Comrade in Trouble for Resisting Cop Violence

Today in Warsaw, a group of activists blocked a conference on fracking which was to be held in the Hotel Intercontinental. A small group of people played drums and made noise. Others went around the hotel, some made speeches against fracking and some occupied the conference room. A banner was put up in the hotel and on a nearby building. The action lasted for two hours and was successful in that the conference had to be cancelled. However the police fined the people playing music. After 2 hours, the people occupying the conference room were brutally removed by police. 11 people were arrested.

The people who made the action were activists from Syrena, the Anarchist Federation and the ZSP. One of our comrades from ZSP was fined 50 euros for making noise and 2 were arrested. One was already released but unfortunately the other one is charged with assaulting a police officer. (Ie, her brutal arrest did not go so smoothly for the cops). Tomorrow the prosecutor will decide if she can be released before her trial or will have to stay in custody. A solidarity picket will be held tomorrow and of course, if she is not released, we will make some stronger protest campaign.

A solidarity protest was held in front of the police station today.

We are concerned that the authorities are currently looking for some scapegoats since every day since Nov.11 there are news items about violent anarchists and the right wing and media are trying hard to build this image. In reality, the bigger problem is with the police - for example, in the station where the comrades were held, they often beat people, and they beat people on Nov. 11. And they can be brutal during arrests and we understood this is what happened when the police intervened today. The activists making the occupation were peaceful, which we will show since we are compiling video and photographic evidence of these events.

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Direct Action Stops Landlord Harrassment

Last week some of us went on a direct action against a landlord who has been harassing tenants to get them to move out of their flats. The landlord cut off water to tenants some months ago, which is against the law, but the tenants could not get any help. The building is located directly next to a police station but the people soon found out what happens if they try to get the police to intervene in such situations: absolutely nothing. In fact, there is no help for tenants anywhere inside the system - there is only direct action made by others in self-defense and solidarity.

Thanks to the appearance of a group of people on a direct action, the problem was solved on the same day and for the first time in months, the people have water. The action involved confronting the landlord at his own flat.

We hope that thanks to this story, which shows how people can immediately solve their problems instead of torturing themselves, hoping the administration will act, more people will decide to act and not hesitate in such matters.

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Free the Nice Three

On Nov. 25 ZSP held a picket in front of the French embassy in Warsaw to bring attention to the case of three comrades from the Spanish CNT who are in arrest in France. The three wanted to demonstrate against the G20 Summit in Cannes but were detained during preventative searches on Nov. 1. The police arrested them for bullshit reasons, because of certain items they had in their car, all of which could be normally explained - ie. they had mountain climbing equipment because they are in a mountain climbing club and were travelling near the Alps. However, the police asked many political questions and developed their theories to consider the comrades suspicious. They are supposed to remain in arrest in Nice for four months and have a ban on entering the region for 3 years.

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Statement Around Incidents Related to November 11, Repression and Hysteria

First, we would like to thank the people who came to Warsaw, especially those who travelled from abroad to show solidarity with the goal of resisting the spread of far-right manifestations. Our goal is a common one: a world where such ideas finally hit the dustbin of history, where people unite to show their opposition to the far-right, nationalism, racism and fascistic ideologies.

We also express our condemnation for many incidents around the participation of these people in the blockade.

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Anti-fascist actions

On November 11, ZSP in Warsaw took part in the antifascist blockade of a right-wing march. As always, we showed our opposition to the ideology of nationalism and patriotism as well as fascism and spread our texts which were also anti-capitalist and internationalist.

Many incidents took place and there were some attacks made by aggressive nationalists. The nationalists however were not alone in their march, gathering a lot of support from the right, who united with them. The support of the nationalist march became stronger due to the opposition against the liberals who dominated the mobilization.  The liberal establishment seemed to enact their rage more even than the antifascists who have been fighting them for years.

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Real Revolution Now: How the Outraged Met the Indignant and how the Liberals gave up Non-Violence

On Oct. 15, a protest was  held in Warsaw in answer to the call by the "indignant" to have protests all over Europe. The ZSP of course is happy when there are social protests here since the general mood of apathy and resignation is intolerable.

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Eviction Blockade

After picketing at Ford and Plaza Centers, we went to help block and eviction together with our colleagues from the tenants' movement. The bailiff wanted to evict an old and ill woman but people blocked the corridor in front of her flat. The bailiff called the police. One comrade said that we are all witnesses to what is happening and if anything would happen to the woman because of being displaced, the police and bailiff would be responsible for her murder.

The eviction is postponed but not called off. In the meanwhile, tenant activists are demanding the woman get adequate replacement housing.

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Solidarity with Visteon Workers from el Puerto de Santa Maria

ZSP took part in the international day of action in solidarity with the workers of Visteon Cadiz Electronica who are fighting against the closure of their factory. Our comrades from the CNT in the factory called for actions at Visteon / Ford so we visited the Ford Polska headquarters. We gave out leaflets informing about the situation; this followed some informational actions during the week which included postering and hanging info-exhibits on Ford dealerships around the city.

On the same day, workers from the factory held a rally in Jerez de la Frontera.

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Plaza Workers Still Waiting for Pay

Last week Plaza Centers wrote a press release in response to our campaign, claiming that it has paid all its subcontractors and that they have paid the workers. However, this isn't the case - they are just trying to do some PR. While some workers have seen payment, others are still with nothing. We returned back to Plaza Centers with a picket. Our comrades will be picketing under one of their shopping malls this weekend.

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Solidarity with Visteon Workers against Closure of Factory

Around Warsaw,  posters have been hung on Ford dealerships, telling the story of the struggle of the workers at Visteon Cadiz Electronica to keep their jobs. The informational action proceeds the next international day of action against Visteon/Ford which will take place on Oct. 14. The CNT in Visteon are fighting against the closure of the factory and the redundancy plan.

The ZSP took part in the last day of action and also visited Ford headquarters a few more times. (Quite coincidentally, it is located two floors below Plaza Centers in the same building.) Members of ZSP also managed to show a solidarity banner to Jose Luis Zapatero on his recent visit to Warsaw.

More about the struggle at Visteon can be found on the page of the International Workers Association.

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Tenants' Day

On Oct. 2 we took part in the annual Tenants' Day march. This year we marched in Praga, where there are many tenant problems happening within a few blocks of each other. Stopping at various buildings, people told about the problems they were having there, how they were fighting back and the attitude of the state towards their situation.

Some photos are below.

We saw buildings that were obtained in shady ways and are now in the hands of private landlords who raise the rent, harass tenants and eventually evict them. We also heard stories about how buildings where people can live have been condemned so that the city can speculate on the real estate if they are in the right location, but in the meanwhile, people whose floors are collapsing under them are forced to live in hazardous conditions. Neighbours stopped and listened to the stories, the Tenants' Defense Committee encouraging people to organize and fight back.

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Boycott Election Actions Continue

Over the past few weeks, ZSP has been calling on people to boycott elections. At least twice a week there are leafleting actions, plus posters, stickers, flyers... On Oct.1 there was a small happening as well. While songs about politicians played, people could take part in various games such as knocking over politicians or throwing balls with the names of the parties into the dustbin of history. Many people took part, some coming up and just punching or kicking the faces of various politicians.

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Stop Bandit Privatization!

Today a large group of local residents, members of the Tenants' Defense Committee and ZSP protested in the local council in defense of our neighbours from Targowa St. whose house has been privatized.

There is not much information about the basis of the privatization. Tenants were, in the style typical of the heartless and callous Warsaw bureaucracy, informed in the first days of August that as of August 1, they were no longer municipal tenants and their rents would be raised. The city still owns part of the building, but, as in other cases, it does not want to say which flats are owned by the private owners and which by the city. It is thus forcing all tenants to pay the private rent, although the city is not allowed to charge more than a much lower legal rate for rent. It refuses to explain whether it is keeping the difference or allowing the private owner to pay it at the lower rate. In either case, the tenants are screwed.

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Six Months after Death of Jola, Tenants Protest against Legal System

September 1 marks six months since the murder of Jolanta Brzeska, tenant activist burned in the Kabaty forest. Six months later and her family still cannot bury her remains and organize the funeral they wanted, since the authorities refuse to release the body, even claiming that it is "unidentified".  Since months later and the property speculator and his band of thugs who tried to break into her apartment once and who threatened her have not even been brought in for questioning. This is how the legal system turns a blind eye to the situation and insensitively increases the pain that the murder victim's family is suffering.

People held a picket to remind the world of this situation and point out how the case is being handled. Even though it took the state a long time to do a DNA test and definitely identify the body of Jolanta Brzeska, it seems to not recognize that she is dead. Her social security is still being paid, as if she was living. Only the debt collector now takes this money each month to pay the real estate speculators who had raised her rent, harassed her and tried to drive her away from her home. Conveniently for the speculators, until the state recognize Jola as dead, they can now collect the money they say she owed them, something that she was fighting against when she was alive. And the bill is being paid by us all, since the money is coming from the public social security system.

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Soldarity with CNT in Visteon Cadiz

Today comrades in Warsaw and elsewhere took part in the International Day of Struggle against Ford-Visteon called for by the CNT in Spain and the IWA. The multinational is outsourcing work, creating a network of companies and doing all sorts of machinations to avoid tax liabilities and their responsibilities towards workers. Using front companies such as Visteon, Ford divides up and sends out work, opening factories, shutting them down, moving money around to hide their wealth and even to cheat the workers. 450 workers in Cadiz face the elimination of their workplaces due to corporate greed. The CNT union section in Visteon is fighting against the closure.

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