#WORLD #WORLDWIDE #CANADA #ANARCHISM #News #Journal #Update - (en) Canada, Collectif Emma Goldman - Counter-demonstrations against far-right convoys: From mutual aid to infrastructure of resistance (ca, de, it, fr, pt)[machine translation]

 Our translation of an article by Jeff Shantz from libcom.org: The capitalist

state and its police forces are not, and are not prepared to, keep working-class
communities safe. Police fail to protect Indigenous and racialized communities in
the "best of times"; she is often the one who sows terror - but not when the
extreme right mobilizes. Many people realized this during the "freedom convoys"
in Canada. ---- While the police showed their support for the convoys, it was the
people of the community who took the initiative to organize to oppose them and
their "headquarters" in different towns and villages. Coming together in
different ways, with different tactics, communities confronted, opposed and
blocked mobilizations in the spirit of solidarity, mutual aid and popular
self-defense. We can hope that this is just the beginning, laying the foundations
for more enduring infrastructures of resistance against capitalist crises and
fascist violence - and a world free from them.

Counter-demonstrators take to the streets

Counter-demonstrations were launched in multiple cities across Canada during the
weekend of February 5, after more than a week of occupation of the city of
Ottawa. Counter-protesters and counter-protesters, some of whom used bicycles to
blockade, managed to prevent convoys from reaching hospitals in downtown
Vancouver during counter-demonstrations organized quickly on Reddit.

About 40 counter-protesters blocked a convoy heading for downtown Halifax on the
east coast. The small group used a pedestrian crossing to immobilize the line of
vehicles. The actions of the police towards the counter-demonstration clearly
showed which side it was on. The Halifax Regional Police packed the
counter-protesters and counter-protesters on the sidewalk to let the convoy pass.

Nearly 300 counter-protesters, including health care workers, gathered at the
University of Toronto's medical sciences building ahead of a march to block a
convoy that was due to arrive downtown .

These actions served as a signal for communities elsewhere to mobilize in order
to obstruct or prevent the arrival of the convoys in their town or village. They
also demonstrated the potential effectiveness of certain tactics in blocking
convoys and preventing them from reaching their destination, including hospitals.

Ottawa and the "Battle of Billings Bridge"

Counter-demonstrations continued to spread, particularly in Ottawa, which
experienced significant counter-demonstrations. This city was the international
symbol of the movement of convoys. Hundreds of counter-protesters marched through
the Glebe, an Ottawa neighborhood, on February 12. The counter-protests came to a
head the following day in what was called the "Battle of Billings Bridge" - an
all-day blockade of the convoy of vehicles which successfully forced them out.

The action began as an impromptu reaction to the threat of oncoming vehicles,
with the storming of an intersection in the south end of the city of Ottawa by
about 20 people on a Sunday morning. The number of participants quickly rose to
nearly 200 as more and more residents showed up to block the road or offer
support. The rally grew to almost a thousand people and managed to force the
vehicles to turn around.

More than 500 people gathered on February 12 at Lansdowne Park, less than 5
kilometers from the Parliament Hill occupation. Two counter-protests had been
staged, one of which was organized by the unions, and joined to march through the
neighborhood along Bank Street, which the convoy targeted as the main route to
access downtown Ottawa. .

In smaller towns too

In Belleville, Ont., a counter-protest of nearly 15 people confronted a
pro-convoy rally of about 50 people as a few dozen convoy vehicles moving slowly
to slow traffic pulled into the city's main commercial district.

Over a hundred counter-protesters gathered outside Kingston City Hall to block
the arrival of the convoy of slow-moving vehicles. Acknowledging that the convoys
were mobilizing more far-right members than truckers, counter-protesters and
counter-protesters held signs that read slogans like "End White Supremacy" and "
Nazis Fuck Off" .

Counter-protesters placed orange barriers across the road and stood arm in arm in
front of oncoming vehicles. Tellingly, the police moved quickly to remove the
barriers and clear the counter-demonstrators from the road. However, she had to
put the barriers back in place when vehicles tried to hit counter-demonstrators
and counter-demonstrators in response to cries from drivers to run over them.
When the convoy tried to change course, they were joined by counter-protesters
and counter-protesters using bicycles to block them at intersections.

Police target counter-protesters and counter-protesters

In other cities, the police - who did not lift a finger against far-right convoys
and instead showed openness and camaraderie towards them - targeted
counter-demonstrations for repress. Police arrested and threatened
counter-protesters and counter-demonstrators and broke down blockades, even as
the convoys and their occupations continued undisturbed.

In Edmonton, police intervened after around 40 people stopped a line of drivers
supporting the "Freedom Convoy" in pickup trucks, SUVs or semi-trailer trucks.
The police received the counter-demonstrators and counter-demonstrators in
aggressiveness and threats of fines. One protester said: "When I saw the last
unit deploying, armed with batons, and realized they were facing us...I felt a
bit scared."

Edmonton City Councilor Michael Janz reported, "They brought in two salad carts
and more than two dozen police officers armed with batons to put down a small
group of peaceful parents carrying signs that read 'Let Ours children sleeping".
When you see the police turn towards demonstrators and demonstrators with batons
while they do nothing against the big trucks behind them, it goes beyond the limits".

Edmonton police and Alberta sheriffs have threatened counter-protesters with the
use of Alberta's Critical Infrastructure Defense Act, a repressive, neo-colonial
piece of legislation passed after defenders and Indigenous land defenders blocked
the construction of a pipeline and railroads to prevent the destruction of their
territories. It should be noted that the law was not applied to the convoys, one
of which blocked the international border between Canada and the United States -
a rather significant "critical infrastructure".

In Winnipeg, a city with a rather infamous history of racist police violence, a
video has circulated showing police officers arresting an Indigenous
counter-protester who was carrying a sign as he blocked a convoy of vehicles.
Winnipeg police arrested two counter-protesters over the weekend, using the
Intoxicated Persons Detention Act, a piece of legislation that has its own sordid
history of racist applications.

The Southern Chiefs Organization (SCO) in Manitoba has issued a statement
demanding answers from the Winnipeg Police Service. SCO Grand Chief Jerry Daniels
said: "I call on the Winnipeg Police Service to provide a full explanation as to
why two people were selected out of hundreds when noise, traffic and well being
regulations other aspects are violated every day by members of the so-called
Freedom Convoy".

Daniels saw this incident as another example of the "double standards" of
policing in Canada, which was replicated during convoys and
counter-demonstrations: "This is just another example of blatant evidence that
demonstrates the existence of a two-tiered justice system when it comes to First
Peoples."

In Montreal, counter-protesters were surrounded by police officers in riot gear,
some of whom wore the famous "thin blue line" patch - a symbol associated with
fascism and supremacy. white as a result of its use to intimidate and provoke the
Black Lives Matter movements.

Inclusive No Borders Media and Parc-Ex/Villeray organized a counter-protest that
was explicitly intended as an "anti-racist mobilization against the far-right".
It drew hundreds of counter-protesters and counter-protesters to the same park
where supporters of the Freedom Convoy were. As one of the people taking part in
the counter-demonstration said: "We understand their frustration. However, the
leaders of this movement are known as racists, fascists and Islamophobes".

As has often been the case in Canada when anti-fascists and leftists confront
fascist and white supremacist mobilizations, the police choose to act as
protectors of the fascists rather than supporting those who oppose them.
According to counter-protester Leila Marshy: "We certainly weren't
spooky/frightening and we weren't threatening or attacking anyone. There were
rows of riot police, maybe one or two behind that of the in front... We were
closely surrounded and the agents stood in front of us in combat position with
their shields, helmets with visors, truncheons and some carrying long rifles".

This makes a stark contrast to the police presence that was assigned to the
convoy, who wore yellow vests (a symbol used by far-right mobilizations in
Canada) and carried out low-level crowd control. Marshy said: "It was the kind of
police presence you usually see in parades. They were escorting them around while
our cops were trying, I think, to provoke something and watching for any
opportunity on our side to run into us. and be able to say afterwards that we
caused the violence".

Policing in Canada has always been a force used for dispossession, forced
displacement and colonial military occupation. There have been several instances
of police officers on duty expressing support or assisting in the organization of
convoys.

 From Mutual Aid to Infrastructure of Resistance

The counter-demonstrations against far-right convoys have shown important
examples of mutual aid, solidarity and popular self-defense. They grew quickly
and spontaneously, often on social media, and brought together people bothered by
the rise of fascist mobilizations in their communities - people who might not
otherwise have met.

There really is something promising about this, but it also demonstrates the need
for more enduring resources and connections, what I would call infrastructure of
resilience, to be ready and ready for the challenges that remain and will
continue to grow when the convoys have left. Historically, in the Canadian
context, such infrastructures have developed within and through unions.
Nevertheless, the labor movement in Canada is now far from being left-wing.

The Battle of the Billings Bridge can teach us things, related to the functioning
and communications in participatory democracy. Decisions on the action and its
evolution over time were made by consensus. "Discussion circles" were held to
collectively decide on the conditions under which the trucks would be released.
Later, they agreed to a "negotiated withdrawal" which did not allow the convoy to
take new paths to access the city center. Vehicles could leave, but only one at a
time and only after all "Freedom Convoy" flags, banners and stickers were removed
from them. Drivers also had to abandon any containers used to transport fuel to
the occupation.

The counter-demonstrators and counter-demonstrators also decided to discuss with
the members of the convoy to explain their opposition to them and make them
understand that they and they did not have the support that they believed to have
within the class. factory Girl. Counter-protester Sean Devine said, "I didn't
want to take away anyone's right to protest, but I wanted to let them know that
they were having a negative impact on the people of the city of Ottawa."

"Most people I have spoken to have been surprised or surprised at the resistance.
I think the convoy is under the false impression that it is carried by unwavering
popular support. It may help them to see that it there is opposition."

This is important. There is a real danger that people who are attracted to the
convoys, but who have no connection with far-right groups or ideas, will be left
to discuss only with the far-right, hear only their misguided explanations about
the injustices and inequalities in society.

A crucial and pressing question for the social left remains whether these actions
can be replicated and built upon, whether they can become proactive in struggles
against fascism or whether they are forced to remain merely defensive.
Counter-protester Gillian Carter said, "It was working so organically. It was a
galvanizing moment for the community. But I don't know if you can create that
organic feeling again."

The social left in Canada has for a very long time focused on reactive actions,
which is understandable given the crises that constantly affect people. We must
be able to build the infrastructure and shared resources that can sustain our
actions over time and lead us to proactive action - to take the offensive. We
must claim spaces to offer material solutions to deal with and end the miseries
of capitalism, which have intensified under COVID-19. A void into which the far
right has quite literally thrown itself.

Jeff Shantz

Translation of the Emma Goldman Collective blog

http://ucl-saguenay.blogspot.com/2022/03/contre-manifestations-contre-les.html
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