Open letter to Planka.
Hi Planka. I just wanted to tell you that the Massplankning event the other day was one of the worst public actions I've ever been too. Not because there were not so many people participating or that there were something wrong with the idea. Everything was fine here.
But because of how you reacted when two people got arrested during the action.
The situation was as following: all participants wenе in to the subway on T-Centalen, wenе down to the blue line and took a train to Kungstädgården. At the station everybody went towards one the exits shouting slogans. Suddenly several guards ran through the procession and grabbed someone. We rushed there to see what was happening. Two people where pushed against the wall by four guards. Some crowd surrounded them questioning them when the fuck they were doing. Guards answered that they presumed that those people where putting stickers in the subway, that's why they were going to arrest them for vandalism (skadegörelse).
Suddenly this woman showed up, I assume she was one of the organizers, since she's on your pictures, and started talking friendly to one of the guards. After this she said to the crowd: "There's no need to stay here - we continue the action. I know this guy, he's actually a nice person".
We couldn't believe our ears. What the fuck was she saying? Two of our friends were being arrested with perhaps false allegations, one of them was actually a 14 years old - a child, and you say "let's go forward, it's not important". What kind of attitude is that? Did you not know yourself what the subway guards do sometimes with people in their rooms? Do you not have an article on your website about "safety in the public transport"? How could this woman say that the guard "was a nice guy" if he just by his own will decided to put two young people into trouble?
Luckily there were a couple of people who decided to stay and follow the guards to make sure that there were no abuse happening. The captured activists were held in a small room without working ventilation for about two hours until police came to interrogate them. After this one of them got released and a 14-year old was held longer until his father arrived.
I believe that if other participants in the action took a bit more active position while the arrest was happening - probably it could have been completely avoided.
Of course I realize that Planka cannot be responsible for the actions of other people. But you cannot fail to realize that you are organizing a confrontational action and things can happen to people. Especially when most of the participants are 15-year old minors. So the safety and legal matters at least should be discussed with the participants before they go out on the action.
It would very much make sense to have a legal team whose number participants could write down. Our at least to assure participants that even if they are arrested they will not be left alone and that the organization would back up in any case.
Just imagine how a 14 year old kid should feel when he's arrested by four huge guards, sits with them in a small hot room for several hours, waiting for the police who might put him into an even bigger trouble and when most of the group who he was a part of has just abandoned him.
So to sum up: I think that you behaved very irresponsibly during the action on Wednesday. I hope that in the future you would pay a bit more attention to the safety issues during your action and would not treat people who got in trouble with the police as expendables.
Also I'm sending a personal fuck you to a woman on a picture.
The video of the arrest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZKspD1_ncs
But because of how you reacted when two people got arrested during the action.
The situation was as following: all participants wenе in to the subway on T-Centalen, wenе down to the blue line and took a train to Kungstädgården. At the station everybody went towards one the exits shouting slogans. Suddenly several guards ran through the procession and grabbed someone. We rushed there to see what was happening. Two people where pushed against the wall by four guards. Some crowd surrounded them questioning them when the fuck they were doing. Guards answered that they presumed that those people where putting stickers in the subway, that's why they were going to arrest them for vandalism (skadegörelse).
Suddenly this woman showed up, I assume she was one of the organizers, since she's on your pictures, and started talking friendly to one of the guards. After this she said to the crowd: "There's no need to stay here - we continue the action. I know this guy, he's actually a nice person".
We couldn't believe our ears. What the fuck was she saying? Two of our friends were being arrested with perhaps false allegations, one of them was actually a 14 years old - a child, and you say "let's go forward, it's not important". What kind of attitude is that? Did you not know yourself what the subway guards do sometimes with people in their rooms? Do you not have an article on your website about "safety in the public transport"? How could this woman say that the guard "was a nice guy" if he just by his own will decided to put two young people into trouble?
Luckily there were a couple of people who decided to stay and follow the guards to make sure that there were no abuse happening. The captured activists were held in a small room without working ventilation for about two hours until police came to interrogate them. After this one of them got released and a 14-year old was held longer until his father arrived.
I believe that if other participants in the action took a bit more active position while the arrest was happening - probably it could have been completely avoided.
Of course I realize that Planka cannot be responsible for the actions of other people. But you cannot fail to realize that you are organizing a confrontational action and things can happen to people. Especially when most of the participants are 15-year old minors. So the safety and legal matters at least should be discussed with the participants before they go out on the action.
It would very much make sense to have a legal team whose number participants could write down. Our at least to assure participants that even if they are arrested they will not be left alone and that the organization would back up in any case.
Just imagine how a 14 year old kid should feel when he's arrested by four huge guards, sits with them in a small hot room for several hours, waiting for the police who might put him into an even bigger trouble and when most of the group who he was a part of has just abandoned him.
So to sum up: I think that you behaved very irresponsibly during the action on Wednesday. I hope that in the future you would pay a bit more attention to the safety issues during your action and would not treat people who got in trouble with the police as expendables.
Also I'm sending a personal fuck you to a woman on a picture.
The video of the arrest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZKspD1_ncs