Olympics Resistance Network

ORN Solidarity and Unity Statement

dawn — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 01:16:53 +0000

Statement circulated and endorsed in February, 2009

We are aware that there is wide-spread opposition to the 2010 Winter Olympics. This ranges from those who are opposing the negative impacts of the Games to those who seek to boycott the Games; from those who desire to raise public awareness about the Games to those who choose to engage in

Olympic Torch being Disrupted across Canada

dru — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 06:40:32 +0000

Anti-Olympic Protesters bring their message of resistance across Canada; Olympic Torch shamed.

Monday, December 21 2009, Vancouver Unceded Coast Salish Territories-

ORN Responds to Police Allegations of Undercover Cop

dawn — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:43:26 +0000

Statement affirms that people across Canada have the right to protest the Games

December 3, Vancouver Coast Salish Territories -

CALL FOR CROSS-CANADA MOBILIZING: EXTINGUISH THE OLYMPIC TORCH!

dawn — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 07:55:15 +0000

From October 31 2009 - February 12 2010, the Olympic Torch Relay "A Path
of Northern Lights" will be traveling across Canada. The Olympic
Resistance Network, based in Vancouver Unceded Coast Salish Territories,
is calling on and encouraging our allies to coordinate efforts in over
2000 communities to oppose and resist the Torch Relay.

On October 31, over 400 people gathered to oppose the Torch Relay launch
in Victoria. An Anti-Olympics Festival and Zombie March, organized by
No2010 Victoria, succeeded in disrupting the relay. Security personnel
were forced to extinguish the torch, load it in a van, and reroute it in
order to reach the Legislature. (Visit http://no2010victoria.net or
http://olympicresistance.net for videos)

WHY ORGANIZE AGAINST THE TORCH?

The Olympic torch is a propaganda tool that promotes gentrification,
repression and environmental destruction. The origins of the Torch Relay
lie in the dark history of the 1936 Games in Berlin, where it was devised
as a means to spread Nazi fascism and to promote the Third Reich. (See
Globe and Mail article here: http://no2010.com/node/1113)

The 2010 Olympic Torch Relay is a $25 million publicity stunt to promote
the Olympic Brand, particularly its top sponsors. The Royal Bank of Canada
and Coca Cola are the main sponsors of the 2010 Torch relay. RBC is the
top financier of the environmentally devastating Alberta Tar Sands, while
Coca Cola has been responsible for health degradation as part of the junk
food industry, massive depletion of groundwater and toxic waste pollution
in India, and involved in hiring paramilitary groups to violently repress
union organizers in Colombia.

It is becoming increasingly evident that far from being simply about
sport, the 2010 Olympics is rooted in displacement, corporate greed,

Targeting of Anti-Olympics Movement

Maya — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 23:24:54 +0000

Approximately 15 VISU Joint Intelligence Group Visits in 48 hours

(Community notice and press release linked at:
http://olympicresistance.net/)

June 8, 2009, Coast Salish Territories (Vancouver)

Community Notice: Targeting of Anti-Olympics Movement
Approximately 15 VISU Joint Intelligence Group Visits in 48 hours

Between the afternoon of June 3 till June 5, 2009, approximately 15
anti-Olympics activists were visited by Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Unit (VISU) Joint Intelligence Group officers. Surprise visits by plain-clothes officers included home visits, work place visits, persistent phone calls, and intimidation of family members and neighbours. The patterns of visits reveal that VISU has clearly been spying on activists and making note of daily routines. In one case, an organizer was stopped on the road near the skytrain he uses daily on his way to work and followed into the packed station where VISU very publicly identified themselves and him. In some cases, the officers would not leave when activists refused to speak with them and demanded that they leave.

None of the activists approached agreed to these one on one "discussions" with VISU on Olympic security-related issues. Experience shows that such private meetings are not about dialogue, but are aimed at intimidation, controlling the visibility of protesters, and gathering intelligence on community activities.

Since 2007, police & intelligence agencies have targeted anti-2010
Olympics opposition as a ’security threat’ to the Games. This has
included media articles based on reports from CSIS and police
specifically mentioning Indigenous and other social movements in
Vancouver. Police have publicly stated their need to increase
surveillance of anti-2010 resistance. Beginning in 2008, CSIS and police also began attempts to recruit informants and gather information through interviews with people organizing anti-2010 resistance, or with people indirectly associated with our movement.