June 18, 1999
Let's Get Ready To Rumble...
When the G8 gather in Koln, Germany, to forward the military march of global capitalism, we too - the people of the planet - will be gathering in resistance, liberating our desires in financial centres across the globe.
....Resistance Will Be As Global As Capital....
Across the planet, across the various and diverse movements for social change, we have come to recognise that while our oppressions are different, we are not isolated in our struggles. Our enemy is not one transnational, one individual, one group, one government. Our struggle is more than sympathetic to other movements, it is interrelated. It is global capitalism that is the root of our social and ecological sufferings, and it is global resistance that is our strength.
While June 18th is about acting in unity for the realisation of our common aims, it does not mean uniformity of tactics. This action requires the full participation of individuals and groups to organise autonomous actions co-inciding across the globe. Groups in the UK are already conspiring to occupy and transform the City of London, using their experience and tactics of their choice to create ultimate effect. From mass actions to small affinity groups, the City will be alive with wanton delight as we take our pleasures in that which excites us most against that which we despise the most.
What Might Happen...
The timetable for the day is under discussion and will continue to develop as more individuals and groups come together to share their ideas and enthusiasms. June 18th will encompass a wide range of activities: office occupations, giving out free food, street performance, leafleting, pickets, sabotage, and more more more. This is not 'Global Street Party 2' it is a number of actions, organised by a multitude of people . And everyone can do something - a few friends with a banner, an individual with spraypaint or superglue and a group trashing corporate property are all equally desirable. As as well as the autonomous smaller actions there will also be mass actions to be involved in.
To Date...
Through monthly meetings with activists from different groups, networking has begun.Information has already been distributed widely. 20,000 leaflets have been produced and distributed. Talks, discussions and workshops have been undertaken by individuals from the London meetings everywhere from Anarchist groups to student conferences. A number of groups whether from within the direct action movement and from mainstream organisations, are already discussing the ways and means to participate in this action.
Outside of our island networking has been equally intense. The proposal for action has been translated into a number of languages, and correspondence is underway with, amongst others; indigenous Colombian groups, international hacktivists, Radical French unemployed groups, the anti-MAI network, and activists in Bombay, Sydney, Tel Aviv, New York and Prague. It also coincides with a tour of Indian farmers/activists in Europe in resistance against the WTO and transnationals.
To Do...
- Distribute leaflets, write your own or get those already produced from RTS or London Greenpeace.
- Make stickers and stick them where you like.
- Write articles in zines, newsletters, rags and papers plugging June 18 and explaining why your group is involved.
- Join the email discussion list -j18Discussion@gn.apc.org. Subscribe by emailinglistproc@gn.apc.orgwith "subscribe june 18 your name" in subject box. And PARTICIPATE in it.
- Organise meetings and invite all potentially interested parties in your area to discuss, debate and network ideas and realities.
- Start dreaming up outrageous and possible ideas in an affinity group or as part of a larger network. Pick an issue. Pick a target. Plot an action.
Dates before June...
Prepare for J18 discussions at the Earth First! Winter gathering in January.
Come and share your ideas and participate in workshops at the open meeting in London in February.
Plan an info week in your area for the last week of May - last minute inspiration for June 18th!
Contact: RTS, 0171 2814621, rts@gn.apc.org or London Greenpeace, 0171 7131269.