arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)

Leiden (The Netherlands) mourns Carlo Giuliani, and organizes for a future better world

Leiden is a city of about 100.000 people in the West of The Netherlands. On Monday 23 July, at 19 h.30 in the evening, a meeting started there in memory of Carlo Giuliani, the demonstrator killed in Genoa by the armed forces of the Berlusconi government of Italy. This open air meeting on the Beestenmarkt [old cattle market close to the railway station] was organized at very short notice. There were big photographs of Carlo Giuliani; banners against social exclusion; and an open air photo exhibition on Berlusconi’s links to Mafia crime, and on the G8 summit and the demonstrators against it.

The organizers, the Action Group of the anarchist collective Eurodusnie, also attracted others. A crowd, big for the short notice, attended. It was diverse, politically; also Dutch from Leiden and the seaside town of Katwijk; Italians; young Africans to elderly Kurds; French; Moroccans.

Someone with a Free Mumia Abu-Jamal badge on lay down on the pavement. His form was circumscribed with a piece of chalk. Then, everyone laid down roses to fill the human circumference on the Beestenmarkt square with flowers. Everyone then became silent for one minute, to commemorate Carlo.

Then, there were three short speeches. First, Marco of Eurodusnie said that the Berlusconi regime had prepared violence at Genoa for long before the actual G8 conference. We should not let the struggle for a better world, where people, not profit, will prevail, be sidetracked by the violent tactics of Berlusconi, Bush, and their ilk. Bad as the violence in Genoa was, that 30.000 children a day die in the present economic system is still worse violence.

The next speaker was Herman, a member of the Anti War Committee in Leiden. Berlusconi, some people may say, so far killed only one person. These people should not forget that Mussolini at first in his dictator’s career killed only one person: the Socialist member of parliament Mateotti. However, Mussolini followed that up with very many more dead. So we should monitor human rights in Italy; as pictures of Mussolini hang in police offices where they beat up Genoa demonstrators there today.

We should not let Berlusconi, or Bush, drown our movement for a better world in blood. Speaking about Bush, around 29 September, he hosts an International Monetary Fund Conference in Washington, D.C. Many demonstrators will be there. We should look how we can help them in The Netherlands.

There will also be a summit meeting in the dictatorial state of Qatar in November. For then, the International Conference of Free Trade Unions has called for a world wide Day of Action.

On 14 December, there will be a summit in Brussels of the leaders of the European Union, including Berlusconi. Many people from The Netherlands should demonstrate in Brussels then. The agenda of the EU leaders includes setting up a military intervention force. In, e.g., Macedonia now, we can see that “humanitarian” intervention by rich countries does not bring humanitarianism or peace.

Then, Sebastiaan from Leiden, who was back from demonstrating in Genoa, spoke. He said that the inhabitants of Genoa had greeted the demonstrators as liberators. Berlusconi had ordered that the people of Genoa should not hang underwear from their houses, as Bush and his other guests might dislike that. The Genoese reacted to that by massively hanging dirty underwear out of their windows as a symbol of support for the demonstrations. This continued also in neighbourhoods where there had been destruction by the “black block” [whether real black block or police black block is another issue]. Sebastiaan had only participated in completely pacifist demonstrations. Nevertheless, the police massively teargassed these demonstrations, and beat them with iron sticks. After Sebastiaan had finished, many people joined in in the discussion on how to go on with the movement.

On Thursday 26 July, 19 h., there will be a meeting in Amsterdam, ASSV, end of platform 28 of Central Station; where people who demonstrated in Genua will speak. ‘Don’t mourn; organize!" were the last words of US trade unionist Joe Hill, when he was killed some 85 years ago, as Carlo was killed now