On March 22nd, anarchists in Vancouver, Canada – Occupied Coast Salish Territories, caused a disturbance at the Chilean Consulate and on the street outside. With this we send a strong embrace to our imprisoned companeros on hunger strike in $hile. 14 anarchists and comrades have been framed with conspiracy charges for incendiary explosive attacks against state and capitalist institutions. Nine began an indefinite hunger strike on February 21. Four Mapuche prisoners re-started hunger strike on March 15th.
In Vancouver, Five people shouted “For freedom! For Anarchy! Let the comrades go!”, banged on the locked door and threw leaflets in the hallway outside of the Consulate. Two people opened the door briefly to grab leaflets off the ground as we were leaving.
Meanwhile, on the street 16 floors below, a group unfurled a banner, wielded black flags and distributed leaflets. Three cops responding to a call from the consulate attempted to inform the group of their rights to protest and to locate a leader, but were met only with our cries for freedom and the chant “Cops, Pigs, Murderers”. We didn’t let our rights as “citizens” set the parameters for our actions, rather, these restrictions imposed by the State are what we seek to undermine through our struggle.
Later we reconvened to distribute information outside the Scotia Bank at Broadway and Commercial Drive. Drivers honked their horns in support and passers by showed interest. Canada’s Scotia Bank is expanding it’s investments in resource extraction on indigenous land in $hile. As Stephen McDonald, co-chief executive officer of the bank’s orgraniztion Scotia Capital put it, “We’re going to be more aggressive on that front over the coming years … We’ve been underinvested in the mining sector, so we made a commitment to growing it.” Mapuche people have been defending their land from the threat of mining for years, specifically in the Leu Leu Lake region.
As anarchists we fight to steal back the means of our existence and destroy the State and Capitalism. We act in solidarity with indigenous struggles for land and freedom as we fight against the same enemies and often share parallel goals.
The struggles of our companeros in prison is only isolated if we let it be so. Inside and outside the struggles continue.
The walls are breaking already with each act of solidarity!
OUR SOLIDARITY KNOWS NO BORDERS.
WITH LOVE, FOR FREEDOM,
Some Anarchists from Occupied Coast Salish Territories
