Intimidation of EEF activists
01 March 2004
Activists have reported intimidating police and secret service tactics against them in the run up to the protests against the European Economic Forum, the regional off-shoot of the World Economic Forum (WEF), held for the first time in Eastern Europe (Warsaw), between 28 and 30 April this year. The WEF describes itself as a "global community of business, political, intellectual and other leaders of society committed to improving the state of the world," and the organisation acts as a think tank and lobbying group for promoting global business relations, with WEF members representing the "worlds 1,000 leading companies, along with 200 smaller businesses." An Alternative Forum was hosted by a variety of social and political groups in Poland, in order to "make the public aware of the undemocratic nature of these meetings by government leaders and leaders of big businesses, who take fundamental political and economic decisions on world affairs without the slightest societal participation" (Indymedia Poland). The city was turned into a fortress for the duration of the meeting to prevent protests and demonstrations. Organisers of the Alternative Forum include ATTAC Poland, the Coalition of Freedom Groups (Anarchist Federation and anti-authoritarian groups), Workers' Democracy (Pracownicza Demokracja) the Stop War Initiative, the Poznañ Antiwar Coalition as well as small trade unions..
In the run-up to the Alternative Forum, the Praha Cinema that had offered to host discussions and workshops was subjected to a police check and subsequently withdrew its offer. Pressure from the police also led to a withdrawal of an offer by the Centre of Cultural Revival to host an information meeting about the Alternative Forum. Police and the Polish secret service (Agencja Bezpieczenstwa Wewnetrznego - ABW) also intimidated activists from Warsaw, Poznañ, Rzeszów, Suwaki and Toruñ by forbidding them to host guests of the alternative summit in their cultural centres. A concert in support of the Alternative Forum was stopped by police and advertising for the Alternative Forum was targeted. Activists have reported being stopped at borders due their names having been stored in the Europol database and the Schengen Information System. A press release by the Coalition of Freedom Groups from 15 April says that:
The police harassment and the escalation of violence are becoming more and more systematic against participants of the freedom movement involved in organising demonstrations and other activities. Just a few weeks from the Forum, in Warsaw and in other cities, a campaign of harassment against activists was started. Techniques used by the police and the ABW [secret service] have included: spoken threats, repeated telephone calls with proposals for interviews, summons to appear in police stations, interrogations, home visits, enquiries at activists' workplaces and to neighbours, stopping people in the street because of posters and leaflets they are carrying. As well, telephone tapping and surveillance of electronic communications. Police in civilian clothes have been to squats and to independent information centres, they have frightened owners of cinemas and places where meetings had been planned (http://pl.indymedia.org/pl/2004/04/5059.shtml#english)
The activists have contacted the Helsinki Human Rights Foundation which has offered to provide legal support and independent observers. The Coalition has demanded that the responsible police chief, Mr Siewierski, apologises to the management of the Praha Cinema from Warsaw for the police intimidation. They have also demanded that the police "dissociates itself from criticisms against anti-globalists and that it does not advise people against working with us, because that would be a violation of the constitutional right to freedom of speech."
Photos of police repression:
http://poland.indymedia.org/pl/2004/04/5313.shtml
German background article: http://de.indymedia.org/2004/