Charge, try, and jail criminal cops of Toronto’s G20 summit
2012 2012-06Read it in the scan (PDF at ETOL), page 10 →
The words are the paper's own, from its digital file; the division into articles was made by machine, so a box or caption can end up inside the article next to it.
Scan page 10
... Malcolm Autobiography 10 Socialist Action june 2012 T continues to fly, but justice remains wo years after the event, the flak elusive.With no open, unlimited public enquiry, and after several “reviews” and reports, only a couple of dozen cops have been accused of misdeeds under administrative police rules. No criminal charges have been laid. No firings. No resignations have occurred.
The latest report, by Ontario’s police watchdog, Gerry McNeilly, found excessive use of force and rampant Charter of Rights violations. No wonder. Cops used “kettling” tactics at least 10 times during the Toronto G20 Summit.
(continued from page 9: “The Autobiography of Malcolm X”)
Following his trips abroad—including his pilgrimage to Mecca, during which he met Muslims of every colour and ethnicity—Malcolm X announced the formation of the Organization of Afro-American Unity, “a non-religious and non-sectarian group organized to unite Afro-Americans for a constructive program toward attainment of human rights.” He said that the OAAU “would seek to convert the Negro population from non-violence to active self-defence against white supremacists across America.” On politics he declared, “Whether you use bullets or ballots, you’ve got to aim well; don’t strike at the puppet, strike at the puppeteer”
(page 478).
More and more, Malcolm X indicted the capitalist system—whether he called it that, or whatever he called himself—philosophically. Sadly, the “Autobiography,”
including its epilogue, omits reference to the fact that Malcolm spoke frequently at Militant Forums hosted by the (then-Trotskyist) Socialist Workers’ Party in New York City. Those talks weren’t just an act of outreach to mainly white workers, but to an explicitly revolutionary Marxist current. And that was more than the fearOver 1100 people were arrested and held for hours, or days, in filthy, overcrowded metal cages. Judges subsequently dismissed or set aside most of the charges. Only 24 of 317 charged were convicted.
Meanwhile, police received extravagant amounts of overtime and vacation pay to “work” the gathering of leaders of the major capitalist powers in the downtown core. Some cops made more than $14,000 for a few days’ attendance. The bill was an astounding $1 billion— just to facilitate elite approval of the austerity agenda now in noxious full bloom.
McNeilly’s report stands in stark contrast to Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair’s review. Blair acknowledged that police were “overwhelmed,” but downplayed the extent of their brutality, their Charter rights violations, unlawful mass arrests and appalling detention conditions.
Instead of public accountability, the norm has been stonewalling and failure to disclose evidence. McNeilly puts this down to “mistakes” and “poor planning.” That misses the mark. Toronto Summit policing reflected state represful FBI, White House, and Wall Street were willing to bear. Some of Malcolm’s speeches to the socialists can be found in “Malcolm X Speaks: Selected Speeches and Statements” (edited by George Breitman, Grove Press 1966).
Like that of Che Guevara, Malcolm’s image is ubiquitous, and his views are more relevant than ever. Why? Because the rulers’ war against “communism” (Stalinism) has been replaced by their war on Muslims; because there is a Black man in the White House imposing the interests of the 1% on the 99%; and because the working class is awakening from the nightmare of capitalist economic and environmental crises and, as the Occupy movement demonstrates, is desperately looking for alternatives.
Reading “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” has reminded me of two things in particular. One concerns the amazing qualities of the man, his courage, his passion, his inner strength. It makes me wonder how many more Malcolms there’d be but for the body-and-minddestroying conditions of poverty and oppression.
The other lesson concerns the importance of seeking principled unity in action with people with whom one may not fully agree. There is great revolutionary potential in forces that take the path of struggle against an unjust order. n