TORONTO 11:40pm, June 26 — G20 Police have threatened to mass arrest 300 peaceful protesters outside the Novotel hotel on The Esplanade in Toronto, according to a demonstrator at the protest. Since 10:30pm they have been snatching protesters one-by-one from the crowd and “the rest of us are just waiting to be arrested,” said the experienced activist, who has asked not to be named.
Protesters were sitting outside the hotel peacefully, when dozens of police in full riot gear with teargas guns marched in from the east side of the narrow street and then on the west side, enclosing the protesters.
According to the demonstrator, most of the protesters are young people who have little previous experience in demonstrations and have not been involved in any previous G20 demonstrations on June 26 or earlier. Moreover they have no legal information because they were not expecting any kind of trouble. “These are simply members of the public who want to make their voices heard,” the demonstrator said. The peaceful protesters include many who joined a march which earlier proceeded down Yonge Street after being brutally forced out of what was supposed to be the “free speech zone” at Queen’s Park.
They have been chanting “Open the lines, let us out!” “Whose streets? Our streets!” and “Peaceful protest, peaceful protest.”
The protesters are demonstrating outside the Novotel on The Esplanade where one day earlier hotel workers began a legal strike.
Protesters are asking for any support that people can provide them, especially through communicating this story which has gone under-reported in mainstream media. Police continue to take people one-by-one from the crowd.
Update 12:46am, June 27: At least one busload of people has been already taken away by the police. At this time, about 80 protesters remain, waiting to be arrested.
SEE ALSO 11pm UPDATE ON TORONTO STAR BLOG: http://thestar.blogs.com/g20/
FOR UPDATES BY THE MINUTE SEE TCMN TWITTER FEED: http://twitter.com/g20mobilize
Community Group Launches Civil Rights Struggle
Kirstyn Whightman, Solomon Muyoboke, & Farshad Azadian – BASICS Issue #19 – May/June 2010
On March 3, some 60 residents of the Esplanade neighborhood came together to address the pressing issue of police brutality. This event, held at a local recreation centre, wasorganized by the Esplanade Community Group in response to several incidences of police brutality and harassment. This turnout, made up of residents of all generations, came together to launch an organized response to defend the community against police violence.
The event featured a presentation on several cases where police had murdered youth in Toronto and Montreal, and the subsequent political responses mounted by those communities. Cathy Crowe, a community member and NDP provincial candidate for Toronto Centre, also spoke about her experience fighting police brutality in her work supporting Toronto’s homeless. Several Esplanade youth, who have since become politically active, gave a presentation on their experiences as well.
by Tyler Kendall, Farshad Azadian & Solomon Muyoboke – BASICS Issue #18
Over the past several months, youth in the Esplanade area (a downtown eastside community in Toronto) have faced a string of harassment, threats, physical assaults and wrongful arrests at the hands of 51 Division and TAVIS Unit police.
This violence has been a regular pattern in our community for some time, but now police are taking an aggressive stance towards members of the Esplanade Community Youth Group.
This past February 15, Tyler, a youth activist on the Esplanade, was assaulted in his building by police officers. Walking in the hallway, he noticed some individuals in his stairway. Thinking they were metro housing staff, he approached the stairway to mention repairs that were needed for his unit. Once having opened the stairway door, 51 Division police dragged him in. Refusing to answer the excessive and unjustified questioning of the police (as was his right), the police responded by attempting to throw him head first down the stairway. He wrapped his leg around the railing to avoid being thrown down, at which point police began kicking the back of leg. They then pushed him against the wall and proceeded to give him a beating, striking blows to his face and ribs.
BASICS #16 (Nov/Dec 2009)
by Solomon Muyoboke, Jessica Luke-Smith, Daniel Mayers and Farshad Azadian
On October 8th, 2009, Esplanade youth made a resounding statement to the indignity of police violence, harassment and racism in our community. Some 40 youth made their way to the Youth Forum organized by the Esplanade Community Organization to discuss their issues, experiences and concerns. The event was launched just weeks after the tragic murder of Esplanade youth Kamal Hercules, which left our community reeling with the pain of having lost another young brother.
This pattern of violence in our community illuminated a need for change and inspired the forum. The Esplanade Community Organization developed the forum with the aim of creating discussion among youth around the sources of violence in the community and the direction that an Esplanade youth organization might take in addressing violence – in all its forms.
Co-op boards and the TCHC go after some of the most vulnerable in our community
by Farshad Azadian, an organizer with the Esplanade Community Organization
BASICS #15 (Sep/Oct 2009)
The Esplanade community, like many working class neighbourhoods across Toronto, is seeing a wave of attacks on its poor and working class residents who are seeing their ability to live with dignity trampled on. Members of the Esplanade Community Organization have gotten word of a series of evictions of poor residents, many of whom are being kicked out because they cannot afford the increasing cost of housing. The drastic increases many people face are often due to the cuts and eliminations to rent subsidies.
Having grown up in the Esplanade, it’s hard to see familiar faces that have been around for over a decade being forced out of their homes. A look at the numbers speaks loudly to the situation we find ourselves in; where many co-ops and TCHC-run buildings that could once boast of having 50% of their units as rent-geared-to-income, having been reduced to below 20%, with further cuts along the way. Read more…
