BELGIUM: SOLIDARITY AGAINST ALL BORDERS

On January 19th, 2006, the trial began of anarchists arrested this past May in Lecce, Italy. In Belgium, solidarity leaflets and posters were distributed and put up in Kortrijk (Courtrai), Ghent, Geel, Saint-Nicolas, Antwerp, Louvain-la-Neuve, Leuven (Louvain), Bruges, and Hasselt. In Antwerp, one person was detained for 10 hours for distributing the leaflets. In Lecce, the trial will resume March 2nd, 2006.

Text of the leaflet distributed in Belgium:

On the 12th of May 2005, five anarchists were arrested in Italy during ‘Operation Nottetempo’. Today, the 19th of January 2006, their trial starts. They fought un-interrupted against the asylum camp of Lecce, against the deportations of people without papers, against raids... They chose to attack those responsible for the asylum camps and the deportations directly — their property, the banks who arranged the financial aspect of the camp, collaborators... They didn’t hesitate to support the immigrants, locked-up up in the asylum camp of Lecce, in their rebellions...

[Politicians are the terrorists]

Two comrades are still held in prison, the other three are under house arrest. Of course our comrades were labeled as ‘terrorists’, but we all know that those who lock up, beat up and deport others are the ones who sow the terror. This pamphlet wants foremost to explain the struggle they fought and will fight against the asylum policy in Europe. They didn’t let their struggle be blinded by empty words like ‘human rights’ and ‘charity’... used by politicians and official refugee organizations, but they held everybody who is involved in the asylum policy responsible for the incarceration, ill-treatment and deportation of people without papers. They didn’t hesitate to unmask and denounce the involvement of the Red Cross, NGO’s (Non-Governmental Organizations), politicians, charity organizations... in the management of asylum camps.

Every day people are drowning, choking, freezing of disappearing during their attempts to reach or survive within Fortress Europe. Every day people are deported to defend the ‘advanced’ States.... But everywhere the struggle against the asylum policies is igniting. In numerous asylum camps all over Europe, hunger strikes, insurrections and revolts are followed one after another. Deportations are facing more and more militant, determined and efficient resistance. The masks of collaborators are falling to the ground. We are not alone! Everywhere there are brothers and sisters struggling against the borders and barbed wire of Fortress Europe. Here also: the occupation of the St-Boniface church in Brussels by people without papers, the actions against deportations and razzias (raids) in Brussel and Antwerp, the growing self-organization of people without papers (e.g. UDEP — Union for the Defense of People without Papers)...

Our solidarity with the arrested comrades in Italy consists of understanding their struggle, and continuing and spreading it locally, here and wherever it is possible.