Solidarity from Vienna to the #Stansted15!

Today, 15 activists are put on trial in Chelmsford/UK for allegedly blocking a charter deportation last year and thereby committing ‘acts of terrorism’ as the state prosecution proclaims. The accusation can lead up to a lifetime prison sentence.

Via this statement we want to express our solidarity with the accused activists.

As we are writing this, the Austrian government is preparing a new charter deportation flight to Afghanistan, scheduled for tomorrow night, which will bring dozens of human beings back to a war-torn country where suffering, violence, misery and death are part of everyday life. Dozens of charters flights to various destinations have happened or will happen in Austria in the recent past and near future.

On Stansted airport, a powerful and successful action of disobedience was brought to us: It reminded us, that even in these times of a racist and authoritarian rollback everywhere, resistance is still possible!

To label those acts of protest and insubordination against the deadly border- and deportation regime as “terrorism” has become a useful tool for governments to crack down on protestors. Recently the trial against the Röszke11, especially against Ahmed H. in Hungary, the upcoming trials against the Harmanli21 in Bulgaria and the Moria35 in Greece display this trend. Not long ago dozens of refugees rose up against deportations from their camp in Germany and are now facing serious charges for disrupting the ‘public order’.

Dissent and struggles for rights are criminalized, delegitimised and brutalized by constructing them as a threat to so-called ‘national security’, accusations which are nurtured by prevalent anti-muslim racism and anti-migrant hatred.

This is why all those dissenting voices have to stand together,
this is why we need to establish transnational relations of insubordination,
this is why we send a lot of power, strength and love to all incriminated and imprisoned protestors and especially today, to our comrades in the UK – accused of terrorism because they stood up against a system of torture, murder and oppression.

Stop Deportations Vienna, March 19th 2018