Re-Occupy Melbourne Rally today
Posted by John, October 22nd, 2011 - under Occupy Australia, Occupy Canberra, Occupy Melbourne, Occupy Wall Street.
Federation Square (opposite Flinders Street Station)
Inspired by occupations in Wall St and around the world, Occupy Melbourne was launched on Saturday October 15.
The message of this global movement is simple; we are sick and tired of the disproportionate wealth, power and influence enjoyed by the top 1% of our society.
We are students, workers, unemployed, and homeless, and we want our voices heard for once, and by occupying City Square (cnr Swanston/Collins) we hoped to build a movement of ordinary people to change our world for the better.
Since Saturday thousands of people have participated; in the general assemblies, the direct actions, the not-for-profit food kitchen, and more. Over a hundred people have gone one step further and occupied the square every night, maintaining a visible and peaceful presence at all times.
Yet yesterday, Friday 21 October, we were attacked, evicted by the Victorian Police at the behest of the Melbourne City Council.
Approximately 60 people were arrested, with one aboriginal man hospitalised, one man tasered twice, and most of our property stolen and sent to landfill. Needless to say, our demonstration remained peaceful the entire time, and no police were injured (unless their knuckles were bruised on people’s faces).
The reasons given to the media for all of this were extremely spurious, and very few protesters were informed at the time of the eviction.
We can only assume that the real reason we were attacked is for committing the crime of standing up for the voiceless, for demanding real change, and challenging the ruling 1% in this society.
We responded by organising a massive show of solidarity throughout the day, with over a thousand demonstrators marching through the city despite being Tasered, pepper-sprayed and hospitalised by police brutality.
Yet we cannot stop there. We need to come back, show that we cannot be removed so easily, that the streets of Melbourne are ours and that we will fight for them.
So please, everyone, come back and show your determination and support for the Occupy Movement by coming to Fed Square today at 12 midday.
This content was supplied by Occupy Melbourne protesters.
An Occupy Canberra rally in solidarity with the Occupy Melbourne movement and to oppose inequality and corporate greed will be held in Canberra today (Saturday 22 October) from 12.30 pm at Petrie Plaza near the merry-go-round.
Human need, not corporate greed. Democracy, not dictatorship. Freedom, not force.