Counter Information No. 40 - Part 2 =================================== Seeds of Revolt In India a grassroots movement has formed to protect the future of seed.The power of multinationals to control the genetic information of life itself has been greatly extended under GATT (General Agreement on tariffs and Trade) and companies have placed patents on animals, micro-organisms, the brain coding of human beings etc..Western multinationals are trying to steal indigenous plants and knowledge from Third World people and turn what should be a common human resource into a trade commodity. The seed trader company Cargill even claims to own pollen and speaks of bees as "usurping the pollen."In the autumn of 1993 more than half a million peple gathered together in Banglore, South India, to protest the freedom of seed.In defiance local seed banks are being set up at village level in order to keep seed, regarded as sacred, free from big business control. In Britain too grassroots resistance to the rape of the planet is growing. There has been a spate of Earth First! actions, mainly against the Tories crazed roadbuilding program, and more are to come! There seems to be an increasing success rate with road schemes cancelled under Earth First! pressure including the M1-M62 link in Yorkshire, the Leadenham bypass near Lincoln and a link road development in Leicester. Earth First! direct action is on the increase especially since the high profile coverage given to Twyford Down and the brief but glorious establishment of the autonomous republic of Wanstonia which was viciously smashed by our police state. The violent response of the state and its unheeding destructon of irreplacable enviroment has convinced many that it's more than just the transport system we need to change. Earth First! has no centralised structure; no offices, leaders or official spokespeople so anyone who wants can form an Earth First! group or do Earth First! actions.There are probably as many different opinions on how and why we should save the planet in EF! U.K. as there are people involved. There are constant undercover actions such as the two attacks on an ARC office (a roadbuilding company) where nearly 50.000 pounds worth of damage was done which of course North Wales EF! "doesn't know anything about"...or brazen ones like Glasgow EF!'s occupation of Glasgow Council's roads department building in protest at the proposal to run a road through and develop Pollok Estate. There is mass local opposition to the proposed destruction. In America there is ever increasing co-operation between indigenous people whose land is being torn from them and eco-activists. There is need for more solidarity between the class struggle and the enviromental struggle.Everywhere it is poor people who are the most immediate victims of enviromental destruction: exposed to toxins at work and in poor quality housing, pushed aside by business development and deprived of the right to land. Resist Much: Obey Little! See also Aufheben No.3 2 pounds (or 5 pounds for 3 sub) from Aufheben c/o Prior House, Tilbury Place, Brighton, East Sussex, BN2 2GY UK "To the Runways!" THE STRIKE by Air France ground staff last October against 4,000 redundancies, a wage freeze and the abolition of bonuses holds important lessons. On 20 October transport minister Bosson declared this plan "irrevocable". On 24 October the French government withdrew the plan. Why? Because for 5 days up to 3,000 workers invaded the Roissy, Orly and Toulouse runways and stopped all freight and passenger traffic. Riot police were driven off. "The lads drove into the cops with runway vehicles and the cops ran away," explained a striker. Solidarity was exemplary - on 25 October 3,000 Orly strikers went to the police and successfully demanded that all charges against strikers be dropped. To the Union Bureaucrats' dismay the Union-called assemblies were quickly terminated by cries of "To the runways!" But there were weaknesses. The workers did not co-ordinate between sectors and sites outside of the Unions, who negotiated a return to work without a signed agreement withdrawing the redundancies. The movement needed to spread more to other industries. Nevertheless the Air France strikers have shown all workers the formidable power of mass workers' direct action. See Contra Flow for extensive report. Smashing way to change 40,000 young people and students held a victory parade on 31st March in Paris after the French Government caved in to their demands. Casseurs ('smashers' - disaffected youth) left a trail of destruction during the celebration attracting tear gas from the riot police. The march also called for the release of demonstrators detained in earlier actions and the return of two Algerians deported after the Lyons disturbances. Throughout France, notably in Lyons, quarter of a million students had demonstrated throughout France against plans of the conservative Government to reduce the minimum wage for people under 26 by 20%. This scheme only applied to young people with less than two years higher education. This attempt to increase divisions based on qualifications was resisted by school-students, students and the unemployed. With 23% unemployment amongst under 25s, anger was widespread against a system of poverty, little training and exploitation. Faced with falling profit rates, the Prime Minister, Balladur, tried to implement capital's aim to drive wage levels downwards in a climate of insecurity. In the last few years, under Socialists and conservative coalition Governments, 50% of French workers are employed with no job security leading to an attack on wages and conditions. Following the example of Air France strikers, and peasants, the protests limited the power of left parties and unions whose aim is to defuse discontent and contain unrest. Instead, a climate of confrontation and direct action forced the Government to capitulate. The repressive power of the State was unable to counter spontaneous demos, sit-ins, rail and road blocks & other tactics. Loose 'coordinations' bypassed official channels. Although not revolutionary in aims (unlike the rhetoric of 1968), they prevented protest from being stifled. Worldwide, such self-organisation is essential to inflict more defeats on the ruling class. Zapata Worldwide Calcutta: Dec. 19th. Workers occupy jute mill after being locked out for demanding wages which had not been paid. Production was restarted and workers' committees set up alongside a communal kitchen. Jute workers throughout the region sent messages of support. The courts ordered the occupation illegal and closed the mill. On January 1st a worker died of starvation in the mill's living quarters as his wages had not been paid for six months. Reginald Brealey, owner of Sheffield United F.C. owns the mill. Assam State, India: Police kill 4 tea plantation workers for demanding unpaid wages. Delhi: April. Tens of thousands protest the signing of the GATT deal by the Indian government. Serbia: A ten week strike by Radio Pancero against the censorship of Serbian government ended in January The strike was supported by independent media. 29/11/93: 12,000 hospital workers in Kraljevo strike against low pay and bad working conditions. The strike lasts a week. 24/25/12/93: 15,000 railworkers strike against "a bad union under state control" 29/12/93: 60,000 coalminers and power plant workers go on strike causing power cuts for 2 days. January sees ringleaders arrested. USA: Decemeber, 18 childcare workers in Raleigh, North Carolina strike for higher pay. Kindercare offer 15 pay rise, the workers are looking for 20%. THis is one of the first strikes by childcare workers in the US. Ecuador: 100,000 teachers who had been on strike since October 4th return to work on January with a 50% pay rise. Germany: September 27th, 30m of railtrack are lifted in protest at spent nuclear fuel being transported from Bavaria to Sellafield. November, 100 protestors block a fleet of trucks removing spent fuel from Brokdorf. Water cannons brought in to disperse demo. Israel: January 7th, Gush Shalon peace activists distribute leaflets on the main Jerusalem-Bethlehem road saying: "Dear Citizen, You have left the territory of Israel. You are now a guest of the neighbouring Palestinian State. Please avoid antagonising the local population and observe the basic rules of behaviour customary among civilised nations, such as; no killings; no trespassing; no damaging of property and no uprooting of trees_remember, the people at home have no desire to become entangled in war because of irresponsible acts committed by Israelis abroad. Go in peace and return safely" The Other Israel, POB 2542, HOLON, ISRAEL 58125. (edited in CI) Mexico: April 10th, tens of thousands of indigenous people and peasants rallied throughout Mexico to commemorate Zapata. This annual celebration saw many participants pledge support for the January Zapatista uprising. This seems to have led to more unity among peasant organisations. Seventy groups have set up camps in Mexico City where they'll negotiate for improvements in living standards and civil rights. January 18th, Paris, France: Support group of the EZLN (Zapatistas) occupy the Mexican embassy for 4 hours. A spokesperson for the EZLN says "the EZLN is not structured to take power, and we do not want it" and insists their only ideology is "either we die or we live with dignity" Greece, January 94: 100 people throw egss and tins of paint at the local police station in Moshato (suburb of Piraeus) to Protest at the murder of Giakus, a local musician. The cop who had killed Giakus was attcked by furious crowds when released from court a couple of weeks previous. **************************************************************************** These articles are taken from Counter Information. Issue No.40 Summer 1994. Counter Information is produced by anarchists/libertarian socialists in Scotland. It collates news reports of resistance by people to the system we all live under and tries to make them better known. A Hardcopy using Pagemaker layout (Mac) is available by sending a SAE or Disc to:- Counter Info c/o 11 Forth St., Edinburgh. Bundles of the broadsheets available. Donations, unshamelessly sought. Each issue costs 500+ pounds for postage and print costs (no labour costs !) If reprinting an article, please credit Counter Information, otherwise non-copyright. ****************************************************************************