Today's Topics:
1. France, Alternative Libertaire AL Novembre - Iraqi
Kurdistan: The inconsistency of Barzani, the consternation of the
PKK (fr, it, pt) [machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
2. wsm.ie: Undocumented youth organising in Ireland - Young
Paperless & Powerful speak out (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
3. US, black rose fed: CUBA AND THE DEMONIZATION OF ANARCHISTS:
A LESSON FOR OUR TIMES By Rafael Uzcategui
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
4. anarkismo.net: The independence of hallucinations by
Salvador * (gr) [machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
5. Greece, APO - Text, poster and banner on November 25th from
the initiative of women against patriarchy Posted by dwarf (gr)
[machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
6. Australia, collective action: What happened in Melbourne
yesterday? (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
7. libertas Initiative of Thessaloniki: For Black Friday -
Coordination of action against Sunday's work and "liberated
hours" (gr) [machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
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Message: 1
By organizing an independence referendum on 25 September, the president of the Kurdistan
Regional Government of Iraq (GRK), Massoud Barzani, thought he was making a good
calculation. It was a pantalonnade that surprised even his rivals. ---- While his term had
expired for two years and the protest was mounting, the referendum on independence could
reassert the authority of Massoud Barzani without it having to go through the election
box. The moment seemed well chosen: Da'esh was no longer threatening enough to ban a poll,
but still enough to occupy the Iraqi army elsewhere. ---- The price to be paid would
certainly be a diplomatic crisis carabinée with the partners of the GRK, all hostile to
this adventure: the godfathers Turkish and US on the one hand, the government of Baghdad
and his Iranian mentor on the other hand, not to mention the unanimous disapproval of
Russia, the European Union, Saudi Arabia ... But for the Barzani Democratic Party of
Kurdistan (KDP), the blow seemed playable. As the " yes " would be massive, he would
appear as the champion of the Kurdish cause on the international scene. The opposition
parties (Goran and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan), despite their reluctance on the
referendum, could only bow to the vox populi and support Barzani in the face of adversity.
The referendum, on the other hand, was enough to trigger the ire of the Baghdad government
because it did not focus exclusively on the independence of the KRG within the framework
of the 2005 borders, but also on all the territories occupied by the Peshmerga in favor of
the Iraqi army's disbandment against Daesh in the summer of 2014. And among these
territories: the Sinjar and the big city of Kirkuk, the " Kurdish Jerusalem " ... and
its oil fields.
Result of the races: 72 % of participation, 93 % of " yes ". As a result, retaliatory
measures by Turkey, Iran and Iraq ensued. Then the threat of a joint military
intervention. Bad surprise: the United States then displayed their neutrality. " The
peshmerga are ready to fight, " the KDP and the PUK said with great enthusiasm.
The Iraqi army and the Chiiyi militias have chased the Sinjar peshmerga, and are putting
pressure - for the moment without success - on the YBS-YJS militia. These created on the
model of the YPG-YPJ of Syria, were formed by Yazidi survivors of the genocidal attempt of
Daesh in the summer of 2014.
Only the PKK resisted Kirkuk
In this unprecedented configuration - the defiant KDP Ankara - the PKK, which seeks to
expand its audience in Iraq, has offered its support. A thousand of her fighters and
combatants are therefore " descended from the mountains " in a swarm of pick-ups to take
a position on the outskirts of Kirkuk. It is with consternation that they saw the
peshmerga decamp without warning, on October 16, from the beginning of the onslaught of
the Iraqi army and Shiite militias ! After having resisted four hours with some units of
the PUK disgusted by the abandonment of their leaders, the PKK forces withdrew.
As early as 19 October, as in a predicted scenario, the peshmerga had returned behind the
KRG's 2005 borders, and Barzani was proposing talks. Independence, it is no longer a question.
Barzani is terribly weakened by this pantalonnade ; the PUK, more conciliatory with
Baghdad and Tehran, should see its role strengthened in a Kurdistan well secured to the
Iraqi state.
In these circumstances, it will be difficult for the PKK to prevent the return of Iraqi
soldiers to Sinjar, where the Kurdish left has been established since 2014, including the
Yezidi militias YBS-YJS. It is also proof for her that there is nothing to expect from the
United States, who will always sacrifice their Kurdish " friends " to their alliance
with Turkey. Ankara will not fail to record this signal, while in Syria the upcoming
destruction of the caliphate will greatly diminish the value of the Kurdish left in the
eyes of Washington.
William Davranche (AL Montreuil)
http://www.alternativelibertaire.org/?Kurdistan-irakien-L-inconsequence-de-Barzani-la-consternation-du-PKK
------------------------------
Message: 2
There are an estimated 20 to 26,000 undocumented people living in Ireland, as many of 5000
of them being children and young people. People in Ireland are generally horrified by the
Trump's administrations war on the undocumented in the US but perhaps not so aware that
exactly the same situation has been created by government policy here. ----
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pegfgFCY8Y0 ---- We recently covered a solidarity protest
with the undocumented in the US organised by Young, Paperless and Powerful. YPP is a
creative youth project for undocumented young people in Ireland co-ordinated by the
Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI) who estimate there are between 20,000 and 26,000
undocumented people in Ireland and "2000-5000 children and young people are born to
undocumented parents".
The MRCI explain "Undocumented young people consider Ireland their home, yet have no right
to residency or citizenship and are in a legal limbo upon leaving secondary school and
attempting to get a job or access further education. We know this is hard on the mental
health and well-being of young people growing up with this burden. We are currently
outreaching to young people who came to Ireland with or to join their parents who do not
have legal residency in Ireland i.e. don't have an immigration stamp, a GNIB card or an
ORAC card."
Earlier this week we added video from the YPP rally where speakers addressed the issue of
the undocumented in the US. In this video we've included the extracts where speakers talk
about the undocumented in Ireland and the YPP.
More details at https://www.mrci.ie/our-work/justice-for-undocumented/
https://www.wsm.ie/c/undocumented-youth-organising-ireland-young-paperless-powerful-nov2017
------------------------------
Message: 3
Originally titled "Authoritarian Demonization of Anarchists, Cuba and the Gaona Manifesto"
---- The possibilities anarchism points toward have many enemies. Its fiercest opponents,
however, are those authoritarian regimes which, distorting and subverting the ideas of
socialism, have promoted themselves historically as embodying the values of liberty,
equality and fraternity. In every situation, state capitalist governments, applying
religious categories to secular contexts, have over-simplified conflicts by defining them
as being between "the faithful"-those who support them, and "heretics"-those who oppose
them. In this alleged confrontation between the two positions (in religious terms the
struggle of "good" against "evil"), the authoritarians need to claim that all the world's
revolutionaries are with them confronting the forces that oppose them-even though this
isn't certain.
As we know, ever since the Russian Revolution of 1917, nationalists and authoritarian
leftists who have come to power have developed various strategies to dismantle, co-opt,
and fragment whatever revolutionary organizations remain. They do this precisely because
such groups constitute opposition to their plans from the left, because they denounce the
contradictions and abuses of the ongoing process of the centralization of power. In the
case of anarchism-an attitude and way of thinking which is highly resistant to
bureaucratic reorganization of power and authority-tragic examples abound. In Russia (and
later the Soviet Union), China, Spain, and dozens of other examples, statists have
systematically persecuted and exterminated anarchists. The killing, however, has been
accompanied by lies, misrepresentation, and the creation of nonexistent support to confuse
and paralyze the international anarchist movement.
Cuba 1961
Those who know the history of anarchism in Latin America know that Cuba developed, along
with countries like Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Uruguay, an anarcho-syndicalist movement
that played an important role in the labor conflicts of their times. As is well documented
in the book El anarquismo en Cuba[Cuban Anarchism]by Frank Fernández,[1]anarchists on the
island were prominent in several unions, published newspapers and magazines for
discussion, propaganda, and agitation, as well as providing social centers for people to
meet and interact.
The Cuban anarchists, as interested people can confirm, joined the popular struggle
against the dictator Fulgencio Batista and, his ouster in 1959 aroused in them the same
positive expectations about the future of the island as in the rest of society. As
Fernández relates, the anarchist publications of the day, Solidaridad Gastronomica and El
Libertario, expressed a favorable and hopeful attitude regarding the new government, while
not trusting it unthinkingly.[2]But, in late 1959, any criticism of the government, no
matter its source, began to be labeled "counterrevolutionary" in the new language of
power. At the same time, the Castro clique began inviting representatives from all the
revolutionary tendencies of the world to the island in order to convince them of the
regime's goodness.
Among those invited was the German anarchist Augustin Souchy, who visited Havana in the
summer of 1960 to learn about the experiments with land reform. His inquiry resulted in a
lengthy article, printed in an official publication, reporting on what he had seen during
his visit. Souchy also wrote a pamphlet entitled Testimonies on the Cuban Revolution[3],
which was published without going through official censorship, and had a tone different
from what the regime had hoped for. In this pamphlet Souchy warned of the authoritarian
turn the new administration was taking. Soon after he left Cuba, the entire print run of
the pamphlet was seized and destroyed by the government, following a recommendation by the
Cuban Communist Party (PCC). But the pamphlet was made available outside the country
thanks to an edition published by Reconstruir of Buenos Aires. The anarchists could not be
easily convinced by the Castro government's propaganda. A new strategy was needed.
Many Cuban anarchists of the time belonged to the Asociación Libertaria de Cuba (ALC). In
1961 its Secretary of Relations, Manuel Gaona Sousa, was in charge of maintaining contacts
with the international anarchist movement. However, from early on, Gaona was enthusiastic
about both the July 26 Movement (M26J) and Fidel Castro. Gaona's prestige and record of
participation within the anarchist movement, his key role in communications with the
outside world, and his desire to cooperate with a government that he supported were used
to maximum effect by the Cuban authorities. Gaona wrote a manifesto, "A clarification and
a statement of the Cuban anarchists"[4]which asserted that "nearly all anarchist
activities are now integrated in the various agencies of the Cuban Revolution." It also
denied that anarchists were being imprisoned for their activism. Both assertions were
contradicted repeatedly by anarchist publications on the island.
Gaona's manifesto, which was sent to all anarchist publications of the time, contained
five key ideas: The first that there were no anarchists arrested for their convictions;
second, that there was no political or religious persecution in Cuba; third, that
anarchists supported Castro's government; fourth, that Castro's government represented the
ideals for which the anarchists fought; and the fifth part was a crude and literal copy of
the government's propaganda about the purported political and economic benefits delivered
by the Castro regime. Finally, the document stated: "We want to alert fellow anarchist
Movements in Mexico, Latin America, and the world, and fellow Spanish-speaking exiles in
America, so that they won't be taken unawares by the malicious and deceitful information
sent out by people who serve, consciously or unconsciously, the Cuban counterrevolution."
Although the manifesto claimed to express the position of Cuban anarchism, it was signed
by just 25 individuals, and it later became known that some signatures were collected by
Gaona through deception. Many anarchists who he asked refused to sign a text that they
regarded as renouncing the basic principles of anarchism. Among them was the well-known
comrade Marcelo Salinas y Lopez; they were persecuted and sooner or later forced into exile.
The Isolated anarchists
Gaona's manifesto brought about several dire consequences for the anarchist movement of
the island. From the point of view of the Cuban authorities, it divided the anarchists
into "good," the small group that supported Gaona's position, and "bad," the rest. It also
sowed confusion in anarchist organizations outside Cuba, especially in Latin America.
At this time there was also a U.S. government offensive against Cuba. And in this context,
on the left there was a lot of admiration for the bearded July 26 Movement (M26J) as a
model for guerrilla insurgencies in Latin America. On the other hand, there was poor
communication with the anarchist activists on the island. Under the circumstances, the
manifesto literally paralyzed anarchist criticisms and questioning of the new regime. In
fact, the isolating of the Cuban anarchists promoted their persecution and extermination.
To give a few examples: Augusto Sánchez was imprisoned and murdered; Rolando Tamargo and
Ventura Suárez were shot; Sebastian Aguilar Jr. was shot; Eusebio Otero was found dead in
his room; Raúl Negrín was burned alive. Casto Moscú, Modesto Piñeiro, Floreal Barrera,
Suria Linsuaín, Manuel González, José Aceña, Isidro Moscú, Norberto Torres, Sicinio
Torres, José Mandado Marcos, Plácido Méndez and Luis Linsuaín were arrested and sentenced
to prison. Some comrades could not stand the torture in prison, such as: Francisco
Aguirre, who died in his cell; Victoriano Hernández, sickened and blinded by the abuse,
committed suicide; and José Álvarez Micheltorena, died a few weeks after his release.
Manuel Gaona was actively involved in promoting the persecution of his former comrades.
Although the accusations against the genuine anarchists employed the typical Stalinist
epithets-such as labeling them "CIA agents" among other things-they proved to be
effective. According to Fernández, "The confusion in the international anarchist camp
regarding the Cuban situation was promoted by the Cuban government's propaganda machine,
which had enormous resources, talent, imagination, and great political skill." Even exiled
Cuban anarchist groups, like the Cuban Libertarian Movement in Exile (MLCE),[5]were
accused by other anarchists and anti-authoritarians of being "counterrevolutionaries." For
example, Daniel Cohn-Bendit, at the International Anarchist Congress of Carrara in 1968
accused the MLCE of "being funded by the CIA." The abandonment of Cuban anarchists by
their peers is one of the worst mistakes in the history of the anarchist movement. It was
not until 1978, with the publication of The Cuban Revolution: A critical perspective by
Sam Dolgoff,[6]that the world's anarchists began to understand what really had happened on
the island. But it was too late.
Half a century later, the farce
Fifty years after the Gaona manifesto, there are attempts to use the same strategy again.
At a time when various self-described leftist and progressive governments have come to
power in Latin America, the new bureaucracies are trying to spread the idea that all
revolutionaries, including anarchists, are on their side. Some converts, inventing phantom
organizations and initiatives, spread the idea through the Internet that the "true
anarchists" support the governments of Rafael Correa, Evo Morales, Cristina Kirchner, and
Hugo Chávez, among others, and that those who criticize them are "false anarchists", and
are "far from the popular struggles."
One of the most extravagant attempts has been made by a freewheeling "Revolutionary
Anarchist Federation of Venezuela," which in its first statement expresses support for the
Bolivarian government of Hugo Chavez and affirms the need to join in its electoral
coalition, the Gran Polo Patriótico, contending in the upcoming presidential elections.
However, there is a big difference between now and Manuel Gaona's times. Information
technologies nowadays make it almost impossible for people to lack information in the way
that allowed ignorance of the real nature of Fidel Castro's government in the past. Anyone
interested and concerned can now research and find out the different opinions and
initiatives in the popular and revolutionary milieus which expose the contradictions of
these governments and their increasing involvement with today's globalized capitalism.
They can learn about these regimes' criminalization of those who are involved in social
struggles, and the protection of the new bourgeoisie through state capitalism. History
repeats itself-the first time it is tragedy, the second time it is farce.
Originally published in Spanish in Tierra y Libertad. Translated into English by Charlatan
Stew and friends, June, 2014. Republished from The Anarchist Library.
There is an earlier English translation by Christie Books, titled Authoritarian Chimeras,
Cuba, and the Gaona Manifesto, posted on the Christie Books website (February 5, 2012):
http://www.christiebooks.com/ChristieBooksWP/2012/02/authoritarian-chimeras-cuba-and-the-gaona-manifesto-by-rafael-uzcategui/
Footnotes
[1] Published in English as Cuban Anarchism The history of a movement. San Francisco: See
Sharp, 2001. Available online at
http://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/frank-fernández-cuban-anarchism-the-history-of-a-movement
See especially Chapter 4: Castroism and Confrontation (1959-1961), and Chapter 5: Exile
and Shadows (1961-2001)
[2] In Cuban Anarchism: the History of a Movement, Chapter 4, Fernández relates how the
anarchists in Cuba decided to issue a Declaración de Principios (Declaration of
Principles), in the summer of 1960, accusing the Castro regime of strengthening government
centralization, and moving toward a Marxist dictatorship. The eight points of the
Declaración also outlined the ways in which their anarchist perspective differed from the
policies of the regime: "1) it defined, in accord with libertarian ideas, the functions of
unions and federations in regard to their true economic roles; 2) it declared that the
land should belong "to those who work it"; 3) it backed "cooperative and collective work"
in contrast to the agricultural centralism of the government's Agrarian Reform law; 4) it
called for the free and collective education of children; 5) it inveighed against
"noxious" nationalism, militarism, and imperialism, opposing fully the militarization of
the people; 6) it attacked "bureaucratic centralism" and weighed forth in favor of
federalism; 7) it proposed individual liberty as a means of obtaining collective liberty;
and 8) it declared that the Cuban Revolution was, like the sea, "for everyone," and
energetically denounced "the authoritarian tendencies that surge in the breast of the
revolution." http://www.illegalvoices.org/apoc/books/cuban/front.html
[3] Augustin Souchy, Testimonios sobre la revolución cubana. Buenos Aires: Editorial
Reconstruir, 1960. Available online at http://issuu.com/ellibertario/docs/testimonios_souchy2
[4] For a discussion of the use of the terms "libertarian" and "anarchist"
interchangeably, especially in places outside North America, see: An Anarchist FAQ
(02/17), The Anarchist FAQ Editorial Collective, Published June 18, 2009. Version 13.1
http://www.theanarchistlibrary.org/print/The_Anarchist_FAQ_Editorial_Collective__An_Anarchist_FAQ__02_17_.html
See Section A.1.3, Why is anarchism also called libertarian socialism?: "Anarchists have
been using the term ‘libertarian' to describe themselves and their ideas since the 1850's.
According to anarchist historian Max Nettlau, the revolutionary anarchist Joseph Dejacque
published Le Libertaire, Journal du Mouvement Social in New York between 1858 and 1861
while the use of the term ‘libertarian communism' dates from November, 1880 when a French
anarchist congress adopted it.[Max Nettlau, A Short History of Anarchism, p. 75 and p.
145]The use of the term ‘Libertarian' by anarchists became more popular from the 1890s
onward after it was used in France in an attempt to get round anti-anarchist laws and to
avoid the negative associations of the word ‘anarchy' in the popular mind (Sebastien Faure
and Louise Michel published the paper Le Libertaire-The Libertarian-in France in 1895, for
example). Since then, particularly outside America, it has always been associated with
anarchist ideas and movements. Taking a more recent example, in the USA, anarchists
organised ‘The Libertarian League' in July 1954, which had staunch anarcho-syndicalist
principles and lasted until 1965. The US-based ‘Libertarian' Party, on the other hand has
only existed since the early 1970's, well over 100 years after anarchists first used the
term to describe their political ideas (and 90 years after the expression ‘libertarian
communism' was first adopted)."
[5]"Una aclaración y una declaración de los libertarios cubanos", available online at
http://issuu.com/ellibertario/docs/manifiestogaona
http://blackrosefed.org/cuba-demonization-of-anarchists/
------------------------------
Message: 4
Why does Catalonia want to be independent? ---- ... the creation of new nation states with
democratic, socialist, fascist or communist institutions does not solve existing problems.
The self-determination and independence of the peoples is always welcomed as long as they
come through socially liberating projects and promote themselves to the point of their
eschatas. Stop people from becoming political aspirations, which only serve to tighten
chains in the peoples' bodies. ---- Of course, it is necessary to fight, but not in the
battles in which our enemies are calling us to join them ... (Tomás Ibáñez, Barcelona
11/10/2017) ---- The main reason, behind the national (language, identity, history) for
which Catalonia wants its independence, is economic. For the same reasons, the Spanish
state wants Catalonia under its sovereignty and will not consent to its independence. The
economy of this relatively small region is stronger than many European Union states. It
accounts for more than 1/5 of Spanish GDP, with a budget of 215.6 billion euros.
Catalonia, despite its small size, owns 1/4 of all Spanish exports with revenues of 65.2
billion euros per year. Also, 1/4 of foreign investment in the Spanish state is made in
the Catalan region, with revenues of 37 billion euros. In addition, it has three large
ports and seven airports.
Catalonia's unilateral declaration of independence seems so far to be the pinnacle of the
political movements of the Pouthemont government. But is it also essential or is it a move
to preserve Puddhem's political tomato, which after the referendum was trapped? Let's get
the facts from the day of the referendum:
The referendum
On October 1, many Catalans were called to vote despite the powerful police forces in
Madrid, with a clear government directive to passively accept the force of the police
forces to cause the international public to be dismayed and to turn the climate for them.
It goes without saying that this has never happened. There was not even a state that
politically supported the choice of the Catalan government to hold a referendum. Indeed,
the European Union, as well as many European states (Germany, France, Cyprus) have given
full support to Spanish Prime Minister Rahoy. The design of passivity has resulted in more
than 800 people being injured by police attacks, without dropping a stone for their
defense. The Catalans paid their faith in the government in this way.
The affair of independence, despite its dare, does not seem to have touched enough the
Catalans, at least not as much as the government would like, and this is evidenced by the
participation in the referendum, which reached only 43.03%, that is to say 2.286.217
millions out of the total of 5.3 registered. Can the Spanish state show a fiery iron to
prevent it from happening, and this is an excuse for small attendance, but the sure thing
is that whoever wanted to vote that day, in one way or another would find somewhere a free
available polling station. So, 90.18% of Yes may seem overwhelming, but reality is
completely different, since that big percentage is actually fake. This seems to be well
known to the Catalan government of Pugetone.
The Declaration of Independence
On 27 October, the Catalan Parliament proclaimed the independence of Catalonia. In a total
of 135 deputies, 70 voted in favor, 10 against and 2 white, while 53 Social Democrats, the
People's Party and the Ciudadanos, who opposed independence, left before the vote. The
fact of the withdrawal of the parties, which is almost half the number of Members,
reflects the division over the issue of independence, which exists in the province of
Catalonia. The division apart from the framework of the parliament also appears in
society. The massive demonstrations of independence and those that are against it are
almost a weekly phenomenon. On the sidelines of the 27 October celebration celebrations
for the proclamation of independence, traditions of thousands of people opposing
independence have evolved.
Squares may be celebrated, but according to some journalists, the runways of the Catalan
Parliament were embarrassed. Bitter smiles. Independence may be declared but substantial
independence requires recognition by several European states but also globally. This seems
not to be the intent of any European state, which immediately after the proclamation of
independence rushed to condemn the incident and to give support to Spanish Prime Minister
Rahoy. All European powers have in their states small or big outbreaks that could, at some
point in the future, demand autonomy. Also, by mouth, Juncker, states that it does not
want to be composed of 95 Member States and that it does not need other failures. Perhaps
the separatists predicted the very optimistic scenario of Kosovo, where after the
unilateral declaration of its autonomy from Serbia, there was recognition from many states
internationally. But the sizes and interests are different, another Spain, with several
separatist tendencies within it, a member state of the EU and historically with an
increased role in world sovereignty and another Serbia.
The enforcement measures of the Spanish state
So, shortly after the proclamation of Catalan independence, the Spanish state suspended
the autonomy of Catalonia and held elections on 21 December. In addition, the head of the
Catalan police was fired. While Pugeton, with many members of his government, is expected
to be persecuted for a "rebellion" by the Spanish prosecutor's office. The Spanish State
also implemented Article 155 which includes:
A) The demolition of the Catalan government and the full administration of Catalonia by
the Spanish state. B) Controlling the 16,000 Catalan police officers who only obey the
Catalan government. C) Control of all financial work, budget and tax policy. D) Full
control of telecommunications and digital media. In this context, the Spanish state aims
to change the flow of news that propagates independence. E) The House will now be under
the full control of the Spanish State, which will check and assess whether the bills to be
voted against are in control of Catalonia by Spain.
The festivities of the world and the deadlocks of politicians
The celebrations of the 1st of October, the day of the referendum, and those of the 27th
October of Independence Day, which took place in the province of Catalonia and especially
in Barcelona, should not be overlooked. Both were motivated, hollow and did not represent
reality. In both, the people celebrated in the squares, but the rulers knew they were in a
dead end. In the referendum, Yes's victory was presented as a triumph of 90.18%, but it
was absurd that half and more Catalans did not go to the polls because they did not want
independence and did not want to legitimize the process. Behind the festivals, the
Pouthendon government knew that the seemingly large majority in essence was marginal and
that it did not reach for such a serious matter.
At the celebrations of October 27 we have the same contrast. At this point, we can not
help tempting to recall the Greek referendum, which had exactly the same characteristics
and contradictions in the reactions of the world and the ruling ones. On the one hand, the
hollow celebrations and, on the other, skepticism and planning for the next lie. The
cheating of politics, as long as the world does not think freely, will have the same
method, either in Spanish or in Greece!
The creation of a new nation state can offer nothing more liberal than a sterile transfer
of the existing inequalities that, in any case, exist in the Spanish state. It is a shame
that the crowd will crawl out of the polls in the squares, following political
aspirations, without any liberating prospect. Poverty, unemployment, oppression and
exploitation are some of the many unifying elements between the advocates of independence
and those who favor the continuation of the union with the Spanish state. It is a pity
that this world accepts to play, with his own consensus, political games on his back. To
stand behind the ruler Rahoi or behind the apprentice magician Pugeton.
To forget his big daily problems, the great austerity of recent years, the cuts and the
violent evacuation of thousands of bankrupt houses and their subsequent sale through
auctions and to consent to those who ultimately are their enemy. Thus, the creation of new
national states, with democratic, socialist, fascist or communist institutions, does not
solve existing problems. The self-determination and independence of the peoples is always
welcomed as long as they come through socially liberating projects and promote themselves
to the point of their eschatas. Stop people from becoming political aspirations, which
only serve to tighten chains in the peoples' bodies.
* Published on THE ROUTE OF FREEDOM, p. 176, November 2017
https://www.anarkismo.net/article/30685
------------------------------
Message: 5
AGAINST A STATE AND PATRIARCHIA ---- ABOUT HANDLING AND FREEDOM ---- November 25th is set
by the UN as a day to eradicate violence against women. This particular day has been
established since 1991, when women's organizations wished to commemorate the memory of the
three Mirabal brothers from the Dominican Republic who were tortured, beaten and strangled
to death on the order of the dictator Truhillo on November 25, 1960. On the occasion of
the day this - and not because we are interested in putting our struggle against
patriarchy in one or two days a year - we are given the opportunity to talk about some
issues. ---- Establishing such a day does not mean eliminating violence against women.
Once again, we see that, behind the regime's introduction of such days, there are modern
versions of this treaty. This day is another attempt to distort the case of female
emancipation. It is something that does not give us any impression that it is not
redeeming and re-allocating it from the sovereignty and the existing system. But we are
here to put the issues against patriarchy and the system that nourishes it again.
Patriarchy is one of the foundations of the world of power and a key element of its social
reproduction. As women, in addition to the exploitation and oppression imposed in general
at the bottom, we are experiencing oppression also in the field of gender segregation, as
yet another form of repression stemming from the structure of the dominant system. The
intensity of the attack we receive at all levels can not therefore be different from what
we accept in the field of discrimination because of our sex or our sexuality.
Modern events of patriarchy are intensifying as the systemic crisis intensifies, the
attack of the sovereigns and the effort of ruling society. The countless recent examples
are clear. Going back a few years back in 2012, with the serpentage of women seropositive
in a period of zero tolerance and extermination to the modern condemnation of a
22-year-old woman in Corinth who defended herself against her rapist, thousands of daily
examples of violence against women different fields. The dozens of rapes, humiliation and
further assault on women fighters, repressive enterprises, special working conditions of
women, trafficking are just some of them,
"The discovery that there was absolute equality between men and women in the
black-workers' communities would have terrified the servants because they seemed to be
trying to break this chain of equality by oppressing women in a particularly brutal way.
(...) Since black women had managed to gain consciousness of their power, violent sexual
assaults - according to the slaves' logic - would remind them of their substantial and
unchanging femininity. According to the logic of the era that wanted the male ruler,
femininity meant passivity and weakness, "says Angela Davis at another age.
The attack on women's femininity is so far an attempt to remind their feminine nature as
something that separates them from men and something that can be repressed and tortured
further by them.
Freedom is neither granted nor granted, but defined and conquered through the struggles
themselves. Gender suppression is not separated from all the other forms of oppression
that stem from the structure and operation of the dominant system. The struggle of women
to release them from the bonds of patriarchy is an integral part of the struggle for the
abolition of state and capitalist imposition. To collectivize as women, to organize and to
resist all together, with the workers, the unemployed, the students, the students, to
unite our voices and our actions with a vision of a society of equality, freedom and
solidarity.
We are inspired by the 19th century American Black Workers' blacksmith's resistance, by
the organization and vigor of anarchist comrades in Spain in 1996, as well as by
contemporary examples of women's resistance in Chiapas, Turkey and Rotava, and we continue
the struggle against patriarchy, the state and capitalism ...
YOU ASSUME OUR RIGHT IN AUTOMOTIVE
COLLECTING OUR RESOURCES AGAINST WHO, WHAT WE COME
Women's Initiative Against Patriarchy
https://ipposd.wordpress.com/2017/11/23/
------------------------------
Message: 6
Ricky Turner with his hands around the throat of a Manus solidarity demonstrator. Neil
Erikson to the right. ---- POSTED BY: COLLECTIVE ACTION NOVEMBER 25, 2017 ---- Yesterday's
Manus solidarity rally in Melbourne did not "turn violent", it was attacked first by a
known fascist and then by the police. ---- The racist violence of the Australian state,
directed at Indigenous peoples, Muslims, and anyone who would dare seek asylum whilst
non-white, continues to embolden far-right thugs. ---- Earlier this month, neo-Nazi
publicity hound Neil Erikson, abused a Labor senator in a bar. Last night he and two
wannabe ubermensch decided to have a go at a Manus solidarity rally organised by the
Refugee Action Collective (RAC). ---- Erikson shoved aside a RAC chairperson and seized
the mic to announce that all "refugees are rapists". He was quickly cut off when a nearby
hero stepped in, pushed him aside and reclaimed the mic.
If there was any doubt about where Erikson's politics lay... Neil Erikson and members of
Combat 18 in a bar.
The response of the police was telling. One of Erikson's goon mates grabbed our hero
around the neck to choke him. The police rushed forward and leaped on... the person being
choked. This person has since described how police shoved him to the ground, stomped on
his calves, kicked his legs and pushed his elbows into his back.
Ricky Turner with his arms around the neck of our hero, Neil Erikson to the right.
Neil Erikson and his thug friend were calmly led away, whilst police escalated violence
against demonstrators. Hundreds of demonstrators stood up and demanded the police release
the demonstrator they had pinned on the ground, chanting "let him go!"
As police marched the hero they had wrongly arrested to a divvy van, supporters stood in
front of them and continued chanting. The police response was to lash out, and a comrade
from the Melbourne Anarchist Club was hurled to the ground, sustaining a head injury.
You have doubtless seen the photos shared on Facebook and in the media. Our comrade,
surrounded by police, pinned to the ground, blood flowing from his head. Victoria Police
held the MAC comrade in this position for over thirty minutes, and after the comrade was
removed from the scene he was not taken to an ambulance or a hospital, but rather to a
police station.
Victoria Police "detaining" a comrade from the Melbourne Anarchist Club.
At a moments like this we face a choice, do we accept the right of the police to brutalize
with impunity, or do we push back?
Last night, we pushed back. Hundreds of demonstrators, joined by a number of angry
bystanders, surrounded the police, and demanded the release of our comrades. The police
responded with punches and pepper spray. They were successful in removing the
demonstrators they had assaulted and arrested, but they were not successful in their
secondary objective
For three weeks Victoria Police have moved to prevent Manus solidarity rallies from
undertaking the most routine of protest marches. For two weeks, police have deployed in
their hundreds to block Swanston Street and prevent a march from the State Library to
Flinders Street.
Last night, after being attacked first by fascists and then by the police, demonstrators
demanded the right to march. Chanting "we will march" hundreds of demonstrators faced off
against the police, before sidestepping police down Bourke Street and then running to the
Flinders Street intersection.
The outcome was an important demonstration of principle. After weeks of over policing,
despite the deployment of hundreds of "public order response" units, and in defiance of
police violence, demonstrators forced their way to Flinders Street, surrounded police in
the intersection, and held the sit-in that police have been so determined to prevent. This
was no symbolic sit-in, demonstrators held the Flinders Street intersection in defiance of
Victoria Police for two hours.
The ongoing campaign in solidarity with refugees detained on Manus and Nauru requires a
sustained and determined campaign of direct action and civil disobedience. We must sit-in,
blockade, demonstrate and march, and we must create a situation that the Australian
government simply cannot ignore.
This campaign has been overwhelmingly non-violent, bordering on obsessively polite. But
our tactics of occupation, blockade, sit-in and march are opposed by racist bigots and
authoritarian police. In order to both defend rights to protest and continue this
campaign, we must refuse police and opponent demands that we stop. There are occasions
where this imperative will require acts of defiance.
For further discussion read ‘The right to march MUST be defended'.
http://www.collectiveaction.org.au/2017/11/25/what-happened-in-melbourne-yesterday/
------------------------------
Message: 7
On Wednesdays 22 and Thursday, November 23 we carried out massive poster, tricky, banner
and divorce work on the employees of One Salonica and Thessaloniki's commercial center
respectively. The response of both a large portion of those who were shopping or walking
(something we do not often find so much) and employees was more than positive. ----
Employees and workers in trade, there is anger, there is a willingness to fight and only
the organization is lacking in unions and assemblies, which is a prerequisite for
victories as shown by employees in Public, Notos, Attica, Sephora and in other stores
where they either participated in the strike or created clubs. ---- The text distributed
by the 15 colleagues and partners who participated in the intervention: ---- THE "BLACK
FRESHNESSES" OF OFFICIALS-OFFICIALS CONTRIBUTE ---- TO CONSTRUCTION OF ACQUIRED CONSUMERS
MAKE ANY LIFE OF THE WORKS
For the second year, large commercial chains have announced that it is coming back to
Greece on November 24th, the black friday . They are celebrating the "celebration success"
last year and have already begun large advertising campaigns to attract specific consumers
such as teenagers with "unique offers" in video games, mobile and electronic devices. What
really means "black Friday"we have already known it from America for decades and we lived
in Greece last year. The consumer habits he formulates, as well as the test he recommends
for shop workers, reflect work and consumer cannibalism of our time. In the US there are
injuries or even deaths every year (105 and 10 respectively in recent years) as consumers,
who can wait hours outside the shops to catch up with bids, end up trapping and literally
crawling each other or tattooing workers. The American ghettos have just one day a year
the right to enter the shiny mall to get a TV, but to get it they have to "exterminate"
other immeasurable people. And of course, this consumer frenzy also harveses workers, who,
in addition to the heavy and intensive workload imposed on them in the context of "black
Friday", have to deal with rattling consumers. Indeed, in 2008, a 34-year-old Wall-Mart
worker lost his life when literally trapped by about 200 consumers.
This is the institution that the commercial chains so proudly advertise. Obviously, this
case of employer coffer is not an exception . It is an aspect - and indeed somewhat
"black" - of the total attack by employers and the capitalist system on our workers'
interests and rights, our lives and our dignity. It comes to complete the difficult
situation we are experiencing, with crumbly wages or even non-payment, dismissals and
unemployment, job insecurity, individual contracts, intensification, unpaid overtime, work
on Sundays ...
Nobody obviously has a 'good price' issue, but at a time of extreme poverty and
wretchedness of the social majority, commercial practices, such as black Friday , simply
get rid of the consumer audience. Besides, for commercial capital, "good prices" are a
package with the bad-humiliating value of the work of merchants, something that applies to
the whole working class in Greece and, even worse, in the countries producing these
products. Last year's "successful black friday"Has been accompanied by hundreds of
violations of labor law, which has become more of a blanket and allows almost everything.
So, these recorded violations are simply the tip of the iceberg and it is easy for anyone
to perceive the magnitude of employer absurdity.
By addressing merchants, we would like to encourage them to do nothing more than their
contractual obligations and in any way make it clear that we employees refuse to become
the victims or the henchmen in the consumer arena set up by unscrupulous bosses. In any
case, we make the employer responsible for any problems that arise, particularly to our
colleagues. By addressing consumers, we can only ask them to understand their own
responsibility.At a time when youth does not seem to have a future, student black-friday
shopping malls are celebrated by MMEs (the same ones who have been wading for an hour of
school-age engagement). The chaotic-dangerous situations that are shaped in moments of
cosmopolitanism in the shops have as a common effect the humiliation of both workers and
consumers. We therefore think, as workers and not as clients, and we ask that the
slightest aggressive move to the merchants be made. In this arena we are not and will not
become the products of cannibalism.
Coordinating Against Sunday Work and "Liberated Hours"
sintonismoskiriakis@espiv.net
/libertasalonica.wordpress.com
------------------------------
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