9 December: An anarchist group labelled as violent has vowed to cause “chaos and mayhem” at Brisbane’s G20 Summit – prompting other protest groups to warn against getting involved with them. [Unfortunately, all that really happened is that the Courier Mail found a six month old pisstake post on Indymedia – disaccords]
Police are keeping close tabs of protest groups which have embarked on online recruitment drives a year out from the event to ensure a strong presence in Brisbane.
The Sydney-based Black Rose Syndicat has taken the most hostile approach issuing a virtual”call to arms” on websites, vowing to cause “chaos and mayhem” at next year’s event. Police sources have told The Courier-Mail officers are also preparing for protesters to use “Black Bloc” tactics, an identity-concealing strategy commonly linked to anarchists.
In a Facebook post, the Black Rose Syndicat even encourages members to apply for jobs with the G20 Taskforce saying “get on the inside and turn it inside out”.
An Anarchist Manifesto has also been posted, along with a picture of G20 police headquarters in Brisbane stating “KNOW YOUR ENEMY”.
Black Rose describe themselves as an “anonymous Syndicat whose aim is the propagation of Anarcho-syndicalist and other Revolutionary propaganda”. They say they have no members because they are against “all hierarchical structure” and use command and communication chains that are “changeable, deliberately fragmented” that can be “severed at any given point in time”.
“If you don’t like it then do something about it”, reads a post above a picture of a young person kicking in the back window of a foreign police car.
“We are still alive and kicking”.
The extreme stance has prompted other anti-G20 groups to warn against involvement with the group.
An online warning describes them as a splinter group of activists “sinister with outside influence”, aimed at destroying support for “nonviolent democratic socialism”.
Police sources also told The Courier-Mail of warnings to expect cashed-up protesters to begin their action as early as a month out because the public was blocked from the previous G20 summits in Russia and Mexico.
There are fears that masked anarchists could go on a similar rampage as occurred in to those in Toronto in 2010, where 1118 people were arrested. Led by a group wearing black balaclavas, ski masks and black clothing the band of protesters smashed shop windows, vandalised property, torched police cars and set off teargas.
Using what is referred to as “Black Bloc” tactics, police said the group played a central role in the violence and disorder” of the summit.
The group would change into or out of black clothing and disperse into crowds before and after committing offences.”The uniform look makes it difficult to identify those responsible for the criminality since virtually all persons in the Black Bloc look significantly alike,” the police review said.
In Toronto reports emerged of undercover police infiltrating protest groups in the lead up to the summit to gauge what they were planning for the event.
Police and security organisers for the Brisbane summit are making every effort to ensure history does not repeat, stopping public transport to the site, requiring any staff to be accredited, and removing potentially hazardous objects such as bins, bike racks and public seats.
Anyone found within the broad security zone with a long list of prohibited items – including mobile phones, eggs, glass jars, tins and lizards – also face arrest under laws introduced specifically for the event.
Assistant Commissioner Katarina Carroll told The Courier-Mail police were prepared for any scenario and confirmed there was information that protesters, including foreign agitators, planned to arrive early to begin their action.
“We are aware of most of the groups and groups like this, we are aware some are already speaking along these lines,” Ms Carroll said. She said police were “definitely” prepared to be aggressive against people who were violent.
“If the people that are protesting unlawfully, if they are being destructive, if there is damage caused to the property, if there is disruption to the event, we will take the affirmative action that is required,” said Ms Carroll, who will coordinate a 5000-strong police presence at G20.
“There is various tactics and Black Bloc is just one of those tactics. But there is other tactics as well.”
She said people could be prohibited before the event but no one had been banned at this stage.
Ms Carroll stopped short of saying Black Rose Syndicat would be banned but said their approach was “not the right way of going about it”.
“Irrespective of what they are saying, whether they are peaceful, if they are going to employ certain strategies, we will approach all groups that are coming to protest in Brisbane.”
At the summit transport routes will be affected, city cats may also be diverted away from some terminals at South Brisbane, a special events zone established at Brisbane Airport and fences erected around every hotel housing political heavyweights.
DISACCORDS 