(en) Germany, The Anarchist Forum Cologne: An Email-Interview with the Anarchists from Syria

Anarchistische Forum K?ln (AFK): How are your relations to the FSA, the Regime and the 
Kurdish AutonomyGovenment? ---- We support the Syrian revolution for freedom and dignity 
against the dictatorship of Bashar Al Assad and the Baath Party. We support secular and 
democratic elements of the FSA and the right of all people to resist tyranny through armed 
struggle. But at the current time there has been an increase and domination of Islamist 
groups within the FSA which we cannot support and are cautious about their agenda (these 
are still considered separate from the counter-revolutionary extremist Jihadi groups such 
as ISIS and Jabhat Al Nusra which everyone in Syria oppose). We support the Kurdish right 
to self-determination and our Kurdish comrades in struggle.

We support Kurdish fighters which tend to be secular and democratic.

AFK : Are there any active anarchist groups in Syria? Since when do these groups exist? - 
What are their activities, how do they do it?

There are no active anarchist groups inside Syria. The Syrian anarchist collective of 
which we are part is a small group of people who are mainly outside Syria at the current 
time. We communicate, exchange information and support each other through private 
communications. We also have a public Face Book page where we try to inform people outside 
about the situation in Syria and the Syrian Revolution 
https://www.facebook.com/syrian.anarchists

Individual anarchists/libertarians inside Syria participate in the revolutionary 
activities in their communities and especially the local councils/committees.

We made contact and learn of each other and begin to work together since the start of the 
revolution. We hope in the future we can build on these activities and become more active 
as a collective.

AFK : What about anarcho-feminists?

There is a Syrian anarcho-feminist Facebook page but we do not think they are an active 
group and do not have contact with them. Our collective is made up of both men and woman 
and we believe women's struggle is central to liberation of Syria.
https://www.facebook.com/SYR.A.F.M

AFK : Where can we find libertarian activists in the different areas controlled by the 
Free Syrian Army, the Regime or the Kurdish Zone?

Libertarian activists are in areas under FSA and Kurdish control. They participate in 
their communities in revolutionary activities particularly through local committees and 
local councils.

AFK : Are there any areas, where anarchists are the majority or where anarchist ideas are 
being practiced (or where this may be possible in the future)?

Anarchists in Syria are very small in number and there are no organized groups. But 
anarchist practice has been at the heart of the uprising in terms of horizontal self 
organization of the people. This is strongest in the local councils and local committees 
which were founded by Syrian anarchist Omar Aziz. Autonomous, horizontal self organization 
in areas liberated from the State has been stronger in Syria than any of the other Arab 
countries. For more information see:
http://leilashrooms.wordpress.com/2013/10/20/

We hope that these experiments plant seeds for a more libertarian consciousness in the 
future and support the development of such activities.

Many revolutionary activists now have no faith in the regime, formal opposition and 
mainstream parties.

AFK : How did the growing violence change your socio-political activities?

The increasing violence has impacted the revolution and revolutionary activities as a 
whole. The situation in Syria now is a very hard one. There is massive destruction, 
instability and humanitarian crisis. With increasing militarization has come increasing 
Islamization and sectarianism. Many activists have had to flee the country- not only 
because of the persecution of the regime but also the persecution by extremist Islamist 
groups (counter-revolutionary forces) such as ISIS and Jabhat Al Nusra. It is increasingly 
difficult for people to organize- life now has become about survival. However, the 
revolutionary activities continue and there is still wide-spread support for the original 
goals of the revolution. We continue to support such efforts and continue to call for 
international solidarity for this struggle.

AFK : What do anarchists in Syria think about the role of unions and are there any 
workplace struggles at the moment?

We do not know about workplace struggles although in the early days of the revolution 
there were a number of strikes which had wide participation across the country. It was 
difficult in Syria because of the Baath Party domination of the Unions so there was little 
recent history of strong labor organization. The struggles are mainly in neighbourhoods 
and towns.

We suggest the following resources for further information in English:
http://darthnader.net/

http://truth-out.org/news/item/18617-syrian-anarchist-challenges-the-rebel-regime-binary-view-of-resistance

http://tahriricn.wordpress.com/tag/syria/

http://leilashrooms.wordpress.com/

http://budourhassan.wordpress.com/

http://syriafreedomforever.wordpress.com/ (Revolutionary socialist/
trotskyist but have some good information about struggle on the ground)

We are happy to have further cooperation.


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*The Anarchist Forum Cologne ( www.anarchistischesforumkoeln.blogsport.de )
sent some questions to comrades from Syria about the situation there and recieved this 
answers?