[kj] Blindness

[death wish]

I don't remember "us" losing the right of protest.

I've witnessed firsthand the agitation the police themselves will use to 
escalate a peaceful situation, so they can then "respond" to 
"troublemakers". It's an old, old tactic. There are written rules of 
engagement which are routinely ignored. That's not to say all protesters are 
angels, but please apportion blame where it's due. Whoever was operating the 
water cannon in question and whoever gave the order to use the water cannon 
should certainly have their feet held to the fire, if not literally.

T.




>From: "Tim Bucknall" <tim.bucknall at googlemail.com>

>Reply-To: "A list about all things Killing Joke (the 

>band!)"<gathering at misera.net>

>To: "A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!)" 

><gathering at misera.net>

>Subject: Re: [kj] Blindness

>Date: Fri, 15 Jun 2007 17:13:28 +0100

>

>Don't Blame the cops, blame the troublemakers who's stupid actions have 

>lost

>us the right of protest

>

>On 15/06/07, Change <crackedmachine at yahoo.co.uk> wrote:

>>

>>A LIVERPOOL man was blinded in one eye by a police

>>water cannon as he

>>staged a protest at the G8 summit in Germany.

>>

>>The 33-year-old from Aigburth spoke exclusively to the

>>Daily Post of

>>the horror and pain of being directly hit in the face

>>with the

>>powerful jets by officers he claimed were using the

>>crowd control

>>devices as weapons.

>>

>>The protester, a member of Liverpool's Social Forum,

>>is suffering

>>from shock and witnesses to the incident, which

>>occurred at the

>>protest in the Baltic Sea resort of Heiligendamm on

>>Thursday, said

>>they saw his eye come out of its socket.

>>

>>Speaking last night from the Eye Unit at the Royal

>>Liverpool

>>Hospital, the victim, who wishes only to be called

>>Matt, said a CAT

>>scan had revealed he had sustained internal bleeding,

>>extensive

>>damage to his Iris and possible damage to his retina.

>>

>>Doctors have now told the keen reader, cyclist and

>>amateur

>>photographer, that he will face future operations,

>>cataracts, and

>>glaucoma.

>>

>>They told him that because of the internal bleeding it

>>would be

>>between six to eight weeks before they could assess

>>the damage to his

>>retina but warned that permanent harm had been caused

>>and that he

>>will never fully regain the vision in that eye.

>>

>>Matt said: "I went to Germany to take part in a

>>peaceful protest and

>>to be honest at the start of the day there was a very

>>jolly, almost

>>carnival, atmosphere.

>>

>>"There were three lines of police and all of a sudden

>>things got more

>>aggressive.

>>

>>"There were a few baton charges so all the protesters

>>just linked

>>arms and stood firm. It was all still very peaceful.

>>

>>"I have never seen water cannons before and all of a

>>sudden there

>>were eight or nine of them. The police made an

>>announcement in German

>>but none of us understood it and then we were fired

>>at.

>>

>>"I was knocked to the floor at first and then when I

>>got up I was hit

>>right in the face.

>>

>>"The pain was incredible. My eye had come out and I

>>just ran off

>>holding it to find an ambulance."

>>

>>Matt was one of seven protesters and a German

>>journalist who were

>>taken to Rostock University Hospital with eye

>>injuries.

>>

>>He said one protester had also been knocked

>>unconscious by the water

>>cannons and another suffered a perforated ear drum.

>>

>>Matt added: "They were using water cannons as weapons,

>>which they are

>>not supposed to do.

>>

>>"Their actions were deliberate and vindictive and

>>completely

>>unnecessary.

>>

>>"I went there to express my feelings peacefully as I

>>am entitled to

>>do. What they did to me was absolutely dis- graceful.

>>Doctors can't

>>believe what they have done to me.

>>

>>"The German activists we spoke to said they have never

>>before seen

>>the police use this type of water cannon or fire at

>>people heads."

>>

>>Matt added that he was going to take advice about

>>suing the German

>>police and will campaign for a stop to water cannons

>>being fired at

>>protesters' heads.

>>

>>Liverpool Daily Post - June 11th

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>INTERZONE

>>http://www.augustineleudar.110mb.com/Interzone.htm

>>

>>RTX, Kristin Hersh, Githead, Shellac, Michael Gira & the Dirty Three

>>interviewed here:

>>www.perfectsoundforever.com

>>

>>Polysics interviewed here:

>>www.cultcargo.net

>>

>>

>>      ___________________________________________________________

>>Yahoo! Answers - Got a question? Someone out there knows the answer. Try

>>it

>>now.

>>http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/

>>_______________________________________________

>>Gathering mailing list

>>Gathering at misera.net

>>http://four.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/gathering

>>




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