Today's Topics:
1. zabalaza.net: Should the Anti-Capitalists Contest
Elections?* by Lucien van der Walt (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
2. Russia, avtonom: Vacation in a special detention center:
diary of Alexei Polikhovich, detained for speaking at a rally
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
3. Czech, AFED: Rote Zora No. 1 -- Review of feminist zine
[machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
4. London Anarchist Communist Group: This Land is Ours: The
Fight for Land Justice - Thursday September 26 @ 7:00 pm
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
5. Greece, Thessaloniki Libertarian Initiative: Update on the
day of the inauguration of the 84th TIF (+ Photos & Video)
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
6. Russia, avtonom - Great interview with Tekosina Anarsist.
Part One: Difficulties in Rojava [machine translation]
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
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Message: 1
THANK YOU comrades for the points that you have made. Should anti-capitalists vote? The
quick answer is "no." Let's be clear, the right to vote is important. It is better to be
under a state where you can vote, where there are some basic civil and political rights,
than under, for example, the apartheid state that we had. It is not that there is no
difference - it is big victory for the working class that we're under a bourgeois
parliamentary democracy. ---- Having said that, using the state and using elections is not
something that is going to take the working class forward, it is not something that is
going to enable the working class to build the capacity to take power directly by itself,
through bottom-up organs of working class democracy. ---- Let's be clear: this isn't an
argument about whether comrades are sincere in their programmes when forming parties, it
is not an argument that genuine comrades who believe in the party model secretly have
malicious plans to get rich. We know that there are many politicians who are in it to get
money, but not all.
So this is a message to the sincere comrades, of the left.
Fundamentally the state is not an organization that is able to ensure the deeper change,
the creation of social and economic equality which we need in our country and in our
society. The state is a top-down, centralised pyramid in the hands of a political elite of
politicians, and of top government officials, who work with an economic elite, of big
business people. Together this is the ruling class, a powerful minority that controls
society, and monopolizes power and wealth through states and corporations.
We can have formal political and civil rights, but in the context of deep, profound,
immiserating inequality in power and wealth, those rights are very limited. We all have
the right to free speech but one person, sleeping under a bridge, and another person, the
editor of a newspaper - well, one person's right to free speech and another person's right
to free speech, can be completely different in reality. If you are desperately dependent
on an employer to survive, to get a small amount of money, so that you can feed your kids,
you are not likely to cause trouble and invoke your formal rights as a worker.
So, for the proper exercise of rights, you need equality in society - not just to be equal
on paper. To that end we need a massive redistribution of power and wealth in society: we
need to move away from a society in which run by, and for, a small ruling class of
politicians, officials and capitalists.
As a simple example, to get decent housing in South Africa, we would have to spend
billions of rands, we would have to redirect the construction industry away from producing
shopping malls, from suburban houses, gentrified coffee shops and craft beer saloons. We
would have to control the resources - the labour, the materials, the infrastructure - and
we would have to have the power to decide that those resources go into housing - rather
than something else.
Then we can start to talk about the large-scale delivery of decent housing for ordinary
people. I don't mean a little shacks, I don't mean the tiny two room houses the state
provides when pressured.
FROM FLOOR: Viva!
I am talking about housing where you can live in dignity, where, essentially we abolish
the township system of large, segregated, impoverished working class districts,
under-serviced, badly maintained, ill-treated, and sharply distinct from the suburbs. A
massive redistribution of power and wealth enables us to move away from that system, and
create unified towns - not bigger townships, but the end of townships by making the
townships suburbs.
Now, that requires some massive redistribution of wealth and power - and direct control by
ordinary people. And you will never get that by getting a piece of paper in a box every
five years and hoping some politician will carry out their promises.
Comrade Zama Timbela, on my left, of the Progressive Civic Movement, was quite clear and
totally correct: we have tried, and we are not the only ones who have tried. Many, many
people have tried this. People much better than me have tried. If someone like Nelson
Mandela couldn't change the system, if pretty much anyone you care to name ended up
producing that same inequality in society, why is it going to be different this time? How
many more times do we have to form and support parties, and watch them fail the working class?
You cannot with the best will in the world make a car fly. It is the nature of the thing.
You cannot make a dog go "meow." You cannot take a state, which has got a very specific
purpose in society - keeping the ruling class on top - and make it do something different.
I understand comrades' argument that we want to use the state, and parliament, and
elections, to make propaganda - and there we agree. But we disagree on how.
This comes down to how we analyse the state. The nature of the state is twofold. One, it
is about the defence of inequality in society. Adam Smith, the famous liberal economist
said, the wealthy, could not sleep peacefully at night unless there was an armed body,
which could protect them: the state. The state's role is to maintain the status quo.
FROM FLOOR: Thank you!
Second, the state serves is controlled directly by that ruling class, and the ruling class
is not just capitalists in the private sector. The ruling class includes those people who
control the army, the police, the parliamentarians, the mayor, the vice chancellor -those
are all part of the ruling class and they have some disagreements, how much cattle or cash
must this one pay to this one in a bribe, who gets a contract from ESKOM for coal, how
much tax must be paid, how best to control and exploit the working class.
But all these differences fall aside when it comes to basic things. If you want to occupy
some land for a shack, you are going to face evictions, jail. The union comrades will know
that when you go on strike, the police will be there - not to arrest the bosses, but to
police you. On strike you can be beaten, you will not get paid, you will get killed in
some cases. On the other side, you could be like Marcus Jooste, and defraud people of
nearly R40 billion, or like Jacob Zuma and be involved in "state capture" scams that
amount to an estimated R100 billion, and you will not be arrested, evicted, or jailed. You
will have to testify in parliament, maybe, and then you can go home to your mansion. You
can loot ESKOM so much, that South Africa now has less electricity than it did in 2009,
and all you will face is a toothless commission.
So, on one side, simply by maintaining the status quo of inequality, powerful monopoly
corporations, deeply entrenched inequality in decision-making and income and resources
across society, including in the state - the household of the former president, Zuma, cost
tax payers up to R500 million, while people in expanded public works earn less than R20 an
hour - the state ensures the current system goes on.
And, on the other side, the state is an apparatus for the direct accumulation of wealth
and power. Senior state office, whether national, provincial or local, gives access to
state resources. High salaries and perks - more than a million rand a year, a house,
flights, free airtime just to sit in parliament - and even more - access to big money
through the Public Investment Corporation (PIC)and state banks, giant state capitalist
firms like ESKOM, and thousands of opportunities for graft through state contracts and
outsourcing, all the way down. The Eastern Cape province has tens of thousands of
"procurement points"; a municipality can have up to a thousand contracts with the private
sector. State power means you can give those contracts to family, friends, fronts: then
you, the politician, are sorted. And this is, sadly, what a lot of political party
activity in South Africa is all about. Not the people, the politicians.
Votes are not going to change the system. Voting is not going to change the system. Major
decisions are completely outside of the control of ordinary people on a day-to-day basis.
It is better to have a non-racial parliament than P.W, Botha, but parliament is not
democracy. It is a shell covering something else. Look on TV at parliament, watch the
shenanigans of overpaid politicians, earning a million rand a year, wearing overalls or
Gucci suits - I don't care which - as they posture, parade and make speeches! These are
rich, powerful people; they are not there for you, they are doing a job where you do not
even get fined if you never come to work.
If you think they really represent you, then think about what they really do. At elections
they talk to you and promise the world, but you will see, sooner or later, what world you
will get. We never voted for privatization in 1994, but we got it. We never voted for
police to be sent onto our campuses, we got it. We never voted for a job-loss bloodbath,
we got it. We never voted for the "state capture" project, we got it.
And this isn't a question of which particular party - I want to be clear - this is not a
question of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), or the rival, conservative
Democratic Alliance (DA, which rules here in Cape Town) or the Economic Freedom Fighters
(EFF), an ANC breakaway that talks about socialism but has allied with DA all over the
country. The DA evicts people, the ANC complains. The ANC evicts people, the DA complains.
EFF, well it will evict people all on its own, if it ever had direct control of a
municipality - and in fact it has served for years in municipal coalition governments with
the DA, and so, been party to DA evicting people.
It is not a question of which party. We also need to get away from the thing that the
problem is a few bad apples, a few bad people that we solve it if we replace Mbeki with
Zuma, and Zuma with Ramaphosa, in the ANC, or Malema from EFF, or Maimane from DA - it
does not matter.
This is where the idea of running a party to use elections for tactical reasons is a
mistake. Yes, the masses do look at elections: but why not give them a different message?
Why tell people to vote for a party, to expose the system, as if that does not teach
people to trust the system? Yes, the political temperature of the working class rises at
elections, but why give the message "vote" if know voting is based on an illusion in the
state? That is creating illusions.
Yes, comrades, I recognize the new Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party, linked to the
left-wing National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), wants a "dictatorship of
the proletariat" and so on - and states that it does not believe in a parliamentary road
to socialism. I know the party says it's running in elections for tactical reasons, mainly
to make propaganda. But the reality is that most people outside the party cadre will and
do think the party is promising to deliver more and better, and that the issues is just
that the state is run by the wrong party.
Yes, you can use parliament for propaganda, the EFF showed it brilliantly - brilliantly!
They made parliament interesting to watch. In the old days it wasn't interesting to watch,
unless you were having trouble sleeping and then you could take tips from the people in
parliament.
But fundamentally that does nothing to build a bottom-up movement, it makes people into
spectators at a show, politics into a performance by a few leaders. And, fundamentally the
use of parties in elections, whatever the aims, is a method that sows illusions in the
state. The idea that the masses must be encouraged to vote, so they can learn the hard
lessons, is irresponsible. If you have a child and they burn their hand, they learn a
lesson. But you don't encourage them to burn their hand so they can be learn the lesson:
you say "don't burn your hand, don't touch the fire!" The same thing with elections.
To sum up: you are not going to change the system with a piece of paper; if you want to
vote, vote, that is your right; but it's not going to change things. If people want to set
up a party, good for them. And I respect the Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party for at
least putting a radical platform out there. But it is still not going to solve the problems.
First, political parties don't change the state, the state changes political parties;
people change. High salaries, access to contracts, and the exercise of power - these
things change people. We cannot pretend someone from the working class, now suddenly rich,
and busy running the state, is still working class in interest, experience or outlook.
Rather than political parties being the power of the people inside the state, they
actually become the power of the state inside the working class, using networks of
patronage, providing access for a select few to escape the working class and move into the
elite, corrupting and capturing the leadership of working class movements including
unions, and teaching the masses to have faith in the state - an organisation that
oppresses them.
The party system generates divisions in the working class, as politicians chase votes: in
South Africa, it's perfectly clear that race tensions are inflamed by the parties. The
party system creates a culture of dependency on the state: "we want the state to deliver,
give us this, give us that." People are left passive, disempowered from decisions, only
briefly emerging in voting and -sometimes - in protests. The rest of the time, they have
no control over their daily lives. The party system promotes a Moses syndrome: people are
taught to wait for a Moses to bring freedom to take them to the land of Canaan. But none
of these politicians is Moses, and there is no Canaan to be found in following them. In
electing them, you are putting them in a land of milk and honey you will never enter.
If no state can really make a difference, and I include the so-called socialist states,
which were class societies based on state-capitalism, if no state has put the working
class, the poor, the peasants in power, then we need to think of a way that ordinary
people can take power without the state. We need a politics at a distance from the state,
we need to build organs of people's power and of workers' control, that in the current
period can defend the working class - and that can develop the capacities for the people
to take over, directly, themselves, without the state.
Second, rejecting the use of the vote is not rejecting democracy, but fighting for
democracy: parliament is not democracy, so if you want democracy you need to build it
outside the state.
Comrade Mandisi Vatu, from the Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party: we have had this
discussion before, so I am happy to meet you on this panel again. And I still ask: why
does NUMSA want to put their faith into a party? What does a party add? Why doesn't NUMSA
prepare its members to seize and occupy and run the metal industry? You have 350 000
people, you have structures of workers' control, so expand the workers' democracy, from
your structures outwards. The older unions, in the 1980s, argued that workers' control of
the unions should be expanded into workers' control of the economy and we should get back
to that. A large section of the anti-apartheid movement aimed to replace apartheid state
structures with organs of people's power, where civic organisations would take power in
the townships. We should get back to that. Why outsource to a party, when a party cannot
do these jobs, and when the state is the enemy?
What we have to do is organize and educate people and what that means is organizing people
bottom up, to struggle, bottom-up to empower their daily lives, bottom up so they can
actually have democracy. You will not have democracy with the state, but you can get it
with your neighbours. You can get it with your workmates. And you can build in that a seed
of a democracy where people redistribute wealth and power downwards - that is exactly what
I mean. Society based on assemblies, community and worker councils that can plan the
economy democratic.
FROM FLOOR: Viva!
Organise outside the state. The state is part of the problem. It is not the solution! The
problem is not the capitalists, somewhere out there, that the state will sort out, that
the state will serve the people. The state and the capitalists are two parts of the same,
basic system.
We cannot get away from theory and ideology here. The comrade from the floor who raised
the question of the importance of a programme is correct: yes, we need to have ideas and
we need to think about how we link struggles today to deeper changes tomorrow, we need to
think practically without getting stuck in reformism. And this is where theory comes in.
Struggle just isn't enough. We saw this with the Arab Spring in the Middle East and North
Africa, where people rebelled to demand parliamentary democracy. Just that. And what we
saw is that, if we don't have direction, you get pushed back or moved aside, and lose out.
In Egypt, the masses overthrew the military regime, and got elections to parliament. A
far-right party, the Muslim Brotherhood, was the main force ready to take the gap. It won
the elections and was so reactionary, killing opponents, terrorising minorities like the
Christians, that millions of people breathed a sigh of relief when the military seized
power again. They were back to square one. It is nonsense to think that struggle alone is
enough, or even to pretend that struggle automatically takes us towards socialism and
democracy. It does not and it cannot.
So, it is not enough just to struggle: we need to link daily struggle systematically
towards a larger program of changing society. This is why I am glad that the comrades
here, from the Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party, are raising the issues of a bigger
project that builds on, but goes way beyond, immediate struggles, Because, ultimately, we
need to be clear about what is wrong in society now, what our end goal of a new type of
society is, and how we get from one to the other.
Comrade Ebrahim Fourie, on the panel, representing the Housing Assembly, is right that we
need to be clear on words. Just to say that our end goal is "socialism" is too vague, as
he notes. What does that mean? How do we get there? We need to engage theory, and history
does matter; we cannot just say we're now in the 21st century, everything is new, and the
past is dead. We need - as different socialist currents - to look at what we did wrong in
the past and right as well.
Comrades have labelled me an "anarchist" ...
CROWD: Laughter.
But it's a label I embrace! I am arguing for exactly that, anarchism and syndicalism: at
the end of the day we need to be thinking about how the working class, and the popular
classes more generally, can take power directly, and not keeping handing power over to
others. If we reject capitalism, and if we reject the state, if we agree that handing
power to politicians and parties has failed - and failed it has, comrades, make no
mistake, there is not one successful example of this freeing the masses - then we need to
build mass organisations that can fight in the present and replace capital and state in
the future. So we must always draw a clear class-based distinction between the people of a
country, and its ruling classes, and stay steadfast in being politically independent of
the state, just as we are separate from the private corporations.
I appreciate that many comrades here feel solidarity with Venezuela, and so do I, since I
oppose imperialist interventions. But I feel solidarity with the popular classes of
Venezuela, not its regime. I feel solidarity with the people against both the United
States government, and the Venezuelan government, both of which oppress the people. I do
not choose between enemies and call this strategy. Likewise, I feel solidarity the people
of Cuba, against the United States embargo, but I have no solidarity with the Cuban regime
or the not Castro family.
A free society is one without social and economic inequality - a society in which ordinary
people are in charge. In fact "ordinary people" in such a society are no longer "ordinary
people" at all, since there is no elite against which we contrast the masses, the
grassroots. There are no classes. We are all collectively owners of means of production,
and we all collectively decide on how we use administrative, coercive and economic
resources. We are in charge of schools, work and the community, and we can live lives of
dignity and equality. We govern through assemblies, committees and councils, from the
bottom up, with no ruling class minority. We have freedom of speech and association and
belief, and we have equality through cooperation and community.
That means the abolition of the state. None of this is possible through, or under, a state
structure. That also means the capitalism. While we live under systems which are pyramids,
where a small ruling class holds the power and wealth, we will never be free. The masses
cannot control a pyramid which is a way for a minority to centralise resources and
decisions. You can vote how you like, but you do not control the MPs or the president, you
can have a bank account but you do not control the bank. You can tweet President
Ramaphosa, or write him an open letter, but he does not have the read it, and he does not
have to do anything about it. That is the nature of the empty democracy we have.
You have to have substantial direct control. And that means that at the end of the day we
have got to think how the working class can get some power today, and prepare for taking
power directly in the future. We need permanent mass organizations in which we can debate
the various perspectives, such as unions, neighbourhood groups, and unemployed
organisations. I am against putting our faith in parties, but let's have political
pluralism in mass organisations, and hammer out the issues. Let's test our different
perspectives. Let's be willing to change our minds and learn from one another. Let us not
pretend there aren't differences; differences matter. It should not be a precondition of
joining a mass organisation that we support a particular party. And let us not exclude any
party either.
This is part of building a counter-power, of mass-based organs of counter-power to resist
in the present, and build capacities to take over in the future. We need to rebuild an
alternative media and radical education. Today union investment firms hold major shares in
Power FM, eTV and other broadcasters, yet these do nothing to promote working class
hegemony or socialism or anarchism. We need to have a discussion on how to relink Unions
and community. We need to think about ways that unions, and communities, have created
alternatives in the past. Unions used the run, here in Cape Town, the Ray Alexander
Workers Clinic. Why not revive such things? If the state has failed with public health,
let's start asking the state to deliver public health, let's have our own clinics. Let's
get workers' radio and TV going - not just a slot here and there, but as part of a
systematic alternative. Let's get the big battalions of the working class onto building
alternative institutions.
Let's rebuild worker/ community alliances and fundamentally let's find ways to unite the
exploited and oppressed, who are pitted against each other, every day: Coloured versus
black versus white, South African versus foreign. And to unite people we have to fight the
oppression amongst ourselves. Not as something after the revolution but as a precondition
to unity now. But, we also have to understand that without a fundamental change in
society, and a new system of equality and freedom, we are not going to tear up the roots
of women's oppression, of racism, of anti-immigrant ideas.
So, build alternative institutions that educate, organize people and build an alternative
at a distance from the state. If you want democracy, make it. Build it now. Parliament is
not democracy, the party road has failed, we need to build organs of counter-power and a
project of revolutionary counter-culture. Thanks!
* This is a lightly edited transcription of a talk given by Prof. Lucien van der Walt on a
panel on the eve of the 2019 national elections in South Africa: the International Labour
Research and Information Group (ILRIG)/ Workers World Media Productions (WWMP) Public
Forum, Isivivana Centre, Khayelitsha, Cape Town, South Africa 25 April.
https://zabalaza.net/2019/09/07/should-the-anti-capitalists-contest-elections/#more-6004
https://www.anarkismo.net/article/31539
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Message: 2
Anarchist and a participant in OVD-Info, a former political prisoner in the "swamp case,"
Alexei Polikhovich served 13 days of administrative arrest for speaking at a rally on
August 10 . He was charged with petty hooliganism for the phrase "They are fucking crazy."
Polikhovich talks about the days under arrest, a society that is not there, and how the
special detention center differs from the pre-trial detention center. ---- 11th August
---- - Come along, police. ---- - We were waiting for you here, fag. ---- - Yes, he is
fucked up! ---- I start to shout: "Help." I hope that my colleagues will hear and
understand that they are detaining me. ---- - Right now we will help you. ---- "Cho, did
you finish your work at his rally?"
They wring my hands and handcuff me. Point detention is always adrenaline, but here I
still do not fully understand why it is being screwed. It's clear what kind of performance
on Sakharov, but what exactly did they come up with there? A pendulum taps in my head:
administrative or criminal? Administrative or criminal? And somewhere there is a second
pendulum: cops or the FSB? Cops or the FSB?
Pushed into the car. I look at the driver - he is in a green vest, that is, PPSnik, this
is already better. Having a real cop in uniform is reassuring.
"Take him to Krasnoe Selo," says one of the cops on the sidewalk.
That is, to the Krasnoselsky police department. It turns out, also on the territoriality
of the offense - Sakharov Avenue clearly refers to this area. Then I relax a little more.
In the "Red Village" they hand me over to the duty officer. They remove the handcuffs from
me and do not give me a call: they are afraid that the inspector who will conduct the case
will not approve. Arrange for the night in the chamber. Here I have to spend an amazing
weekend, filled with people from another world, full of obscenities, negativity, fatigue
and humility with my fate.
Weekend in the "Red Village"
In the morning two poor fellows hooked up to me. The first is a homeless man in a sneaker
and slipper, one leg is bandaged. The second poor fellow is beaten and swollen. Judging by
the whole socks on his legs, he has a house.
The inspector comes, gives me a call. It seems I was missed. I inform you how and where
was detained, which article. Then come Tanya (my ex-wife) with Ksyusha (a participant in
the ATS-Info and my girlfriend), make a show. Tanya manifests her arrival voiced: "Hello,
I want to make a transfer to my husband!" Ksenia seems to be worried. "Husband, overeating
pears," - so Tanya said all the time, while offering marriage in 2013 to Butyrka, while
collecting gears and going on a long date in Ryazan, while depressed and with pain,
injuries and guilt - left. The circle is closed.
At night in the "Red Village" comes the time for adventure. First, a couple of not sober
people are brought. A peasant - as small as a hobbit, makes no sounds at all.
But his companion is titanium. In a brown sleeveless jacket, with a bunch of bleached hair
and in light camouflage pants, she makes a real performance. She is taken further down the
corridor to give explanations due to the fact that some friend of her fiery heart wrote a
statement to her about theft and beatings.
She gives explanations loudly and solemnly. Then he walks along the corridor and begins to
be interested in the police when she is released. They don't let her go. Then it explodes:
it yells at the guard at the entrance, then at the attendant, then at some other invisible
employees, obscures them and demands to be released. Then he goes to rest in the depths of
the corridor, turns on the music from the phone and sings along loudly to the whole
department. He returns to the duty room and attacks the cops with renewed vigor. When this
attack also turns out to be a failure, she begins to cry and lament about her difficult fate.
It seems that the police themselves would be happy to let her go, but while the documents
are being drawn up, they cannot do this. As a result, it is still released.
12th of August
Court on Monday. As usual, the court is an occasion to see relatives, I do not expect a
worthy trial from him. Quite a lot of people came, about 30. The spokesperson for the
court makes a good impression: he clearly tells the bailiffs that they must ensure the
presence of everyone at the meeting. The escort policemen also make a good impression:
they joke that they will become famous with me, and they adjust the caps on their heads to
hide their faces.
The judge strictly follows the letter of the law. And according to her - "a clear
disrespect for society, accompanied by swearing." Kamon, what kind of mythical society do
you have in the CAO? Society chanted with me. Real society on Sakharov. And your mythical
society from article 20.1 is rubbish and formalism.
Communicating with the audience, I say that I would like 13 days - and I get 13 days. When
the judge reads this, the audience bursts out laughing.
August 13th
The detention center in Mnevniki is the best institution of those where I sat or served.
Ready to give him positive ratings in all applications and services.
Firstly, there is a cool walking patio - spacious, like four courtyards in Butyrka.
Secondly, they feed well and give tea with sugar. The employees are relaxed and mostly
harmless. Once a day they legally give the phone a call for 15 minutes, forbidding,
however, access to the Internet. Of the minuses - a scarce library, the lack of sockets,
which means - the lack of boiling water and news. We listen to the radio, and we collect
boiling water for each meal in the dining room, wrapping a squeezed bottle in blankets,
bags and warm clothes - this is our thermos.
Mostly drivers who are deprived of their rights or are caught while drunk are sitting
behind the wheel. Duration - 5-7 days. Political people are sitting here - I meet Yashin
(an unregistered candidate for deputy of the Moscow City Duma) in the corridor, Stepanov
(the coordinator of the Moscow headquarters of Navalny) is sitting with him in the hut,
and then - Zolotarevsky (head of the headquarters of Ivan Zhdanov), who was detained at a
rally on August 10, where I spoke.
We have a senior on camera in our hut. This is Sanych - a bearded man of sixty years old,
telling stories about the thousand-year history of the state of Rus, criticizing Navalny
and poisoning stories.
We argue with him about the opposition and the state of the Rus, but I am impressed by his
desire for organization: cleaning in the cell every two days, compulsory feeding of new
entrants, a generally friendly and responsive attitude to the new ones. From prison I'm
used to treating such people without prejudice. Yes, the Russians built underground roads
seven thousand years ago, yes, Navalny lives on the money of the State Department, well,
it happened even worse. In the end, hatred and distrust of the authorities of all stripes
(except Putin) is shared.
August 15
A large jovial, municipal deputy Kostya Jankauskas, is being shared with us in the hut. He
has been sitting for the third administrative arrest in a row. He leaves the special
detention center - he is being detained, they draw up a new protocol and are again
arrested. I am glad to see him, he is cheerful and does not lose heart.
Kostya, of course, was tired of sitting, but he didn't show his mind.
August 17
Poison the jokes. My favorite about buckwheat.
The dog comes out on Monday to the bowl: "Wow! Buckwheat! "The dog leaves on Tuesday to
the bowl:" Cool! Buckwheat! I love buckwheat. " The dog leaves on Wednesday to the bowl:
"Class, buckwheat again. What could be better! "The dog leaves on Thursday:" Hmm,
buckwheat or something? " Well, is there nothing else? "The dog comes out on Friday:" Ugh,
buckwheat again, how much can one buckwheat eat?! "The dog comes out on Saturday: nothing.
The dog comes out on Sunday: nothing. The dog comes out on Monday to the bowl:" Wow!
Buckwheat! "
There is a story about us all.
August 20
Date with Tanya. In general, it is amazing how this word now means exclusively a meeting
in a disciplinary institution, and not a date from the tinder.
Tanya in white leggings to the knees and "Newbells", I - in slippers on my bare foot.
"Have you taken stockings?" - I'm joking in her ear when we hug for the first time. This
is a reference to dates in the zone when she came to me for three days with trunks of
food, books and a love staff. Laughs, says: "You smell, as usual, with a sling." Our
2012th year was returned to us - transfers, courts, dates, phone calls for 15 minutes.
We have not been together for a long time, but from the outside, probably, it does not
seem so. Tanya jokes (or doesn't quite joke) that our marriage, which actually fell apart
in prison, is far from the worst marriage possible. We can discuss everything, laugh and
hug, how many couples can boast of this?
August 21
I have seen this many times: at school, in the army, in prison. Find the weak,
defenseless. Now this is a skinny little man of indefinite years, somehow particularly
insecure, unsteadily mincing along the walking yard.
He takes off his T-shirt and exposes his sharp clavicles to the sun. Blue panties stick
out from shabby jeans. From time to time, a peasant mumbles something, sometimes comes out
with separate remarks out of place. An ideal target for witticisms.
Several huts were driven into the courtyard. People tease a peasant, laugh, meaningly
smile at each other. Do you need a lighter? Look at the door, climb in, look. Cho arrange
a striptease? Are you lost? Where are you going?
Sadly, not so much from a bunch of evil people with cutting smiles and not so much from
this little peasant who was lost in his life, but from the repeatability of the format. At
school - jokes on nerds and nerds. In the army - over fat men and sissies. In prison -
over lowered, goats, weak. Laughter as a weapon, jokes as stigma. It's sad that this model
seems to be hanging in the cloud, it can be downloaded all the time (and downloaded),
installed and started to mock.
August 22
Take out on appeal. I am preparing a fiery speech about "revolutionary foam", but the
judge constantly interrupts me and wants to make me speak only about legality. Was there a
mate? This means disrespect for society. To that very society from the CAO, which no one
had ever seen.
Then we stand with the convoys who brought me and who will now take me back to the special
detention center, we smoke. They smoke right below the No Smoking sign. A little swearing.
I suggest they stop by my house for a beer. They joke that they don't drink at work. The
conversation flows into a discussion of Czech beer.
24 August
Here's what they release from the admin minute to minute, a little infuriates. Under
criminal law, you are released one day ahead of schedule, and if the release falls on a
weekend, then even earlier. And here - they detained us at half past one in the night -
let them go at half past two at night.
While I am walking with the employee to the gate, a female voice shouts from behind them:
"Yashin, come out!" Yankauskas also shouts: "Yashin, you are next!" Someone swears in
response to the camera closest to the gate: "Shut up! Shut up! Your Yashin will come out!
You normal?!"
I am released three minutes ahead of schedule. Outside, the cameras of mobile phones bump
into me. About 20 people stand in a semicircle, shout, laugh. The correspondent of
"Mediazona" The pan comes up and hands me a glass bottle of wine. Another correspondent of
"Mediazones" Shvets comes up next and offers wine from a plastic bottle.
I called my father, I said that they did not screw me up at the exit. I feel the anguish
that arises when watching an old favorite movie, which no longer causes strong emotions.
After three years in a pre-trial detention center and a 13-day zone, in a not-so-bad
special detention center they feel like ridiculous cosplay. I cosplay myself in 2015. The
Investigative Committee cosplayes itself in 2012. Russia for sad, tired cosplayers.
A source
Anarchist Opinion , Criticism, Reviews, Comments
Mayhem of power , No "election"! , Protests , Prisons
Russia , Moscow
Alexey Polikhovich
https://avtonom.org/news/otpusk-v-specpriemnike-dnevnik-alekseya-polihovicha-zaderzhannogo-za-rech-na-mitinge
------------------------------
Message: 3
In addition to the Insolence , we have another feminist zinc called Rote Zora and standing
by. Simply "zin, which has proper ovaries", as the paraphrase of a "boyish" adage sounds
in its subtitle. And as the author writes correctly, it is necessary to bullshit about the
fact that feminists are dealing with bullshit and that they are supposed to solve the true
essence of the problem of capitalism. Here, as declared in the afterword, goes "pretty
feminism and anti-capitalism hand in hand". ---- If zin reminds someone of the once very
popular Bloody Mary , then be aware that this is in some way the intention. And a little
"repetition" is no harm if we realize that in the meantime the movement has sparked the
next generation who wants to deal with what burns it and not to look for what someone else
wrote before. And it is also nice to sign up with a name that did not take a nap because
it is "toothless to renounce all violence", even if one is a priori against it.
Let's browse through pages that both women and men have described. Zin opens up a fitting
reflection on sexism in poetry, both in terms of women's objectivization and the position
of women authors. And perhaps there is an even hotter reflection on the tendency to forbid
sweaty men from taking off their T-shirt at the HC concert: "Instead of preventing one
from undressing, we should make sure we (at least at our events) feel safe enough to there
was a text about safe space ("a place where an oppressed group / minority should feel safe
and talk about how oppressed and how sad it is"). But "shouldn't the whole world be one
big safe space"? Isn't it better than to "make safe space on every voyage" rather than
"fight against manifestations of sexism and sexual violence as unacceptable to society"?
Hence the link to the text on the consensus ("permission to act - sexual or otherwise -
which was spoken freely") or to reflect on "kind humor", which is a frequent argument of
sexist "bullying". You will find out what it is like to be a woman and still with black
skin or that your partner can also rape you. But it is not only women, men can also feel
unpleasant harassment, even from women who consider themselves feminists - one of which
gives three good things. which was spoken freely ") or to reflect on" kind humor, "which
is a frequent argument of sexist" bullying. " You will find out what it is like to be a
woman and still with black skin or that your partner can also rape you. But it is not only
women, men can also feel unpleasant harassment, even from women who consider themselves
feminists - one of which gives three good things. which was spoken freely ") or to reflect
on" kind humor, "which is a frequent argument of sexist" bullying. " You will find out
what it is like to be a woman and still with black skin or that your partner can also rape
you. But it is not only women, men can also feel unpleasant harassment, even from women
who consider themselves feminists - one of which gives three good things.
As I noted in one review of Insolence , neither would men hurt to learn what problems
women were addressing. At the very least, this helps to raise the level of empathy and not
be ignorant. So let's go to experience alternatives to menstrual aids, bras or hairy legs.
A reflection on the meaning of exercise for women, which should properly "serve to make us
feel good", is telling. The selection of reviewed films follows the themes of revenge for
rape and female circumcision.
In the issue, however, you will also learn about interesting women, such as the anarchist
writer Ursule Kroeber Le Guin, who focused on the fantasy and sci-fi genre, the anarchist
Anna Campbell, who was killed while working alongside YPG militias in Rojava, or the
artist Lydii Lunch. Personally, I was most interested in the article about sufražetkách,
their radical actions and ways of self-defense, and a short text about the free female
village of Jinwar in Rojava.
Before reading a report from last year's feminist and queer camp from Tábor, you can color
your vaginal coloring book. And what will be colored in the next issue? Let's be surprised.
Rote Zora No. 1. 2019. 90 tent A5. To get to rotezorazine@riseup.net .
https://www.afed.cz/text/7016/rote-zora-c-1
------------------------------
Message: 4
Housmans Bookshop, 5 Caledonian Rd, London N1 9DX ---- Land, if we define it to include
all physical resources such as water, air and what lies beneath the ground, is the source
of all wealth and our very existence. However, what should belong to all of us has been
taken from us and concentrated in the hands of a small minority so that they own the land,
decide its use (usually to profit themselves) and control access to the benefits. All our
struggles, whether for housing, community centres, and good, cheap food or against climate
change are struggles over how land is used and who makes the decisions. ---- There has
been a tradition of fighting for the land in Britain, most recently in the Scottish
movement for land reform. People are beginning to question the idea of private property
and moving to more radical ideas such as the land being a Commons- owned and controlled by
us all. This talk will first look at the question of who owns and controls the land in
Britain (using material from the work of Andy Wightman on land ownership in Scotland and
Guy Shrubsole's new book- Who Owns England), consider what is being done in Scotland and
elsewhere, and then open the discussion on what changes we would like to see.
This meeting is organised by the Anarchist Communist Group at anarchistcommunism.org
For information on land see: the Anarchist Communist Group's pamphlet Land and Liberty
-available from all good radical bookshops.
https://www.facebook.com/London-Anarchist-Communist-Group-327083614543678
------------------------------
Message: 5
The inauguration of this year's TIF came in the shadow of a shift in the management of
capitalist interests with the election of the ND government on the one hand to validate
that the state is continuing and on the other to renew the intensity of neoliberal
policies of abolishing social majority, the looting of the natural environment and the
further attachment of the Greek state to NATO's strategic plans, as well as to interstate
military and energy axes that gather clouds of war in the broader default of the eastern
Mediterranean. ---- As every year, a wide range of resistance forces in the regime chose
to demonstrate, starting from Kamara, outside and against the subordinate and bureaucratic
syndicalism and the "left" components of the system.
Unions, student associations, lgbtqi + groups, assemblies against the plunder of nature,
communist political organizations and anarchist colleges have composed the mosaic of this
year's Kamara Independent Demonstration.
The occupation of Terra Incognita, the Pueblo anarchist collectivism, and the Thessaloniki
Freedom Initiative called for a joint anarchist bloc to be supported by the call and
presence of the Anarchist Federation and whose anarchist / anti-communist comrades took
part. Also present were the Network for Movements for Land & Freedom, SEVIOME, the
Anarchist Political Organization and the Anti-Suffrage Movement.
More than 3,000 people took part in the march, with the Liberal Blocs rallying around 800.
More than 500 comrades / equals participated in the common anarchist bloc. The route
followed the Egnatia-Ag. Sofia-Tsimiski-Angelakis and returned to Kamara.
From the intersection of Ag. Sofia with Tsimiski came under the stranglehold of the
suppressive forces of the MATs, assisted by dozens of asphalts with covered features and
backpacks who were apparently waiting for the opportunity to be arrested and new arrests
against allegedly planted fighters. However, a strong, well-equipped and organized defense
of the liberal blocs prevented such a possibility.
This year's TIF course marks the beginning of a new cycle of struggles and resistance.
Behind the crowns of a return to regularity and the threats of an anti-occupation
crackdown and in general the anarchist / antisocial movement it is clear that the lives of
the oppressed and exploited will not improve.
The only realistic way is that of the unrelenting struggle against state and capital. The
longer we remain kneeling and frustrated, the more we are oppressed and exploited by the
powerful and privileged ones served by the class structure of the capitalist system.
Organized on the basis of our community of material interests, with our weapons of class
and transnational solidarity, we are called upon to counterattack, to collectively pave
the way for social and class emancipation.
ORGANIZATION AND STRUGGLE AGAINST STATE AND CAPITAL
WE WON'T LIVE AS A SLAVE. WE WANT IT ALL FOR ALL
Occupying Terra Incognita, Pueblo Anarchist Collective, Thessaloniki Freedom Initiative
------------------------------
Message: 6
Anarchist Struggle is a formation of libertarian volunteers from all over the Earth who
arrived in Rojava to take part in the revolution. The organizers of the group have spent
several years in Syrian Kurdistan, so the Anarchist Struggle started not from scratch, but
with considerable luggage behind. The new incarnation of organized anarchism in Rojava
took the Kurdish name Tekoşîna Anarşîst (Anarchist Struggle) and announced its appearance
in early 2019. ---- The Hevale Team: The Kurdistan Revolution took the opportunity to ask
comrades from the Anarchist Struggle. The result was a meaningful conversation on
cleanliness, with "uncomfortable" questions and meaningful answers. We did not go around
sharp corners and successfully went deep into the surface. In the first part of a large
interview, we asked comrades how they are given close interaction with the Turkish left
and how they assess the numerous contradictions in the social development of Rojava ...
Hevale: You are a member of the International Freedom Battalion (IFB). As far as we know,
this structure is led by leftists and others. Given the military hierarchy and
non-libertarian ideology of these organizations, how do you manage to establish
relationships with them on libertarian principles? What benefit do you see in cooperation
with leftist groups?
Tekoşîna Anarşîst: The international freedom battalion was formed as a coalition of
revolutionary organizations. Most of them are Turkish. Basically - leftist orientation.
The goal of this endeavor is to help the revolution in Rojava. The participation in the
battalion of internationalist fighters and volunteers, especially anarchists, has always
been a difficult issue. In many ways, we work with these organizations in accordance with
our principle of rejection of sectarianism. Within the framework of this kind of coalition
of various forces, we are doing a common cause in the field of solidarity with Rozhava.
This is part of the knowledge that we acquired here as anarchists: creating enemies
without need is a bad idea. In this case, of course, our relationship is more strategic in
nature. We always remember that we have our own tasks and a separate anarchist path.
Anarchists and a number of other internationalists, participating in the battalion,
constantly challenged some of the political decisions of these parties. It should be noted
that internationalist comrades were sometimes excluded from the decision-making process.
As for the military hierarchy, we, as a combat structure, recognize as vital the creation
of an effective combat structure, which also requires command. For example, within our
organization there is a system of posts and responsibilities that are delegated and
distributed among its members. For example, a member of the organization that is assigned
the duties of a combat commander receives certain power in a battle situation, making
operational decisions. However, the military leader has no power in our daily life and in
any other matters besides the military itself. Moreover, in everyday life we try to use
such communication methods that allow us to control group dynamics and avoid the emergence
of informal hierarchies.
IFB has always been a frontline combat unit. We respect the decisions made by the
battalion commander, as long as this commander is elected based on his experience and
abilities, and also provided that military decisions are made without interference in the
political sphere. If the commander demonstrates his incompetence, then we will raise this
question with the “united group”, a kind of steering committee of the battalion, which
includes all the organizations involved in it. Say, during the operation in Raqqa, the
anarchist organization International Revolutionary Popular Partisan Forces (IRPGF) was
part of the steering committee.
In general, comparing the structure of the International Battalion with state and
paramilitary military structures, we can argue that ours is much more democratic, having
the appropriate decision-making mechanisms, and, so to speak, more “free”.
The fallen fighter of the “Anarchist Struggle” Lorenzo Orsetti (Comrade Tekosher)
Unlike some of our anarchist comrades, we do not use the term “democratic” here as a
synonym for libertarian. We use it rather in a neutral way - to denote a system built on
the principle of "bottom-up", which allows its participants to send their requests up and
express mutual criticism. However, “democracy” in our use does not imply the existence of
internal mechanisms that prevent the development of authoritarian tendencies that regulate
and balance the potential power that is always present in such structures. We do not
consider democratic means something that we, as anarchists, use in our organizational and
political practices. We distinguish between the concepts of “democratic” and “libertarian”
(or “anarchist”). This approach is based on serious criticism,
We proceed from the experience of anarchist experiments with democracy around the world.
We use it in a different sense than is done in the framework of the theory of democratic
confederalism. There are reasons for this: here the word "democracy" is used in a
completely different meaning. The ideology of the so-called “New Paradigm” seeks to fill
this term with a new meaning and use it to describe a free civilization for which it is
fighting.
However, this difference does not prevent us from listening to different comrades here in
Rozhava, conducting discussions on a variety of topics, and also analyzing what the
political and historical roots of various ideologues are, as well as learning from them.
This is a very distinctive political reality. It would be a mistake to consider and
criticize it from the point of view of the Western political approach. We must carefully
listen and look at the realities, and not close our hearts to ideas that challenge us. It
will make us stronger.
In addition, the armed struggle and political organization, both in Rojava and in the
countries from which we arrived, have always been and remain problems full of
contradictions. This is another lesson that we, as anarchists, can learn here and develop
our position. Concluding our answer to the question, we want to emphasize that we are
different from all the Maoist and Marxist-Leninist groups operating in Rojava. We do not
agree with many of their ideas, and we have our own position on all issues. At the same
time, in a number of aspects, we have a lot to learn from these people.
Hevale: The ideology of the revolution in Rojava, democratic confederalism, preaches
direct self-government and a socially-oriented economy. However, it can be seen that it is
still not entirely clear which institutions really govern Rozhava. In parallel with the
councils, para-state institutions, such as ministries, operate. The system of delegation
of authority (mandate) and election to councils is also unclear. A certain control of the
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) over society has also existed for a long time. In the
economic sphere, we continue to see the widespread occurrence of typically capitalist
relations, as well as party control over a key sector of the economy: oil production. It
is unclear whether this situation is changing in any way. What is your analysis and
expectations regarding the development of Rojava society in these circumstances.
Tekoşîna Anarşîst: Among us there are two positions on this issue.
First: you can easily go to some cadres of the party and discuss all these issues with
them. Some of them will honestly tell you that the situation in the region is rather a
failure, and the ideology of democratic confederalism and what we have here in practice
are very far from each other. However, the fact that the revolution has achieved only a
little of what it was striving for serves as a powerful incentive for these comrades to
rethink their activities and to devote themselves completely to changing the order of things.
We, anarchists, are also very often confronted with the fact that our ideas, the life that
we live, and the world around us are very far from each other. How do we feel about this?
We can recognize that this is reality, we are where we are, and we have a long way to go.
Or we can hide problems and challenges behind a blind and narrow-minded obstinacy or even
a servile attitude. In Rojava you can see both options. We combine criticality and
companionship.
Here, in Rozhava, we, as well as many comrades with whom we work, conduct our work on the
basis of solidarity with the inhabitants of North-East Syria. We fought alongside them
against the Islamic State, as well as against the army of the Turkish state and its
satellites. This is one of the manifestations of our solidarity in practice.
At the same time, our position is greatly influenced by the search for the answer to the
question: who is the “movement”? "Movement" - is the party of the PKK and its cadres? Or
the whole set of institutions and ministries that exist in Autonomy? Or the "movement" is
made up of all families loyal to the PKK ("welatparez"), and martyrs who sacrificed their
lives in order to make possible the present (though far from perfect) order in Rozhava
possible in the most difficult conditions of today. Or maybe to the "movement" can be
attributed to all people who seek a better life and are struggling every day with economic
hardships in wartime conditions. They overcome the loss of loved ones. They still stand on
our side of the barricades, largely because the Assad regime, Turkey and the Islamic state
are simply far worse options for most locals.
The practice of democratic confederalism in Rojava is famous for its vivid and radical
social changes, which reflected trends, the most libertarian of all that exists in the
surrounding regions. Everyone has heard about gender quotas and the co-chairing of men and
women in councils and communes. In Mala Gel ("People’s House") and Mala Jin ("Women's
House"), as well as in communes, educational classes are held. The ideas of social
transformation apply to them and discuss them. General education is free and accessible to
people.
Also in progress is the local conflict resolution institution. With it, you can solve the
problem at the grassroots level without going to court. At the same time, there is
legislation, courts and prisons, as well as increasing bureaucracy and control, including
centralized decision-making. Problems of social changes, in particular, getting rid of
prisons (this is a big and important topic for the struggle not only in Rojava) faces
challenges: the activity of the Islamic State and the general economic and geopolitical
situation.
To the Omanda of Military Paramedics from the Anarchist Struggle (Tekoşîna Anarşîst)
One way or another, the situation here is so complicated that being too picky about who to
interact with and who not to be can become a problem of life and death. It may seem that
we are absolutely pragmatic about the local reality. However, we are trying to say
something else: we are determined to learn from the local events and realities, and local
contradictions are more likely to help us in this than to hinder us.
The second position can be formulated as follows: what we are seeing now in Rozhava is a
challenge situation that gives us information about what awaits us in the near future.
After the military defeat of the Caliphate in March 2019, the fight against ISIS is still
far from over. The fight against jihadists and their ideology in desert areas is an
extremely difficult task. In all likelihood, it can be successfully completed only by
using, first of all, social measures, giving them priority over the military. First of
all, it’s worth talking about the social organization of women and youth.
The sleeping cells of the IG were seriously activated. Now we have a full-scale guerrilla
war. Key figures of local communities, as well as fighters of the Forces of Democratic
Syria, appear in the sight of jihadists. Taking into account large-scale crop arson and
other daily sabotage, each hit by the IG does twice as much damage. The ideology of IS
will not be eradicated in the near future.
Rojava is experiencing a difficult economic situation. Sometimes what is happening here is
called "war communism." However, the reality is very far from the Bolshevik / Stalinist
economic and political scenario. Rojava is embargoed and forced to rely on smuggling and
diplomacy. At the same time, not the entire economic sphere of Rojava is under its
control; here you can observe the intersection of the zone of influence of the Assad
regime and local institutions.
Fighters of the "Anarchist Struggle" at training firing
At the same time, it is impossible to smuggle everything. For example, things like gas
turbines for power plants. There is an urgent need for them. The ones that are used now
are very outdated and need to be replaced. But how to deliver a gas turbine to Rozhava?
The geopolitical situation is extremely complex and not only for economic reasons. You
have to constantly choose between greater and lesser evil and sometimes cooperate with
overt enemies. This is due to the fact that the issue of survival is still the main issue.
The cooperative system is inspiring, but it remains more of a marginal phenomenon and does
not provide answers to very difficult economic questions related to capitalism. Also on
the territory of Rojava, there are still zones where the land is owned by the Assad regime
or the Syrian feudal lords-businessmen. And despite attempts to develop ecology in
Northeastern Syria, the climate crisis is extremely acute and noticeable here. In the long
run, this may turn out to be an even more serious problem than everything we talked about
above.
All these factors leave little room for radical shifts to other forms of the economy in
the near future. This does not mean that people will stop fighting and work to achieve the
best option possible in local conditions. But what about people who are not part of the
movement, completely exhausted by the war and think about which side to choose based on
their material benefits? This is a challenge to us all working here.
In the current circumstances, we see the particular importance of the women's movement and
autonomous female structures for any upcoming events. Of all the segments of the struggle
and parts of the movement in Rojava and beyond, in our opinion, women's structures are at
the forefront of social change and represent the most radical and progressive trends in
society and in the movement. Women's self-defense units, an autonomous space for the
development of women-oriented science, historical knowledge and conflict resolution are
amazing changes for this region that need to be held and consolidated.
Ultimately, many problems and difficulties are rooted in the intricacies of diplomacy. It
is becoming increasingly difficult to deal with threats from Turkey and the Assad regime,
as well as indirectly with Iran and other political players. Geopolitics is always an
important topic of study and a field of constant cunning political game.
We see that in the current situation we, anarchists, cannot greatly influence the
development of events, but we can bear much of them. Learn a lot from this place, the
ideology of this movement. No matter where in the world we are, any idealistic ideas and
plans for how the social struggle should take place will encounter severe obstacles and,
in one way or another, will develop very contradictory. Therefore, it is necessary to
develop an approach that will allow us to be flexible, open, intelligible and at the same
time firmly stand on our anarchist positions, ideas and practices, as well as be very well
organized.
Anarchist Struggle along with other YPG / YPJ fighters celebrate victory over ISIS in Bakhuz
Hevale: in Rojava, all the tasks of the movement are carried out within a rigid framework.
For example, people from the military sphere have almost no opportunity to interfere in
society. Also, in every social institution in Rojava, where you work, there is a
responsible leadership that can easily limit your initiative and scope of activity. What
real instruments of influence on society and movement remain in your hands in such a
situation?
Tekosina Anarşîst: The existing distinction between the military and civilian spheres of
public life is not always so harsh. An interesting example is the youth movement. It is a
civilian structure and operates within the framework of civil society. The youth movement
is actively involved in social life. At the same time, they are very close to the military
approach and worldview. They are also organized according to a military model and undergo
combat training. A number of structures, especially youth ones, are considered as part of
the social avant-garde, whose task is to influence society in order to instill
consciousness in it and spread the ideology of democratic confederalism.
Another good example is the Public Self-Defense Forces (Hêzên Parastina Civakî, HPC),
armed civil defense units that include autonomous female and male structures. The
structures of the Self-Defense Forces are arranged differently than the military. At the
heart of their concept is the principle of self-defense. They act primarily on the basis
of self-organization. Yes, there are also personnel in their ranks, but HPC is by any
measure much closer to the ideal of “people's self-defense” than YPG / YPJ and, in
general, SDS, whose structures are more like professional military.
In the revolutionary structures of Rojava, both civilian and military, there are various
restrictions and features. There is more or less direct control and regulation of the
initiative, especially for foreign volunteers and volunteers. Sometimes the relationship
between the "responsible" (personnel) and those to whom their responsibility extends can
be really painfully hierarchical.
In some structures, internationalists are taking responsible positions. The movement
invites people from abroad here, counting on their help in specific areas and issues. They
do not always coincide with what the internationalists would like or could do. In other
words, we often see a difference between what the internationalists want to do and what
the party tells them to do. However, the space for initiative remains, despite the fact
that real social work and influence on society are very difficult.
Anarchist struggle - Tekoşîna Anarşîst
It is important to understand how everything functions here, how this or that work is
carried out, how communication is carried out inside the organization and beyond. All this
is very different from the realities of those countries where volunteers come to Rojava.
There are always opportunities to carry out your plans. However, very often this requires
hard work, having spent a lot of effort on preliminary planning about thinking about what
exactly and how you want to do it. You need to be prepared for the fact that you will have
to take a lot of initiative, building social ties and making new acquaintances with a lot
of new people. You also need to explain a lot and insist on what you want to do, while
considering how this activity relates to the work of the movement, its perspective and
ideology. Finally, Understanding human relationships and their “social code” in a local
context is crucial. For example, often business discussions and meetings are held on the
sidelines of various social events, and it is hardly possible to catch the line between
everyday communication and a working meeting. Last and most important: the lack of
language skills will fatally limit your ability to do anything. A good understanding of
all this will give you the tools to become part of the events.
In the words of our fallen comrade, the martyr Shevger Makhno, who died protecting Afrin
from the Turkish invasion, “we ourselves may not change much in what is happening, but
everything that happens will undoubtedly change us ourselves.” We proceed from this
understanding, combining active participation in the events in Rojava and the extraction
of experience and knowledge from this story.
Continuation of the big interview: Message to Russian-speaking comrades
Especially for Hevale: revolution in Kurdistan
Dmitry Petrov and Artyom Krasin
https://avtonom.org/freenews/bolshoe-intervyu-s-tekosina-anarsist-chast-pervaya-trudnosti-v-rozhave
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