C@NDID CAMERA: Anarchist film night in Cardiff

Cardiff Anarchist Network held a film showing this evening, featuring videos on Colombia and Mexico.

EMPIRE IN THE ANDES is Documentary about “PLAN COLOMBIA” which claims to be a war on drugs but in reality has been a systematic stripping of Colombia of its natural resources to create profit for multi-national corporations. This is being achieved by state funded paramilitary groups used to intimidate and murder opposition. Forty per-cent of the population now live in poverty. Human rights organisations estimate thousands of Colombians have been “disappeared” this is part of how a dictatorial government maintains its grip on power.

Following the film we had a bit of a chat about it, which was helped by the fact that one of the gang had just come back from Colombia.

ROMPER EL CERCO (BREAKING THE SIEGE), on the other hand was about events on May 3^rd 2006, in San Salvador Atenco Mexico.

Two months before presidential elections. Federal and state police blocked markets and streets to break up a demonstration. This led to days of violent clashes between townspeople and police. The results of this oppression led to death, abuse of those in custody and many recorded human rights violations including rape of female prisoners who had not even been part of the demonstration. The film highlighted the corruption in the government and the bias of the state run media.

As this film finished there was no chat this time, the room was stunned into silence, the atrocities and brutality demonstrated by the police were so appalling no-one could find words to comment.

These films contained footage that should be seen by everyone, but the fact that stuff like this never makes it onto mainstream TV demonstrates the bias of the media and how important independent radical film making really is.

Both films are well worth tracking down if you can.