Barcelona Forum 2004: "sans-papiers" in cathedral forced to evacuate it with violence by the police

international | rights, freedoms and repression | news report

Sunday June 06, 2004 16:21

by bad words

After the demostration of this sameday afternoon, 2 occupations, the church "Esglesia del Pi" and the Barcelona Cathedral. Cathedral has been disloged, the other resist. We don't know if all the arrested people is free now.

A demostration with a lot of persons (someone was saying 5-10000), "illegal" people, was at Barcelona streets the last afternoon.

At last, they go to occupy 2 churches at center of the city: Esglesia del Pi and the Cathedral. At the midnight, there are 200 persons at the first and 1000 at the cathedral. Then, the state police encircle the cathedral. The "left" and new catalonian government (socialists-ecopacifists-independentists) and the "left" and new state government (socialists) don't want to know nothing about this action. Some arrested people at the first church.

At 5:00, the police go inside the cathedral and force to evacuate it. Then, there are some attacks of the police at the cathedral square and outside Esglesia del Pi.

Today, sunday there are one demostration to help them: 18:00 in the center (pl. Catalunya)

It is important to remember it is celebrating in Barcelona the Forum 2004 of the Cultures, an institutional celebration, the face of the hypocrisy while in the streets we are celebrating the repression of the European fortress

(Never at the Franco's dictatorship the police goes inside a church to fight the antifranquists)

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(more info at www.barcelona.indymedia.org, best in catalan, spanish, working to translate to english, we need some help to do it)

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the list of unions, collectives, groups and NGOs who support the action taken by the Sin Papales.

by -

Wed Jun 09, 2004 16:15

in occupying the church of the Pi, and the cathedral of Barcelona Saturday June 5th-6th 2004.
You may google for each of these orgs sites, or find their links through http://www.moviments.info
some have English pages, and indeed some have local equivalents in Ireland /uk /usa /aus.

AiD Coop.

Alternativa d'Esquerres per Badia

Arquitectos sin fronteras

Associació Catalana de Brigadistes a Nicaragua

Asociación Catalana de Profesionales de Extranjería ACPE

Asociaciò d'amistat amb el poble de Guatemala

ASOCIACION DE PROFESIONALES IBEROAMERICANOS ( API)

ASOCIACION PROFESIONAL DE ABOGADOS DE EXTRANJERIA DE MADRID

ASOCIACION CATALANA DE PROFESIONALES DE LA EXTRANJERIA (ACPE)

Asociación de Vecinos del Puente de Vallecas (Madrid)

Casa de la Solidaritat

CC.OO. de MINIWATT-PHILIPS

Centre d'Acolliment per a Estrangers de Santa Coloma

CGT

CNT

Colectivo de Inmigrantes de los cuarteles de Sant Andreu

Colectivo de Inmigrantes de Bangla-Desh

Colectivo de Inmigrantes Magrebíes

Colectivo de Inmigrantes de Pakistán

Colectivo de Inmigrantes Subsaharianos

Colectivo por una Izquierda Alternativa

COORDINADORA DE ABOGADOS DE MADRID

Cornellá sin fronteras

Corriente Roja

Debat a Bat

Ecuador Llactacaru

En Construcciò, plataforma de trabajadores y trabajadoras de Telefónica

ENDAVANT (OSAN)

Federación de asociaciones de Vecinos de Barcelona FAVB

Federación de Colectivos de Inmigrantes en Catalunya FCIC

GOAC (MOVIMENT DE CRISTIANS EN EL MÓN OBRER)

Grup 0.7% de Treballadors i Treballadores de Telefónica

Grupo de Apoyo a Madres de Plaza de Mayo de Barcelona

Huelga Mundial de Mujeres

Papeles para Tod@s

Partit Comunista del Poble de Catalunya

President del Comitè d'empresa del PAME-Terrassa

PRT-Esquerra Revolucionària i de Ruptura

Rojos i Roges

Revolta Global

Socialismo Libertario

Sodepau

Teb-Ravalnet

ASMIN (Asociación de Mediadores Interculturales).

Grup de Dones Inmigrants de Sant Cugat

Centro de Estudios Can Bardina

Xarxa de Consum Solidari

Asemblea de Resistencies al Forum

Salario Debido a las Lesbianas

Sindicat Unitari (Metro de Barcelona)

XARXA SOLIDÀRIA CONTRA EL TANCAMENT D'EMPRESES

Associació de Veïns del Casc Antic
Forum de la Ribera
Ecoconcern
Col.lectiu del Forat de la Vergonya
Recursos d’animació Intercultural (RAI)
SOS3

link to other article with day by day updates on imc irl.
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=65406

interesting event

by pc

Wed Jun 09, 2004 16:37

found it hard to find english things or photos...

just used a translator but it didn't work very well... no catalan option :)

didn't realise until i read it there were trying to use common law, ie if you go into a church you should be protected and helped out ...

the figures for arrested varied between 8 and 20.

Wed Jun 09, 2004 16:39

The ministry of the Interior yesterday confirmed that all arrested had been deported to their country of origin Morrocco.

links to photos at bcn indymedia "media gallery". top central bar. click and follow.

by uno

Wed Jun 09, 2004 18:12

at 22h00

media gallery in BCN fills up quickly.

by .

Wed Jun 09, 2004 18:17

here's a few put together.

I have to say the creativity of the people here amazes me.

by €

Fri Jun 11, 2004 20:06

check out the banner on the homepage of http//.www.elsud.org

today Our great Mayor, Juan Clos let it be known through the press that there is a concerted campaign against the Forum.
Apparantly media workers, and suspicious crypto-bourgois types (not the lumpen proletariat who he represents in a Blair sort of way) have tried to dish his project.
He has let it be known furthermore, that the Olympics was a great success. Of course it was. Watching top athletes beats listening to old politicians any day or night.

And so it is.
We are younger and fitter than Juan clos, and sport comes easier to us, I saw him dancing for the brazillian fusion street gig, a while back, brought loads of Brazilians on to the street. Great music, great gig, no one asked anyone for papers.

So, the battle continues.
Juan has been spotted in the last hours running along the sea front in a sweaty tracksuit, punching the air, and the others?
Well this is it
THE GREAT SUMMER MADNESS SURREALITY SHOWDOWN.

it's gonna be our forum now. They closed Les Naus, where we had somewhere to do trapeze, beer, serious chat, theatre, circus, and graffiti for free.
We don't want to go to Forum2004, which interestingly does trapeze, beer, serious chat, theatre, circus and graffiti for a charge.

In not uncompletely unrelated news, the judicial authorities of Barcelona of which Juan Clos the atheletic mayor, is head, is known to be preparing an order of eviction on the house which has since the beginning of this nefarious rumoured counter Forum year, served "Miles De Viviendas" as it's home.
http://www.sindominio.net/miles/ This was the bunch who brought the Council to court for endangering the rights of the citizens of BCN to a home, or something like that.
It's an old relationship.

Now do we all have to go through this again?

The Sin Papales want us all to run up to the Forum with them Sunday at 11am. "Mass time".

http://barcelona.indymedia.org/newswire/display/96760/index.php

This is now a dossier size story. To follow it is difficult.

Sat Jun 12, 2004 11:07

It has claimed space everyday in Catalonia's media, and beyond. This is very good, as it means the issue is being debated, provoking comment and attracting attention.
The sin papales themselves have gone on holding assemblies, making their demands on the governments and authorities, and the human dimension has now come to the fore, with interviews being published and individual cases being examined.

President Zapatero has promised to speed up processing of those who's applications were fouled by beurocratic red-tape.

100 entities from the "centrist" sindacalist school of thought, (the largest trade unions which operate a social partner relationship between paid officials and the government in a typically post corporate post fascist model- similar indeed to Ireland) have condemned the decision to do the "lock-in". No-one really pays attention to the largest trade unions anymore, because they haven't properly represented the interests of any worker, since the last century. We invite them along to gigs because their budget can provide for lots of colourful flags, but beyond that, at this stage their role does seem cosmetic.

This now means there is a long long list of those who support the action, and a long long list of those who think it was a foolish thing to do. Someday these days will be perhaps the source of a book focussing on how such disparate elements of urban, national, and international life, can demonstrate the idiocy of many in public life.

Meanwhile, 200 priests of the diocese of Barcelona went protesting yesterday as well, against the decision to split their diocese, the see of BCN. Of which the cathedral is the seat. This is the first time priests have demonstrated in Catalonia since the dictatorship when apparantly the Franco police beat the shit out of them, for opposing the appointment of a Spanish bishop, they had taken to teh streets in the 60s calling for a catalan bishop. Radicals them. I leave this titbit, as an indication of how so many differing threads are finding common knottyness in the Migrant Worker Problem, the protesting priests are members of the XXI christianity group, and though not exactly "stencil and balaclava in one hand & bible in the other", they are the nucleus of a European Liberation Theology Clerical group.

Let me be clear :-
How we treat upon the Migrant Worker Problem will shape How we treat upon all Workers in the Globalised economy. Opening the Sin Papales debate so forcefully in Europe these last 10 days, has not guaranteed anyone immediately a change in thier status, but it has pushed reforms in many areas, opened debate, and had many unseen effects on diverse policies.

Today's mainstream press advert for Forum shows three kids of Asian, African and European background playing with an inflated globe of the world, one of those protest ideas so popularised in the last years, the caption reads:- "In BCN we want to change the world". I suggest everywhere we want to change the world. So as Archimedes hinted we must find our fulcrum.

I have long maintained that the best long-term strategy for achieving our goals, means pressure on the weakest parts of the Beast's underbelly, of which one has proven to be-
.:.
PAPERS FOR EVERYONE!

go to BCN indymedia but the translate option won't give you the latest stuff, there literally is a plethora of articles, photos, manifests, counter-manifests, statements, declarations now. Even the authorities are contradicting each other. Exactly what we need.
Remember not till the system is completely discredited, does it matter if the Emperor is naked or not. bob Marley said that, but it didn't ryhme so he didn't bother singing it.

thanks for the updates

Sat Jun 12, 2004 15:16

wonder what the situation is like in ireland

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Barcelona Forum 2004: "sans-papiers" in cathedral forced to evacuate it with violence by the police

Comments (8 of 8)