Report of a mayday rally in Quebec-city in solidarity with all the Summit political prisonners.

Quebec-city, mayday -- I am just comming back from our anticapitalist mayday in solidarity with the political prisonners in Quebec. Shit! I am really energized!!

We gathered at the Parc de l'Amérique Française with about 2 to 300 protesters, all of them (except one representative from CLAC) from Quebec-city. Our demands where quite simple: 1/ Free all remaining political prisonners and 2/ General Amnesty for every one. In itself, the number of people was huge and beyond my expectation. However, as we marched pass Saint-Jean, the march litteraly double in size. People kept joining in to the shout of "SO! SO! SO! SOLIDARITÉ! AVEC! AVEC! AVEC! LES PRISONNIERS!" (Solidarity with the prisonners). So, when we turned at the Côte d'Abraham, we were in between 500 and 700 people.

Originaly, we planed on finishing the march at l'îlot fleuri but instead people at the front shout "Au Palais de justice! Au Palais de justice!" (to the court house, to the court house!), so that's what we did. We lasted there for about half an hour and then made it to l'îlot fleuri. I think the party is still going there (it's 9:20 PM now).

The march in itself was really spirited and, altough clearly youth dominated, was made up of all kind of people (people in there 60's, mom's with kids, couple, etc.). Several groups outside CASA seem to have mobilise for it (several student affinity groups more or less linked to CASA, people from OQP-2001, leftists groups, welfare right unions, citizen committee, etc.). It was really funny to see people taking proudly our placard with slogan such as "Merci au Black Bloc!" (thanks to the black bloc!) and other anticapitalists and anarchists slogans. Except for one cuban flag, another red one and the banner of OQP-2001 and Comité populaire, all the other banners and flags where anarchists.

Some pictures should be on indymedia soon.

* * *

As far as politics goes, everything is well right now. As we expected, the fact that CASA mooved fast forced everyone else to rally to our own position. Indeed, OQP-2001 simply took our demands and made them there's (they even did a press conference calling people to come to our rally and glued up posters with our slogan and rally point). They even call on people to give money to us!! They say that we should centralise all the money in our bank account (they only ask us to say in our propaganda that they to are part of that effort). The same goes for some unions. Today, there was another rally at noon (300 unionists) and the union of public employee called for our rally and gave speech about freeing Jaggi Singh and all the other political prisonners. I was amazed by that. It seems that the differences between non-violence and diversity of tactics where cleared during the summit and that more groups are willing to take position similar to ours (altough still calling themself "non-violent").

As for our campain, we did print a leaflet friday (I sent the communique in french earlyer this week) and distribute some 4000 copies of it (most of, if not all of it, in the Saint-Jean-Baptiste neighboorhood, going door to door and distributing it saturday and Sunday on Saint-Jean). The OQP communique is clearly based on it. We also glued up 500 posters for the protests (all local shop I asked on Saint-Jean agree to dispaly it, a dozen puting it directly in their windows!!). Right now, people are really angry at the police. Imagine, to add insult to injury, local people where forced to clean the parks of the hood themself (there was lots of leafs full of tear gaz and kids cannot play there, so local radical people took on themself to clean them).

We plan on an international day of actions between 22 and 24th of may (start of Germinal trial) with a mass rally in Quebec-city on may 22th).

* * *

As far as money goes, you can still send us check or money order made out to "CASA" and send them at "Le Maquis, C.P. 48026, 110 boul René Lévesque, Québec (Québec), G1R 2R5, Canada". From the USA, you can also make checks payable to:

Lower East Side Fund

Mail to:
Natalie K. Williams
2078 Second Avenue #3B
New York, NY 10029

These donations will be forwarded -- 100% -- to CLAC (the Anti-Capitalist Convergence) and CASA (the Welcoming Committee of the Summit of the Americas), two of the main organizers of the Quebec City protests. www.quebec2001.net

* * *

Finaly, you can write to the political prisonners in Quebec-city. Jaggi adress is:

Jaggi Singh, msl 50002499
Centre de détention de Québec
500, rue de la Faune
C.P. 7130
Charlesbourg, Québec
G1G 5E4
Canada

For the people from Germinal you can write them by writing their names and date of birth as follow:

Mario Bertoncini, 04.2.78
Alex Boissonneault, 14.4.79
Roman Pokorski, 09.11.78
Victor Quentin, 23.2.80
Serge Vallée, 03.8.79

Send your letter to the following adress :

Centre de détention de Québec
500, rue de la Faune
C.P. 7130
Charlesbourg, Québec
G1G 5E4 Canada

As always, it is advice to keep in mind that all letters will be read by the prison administration first and that these people are poors (so send paper, enveloppe and stamps if you want a reply).

* * *

That's about it.

In solidarity

Nicolas Phébus
Groupe Emile-Henry (NEFAC-Quebec)
Individual member of CASA
both personnal capacity.

[first publish on A-Infos]