riot – DISACCORDS

Yogyakarta: Repression against anarchists following the May Day anti-feudal demonstration

3 May – Yesterday, 44 of our comrades were arrested accused of property destruction, provocation, and fighting with the police. Night legal team tried to reached them but still cant make it, as they have been isolated (02.05.18)
– One of the Legal Aid was arrested and beaten.
– Until now our 12 comrades are still imprisoned and the police continuing the witch hunt.

International solidarity for arrested comrades by whatever means necessary!

Communique

Although this is an exclusive communique towards Yogyakarta or Indonesians in general, we call for international pressure and solidarity against this rotten feudal system that still exist in this century!

Greetings to the beloved people of Yogyakarta, those who vilify our demonstration which was intentionally intended to censure the institution of Kraton in Yogyakarta.

Believe us when we say that we already knew, even since before we carried out our demonstration, that there would be an antipathy from the public towards our demonstration. It is very understandable. Feudalism creates this belief that kings and the royals are like half-divine beings; their authority is sacred and self-justified. Someone becomes a ruler in a feudal system because they happened to be born in the right family: the royal family. The whole feudal territory is the property of the king and his royal family, and the people are just occupants who can be evicted any time at the king’s will.

The system is perpetuated by, among other things, this irrational belief towards the feudal rule. In Yogyakarta, feudalism is what makes Yogyakarta “special”. Politically, this special status means Yogyakarta is not governed by an elected governor like other provinces in Indonesia. Instead, the region is governed by a governor who is also a Sultan. Socio-culturally, this special status has another meaning; it gives a false sense of pride to the people of Yogyakarta. Yogyakarta is special because it is ruled by a Sultan, and the people are proud about it.

How is being ruled by someone with an unchecked power something that you can take pride of? What is so proudful from being a subordinate of another human being, solely because they were born in the royal family?

Our demonstration was not meant to draw sympathy. If drawing sympathy was what we were aiming, we wouldn’t have done a demonstration that disturbed the reproduction of social values like what we did. No, our demonstration was not intended for that. We are not a political party, a“leftist” organization, an NGO, or the proponents of the incumbent rulers or their oppositions, who need people’s endorsement and sympathy.

WE ARE ALSO NOT PART OF PMII; FAIZI ZAIN AND HIS CRONIES WHO EXPECTED A RIOT TO LIFT THEIR AGENDA OF OVERTHROWING JOKOWI FOR THE BENEFITS OF THEIR POLITICAL MASTERS! THEY ARE POWER BROKERS! WE ARE NOT!

Our demonstration was meant to disturb the circulation of capital in Yogyakarta. We intentionally want to create a non-condusive situation for capital investment, be it national or foreign, that will intensify the development and gentrification that disenfranchise the middle and lower class people in Yogyakarta.

We had guessed that the public would be infuriated by our vandalism and provocative calls.

The destruction of one police post and the call to “murder the Sultan!” have massively angered the people of Yogyakarta. The anger is absent when the police repeatedly, with violence, is at the front line of conflicts between people’s interests and the rulers’, on the side of the rulers’ of course, like the one in Temon, Kulonprogo, where there is an on-going process of land-grabbing by the Sultan through the legitimization of Sultan Ground/Pakualaman Ground, a feudal land ownership system, on behalf of the expansion of tourism industry capital. The anger is also absent when the inhabitants of the urban kampungs (informal settlements, slums) have to deal with water shortage, caused by the usage of ground water by hotels and apartments, which construction is being intensified, under the blessing of the Sultan of course.

That call to “murder the Sultan!” that have angered some people of Yogyakarta, whether we wrote down the call or not, whether the call was literal or symbolic, has its own importance in rattling the authority of the Sultan in Yogyakarta, which is seemingly sacred and unquestionable; a power with no control mechanism because it is protected by “faith” towards the Sultan’s self-justified authority. This “faith” is responsible for the disenfranchisement of the people. Soon er or later, you who are reading this will probably be disenfranchised by the “development” in Yogyakarta too. A “development” for the interests of the Sultan and his cronies; local and national corporations; domestic and foreign invetors.

Yes, the Sultan is one of the main orchestrators of many problems in Yogyakarta; eviction, land-grabbing, gentrification, and the development that disenfranchise middle and lower class people. The Sultan and his royal family, and also his cronies, are the ones who dominate every economic aspect in Yogyakarta.

Yogyakarta is one of the most economically unequal provinces in Indonesia. The development in Yogyakarta is not carried out for the interests of the people, but for the interests of the ruling class: the capitalists and the feudals. In Yogyakarta, the two vile sytems are having an affair, while crushing the people under; those who aren’t the royals and are the middle and lower class.

Mothers, aren’t you tired of having to visit your children at prisons, twice a week, who probably had to steal or rob people just to survive? And the reason why they are in these overpopulated prisons in Yogyarta is the deeply rooted poverty that is prevalent in Yogyakarta. Does your Sultan care?

And then, are we gonna keep fooling ourselves, thinking to ourselves that everything is fine? Or even, “special”?

We have no interest in being admired. We are not a political party who need people’s votes on elections.

We are just people who are sick. Sick of everything that is going on around us and how the people are lulled by this false consciousness, telling them that everything is fine.

We’re calling to the middle and lower class people, intellectuals, artists, academics, those who claim to be liberals and moderates, and others who choose to be “neutral”. Do you remember the historical event that gave birth to the concept of modern nation-state? The period that you call the Enlightenment Period, where the kings, queens, and the royals were guillotined at the Place de la Révolution. Didn’t it create what you call as democracy?

We don’t mean to repeat or glorify history. The democracy that you uphold and sell out is not bringing us anywhere other than to poverty, ecological degradation, and disfranchisement.

We are the libertarians. We are what you call as anarchists. We dream of a world where people cooperate with each other, work together, rule over themselves, in a horizontal way, without rulers, the royals, political contract, social contract, or the capitalists. We want a life in its truest form, where human’s natural desires are in tune with nature; a life without class, racial, ethnic, religious, and other false divides.

We are what you call utopists.

We want a free society without oppressors. We want a society where people can have any beliefs, sexual orientations, or anything without fearing being persecuted.
Total freedom!

– The Anarchists

Adelaide: Pizza delivery ends riot at high security jail

23 Aug 2017 – A riot broke out at Yatala Labour Prison in South Australia about 3.30pm on Tuesday in the B Division of the high security jail.

The eight-hour riot eventually ended with prisoners demanding guards order them Domino’s Pizzas to end the violence.

Prisoners barricaded themselves inside a cell, lit fires with matches, ripped cell doors off the hinges and smashed appliances before reportedly negotiating with guards to end the protest in exchange for 20 pizzas.

Authorities announced the protest ended shortly before midnight, around the time the pizza delivery car arrived at the prison.

When probed about the delivery, the Domino’s delivery man told journalists that ‘a variety of different pizzas’ were ordered.

Special Tasks and Rescue officers were called to the prison to assist guards with negotiations. Authorities insisted the delivery was ordered for the guards and not for the rioting inmates.

No staff or prisoners were injured during the riot, but there was significant damage to the precinct, with at least 23 beds rendered unusable.

Correctional Services Department Chief Executive David Brown said the riot started because some of the prisoners were unhappy with arrangements to move them to another area within the prison.

South Australia police said they were investigating the incident. Saying the prisoners responsible could face charges or be moved to a different prison.

Prisoners involved were transferred to the maximum security division of the prison on Wednesday.

Perth: Riot police pelted with bricks at wild party

Several police cars were damaged as police tried to break-up an out–of-control party.

19 April 2017 – Police officers called to break-up a party in Perth’s south have been pelted with bottles and bricks.

The officers were called to a home on Murchison Road in Waikiki around 11.25pm on Tuesday night after receiving reports of several men fighting.

It will be alleged as police went to assist one group of people, bottles, bricks and wooden stakes were thrown at them.

Several police cars received minor damage as an out of control gathering was declared.

Riot squad officers attended to disperse the crowd, with bricks and other items thrown at their shields.

A 22-year-old Baldivis man has been charged with criminal damage and a 16-year-old Caversham boy will be summonsed to appear in court at a later date for trespassing.

Riots break out in Papua New Guinea

24 March 2017 – The head of the Salvation Army in Papua New Guinea says riots that swept through the main streets of capital city Port Moresby on Friday caused “great devastation” to people who already had so little.

Territorial Commander Colonel Kelvin Alley said he watched on helplessly as vital community services like the supermarket, medical centre, dentist and chemist burnt to the ground.

“These places where people had jobs, jobs that were probably the only income to a large extended family. Gone,” he said in a statement on Friday.

“The street rumour is that the fire was started deliberately.

“If so, it is a crime against people who every day face the injustices of poverty and deprivation, who often seek out a living on the streets and markets, but who depend on these vital services.”

Col Alley said although the situation had eased, the city’s Boroko region had experienced “great devastation”.

“Now that calm has been restored, we are left with this terribly empty feeling due to the totally unnecessary loss and destruction of not just buildings, but buildings that represent vital services to people who desperately need them,” he said.

Col Alley described looting during the riots as “astounding”, with hundreds of people taking part in order to get their hands on free goods.

It’s unclear what prompted the riots.

Kathy Testh, who works at the Mapang Missionary Home a few blocks away from the riots, told AAP she woke up to the sound of gunshots.

Ms Testh said she drove to a meeting only to return to find the main roads cordoned off and being manned by armed guards, to stop more people entering the area.

Col Alley said several Salvation Army staff had taken ill after smoke inundated the buildings, located on the same street as the riots.

“Almost the entire business block across the road has been destroyed, unnecessarily by raging fires, rampant looting and out of control crowds,” he said.

He said the Salvation Army was committed to supporting the community to rebuild.

Sydney: Seven arrested after riot against cops

19 March 2017 – Four men and two women have been charged with various offences after allegedly rioting against police who were trying to break up a fight in Sydney’s inner west.

The group of men and women ignored police orders to move on when officers arrived at the Leichhardt street early Sunday.

A riot soon broke out after some of the members tried to stop police attempting to arrest a man who allegedly tried to grab an officer’s gun.

The group was pepper-sprayed but started throwing beer bottles towards police and their cars.

Seven of them were arrested after the riot squad was called in.

Four men were charged with affray and various other offences including resisting police and malicious damage.

One woman was charged with affray and another was charged with assaulting police.

A 25-year-old man was released pending further inquiries.

Malmsbury: Riot police storm juvenile prison to suppress riot

Inmates during the riot at Malmsbury.

12 Jan – A riot at the Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre came to a dramatic end on Thursday night, with heavily armed police storming the facility.

Six inmates were arrested after rioting at the facility.

Teenagers at the Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre during the riot.

Police were called to Malmsbury at 1.50pm after the inmates armed themselves with metal poles and locked themselves in a secure exercise yard.

The situation came to a head shortly before 6.30pm, when heavily armed riot police carrying shields stormed the facility.

Six inmates were arrested and brought out by the riot police shortly after.

Riot police prepare to enter Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre.

A police spokeswoman said the six inmates would be interviewed on Thursday night, with control of the facility due to be handed back to prison guards.

The whole centre had been put in lockdown to prevent any trouble spreading, sources said. The centre has capacity for 135 juvenile inmates, and is close to full at present.

A Department of Health and Human Services spokesman said the perimeter of the centre was secure. He said the incident was safely resolved without any injuries to staff or young people.

Teenagers inside Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre.

The incident is the latest in a string of riots to hit the state’s youth justice centres.

Last September, rioting prisoners scaled the roof of the Malmsbury centre, about 100 kilometres north-west of Melbourne.

Violence erupted again at the facility in October, when a group of youths ripped benches from their fittings and armed themselves with metal legs before taunting guards.

Also last year, the Parkville Youth Justice Centre was crippled so badly by rioting teens that some units were left inoperable. The Andrews government moved some teen inmates from Parkville to a unit at the notorious Barwon prison for adults.

That initial move was found to be illegal by the Supreme Court – the government has since re-gazetted the Grevillea unit to allow for teens to be held there.

Melebourne: Youths transferred to adult prison after more riots at Parkville youth justice centre

Police and paramedics at the Parkville youth justice centre

9 Jan – Seven young people have been transferred out of Melbourne’s troubled Parkville youth justice centre, some to Barwon Prison, after rioting for six hours overnight.

Paramedics and police, including dog handlers, were called to the centre on Park Street on Parkville shortly after 8:00pm.

Families and Children Minister Jenny Mikakos said a group of six inmates broke away during a sporting activity before accessing a roof cavity and freeing another detainee.

“[The group] broke away from staff. They then managed to gain access to one of the units, and gain entry into the roof cavity of that unit,” she said.

“Whilst they were in the roof cavity, they managed to free one of their co-detainees out of his locked cell.”

Ms Mikakos said the incident was resolved by about 1:30am and no-one was injured.

Ian Lanyon, director of secure services at the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), said 13 beds were damaged, taking the facility’s number of usable beds to about 50.

“We hope to have [those beds] repaired in the next few days and that unit fully back online,” he said.

The youths had been playing basketball before they absconded, Mr Lanyon added.

Before November’s riots, Parkville had a 123-bed capacity.

Some of the seven youths transferred were taken to the Grevillia Unit at Barwon Prison — a maximum security adult jail.

The others were sent to another youth justice centre at Malmsbury, about 100 kilometres north-west of Melbourne.

Police dog handler at Parkville Youth Justice Centre

A DHHS spokesperson said damage was being assessed and police were investigating.

“There were no injuries to young people, staff or police and at no point was there a threat to the security of the perimeter of the facility,” a statement read.

“Damage to the facility will be assessed with repair work to start as soon as this is completed.”

The State Government has been holding young people at the Grevillia Unit since November, after about 40 inmates rioted at the Parkville facility for 17 hours, ripping apart walls, windows and ceiling and destroying equipment.

The riot caused hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage and left much of the centre unusable.

The Supreme Court last month ruled that it was illegal to house juvenile detainees at the Grevillia Unit on human rights grounds.

However, the Government said it addressed the court’s concerns and again gazetted the prison unit as a youth justice centre on December 29, allowing it to keep youths there indefinitely.

Opposition Families and Children spokeswoman Georgie Crozier said it was clear young people being held at Parkville were not concerned about being transferred to Barwon.

“The young offenders were moved to Barwon because they trashed Parkville so extensively that they were incapable of living there,” she said.

“And still, even after that, even after young offenders have been transferred to Barwon, riots continue.

Melbourne: Riot police quell another disturbance at Parkville youth justice centre

Police say several of the teens were involved in an overnight robbery.

8 Jan – Police say they have quelled a disturbance at the youth justice centre at Parkville in Melbourne overnight.

A police spokeswoman said officers were called to the centre on Park Street about 8:00pm on Saturday.

She said a number of units had remained at the scene overnight, including the critical incident response team, riot police and the dog squad.

A State Government spokesman said he was unable to comment on the operation.

No further information was available.

The incident is the latest in a series of disturbances at the facility.

In November, the State Government moved more than a dozen juvenile inmates to a maximum security adult prison after a riot caused up to $1 million in damages.

The decision to send the juveniles to the Barwon Prison was found to be unlawful, leading the state to re-gazette a unit within the prison as a youth justice facility.

PNG: Police, students clash; 23 injured

8 June – Police in Papua New Guinea fired gunshots Wednesday to quell a student protest demanding the prime minister’s resignation, the government said. The country’s police commissioner said nearly two dozen people were injured, but denied reports that as many as four people were killed.

Students in the South Pacific nation have been demanding for weeks that Prime Minister Peter O’Neill resign because of alleged corruption and mismanagement.

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said she had been advised by the Australian embassy that police shot students in Port Moresby, the capital, as hundreds prepared to march from the University of Papua New Guinea to Parliament.

“I know that students have been shot, but we’re still trying to determine whether there have been deaths and how many have been injured,” Bishop told reporters. “We call on all sides to be calm and to de-escalate the tension and certainly call on all sides to respect the peaceful and lawful right to protest.”

Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported that a Papua New Guinea lawmaker told Parliament that four students had been killed and seven wounded.

Continue reading “PNG: Police, students clash; 23 injured”

Jakata: Police Officers Injured as Inmates Take Control of Gorontalo Prison

2 June – Rioting inmates temporarily took control of the Gorontalo Prison in Gorontalo, Sulawesi, after attacking prison officials and police officers and inciting a melee that lasted from Tuesday night to the early hours of Wednesday (01/06). Two police officers were injured during the incident.

Gorontalo Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Bagus Santoso told Detik.com the trigger for the incident was an altercation between police officer 2nd Brig. Kurniawan Noho and an inmate, Edy Sukamidin, which happened when the latter refused to attend a court hearing for an assault case on Tuesday afternoon.

Other inmates helped Edy fight the police officer. Shortly after, Kurniawan was rushed to the hospital with severe wounds in his thigh and calf after being stabbed repeatedly.

The incident caused a riot which lasted throughout the night and well into the early hours of Wednesday. The inmates managed to take control the prison just before dawn after a series of clashes with security officers.

Prison officials and police officers were evacuated from the scene for safety reasons.

Another police officer was also injured after prisoners pelted rocks and shot makeshift arrows at police officers taking guard outside the prison.

Police finally managed to subdue the rioters on Wednesday morning. “We have taken back control of the prison,” police spokesman Bagus said.

Bagus said police are searching the prison for sharp weapons to prevent more clashes, meanwhile Edy the provocateur will soon be moved to the North Sulawesi Police’s detention facility.