On garbage trucks and tanks: Barcelona, 27 May 2011
An image of our troubled times: riot police in Barcelona violently disband a peaceful public protest in the city's Plaza de Catalunya, so that gargage crews can clean up the square for a celebration of Barça's participation in the Champion's League final. There are as many cameras as billyclubs.
I’ve been away for some days, and haven’t had time to catch up with the press coverage of the 15-May movement in Spain. But one of the messages I found in my cluttered inbox upon my return contained this link to photos of the violent disbandment of the peaceful protesters that took place today in Barcelona’s Plaza de Catalunya, and I felt the need to share it as soon as possible. The images are absolutely terrifying in themselves, and they powerfully resonate with so many other images of remarkably courageous, young and peaceful protesters from other historical moments. From what I can gather, the protesters were forcibly removed from the public square so that sanitation crews could clean up the place in preparation for the celebrations of Barça’s soccer match tomorrow against Manchester United, in the Champion Cup Final. A peaceful assembly in a public square violently broken up not by tanks, but by garbage trucks; not for “political” reasons, but rather to make room for a soccer celebration. Signs of our times. The protesters returned to the square once the riot police and sanitation workers finished “cleaning up.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Geg_6Xoy04s
I can’t believe that I’m in Portland while this is happening in my own country…
the police, in “cleaning up”, also took all the comisions’ materials: computers, modems, hard drives, personal belongings. And, fuhrermore, they destroyed the comisions’ tents.