No Pasaran! Anti-fascist blockade in Warsaw

Report on an anti-fascist blockade in the city of Warsaw, Poland, bu anarchists and others, attempting to block a march by an anti-semitic, fascist group.

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No Pasaran! Anti-fascist blockade in Warsaw

On 11 November 2008 the extreme right-wing group National Radical Camp (ONR) made a demonstration in the streets of Warsaw to celebrate a patriotic holiday. The ONR is an anti-semitic fascist group, which celebrates the pogrom in Myslenic as a national holiday. They are extreme nationalists and have contacts with other neo-nazi groups. The ONR holds a lot of demonstrations. They planned a large demonstration for 11 November in Warsaw and anti-fascists decided to organize a blockade.

The crowd of anti-fascists was not very big because they were divided into two groups: the anti-fascists who wanted tough action and those who wanted only civil disobedience. This last group decided to blockade the street where the fascist march was due to take place.

About 150 people, mostly anarchists, went on the blockade, with about half as many marching with the ONR. More anti-fascists patrolled the area. The anti-fascists jumped into the street with banners: NO PASARAN and WARSAW FREE OF FASCISTS. The atmosphere was very heated. Large numbers of police arrived to block the anti-fascists, with a helicopter, water-cannons and a lot of other police equipment. They blocked the anti-fascists and other people for three hours. But, the fascists were forced to stop their march, though the police protected them and escorted them on a different route. Some ordinary Warsavians yelled to the police to let the anti-fascists go and some even joined the blockade. After protecting the fascists, the police cynically claimed that they were "protecting" the anti-fascists and that they had surrounded them only because somebody had thrown a bottle at them.

Nobody was arrested at the action but police did take the names of all those who were surrounded by the police cordon, so it is possible that future action could be taken against the participants.

Photos: http://cia.bzzz.net/foto_z_demo_antyfaszystowskiego
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKAfYlnxGM0

Report compiled from personal reports and report published on the Centrum Informacji Anarchistycznej website.