More demonstrations, reinforced repression!
While the protests against the FPOe/OeVP government continue, the state puts all its efforts into the criminalization of the left part of the resistance movement, and first concrete steps have been initiated by the police.
The large demonstration of February 19th, when 300.000 people participated, was followed by a march of about 12.000 on Thursday, 24th. The route, as usual, led the protestors through various districts of Vienna and they were cheered on by people leaning out of their home windows and people hanging out in restaurants. In addition, now every Saturday a "Folk dance" accompanied by various DJs moves along the "Ringstrasse": We march until you leave!
On Monday Joerg Haider resigned as head of the FPOe and the minister of justice quit. However, that does not mean at all an easing of the situation. Haider's final goal still is to become federal chancellor and he still pulls all the strings.
Yesterdays "Opernball" fell on a demonstration-Thursday and, thus, the protest mutated into the "anti-opera dance demonstration". The public media caught on the old topic and reawakened the riotous pictures and stories of the late eighties and started a merciless campaign against the more left-wing part of the demonstrators. The protestors did not want to do the media and the police the favor to fulfill their expectations of "riotous autonomous radicals". Therefore, the march was planned as an antifascist carnival to get a good laugh at the government and their provincial dancing party. About 16.000 colorfully masqueraded, noisy, happy but also spiteful people gathered. The police on duty could not find any obvious reason to take actions against them, because only paper shavings and streamers were thrown at them. Nevertheless, they singled out some of the protestors, harassed and thrashed them. According to the police they had roughly 200 civilian officers (some of them even convering their faces and dressed in leather-jackets) intermingling with the regular protestors.. When the demonstration was already over, exactly these dragged 4 people out of cab holding their pistols against them. Two of the four where arrested and are in detention pending investigation. They are accused of breach of the peace, willful property damage, and resistance against the state authority. In addition, they are pointed out as commanders in chief. The media even want to mark them as the tough core of the autonomous scene. The same issues are held against another woman who has been brutally arrested before.
What these people have in common is their engagement in the fight against this government and against racism. All the police holds against them is constructed and so suspicious that it is withheld from the public. The bourgeoisie part of the resistance movement keeps quiet.
We will not be silent and we will not let us split off from the movement and let us brand as criminals!
