No Fides – demonstration against police violence, militarization and surveillance

From August 15 to 19, the police and the army will hold the exercise „Fides“ (trust) in Bern. With the absurdly constructed scenario of a „long-lasting terrorist threat“, the protection of „critical infrastructure“ is to be trained, such as data centers of the energy industry and distribution centers of various goods, as well as important transport and government infrastructures.

The police and military want to portray themselves as trustworthy and protective. But these patriarchal and racist institutions not only represent a reactionary image of masculinity and „male alliances,“ of „blood and soil,“ of supposed strength and honor, but also guard border fences on a daily basis, practice racial profiling, and enforce deportation flights. As the armed arms of the state, they are geared to defend the prevailing conditions – if necessary with lethal force.

This year’s „Fides“ exercise speaks of a „long-lasting terrorist threat.“ But the state has long used the term „terrorism“ to create an image of the enemy, under which resistant and left-wing movements are increasingly denied the legitimacy for their activism and their criticism of existing conditions. Stricter legislation simplifies the work of repressive institutions against activists and their structures. In France, for example, the government classified over a hundred anti-fascist groups as terrorist threats and banned them at the same time. The repressive measures are now making anti-fascist work fundamentally more difficult. These developments raise the question of which groups and movements will be criminalized in the future. For example, will the military be activated in the future when the climate youth carry out blockade actions to bring one of the most urgent concerns to the public? Will in the future the police and the army fight against anti-fascist work and thus play into the hands of a worldwide trivialization of fascism?

To kick off this year’s „Fides“, we will take our various concerns and our critique of the state, police and military to the streets on Sunday, August 14. The restrictions by the repressive state organs in our everyday life are massive and the preservation of the structural power relations seems to be difficult to attack through the protection of the said institutions. But this does not prevent us from fundamentally criticizing the state as an institution and its organs that exercise violence. Nor does it prevent us from resisting the delegitimization of ourselves, our thoughts, and our struggles. No state, no police and no military of this world can stop our ideas of a society free of repression and violence, without discrimination and oppression.

Gathering on Sunday, August 14 at 15:00 on the Schützenmatte.

No Fides – never trust cops, soldiers or the state!

Footnote: This demonstration will not be authorized. We consider it absurd to ask for permission to criticize the prevailing conditions, especially in this context. We are aware that demonstrations in themselves, and especially when they are not authorized, are not a form of action accessible to all.