(no subject)
Just witnessed a rabid ant-coca cola demo in town. About 40-50 killer-cola workers + a good 20 or so supporters were demonstrating against the company. Coca-cola has a got a dodgy history which includes the murder of Union workers in Columbia and the kidnapping of their families and the theft of an entire village's water supply in India.
The demo in Istanbul (most of which I couldn't interpret being an elementary Turkish speaker, but the gist of which I could understand) appeared to have been held by the (or a) Turkish Socialist party. There was plenty of loud chanting broken up with occasional short, angry sounding speeches.
There were plenty of press-members about to capture the occasion but their interpretation of the event is yet to be seen.
I was standing happily in the crowd, between the press and the demonstrators trying, largely in vain, to translate the various banners. I could understand one or two (one was actualy written in English).. the general gist, I think, was about workers rights. The speeches contained the words 'Impiriyizm' a good few times and 'Latin America', so I'm assuming the occasion was as much of a solidarity one as it was an expression of dissent.
There was a chap wondering around the crowd, occasionaly chatting to press members. I new exactly who he was when his concealed two-way radio starting rapping static - much to his blantant self-consciousness. Not a very good move for an undercover cop it must be said.. reminds me of Police Academy 2 when the great protaganist Mahoney is given away in his undercover mission by a dodgy 1-way radio.
I saw this cop chatting and exchanging notes with another bloke who was masquerading as a member of the press, leading me to assume him to also be bacon.
As the speech finished a giant plastic coca-cola can was burned causing a dramatic sight of the burning effergy, seeping to become one with the pavement in a humiliating half-puddle of red plastic as well as louder and more enthusiastic chants from the workers.
Of course there were shitloads of cops there. The cops in Turkey always make it a mission to outnumber any amount of protesters .. and of course they didn't fail today. There was a solid line of about 70-80 cops all in their plastic storm trooper riot gear. Shields in front of them and guns in hand.
More stuff:
killercoke.org
corporateswine.net
colombiaactionnetwork.org
corpwatch.org