Prague - ZeroZero Pictures of Pink/Silver Group

The September 26 Convergence Centre. This was where training, international and affinity group meetings and other activites took place. After S26, this building was shut down by the police, and activists present arrested indiscriminately.

Not a ZeroZero photo, but shows the P/S group as it reaches the main convergence square (Namesti Miru?) on September 26th. Although the group was the smallest of the three main groups, it picked up more and more people over the course of the day from the Yellow group, which saw Ya Basta clearly in control, and the other socialist groups either getting in the way, or acting in an uncordinated manner. The SWP/ISO came in for particularly heavy criticism after it pulled out of its planned Red March and decided to join Ya Basta without any training, equipment, planning, discussion with members or other groups. This undemocratic decision, taken so that the SWP/ISO leadership could be seen "on the front lines" was very poorly received by all activists.

 

The Pink/Silver group. This is part of a blockade of a motorway, reached by the P/S group unhindered after a seeminly randon march across Prague. Clearly the police were confused by our intentions.

Not a ZeroZero photo, but fits nicely into this collection. The P/S group split up, with some continuing the blockade seen in the photo above, and others weaving through residential areas to try and break through police lines. Surprising the police, the P/S group almost overcomes ordinary police lines (with no riot shielding), but the largely pacificist and musical nature of the group leads to the incursion being quite short.

Later on, the P/S group set up a number of symbolic blockades. Using the decision making apparatus (a spokeperson council), a number of affinity groups decided to stay, and others decided to try and get closer to the IMF/WB meetings. The building they were meeting in can be seen in the background of this picture. Note the military personel defending the financiers of the world.

Activists from the P/S group fool the police and security services, and manage to sneak in round the back of the IMF/WB meeting centre and hotel. The delegates can be seen clearly in this picture! After several stones were thrown at the delegates along with much chanting and taunting, they retreated to the relative safety of inside.

People started to entre the IMF/WB meetings and hotel space! Nb. some faces are smudged intentionally.

The towers of Babylon. Pink/Silver have managed to get closer than any other group whilst being relatively non-violent. Soon after this picture was taken, police with dogs started to chase activists away and arrest those they caught. As usual, activists are able to run faster than the police but unforunately many panic and those who fall seem to be the main targets for the police. Always keep calm when retreating from advancing police lines.

The Towers of Babylon are just out of sight to the left of this photo. The advancing police line can be seen here.

Time to leg it! Snatch squads dressed as protestors have infiltrated the remnants of the P/S group, and activists decide to call it a day. After this photo was taken, activists went back to their hotels, or the middle of town where a party took place, or ended up walking back into town with a large column of the Blue group which attacked corporate properties throughout its march. This apparenltly led to the massive crackdown by the Czech authorities which saw up to 600 people being arrested en-masse.