Together against political repression

September 20, 2011 - CMAQ
http://quebec.indymedia.org/fr/node/44499

This morning, in the context of a court appearance by two men and two women arrested following an anti-capitalist protest on May 1st, CLAC (Convergence of Anti-Capitalist Struggles) held a press briefing in front of the Montreal Palais de justice. A statement signed by more than thirty groups was released to media. The statement denounces political repression and profiling and re-asserts solidarity among different social and political groups in the face of any policing unit, such as GAMMA, which criminalizes our movements.

The preliminary investigation of the four accused will take place on 11 and 12 December 2011. They remain under conditions which restrict their right to protest and still do not have the right to communicate with each other.

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Together against political repression

We strongly condemn the most recent repressive offensive by the Montreal police (SPVM) whose aim is to criminalize, intimidate and isolate several political organizations. We also condemn the formation of a political police squad (entitled “GAMMA”) which is a unit of the SPVM’s organized crime division.

We are not preoccupied about whether the formation of GAMMA (Guet des activités et des mouvements marginaux et anarchistes) was planned long in advance, or whether it’s just another police blunder. We know very well that political profiling did not begin with the GAMMA squad, and it won’t end with its abolition; just as we know that the Eclipse squad does not target “street gangs” as much as youth of colour.

In a context of the tightening grip of capitalism and the deepening marginalization of social movements and political groups, it’s essential to take action against all attacks against our communities. If we let them attack one community, they will have free reign to target all social movements. Against the strategy of divide-and-rule, we must unite!

Our freedom of association, demonstration and speech is not only legal, but legitimate. Our freedom to dissent is not something we beg for, but something we assert daily.

Whereas :

The economic and political elites hide behind a bankrupt pseudo-democratic system to profit themselves at exponential speed;

This parasitic elite must justify its anti-social policies by increasing repression;

That the various police agencies act as barrier to the mobilization and revolt of people against an unjust system;

That the various police agencies not only protect their own abuses, but are political actors in destabilizing social movements;

We denounce any political role by the SPVM and other police agencies.

We denounce the criminalization and stigmatization of political dissidence and our opinions.

We denounce all forms of political, racial or social profiling.

We denounce all efforts to smear our movements.

By signing this statement, we are also engaging not to collaborate, in any way whatsoever, with police agencies in their tactics of division, profiling, snitching and dividing political movements.

This statement is distributed on the initiative of Montreal’s Anti-Capitalist Convergence (CLAC).

Infos and interviews:
www.clac-montreal.net
med...@clac2010.net / 438-838-8498

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Association de défense des droits sociaux du Montréal-métropolitain (ADDS-MM)

Association Facultaire Étudiante de Science Politique Et Droit de l’UQAM (AFESPED-UQAM)

BASICS Community News Service-Toronto

Centre d'appui aux Philippines / Centre for Philippine Concerns (CAP-CPC)

Centre de ressources éducatives et communautaires pour adultes (CRÉCA)

Centre des femmes d’ici et d’ailleurs (CFIA)

Coalition Justice pour Anas

Collectif opposé à la brutalité policière (COBP)

Comité des sans-emploi (CSE)

Comité pour un Secours rouge canadien
L'En-Droit de Laval

Fédération de l’Union Communiste Libertaire (UCL)

Fédération des locataires d'habitations à loyer modique du Québec (FLHLMQ)

Front d’action populaire en réaménagement urbain (FRAPRU)

Groupe de recherche et d’intérêt public (GRIP-UQAM)

Illusion-Emploi-Sherbrooke

Immigrant Workers Center(IWC-CTI)

Librairie anarchiste l’Insoumise

Ligue internationale de lutte des peuples - Canada

Mouvement action-chômage (MAC-Montréal)

Mouvement autonome et solidaire des sans-emploi (MASSE)

Mouvement d'éducation populaire autonome et d'action communautaire du Québec (MÉPACQ)

Personne n’est illégal-Montréal (NOII)

Parti communiste révolutionnaire (PCR)

Pointe libertaire

POPIR Comité logement

Projet accompagnement et solidarité Colombie (PASC)

Red and Anarchists Skinheads - Montréal (RASH Montréal)

Réseau de la Commission populaire (RCP)

Réseau du Forum social de Québec Chaudière-Appalaches

Réseau québécois des groupes écologistes (RQGE)

Quebec Public Interest Research Group (QPIRG) at Concordia

Société bolivarienne du Québec

Solidarité populaire Estrie

Solidarité sans frontières (SSF)

Janik Bastien Charlebois, professeure de sociologie (UQAM)

Francis Dupuis-Déri, professeur de science politique (UQAM)

Eric Pineault, professeur de sociologie (UQAM)

Alain-G. Gagnon, professeur de science politique (UQAM)

Marie Nathalie LeBlanc

Présidente, Société canadienne d'anthropologie/Canadian Society for Anthropology (CASCA)

Professeure de Sociologie (UQAM)

François Gauthier, professeur de sciences des religions(UQAM)

Lawrence Olivier, professeur de science politique (UQAM)

Eve Paquette, professeure de sciences des religions (UQAM)

Marc-André Éthier, professeur (Université de Montréal)

Michel Seymour, professeur de philosophie (Université de Montréal)

Laurent McFalls, professeur de science politique (Université de Montréal)

Rémi Bachand, professeur de sciences juridiques (UQAM)

Christian Vanasse, conseiller municipal, St-Jude

Hans Marotte, avocat

Jacques Beaudoin, avocat

Sibel Ataogul, avocate

Dominique Caouette, Professeur de science politique

Directeur, Centre d’études de l’Asie de l’Est (CETASE) Université de Montréal