As revolutionary queers, we acknowledge that the police and prisons are tools of dominant orders. From Tiohtià:ke to Gaza, we denounce the sustained criminalization of resistance. Recently, here, protesters were arrested in actions of the Palestine Youth Movement after being assaulted by Zionists. Meanwhile, Israel continues to detain masses of Palestinians, be they men, women, children, or queer individuals.
Let's not forget the increased police violence and criminalization that target our queer communities. We denounce the SPVM's targeting of transfeminine and non-binary activists over the past year. The police have never been and will never be allies of queer movements.
On this March 15th, we must discard liberal narratives that paint the police as guarantors of our protection. Even today, we know that the most marginalized individuals (queers, Indigenous peoples, and people of color) are overrepresented in prisons and arrests. We know that our trans comrades continue to be sent to prisons based on their assigned sex at birth and suffer numerous physical and sexual assaults.
During the March 15th demonstration, we call for a queer and revolutionary contingent. In addition to denouncing police brutality, we demand the abolition of police and prisons. Let's continue to strengthen our community self-defense capabilities! Let's continue to explore new possibilities like transformative justice systems! Let's reclaim power to combat the material injustices that create situations of criminalization!
From Tiohtià:ke to Gaza, the struggle against police, the IOF (Israeli Occupation Force), and prisons is part of our collective liberation!
For more info about the protest itself, check out the collectif 15 mars website.