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27 February ZSP held a picket in front of the busiest Green Way restaurant in Warsaw as part of boycott called against the restaurant. First people gave information about workers' rights and organization and about the problems in Greenway that led to the boycott. Then there was a picket outside this busy restaurant. The manager was upset about it and called to the director of the company to explain that their was a protest there. Although he claimed that there were no violations in his bar, it later turned out that workers there, as probably in most Green Way restaurants, are also not given statutory overtime payments.

The director of the company explained that unpaid work should not happen again in Green Way, but there is no information about how this is going to be stopped or about when people will receive their money for the time they worked for free. In addition, he claimed that the problem in Wroclaw was resolved, although we know that people haven't been paid.

The following letter was read in Belgrade, February 17 (the date of the trial):

We are here to express our solidarity with the Belgrade 6.

In the recent past we have experienced similar cases of arbitrary charges and persecutions by the State and its judicial system. Ever since the fall of the colonels' junta in 1974, the Greek State has been using the pretext of "terrorism" to repress and control political movements and strikes. In most (though not in all) cases, the accused have been anarchists who had been active in the movement in the 1980s.

In Warsaw there were two solidarity actions for the Belgrade six in recent days: on February 16 there was a picket at the Serbian Embassy and February 25 there was a demonstration organized by ZSP and WRS as part of the International Solidarity Day called for by ASI.

The demonstration, although only about 30 people, was very visible and went a couple of hours through Warsaw, stopping at many places for speeches. The police did not manage to stop the demonstration, even after it blocked an important intersection. Besides words of solidarity for the Belgrade Six, there were lots of good anti-state and anti-capitalist slogans, and everytime the demo passed some objectionable place (like Starbucks), there were some additional slogans and speeches.

The demo attracted a lot of attention and curiosity and many leaflets about the case were handed out. Some of the people had heard about it before.

Below are a few photos:

Making people work without contracts on unpaid trial periods, forced overtime and shit work conditions were exposed in Green Way vegetarian restaurants in at least 4 locations over the last couple of years.

(See:http://libcom.org/news/green-way-vegetarian-restaurant-doesnt-pay-workers-10022010)

During a recent picket of a Wroclaw restaurant where people were hired and worked illegally without pay, a former worker of the restaurant confronted the owner who simply lied and claimed the women had never worked there. Yesterday and today, a couple of workers and comrades visited Green Way to demand back pay and copies of contracts proving that they worked there. They were offered money under the table, but with no written contract or evidence of having worked there - so they refused, demanded a copy of a contract and went back today. Today the owners were more agressive, threatening to sue us if articles about them do not disappear off the internet within three days. Also, they showed on the computer some "statement" written by "satisfied workers" which presumably they will try to print to convince people that there is "no problem" in their restaurants.

On February 20, during the Berlinale Film Festival awards ceremony, members of FAU and supporters demonstrated from the Berlinale to the Babylon Cinema. The demonstration was meant to remind people of the case of Babylon where the boss refused to recognize FAU as a union, leading to a court decision banning FAU from calling itself a union and from calling for a boycott of the cinema.

A few hundred people marched in support of the union's right to exist and the workers' right to freely create and join workplace organizations without state or boss interference. Members of FAU vow to continue the stuggle and wish to challenge the restrictive laws and practice in Germany.

On February 16, 2010, The regional labor court of Berlin confirmed that the FAU (Free Workers' Union) Berlin can't call for a boycott of the Babylon Mitte Cinema. In October 2009, the same court had issued an injunction against the boycott at the behest of the cinema's bosses.

The boycott was a part of a year-old labor dispute between the Babylon and FAU Berlin members who work there - their goal being better working conditions and labor contracts. The judge, Dr Rancke, found that the FAU Berlin was not allowed to call for job action in labor disputes because it was not "mighty" enough. In Germany, unions must display a certain degree of "social might" (the amount of which is decided by judges) before they can sign labor contracts and take job action without fear of legal retribution. If a union's particular form of social might isn't accounted for in case law, which is true for the anarcho-syndicalist FAU, the union must sue for the right to take job action and sign contracts - a lengthy and costly procedure. The judge admitted that the FAU Berlin's might, might have forced the Babylon to sign a labor contract with ver.di (a union representing service workers, which has few members in the Babylon), but that he did not have the power to determine this. The judge explained that German Law - as opposed to many other countries - does not allow for "small, dexterous unions".

In the meanwhile, the case of the FAU Berlin has reached a wider audience. The hearing at the regional labor court had to be moved to a bigger room because of the crowd. Two days earlier - on Valentine's day - unionists and civil rights activists launched a petition that calls for the workers' freedom of association to be defended and the ban on the FAU Berlin's union activities to be lifted. The FAU Berlin will stage a demonstration on the 20th of February in Berlin to highlight the fact that workers should decide how they organize, not the state.

The Preobrazhensky District Court in Moscow has sentenced Vsevolod Ostapov, a student at the Russian Peoples? Friendship University (RUDN), to a one-year suspended sentence after finding him guilty of assaulting a police officer. Ostapov has announced that he will appeal the court's decision, which completely aped the version [of events advanced by police] investigators.

On April 4, 2008, seven young men were severely beaten at the Sokolniki police precinct after they had been detained outside the Sokolniki metro station. Police used billy clubs and electric shockers while making the arrest, and the young men were likewise beaten at the police station. Among those beaten was RUDN student Vsevolod (Seva) Ostapov. In August 2009 he was charged with assaulting a police officer. After the case was sent back to investigators four times for reinvestigation, it was sent to the Preobrazhensky District Court for trial.

Yesterday, February 17, the whole ugly story came to a (we hope, temporary) conclusion in a Moscow court. Below, you?ll find translations of some of the coverage in the non-state-controlled press. We begin, however, with a short video by Grani-TV.Ru filmed outside and inside the Moscow courthouse where Seva was handed a one-year suspended sentence for the crime of being savagely beaten by the police. Seva himself, his lawyer, his parents, and his defenders share their impressions of the trial before and after the sentencing. The video also includes brief footage of the judge reading out the verdict. (In Russian)

www.grani.ru/Events/m.174892.html

A couple of hundred people came to court today to attend the trial of the Belgrade 6. Despite the fact that a large room was supposed to be ordered, the court was apparently too afraid of the crowd and very few activists were let in. (The also were insisting that nobody could sit in the first row of the court and claiming the room was full.) This was a very tense situation and during this, 3 people were arrested for hanging a sign on the door reading "Anarchism is not Terrorism".

During the trial it came out that one of the six, Ivan Savic, was tortured and forced to sign a confession to yet another plot. The six were released for now and the next hearing is scheduled for March 23. There are rumours that the charges will be changed.

After the trial there was a discussion about the case with many people there. The surprise visitors to the panel discussion were Ratibor and Tadej who, as soon as they were released, showed up at the discussion. They were in a good mood; the others went home to get some rest after their ordeal.

Green Way vegetarian restaurant in Wroclaw uses illegal, unpaid labour. The restaurant on Kuznica St. makes people work for free for at least a week - people are told they have to have such a trial period. Such practices are strictly forbidden by law and is just a way for the restaurant to get free labour and increase its profits. If the people are then hired, they usually have really bad working conditions and don't last long.

This is not the first problem at Green Way - we know of problems in at least 3 other cities and we made a lot of noise about this a few years ago. We thought maybe the owners of the restaurant would get the message, but apparently not. So ZSP is going to be campaigning for them to change their ways.

French riot police evacuated migrants from a warehouse in Calais today after ministers expressed concern that the building could become a base for those trying to reach Britain.

Up to 90 migrants, mainly Afghan, had broken through a police cordon to gain access to the warehouse, which was rented by left-wing activists opposed to the French Government's immigration policies.

The incident created a political storm in France and placed the issue of migration to Britain back in the headlines

However, many of the migrants left the warehouse in search of food on their own andthe rest were evicted by about 75 police officers.

For Immediate Release: 05/02/10

Police blockade newly-opened space for migrants and activists in
Calais.

Today, despite a heavy police presence migrants successfully entered
the newly-opened Kronstadt hangar at the invitation of NoBorders
activists. The hangar is intended to be a space for
information-sharing, debate and practical solidarity.

Together, around 100 activists and migrants broke through police lines
chanting "Freedom! Freedom!". Riot police in full body protection are
currently circling the building and threatening the migrants with mass
arrests. People are currently occupying the building.

Stephane Blois, from Calais Migrant Solidarity, explains: "When the
police cleared the jungle, they used coaches like those outside the
hangar to transport hundreds of migrants to the detention centre. What
we see here tonight is another example of repressive policing where
migrants are routinely arrested and then shortly after released
shortly. We want to work together here to resist this coordinated
strategy of cross-channel oppression." (1)

The increase in opposition to the policies of the French state in
Calais are testimont to the failure of an immigration system which
rests on using police repression to drive away migrants (2). Besson?s
attempt to make the town a "migrant-free zone" can never be succesful
because it does not acknowledge the number of factors that contribute
to migration.

Today, 5th of February, anarchists, anti-authoritarians and anti-fascists chose to keep the university administration building at Propylea open, as a space of mutual coordination and struggle.- Our aim is the molding of ideas and counter-information ahead of tomorrow’s anti-fascist gathering, which has been called for at 11 am at Propylea. ---- A gathering standing against the nationalistic and racist rabble of fascist groups, which call for a gathering tomorrow at 3pm, at Propylea. A gathering juxtaposing the solidarity of the oppressed to the statist and para-statist pogroms against migrants. ---- We stand hostile against institutionalised racism, as expressed via the citizenship bill, as well as those who with their misanthropic calls aim for the physical extermination of the migrants.

According to a report by the TVXS independent news site, 124 migrants
detained at the "center" of Venna in Thrace revolted early in the morning of Tuesday, demanding to be permitted to move to nearby Komotini or other cities, as many of them were kept there for three months without any reason.

The migrants set facilities on fire and some of them wounded themselves in protest.
The prefect visited the place, then stated that their demand was in part granted and that the prefecture does its best to improve the situation.

On 6th January 2010 the police arrested 23 people in Ankara (Turkey) by using brutal force. The arrests occurred during a demonstration and press conference for the immediate release of the imprisoned military objector Enver Aydemir. One person among the arrested demonstrators has been detained: our comrade and anarchist Volkan Sevinc has been in jail for 40 days. We protest the imprisonment of Volkan Sevinc as well as the planned conviction of 19 other comrades to prison sentences between 1-10 years on the indictment "discouragement of the people from doing military service". We're going to meet on Saturday, 13 February 2010 simultaneously in Ankara and Istanbul as not yet convicted, killing-refusing antimilitarists to do another demonstration with the aim of "discouraging people of doing military service".

We invite all comrades worldwide to join us in protesting against the fact that the lives of people who oppose killing are transformed into a prison, and the fact that they are imprisoned and tortured. We invite all refusers, antimilitarists and anarchists to protest the state and its institutions by doing demonstrations and actions on 13 February 2010, for example in front of the consulates / embassies of the Turkish state. We invite you to show solidarity with our comrade Volkan Sevinc, who is exposed state terror, and with all political prisoners worldwide.

"Only in Poland!" people sigh when they hear such idiotic stories. The story of a baker from Legnic, Waldermar Gronowski, is a well-known example of the outrageous behaviour of the state.

Gronowski owes 245,000 zloties to the tax authorities. It is more than 80,000 USD, a fortune for most people in Poland. Why did Gronowski get it trouble? Did he earn money that he didn't declare?

Actually, Gronowski got in trouble because, he decided that at the end of his day at the bakery, he would give away unsold bread to the poor and homeless. And in Poland... you have to pay VAT on that.