The Asturian Miners strike

[PaddyJoe]

The strike is now in the third week and the Madrid government is still refusing to negotiate on cuts of 63% in subsidies to the coal industry which will lead to thousands of job losses.
It's worth recalling that there is long tradition of opposition amongst the mining villages of Asturias.
In 1934 almost 2000 died in a revolt put down by the army and a strike in 1963 was the first against Franco's dictatorship.
There's some amazing photos here on the website of local newspaper leonoticias.com:
http://www.leonoticias.com/frontend/leonoticias/Batalla-Campal-En-El-Bierzo-vn100501-vst445

[CMK]

The strike is now in the third week and the Madrid government is still refusing to negotiate on cuts of 63% in subsidies to the coal industry which will lead to thousands of job losses.
It's worth recalling that there is long tradition of opposition amongst the mining villages of Asturias.
In 1934 almost 2000 died in a revolt put down by the army and a strike in 1963 was the first against Franco's dictatorship.
There's some amazing photos here on the website of local newspaper leonoticias.com:
http://www.leonoticias.com/frontend/leonoticias/Batalla-Campal-En-El-Bierzo-vn100501-vst445

Jaysus, it's only a hop, skip and a jump to AK47s and RPGs. Those guys look like they could and would use them. Victory to the Asturian Miners!

[PaddyJoe]

The miners' wifes, partners and daughters travelled to Madrid today to protest and got thrown out of the Senate for their pains:
Las Mujeres de los Mineros desalojadas del senado - YouTube

[Ogiol]

Fair play to them. Lets hope there's sufficient soladarity from other sectors of downtrodden society. Not too sure all or the majority of the indignats will be with them tho. What you think PJ?

[eamo]

The miners' wifes, partners and daughters travelled to Madrid today to protest and got thrown out of the Senate for their pains:
Las Mujeres de los Mineros desalojadas del senado - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6fwZsNK3n8&feature=player_embedded)

Angry women standing up for themselves and their families. GREAT!!

Can we have some of that sort of thing here please.

[C. Flower]

GO las Muheras! :D

[PaddyJoe]

Fair play to them. Lets hope there's sufficient soladarity from other sectors of downtrodden society. Not too sure all or the majority of the indignats will be with them tho. What you think PJ?

For starters this strike hasn't had a lot of coverage in the mainstream media in Spain. It has been squeezed out to a large extent because everything has been dominated by the rescate over the last couple of weeks.
It's been relegated to a local side show at the moment.

[fluffybiscuits]

63% drop in subsidies ! This is going to push people to the brink. I wish them the best of luck in their endeavours. Screw the establishment...

[Ogiol]

For starters this strike hasn't had a lot of coverage in the mainstream media in Spain. It has been squeezed out to a large extent because everything has been dominated by the rescate over the last couple of weeks.
It's been relegated to a local side show at the moment.

That and the Eurocopa! Nothing like sports to distract the ppl. Pan y Circo!

[PaddyJoe]

Coverage in the Guardian:

Eighty miners are setting out on the 248-mile journey from Mieres, a town near the Asturian capital, Oviedo. The "black march" will cover 19 stages, with miners joining from León, Teruel and Palencia along the way. Around 200 are expected to arrive in the Spanish capital next month, one of many acts planned to protest at the proposed 63% cuts in coal subsidies already approved by the EU.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/23/spain-desperate-miners-protest-march

[PaddyJoe]

Pitched battles today as the Guardia Civil take over the mining town of Ciñera. No movement on negotiation from the government.
http://www.lasextanoticias.com/videos/ver/batalla_campal_minera_en_cinera/617813

[PaddyJoe]

Getting ugly tonight near the town of Pola de Lenas in Asturias. Residents claim that the Guardia Civil moved in after nightfall and started firing teargas and rubber bullets.
#resistenciaminera #PoladeLena

[PaddyJoe]

These daily battles in mining towns are getting no coverage on Spanish TV. Might be related to the PP clearing out the management in the last couple of months. The head of News and Current Affairs for RTVE is now a guy who earned doctoral points for his thesis a few years ago on how the PP should go about winning back power from the PSOE.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OPbV4ATCzU&feature=youtu.be

[Sam Lord]

Pitched battles today as the Guardia Civil take over the mining town of Ciñera. No movement on negotiation from the government.
http://www.lasextanoticias.com/videos/ver/batalla_campal_minera_en_cinera/617813

Shocking footage. They are attacking entire communities. It reminded me of the early days of the conflict in the North.

[Sam Lord]

http://www.leonoticias.com/frontend/leonoticias/Batalla-Campal-En-El-Bierzo-vn100501-vst445

I liked the slogan on one guys T-Shirt.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Iron fists if they touch my people.

[Ogiol]

check this video out.
http://video.publico.es/videos/0/118003/1/recent

For those who dont understand (you can sense the anger tho) apart from cursing the authorities and fascist pp xxxxxxxxs, he states that by cutting the salaries of the td's by only 74% they wouldnt have had to make all the cuts they have in health, education, coal, transport, etc. Quite an amazing point and goes to show the pure hipocracy of the spanish establishment.

[PaddyJoe]

Shocking footage. They are attacking entire communities. It reminded me of the early days of the conflict in the North.
It is shocking stuff and for a lot of people its a throwback to the days of the dictatorship. The PP's agenda is to shut down mining and they're not too worried about how its done.

[PaddyJoe]

Coverage in the Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/23/spain-desperate-miners-protest-march

Huge crowds in the centre of Madrid to welcome the arrival of the miners after a 20 day march from Austurias and Leon:

http://i47.tinypic.com/2m3hc2e.jpg


http://i45.tinypic.com/1zpkz0h.jpg

Video clip:
La #nocheminera por Gran VÃ*a - YouTube

[C. Flower]

Impressive.

[PaddyJoe]

Interesting stuff from Spanish online newspaper www.publico.es which reports today that miner's wives are mounting pickets in the port town of El Musel where Goldman Sachs has been stockpiling coal imported from Colombia.
About 156k tons has been imported so far and GS intend to bring in at least 600k tons in total and hold it for sale later in the year.
http://www.publico.es/440211/las-mujeres-del-carbon-contra-goldman-sachs

[Kid Ryder]

Interesting stuff from Spanish online newspaper www.publico.es which reports today that miner's wives are mounting pickets in the port town of El Musel where Goldman Sachs has been stockpiling coal imported from Colombia.
About 156k tons has been imported so far and GS intend to bring in at least 600k tons in total and hold it for sale later in the year.
http://www.publico.es/440211/las-mujeres-del-carbon-contra-goldman-sachs

Just like the NCB in Britain did in 1982/3 in the lead-up to the Miners' Strike there as part of the Ridley Plan - Ridley Plan - from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridley_Plan)

I wouldn't be surprised at all if the Spanish govt. were consciously operating to this old formula.