population and observe the
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basic rules of behaviour customary among civilised
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nations, such as; no killings; no trespassing; no
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damaging of property and no uprooting of
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trees_remember, the people at home have no desire
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to become entangled in war because of irresponsible
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acts committed by Israelis abroad.
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Go in peace and return safely"
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The Other Israel, POB 2542, HOLON, ISRAEL 58125. (edited in CI)
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Mexico: April 10th, tens of thousands of indigenous
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people and peasants rallied throughout Mexico to
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commemorate Zapata. This annual celebration saw
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many participants pledge support for the January
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Zapatista uprising. This seems to have led to more
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unity among peasant organisations. Seventy groups
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have set up camps in Mexico City where they'll
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negotiate for improvements in living standards and
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civil rights. January 18th, Paris, France: Support
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group of the EZLN (Zapatistas) occupy the Mexican
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embassy for 4 hours. A spokesperson for the EZLN
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says "the EZLN is not structured to take power,
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and we do not want it" and insists their only
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ideology is "either we die or we live with dignity"
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Greece, January 94: 100 people throw egss and
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tins of paint at the local police station in
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Moshato (suburb of Piraeus) to Protest at the
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murder of Giakus, a local musician. The cop
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who had killed Giakus was attcked by furious
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crowds when released from court a couple of
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weeks previous.
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****************************************************************************
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These articles are taken from Counter Information. Issue No.40 Summer 1994.
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Counter Information is produced by anarchists/libertarian socialists
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in Scotland. It collates news reports of resistance by people
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to the system we all live under and tries to make them better known.
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A Hardcopy using Pagemaker layout (Mac) is available by sending a SAE
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or Disc to:-
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Counter Info c/o 11 Forth St., Edinburgh.
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Bundles of the broadsheets available.
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Donations, unshamelessly sought.
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Each issue costs 500+ pounds for postage and print costs (no labour costs !)
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If reprinting an article, please credit Counter Information, otherwise non-copyright.
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