Mutiny collective
Encyclopedia
The Mutiny Collective is an anarchist collective
in Sydney
, Australia
made notorious in the media after the 2006 G20 summit
meeting in Melbourne
in November 2006, when protest organiser Marcus Greville accused Mutiny and the Arterial Bloc of being responsible for the confrontations with police. In the lead up to the APEC Australia 2007
meeting in Sydney in September, New South Wales Police Minister David Campbell accused Mutiny of preparing a training manual in violence and used this as justification for the strong security presence at APEC.
anti-war
protest
after the invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003 and has organised or participated in a number of protests against corporations involved in the war in Iraq, including office occupations. The collective has participated in conferences such as the Sydney Social Forum in 2004, presenting papers or workshops on topics such as Profiting from the reconstruction of Iraq, Re-colonising the Pond: Australia, New Zealand, and the G20's shadow over the Pacific, and How Australian imperialism in the region fits into a neo-liberal context. Since early 2006 Mutiny have published a monthly zine
, called Mutiny - A Paper of Anarchistic Ideas and Actions, exploring Australian imperialism, disobedience and resistance in the Pacific.
were picked up widely by the media, as well as by conservative Christian NSW MP Reverend Fred Nile
, who told the NSW parliament that "Organisers of the G20 protest said that members of Mutiny and Arterial Bloc were responsible for the violence." The Mutiny Collective made it clear in that open letter that they were not "planning so-called 'violent protest' or know of some secret plans. We have no idea. Preparing for APEC protests has not been a priority for us as a group."
The open letter was part of the discussion on protest tactics with regard to civil disobedience
and possible confrontation with the police at APEC protests. According to a Green Left
report of a Stop Bush Coalition meeting on 30 April "members of the anarchist group Mutiny, the student-based Solidarity group
and the International Socialist Organisation argued for, and won, a motion to remove the line 'Join the peaceful protest at APEC' from a poster advertising the rally." The motion was opposed by members of Resistance
, the Socialist Alliance
and Socialist Alternative
.
Anarchist and autonomist activists had organised a conference/workshop in Sydney to coincide with the APEC meeting, F.L.A.R.E. in the Void convergence 4–9 September 2007. Five of the organisers of this conference were placed on the Police excluded person list for APEC declared areas. A manual was published in association with the convergence detailing the "why and how of affinity groups, Forming affinity groups, Developing Shared intent, Hands on blockading and defence against police violence, and Practice scenarios", and also containing information on basic safety precautions for protests taken from manuals produced in North America and Europe. The Daily Telegraph
reported the manual advised protestors of how "to wear gas masks, goggles, running shoes and full-body clothing to protect from tear gas and capsicum spray. It also advises carrying water and a bandanna soaked in vinegar to combat the effects of pepper spray." The Mutiny collective contributed one article to the manual in which they were quoted by the Daily Telegraph "It is important to defy police attempts to frighten us,"
New South Wales Police Minister David Campbell used the FLARE in the Void convergence manual as justification for strong security presence at APEC "The fact that this group called Mutiny have distributed a violent protests step-by-step guide I think demonstrates what police have known all along - that there were people intent on violent behaviour at APEC," One of the organisers of FLARE in the Void, Lou Thatcher, replied in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald "[The manual] is clearly being used in a manipulative and false way as part of a fear campaign,"
on 11 November 2008. Acting South Australian Premier Kevin Foley
announced the cancellation of the military arms fair saying "The decision was taken that the cost of security, the possible threats of violence, were risks that the organisers of the event and the Government agreed were not worth proceeding with." He also accused all the intending protestors of being "these feral anarchists": "These are feral, low-life people who want society to be in a state of near anarchy for their perverse pleasure," he said.
Collective
A collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest, or work together on a specific project to achieve a common objective...
in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
made notorious in the media after the 2006 G20 summit
2006 G20 summit
The 2006 G-20 Meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors was held in Melbourne, Australia between November 18 and November 19, 2006...
meeting in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
in November 2006, when protest organiser Marcus Greville accused Mutiny and the Arterial Bloc of being responsible for the confrontations with police. In the lead up to the APEC Australia 2007
APEC Australia 2007
APEC Australia 2007 was a series of political meetings held around Australia between the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation during 2007...
meeting in Sydney in September, New South Wales Police Minister David Campbell accused Mutiny of preparing a training manual in violence and used this as justification for the strong security presence at APEC.
Background
The Mutiny Collective came together as an anarchist collective interested in direct actionDirect action
Direct action is activity undertaken by individuals, groups, or governments to achieve political, economic, or social goals outside of normal social/political channels. This can include nonviolent and violent activities which target persons, groups, or property deemed offensive to the direct action...
anti-war
Anti-war
An anti-war movement is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts. Many...
protest
Protest
A protest is an expression of objection, by words or by actions, to particular events, policies or situations. Protests can take many different forms, from individual statements to mass demonstrations...
after the invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003 and has organised or participated in a number of protests against corporations involved in the war in Iraq, including office occupations. The collective has participated in conferences such as the Sydney Social Forum in 2004, presenting papers or workshops on topics such as Profiting from the reconstruction of Iraq, Re-colonising the Pond: Australia, New Zealand, and the G20's shadow over the Pacific, and How Australian imperialism in the region fits into a neo-liberal context. Since early 2006 Mutiny have published a monthly zine
Zine
A zine is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier....
, called Mutiny - A Paper of Anarchistic Ideas and Actions, exploring Australian imperialism, disobedience and resistance in the Pacific.
Smear Campaign
In an open letter by the Mutiny collective in May 2007, the group said that it had been "smeared by the corporate media and much of the left for action at the g20 summit". The comments by Marcus Greville that allegedly implicated Mutiny in the confrontations with the police and blamed the violence on anarchists at the G20 protests were broadcast on ABC radio:- "The names of the groups are Arterial Bloc and a group called Mutiny." he said adding that "Above and beyond that, we don't have any information, because they organised externally to us."
were picked up widely by the media, as well as by conservative Christian NSW MP Reverend Fred Nile
Fred Nile
Frederick John "Fred" Nile is an Australian politician and clergyman. Nile has been a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council since 1981, except for a period in 2004 when he resigned to contest the Australian Senate at the 2004 federal election...
, who told the NSW parliament that "Organisers of the G20 protest said that members of Mutiny and Arterial Bloc were responsible for the violence." The Mutiny Collective made it clear in that open letter that they were not "planning so-called 'violent protest' or know of some secret plans. We have no idea. Preparing for APEC protests has not been a priority for us as a group."
The open letter was part of the discussion on protest tactics with regard to civil disobedience
Civil disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is commonly, though not always, defined as being nonviolent resistance. It is one form of civil resistance...
and possible confrontation with the police at APEC protests. According to a Green Left
Green left
The term Green left is used primarily to refer to a combination of environmentalism, feminism, socialism, and pacifism in countries where the term is used...
report of a Stop Bush Coalition meeting on 30 April "members of the anarchist group Mutiny, the student-based Solidarity group
Solidarity (Australia)
Solidarity is a Trotskyist organisation in Australia, formed in 2008 from a merger between three out of four groups emerging from the International Socialist tradition: the International Socialist Organisation , Socialist Action Group and Solidarity. The group is a member of the International...
and the International Socialist Organisation argued for, and won, a motion to remove the line 'Join the peaceful protest at APEC' from a poster advertising the rally." The motion was opposed by members of Resistance
Resistance (socialist youth organisation)
Resistance is a Revolutionary Socialist youth organisation with its national headquarters in Sydney. Resistance is an independent affiliate of the Socialist Alliance with a strong historical relationship with the Democratic Socialist Perspective, which dissolved into the Socialist Alliance in...
, the Socialist Alliance
Socialist Alliance (Australia)
The Socialist Alliance was founded in 2001 as an alliance of socialist organisations and individuals in Australia, initiated by the Democratic Socialist Perspective and the International Socialist Organisation along with 6 other founding socialist organisations, to create greater left unity in the...
and Socialist Alternative
Socialist Alternative (Australia)
Socialist Alternative is a Trotskyist political organisation in Australia formed by an expulsion from the former International Socialist Organisation in 1995. It is one of the largest groups of the Australian far Left, claiming to have the largest active membership. With branches across...
.
Anarchist and autonomist activists had organised a conference/workshop in Sydney to coincide with the APEC meeting, F.L.A.R.E. in the Void convergence 4–9 September 2007. Five of the organisers of this conference were placed on the Police excluded person list for APEC declared areas. A manual was published in association with the convergence detailing the "why and how of affinity groups, Forming affinity groups, Developing Shared intent, Hands on blockading and defence against police violence, and Practice scenarios", and also containing information on basic safety precautions for protests taken from manuals produced in North America and Europe. The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph (Australia)
The Daily Telegraph is an Australian tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, by Nationwide News, part of News Corporation.The Tele, as it is also known, was founded in 1879. From 1936 to 1972, it was owned by Frank Packer's Australian Consolidated Press. That year it was sold to...
reported the manual advised protestors of how "to wear gas masks, goggles, running shoes and full-body clothing to protect from tear gas and capsicum spray. It also advises carrying water and a bandanna soaked in vinegar to combat the effects of pepper spray." The Mutiny collective contributed one article to the manual in which they were quoted by the Daily Telegraph "It is important to defy police attempts to frighten us,"
New South Wales Police Minister David Campbell used the FLARE in the Void convergence manual as justification for strong security presence at APEC "The fact that this group called Mutiny have distributed a violent protests step-by-step guide I think demonstrates what police have known all along - that there were people intent on violent behaviour at APEC," One of the organisers of FLARE in the Void, Lou Thatcher, replied in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald "[The manual] is clearly being used in a manipulative and false way as part of a fear campaign,"
Arms Fair Cancelled
In 2008 Mutiny was one of several peace and antiwar groups planning to protest and disrupt the Asia-Pacific Defence and Security Exhibition to be held in AdelaideAdelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
on 11 November 2008. Acting South Australian Premier Kevin Foley
Kevin Foley
Kevin Owen Foley , Australian politician, is the current Minister for Industry and Trade and Minister for Federal/State Relations in the Rann Labor government. He previously served as Treasurer of South Australia and Deputy Premier of South Australia from 2002 until his resignation in 2011...
announced the cancellation of the military arms fair saying "The decision was taken that the cost of security, the possible threats of violence, were risks that the organisers of the event and the Government agreed were not worth proceeding with." He also accused all the intending protestors of being "these feral anarchists": "These are feral, low-life people who want society to be in a state of near anarchy for their perverse pleasure," he said.