SUMMARY OF THE FIRST EIGHT DAYS OF RESTISTANCE: PROTESTS IN VIENNA

Tuesday 1 Feb' 2000 Occupation of the ÖVP Headquarters

Occupation of the Headquarters of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) from 10 a.m.. Activists unfurled banners from the roof. Between 40 and 60 demonstrators were continuously in front of the building. Relatively few police were present and there was no violent clearance of the demonstration. The leader of the Young ÖVP, Werner Amon was to negotiate with the activists occupying the building who were offered an amnesty if they left the building. The activists did not accept the offer.

A far from small number of demonstrators spent the night outside the front of the building in solidarity with the occupying protestors. Rope were used to transport sleeping bags and food on to the roof. The ÖVP denied the media access to the demonstrators and telephone was the only means of contacting them.

Demonstration in front of the Parliament and Street Blockades

In the evening another demonstration principally organised by "gettoattack" against the ÖVP/FPÖ coalition negotiations was held in front of the Parliament. Demonstrators subsequently blocked a number of streets. Police were present but seem to have had strict instructions not too intervene.

Wednesday 2 Feb' Large Demonstration - Police Estimate 10,000, International Media Estimate 20,000 Demonstrators

A demonstration organised by "SOS-Mitmensch" started in front of the ÖVP headquarters around 5:00 p.m.. The occupation of the ÖVP centre ended without problems with authorities around 6.00 p.m.. The registered demonstration moved to Ballhausplatz (the square in Vienna on which both the Federal President and the Federal Chancellor have their offices). Speakers included André Heller, Elfriede Hammerl, Peter Pilz, Heide Schmidt, Luc Bondy, and Max Koch. Many people jangled their keys under the motto "No Schlüssel (Keys) for Schüssel".

Unregistered Demo Followed

More than 1000 people continued through the city centre. Ballhausplatz, the headquarters of the ÖVP and the FPÖ and Parliament were fixed points. The march proceeded against the direction of the traffic and drivers were encouraged to "toot against the right ". The police was present again but did not intervene. The demonstration broke up around 1.00 a.m..

Thursday 3 Feb' Alarm! Drumming

According to the newspaper "Die Presse" around 50 mainly young people began demonstrating in the afternoon in Josefsplatz so as to welcome all those close to or belonging to the FPÖ with whistles and boos. Protests were also reported in the morning.
A larger demonstration began as usual around 5.00 p.m. in front of ÖVP headquarters. The demonstrators again marched randomly through the streets of central Vienna. The demonstration was, like its forerunners characterised by the noise of drumming, whistles and horns and the largely positive feedback from the people of Vienna. At the same time elsewhere in the city the time for the swearing in of the new FPÖ/ÖVP coalition was being fixed: midday 4 Feb' 2000.

Occupation of a Skating Rink, the Burg Theatre and the Hotel Imperial

Around 9.00 p.m. the demonstrators used the skating rink at the Town Hall Square for a short time. At around 10.00 p.m. they entered the Burg Theatre without problems - staff held the doors open for them - from the stage in the middle of the performance appealed for resistance and were met with standing ovations and applause. The demonstration finally proceeded further along the Ring Strasse where the noble hotel Imperial was occupied for around 30 minutes.

First Arrest

Around 300 demonstrators were still in front of FPÖ headquarters at midnight when a sixteen-year old participant was arrested the demonstration ended around 12:30 a.m.

Friday 5 Feb' Demonstration on the Occasion of the Government Swearing In

The demonstration began on Ballhausplatz around 10.30 a.m where the new government was to be sworn in. "FrauenLesbenMädchen" (WomenLesbiansGirls) had already announced a demonstration here for an independent Ministry of Women's Affairs several days before. Around 5,000 people assembled at the scene of the ceremony. Numerous police equipped with helmets, shields and batons were intended to protect the barriers and the cordoned-off area. Some of the people present threw eggs, tomatoes, fruit, crackers and paint bombs. The first confrontations between police and demonstrators occurred. Although it had been announced that the swearing in had been postponed to 1.00 p.m. in fact it took place at ca. 12.30 p.m.. The newly sworn-in government had to leave the President's office via a secret underground passage instead of the usual way across Ballhausplatz.

Occupation of the Ministry for Labour, Health and Social Affairs

The demo march then proceeded along the Ring Strasse. The Ministry for Labour Health and Social Affairs was then renamed the "Ministry for Resistance" (see photos on the homepage) and stormed by about 200 people. A banner was unrolled from a balcony, flags waved and flyers were thrown. The staff of the Ministry were totally friendly but the police thought it necessary to intervene, hindered the activists from leaving (!) the building and pushed demonstrators outside back from the entry with batons. After some time all the activists occupying the Ministry were able to leave it again.

Further Progress of the Demonstration - Colombian Embassy Shows Solidarity with Demonstrators

The march moved on to FPÖ headquarters, Ballhausplatz and ÖVP headquarters. Further confrontations with police took place at each of the stops. The Colombian Embassy let several activists in and a banner was unfurled from a window. The police wanted to intervene but this was not really in the interest of the Colombian Embassy.

Evening, the Demonstration Goes On - Escalation of the Situation

Around 7.00 p.m. there appears to have been an instruction for the police no longer to show such "great tolerance" as they has up to then. The demonstration moved on, house walls, busses and underground stations were sprayed with "Resistance", "against" and "Haider is a fascist". Around 10.00 p.m. the demonstrators were in the vicinity of Karlsplatz upon which underground trains ceased stopping or travelling through this station. At the same time the President of Police, Steidl, declared the more than 200 remaining demonstrators "marauding hordes with a lust for making noise".

Escalation, Police Use Water Cannon

Around 10.30 p.m. things escalated in front of FPÖ headquarters after some people had meanwhile thrown paving stones. The police considered it necessary to "go in hard" and there was a massive use of water cannons and batons. There were several injured on both the side of the activists as well as that of the police though the official numbers are inconsistent and seem questionable. Several activists were arrested.

Saturday 5 Feb' : Protests Continue, Demonstrators Cover Long Distance through Vienna

Once again large numbers of demonstrators assembled in Ballhausplatz and in front of ÖVP headquarters around 5:00 p.m. before marching through the city centre to the FPÖ headquarters and on to Karlsplatz.
After crossing the 4th and 5th districts, Westbahnhof (Vienna's West Station) was "stormed". The march then returned to Parliament. Demonstrators once again covered a relatively long distance. After a large part of the demonstration had dissolved around 11:30 p.m. several hundred activists returned once again to FPÖ headquarters followed by what was meanwhile a relatively large number of police. After a very peaceful demonstration, partly sitting, the police gradually left but the last demonstrator did not leave the scene till 2:00 a.m.. The general atmosphere was very positive and there were few incidents. Residents and car drivers offered support and tooted approvingly.

Sunday 6 Feb': March-Demo to Küniglberg (Austrian Broadcasting Corporation Headquarters)

The ORF (Austrian Broadcasting Corporation) current affairs talk show "Zur Sache" (To The Point) on which four party speakers were to take part had been moved from its traditional venue in the Haas-Haus in the city centre to the studio in the ORF headquarters as protests were expected in Stephansplatz in front of the Haas Haus and it was intended to avoid excessive noise during the programme. Demonstrators met around 8:00 p.m. in Ballhausplatz and, despite everything, marched the 6 km to Küniglberg where the broadcast was held.
The demonstrators were once again celebrated by many residents along the way. The number of protestors increased continually and according to ORF statements eventually around 7000 people assembled in front of the ORF studios. Having reached their destination, activists made loud protests and drumming was also heard. There were no incidents and the demo ran peacefully. Among others a banner reading "ORF lies" was hauled up. Around midnight the demonstrators left Küniglberg, accompanied by a far from limited police presence and the demonstration slowly broke up.

Monday 7 Feb': No End to the Protests

The first people gathered on Ballhausplatz from 5:00 p.m. on and by 7:00 p.m. the number of protestors had grown rapidly. Once again around 10,000 people marched through Vienna's streets crossing the 10th district to Reumannplatz south of the city. The demo subsequently moved on to Austrian Radio's headquarters and returned to the inner city. The demonstration slowly dissolved in front of the Parliament around midnight and there were no incidents. After the two party headquarters of the ÖVP and FPÖ were increasingly guarded by armed police demonstrators decided against visiting the two buildings also on this day.

Tuesday 8 Feb' Parliament Sealed Off , Exclusion Zone in Force

On the occasion of the first Parliamentary session after the swearing in the Parliament building and the surrounding area were sealed off. From Tuesday on and for the first time since 1967, the exclusion zone around the Parliament that actually should/could exist during every session is to be observed. No demonstrations/gatherings are permitted in a radius of 300 meters around the Parliament. Anyone not complying will "in the worst case" (according to ORF [Austrian Broadcasting Corporation]) be arrested. Around 600 police were in attendance.
The expected or feared storm on the area did not, however, occur. Only a few people were on the scene all afternoon. From Tuesday public transport and traffic in the inner city was finally paralysed by the police too. There would seem to be dispute about the extent to which the Parliamentary session was public.
While it was officially announced that the session was open under increased security measures (identity controls), several people had a different experience when trying to realise the announcement (see texts on the Homepage).

Evening Demo - "Clearly more than 6000" Demonstrators in the Second District

A number of people who wanted to continue the protest against the Austrian government began assembling on Ballhausplatz around 5:00 p.m. They marched towards Burggasse and through the 6th and 7th districts.
Around 7:00 p.m. they joined further demonstrators once again on Ballhausplatz. The following protest march involving several thousand people went around the Ring Strasse and then into the 2nd district. The crowd subsequently marched back to the inner city and slowly dissolved in front of the Parliament around 11:00 p.m..

Additional Activities

Around 3 p.m. the Greens (in particular) erected a speaker's corner near the Burg Theatre where information on the current situation is available. Meanwhile an action committee against the new coalition government was founded. People from various group (including the KPÖ (Austrian Communist Party), KSV, VSSTÖ and Green Unionists) met to consider their next steps. They described themselves as the "organising part" of the protest movement. The media reported of organisation services which are meant to co-ordinate the demonstrations and compared them partly with an element of the present protest movement that has increasingly demanded "non violence" (on the side of demonstrators).

10.2. Demo - Route fixed in advance

Once again several thousand protestors gathered in Ballhausplatz at 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.. For the first time the demo route was (by a self-appointed "demo director") fixed in advance and agreed with the police (but not registered). The demonstrators marched to the Brunnen Market (in Ottakring) via the University a nd
Alser Strasse and back to Parliament via the "Gürtel" (Outer Ring) and the Ring Strasse
where the demo slowly broke up.
On this day we received the first reports of increased identity checks above all on people of "non-Austrian appearance" in connection with the demonstrations.

11.2. Occupation of the building of the Industry Association - Evening Demo

Around 11 a.m. around 10 people occupied the building of the Industry Association on Vienna's Schwarzenberg Platz for a short time. They waved a red flag from a window and unfurled a banner. Around 15 people gathered in front of the building along with a similar number of police. A speech was read and flyers were distributed. The building was chosen to draw attention to the connections between the politics of the new government and the politics of capital (see the declaration of the occupying activists). The activists expressed their thanks for the "hospitality" from the Industry Association and left.

Several thousand demonstrators assembled in Ballhausplatz at 7:00 p.m.. They moved through the second and twentieth districts (including Wallenstein Platz). Once again, the demonstration ended in front the Parliament.

12.2. LARGE DEMONSTRATION (registered) incl. sound system

Around 2000 demonstrators assembled as early as 2:00 p.m. at Vienna's West Station
where they intended to meet protestors arriving from other parts of Austria. By 3.15 p.m. there were already more than 5000 people in Mariahilfer Strasse accompanied, on this occasion by a sound system. As always whistles, drumming and slogans (above all "Widerstand" 'resistance') were to be heard and numerous banners were to be seen. The demonstration moved on, at first, along Mariahilfer Straße to the first district. More and more protestors joined the demo so that at least 15,000 people were demonstrating in front of the Parliament.
As planned, the route continued towards Heiligenstadt to the Platz des 12.Februar (in front of the Karl-Marx-Hof), where a loud final proclamation took place.
Several police officers were greeted with ketchup and dog food along the way but there were no reports of fines or arrests.
A further protest event took place in front of the Parliament at 7:00 p.m. "HipHop against Black/Blue" which was attended by several hundred people.

[thanks to the translator]