Scoop Images: Police Brutally Attack Indymedia

REPORTAGE FROM INDYMEDIA ITALY…..

The storming of the police into the building that hosted the GSF media center (press office, Indymedia, Radio Gap, ManifestoCarta, ...) and into the building opposite to it destroys the constitution of the Italian state. Beside the Government choice to repress in an anti-constitutional way the GSF, the police was surely not looking only for photos and videos showing the very brutal events of the last few days. They were especially looking for an escape goat for all of this.

They held numerous files, including the data-banks of the volounteer lawyers that were assisting legally some demonstrators. But what is worse is the incredible violence with which the police went against the 50 guys who were sleeping in the gymnasium opposite to the media center. The signs are clear: BLOOD EVERYWHERE, BROKEN GLASS, DOORS AND WINDOWS DESTROYED... The signs of a one-way violence! And now the police has taken away about 50 people (nearly all were first transfered to the hospital) accusing them of belonging to the "Black Bloc".

IMAGES FROM INDYMEDIA

Three TV footage stills from Indymedia France…

TV still No 1

TV still No 2

TV still No 3

Indymedia pics of the aftermath from the attack.

This is how the Indymedia centre looked after the Carabinieri left

Blood stains in the GSF building (across the street from IMC)where protesters were severly beaten. More than twenty were badly injured and taken from the building on streachers. The number of arrests in has not been released.

WEB POSTING FROM A KIWI ACTIVIST WHO WITNESSED THE ATTACK….

Hi all,

I am in the Indymedia centre. It is 6.30 on Sunday morning. I am here at this time because we were brought here at 5.30 to escape capture by the police. This is the third move tonight! We were forced to leave the stadium with only a few minutes to gather our belongings and walked a couple of kilometres to a school.

The Indymedia centre was thought to be safe because the police have already raided the centre earlier in the evening. I witnessed this (sort of). We were in the pub having a few drinks and discussing the arrest of two of my comrades ( another three were later arrested but all five have now been released). Two bus loads of polizia in full riot gear drove past and parked. They ran from there to the centre. Within a few minutes an ambulance arrived (I think they automatically attend when the rit police attack).

Very shortly afterwards it sped back the way it came. Three more ambulances arrived and two of those sped off within a few minutes. It was obvious there were heavy casulties. Apparently there are pictures on the indymedia website of the school across the road from the centre where protesters had been sleeping and there is blood everywhere.

This follows the day when the largest demonstration occurred - a peaceful workers' march with agreed routes etc. We couldn't understand why the polizia began to use tear gas but it soon became obvious the Black Bloc had used the workers' demonstration as cover for their own action.

I would have to say that I am quite unimpressed with the way they have targeted ordinary people's cars for attack and have painted graffiti on the apartment blocks of ordinary people. I will absolutely defend the anarchists against the state and against persecution in the media but they have acted in quite an anti-working class way in Genoa and I feel I have to make that criticism within the movement. (I even stepped in to defend two black blocers who were running through the workers' demo when a section the march started to attack them physically.)

We got trapped at the end of the workers' demo and the police hemmed us in to a confined area then tear gassed us at close range. When we got back to the Convergence Centre, there were half a dozen burnt out cars and all of the shops and banks along the street had been attacked. The banks had been petrol bombed.

The main concern I have about that is that there are apartment blocks above those shops and banks and they endangered people's lives. I feel very strongly that we have to attack the state and its forces - not the people of Genoa (who are overwhelmingly supportive of our actions - when walking to the school at 1am this morning, four cars slowed down and drove alongside us to protect us and give us directions. They kept saying 'walk faster the police are nearby').

I feel very tired now, so I will sign off and try to get some rest. I will send a more analytical email on Monday with my thoughts on the movement as it stands from my experiences in Genoa.

Kia kaha, SG

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