WOT'S A PINK BLOCK ?

It's a set of tactics that sprung up during the IMF and the World Bank Summit in Prague. It was there that such tactics turned out to be very successful and enabled a segment of protesters to get as far as the Conference Centre. Since then, they have been used again and again in numerous direct actions and protests. They rely on resistance incorporating music, merriment, and motleys.

Their purpose is to advocate both queerness (transcending male and female gender roles and oppression due to patriarchy) and cross-dressing. They explore and integrate a wide range of actions within the same protest, yet by using humour and flair, often aim to subvert and sabotage the system's weapons and its means of oppression. They go beyond the imaginary boundaries between violence and non-violence. They are intentionally obnoxious; however, within power relations that are often elitist, they do not automatically pursue head-on confrontation and pressure build-ups. Instead they attempt to neutralise police forces through avoidance strategies and constant shifting.

The Pink Block can be summed up in the slogan "If I can't dance, then it ain't my revolution." On its path, it often creates a friendly and energetic atmosphere as much for protesters as for passers-by. Having no leader or representative, the Pink Block is based on a collection of affinity groups: samba players, dancers, barricade-builders, trashcan-tippers, legal, medical teams, an independent media team. These affinity groups are actually small groups of people who know and trust each other in addition to providing each other with specific goals for actions plus, for the group, defence techniques against the police. They have pre-arranged to communicate and co-operate among themselves inside the procession by using various methods: signs, flags, spokescouncils (meetings for affinity group delegates), and music. These gestures are customary at each protest and are continually improving. Each group can decide to stand on its own, apart from the block, at any moment.


[text written at the G8 Counter-Summit in Lausanne]