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Dam Square Demonstration 15/02

filippos — Tue, 17 Feb 2015 12:37:27 +0000

On Sunday 15th of February, hundreds of people gathered at Dam Square, Amsterdam to demonstrate against the neoliberal austerity policies of the EU, to express their solidarity and make their voice heard.

We the people of Dam Square, we demand

- the write off of the debt

- the end of the austerity policies in Greece and in the Netherlands.

We fight

- so that we don’t allow the banks to lead our lives

- for the right of the people to make their own destiny.

Venceremos

We will not pay the crisis of the banks!
We will take our lives into our own hands!
We will live free from their shackles!
We will meet again in the streets!
Solidarity is our weapon!

The following groups joined us expressing their solidarity:
Internationale Socialisten
Platform Stop Racisme en Uitsluiting
Youth of Syriza in The Netherlands
DIDF (Federation of Democratic Associations of Turkish Workers in the Netherlands)
Cypriots living in The Netherlands
Federation of Greek Communities in The Netherlands
Grenzeloos-Borderless
Critical Collective
Kritische Studenten Utrecht
Kritische Studenten Amsterdam
Ander Europa
SP Amsterdam (Department of the Socialist Party of the Netherlands in Amsterdam)
De Rode Morgen
Podemos Amsterdam
SP Beuningen
Vakbondsstrijd Vecht voor je Recht
Doorbraak
SP Utrecht
SP Rotterdam
Committee for the Abolition of Third World Debt
Transnationals Information Exchange (TIE)- Netherlands
ROOD
Anarchistische Groep Nijmegen
Gezi Solidarity Netherlands

Source of videos & pictures: The people of Dam Square

Demonstration on15th February at 14.00, Dam Square in Amsterdam

filippos — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 10:43:54 +0000

SOLIDARITY WITH THE GREEK PEOPLE! NO TO THE BLACKMAIL OF THE EU!
ΤHE CRISIS WILL NOT BE PAID BY THE EUROPEAN CITIZENS!

Scroll down for Dutch and Greek.

On Sunday February 15th there will be demonstrations all over Greece and Europe since on that day crucial negotiations between the Greek government and the Eurogroup will take place. These demonstrations will send the message to the European leaders that the people of Europe will be also present during these negotiations. Our demands for the end of austerity and the abolition of the memoranda (the so-called austerity programmes) should be the starting point for any new agreements.

We invite everybody to join us on Sunday in solidarity with the citizens of Greece against Eurogroup’s persistence to continue with the regime of austerity policies in Europe. We want to show our support to the popular demands and the needs of the people who fight against these policies across Europe. We want to put a pressure on the newly formed coalition government of SYRIZA as well that they should not give in to this blackmail and that they should respect the recent mandate they received by the Greek people.

Date and time: Sunday 15th February at 14.00
Location: Dam Square, Amsterdam

ReINFORM
Internationale Socialisten
Platform Stop Racisme en Uitsluiting
Νεολαία ΣΥΡΙΖΑ Ολλανδίας
DIDF (Ομοσπονδία Δημοκρατικών Συνδέσμων Τούρκων Εργατών στην Ολλανδία)
Κύπριοι που ζουν στην Ολλανδία
Συνομοσπονδία Ελληνικών Κοινοτήτων Ολλανδίας
Grenzeloos-Borderless
Critical Collective
Kritische Studenten Utrecht
Podemos Amsterdam

SOLIDARITEIT MET HET GRIEKSE VOLK! NEE TEGEN DE CHANTAGE VAN DE EU!
DE CRISIS MOET NIET BETAALD WORDEN DOOR DE EUROPESE BURGERS!

Op zondag 15 februari wordt in heel Griekenland en andere Europese landen gedemonstreerd. De aanleiding is de onderhandelingen van de Eurogroep met de Griekse regering. De demonstraties hebben als doel het signaal af te geven aan de Europese leiders dat het Griekse volk ook aanwezig is bij de onderhandelingen. Ons verzoek is het einde van de bezuinigingen en het opzeggen van de wurgakkoorden met de Troijka. Dit verzoek moet de minimum basis vormen voor de nieuwe afspraken.

We nodigen iedereen uit om te demonstreren samen met de Griekse bevolking tegen de eis van de Eurogroep om de wurgcontracten in Griekenland te handhaven. We willen ook de nieuwe coalitie regering van SYRIZA dwingen om niet aan de chantage van de EU toe te geven maar het verzoek en de behoeftes van het Griekse volk te steunen. SYRIZA moet haar recente politieke mandaat respecteren.

Datum en tijd: zondag 15 februari om 14.00 uur
Locatie: De Dam, Amsterdam

ΑΛΛΗΛΕΓΓΥΗ ΣΤΟΝ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΟ ΛΑΟ! ΟΧΙ ΣΤΟΥΣ ΕΚΒΙΑΣΜΟΥΣ ΤΗΣ ΕΕ!
ΤΗΝ ΚΡΙΣΗ ΔΕ ΘΑ ΤΗΝ ΠΛΗΡΩΣΟΥΝ ΟΙ ΕΥΡΩΠΑΙΟΙ ΠΟΛΙΤΕΣ!

Την Κυριακή στις 15 Φεβρουαρίου έχουν οργανωθεί συγκεντρώσεις διαμαρτυρίας σε όλη την Ελλάδα και άλλες Ευρωπαϊκές χώρες καθώς την ημέρα αυτή πραγματοποιούνται κρίσιμες διαπραγματεύσεις μεταξύ της ελληνικής κυβέρνησης και του Eurogroup. Οι συγκεντρώσεις αυτές θα στείλουν μήνυμα στους Ευρωπαίους ηγέτες ότι και οι πολίτες της Ευρώπης θα είναι παρόντες κατά τη διάρκεια αυτών των διαπραγματεύσεων. Οι απαιτήσεις μας για να σταματήσει η λιτότητα και να καταργηθούν τα μνημόνια θα πρέπει να αποτελέσουν τη βάση οποιασδήποτε συμφωνίας που θα γίνει στο μέλλον.

Σας καλούμε όλους να συμμετάσχετε σε αυτή την διαμαρτυρία και να σταθείτε δίπλα στον ελληνικό λαό που αντιστέκεται στην αδιαλλαξία του Eurogroup το οποίο απαιτεί τη συνέχιση των πολιτικών λιτότητας σε όλη την Ευρώπη. Θέλουμε να δείξουμε τη συμπαράσταση μας στα ουσιαστικά αιτήματα και τις ανάγκες όλων των πολιτών της Ευρώπης ενάντια σε αυτές τις πολιτικές. Θέλουμε να στείλουμε επίσης μήνυμα και στην κυβέρνηση συνεργασίας του ΣΥΡΙΖΑ ότι δεν πρέπει να ενδώσει στους εκβιασμούς των ηγετών της ΕΕ αλλά να σεβαστεί την λαϊκή εντολή που έλαβε πρόσφατα από τους Έλληνες πολίτες.

Ημέρα και ώρα: Κυριακή 15 Φεβρουαρίου στις 14.00
Σημείο συνάντησης: Πλατεία Dam στο Άμστερνταμ

Source of featured image: http://roarmag.org

Saturday, October 4at 3:00pm, Amsterdam. The fake ‘success story’ of austerity. Crisis in Greece and in the EU: winners and losers

dimitriswright — Wed, 01 Oct 2014 08:00:46 +0000

The Dutch media, the EU officials and the Greek government cheer about a supposed success of austerity policies in Greece. They present that after 4 harsh years, the economy is going back in track and that the state is now functional to support the people. Similar stories flood occasionally the media on other austerity-hit countries such as Spain, Portugal and Ireland. In the Netherlands, similar austerity measures in health care and welfare are presented as a necessity to avoid the destructive pathway of countries of the South. The participation in the austerity-driven EU and Eurozone are presented as the only possible way. This ‘success story’ is challenged by hard numbers that indicate that austerity-hit economies are in free fall and by the worsening situation of hundreds of thousands of people that cannot make ends meet due to these policies. In reality, people in Southern Europe are experiencing a wave of radical neoliberal policies that go much further than austerity: labour relations return to the 19th century, people are deprived from access to public goods such as basic health care and education, public property is offered as gift to large corporations while massive house evictions are high in the agenda. In northern Europe, although the tempo and the harshness of the ‘reforms’ are lower, people – and especially the those in need of support – experience a similar reality.

In this event, we want to go further than just challenging the media propaganda. The roots but also the aims of austerity and reform policies will be discussed. Who are the winners of these policies? What will the economy and the political system look like after their full implementation? What was the role of the participation of Greece to the EU and the euro for the development of the crisis as the crisis in the Eurozone started from Greece?

Three critical scholars will provide their contribution to the discussion:

Kees van der Pijl, emeritus professor at the University of Sussex, will give the broader context of the issue from an international perspective and will present the Dutch context as well.
Yiorgos Vassalos, political scientist in Brussels, will evaluate the 30-year long participation of Greece to the EU.
Dimitris Pavlopoulos, assistant professor at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, will talk about the winners and losers of the austerity policies in Greece

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/275719382636460

Demonstration for Palestine – Amsterdam 20/7/14

dimitriswright — Mon, 21 Jul 2014 19:18:59 +0000

The Box – Comic presentation, Saturday 21 June, Utrecht

dimitriswright — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 22:57:16 +0000

Reinform invites you to the presentation of the new comic of M. Astikos, The Box.

Α comic telling the stories of three people, drawing upon recent events in Greece: An HIV-positive woman used as a scapegoat, a Greek man mistaken for an immigrant, and an antifascist, are all captured by the police and thrown in prison. Their fate is shaped by the hate rhetoric adopted by the mainstream politics and media.

What is the social and political background of these events? How do the election games create the ‘enemy’? What is the role of the media? How far is mainstream racist discourse from neo-Nazi violence in the streets? What can we do to reverse the situation? These are only a few of the questions that The Box invites us to answer through its strong language and art.

The presentation of the graphic novel and the discussion with the artist, M. Astikos, will take place on Saturday 21 June at 14.00 at the bookstore de Rooie Rat, Oudegracht 65, Utrecht.

Fascism Inc with Aris Chatzistefanou, Amsterdam May 31 at 6:00 pm, Nijmegen June 1 at 3:00 pm

dimitriswright — Wed, 28 May 2014 08:00:56 +0000

On Saturday, May 31 at 6:00 pm, REINFORM in cooperation with BORDERLESS invite you to the screening of Fascism Inc. Aris Chatzistefanou, the creator of the film, will be there to discuss with us about the film and the rise of fascism and extreme right in The Netherlands.

Amsterdam Facebook Event https://www.facebook.com/events/517611795028144/

Nijmegen Facebook Event https://www.facebook.com/events/1422740021328164

The death toll of the implemented neo-liberalism in Turkey

dimitriswright — Mon, 19 May 2014 19:32:20 +0000

The AKP (Justice and Development Party) government of Turkey is responsible for the death of the miners in Soma.

Yesterday ReINFORM participated in the demonstration (at the Museumplein in Amsterdam) organised by the Federation of Democratic Unions of Turkish Workers in the Netherlands (DIDF http://www.didf.nl/) against the AKP government of Turkey. The demonstrators express not only their compassion to the families of 300 miners (up to this moment) who lost their lives during the explosion on Tuesday May 13th in the mine, owned by the “Soma Kömürleri A.Ş” company, in the western city of Soma but they express also their anger against the Turkish government which had recently privatised the mine. The aim of the privatisation was the reduction of the production costs by 60% and that included drastic cuts on safety measures and fewer job positions for cheaper and inexperienced miners while the experienced ones had to be made redundant.

DIDF is inviting all democratic organizations, trade unions and intellectuals to protest against the AKP government of Turkey which is responsible for the Soma massacre. You can protest by sending your e-mails to Turkish officials mentioned below. DIDF would appreciate it if you sent a copy of your e-mail to info@didf.nl

President of Turkey:
Abdullah Gül
Email: cumhurbaskanligi@tccb.gov.tr , Fax 0 (312) 470 24 33

Prime minister of Turkey:
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,
Email: bimer@basbakanlik.gov.tr , Fax: +90 312 422 26 69, +90 312 422 18 99

Minister of Energie and Natural Resources:
Taner Yıldız
Email: bilgi@enerji.gov.tr , Phone: +90 312 212 64 20

More info on the website of DIFD: http://www.didf.nl/

Forum and discussion: Breaking the Silence in Academia (24th May 2014)

dimitriswright — Fri, 16 May 2014 18:37:54 +0000

Understanding the Corporatisation of Universities in the Netherlands and beyond

Time : 24th May 2014, 13:00 – 18:00

Place : International institute for Research and Education – Lombokstraat 40, 1094 AL, Amsterdam

The goal of the event is to bring together a range of people, including students, professors and lecturers, researchers, adjunct instructors, non-academic university employees, and community activists to discuss the corporatisation and neoliberalisation of higher education in the Netherlands and what can be done to resist this trend. We believe that there is widespread concern about the impacts of this model on the quality of education, research, and working conditions at universities. In recent years we have witnessed growing resistance to this trend around the world, including here in the Netherlands.

For this event, we expect to have participants from a range of universities (including the University of Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit, Wageningen University), employment positions (including professors, lecturers, doctoral candidates, students, and support staff), and national backgrounds.

Provisional Program

1. 13:00: The corporate university: a worldwide perspective (Panel discussion)

- What do we mean by Corporate University? When and why was this model created?

- What have been the effects of this process elsewhere (e.g., US).

- How is this model imposed in universities? Is this what is happening in the Netherlands?

2. 14:45 Labour, management and governance in the corporate university (Panel discussion)

- Top down vs collaborative governance. Sexism and silence in Academia.

- The change in working conditions: Measurement, evaluation, precarity in careers, workload.

- The consequences of this on the nature and quality of research and education.

3. 16:30 What can we do? Organising for resistance in universities (Panel discussion)

- Where have there been successes in resisting the corporatization of higher education?

- What can we learn from struggles of the cleaners and other university workers?

- What means exist or need to be created for organising and resisting in the Dutch context?

- What is the upcoming agenda? Plans for the alternative opening of the academic year.

18:00 – Dinner, drinks, informal discussion

Reading materials

- “Faulty Towers: The Crisis in Higher Education” by William Deresiewicz (The Nation)

- “How Finance Penetrates its Other: A Cautionary Tale on the Financialization of a Dutch University” by Ewald Engelen, Rodrigo Fernandez and Reijer Hendrikse

- “In the Name of Love” by Miya Tokumitsu (Jacobin Magazine)

Organised by Borderless and ReInform

May 16 Amsterdam: “Shock Doctrine” Revisited: The Authoritarian Guise of the European Union in the Crisis

dimitriswright — Thu, 24 Apr 2014 17:24:54 +0000

“Shock Doctrine” Revisited: The Authoritarian Guise of the European Union in the Crisis

REAL WORLD ECONOMICS Friday, 16 MAY 2014, 20.30 to 22.30 hours Plantage Doklaan 8-12 in Amsterdam

From 19.00 hours onwards, there will be great vegan food cooked by the ‘Kollektief Rampenplan’ and books for sale from Boekhandel Rooie Rat

After almost seven years of global economic crisis, the crisis’ disruptive impact continues to aggravate, particularly in Southern Europe where unemployment rates, most notably among the young, have reached unprecedented levels, while real wages continue to decline and poverty is reaching perverse heights. The prospects continue to remain gloomy and the perma-austerity imposed by the EU only seems to exacerbate the crisis further. German Chancellor Merkel’s recent suggestions for a ‘Competitiveness Pact’ demands that the entire Eurozone has to step up reforms efforts “in areas of lacking competitiveness” – EU-speak for internal devaluation through wage repression and further labour market reforms.

During this Real World Economics evening, we will reveal the authoritarian guise of the EU’s responses to the crisis. While the ‘wealthy few’ are blessed with tax reductions and bailouts, the ‘working many’ have to bear the costs for the sake of competitiveness. The assault on democracy and the coercive nature in which crisis packages are imposed very much resemble a shock doctrine. Decision-making is insulated from institutions of political democracy, while ever more discretionary powers are transferred to non-accountable executive or jurisdictional bodies, such as the European Commission or the European Court of Justice. At the same time, the constitutional right of expressive protests is increasingly denied and surveillance and police violence vis-a-vis protesters intensified. How can the EU’s onslaught on democratic rights be resisted?

We will start out with brief (5 minute) presentations by a range of renowned international critical political economists, followed by a plenary discussion with the audience. Invited guest speakers are: Bob Jesssop (Lancaster University, UK), Monica Clua Llosada (Pompeu Fabra, Spain), Eva Hartmann (Copenhagen Business School), Magnus Ryner (Kings College London, UK), Lukas Oberndorfer (University of Vienna, Austria), Ian Bruff (University of Manchester, UK), Thomas Sablowski (Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, Berlin), Alan Cafruny (Hamilton College, USA).

This Real World Economics event forms part of the Europe-wide decentralized days of action and resistance called ‘Solidarity Beyond Borders – Building Democracy From Below!’ in the week of 15 to 25 May 2014 (go tohttp://mayofsolidarity.org).

The evening is supported by an alliance of organisations and groups in the Netherlands: De Valreep, Kritische Studenten Utrecht (KSU), International Institute for Research and Education (IIRE), Transnational Institute (TNI), XminY, REINFORM, De Rooie Rat, Blockupy Netherlands, Bond Precaire Woonvormen, Ander Europa, Grenzeloos, Globalinfo.nl, Stichting Onderzoek Multinationale Ondernemingen (SOMO), Kollektiv Rampenplan, Kritische Studenten Amsterdam (KSA).

For more information: http://globalinfo.nl

Language: English No entry fees!

FASCISM INC documentary screening, April 10 at 7:00pm

dimitriswright — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 09:45:16 +0000

REINFORM in cooperation with Filmhuis Cavia invites you to the very first screening of the documentary film FASCISM INC.

Debtocracy and Catastroika’s production team steps into the discussion with another documentary.

This time they will present to us unknown short stories from the past, the present and the future of fascism and its relation to the economic interests of each era. We will travel from Mussolini’s Italy to Greece under the Nazi occupation, the civil war and the dictatorship; and from Hitler’s Germany to the modern European and Greek fascism.

The new documentary will follow in the footsteps of Debtocracy and Catastroika, which described the causes of the debt crisis, the impact of the austerity measures, the erosion of democracy and the sell-out of the country’s assets.

FREE ENTRANCE

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/284522458378992/?notif_t=plan_user_invited

More information about the documentary you can find in the official documentary web page http://infowarproductions.com/fascism_inc/