Today's Topics:
1. AGAINST THE ASSAD REGIME'S CONQUEST OF EASTERN
ALEPPO -- The
Rojava-Syria Solidarity Committee of Black Rose/Rosa Negra
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
2. France, Alternative Libertaire AL Decembre - Migrants and
migrants: Ferns open and inclusive (fr, it, pt) [machine
translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
3. Britain, class war: Harrods staff demand full payment of
tips (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
4. Greece, Athens: Manifestation against the "sub-minimum wage"
(ca, gr) [machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
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Message: 1
We members of the Black Rose/Rosa Negra Rojava-Syria Solidarity Committee (BRRN-RSSC) in
the strongest terms condemn the Bashar al-Assad regime and its Russian and Iranian allies
for their recent conquest of Eastern Aleppo. This brutal defeat of the Aleppo rebels, who
were both secular and Islamist, has entailed massively indiscriminate bombardment and
besiegement by the Syrian regime and allied Russian and Iranian forces against a civilian
population numbering 250,000 people over the past several months. On December 12, 2016,
this ruthless "scorched-Earth" policy targeting Eastern Aleppo yielded a final defeat of
the rebels there, in addition to an "agreement" supposedly stipulating their evacuation
with families to secure areas. Credible reports nonetheless warn that, in numerous cases,
Assad's victorious forces and their allies have not observed these publicized truces since
their capture of the remainder of the city: they are accused of forcibly disappearing
hundreds of men and boys since taking over the remaining sections of former rebel presence
within the millennia-old citadel. The defeat of those defending what was formerly known
as "Free Aleppo" was prosecuted by the cruelest of methods, involving wanton destruction
of human lives, especially those of children, by regime and Russian mass-aerial
bombardment and artillery strikes of the rebel-held districts. The extensive atrocities
of which the Syrian military and paramilitary forces stand accused of having committed in
Eastern Aleppo are one with the Assad regime's general modus operandi of despotic terror,
which has led to an estimated 60,000 forcible disappearances since the beginning of the
Syrian Revolution in March 2011.
The RSSC clearly acknowledges that the Syrian Revolution exists and continues, even amidst
the loss of Aleppo to regime forces. The devastating fall of Aleppo and the enormous
human suffering this has entailed represent tragedies of immense proportions which cannot
be overlooked by revolutionaries or humanity in general. This "victory" for the Assad
regime and its crimes against humanity also anticipate generally negative outcomes for the
Syrian Revolution. With the State's recent capture of Aleppo and of Daraya four months
ago, Assad has few major Syrian cities that remain beyond his dictatorial reach. Save for
Rojava and the territory still held by the Islamic State, only Idlib and smaller cities
remain under rebel control. From pillaged spaces, the destruction of base needs, and a
resurgence of rare diseases to disappearances, mass executions, being buried under
collapsing buildings, and having only one hospital functioning in a city of nearly 2
million, it's only reasonable that people escape war, or fight in it. Regarding armed
struggle, we wish to clarify that the much-maligned far-right Jabhat Fatah al-Sham
(formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, or JAN) remained a distinct minority within the rebel forces of
Eastern Aleppo, and that it had in fact been expelled from the district by the organized
revolutionaries for nearly a year until last summer, when it regrouped to assist with
breaking the siege maintained by Assad and his allies, leading to the final outcome we now
observe. In parallel, the Eastern Aleppo rebels expelled Islamic State forces from the
area as early as 2014. Under the circumstances created by authoritarian leaders like
Assad and imperialistic states such as the United States and Russia, we must support
refugees at all costs, and in as many ways as we can. We expect that Assad and his
Russian and Iranian military allies will now repeat the terror waged against the civilian
population of Eastern Aleppo by turning to similarly bombard the remaining Sunni-majority
cities and people into submission and carrying out forcible disappearances and summary
executions en masse.
In reflecting on the fall of Aleppo, we must be critical of the role the Kurdish
Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its world-renowned militias, the YPG and YPJ, played in
this process. While the international anti-authoritarian left has rightly hailed the
Rojava Revolution (2012-present) as an emancipatory development reminiscent of the Spanish
Revolution of 1936-1939, less attention has been focused to date on the relationship
between Rojava and the regime. The truth is that the undeniable gains made in the Rojava
Revolution were made possible by Assad's withdrawal of forces from the northeastern region
of Syria in 2012-unfortunately, the very opposite of the situation for the Syrian
Revolution, with movements from the Sunni Arab-majority regions of the country arrayed
against Assad bearing massive losses during these same years. Indeed, some critical
commentators have charged the PYD with either remaining "neutral" toward or even openly
siding with the regime since 2012. In terms of Aleppo, the PYD's militias are accused of
having conspired with Assad and his various reactionary international allies in
dismantling the Aleppene council system and bringing the city district back under State
control. We wish to investigate these claims about the actions of the PYD's militias in
Aleppo further, expressing our concern, and we declare our support-apart from some of
PYD's military aspects-for the TEV-DEM movement struggling to implement democratic
confederalism through the construction of popular power based on communes and councils in
the region, as well as the specifically feminist elements of the Rojava Revolution.
Amidst this negative turn of events following the fall of Aleppo-the very silencing of the
Arab Revolutions, perhaps, at least for now-we recognize the dignity of the resistance of
the Syrian civil defense to the atrocities of Assad, Russia, Iran, and their allied
militias. We declare our support for the Syrian Revolution that lives on in the remaining
Local Coordinating Committees (LCCs) and parallel self-organizational efforts, as in the
martyrdom of those taken since the onset of the Revolution and its development into a
global/regional civil war. We denounce the terrible disregard for human life demonstrated
by the counter-revolutionary State and international military forces in Aleppo and
throughout much of Syria. We demand an immediate cessation of arms sales and transfers to
the Assad regime and a withdrawal of the Russian and Iranian militaries and the Shi'ite
militias from Iraq, Lebanon, and Afghanistan that are propping up a tottering
dictatorship, in addition to a suspension of US/NATO support for the Kurdish militias and
the financing and arming of right-wing Islamist rebels by Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and
other reactionary Gulf kingdoms. We believe that only by clearing the field in Syria of
all imperialist interventions will progress toward justice and liberation be achieved, as
these imperialist forces will inevitably only cause a degradation of liberatory
strategies, and will surmount to a furthering of proxy warfare. We further support the
immediate investigation and prosecution of Assad and his allies for their violations of
international and natural law. We encourage our comrades and readers everywhere to
organize in favor of Syrian refugees and the threatened Revolution, against foreign
intervention and militarism in Syria as well as Assad's resurgent fascism.
Al-sha'ab yourid isqat al-nizam! "The People want the fall of the regime!"
- The Rojava-Syria Solidarity Committee of Black Rose/Rosa Negra
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Message: 2
Since October 25, a reception and guidance center (CAD) opened Beaucé, in the community of
common Ferns (20 and 000 inhabitants), to accommodate 140 réfugié.es following the
dismantling of the jungle Calais. ---- Following the announcement of a CAD in Fougeres
(Ille-et-Vilaine), the extreme right, as usual, tried to go up against precarious each
other. The Regional laying FN - resident in Fougeres - wanted to organize an event to
mobilize its supporters against migrants and migrant. ---- Many false leaflets (on the
flight work by asylum seekers - even though they and they can not work - on possible
attacks on public money spent ...) were broadcast. The presence of the extreme right in
the markets and in public spaces has created significant tension with residents and
inhabitants, even as the FN claims to have a speech to appeasement.
In response, many political organizations, associations, original residents have
organisé.es to fight against this speech. Thus, in parallel antimigrants rally organized
by the extreme right, which brought together about 100 people from all over Britain, 750
people gathered shouting "Fougeres, Fougeres, open and united" to show support for future
residents of CAD.
social ties against rejection
The far right had bet on potential spillovers to validate his speech. Other cities hosting
for several months CAD testify if some residents and some inhabitants may be receptive and
responsive to the speech of the far right, the experience has not validated their hopes.
This is to accommodate the best male and female migrants and bring the best possible
reception, a group of residents and inhabitants has created Fougeres Solidaires. This
class is complementary charities designated to accompany the reception, to propose actions
and activities to réfugié.es and Fougerais and Fougeraises (city tours, cafes, board
games, collecting clothes, repair bikes ...).
This group has existed since mid-October, has been opened to residents of CAD and some
participating. Beyond solidarity that contributes to exist, the collective can create
social ties between inhabitants and the inhabitants themselves and with residents and
resident.
In this pre-election period many political parties are trying to make their butter by
appropriating such popular initiatives. The proposed democratic framework for the
collective can fight against this recovery. This framework also enables participants and
residents of the CAD to experiment with direct democracy and self-management, as well as
exchanging collectively on the relevance of the actions and positions of the group.
Indeed, certain forms of aid can be infantilizing and embarrass residents and residents. A
collective framework allows for reflection.
The opening of the CAO had consequences far beyond the strict welcome and collective
responses are encouraging.
Céline (AL Ferns)
http://www.alternativelibertaire.org/?Migrantes-et-migrants-Fougeres
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Message: 3
Harrods faces strikes and protests over ‘unfair' tips policy ---- from Politics.co.uk, 23
December 2016: Harrods is facing demonstrations and possible strike action by staff over
its tips policy, Politics.co.uk can reveal. ---- Workers at the high-end department
store's restaurants are involved in a dispute with bosses over the amount the company
deducts from the service charge. ---- The United Voices of the World Union (UVW), which
represents a number of the workers, says that Harrods takes an unspecified percentage of
the tips left for waiters and staff by customers. ---- Staff say they have been left in
the dark over the amount being deducted from the service charge because they do not
receive a full breakdown of what they receive. They have complained to management over
Harrods' refusal to confirm in writing the percentage they take...
Full article here
More info as it comes!
http://www.classwarparty.org.uk/harrods-waiters-demand-full-payment-tips/
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Message: 4
Informative text of several student groups on a demonstration against the "sub - minimum"
wage, on December 17 in the center of Athens. ---- Following an initiative of autonomous
student groups at the Polytechnic School of Athens, and libertarian groups in Athens on
Saturday 17 December 2016 at noon a demonstration was held against the salary "sub -
minimum" and in general against the undervaluation of our work. The appeal was made by the
Cook Association, the Peristeri People's Assembly, the Kipseli-Patission Resistance and
Solidarity Assembly, the Syntagma Square Workers and Unemployment Assembly, the Rocinante
Anarcho-Syndicalist Initiative, the Union of Trade Unions Libertarian, the Assembly of
anarchists for social and class emancipation, as well as fellow workers and associations,
neighborhood assemblies and squatters, and political communities.
More than 150 students, colleagues and colleagues marched in various downtown streets of
the commercial and tourist center of Athens, finishing, even temporarily, with the
"festive" atmosphere, with which the state, mayors and bosses try to hide the Wages of
hunger, work without social security, unpaid overtime, work on Sunday, and intensification
of excessive work prevailing in this period.
During the demonstration, leaflets were distributed to workers and consumers, and flyers
were thrown at the "sub-minimum wage", the new anti-worker bill being prepared, as well as
the diachronic undervaluation of our work. Stops were made at the bookstore Ianos on the
street Eolu, highlighting the repression and exploitation of workers in this
company-dungeon in recent years, Everest in Monastiraki, for the murders of workers by the
management of the company. At Everest production stopped, and members of the Association
of waiters and cooks distributed leaflets and engaged in conversation with the companions
of this company.
Then the march went to the offices of the Greek Confederation of Commerce and
Entrepreneurship, which has contributed during the last years to the undervaluation of our
work, to work without social security, and to the imposition of work on Sunday in the
Sector of commerce. When slogans were painted on the door of the building, the timbers of
the so-called anti-riot forces, as real protectors of the patrons, came to protect this
association from the employers. The march arrived at the subway station of Monastiraki,
where slogans were shouted in favor of free access to the mass media.
It is necessary to continue our struggle against the diachronic undervaluation of our
work, as well as against the new anti-worker law proposal being prepared by the State and
Capital. We must continue in a more organized, more massive, more combative and more
dangerous way!
Autonomous Group of Electrical Engineers, Autonomous Group of Surveyors, Libertarian Group
of the Piraeus Technical School, Libertarian Group of Jarokopios, Companions
NdT The motto of the poster of one of the photos: "Abolition of all subliminal wages. To
block the proposed anti-worker law. " The graffiti on the window of the bookstore Ianós:
"Riot forces, bullies and aggressions: This is the culture of Ianós". The graffiti on the
wall: "40 hours for 400 euros? Slap and kick all the bosses. "
http://verba-volant.info/es/atenas-manifestacion-contra-el-salario-subminimo/
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