Syndicate: Fwd: Strike Enters Second Day at Concordia- Student Executives Beaten

["Mihajlo Acimovic" <skladiste4@angelfire.com>]

Zvuci poznato.../Sounds familiar...

--
DATE: Fri, 5 Nov 1999 07:30:44 
From: Tom Keefer <tom@tao.ca>
To: Student Activist Network <san@lists.tao.ca>
I found it Fwded on the a-infos list

Okay, I've just recently got out of jail, and I'm too tired to provide
y'all with proper sentences, so here's a point form recount of the way
shit's going down here at Concordia.  I hope to post a more coherent and
well written report a bit later that could be used for publication- this
is more for info purposes only...


Oct 26th to 28th- With a record turnout 2300 Concodia Students vote 91% in
favour of strike action to deal with government and administration
fuckery.

Nov 3rd

- A General Assembly to hold a strike vote.  700 students pack the largest
room on campus and vote 697 to 3 for a two day student strike Friday Nov
4th & 5th.

- A joint demo of the CFS-Q (a bunch of ultra left troublemakers:) and the
MDE (more of the same:) brings out over 2000 students in the streets from
about half a dozen different schools.

- The Demo marches all over town, at one point the police tried to block a
narrow sideroute that the marchers were heading down.  Fenced in by baton
weilding riot cops, students pushed through the riot cops and an exchange
of blows left 4 riot cops injured and a police car window smashed.

- Protestors kept on the move and ended up at Bouchard's office where
after they vigourously pounded on the windows they lit a large bonfire in
the road and dispersed into the underground shopping malls of complex
Desgardins.

Nov 4th

- First day of the strike at Concordia sees hundreds of students on the
picket lines.  The newspapers ran front page photos of students beating on
the riot cops at the demo.  The papers take the protest completely out
context and complain about student militancy. 

- The administration building is completely shut down as students back up
a large pick-up truck into the main enterance and block other
enterences with pickets.

- the largest picket is by the hall building where students hand out
leaflets and invite students to join the picket lines.  Most classes seem
to continue, but with thinned numbers, and many have discussions about the
strike instead.  The administration has granted academic amnesty so
no-one will be penalized for particpating in the demo.

- at about 10am a student with one of the megaphones is approached by
Montreal police from the tactical unit which was waiting by the side of
the road.  They tell the student, (that's me!) that he and the
other protestors are not allowed to use megaphones as they will be
breaking a municipal bylaw.

- the students reply that it is univeristy property, that students have
voted for the strike, and that it is their right to express themselves.

- the head of univerisity security agrees with the students and explictily
states that they are allowed to protest and to use megaphones on
univeristy property

- students continue to protest and then at about 11:30am a group of six
police rush up behind me (I was holding the megaphone) and grabbed me by
the neck and threw me to the ground without trying to talk with me or tell
me if I was under arrest or not. At the same time, another six police ran
into the Hall building to chase down another protester with a megaphone
(CSU's 36 year old General Manager Rick Stom).  They cornered him in the
Hall building, forced him to the ground by grabbing him by the throat and
groin, and took his megaphone as well as dragging him out of the building
to a waiting cop car.

- again, they never issued a second warning, they entered univeristy
property unsummoned, and visciously attacked students who were protesting
non-violently for the express reason of taking away their means of
communication...  

- as the police dragged away me and essentially sat on me while repeatedly
driving my face into the ground and trying to rip the megaphone off of the
cord that was wrapped around my neck, the pickets surrounded the cop cars
and stopped them from moving away.  Within minutes the riot cops arrived
and starting swinging their billy clubs.  They seriously injured several
students including the CSU Vice President of Finances Sheryl Navidad and
the CSU Vice President of External Affairs Mistie Mullarkey. Sheryl is now
on crutches after having her knee fractured by a riot cops baton and
Mistie's hand was also bruised and swollen from being whacked...

- the student crowd grew dramatically in size to greatly outnumber 
the cops who sensing the level of student outrage retreated as they
were pushed off the streets near campus.

- within half an hour of the arrests new student plaquards were made for
the demo calling for the release of the arresstees and decrying the police
attack.  Posters and leaflets were also widely distributed...

- After being held for several hours in the police cells Rick and I were
charged with "obstructing a police officer" and also given a $136 fine for
expressing our democratic rights...

- the pickets continued throughout the day, and will be going on tommorrow
as well.

- the Rector of Concordia met with student reps half an hour after the
police attack and to his credit is sending a strongly worded letter to the
Montreal chief of police condemning the police for their actions.

- students did some interviews with the media and will be launching a
lawsuit against the police officers involved in the attack.

More updates to follow,


    Tom.

P.S. You can send messages of solidarity via email or you can call
514-848-7394...

    ._.._.._.._.._.._.._.._._._
    :  "To be avante-garde is merely to keep abreast of reality."
    |                        -Internationale Situationiste no. 8
    :._.._.._.._.._.._.._.._._._.._.._.._.._.._.._..


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