Oct. 19-21 in DC: NEAN Call for an Anarchist Contingent at IMF-WB Protests
Take the offensive, kick the capitalists out of town
Oct. 19-21 in DC: NEAN Call for an Anarchist Contingent at IMF-WB Protests
Take the offensive, kick the capitalists out of town
The North East Anarchist Network is calling for two anarchist contingents
during the upcoming IMF-World Bank meeting protests in Washington DC.
In February of this year, scores of anti-authoritarians representing diverse
tendencies and collectives within the Northeast, met in Boston to form the
now active North East Anarchist Network (NEAN).
At the fourth network gathering, recently held in NYC, NEAN agreed to
endorse the Oct. 19-21 protests against the IMF and World Bank and to call
for an anarchist contingent within the framework being planned by DC
activists.
This call to action represents the fulfillment of those two decisions 1) to
endorse the IMF-WB protests, and 2) to have anarchist contingents within the
framework being planned by DC activists.
This is the first street mobilization of this network. Look for our banners
and flags, check out the literature. SEE YOU IN THE STREETS!!!
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Anarchist Contingent Assembly Details:
Friday, Oct. 19: Disrupt Georgetown! Un-permitted Nighttime March
Anarchist Contingent will assemble 8:45pm at TBA, March leaves at 9pm
Saturday Oct 20: Permitted March and Rally against the IMF and World Bank
Anarchist Contingent will assemble 12:45pm at TBA, March leaves at 1pm
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For the past several months, a coalition of organizations, under the banner
of "October Rebellion," have been meeting in Washington, DC to plan for the
upcoming October 2007 demonstrations and actions against neoliberalism, the
World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund.
Two main actions are beginning to take shape. On Friday night, an
unpermitted march and autonomous actions will disrupt Georgetown; an enclave
of privilege amidst a city of poverty and injustice, a playground for the
rich and the elites, and the location where many IMF-World Bank officials
and delegates will wine and dine the night away. On Saturday afternoon, a
mass march and rally will go to the gates of the meetings and provide an
inclusive vehicle for resistance movements to unite. Discussions on
incorporating more disruptive actions into Saturday's events are currently
underway.
We concur with October Rebellion, the coordinating body of the protests,
that "the misery forced on millions by the International Monetary Fund and
World Bank is unacceptable and renders them illegitimate. The IMF and World
Bank, controlled by the G8 countries in corrupt complacency with national
elites all over the world, claim to lead the fight against poverty but their
role as global loan sharks; their cruel imposition of privatization, cuts to
social services, and free trade policies; their funding for environmentally
disastrous projects; their secrecy and undemocratic decision making
processes, make them an enemy of the people worldwide."
These meetings represent an intersection of the various destructive forces
of global capitalism. The only logical response for anti-authoritarians is
complete refusal and determined resistance. Global capitalism, and the
multinational institutions it works through, wage and reinforce the war on
the workers of the world, on the environment, on the global commons.
Participants in these institutions derive power and privilege and are
culpable for the injustices occurring. For power, profit and the
proliferation of capitalism, they continue to exploit, coerce, violate,
oppress, commodify, extract and eventually decimate every violable resource,
leaving in their wake poisoned landscapes littered with the bodies of those
who are no longer profitable.
The anarchist movement is broad and our causes are many. We all have
individual and group priorities; the abolition of militarism, the
prison-industrial complex, racism, misogyny, wage slavery, environmental
disregard, capitalism, the state, corporate greed, heteronormativity, the
exploitation of non-human animals, and so forth. Yet, regardless of our
particular focuses commonality exists between us in our underlying values:
justice and dignity, respect and inclusion, the demand for direct
participation in the decisions which impact our lives, consideration of how
our decisions affect others, refusal to obey that which is unjust or to gain
personally at the expense of others, and recognition that our possibility
for freedom is inextricably tied to the freedom of others. A personal
resistance leads us to band together with others to form the collective
resistance that is at the root of all struggles for liberation. These values
form the basis of the solidarity that we intend to manifest on the streets
of DC. In order to effect change, it is essential that we recognize the
interconnectedness of oppressions and band together to realize the awesome
power that exists in joint action. Now is our chance!
>From the D.C. meetings, through the RNC next year and on through the 2008
Inauguration, our movements are entering a period rife with possibilities
for building momentum, striking blows against capital, and learning to act
collectively. A successful mobilization in DC would set the stage for future
actions.
D.C. organizers are taking the initiative in openly calling for disruptive
protests and they've laid the groundwork with solid logistical work. This
offers a unique chance to go on the offensive. We encourage other anarchist
groups to endorse this call and the October Rebellion call. See you in the
streets!
In solidarity,
North East Anarchist Network
For information on the larger mobilization, as well as housing and ride
information check out
www.octoberrebellion.org
Info about the originators of this call: The Northeast Anarchist Network
(NEAN) is a recently formed network of anarchists and anti-authoritarian
organizations and individuals that has been meeting and collaborating since
February of 2007. Comprising groups and individuals from 7 sub-regions in
the northeast our aim is to create a regional, horizontal organizing network
in the Northeast, linking those committed to struggles anti-authoritarian,
anti-capitalist and anti-oppressive.