Madrid Junta bans protests

BREAKING NEWS: The authorities in Madrid have banned the mass pro-democracy protests in la Puerta del Sol.

Clearly frightened of the surge of people power witnessed over the last couple of days, the local Electoral Junta has declared the gathering illegal.

The aim tonight will presumably to frighten off casual protesters and then use the police to attack anyone who dares defy the ruling.

Already it is being reported that police are packing out the Metro system, demanding people's ID and using loudspeakers to announce the protest has been prohibited.

Once again, the facade of western neoliberal 'freedom' is exposed as a lie. When the capitalist system feels under threat it will always resort to its monopoly of violence, even against specifically non-violent dissenters.

The hypocrisy of condemning the regimes in Libya and Syria for behaving in exactly the same way is simply staggering.

The Vast Minority urges our fellow freedom-fighters in Madrid to resist for all they are worth - tonight and every night.

For latest information follow #spanishrevolution (or, with rumours that this is being censored, perhaps #nonosvamos - we're not going) on Twitter.

Spanish 'revolution' gains momentum

THE PEOPLE have again taken to the streets all across Spain to reject neoliberal rule and call for real democracy.

Spanish media reported that at least a thousand people, of all ages, returned to la Puerta del Sol in Madrid on Tuesday night - this time they were not attacked by police.

The people's assembly there decided to keep meeting every night at 8pm and keep the street revolts going until at least Sunday (a day of local elections), with the view of staging an even bigger mobilisation on Friday and Saturday.

Similar scenes are unfolding across the country.

This enormous wave of protest, of which young people have been at the forefront, is clearly of huge significance for both Spain and Europe.

Despite this - or perhaps because of it - the movement is thus far receiving virtually no press coverage in the English-speaking world.

One of the few reports, on Euronews, stated: "Hoping to repeat the success of Egyptian people power, various groups in Spain have occupied Madrid’s main square of 'Puerta del Sol'.

"Students, workers and the unemployed have called their protests the May 15 movement signifying when they first came out onto the streets in 50 cities across the country.

"Like the Arab Spring activists they use twitter and the internet to rally support.

"Calling for fewer police and more education the demonstrators say their arms are their weapons.

"Discontent with Spain two-party system and the country’s high unemployment rate has galvanised the disparate groups.

"While mainly peaceful there have been some clashes with police and an several arrests."

Meanwhile details of the London solidarity protests have gone online at realdemocracylondonblogspot.com

Supporters of all nationalities are urged to meet at Sloane Square tube station at 7pm every night from Wednesday May 18 to Sunday 22 to march on the Spanish Embassy.

Youth revolt spreads to Spain

THE tide of youth revolt sweeping the Arab world has crossed the Mediterranean to southern Europe.

Protesters calling for a new political system have been taking to the streets of Spain over the last few days, organising via Facebook and Twitter hashtags such as spanishrevolution and acampadasol.

In an echo of the Tahrir Square protests in Egypt, they have been camping out overnight in prominent public spaces.

Although they have adopted a non-violent approach, the Spanish state has, of course, not followed suit and police violently evicted young dissidents from La Puerta del Sol in Madrid.

In response, the protesters - who reject all the mainstream political parties in the name of real democracy - called a new protest at the central square for this evening (May 17).

Protests were also called for la plaza de Cataluña in Barcelona, for Huelva (plaza Antiguo Colombino), Sevilla (plaza de la Encarnación), Málaga (plaza de la Constitución), Granada (paseo del Salón), Murcia (avenida Glorieta I), Alicante (plaza de la Montañeta), Valencia (plaza del Ayuntamiento), Palma de Mallorca (plaza de España), Vigo (calle del Príncipe), Gijón (plaza del Ayuntamiento), Santander (plaza Porticada), Burgos (plaza Mayor, Las Palmas in Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz in Tenerife, among others towns and cities.

There were also calls for a camp outside the Spanish embassy in London.

More cars torched in Berlin

MORE cars have been torched in Berlin as part of an ongoing war on the capitalist system.

The Direct Action in Germany website reports that the latest attacks took place in Friedrichshain and Prenzlauer Berg at the weekend (May 14).

Thanks to a fire in the Frankfurter Allee three cars and a motorbike were wrecked, while in Prenzlauer Berg a Jaguar was torched and in the Diestelmeyerstraße in Friedrichshain another vehicle was gutted.

Neoliberal fascists on the attack

NEW battlelines are being drawn up in the global civil war of the early 21st century.

Neo-fascist street thugs are increasingly being mobilised by the neoliberal system to physically attack rebels.

In the UK this has been evident in the way that the EDL has moved beyond its original "anti-Muslim" justification to call for attacks on anti-capitalist protesters.

This week Greek neo-fascists not only killed a young Bangladeshi man but also helped riot police in their brutal assault on protesters during the general strike.

Reported From the Greek Streets on May 12: "During the last few hours, Neonazis have attempted to carry out anti-migrant pogroms in central Athens.

"Clashes between anti-fascists and migrants, on the one side, and fascists and riot police on the other side take place in the centre of the city while the rally in Propylea is starting.

"At about 18:25 several dozens of fascists assisted by riot police units attempted to attack the Villa Amalias squat near Victoria Square.

"The squatters defended Villa Amalias succesfully and forced the Nazis off the streets. Riot police responded with tear gas in order to make way for the Nazis to escape. Earlier in front of Athens School of Economics Nazis were chased by anti-fascists."

Meanwhile, American academic William I Robinson this week also warned of the fascist nature being adopted by the ruling system.

He wrote on Al Jazeera: "A 21st fascism would not look like 20th century fascism. Among other things, the ability of dominant groups to control and manipulate space and to exercise an unprecedented control over the mass media, the means of communication and the production of symbolic images and messages, means that repression can be more selective (as we see in Mexico or Colombia, for example), and also organised juridically so that mass 'legal' incarceration takes the place of concentration camps.

"Moreover, the ability of economic power to determine electoral outcomes allows for 21st century fascism to emerge without a necessary rupture in electoral cycles and a constitutional order.

"The United States cannot be characterised at this time as fascist. Nonetheless, all of the conditions and the processes are present and percolating, and the social and political forces behind such a project are mobilising rapidly.

"More generally, images in recent years of what such a political project would involve spanned the Israeli invasion of Gaza and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians, to the scapegoating and criminalisation of immigrant workers and the Tea Party movement in the United States, genocide in the Congo, the US/United Nations occupation of Haiti, the spread of neo-Nazis and skinheads in Europe, and the intensified Indian repression in occupied Kashmir.

"The counterweight to 21st century fascism must be a coordinated fight-back by the global working class. The only real solution to the crisis of global capitalism is a massive redistribution of wealth and power - downward towards the poor majority of humanity. And the only way such redistribution can come about is through mass transnational struggle from below."

Brutal attack on Greek protesters

FURTHER protests are planned in Greece after a brutal attack by riot cops on demonstrators during the May 11 general strike.

One 30 year old protester, Yiannis K, is in a coma and fighting for his life after the vicious assault by hired thugs of the Greek state and neoliberal system.

Said a statement from members of the assembly of resistance and solidarity of Kypseli/ Patision: "On Panepistimiou Ave, between Voukourestiou and Amerikis Str, while the demonstration was coming back from Parliament, the police launched an organised and coordinated attack with their obvious aim being the self-organised and counter-consensual blocks: the people who struggle 'from below'.

"At that moment, the neighbourhood assemblies (Kypseli/Patision, Vyronas/Kaisariani/Pagrati), the base union of the waiters/cooks, the anarchist assembly for social self-determination, student unions and others were encircled and beaten by numerous Riot Police (MAT) units.

"Us who were marching along with Yiannis holding the banner of Kypseli with him, found ourselves in an asphyxiating pen by Riot Police who would strike demonstrators, with their batons turned upside down, in the head and their bodies, throwing many to the ground. At the same time they threw tear gas and stun grenades directly into the crowd.

"The result was for tens of people to be seriously injured, many of which were taken to hospital. Among them was Yiannis K. who while bleeding from the head was taken away from the point of the attack thanks to the help of a fellow demonstrator. He was received by the Ambulance Service and transferred to the Nikaia Hospital where he undertook surgery.

"At this moment Yiannis is fighting for his life because he chose the path of collective resistance, solidarity and struggle, against the exploitation, the poverty and fear enforced by the bosses, against their terrorism, against defeatism and passivity. Yiannis’ struggle belongs to all of us!"

A demonstration has been called for Thursday, May 12th at 6pm, at Propylea, Athens.

Greeks stage general strike

THOUSANDS of Greeks will take to the streets on Wednesday May 11 in a general strike and day of protests against neoliberal rule.

And live updates will be provided during the day by the excellent From the Greek Streets blog.

Reports The International Business Times: "Greek labor unions, students and others are planning massive a nationwide rally and general strike for tomorrow to protest the government’s austerity budget and deep spending cuts, as well as the imposition of European Union (EU) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) onto the country’s affairs.

"Two of Greece’s largest unions General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE) and Adedy will lead the strike. 'The strike is the workers' response to the problems faced by the unemployed, the workers and the pensioners who, according to the national plan on the economy, are again the ones who are called to pay the bill,' GSEE President Yiannis Panagopoulos stated.

"Last year, the Greek government accepted a huge 110-billion euro bailout from the EU and IMF to rescue its economy and reduce its tremendous national debt and budget deficit. In exchange for the loan agreement, the government of Prime Minister George Papandreou has imposed draconian budget measures, including social spending reductions, increased taxes, a freeze on wages for state workers, and public job cuts, among many other items."