The April Assemblies were days of solidarity and resistance that took place over the three days scheduled for the April 11 trial, on the eve of the 50th anniversary of April 25.
Who are the “April Eleven”?
These are 11 people who were called to trial for refusing to consent to a deadly system, and resisting. What did they do? They stopped normality for 30 minutes, blocking the entrance to the Marquês de Pombal tunnel in a political protest, letting emergency vehicles pass.
Why did they do that? So that we stop normalizing the current violence and everyone stops consenting to the destruction of everything we love.
You can read their testimony here: https://www.climaximo.pt/fomos-onze-temos-de-ser-muito-mais-de-mil/
What happened at the April Assemblies?
The trial of the “Eleven of April”, Climáximo supporters who blocked Avenida Eng. Duarte Pacheco in Lisbon in December 2023, had only one hearing on the morning of Monday 22nd. The trial sessions were consecutively postponed due to the strike by court officials.
The program went on for three days, even with the postponement of the trial. It included solidarity concerts, debates, action assemblies and materials sessions. We talked about the state’s current repression as well as the Disarmament Plan and Peace Plan and how we are going to, side by side, stop the destruction and build a society with care at its core.
Close to a hundred people attended the April Assemblies in solidarity.
At Monday’s Action Assembly, the various participants decided which measures of the Disarmament Plan they want to “emphasize” in a “great action of resistance against the war that has been declared on us”. The measures discussed at this assembly followed on from the Resistance Assembly, which took place last December. At that assembly there was a vote to define the strategic priorities of the climate justice movement for the year 2024.
The demands chosen at the Action Assembly on April 22 were: “Not one more project that increases greenhouse gas emissions”, “End all public investments in fossil fuels”, and “Income justice for the climate – the 1% pay”.
To find out more about where we are, what Climáximo is doing and how you can join the Climate Resistance, come along to GAIA-Lisboa (Rua da Regueira 40, Alfama) on Thursday, May 9, at 7pm, or to one of the upcoming public presentation sessions, announced on the website.
To find out more about these measures, check out Climáximo’s Disarmament Plan here: https://www.climaximo.pt/plano/
There were 11. We have to be more than a thousand.
