Anarchic update news all over the world - 21.08.2018

Today's Topics:

   
1.  US, Lowell Anarchist Book Fair By ANA (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
2.  Bangladesh Anarcho-Syndicalist Women's Union -BAWU
      (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
3.  Alt. media: rapportsdeforce - Small revolution among the
      libertarians: AL and the CGA try their unification by Stéphane
      Ortega (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
4.  freedom news: On Education: An Interview with David Gilbert
      and Jalil Muntaqim (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)


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Message: 1






It happens on Saturday, August 25, from 11 am to 5 pm, at UnchArte Gallery, 103 Market St, 
Lowell, Massachusetts (MA). ---- Join " Mill City Zine Distro! "At  the Lowell Anarchist 
Book Fair for a day of chats, workshops, and an opportunity to check out and acquire 
radical literature from publishers and distributors throughout the New England area and 
beyond. ---- This event will happen in a multilevel property, the lower floor is 
accessible for wheelchair users. If anyone can not go up to the second floor but is 
interested in a specific chat or workshop that will be taking place there, we can work on 
the relocation, just send us an e-mail ringing:  millcityzine@riseup.net . ---- The event 
is also intended for children, we are working to accommodate them in the best possible 
way. ---- Organization:  Mill City Zine Distro!

anarchist-ana news agency

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Message: 2





Bangladesh Anarcho-Syndicalist Women's Union -BAWU, identified the cause of women's 
oppression as the economic systems of feudalism and capitalism, rather than in a perceived 
weakness in national character and culture. Most of its ideology was formulated by its 
founder members,  they focused on the exploitation of the class-based exploitation of 
women, singling out prostitutes, domestic servants and female factory workers as the most 
oppressed. they condemned the unequal distribution of wealth, and refused to subordinate 
this women's class struggle to any other ideological cause. Declared that "the goal of 
equality cannot be achieved except through women's liberation", BAWU - viewed female 
freedom as something that women must accomplish on their own, since no one would give them 
their rights. Revolutionary change, not reform, was seen as the only way forward.

https://www.facebook.com/Bangladesh-Anarcho-Syndicalist-Womens-Union-389164348281156/?__tn__=HHH-R

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Message: 3






After more than 15 years marked by splits within the libertarian movement, two 
organizations outline a rapprochement. Libertarian Alternative (AL) and the Coordination 
of Anarchist Groups (CGA), announced publicly on July 3 to have launched a discussion 
process since February, aiming at the creation of a new organization in 2019. To this end, 
both teams pitched the tent together at the AL Summer Meetings , July 22-28. A life-size 
test in the heart of Aveyron. ---- "It's not a revolution, but it's still a small event." 
Warns Samuel between two strokes. Under the marquee dedicated to collective meals the Lyon 
activist of the CGA said: "This opens the prospect for once of a unification and an 
overtaking rather than a split in the libertarian movement.  With fifteen of his comrades, 
he responded to the invitation of Alternative Libertaire by attending his summer camp.

Throughout the week, the moments of debates, exchanges and formations are linked, 
interspersed with time of relaxation. This year, attendance is in full swing. AL members 
came in more, attracted by the process of discussion between the two libertarian 
organizations. "  It's a moment we've been waiting for as important. These are meetings 
without stakes decision with an equal participation in discussions and trainings. This 
allows for tomb st fantasies and prejudices  , "says William, a member of the federal AL 
secretariat. "  Or confirm them!  He finished with a smile.

Joint Declaration

It was on 3 July that the two organizations publicly announced, in a joint statement , the 
process of discussion in which they committed themselves. Making the observation "  of a 
general hardening of the political and social situation  ", the text fixes the current 
libertarian "  the responsibility to develop an organization that gives visibility to the 
project anticapitalist and self-management  ". AL and the CGA report having dot ed a 
roadmap spanning a little over a year to reach a unification at a conference in 2019. " 
The trade union, labor or social movement has been defeated. The libertarian movement is 
not in the most prosperous period it has known and the various organizations are often in 
difficulty. We are down on all fronts. It's getting closer,  " says Guillaume.

This time, the ' initiative of the first interview revien t to the smaller of the two 
organizations, the CGA, in a letter dating from late 2017. Exchanges earlier, during the 
ten years earlier, had come to nothing concrete. Following a meeting in Paris earlier this 
year, G responds positively to the "advances" of the CGA and offers a limited roadmap th 
time. The process is initiated and the art meeting s are linked together to makean 
inventory of the positions of each other. After this first round, the two organizations 
valid ent their separate continuing the process in June and it makes ent public together 
early July . AL's summer camp serves as an informal confirmation moment, before attacking 
a second round of meetings leading up to the launch of the top floor of the rocket: the 
preparation of a joint congress next year .

"  We are in an intelligence of the moment,  " says Anne, a CGA activist in Montpellier, 
to explain the process. An opinion shared by Amandine, member of the federal secretariat 
of the same organization, for whom it is a rational choice in a difficult context. "  We 
are on all fronts, few, and we hold the walls,  " she says. For every two, beyond a 
necessity, this reconciliation is "  galvanizing  ". "  From our side, we have Vons a 
strong culture of social involvement and fieldwork with real local realities. As an 
organization National , A L has managed to build a presence in the most important social 
field at d u number and how to think  , " says Anne in relying on intelligence 
collectively to sustain that she considers to be a complementarity. The debates discussed 
during the summer meetings echo the interests of activists. Syndicalism, university 
struggles, feminism, resistance to Macron, migrantsand international issues punctuate the 
week.

Fusion, gathering, unification, passing, to each his words to say it

In debates or at the corner of a more informal conversation , everyone names the process 
in their own way. Words to describe a novel situation are looking for. Here, an e activist 
e evokes a merger, before recovering to avoid offending or susceptibility to stick as pr 
Bachelor of words of the joint statement. Unification and overtaking of both organizations 
are the most consensual terms. Whatever the way she is called , for Valérian, Toulouse 
activist of the CGA "  the stake is the number  ". heimagine "  a real federal tool that 
builds around 500 or 600 people with real groups and a real network  " to support the 
federalism he declares failing in the libertarian movement . He, like many other 
participants in the X Rencontres d'été, anticipates a militant call for air.

To become more numerous after the "fusion" , Sandra, activist at AL in Le Puy- de- Dome, 
is convinced. And this , beyond the mere addition of members of both organizations. As 
long as the process is successful. E lle admits that there have been at in his training " 
big questions on how could be a merger  ," and retains some fears following e roadmap . 
But, it relies on the complementarity of the two structuresand sees in this gathering the 
means "  to extend the libertarian movement, with more individuals in groups and more 
means to do actions  ". In case of failure or scuttling of u process , it does not exclude 
returning for self or join the CGA, whose operations the allure.

The difficulties to abandon his old organization, Amandine of the CGA does not hide them 
either. But when these R eetings summer, the enthusiasm related to the discovery "  of 
comrades from different collectives A LTERNATIVE libertarian " takes over. A u beyond the 
number, unification has other virtues to Sam uel the CGA of Lyon : "  U do networking 
facilitators and leaders of the struggles can withstand a recurring trend in the social 
movement to seek a political outlet of the electoral type  ".

U no good reason to put their differences aside? Anyway, for Guillaume, member of the 
Federal Secretariat of G "  i s are more cultural differences that political differences 
between us  ." An analysis that seems to confirm the daily camp where the distinctions 
between organizations gum nt in debates and in the management of tasks. "  This camp is 
already proof that it is acquired  ", wants to believe Valérian of the CGA Toulouse . 
Excessive optimism? Response to the first half of 2019.

https://rapportsdeforce.fr/pouvoir-et-contre-pouvoir/petite-revolution-chez-les-libertaires-al-et-la-cga-tentent-leur-unification-08162096

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Message: 4





Political struggle, anarchism, and education have a long, complex history. To help shed 
some critical light, and cut through layers of academic debris, I sought two political 
prisoners',  and long-term peer educators', views on education and struggle. ---- How 
important is education in radical or revolutionary struggle? ---- Jalil: You did not 
define what you mean by education (?), therefore, the open ended question can only be 
answered that any form of education that serves to raise consciousness[sic]toward a 
revolutionary determination is important. ---- In your view, as a revolutionary, what are 
key aspects of radical or revolutionary education? ---- Jalil: The study of revolutions 
throughout the world, the writings of other revolutionaries is extremely important to hone 
ones analysis and understanding of the forces opposing liberation. Secondly, study of the 
system one is opposing is necessary to better field a strategy to combat systems of 
oppression, repression.

David:[answering 1 & 2 together]Education is absolutely essential! We are barraged with 
the dominant ideology and a totally one-sided presentation of the "facts." To take just 
one of the infinite e.g.s, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia was just welcomed as a friend 
of democracy while the media and politicians are decrying the "dictator" in Venezuela. And 
it's not just that all the political terms and facts are wrong, but mass culture is 
designed to divert people and keep them misdirected or passive. Education is absolutely 
essential to help people see the world as it really is and to nurture critical thinking.

Given your experience as a peer educator in prison, what teaching or education methods did 
you find effective?

Jalil: The effective way of teaching in prison is providing study materials, group 
discussions on the materials and writing assignments.

David: It usually works best with something that matters to the students. We got a great 
response in using education to respond to the AIDS crisis. Our method was in some way 
Freirean, in that we opened up ways for people to be active in facing the needs and crises 
in their lives. But we also needed to be very rigorous about mastering a body of material.

Have you had many experiences communicating or collaborating with academics?

Jalil: My experience communicating with or collaborating with academics has been limited. 
Generally speaking, academic's[sic]are not pragmatic, certainly not revolutionary, and 
express little desire for engaging in challenging the system.

If so, what are some of the shortfalls you see with academics interested in or working on 
topics related to radical social change?

Jalil: See above!

David:[answering 4 & 5 together]My limited interaction with academics have pretty much 
been with some gems who are activist orient-Becky Thompson, Joys James, Victor Wallis, 
Ward Churchill, Dan Berger and a few others. There are many more I haven't worked with 
directly who do great work, like Angela Davis and Barbara Ransby. So that experience has 
been rewarding. Naturally there is a problem when people get too severed from actual 
struggles of the oppressed. An example might be the ways that "identity politics" got 
severed from its original sense of the many voices of the oppressed against the systems as 
a whole to, for some, more of a cultural safe space. I'm not sure. But I think the key is 
for academics to work closely with oppressed people and their movements.

What do you think academics, scholars, and researchers need to know when they are thinking 
about working with political prisoners?

Jalil: Working with political prisoners demand[sic]preparation to do work, be dedicated 
and willing to sacrifice to manifest specific tasks consistent with an agreed goal or 
objective to achieve.

David: That we represent a continuity of struggles from the 1960s to today. That we don't 
need or want sympathy for our situation but rather serious and critical engagement with 
the ideas we put forward.

What research questions do you, as a political prisoner, think has been overlooked by 
academics or scholars?

Jalil: Academics has sorely failed to critique the capitalist system with an objective to 
forge a revolutionary determination. They have failed to give a class analysis of 
capitalism that exposes the reality that a capitalist system requires divisions, 
competition and a compliant work force to be exploited, using racism as a tool of racial 
division and exploitation. This is hypocritical on the part of scholars who find 
themselves feeding out of the trough of capitalist exploitation and oppression.

David: First of all, radical academics have been doing some invaluable work in recent 
years. There's been a real flowering of analysis of racial capitalism-Robin D. G. Kelly, 
Gerald Horne and several others. There's also been valuable analysis of patriarchy and 
capitalism, such as Maria Mies and Silvia Federici, and how it all fits together, such as 
Nancy Fraser. There's been some excellent work on analyzing the mad dash toward 
environmental catastrophe. I'm only mentioning a tiny fraction of academics doing very 
worthwhile, helpful work.

To me the biggest gap now is internationalism. It's so lamentable that we don't have a 
strong anti-wars mvt.[underlining in original], at a time when imperial interventions are 
turning whole countries-Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Yemen, and 
more-into humanitarian disasters. I'd love to see academics do a lot more to expose the 
lies on why the U.S. intervenes and the horrors of what it does, maybe at least something 
like the teach-ins we did early in the Vietnam War. Also, I'm sure there's some, but I'd 
love to see more, analysis of how white supremacy at home and imperialism abroad are all 
one system, one system also along with patriarchy and class rule.

What is the best way that you think academics, scholars, and researchers can use their 
platform to support political prisoners and/or radical social change?

Jalil: Scholars and academics need to demand the U.S. government recognize the existence 
of U.S. political prisoners! They need to especially demand the amnesty and release of 
COINTELPRO convicted political prisoners, subject to the Senate Church report establishing 
the unconstitutional practices of the FBI's COINTELPRO practices. If they were to 
collectively do this, it would be a paradigm shift of national political 
awaking[sic]challenging the governments[sic]practice of political suppression and repression.

David: Support for PPs should be part of a broader program to promote radical social 
change. The reality of PPs gives lie to the U.S. pretensions about human rights and at the 
same time, as mentioned above, underscores the continuity of the ongoing struggles for 
social justice. Encouraging students to write or visit PPs is one way to promote both 
goals. Also, support for PPs is intimately connected to opposing mass incarceration, the 
cutting edge of racism in the contemporary U.S. The rulers felt so threatened by Black 
lib. Struggle that they a. developed COINTELPRO to destroy rev. Black orgs. And b. 
promoted the "war on crime and drugs" to incapacitate the rebellious Black community. 
What's most important is for academics to work in close solidarity with the movements for 
social justice.

Interview by Luther Blissett

Jalil Muntaqim is one of the longest held political prisoners in the world, having been 
incarcerated since 1971. He is a former member of the Black Panther Party and the Black 
Liberation Army. He is convicted for alleged killing of two police officers.

Jalil Muntaqim can be reached at:

Anthony J. Bottom 77-A-4283
Sullivan C.F.
P.O. Box 116
Fallsburg, NY 12733-0116

David Gilbert is a long time anti-racist and anti-imperialist who is serving a life 
sentence for his involvement as a white comrade to the Black Liberation Army during an 
attempted expropriation, better known as the Brinks Robbery. He is a founding member of 
Weather Underground.

David Gilbert can be reached at:

David Gilbert 83-A-6158
P.O. Box 618
Auburn Correctional Facility
Auburn, NY 13024

https://freedomnews.org.uk/on-education-an-interview-with-david-gilbert-and-jalil-muntaqim/

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