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Student strike - nightmare of the 1% (#14)
June 13, 2012 - 9:12am
2,600 members of arts community demand public apology from "Culture" Minister for calling red square symbol of "violence" and "intimidation"
Could someone please translate their full letter (text plus 2600 signatures is here)? Thanks!
Mouvement Etudiant Revolutionnaire/Revolutionary Student Movement: 1st National Conference Of The Students and Youth, October 2012, Toronto, Canada
http://www.mer-pcr.com/p/seize-time-blaze-revolutionary-path.html
"As the Quebec students are showing the rest of North America, it is necessary to 'seize the time' and to expand the immediate struggles against rising education and burdensome debt loads to attacking the economic foundation which gives rise to mass exploitation and oppression - to ideologically and politically attack the capitalist system and to mobilize for socialist revolution. We plan to raise hell and raise it well.."
Here are links to BC's premier internet news site's take on the student strike and a report on the 1%.
http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2012/06/13/Low-Tuition/
http://thetyee.ca/Blogs/TheHook/Rights-Justice/2012/06/12/TopOnePercent/
Culture Minister Christine St-Pierre apologizes for red square comment (but only in an "if anyone was hurt" sort of way)
Bienvenue à Montréal. Have a lovely shopping exprerience.
51st consecutive nocturnal demonstration is proceeding right now in Montréal.
Apparently it's illegal!
Vive la démocratie!
oops - wrong photo
ETA: Casseroles Canada put up a photo on their Facebook page claiming it's a photo of a rally in Mexico in solidarity with the Quebec students, but several posters say it's actually a photo of a rally in Venezuela of Chavez's opposition candidate. Gotta check these things carefully.
52nd nightly demonstration began with red square tattooing session - at $10 each - then the "illegal" march proceeded through downtown:
How the NDP Helps Suppress the Quebec Student Strike and Strengthens Harper - by Keith Jones
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/jun2012/ndpq-j15.shtml
"Canada's social democratic party, the NDP, has proclaimed itself 'neutral' in the struggle between Quebec's students and the provincial Liberal government and has remained mum on Bill 78 - draconian legislation that criminalizes the four month old student strike and places sweeping restrictions on the right to demonstrate anywhere in Quebec over any issue...This is preposterous."
A Carefully Planned Form of Theft
http://cpcml.ca/Tmld2012/D42089.htm#2
"Is this the kind of government that Quebec deserves? No! concluded the presidents of the student federations. The FEUQ's analysis is available [in english too] at www.1625canepassepas.ca/argumentaire
Quebec Student Leader Apologizes for Nazi Salute
http://www.jewishtribune.ca/news/2012/06/14/quebec-student-leader-apolog...
"A Quebec student leader ahs apologized to B'nai Brith Canada for Nazi salutes performed by protesters and promised to advise students to refrain from behaviour evocative of the Nazi regime.."
Last night, at the Francofolies festival, the four reps of the student associations took the stage with Loco Locass (a very popular group of 3 rappers) for a rendition of Libérez-nous des Libéraux! (Liberate us from the Liberals!).
Watch it here.
This video has the whole thing in decent sound.The Libérez-nous des libéraux song gets started at around 5:00. This show was attended by a huge crowd (apparently the largest crowd in Francofolies history).
ETA: that is, the intro starts around 5:00 and the actual song around 10:00 (they wove in Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit into the song).
FEUQ (the university student's federation) has its congress this weekend. Its president, Martine Desjardins, says FEUQ will be ready for an expected election call by Charest, and will engage citizens in discussion about the "catastrophic" record of his government:
Source.
The Liberal Party will launch an advertising campaign consisting of Charest speaking to the people about his record. Rumours have begun of an election call August 13, with Quebecers going to the polls September 17.
Meanwhile, CLASSE will hold town-hall meetings throughout Québec to discuss the idea of a "social strike", involving workers, students, and community groups.
Charest's ad, and more...
Anti-Protest Law Lands Canada on UN Human Rights Watchlist
http://www.rt.com/news/canada-human-rights-watchlist-058/
"The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights is set to criticize Canada for the controversial law passed by the province of Quebec to clamp down on student tuition protests. 'Moves to restrict freedom of assembly continue to alarm me, as is the case in the province of Quebec in Canada in the context of students'protests,' the commissioner is to say..."
an international scandal and still not a word from Charest's former minister now NDP leader...
Here's the actual statement from Navi Pillay, High Commissioner for Human Rights to the Human Rights Council (rather than the report by UN Watch, which seems to me to be what would be called on the Interwebs a "concern troll" organization...).
Frankfurt, Germany!
Today's incident in Québec City shows again how low the state officials have sunk.
City Council adopted an anti-demonstration bylaw similar to Montréal's, banning any assembly whose details and itinerary haven't been provided in advance to the police, and banning participation in any assembly at all between 23:00 and 05:00.
About 40 opponents of the bylaw were present in the council chambers during the vote, and demonstrated afterwards. During a verbal confrontation, Mayor Lebeaume's chief of cabinet, Louis Côté, freaked out and started shoving some demonstrators. One of them followed the mayor and his entourage, declaring that he wanted to file a complaint against Côté. Côté then ordered two cops to arrest the demonstrator, for assault. The demonstrators then proceeded outside to march, and 21 of them were arrested.
Lebeaume needs his fascist bylaw in place for the big demo of June 22 and the Fête Nationale events of June 24.
The events were captured on video:
Video and story.
I'm interested in any commentary or remarks by the Education students in Quebec regarding the actions and strike. Anything.
How's your French?
UQAM Education students' association (ADEESE)
ETA: Here's (in part) what they adopted at their special general assembly of May 23:
Pauline Marois finally removes her red square and replaces it with a fleur de lys
She says it reflects no change in her support for the students' cause, but with an election call thought to be weeks away, there are broader issues to raise. She says this isn't a "whipped" decision - PQ MNAs may continue to wear the red square if they wish.
Isn't that nice of her?
Why can't she wear both?
The Québec Human Rights Commission is investigating two complaints of discrimination against persons wearing the red square - one who was refused entry into a bar in the Québec City region, another was denied access to an enterprise selling mechanical parts. There are also reports of landlords refusing to rent to people wearing the red square.
Source.
Brigette DePape: 'It's time to take the uprising in Quebec from coast to coast to coast'
If the album cover in the OP is the one in question then the furor over violence in politics is absurd. Raiding a politicians home with cameras rolling is police state censorship and vilification of dissenters.
This was one of my favourite paintings when I went to the Louvre. Who knew it was too violent to be shown in public without causing offense.
Tonight's the night for a major protest right across the country.