During the Tattoo Circus there will be a day programme with info talks and films at the Plantage Doklaan. These are the confirmed talks and films for the two days. Check the schedule for the exact times and days.
Info talks
Excarceration 101: what is prison and do we need it?
In this talk I want to give a brief overview of the history of prison and talk about its supposed and actual purposes. Who benefits from it? This also includes discussing the concept of punishment, who defines what words like crime and justice stand for. Why are people punished and how could certain situations be solved otherwise? How can one fight prison?
Anarchists prosecuted for terrorism?
A discussion on the (possible) anti-terrorism process against anarchists and anti-authoritarians in Belgium. About the struggles that are mentioned in the case. And about solidarity in defense of these struggles.
An anti-terrorist research, opened by the state in 2010, has tried in several ways to sabotage ongoing struggles in Belgium. Struggles against prisons, detention centres and a world based on oppression.
With the means of police-infiltration, hidden cameras, surveilling anarchists and so on, the police has been trying to build a case that was closed at the end of last year. A group of individuals are being accused of being part of a terrorist group, but there is much more at stake than the freedom of these individuals.
The state doesn’t want to know anything about the ideas manifested through the struggles, that it is possible to sabotage and attack oppressive structures, that it is possible to self-organise without joining organisations that are happy to shake hands with the state. It’s these ideas that are being prosecuted.
Read more at lalime.noblogs.org
Anarchist experiences in a dictatorship
In this talk you will learn more about Belarus. ABC Belarus will talk about political and economic situation in the country, describe the laws that limit any political activity, give you an image of an anarchist movement and current repressions against it.
Belarus is often called the last dictatorship in Europe which is not 100% true anymore, since Russia has passed even more repressive laws in the last years. Belarus is often seen as the only post-Soviet country that hasn’t introduced neoliberal reforms after the collapse of the Soviet Union. How does that look in reality? The first and last president has ruled the country for more than 20 years now and has strengthened his power over the years, crashing any dissent. In the presentation you will get to know what it’s like to live in Веlarus, what is the tax on unemployment and tax on debt, what kind of repressive laws limit the political and social activity in Belarus and how it influences the existing social movements. The question of repressions is key in this presentation as the anarchist movement is struggling to exist at the moment.
The presentation will be run by ABC-Belarus which deals primarily with the repression issue.
Read more at abc-belarus.org
Learning from Repression in the fight for Animal Liberation
UK SHAC (Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty) campaigners who experienced prison and repression for their roles in fighting to close Europe’s largest animal testing laboratory, HLS, will discuss the history, tactics and repression of the campaign. They’ll reflect on the role of the state, importance of solidarity and how lessons learned can be applied to today’s social struggles to make us more resilient and effective. The talks will include the latest info on the ongoing SHAC case against Sven and Natasha, who are facing up to 14 years in prison.
Read more at freesvenandnatasha.org
Solidarity fund for prisoners and persecuted fighters
The Solidarity Fund for prisoners or persecuted militants is a nationwide structure in Greece consisting of individual assemblies in various towns. The structure of the Solidarity Fund supports people who struggle and are persecuted and imprisoned for their involvement in the social and class struggles, for their subversive action within the spectrum of the multiform revolutionary struggle.
Join us for a presentation about the structure of tameio.net, a solidarity fund supporting persecuted and imprisoned militants.
We support the imprisoned militants MATERIALLY-ETHICALLY-POLITICALLY
Up until the demolition of the last prison…
Revolutionary solidarity: connecting the inside and outside of the walls
During the talk of the Solidarity Fund we will contact by phone comrades currently held in prison in Greece in order to open a direct communication line with them. There will be a chance for asking questions and listening to their statements on the topic of revolutionary solidarity.
Repression on and solidarity with anarchists accused of bank robbery in Germany
In summer 2016, various persons were arrested in Spain and the Netherlands under orders of the German criminal police. The investigation is related to various bank robberies in 2013 and 2014 in the city of Aachen, Germany.
Are they guilty or innocent? In a society that tends more and more to a dictatorship of money and control, we don’t really care to know the verdict of their courts. The State and its judicial system have always proved to be vigorous watchdogs of the dominant ideology, always marginalising, punishing, capturing, torturing and even assassinating those who are consciously opposed to it, or just those who aren’t lucrative for it and are therefore deemed disposable.
From everywhere, domination sabotages anyone who lives free and self-determinedly. Let’s fight for reconquering our freedom by sabotaging domination.
FREEDOM FOR THE COMPANHEIRAS-FREEDOM FOR ALL
Read more at solidariteit.noblogs.org
About the campaign against the family prison for refugees at Kamp Zeist
The Anarchist Anti-deportation Group Utrecht has campaigned against the construction of a family prison for refugees at Kamp Zeist. By now, it has been put into use. The presentation is about the campaign, about the prison itself, and about the people who are sent there.
Read more at aagu.nl
Film program
Feel like taking a break from the sound of tattoo machines?
Make yourself comfortable in our cinema and watch a film from our political film program.
Bastøy (Norway/Netherlands, 56 min) – Dutch subtitles
Bastøy is a state prison island located in Oslofjord, Norway. 115 convicted men are doing their time here, most of them with long sentences.
Guards carry no weapons. There are no cells, no cameras, no fences. It’s only a 2-hour swim to the mainland. This documentary shows the daily life of the prisoners there and the island that offers an alternative to regular prison.
Crulic – The Path to Beyond (Romania/Poland, 1h13) – English subtitles
The animated documentary feature-length Crulic – The Path to Beyond tells the story of the life of Crulic, the 33 year old Romanian who died in a Polish prison while on hunger strike.
Based on the real story of Claudiu Crulic who ended up in prison after being accused of theft.
9999 (Belgium, 52 min) – English subtitles
Mentally ill criminals in Belgium are not held responsible for their actions but become separated from society. Their criminal acts range from murder to setting fire to a bike.
Due to the lack of capacity in psychiatric hospitals they end up in prison without any possibility for therapy nor end date.
The Merksplas prison in Belgium is one of the places where these people are locked up.
Their files mention as date of release: 31/12/9999.
The Mark of Cain (Russia, 1h13) – English subtitles
Sailing ships, stars, angels and executioners, The Mark of Cain chronicles the vanishing practice and language of Russian Criminal Tattoos.
Cruel and Unusual (USA, 1hr 03) no subtitles
An unflinching examination of transgender women in men’s prisons.
Ashley, Linda, Anna, Yolanda and Ophelia describe their experiences undergoing inhumane and humiliating treatment including rape, violence, solitary confinement and denial of medial care.
At Night I fly (Sweden, – 60 min) – English spoken, no subtitles
In At Night I Fly, inmates at one of California’s most maximum security prisons let us see their world. This world is less about dangerous drama and more, as one of them describes, “about isolation. About closure of both the mind and the heart. And the spirit.”
The documentary shows prisoners, most serving a life sentence, who refuse such closure and instead work to uncover and express themselves. Their primary tool is making art and the film takes us to prison poetry readings, gospel choirs, blues guitar on the yard, and to many more scenes of creation.
