Possibly the most offensive thing about the discussion over Copenhagen is this raging desire for more discussion – there seemed to be little ecological concern for the trees present in the mountain of literature being flung about at the convergence centres and kitchens during the summit. It is offensive because it’s all so straightforward: people go to these things and kick off because they find the damage the rule of the rich does is really, really aggravating. A smaller group goes to these things because they find the rule of the rich alone is positively infuriating. As long as there is a radical left that believes change comes from the working class, then it will attend the summits of the rich and oppose them to varying degrees.
And so they should. The obvious photo-call for libertarian socialism that these demonstrations present should be taken. In a straightforward way, it was Denmark’s own Libertaere Socialister (no marks for originality) who called a block on the main protest and were joined by Norway’s Counterpower and Sweden’s Syndicalist Youth Federation (the youth wing of the SAC union), and after our entire block was pre-emptively arrested, good media work was done. With radio, television and newspaper interviews about the illegitimate power of the police, LS seem to be off to a flying start. In a vaguer, slightly whimsical way, it was good that militant dissent did take place. Anyone looking hard enough will know that it was there and that it exists. They won’t know its programme or get its message (because collectively, there isn’t one) but physical opposition partly legitimises itself just by existing. Put it this way: you don’t ask yourself if it’s okay to save the planet by torching cop cars if no one is torching cop cars.
In the event, militancy plucked a particularly bitter fruit. What might have been ‘Seattle’s 10th Birthday’ was more like ‘G20 Meltdown – The Sequel’ as disruption that had-not-even-happened-yet inspired a truly phenomenal police crackdown for a modern European softie state like Denmark.
Cops took great delight in their tourist-guide-meets-nazi routine – one minute they were wishing you a pleasant protest (without a hint of the sarcasm that a British bobby couldn’t resist) and the next they were indiscriminately CS-spraying trapped crowds. In a beautiful scene, the whole world witnessed them beating actual delegates in suits as they tried to leave the conference centre.
However the defining image of the summit will be the mass arrest of 900 people on the peaceful demonstration on 12th December. A section of the march was blocked both in front and behind by a sudden police charge. Everyone sat on the floor with their hands cable-tied and denied toilet access. They were then taken to specially built cages and held for 12 hours before being released without charge.
On the television news reports the head of the operation said they were not detaining the 900 for any actual crimes, but to prevent crimes they might later commit – and to put off other people who were thinking about committing crimes!
Although my Danish friends initially said this would not turn into a scandal as most of the country supported the police action, it cannot become anything but a scandal and a reference point for Danish politics. If there is any debate on the legitimacy of the police and what their role is, then this is perfect ammunition.
It is odd to admit, but on top of a decent enough crack at the whole counter-summit thing, the police action is the biggest and most valuable event of the week. It was just so unhinged.
The trick to having a good experience – even if you were held without charge or savaged by dogs – was to go with honest expectations. Being an outspoken negatron is not needed and will win you few friends: the way to talk about setting up a long-term movement with people in short-term affinity groups is to do it from inside their affinity groups. A good way to explain how voting is a lot easier than ‘consensus’ is to participate in consensus, then evaluate how it went with others. If you come with the open intention to have a good time but still get involved with the slightly silly activities, you have the chance to meet people who are willing to take action – an extremely valuable resource as people willing to sleep in a school hall and fight police in Copenhagen are likely to also be willing to stay up all night to fend off bailiffs in the UK. The one sure way to avoid disappointment is to take a walk straight through the reams of material on the Zen of Teargas and the Art of Lock-Ons and accept that thousands of people trying to disrupt capitalism’s zenith is a nice enough message on its own.
People on the left with a longer gameplan than a year spent organising One Big Riot, class struggle anarchists particularly, need to accept that actions are clearly still a big draw, and even those that really should know better will turn up. Rather than telling everyone, again, what a waste of time it is, we need to absorb the elements that make the big days out fun into our own projects. There is always a place for disobedient and boisterous demos, for occupations and street theatre (the proper rabble-rousing kind, not the ‘dyed my dreads pink and have a drum’ kind).
In December 2008, thirty angry Santas from the London Coalition Against Poverty stormed the Royal Back of Scotland, even getting into one trading floor – exactly the way to move on to the ‘old’ class struggle whilst keeping the best parts of the ‘new’.
Keith Hallack
