INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-ICELAND:

AND YOU THOUGHT YOUR ELECTIONS WERE SHITTY...

The following item from the English language section of the Aftaka blog in Iceland tells of a new way that one's opinions about elections can be expressed. If elections make you feel down in the dumps, take a load off by dropping a load and eliminate your problem. Ah, the fertile(zer) imaginations of some people.

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Shit on the system!:

Elections took place in Iceland on Saturday, the 25th of April.
One voter decided to use his rights to vote. Showed up at the voting station and literally took a dump on the political party system, the power abuse and the general democracy distortion, wiped his ass on the ballot, neatly folded it and slipped into the ballot box.

HEHEHE
The video is here

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-ICELAND:

SQUAT IN REYKJAVIK AND ITS SUPPRESSION:

Molly is always inspired by the actions of the Icelandic anarchists. Here is a whole country with about half the population of the city in which Molly lives (which is hardly the throbbing, pulsating centre of the universe itself). Yet the Icelandic comrades played an important role in the overthrow of the previous government of that country, and they continue to grow and experiment. Here is the latest report of one of their actions from the English language section of the Icelandic anarchist blog Aftaka.

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Anarchists Squat in the Center of Reykjavík:
Last Thursday, 9th of April, an empty house in the center of Reykjavík was squatted by Icelandic anarchists. The house has been empty for over a year and is only one of many houses that are owned by a construction company that plans to tear down all it’s old houses and replace with big shopping and office center.

When inside the house, the squatters cleaned a part of the house and opened it up for an opening party. Food was served, music played and talks given on the ideas behind squatting. The party was well attended and met with positive reactions by the guests, including the neighbours.

During the next days the squatters finished cleaning the house and started organizing it as a social center. A free-shop was set up as well as a little infoshop with radical literature, a D.I.Y. (Do It Yourself!) publisher/label and a communal kitchen. On Saturday there was an open day where the local Food Not Bombs collective served food and guests were welcomed to take a look at the space and share their ideas about how the social center can be used.

This letter was sent out by the squatters:
A social center has been squatted at Vatnsstígur 4.

Empty houses stand everywhere; houses that were supposed to be torn down for the building of shopping malls, houses that were supposed to be rented out on sky-high prices, houses that were supposed to make the rich even richer and the society culturally poorer.

We did not ask for permission to use this house. We do not need permission from those who think they can boss around with lives and land in the name of finance. We do not take part in that system.

We take what rightly is ours and in this house we will create a social space where people can meet and use it in the way they think matters, e.g. organizing info-nights and lectures, cooking food, start reading circles, attending political activities and do all kinds of arts.

The space will be open to all those who want to work towards radical changes on the money-driven society we live in.

The capitalistic democracy like we know it, is in fact only one more power structure, designed to boss around with people and make money by it. People are taught that it is the only just system that the human being has ever created around itself, but that is not true. Inside the democracy the majority represses the minority and only very few people end up on the top of the power pyramid, at the expense of the majority. For every prime minister there are millions who are not. Consensus decision making is a method that anarchists and other radicals use to get decisions inside groups, small and big, instead of the democracy’s majority elections. We use the opportunity to create alternatives, instead of only choosing between them.

Capitalism gives people or companies the change to own houses but let them stand empty, even though many people need homes and other places to stay. The banks own most of the empty houses and the public is supposed to pay for the games of lies that was accepted “before the collapse”. We will not pay for them!

This squat is headed towards authority, capitalism and all kinds of power playing. Our house will be free from the current Icelandic authorities and free from any kind of power structures on our behalf.

We, the people, toppled the former government and we are far away from having finished the deconstruction of the system of inequality and greed, as well as the parallel construction of the society we want to live in. We encourage others to refuse to pay for the banks’ debts, refuse to leave their own houses and start squatting!

Threat of eviction Yesterday, Tuesday April 14th, the paper-owners of the house came along with civil-dressed policemen and announced that the house would have to be empty at 16:00. With very short notice the squatters barricaded the house and asked for a solidarity demonstration to take place in front of the house. Around 15:00 people starting coming, a fire was lit, drums played and slogans shouted in favor of the squatters. Couple of hundreds of people attended the demonstration and the free shop was opened.

A speech was held by one of the squatters:
This is what we call solidarity!
It is amazing to see you all here today. This is what we call solidarity! We who have squatted this house are going to change the society we live in. A part of it is to protect this house; a house that was supposed to enter the gob of the capital since a shopping mall was planned to be built on this spot.

Now this house belongs to us - the people here inside and those who stand outside - and will be used for our revolution. To destroy this society’s power structures we need a revolution - not elections! Today, we who are inside and you who stand outside in this disgusting weather, stopped the corporate scum from getting their way with the violence that only them have the right to use.

But since the police is not going to be sent towards us now, the government will send it tonight, tomorrow, later in the week or after elections. No matter if we will be thrown out or if we will be aloud to stay, we will get stronger. This house is ours! The struggle is ours; a struggle against authority and capitalism.

The revolution is - and has to be - international. With this squat we announce our support and solidarity with the oppressed people living in Palestine and their siblings on the other side of the wall, Anarchists Against the Wall; the Zapatista resistance movement in Mexico; the Polish squatters in the Rozbrat-squat in Poznan; Mumia Abu Jamal, Rod Coronado and all other political prisoners in the U.S.; the Dongria Kondh tribe in Orissa, India, who fight against bauxite mining… and all other people and/or movements that fight against power abuse, corruption, capitalism, exploitation, oppression and violence - all around the world.

Squatting is one part of the revolution and therefor we encourage everybody to squat houses; take over empty houses or refuse to leave their own house.
Long live the revolution!

The squatters at Vatnsstígur 4.

In the end the police did not show up. The reason is unknown but the threat of eviction still remains. The squat has received very good coverage by the mainstream media and of course by the alternative ones. It has lead to big support and the squatters hope that the solidarity continues as the threat gets even bigger.

Until later.


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A video from the demonstration can be seen by clicking here.
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Unfortunately the squat in Reykjavik didn't last long. here is a follow-up from the Aftaka Blog about its suppression. As I said in the introduction to this post it is part of the essence of anarchism to be experimental ie "scientific" by testing various hypotheses against reality. In this it differs from ideologies such as Marxism that always try and fit reality to a pre-existing system of ideas. For anarchists, if one thing doesn't work, then try another. There is no absolute reason why squats cannot "work". There are many arguments about their importance and how they should be organized and presented to the surrounding society. This, of course, is part of the "experiment", and it is to anarchism's credit that it is open to seeing what works and what doesn't, and the "why" of both.

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The Squat Evicted - Two Hours of Resistance Against the Special Force :
After a whole day of the threat of an eviction, solidarity demonstration and support, the police finally showed up at the recently opened squat in the center of Reykjavík. At 08:00 in the morning between 40 and 50 policemen, including many members of the special force, came towards the house, attacked and arrested three people who were standing outside, sweeping the ground around the house. The squatters inside were told to leave the building and if not, they would get arrested. Of course, they refused to leave.

The police authorities might have believed that by coming early in the morning, the eviction would not get any attention and support. But they were wrong. Very soon, the neighborhood was crowded with people who came to follow what was happening and to show solidarity with the squatters. Many of the neighbors had already announced their support with the squat and denounced the plans to build shopping and office spaces on the spot.

The police closed the nearby streets and started attacking the house but the squatters had built proper barricades on all floors. When the police tried to enter the house from the back, they were met with expired dairy products that were thrown at them. After a bit of a struggle they finally got on to the first floor were nobody was. The squatters had barricaded the second floor extensively, so well that it took the special force two hours to get through, by using chain saws. All of the police’s attempts to get through were met with resistance; more things and liquids were thrown at them and sticks were used to push them down the stairs of the building.

During the police’s entry attempt the squatters held speeches through the windows. Statements against capitalists and authority were read out and the public was encouraged to take direct action against these violent forces of corruption.

“In this society, the most easy thing is to be silent; to stay behind the yellow police line and stand still; to stay at home and obey to authorities’ orders. That behavior leads to personal comfort. And isolated and personal comfort seems to be the main goals of many people’s lives.
The financial crisis are not the problem. The period of prosperity is the problem! It spoiled and silenced the public; it killed every sign of resistance.

We squatted this house as an act of resistance. Do the same - again and again and again. That’s how we change this society.”

The police’s struggle became harder and harder, since the resistance was to heavy for them. Every time the chainsaw became visible to the squatters, it was immediately attacked; every time it looked more like the police was getting on to the second floor, the heavier did the barricade become.

After two hours of struggling the police finally managed to enter the second floor. The squatters resisted but were attacked with peeper spray and violent behavior by the police. They were all handcuffed and put on the floor, while the police broke every second window of the house without any noticeable reason. The squatters were carried out and thrown into police vans, which were supposed to drive them to the police station. But supporters from the outside sat down and blockaded the street, with the purpose to stop the cars from getting their way, but were removed quickly.

A photographer was pulled out of the crowd by the police, dragged on the ground and half undressed. When he asked the police for the reason of his arrest he was told that it was because he had spat on a policeman in a protest by the parliament in January. Witnesses say it was obvious that the photographer was arrested because of how closely he photographed the police actions and how loudly he protested against it.

The squatters were driven to the police station were they were interviewed and kept there for up to 5 hours. Many of the arrested had breathing problems because of the pepper spray and one of them had been brutally attacked by a policemen. When being carried out of the squat, one of the policemen who was holding the squatter by her throat, kicked her head heavily to the door. In the police station the squatter was refused medical treatment if she would not give out her security number. Well, this is not a surprise; in the capitalistic democracy one does not deserve medical treatment except fitting to the regulations of this system of surveillance.

At the same time people had gathered by the police station to protest against the arrests and to show solidarity with the squatters. A black flag was pulled up on a flag pole in front of the police station and music played from a ghetto blaster. After several hours the arrested started to appear out of the station and were welcomed by the crowd, interviewed by the the media and fed by its supporters.

One of the squatters had a photo camera inside during the eviction, which was taken from her when she was arrested. She was refused to get it back when she was released but finally got it the day after. Then, the police had deleted all the photos from the camera. But the policemen are more stupid then they look like… and the photos are back. Many of them decorate this article.

The squat and all the public attention around it has brought up the necessary discussion about the conflict between property rights and the right to use. In the current atmosphere in Iceland, after the collapse of the economy, this discussion is way more positive than one could have believed. The banks own most of the empty houses and the banks are for sure not the most popular right now. The squat got heavy support from all directions, likely and unlikely, and showed that this is the time to start a squatting movement. The squatters of Vatnsstígur are far away from retiring.

A statement from the squatters will be published soon.

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Molly urges her readers to go to the Aftaka Blog for many photos of both the squat and its suppression. If one thing can be said for the Icelandic anarchists it is that they truly love to take pictures...and they do it well.

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-ICELAND:

ANARCHISM-ENTERING THE LANGUAGE:

The protests in Iceland have subsided as people there seem willing to wait patiently to see if their present social democratic government can do any better than the previous conservative one. Yet something new has entered into the awareness of Icelanders, the idea of "anarchism". This has come about because of the sterling efforts of Icelandic anarchists during the protests that led to the fall of the government. As the story below, from the Icelandic website Aftaka, details the idea of anarchism has virtually entered the Icelandic language because of these recent events. True to form the representatives of the state attempt to control what this word means, to give their own version of the anarchists. No matter that their version bears little resemblance to what the anarchist movement actually is. Here's the article.

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Denial and Ignorance:
A new word in the Icelandic vocabulary: Anarchism. An article by Aftaka appeared in the newest issue of Reykjavík Grapevine.

Not long ago, the word anarchism was almost meaningless in Icelandic. It hardly existed. But now it seems that it has received a seat in the language and better yet—it is getting more and wider understanding. The reason must be the growing movement of anarchists and their visibility during protests and actions concerning the economic collapse.

Many people’s first reactions to new words and ideas are ignorance and denial, especially when the ideas challenge and defy the society’s standards and traditions—when the “truth” is doubted. Anarchists state and argue that something is wrong with the current social structure. This causes disturbance that constantly expands when people realise that the anarchists are right… it is inconvenient having to change the “truth”. One way to ignore this disturbance, not updating one’s mind and adapting to new and changed ideas, is to pretend that these ideas don’t exist. Another way is to run them down, remove all ideals and ideologies.

The February issue of Grapevine included an interview with police officers who took part in the police actions during the January revolt. Talking about the more radical part of the protesters, a police officer titled ‘Senior Policeman’ says: “It all starts with a group that connects itself with anarchism, although I don’t believe there is much behind that.” He continues and says that by looking at the group of anarchists he can’t imagine that they are badly situated financially and adds that he would have liked to see more people in his age at the protests, indebted people who have families to support.

Wait a moment; there is something wrong here: (1.) How can he, by looking over a crowd, see if people have financial problems or not? (2.) How does he know that anarchists don’t have families to support? (3.) Not being indebted is a sign of rationalism and lack of participation in the consumerism that characterised a majority of the Icelandic nation during last years and which sucked out critical thinking and people’s desire of autonomy. (4.) Not being indebted doesn’t take away one’s freedom to resists against a corrupt and incompetent government (not meaning people’s constitutional “right” to protest but every living being’s unwritten right to defend itself). (5.) Not nearly everybody is protesting against the crisis and asking for new period of prosperity. No! Some people always saw (and still see) through the so-called prosperity and still see the class divisions, injustice and corruption that the prosperity period created and sustained. These people protest and fight against capitalism, not the crisis!

The police officer’s words mark the narrow mindsets and lack of ideals that last years’ social situation lead to. The sentence here above – “although I don’t believe there is much behind that” – is a schoolbook example of denial and ignorance.

But these words are not only the police officers’. Anarchism is constantly dismissed like this—ignored before properly considered. That’s a childish behaviour that shows the lack of will to learn and get to know things’ from a variety of perspectives; a lack of will to always have an open mind, challenge the “truth” and consider nothing as holy; a lack of will to improve the society. It shows the success of authorities’ silencing campaigns; how well they have managed to create a society of ideological stagnation, with the help of corporations, PR managers and advertisement offices.

We could turn this around and state that in the society there is “a group that connects itself with capitalism, but there is not much behind that!” But this statement is wrong. Capitalism builds on the idea that an individual’s freedom is to do business, buy and sell without authorities’ interventions. It is based on greed, acceptance of class divisions, injustice, individuals’ different values inside the society and the unequal distribution of resources. It builds on oppression, exploitation, deprivation of freedom (yes, people’s freedom is constantly deprived in the name of other’s business freedom) violence and imprisonment.

Therefore it is impossible to deal with capitalism in this manner, as well as anarchism. No ideology, philosophy and form of organisation can be dealt with in this manner. But since anarchist ideas are new for many people and these ideas challenge the society’s fundamental values, people repeatedly try to ignore them, hoping they will get lost and forgotten forever.

In the end, it wouldn’t matter at all if ‘Senior Policeman’ would study anarchism and agree with some of its ideas. His statement would stay unchanged because it’s a part of his job to state this to protect authorities and break down everything that threatens their position. A police officer would never accept the legitimacy of anarchist ideas. However, that does not change the fact that his words and the way he dismisses challenging ideas is exactly how authorities want the whole society to behave. That is something that we anarchists fight against!

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-ICELAND:

DON'T TALK BACK TO AUTHORITY:

The following is from the English language section of the Icelandic anarchist site Aftaka. The revolt in Iceland which toppled that country's conservative government is presently in a "holding pattern" as the new leftist coalition tries to govern in a way more beneficial to the average person than their rivals. Time will tell if they will do any better.

Meanwhile, as reported earlier on this blog the Icelandic police have mounted what is actually a truly bizarre publicity campaign to try and recover the image that they lost because of their violent response to the protesters. In sum they send their "community relations" officers from youth centre to youth centre, forcing young people to listen to their excuses and justifying their actions to a captive audience. To say the least this sort of campaign has great potential for "blowback". The police target protesters in general and anarchists specifically in their propaganda. Here's the story from Aftaka. The following has been slightly edited for English grammar.

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“Social Center Workers Have No Opinion” :
The police are now traveling between teen social centers with an image and propaganda campaign following the criticism the police has received relating to the protests that toppled the government. Aftaka is covering the story and you can read our first coverage by clicking here. We now continue and this time we contacted a staff member of one of the social centers in Kópavogur (a town close to Reykjavík) and asked for answers to a few questions regarding the case.
Q: Can you briefly tell us what happened that evening at the social center you work at?

“There was an open evening at the social center like it usually is twice a week. In the middle of the evening two uniformed police officers arrived, a man and a woman and started herding the kids from the games they where playing and into the common room.

A lot of the kids were not interested in listening to the cops but did not have the choice of playing games until after the police had left. I thought they were maybe there for a drug prevention talk or something like that, which the police sometimes hosts on evenings like this. I was very surprised when I learned why they were there and what they were going to discuss with the kids. I was even more surprised when I heard they were at times telling lies and using direct propaganda. I could not keep quiet any longer and started asking uncomfortable questions that they had difficulty answering. When the police left the time was over; no times for games because we had to close the place”

Q:Do you now who planned the visit, who initiated it?

“That was rather unclear when I tried to get answers. Originally my boss said she had voiced this idea to the project manager for youth recreational activities and was therefore behind this but later they spoke as if it had been the project manager for youth recreational activities in cooperation with the police who had been behind this.”
Q: Was the police visit discussed with the staff beforehand?
“No, I was very angry about this and when I asked why it had not been discussed my boss told me it was because the visit was supposed to be a surprise. I ask myself why.”

Q:What were your questions to the police? What was the response from the police to your critical questions? And what were your co-workers and bosses reactions?

“When I was offended by how dramatic they were about the fact that two police officers had to go to the emergency room because of injuries “caused by protesters” as they put it, I simply asked if they knew how many protesters had to go to the emergency room injured by the police. They then turned the discussion to the police not being able to injure people, the tools they used did not injure people and that pepper spray was just a little uncomfortable, like one had been crying for a while.

Later I asked them if they did not find it incredible for the kids to get answers such as “do you really believe that…?” - usually said with a smirk – each time a question arose that concerned the police doing something wrong as if everybody was lying about the police.

The discussion then turned to the 11 year old boy who was arrested and then I asked if they thought it was OK to arrest an 11 year old child”

Q:How did the kids react? Did any of them ask critical questions?

“The kids are 13-16 years old. Some of them had been at the protests and they asked all kinds of questions and protested. As the evening wore on I felt like this was lessening because the police then made light of the person asking by smirking and acting like that person was stupid for believing anything bad about the police.”
Q:What was the aftermath, have you discussed this further with the head of the social center? Did you have any problems because of your behavior?

“At the end of the evening my co-worker judged me for having asked those questions and having had a bad influence on their relationship to and their image of the police, I should just call the police and ask questions then. But my curiosity was of course not the reason I did this. The reason was that I was outraged because of what they were telling the kids

I sent my boss an email right away in which I protested this event. She called me and told me that social center workers should not have opinions and that the kids should not get an image of me as “some crazy protester” as she worded it. The next time I came to work she gave me the phone number of the project manager for youth recreational activities and told me that I had to settle this with her but from now on I had to be aware that my opinions were to be left at home when I came to work.”(But I guess that pro-police opinions are obviously let in the door with no checking them at home-Molly)

Q:Finally, do you know how wide spread this campaign is supposed to be? How many social centers have they been to and how many more will they go to?

“I know that the plan was to go to all the teen social centers in Kópavogur and that they have gone to others, but I don´t know how many.”

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-ICELAND:

THOUGHTS ON THE RECENT EVENTS IN ICELAND:

The following essay is from the Icelandic anarchist site Aftaka, and it summarizes the thoughts of Icelandic anarchists on the recent events in their country.

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The Icelandic Government has Collapsed… and then what?:

A letter from Icelandic anarchists who have taken part in the revolt against the recently collapsed government.
The Icelandic Government has collapsed and some people talk about a revolution. In a way it is true. Ordinary people overthrew this neoliberal government by writing articles, holding speeches, noise demonstrations, bonfires, car horns, direct action, civil disobedience and minor sabotage. A nation that before had hardly put up any resistance to abuse of power for a long time, finally stood up and said: “No thanks! No more shit!”

But what will follow? Have we reached the ultimate goal? Is the minority government of the Left Greens (Vinstri Grænir) and the Social Democratic Alliance (Samfylkingin) enough? Are we just going to settle for new elections this spring?

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From the beginning of the economic crisis, following the collapse and nationalization of the three major Icelandic business banks, loud voices have been heard, demanding that the government would resign and elections would take place as soon as possible. The same voices have as well demanded that the boards of the financial institutions would step down; in the Central Bank, Financial Supervisory Authority (FME) and the three recent state owned banks. Hörður Torfason and his fellows from the organization ‘The People’s Voices’ (Raddir Fólksins) took the first step by organizing weekly demonstrations where fiery speeches were held, followed by the public’s jubilation and increasing radicalization.

At the same time more militant actions have taken place. Anarchists and other radicals have used direct actions, tried to stop the government from having meetings, stopped formal parliament meetings, attacked the police station and disrupted work in the banks and the Financial Supervisory Authority. These two formations than came together on Tuesday last week, January 20th, when thousands of people gathered by the parliament with the aim to disrupt and hopefully cut the first parliamentary session of the new year – and did so. During the next seven days bonfires, industrial samba-bands and noise demonstrations became daily events.

The pre-event of this collaboration of radicals and the “ordinary” citizens was by Hotel Borg on the last day of the year, where protesters cut a live broadcast of an annual party political TV show where the heads of the political parties discuss the recent political year over champagne and spicy herring. The original plan of the protest was to disrupt the broadcast with noise and torches, but soon it became clear that that it would not happen without people taking a further step. So people climbed over gates and when trying to enter the hotel were engaged in scuffles with cops which sprayed them with pepperspray. Finally they manged to pull apart and burn the transmission cables and cut off the broadcast. It was a good start and set the tone for the new year’s protests.
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There was an prominent common slogan during the demonstrations over the last weeks that resounded over the city for a whole week: “Disqualified government!” But this slogan says nothing about what was about to come, what people want else than just getting the government away. The main demands were that the government step down, that the board of the Central Bank resign, that the FME resign, that election would held as soon as possible and that corruption and abuse of power be stopped.

Tuesday 20 January saw major clashes, and liberal peppersprayings and baton usage by cops, outside the Parliament when thousands turned up to disrupt the first session of Parliament in the new year. These protests continued throughout the night and into the following Wednesday night. Early Thursday morning, after the police had shot numerous teargas bombs into the protesters, the crowd moved to the nearby Government’s offices. Once again people lit a bonfire and protested against the government. When the police turned up some people started throwing bricks at the cops like before that same evening. At one point an angry man walked up to the police, who was well armed with shields, helmets, clubs and pepper spray, and threw a stone at them while shouting: “Just give us a chance to vote, then these protests will stop.”

These words came as a surprise to a lot of people. “Just give us the chance to vote!” Is that really the main demand? And does it make one so angry not to be allowed to vote, that throwing stones becomes the tactic to propel elections?

Of course, there are different opinions and ideas about what the planned elections this spring will lead to. Some people believe it is enough to vote for the Left Greens, that it will lead to positive changes. Others believe that it is possible to change the system from inside, want to push forward new political parties in the upcoming elections, which will than hopefully draw the lines of changes in the constitution and the system. Even others want to discontinue the tyranny of the party-system and encourage individuals’ candidatures, direct democracy and major changes to the constitution.

These ideas have one thing in common, they are all based on the idea that reforms inside the current system are steps in the right directions, steps towards a more just society. They do not demand radical changes – revolution. Therefore it is strange to see people standing on Austurvöllur (the square in front of the parliament) shouting slogans like “Long live the revolution!” – no revolution has taken place apart from the fact that the government has collapsed.

When we will get closer to the upcoming elections we can expect the same thing as usual. The political parties will lounge their image campaigns, compete in advertising, which has the best designers and computer technique. That’s how it is always. And then there is one thing that matters: Money. Those who have the most money or the political party that has the best access to money is going to be the most visible force in the election campaign. And the same story will continue if the elections will be between individuals instead of parties. While we stay inside the system, that we have lived in until now, individuals’ results will be based only on who has the most money to spend.
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The reasons for the collapse of the government and the debate about it show very well what today’s politics are about. Sjálfstæðisflokkurin (The Independence Party, neoliberal conservatives) refused to fire Davíð Oddsson from the board of the Central Bank, because of his fearsome hold on society and individuals in the party. (He is widely believed to wield a ‘Black book’ with records over the corruption of a huge number of people.) Even though he is hidden in the Central Bank, he still sits on the top – or at least sat there before the collapse - of the Icelandic power base. Fearing the impact of firing Oddsson from the Central Bank, the Independence Party found themselves in a cul-de-sac. Therefore it is going to be extremely interesting to see if a new government will dare to fire Oddsson and what impact it will have on the Icelandic society, since it is clear the Oddsson has a serious capacity of literaly blackmailing sizable segments of Icelandic society.

The two parties – The Independence Party and the Social Democratic Alliance – were locked in arguments about which of them should get the prime ministry. This was enough to split the coalition. The collapse of the government is a result of endless power mongering that has nothing to do with creating a society based on justice and equality, freedom and co-operation. It is not about trying to create a healthy society, but first and only about gaining power to further the interests and accumulation of wealth by different parts of the corporate structures.

This power mongering exposes the politics and shows even better what its about: A competition about popularity and power; untruth and treachery against those who have no power; those who are oppressed from the beginning of their lives through the education system and other systems of the society. Politics is a game of lies.
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We have to resist this game and this corrupt system. This resistance is the premise for changes.

If we want new changes we have to turn our backs on the past and use our imagination. It does not mean we have to forget history, but rather learn from it, both mistakes and victories. We have to invigorate our imagination and not only demand the impossible but first of all do the impossible.

The changes we want to get through have to be built on ideas about international resistance and solidarity. We are not alone on this island; we are only a tiny part of a global struggle of those who have no power against those who have all the power, struggle for a world without authority. Everywhere in the world – in Mexico, Greece, Palestine, Iraq, Japan, Belarus, the USA – everywhere does this struggle continue. Of course it is on different levels and the same can be said about authorities’ reactions against it and repression.

What unites all of us is the fact that we are powerless and we stand against those who have the powers, in a struggle against them and against the system which allows few individuals to wield this power. We fight for people to take control of their own lives and the organization of the society, and destroy all power structures that oppress and kill.

And though the situation often looks bad and way too many people are blinded by the authorities’ propaganda about the necessity of the power to remain in their own hands, the fact is that our united struggle against them is real and the solidarity as well.
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Last Saturday, fliers were distributed during the weekly demonstration by the parliament, encouraging people to show more concern for each other, during radical actions as well as in daily life. It also said that people should not even dare to think that it is more necessary to break down the government than to destroy patriarchy and fight against all injustice towards those who have another skin color and those who do not identify themselves as heterosexual.

Society is full of class divisions and injustice, based on ideas stating that some people are superior to others. Machismo, white color of skin and heterosexuality are the highest values of this society and all individuals that do not fall under these categories are automatically deemed inferior and are made targets of prejudices, intolerance and violence. These ideas have been incorporated into society as the inherent nature of the entire system and will not be defeated by mere reformism. Hence we need to destroy the roots of this system.

Let’s not celebrate when a woman (and even more: a homosexual woman) will now become a prime minister for the first time in history here in Iceland. Let’s not celebrate when women get into high positions of power. Let’s not celebrate when a black man becomes the president of the USA for the first time. Let’s not celebrate these reforms that help the system to renew its hold on power. Let’s not celebrate when women, homo- or bisexual and non-white individuals manage to work themselves up to the role of the average white straight man. No!

Let’s instead fight against this system, a system which segments society into hierarchical structures and oppresses those who are situated in the lower positions. Let’s fight against a system that allows few individuals to oppress others. Let’s fight against all power pyramids and abuse of power. Let’s fight against unequal distribution of wealth and natural resources. Let’s fight against all ideologies that have turned life necessities into luxury products for the privileged.

When we have revolted against all these oppressive structures we can finally talk about real justice and equality and can start talking about real changes. Then finally the word ‘revolution’ will sound true in our mouths.
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More detailed information about the last weeks actions will be put up on Aftaka.org in a few days. Until then you can read more about the protests and direct actions in Iceland since the economic collapse:
Direct Action in Iceland
Actions Continue in Iceland
Protesters cut live transmission of annual party political TV show

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-ICELAND:

HOT TIMES IN THE LAND OF ICE:

The international economic crisis is slowly eating away at the patience of people in Europe. It's appropriate that the effects, in terms of popular rebellion, are most obvious at the fringes of the European community, the far southeast in Greece and the far northwest in Iceland. Iceland is particularly hard hit as it built an imaginary prosperity on a pyramid scheme of financial dealings. No profit in that sort of thing anymore. The response has been an upsurge of protest such as the nation has never seen before. Molly has mentioned this country before, and here is an update on the situation in that land, with particular emphasis on the role of the anarchists,from the Aftaka website, via the A-Infos board. Molly especially encourages readers to visit Aftaka for a collage of fantastic photos of what is happening there.

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Actions continue in Iceland:

Date Mon, 22 Dec 2008

Before you read this article you might want to check out another article to read about what has been happening in Iceland before. Click here http://aftaka.org/2008/12/12/direct-action-in-iceland/ to check it out (with pictures).

---- “Away with the government” or something else. ----

Saturday, December 13th, one more mass demonstration had been planned on Austurvöllur, a square in front of the parliament. But this time, after 9 weeks of speeches, people decided to keep silent for 17 minutes, one minute for each year that Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn (a right wing conservative party) has been in power. It was rather lame and embarrassing to stand there in silence but after the 17 minutes of silence, an alarm clock rang, which was supposed to symbolize the waking of Icelandic people. Jacket suits and other symbols of the male dominated authority, were burned.

Children sold

Before the demonstration started, Food Not Bombs took place like every Saturday, but with an extra event this time. On the same square were Food Not Bombs takes place, a big piece of art has decorated two high walls for more than half a year; big photos of over 400 children. This Saturday a group of radicals glued a price ticked over the kids’ faces saying “11,2 millions - SOLD!” A banner said “Your social cost in capitalism is:” since the 11,2 million Icelandic Krónur (ISK) is the minimum price every single person in Iceland will pay if Iceland receives a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Your Social Cost in Capitalism is: 11,2 millions ISK

Fliers were distributed, explaining the impacts of the IMF loan and the social cost of “continuing capitalism”. The children kept “sold” until couple of days later when a unlucky city worker got the job of picking the price tickets of their faces.

Coca Cola vs. SantAnarchist Clauses

Later this same Saturday, Coca Cola had organized its annual boner-parade to take place in the center of Reykjavík. Every year, the company’s trucks are decorated with Christmas lights and loudspeakers playing American Christmas pop songs. The trucks then drive around the city, stopping in shopping malls and on busy shopping streets, were (for some absurd reason) parents have gathered with their children to experience this one big advertisement of one of the most cruel corporations in the world.

Coke is Capitalism's Shit - Enjoy!

Two years ago, a small group of people tried to stop the Coca Cola train from driving down the center of Reykjavík, but were stopped by the police which drove in front of the company´s trucks. This year, people had other plan in mind.

Around 40 people and 10 SantAnarcist Clauses entered the parade, in between the trucks and the police, with a big banner saying “Coke is capitalism’s shit - Enjoy!” For about an hour, Christmas songs with anti-capitalistic texts were sung and fliers given out, explaining Coca Colas human and environmental crimes around the world. Only with the help of 6 police pigs could the Coke trucks continue their way from the center, which means that a lot of parents had to answer their kids’ question: “Why did the police stop the nice and fun Santa Clauses?”

Ministers enter a meeting through the “ass”

On Tuesday morning, December 16th, the government had scheduled it’s weekly meeting in the prime minister’s office. Just like week earlier people gathered around the building to try to stop the ministers from entering and the meeting from taking place. This time the action had been more broadly announced, which meant that the police knew about it and could make all necessary arrangements. But it also meant that more people were expected to come.

Between 150 and 200 people met together few hundred meters from the office and marched towards it from two different directions. The police later announced they had not expected this many people to show up and therefor not made enough arrangements. Still, between 60 and 70 pigs welcomed the protesters.

Next to the prime minister’s office there is a kindergarten and in the windows, the children sat and watched, exited. The police’s first action was to enter the kindergarten and tell the workers there to take the kids to another part of the house, were they could not see the street. They do not want the kids to how they really work, do they?

The street was completely packed with people who were there only to prevent a government meeting from taking place. After a bit of a struggle the protesters managed to close the street from two sides. But quickly it became clear that the minister’s would enter from the back, so people entered the garden from different angles. The police reacted like usually, by stopping people with force and putting up police lines.

Soon one minister after another started to arrive, having to walk through a hallway of angry protesters, shouting at them. The garden was full of snow and ice, so the pigs gently helped the ministers to enter the meeting. It was beautiful and ugly at the same time to witness the fact that a government meeting could not take place without police help, as well as watching the ministers having to enter from the back - “from the ass” like protesters shouted.

The actions was peaceful for sure, but more aggressive and angry than before. When all ministers were in (at least people though so) and the meeting had been disturbed for a while with noise and snowballs, people decided to use their time differently and leave the place.

But when the group was about to walk down the street, almost the whole police force built a chain and for some unknown reason, prevented people from walking. This ended up in a sort of a fight were the pigs tried to take masks of people and violently throw people away. Few individuals tried to negotiate with the police, ending with all the pigs getting an order to move and let people through. Once again the police showed it’s robot behavior.

In to the banks

The next morning people gathered again, this time in front of the parliament, but not to enter the parliament again. After a short meeting the group of 50 people entered one of the many buildings of Landsbankinn bank, first the technical crew’s office and later the headquarters. A statement was read out loud were it was demanded that the banks and it’s directors would pay their own debts instead of putting it all on people who had nothing to do with the current financial crisis. It is estimated that the Icelandic people will have to pay 250 billion ISK, only to pay up Landsbankinn’s so called IceSave debts.

The loan from IMF was also denounced, since it fundamentally turns every person in the country in to slaves. People made noise, chanted slogans, banged on drums and walls. Work was stopped for a while, but most of all, a clear message was sent to the bank: “We will come whenever we want and stop work in the corrupt institution. Take responsibility for your own stupid business!” The action was short but clear.

And again…

Thursday morning, people gathered once again and now the Financial Supervisory (FS) was hit hard. 50 people marched to the building, which was heavily guarded by security guards, who had locked all possible entrances. People demanded to get to speak to the director of the FS but were denied again and again. When not let in, people took up stones and broke their way in to the outer entrance.

There they banged on windows and shouted slogans against the FS. The security guards contacted the police, who came quickly, but people had formed a chain in front of the doors to protect the ones inside. The windows of the inner entrance were now broken, the message against the FS sent out once again, and than the group left the building and marched away.

People did not walk far, but straight in to the next bank, Glitnir, were a similar action to the one the day before took place. Apart from stopping work with noise, people started reading leaflets from the bank out loud, entertaining themselves with all the bullshit in there. After a while, the group left, but again the message was clear: “We will come back!”

Today, Monday December 22nd, the entrance of the Financial Supervisory was closed again, this time with chains and locks.

The future

Let’s face it, these actions have not been very high profile, especially compared to other countries. But they are a very important step forward in the Icelandic society. Finally people seem to be waking up, realizing the real impacts of capitalism and the nature of authority.

For the last decades, only one direct action campaign has been active in Iceland, the environmental campaign Saving Iceland. For the last four years, Saving Iceland has done direct actions against one of the major heads of the neo-liberalism, heavy industry. Apart from SI’s action, Icelandic resistance has been at level zero. Without it, nothing of what we have been witnessing for the last few weeks would have been possible.

The resistance is getting stronger and it has to get the chance to grow organically. It might take some time, but at least it has started.

Some of the photos in this article are gently stolen from Jakob Fannar and Ljósvaki, others are from Aftaka.

Click here http://www.flickr.com/groups/nyirtimarprotests/pool/ to see more photos from protests and direct actions in Iceland.

A video from the action by the Financial Supervisory can be seen by clicking herehttp://mbl.is/mm/frettir/sjonvarp/21692/

and the action by the Prime Minister’s office is here. http://www.flickr.com/groups/nyirtimarprotests/pool/

The website of the environmental campaign mentioned above, Saving Iceland, is here.http://savingiceland.org/

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-ICELAND:

DIRECT ACTION NEAR THE ARCTIC CIRCLE:

Molly has to confess to a long standing fascination with the country of Iceland. This is despite my general sympathies being for countries with as sunny and warm a climate as is consistent with a lack of malaria. Iceland, laying just south of the Arctic Circle (considerably north of such "wonderful" Canadian tourist destinations as Whitehorse, Yelowknife and Iqualuit), actually has a climate considerably more temperate than that of Winnipeg where I live. Apparently the average winter temperature in the southern lowlands where the capital Reykjavik is situated is only 0 degrees, about the same as New York City. Holy Bahamas Batman ! In contrast the average daily low here in January is -23, and -13 in December and February. As I write this the temperature outside is about -27, and the wind chill is predicted to be in the minus 40s for several days. The coldest temperature ever recorded in Iceland was -39.7. The coldest in Winnipeg was -47.8.

Iceland is also a land of fire as well as ice. In 1875 volcanic eruptions disrupted what little agriculture the country had at the time, and many Icelanders emigrated. A good chunk of them ended up here in Manitoba, on the shores of Lake Winnipeg. Manitoba still boasts an Icelandic newspaper, and Icelandic festivals that draw dignitaries from the homeland. From Molly's point of view it is like migrating from Novosibirsk to Archangelsk, Not a great step up.

Be that as it may, Iceland, with its total population of 304,367 (as of July, 2008)-slightly less than 1/2 that of Winnipeg-has long been on my list of places to go before I die. The place has a fascination. I have also watched with fascination as an anarchist movement has developed in that country over the last few years. Nowadays, with the financial collapse of the country that essentially invested its wealth in the pyramid schemes of the derivatives market, anarchism has become even more relevant to the situation of ordinary people there, and the anarchist movement has grown accordingly. Here's a report from the Icelandic anarchist site Aftaka who are planning to have a regular section in English in the future. The following has been slightly edited for English grammar and spelling.

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Direct Action in Iceland:
Since early this winter, Iceland has been facing economic crisis. The three major business banks have been nationalized, putting their dept on the people’s shoulders. People have been losing their livelong savings, loans have increased and are getting sky high (and for sure they already were high enough). 200 people lost their jobs in every single day of November and more and more people are facing the threat of losing their houses.

People are getting angry, some of them wanting back the “good old” prosperity, while others, and hopefully the majority, are realizing the real cost of capitalism. More and more people are standing up against corruption and demanding new form of society - a society of justice. But every day the current government proves that it’s main aim is to save their own and their friend’s ass. A loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been granted, most likely leading to the common aftermaths of an IMF loan: the privatization of social systems as the health care and the education system, and more destruction of the Icelandic wilderness.
Weekly demonstrations
For more than 2 months people have gathered weekly in a park in front of the parliament. The first protests demanded that the government would “break it’s silence” about the current situation. People were tired of not even being told about what was happening and what the government was doing about it.

But soon people realized that it was not enough to ask the government to speak, so the protests took up another and more radical demand: the resignation of the government and new elections as soon as possible. The government has completely ignored this demand and people are getting more and more angry.

Anarchists and other radical leftists have come to most of the protests, but not to protest against the economic situation, not to ask the government for solutions, not to ask for new elections, nor to ask any member of the government or parliament or any other official institution to do anything to “solve” the crisis we are facing. But to spread anarchistic and anti-capitalistic information among people, analyse the problems of authority and capitalism and to encourage Icelandic people to take direct action against the forces of corruption.

Burning of bank flags and “hanging” of a capitalist
During a protest in front of the prime minister’s office in late October, the flags of two Icelandic banks were burned. A group of anarchists, probably the biggest in Icelandic history at that time, shouted anarchistic slogans, pointing out capitalism as the real problem. Until then, capitalism seemed to be a banned word among the protesters. The flag burning caught the interest of foreign media, e.g. CNN which showed the burning in their news show later the same evening. An event like this had not happened in Iceland for a long time.

A week later, a big demonstration parade went through the center of Reykjavík, demanding the resignation of the government. Anarchists, which grew bigger and stronger every week, joined the march with banners, black flags, leaflets about direct actions, and anarchistic slogans. While other protesters chanted “Away with the government”, anarchists shouted “Never again government!”

When the parade came down the the park where weekly speeches took place, a group of people climbed a big fence and hung a doll of a capitalist. Again foreign media captured the performance on tape and screened it around the world.

A couple of meters away from the park where the protests take place, a Food Not Bombs groups has been giving away food every Saturday for the last 8 or 9 months. Food Not Bombs has for sure had it’s effect on the walking-by Icelanders, who are getting more curious and interested in alternative solutions to the problems of capitalism.
The government is a cheap and dirty pig
During a protest, Saturday November 8th, an anarchist climbed on top of the parliament were he hung the flag of Bónus, Iceland’s cheapest supermarket. The message was clear since the flag is yellow with a pink pig on it: “The government is a cheap and dirty pig!” Unlike the usual Icelandic protesters, people celebrated this act and sang along “The government is a cheap and dirty pig!”

Soon a hundred protesters surrounded the parliament to help the anarchist get away from the police, who had already arrested a mate of his. After a bit of a struggle with the police, people managed to help the flag-man (as he later became known as) to get down off the roof and de-arrested him more than once. One could feel some change in the air.

Illegal arrest
Less than a week later, on a Friday night, the police arrested the flag-man. He was in the middle of a research trip to the parliament, organized by his university, when some parliament staff recognized him and called the pigs.

The man had been arrested two years before, for an action with the environmental direct action campaign Saving Iceland, protesting against the building of a big dam, Kárahnjúkavirkjun, in the eastern highlands. For this action he had got sentenced and fined, but refused to pay the fine and instead insisted on sitting in jail for 18 days. But after only four days of his jail-sentence he was “thrown out” because of lack of space in the prison.

Now, the police stated that the man would have to sit the other 14 days of the sentence. The fact is though that the it is not allowed to split the sentence like this, and the man was supposed to get an announcement about finishing his sentence with at least 3 weeks notice. This had not been done in his case.

People claimed this was especially done by the police, fundamentally to “take out” an activist who was likely to take more actions during the upcoming weekly demonstration. So the next day, during the protest which 10.000 people had joined, another protest was announced, this time in front of the police station, a little bit later that day.
Riots by the police station
500 people came to the police station and demanded that the man be set free. After a while, no sign of the police was seen and nothing looked like the man would be set free. The protest got heated and soon people had started to break windows of the station and in the end the door of the station was broken. A group of people went in were the police welcomed them with a splash of pepper spray, without even announcing it.

The protest got even hotter; red paint and eggs were thrown at the station and on the riot squad which now had formed a chain in front of the station. A lot of people were pepper sprayed, including the flag-man’s mother and young kids down to 16 years old. In the end, the flag-man was payed out of the prison by an unknown person. The flag-man came out where he was celebrated as a hero. He thanked people for the support, but encouraged people to use their energy for something else: a revolution!
Invasion of the Central Bank
A week after the riots by the police station, the weekly protest was a little more chilled. Instead people hoped for something big taking place the upcoming Monday, December 1st, the day of Iceland’s sovereignty.

1st of December used to be a holiday in Iceland but couple of years ago the proletariat movement surrendered its rights. This 1st of May people were encouraged not to pay their bills, not show up to work and come to a big outdoor meeting on a big hill close to the government offices and the Central Bank. A few speeches took place, most of those including some nationalistic piffle which the radicals answered with a slogan: “No nationalism - International solidarity!”

After the meeting was formally over the word on the street was that more radical action was going to take place. Suddenly a big group of people marched to the Central Bank and entered the first entrance.

The entrance was completely full of people shouting and demanding that Davíð Oddsson, the chairman of the Central Bank board and a former prime minister, would resign. A few policemen had closed the second entrance but people shouted at them, asked “what team” they were in, telling them to join the public, leave the entrance and let the people in. Suddenly the police left the entrance, the people cheered and opened the door to the second entrance.
Pepper spray again?
The second entrance became as completely full as the first one, but behind big glass doors the riot squad had formed a chain of c.a. 30 pigs, armed with shields, clubs and pepper spray. Again, instead of speaking to the people, the pigs started shaking their spray cans, threatening to use it against the people it they would not leave.

People started banging on the door, shouting slogans against the Central Bank and the police. After a while, when a police officer had several times threatened to use the pepper spray, people decided to sit down peacefully and not stand up until Davíð Oddsson would resign. The action stood over several hours and had it’s peaks when people stood up, lifted up their hands to show they were unarmed and challenged the police to leave, open the doors and let the people bring Oddsson out.

When it became clear that Oddsson had already left the building the protesters gave the police an offer: the riot squad would leave and than the protesters would leave the building. About 30 seconds later, the pigs walked back and the people cheered some kind of a victory of the people.
Into the parliament
A week later, last Monday December 8th, thirty people went in to the Icelandic parliament, heading to the inside balcony where the public is legally allowed to sit, watch and listen to what takes place there. The group announced that the parliament no longer served it’s purpose and the government should therefor resign right now; the other MP’s should use their time for something more constructive.

Only two persons got to the balcony and shouted at the MP’s and ministers to leave the building. Quickly they were brutally removed by a police officer, while the rest of the group was stuck in a staircase inside the building. The parliamentary session was delayed and all the MP’s left the room.

Meanwhile the protesters were brutally handled by security guards and police, who ended up arresting 7 people, most of them for housebreaking. But, as said before, the public is allowed to enter the parliament balcony.

A government meeting delayed with a human chain
The next morning, 30 people had gathered in front of the prime minister’s office where a government meeting was supposed to take place. The people had formed a human chain blockading the two entrances of the house. When ministers started to show up, the police had already arrived and started to try to remove the chain. The people resisted heavily and read out a statement sent out by the group.

The statement said that the aim of the action was to “prevent the ministers from entering the house and therefore stop further misuse of power. Money has controlled people at the cost of their rights and the authorities and their cliques have manipulated finance for their own benefit. That manipulation has would not happen in a just society, a just world. The time of action has dawned, because a just society is not only possible, but it is our duty to fight for it.”

With the help of the police, all the ministers got in, but heard the statement and were under big pressure from the media. They were not prepared for questions and came out badly when asked. The government meeting was delayed because of the actions.

Two were arrested, one for entering a police line and the other one for sitting in front of the police car which was about to drive the other arrested one to the police station. More people sat on the street and it took the police quite a long time to get out of the street. Only when a police officer gave the driver an order to “just drive hard”, did the driver do so and nearly drove over two persons.

One of the biggest newspapers in Iceland, DV, reported the brutal behaviour of the police. The paper’s journalist and photographer were both attacked by the police, as well as noticing when a police punched a protester in the face, while he lay on the street. Most other media did not dare to report the brutal behaviour.

A left wing website, Smugan, told about a police officer who was asked by the protesters if he would have protected Hitler. His answer was simple: “Yes, if it would have been my duty.”
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More actions have been announced and it will be interesting to see what comes next.
More photos from protests in Iceland can be found by clicking here.
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