Authorities define “violence” as any restriction of capital flows

By Our Crit in Frankfurt

As debate spilled over into a shouting match in the Hessian State Parliament concerning the effective ban of Blockupy protests this 16-19 May in Frankfurt am Main, the administrative decision that effected this ban has come to light. The key finding being that:

The blockade action cannot be assessed as peaceful. To make blockades and hinder traffic with the goal of closing down the entire financial district and the everyday life of the metropolis, has to be defined as violence.[Decision of the Administrative Clerk, p.12, emphasis added.]

The decision continues:

Furthermore, in order that “European legal obligations” be guaranteed, the European Central Bank “must be functional, especially in times of financial crisis around the clock”. This includes things like “the operation of large-value payment system TARGET2″.¹

So in effect, a civil disobedience directed against the Eurozone’s financial authorities cannot take place because the obligation of the Frankfurt government to support the operation of the Euro-system overrides the right of European protesters to assemble and demonstrate against that very operation. Yet as Rosa Luxemburg once said, Freedom is always the freedom of the one who thinks differently (Freiheit ist immer Freiheit der Andersdenkenden).

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