First published 2011-10-10 10:02:39 +1000. Republished on 21-October 2011 at 11:37: There is a new protest movement for democratic occupation of cities all over the world, demonstrating against the financial system and its insults to most of us. We support the principles the movement espouses and urge others to do so. Days later we have unanswered questions about this movement in Melbourne, which we are hoping to elucidate. Please join in with comments.
Statement on Occupy Melbourne website from candobetter.net
This statement was posted on October 9, 2011 at 11:38 pm and was in moderation at time of this article:
"http://candobetter.net writers cover these concerns and candobetter.net supports your platform in solidarity. We will be there on Saturday. We criticise the growth lobby http://candobetter.net/GrowthLobby and show how it subverts Australia’s remaining democracy. We consider the amount of money that goes on land and rent costs ruins small business, causes homelessness, enslaves most of us and creates a tiny layer of profiteers that runs this country. That’s not an economic success.The assault on wages in this country is shameful. See this cartoon: http://candobetter.net/node/2601
We are gathering a political movement of radical community candidates for the next federal election. Please keep watching our pages too.
I personally would support the adoption of the roman law and civil code in Australia. The British, US, Oz and NZ system is a democratic sham."
signed Sheila Newman
Vigilance needed against forces that will try to take over and destroy this movement in Australia
Please put principles before personalities. To this effect, please watch out for efforts to intimidate people who try to talk about the problems we have with overpopulation and the growth lobby in this country.
Often occupying positions in the Socialist Alliance - but not real socialists - the people subverting movements for democracy are identifiable because they try to stop you from expressing your opposition to undemocratic development and population growth in Australia. They have long been interfering in the Green Movement, the Climate Change movement, have taken over NGOs and have succeeded to date in fragmenting protest, to the advantage of the ruling cliques here. Sometimes they pretend to be anarchists and that anarchism supports violence. They are not anarchists. As Joe Toscano says at Anarchist Weekly, which is a very solid democratic forum, beware of anyone who talks up violence, they are almost certainly working for the authorities.
We urge our readers to be positive forces in this movement.
Original Occupy Wall Street statement
OCCUPY WALL ST FIRST DECLARATION
On Thursday night, Occupy Wall Street participants voted on and approved the first official “Declaration of the Occupation of New York City.” It it reprinted in its entirety below.
As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.
As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.
They have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the original mortgage.
They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give Executives exorbitant bonuses.
They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on age, the color of one’s skin, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.
They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization.
They have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless nonhuman animals, and actively hide these practices.
They have continuously sought to strip employees of the right to negotiate for better pay and safer working conditions.
They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education, which is itself a human right.
They have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage to cut workers’ healthcare and pay.
They have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people, with none of the culpability or responsibility.
They have spent millions of dollars on legal teams that look for ways to get them out of contracts in regards to health insurance.
They have sold our privacy as a commodity.
They have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press.
They have deliberately declined to recall faulty products endangering lives in pursuit of profit.
They determine economic policy, despite the catastrophic failures their policies have produced and continue to produce.
They have donated large sums of money to politicians supposed to be regulating them.
They continue to block alternate forms of energy to keep us dependent on oil.
They continue to block generic forms of medicine that could save people’s lives in order to protect investments that have already turned a substantive profit.
They have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty bookkeeping, and inactive ingredients in pursuit of profit.
They purposefully keep people misinformed and fearful through their control of the media.
They have accepted private contracts to murder prisoners even when presented with serious doubts about their guilt.
They have perpetuated colonialism at home and abroad.
They have participated in the torture and murder of innocent civilians overseas.
They continue to create weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government contracts.*
To the people of the world,
We, the New York City General Assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge you to assert your power.
Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone.
To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our disposal.
Join us and make your voices heard!
Comment submission disabled on this page.
Apologies to nimby and others. A flaw in the (outdated) version of Drupal in use on this site does not allow it to properly handle more than 30 comments per page. Will fix ASAP with an upgrade
. In the meantime, please post further comments here where I have re-posted nimby's latest (the 31st) post. - Ed.
Comments
Jenny T (not verified)
Fri, 2011-10-21 09:53
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Is Occupy Melbourne for real?
Anonymous (not verified)
Fri, 2011-10-21 10:23
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Occupy Melbourne impression
Low Profile (not verified)
Fri, 2011-10-21 10:29
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Occupy Melbourne has been peaceful
Sheila Newman
Fri, 2011-10-21 10:56
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More on Occupy Melbourne
Mrs bucket (not verified)
Fri, 2011-10-21 11:29
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Jon Fain and Occupy Melbourne and Population
Agent Provocateur
Sat, 2011-10-22 00:32
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Occupy Melbourne (not returning James' call)Sounds a bit 'Sus' !
James Sinnamon
Sat, 2011-10-22 09:29
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Should not leap to conclusions
quark
Sat, 2011-10-22 10:21
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High population density on the City Square
Sheila Newman
Sat, 2011-10-22 12:17
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Support Occupy Melbourne
Geoffrey Taylor
Sat, 2011-10-22 17:15
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Global Researcher critical of "Occupy Wall St" inspired groups
RichB
Sat, 2011-10-22 21:57
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Its happening the world
Greg (not verified)
Sat, 2011-10-22 23:47
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Don't over-think it
Anonymous (not verified)
Fri, 2011-10-21 11:54
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Let's focus on offering constructive suggestions
Sheila Newman
Fri, 2011-10-21 12:21
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Occupy Melb: Is City Square private or public
David C. (not verified)
Fri, 2011-10-21 22:38
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Occupy Melbourne: Quite well run
Alex P. (not verified)
Fri, 2011-10-21 22:44
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problems inherent in reserve banking system
Dave K. (not verified)
Fri, 2011-10-21 22:47
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Occupy Melbourne - malcontents not random?
Dave C. (not verified)
Fri, 2011-10-21 22:51
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Occupy Melbourne occupied all police attention today
Agent Provocateur
Sat, 2011-10-22 00:43
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Mounted police were using horses to trample seated protestors!!
Agent Provocateur
Sat, 2011-10-22 01:15
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EMBARGO! UN Occupy Melbourne different TACTIC
Geoffrey Taylor
Sat, 2011-10-22 14:46
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How should future protesters respond to police brutality?
David C #comment-7551">wrote:
Our best hope of preventing police brutality against peaceful protesters and to make future protest actions more effective is to show up the actions of the tactical response teams to the broader public through whatever access we have to the media and through the World Wide Web (including, of course, candobetter and occupymelbourne.org) and by using whatever legal recourse is available that is affordable.
Participants at future protests would be poorly advised, if as a consequence of having their possessions tossed into a garbage truck and then being trampled by horses, savaged by dogs, pepper-sprayed and manhandled into vans, etc., they preemptively acted violently at the next protest.
In all likelihood, that would only give the tactical response teams an excuse to attack protesters even more savagely than they were attacked yesterday.
No doubt, the mainstream newsmedia would play up for all it is worth any acts of violence by protesters and overlook the premeditated violence by police at yesterday's protests. Some readers' comments re-posted from the Herald Sun in Appendix 1, below, show how, in future, acts of violence by some protesters could be twisted into a justification for reducing our right to protest.
Appendix 1: Evidence of police brutality & counter-claims
Witness statements about police violence at the "Occupy Melbourne" protest, yesterday, (as well as what was posted by Davic C, #comment-7551">above) include:
From the Herald Sun: "... it is hard to see why police used such force in both the eviction, and the step by step movement of the crowd up Swanston St. I witnessed unnecessary punching, shoving, and general cowardice from the police and frankly it left me feeling rather ill. The fact that 2/3's of the cops on the front line seemed to forget it was the law to be wearing identification also added to the general indecency of the police response. ... 100's of people were witnessed being hit, eye gouged, pepper sprayed and punched in the face unnecessarily ..." (by liam)
The police were totally heavy handed, choke holding innocent people engaging in a peaceful protest is sickening, what ever happened to free speech in Victoria?" (by john)
"Police were heavy-handed. I saw 8 horses charge into a group of people chanting. The horses were clearly not behaving as expected and the officers riding them were panicked by their own lack of control and screaming back and forth at each other. I saw them empty personal property into rubbish trucks, including books. I saw a kid, barely 18, flee the centre of the crowd screaming after he'd be pepper-sprayed. I saw them push an old man to the ground (he looked about 70). They shoved countless people, all of whom (that I saw) were attempting to get out of the way of a wall of angry riot police. I wasn't involved in the camp and wasn't intending to stay yesterday, but after I saw such aggressive gang-mentality from the police I think I'll go back today too. ... (Lord Mayor Robert) Doyle said yesterday it was time to give City Square back to the people. Think I can go sit in there today? Or tomorrow?" (Adam of Melbourne)
One who posted in response to the Herald Sun article mentioned above claimed that police were restrained: "The police were well disciplined and used force as required. ..."(Franky of Melb)
Also from the Herald Sun: "They were so heavy-handed. I was pushed onto the ground with brutal force. So many people were pepper-sprayed; it has been awful." (James Gibson, 22)
"As a member of the public I was appalled by this. It seemed worse with Mayor Doyle standing up on the balcony of the town hall looking like some dictator. The protesters don't have my support BUT the way this was handled they do have my sympathy. Doyle is one of the worst Lord Mayors and it will be a good thing when he goes. Very heavy handed and very un Australian. I felt sorry for some of the Police too who should be out doing other things then breaking up what was till then a peaceful protest. Shame on you Doyle and you too Mr Bailleu." (Bystander of Melbourne)
"The photo at the top of this article is proof, clear evidence that some police removed their identification badges. The officer in the hat and glasses using a grappling method that is not taught at Vic Pol, should be severely reprimanded for it as well as for removing his ID. Disgraceful!" (Believer in Civil Liberty of Melbourne)
A number who posted to the second Sun Herald article mentioned here, opposed the protesters and approved of police brutality towards protesters, but few of those made claims of protester violence:
"James, I hope it isn't over. I was enjoying seeing your type get what you deserved after being asked to leave peacefully. Bring on another day of entertainment." (Scott)
"I'm angry at these protestors, because I have never in my life seen people fight so hard for nothing at all. These left-wing extremists ask for democracy and the death of corporate greed, despite the fact we pay taxes and receive more benefits than most." (Gaetano)
The person who posted the following claimed ambivalently to against outlawing protests, but came out in favour of such laws that would ban protests if that proved to be the only way to prevent claimed protester violence:
" ... If these protests keep occurring, I can see that sometime soon the government is going to take unforeseen measures to avoid trouble. By this it could mean that the powers that be will ban all gatherings of more than 20 people in a public area through out the State. I must say that I am against that move, however if it means that is the only way that the violence is stopped, then so be it." (Roy).
Comment on previous comment: As I noted above this kind of spurious logic demonstrates how politicians and the newsmedia could turn violence by some protesters into an excuse to take away our right to protest. It is not without a reason that those in charge of many political protest movements take so much trouble to point out that they will only support peaceful protest.
Anonymous (not verified)
Sat, 2011-10-22 09:02
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When did 'our' govt. decide to sell Melbourne's public space?
Sheila Newman
Sat, 2011-10-22 11:34
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City Square Public, Federation Square Private
Sheila Newman
Sat, 2011-10-22 11:35
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Lord Mayor has a lot to answer for
nimby (not verified)
Fri, 2011-10-21 14:26
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Policies for the benefit of the elite -
Katie G (not verified)
Fri, 2011-10-21 20:34
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"Occupy Melbourne" today
nimby
Sun, 2011-10-23 08:18
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Global forces against the public
quark
Sun, 2011-10-23 16:53
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Themes running through interviews
Greg (not verified)
Sun, 2011-10-23 20:49
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The critical mass
All of what quark says is spot in. It is also only a microcosm of the full extent of crimes being committed by a ravenous few against social and ecological equity.
The police can deal with 100 protesters. That has been established. What though will they do with 5,000? 10,000?
What does it take to get 5,000 or 10,000 into the street? The essential problem in doing so is twofold.
Anyone who is not thus encumbered should be on the street, adding to a tangible mass of growing dissent. If, and only if, the elite's successive repressions generate even greater groundswells in response to each excess, will they begin to doubt and to falter upon their next move.
With such faltering, and a steadily growing popular mass, will come a gradual succession into active support from the two groups noted above. If you can add yourself to this transitional mass, you are doing the work of angels. Even more so if you can encourage others to also do so, especially if they exhibit a more diverse demographic than the current 'protester' norm.
quark
Sun, 2011-10-23 23:55
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Middle aged and middle class need to be seen