Today's Topics:
1. UK, Class War: What the hell is happening in Poland?
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
2. FAU/AWSM: Germany: BUILD SYNDICALIST SUPPORT
FOR ROJAVA! By:
Steff Brenner (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
Steff Brenner (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
3. France, Union Communiste Libertaire AL #309 -
Antipatriarchy, More rebellious without my Rimmel (de, it, fr,
pt)[machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
Antipatriarchy, More rebellious without my Rimmel (de, it, fr,
pt)[machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
4. Aberdeen Anarchist Festival 2020 (online)
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
5. France, Union Communiste Libertaire UCL AL #309 - Culture,
Listen to: Resaka Sonora, "Frekuenzia" (de, it, fr, pt)[machine
translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
Listen to: Resaka Sonora, "Frekuenzia" (de, it, fr, pt)[machine
translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
6. die plattform/awsm: Solidarity with the feminist mass
protests against abortion bans in Poland! (de) [machine
translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
protests against abortion bans in Poland! (de) [machine
translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
7. Poland, Poznan, rozbrat.org: BLOCKADE DAY -
WE HAD TO NOT
PISS US OFF!, (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
I'm assuming you all already know that a massive protest movement took over Poland since last Thursday when the country's constitutional
tribunal ruled that abortion carried out when the foetus is malformed is against the constitution. By delivering this decision, the tribunal
effectively delegalised abortion in Poland. The protests started immediately after the verdict and, at time of writing, only grow in
strength and fierceness. ---- In this text, I will introduce you to the lesser-known happenings of recent days, and to a bit of history on
the fight for abortion rights in Poland. ---- The so-called "abortion compromise" ---- Pregnant people in Poland seeking abortion were
subjected to severe maltreatment for decades, and the latest legal developments just add another layer of cruelty to it.
The current abortion law passed through the Polish parliament (Sejm) in January 1993. The new law replaced the legal act from 1956, which
made provisions for abortion due to social reasons. The 1993 bill abolished it and allowed for the procedure to be carried on only in three
cases:
When the pregnancy poses a risk to life and health of the pregnant person;
Due to fatal defects
When the pregnancy is a result of a crime (up to 12th week)
Hence the 1993 bill removed the right to abortion due to social reasons. It also made no provisions in regards to the respect of body
autonomy of a pregnant person who simply does not want to carry on with the pregnancy for whatever reason. The law was passed under the
government of Hanna Suchocka: a right-wing politician and a Thatcher look-a like who, fun fact, later in her political career was nominated
as Poland's ambassador to the Vatican.
The major lobbying power behind the law was, of course, the catholic church. The church was, and still is, bend-over-backwards on the idea
of controlling women's and other gender-oppressed peoples' bodies, autonomy, and the right of making decisions over their own lives.
Back in the 90s, the new law has already caused outrage and triggered a movement which, among other actions, gathered 1.7 million signatures
backing the petition to the Polish parliament (Sejm) to relax the new law. This movement was ignored by Sejm.
And so, the 1993 law, dishonestly called "abortion compromise" stayed in place for the past 27 years. The myth of a "compromise" was
incredibly prelevent in Polish politics. Since 1993, pretty much any attempt to change it was met with accusations of destroying the
"compromise", creating unnecessary social conflict, and "politicising" the issue of abortion.
For the record, the recent move on abortion is to be blamed solely on the now-ruling Law and Justice party (PiS). However, the previous
governments also took no action to ensure the right to legal abortion in the country, instead opting for leaving the issue as it was. It was
basically a "hot potato" kind of issue, and it was never acted upon, largely due to the fear of the powers of the catholic church by the
whatever party was in power at any given time.
To make the lives of pregnant people even more difficult, in 1996 Sejm passed another law, this time under the social democrat government of
Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz. The new law allowed doctors the right to "conscientious objection to abortion". Or, in other words, it provided
freedom for doctors to refuse otherwise legal treatment based on their religious beliefs and consciousness. Further, the law required the
doctor refusing a procedure to point the patient to the institution where they would be able to get it.
Similar laws exist in, among others, 21 other EU countries as well as the UK. But in Poland, the doctors using the "conscientious objection"
to refuse abortions routinely ignored their legal duty to give information on where to get it. They often sabotaged the whole process for as
long as it took for the pregnancy to be mature enough to make terminating it illegal. What's more, some doctors started to use the law to
refuse people access to contraceptives. They were followed by a significant number of pharmacists, who, in their turn, started to refuse to
sell or stock such medications.
So, what was the result of this?
Along with making the lives of people wanting to decide on their reproductive rights for themselves very difficult, Poland's laws lead to
the unbearable suffering of many pregnant people.
One of them is Alicja Tysiac, who, during her third pregnancy in 2000, was diagnosed with pathological changes in her retina. The diagnosis
further said that the carrying of her pregnancy will likely result in her losing sight and numerous other health issues. Despite abortion
being legal in such cases under the 1993 law, Tysiac was forced to carry on with the pregnancy by her doctors. After delivering birth to her
child, she had lost her sight almost entirely. As a consequence, Poland's social warfare decided that she is unable to look after her, now
three, children because she is unable to see from a distance of more than 1.5 meters.
Alicja Tysiac filed a criminal complaint against the doctor responsible for sabotaging her right to pregnancy termination. Her claim was
subsequently dismissed by the prosecution, and after some more legal back-and-forth, the case ended up in the European Court of Human
Rights, which decided that the treatment of Tysiac by the Polish state was a violation of Article 8 of ECHR (right to private life) and
Article 3 of ECHR (torture, inhuman or degrading treatment). Tysiac was also subjected to a campaign of hate and harassment by religious
fundamentalists.
There were several other cases regarding the access to (still) legal forms of abortion in Poland over the years. In 2017, the ECHR stated
that Poland lacks sufficient measures to enable pregnant people the right to carry on pregnancy termination allowed by Polish law.
In 2008, a 14-year-old girl, Agata, was subjected to a horrific campaign of abuse for wanting to get an abortion following rape. Agata and
her mother first attempted to get the treatment in her hometown of Lublin. Despite trying in two different hospitals and the case very much
falling into Poland's legal framework, the treatment was refused. In one of the hospitals, a priest entered a room, uninvited, during
Agata's medical consultation. He then proceeded to intimidate Agata and her mother to force them to give up on getting an abortion.
Since then, Agata and her family were harassed and stalked by catholic fundamentalists. A legal case against the mother was also filed.
Eventually, Agata's mother took her to a hospital in Warsaw where she was told she will be able to get help. She was followed there by local
to her priest and other anti-abortion extremists, who occupied the hospital's reception. The abortion had not taken place, and shortly
after, a family court decided to place Agata in a foster care pending a trial designed to deny her mother custody rights.
The religious fundamentalists' campaign against Agata and her family was so horrific that it forced then-minister of health Ewa Kopacz to
nominate a hospital where she will be able to get the procedure. Agata eventually successfully terminated pregnancy on the very last day
when it was still legal. The catholic church and other fundamentalists have never faced any consequences for their harassment and abuse of a
14-year-old rape survivor and her family.
Is there no abortion in Poland then?
Of course, this mistreatment of pregnant people in Poland was met with significant opposition. First of all, the strict laws, unsurprisingly
really, have not reduced the number of abortions at all. In Poland, about 100 thousand abortions are carried on annually, of which only
about 1000 are legal (this number will likely be reduced by about 98% if the recent constitutional tribunal decision comes to force). Due to
restrictive laws, the majority of abortions are conducted in so-called "abortion underground" and often homemade.
Some informal schemes are in place to ensure peoples' reproductive rights. There are many mutual aid kind of groups providing assistance to
those wishing to terminate their pregnancy. They usually help with travelling abroad or with access to safe ways of homemade abortion. There
are entire spreadsheet files publicly available, listing doctors decent enough to prescribe contraception without judgement or prejudice, or
indeed perform an abortion in the cases where the law (still) allows it.
It is also possible to get an illegal abortion, provided that one can afford it. These are sometimes performed by the very same doctors who
refused it, citing their religious beliefs, in their day job in public hospitals but are more than happy to conduct it after hours for a
fee. Polish classifieds ads feature plenty adverts for that, coded as "bringing back periods" and others. This situation has made access to
abortion a class issue, with some people able to afford to undergo the procedure either abroad, or illegally in Poland, while others were
forced to either carry on with unwanted pregnancies or were forced to rish their life and health during homemade abortions.
The recent protests
The recent far-right if not blatantly fascist government since it came to power in 2015 repeatedly tied to further restrict the already
reduced access to abortion. This lead to the creation of a protest movement which, over the last few years, was able to successfully block
previous attempts which were presented in the Polish parliament through mass protests and strikes.
PiS does not like protests and strikes in the slightest, and the recent move to, in reality, by-pass the proper legislative process and
instead enforce the ban on abortion by the decision of country's highest court is a response to this movement. What's more, the government
decided to move on abortion rights in the midst of the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic, apparently in hope that this will reduce the protests.
What it did instead was creating, in my opinion, the biggest threat to the existing government to date. So far, Poland has been gripped by
protest actions in all forms for the past five days. The protests are supported by an increasing number of people and groups. Many Polish
health workers joined actions over the past few days. Farmers also expressed their support, so did the miners' union WZZ "Sierpien 80".
The horrifying cruelty of the constitutional tribunal's ruling united large parts of society: some of which are not exactly known for their
support of gender-oppressed peoples' rights. In one instance, the football hooligans from the notorious Arka Gdynia club have trashed the
office of their local ruling party MP to express how they feel about the tribunal's ruling.
The anarchists, unsurprisingly, take an active part in the protest actions in the country. Along with of their daily presence on the
streets in the past few days, in Poznan, the anarchists occupied a derelict hospital and set up a symbolic abortion clinic there (they were,
sadly, removed by the police). Poland's ABC is providing vital legal help to those arrested.
The protests also took some unseen before forms. On Sunday, many catholic churches across the country became a stage of protest actions
during masses. There are also daily protests in front churches and other church-related institutions, sometimes resulting in the damage
caused to the church property. Online, people are organising to formally leave the catholic church, and priests are routinely heckled in
both big and small towns. Here, you can see a group of protesters in Szczecinek, a 40 thousand people town, heckling their local priest,
first ordering him to "go back inside the church" and then to simply "go and fuck himself":
This level of hostility against the catholic church institutions was previously pretty much unthinkable in Poland and shows how the church,
by its own actions and assumed sense of power really, is losing its grip over the country.
Other actions include today's occupation of Sejm by the left MPs, which resulted in the PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski being ambushed by
people holding pro-abortion signs and cloth hangers:
Kaczynski previously said that that "we will strive to ensure that even in pregnancies which are very difficult, when a child is sure to
die, strongly deformed, women end up giving birth so that the child can be baptised, buried and have a name".
Yesterday, mass blockades brought many Polish cities to a standstill for hours, in many cases to the support of drivers and whoever else
still have not joined the protests yet. More actions, both in Poland and abroad, are planned for the upcoming days.
The protests were met with significant levels of police brutality and many arrests. Polish police, among others, resorted to using gas to
contain the protest, but this so far proves ineffective, and if anything, just brings more people to the streets.
The far-right
The far-right appears to be taken by surprise by the recent wave of protests. They are scrambling trying to react to it. So far the
notorious fascist Robert Bakiewicz announced the formation of "National Guard". Similarly to the UK far-right who recently attempted to
"protect the monuments" from the BLM protesters, the "National Guard" plans to protect churches, and wider, so-called "western values" from
protests.
It is difficult to call this "guard" successful so far. Yesterday evening they performed their first action and were, according to the
report by Bakiewicz himself, pelted with bottles, firecrackers and stones by the pro-abortion protesters, resulting in a number of nazis
having to be taken to the hospital by an ambulance.
In the previous days, the fascists, among them Bakiewicz, forcibly removed two women from the so-called holy cross church in Warsaw
following a protest inside. The women were assaulted and one was pushed down the stairs, while the police were watching. Lucky, both women
have not sustained serious injuries.
As for the catholic church itself, after expressing their satisfaction with the constitutional tribunal verdict, they now appear to try to
mitigate the first anti-church protests they have ever faced by appealing for calm and civility. So far, without success.
What's next?
The constitutional tribunal's ruling, while unbelieveablly inhumane and if implemented, bringing misery to scores of people, also created
unintended positive result: it has effectively abolished the previously untouchable "abortion compromise". This leaves all options,
including abortion on request, on the table. The resulting backlash towards the catholic church can, and sooner or later will, bring changes
similar to those in the countries hijacked by religious fundamentalists in the past. This is exactly what happened in Spain and Ireland.
It seems that the PiS government, for the first time since it came to power, is facing a serious, and potentially government-abolishing,
mass opposition to their actions. This may be considered by some as long overdue. However, in my opinion, the events of the last few days
were built up to by a number of other protests from the not-too-distant past, most notoriously the recent actions against the government's
crackdown on queer rights, and the pro-abortion rights protests from the past few years.
PiS appears unsure how to deal with the protests. So far, the PM signed a decision allowing the military gendarmerie to go on the streets
from tomorrow, under the pretence of the pandemic. The minister of justice Zbigniew Ziobro also announced that there will be serious
consequences inflicted on the people who took part in actions against churches, under Poland's "profanity laws". The rest of the government
is nowhere to be seen so far, and Jaroslaw Kaczynski himself was taken away from Warsaw by a helicopter following a protest outside of his
home: something which surely was difficult to manage by this paranoid little man.
But other than taking interim measures, PiS is struggling with coming up with a plan on how to deal with the situation they themselves
created. They are being left in a rather difficult situation, in which the choices are to either embed the recent constitutional ruling in
law and face the, likely severe, consequences of a popular protest movement, or to ignore the decision of the highest court in the country
and enrage their catholic fundamentalist supporters, which may result in PiS losing their, already fragile, parliamentary majority.
Additionally, the protests from the past few days are difficult to manage by other parliamentary parties, perhaps with an honourable
exception of a few, mainly left, MPs. The very rhetorics of the protests, with the main slogan, "Wypierdalac" translating to "get the fuck
out", followed by "Jebac PiS" or "Fuck PiS" are difficult to digest by many liberals making it quite impossible for them to hijack the
recent movement of opposition to the government.
What PiS did appear to achieve however is uniting large parts of the population of a country which in the recent years experienced massive
divides and conflicts the party have created themselves. The opposition to PiS is growing by the day and it seems they kind of brought it on
themselves by committing a rather common among fascists mistake of thinking they are more powerful than they actually are and forgetting
that most people, in fact, aren't fascist.
zb
https://freedomnews.org.uk/what-the-hell-is-happening-in-poland/
------------------------------
Message: 2
In Rojava, or rather the Democratic Federation of North and East Syria (DFNOS)[1], a revolution has been going on for several years that
hardly anyone had thought possible: in 2013, local councils of the liberal Kurdish movement filled the power vacuum created in the Syrian
civil war. Educational institutions, women's shelters, cooperatives and local self-defense units were established. Under a common social
contractA federation of several cantons developed, in which women and also ethnic and religious minorities are present at all levels of
self-administration. It is estimated that over 5 million people live in the self-government today. From a military point of view, the
federation has had to defend itself against Daesh, the so-called "Islamic State", as well as against Turkey and the jihadist militias it
supports.
The values of this federation - localism, grassroots democracy, feminism, sustainability, anti-fascism, needs economy, economic democracy
and ecology - coincide in many respects with the basic values of anarcho-syndicalist theories and organizations.[2]This revolution is
similar to the uprising of the Zapatistasin Mexico, a communalist answer for those regions of the world in which industrial syndicalism has
few points of contact. Ultimately, there are two sides or expressions of movements with basically the same thrust - the revolution in
north-east Syria is also our revolution. The DFNOS can be a beacon of motivation, a field of experimentation and learning for us, at the
same time the DFNOS in countries like Germany needs strong communalist and syndicalist movements in order to experience support and relief
in the fight against the dictatorship of Turkey.
CURRENT SITUATION
After the Daesh (IS) was largely suppressed by the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) led by the revolutionary movement, the US troops largely
withdrew from the areas of the DFNOS. In 2018, this enabled Turkey to launch a war of aggression against the canton of Afrin in violation of
international law, which was carried out with German weapon systems such as the Leopard II tank and German drone technology.[3]Turkey also
made use of many former IS fighters who were now fighting in new jihadist formations. The international community remained silent about the
war crimes of the NATO partner. As a result of the invasion, thousands of emancipatory activists and civilians lost their lives, tens of
thousands their houses, and the DFNOS lost a strategically and agriculturally important mountain region and one of its larger cities. Turkey
is now pursuing a repressive policy of displacement and resettlement in Afrin.
Another invasion of Turkey on the territory of the DFNOS followed in 2019, also in violation of international law. Important cities such as
Serê Kaniyê and Suluk were captured and one of the most important connections in northern Syria, the M4, was made virtually unusable.
Since this invasion, which was finally ended due to the intervention of Russia, which supports the Assad regime, a war of low intensity has
smoldered. Artillery and drone shelling of individual villages repeatedly occurs, and the fields in the DFNOS are set on fire. The water war
is probably having the worst impact, however: all the water supply lines for northern Syria originate in Turkey. Since the constitution of
the DFNOS, the Turkish regime has enormously promoted the extraction of water from the tributaries, among other things through Turkish
agriculture, so that in some important rivers hardly any or no water arrives. The problems that result from this concern the basic supply of
the population, the manufacturing industry, sewage management, agriculture, but also electricity production.
In addition, the region has been under a total embargo for many years. There is therefore a lack of basic means for the care of tens of
thousands of refugees who have been admitted, of medical equipment to be able to adequately counter war and corona, as well as possibilities
for an ecological development of local economic cycles.
Militarily, the Turkish regime under Erdogan is currently preparing for a new offensive on three fronts: In Turkey itself, waves of
repression are rolling through the country again, most recently against the Kurdish opposition party HDP. There are increasing indications
of a renewed civil war against the own population, as we experienced from autumn 2015 in southeast Turkey.[4]Troops are being gathered again
along the border with Syria and the dictator Erdogan is trying to establish an intensive diplomatic exchange with Russia in order to clear
the way for the next invasion. In Iraq, where the PDK oligarchy party loyal to Turkey under Masud Barzani controls the autonomous region of
Kurdistan, its party militias, the Peshmerga, which are also known in Germany, are being positioned against the revolution. The US military
leadership is also working towards an alliance with the Iraqi central government and Turkey to militarily crush the Yazidi self-government
structures in the Shengal Mountains (Jabal Sinjar). The # Riseup4Rojava campaign recently delivered a very readable, more detailed
assessment of the situation .
A REVOLUTION ALWAYS WINS THROUGH HOPE
Once again, this revolution seems to be all or nothing. Both the Erdogan regime in Turkey and the Barzani regime in the Iraqi Autonomous
Region of Kurdistan are getting worse and worse. The main problems facing Turkey are the enormous national debt, high inflation rates and an
enormous downturn in economic output. Erdogan tries to smooth the waves domestically with nationalism, aggressive foreign policy and tough
internal repression. But even military operations, especially when they make the use of tanks and air strikes "necessary", cost a lot of
money - which Turkey is increasingly lacking. There have also been protests against Barzani for years because of the miserable economic
situation and the suppressing of the opposition.
There is therefore hope for Turkey that the Erdogan system will run out economically. The German left can also make its modest contribution
to this. A replacement of Erdogan by a pragmatic alliance of all bourgeois and revolutionary parties in Turkey remains the most realistic
hope for the time being, as is an uprising of the democratic forces against the outmoded Barzani regime in northern Iraq.
Against this background, the Koma Civakên Kurdistan (Union of Kurdish Societies, KCK) called for a new offensive against Turkish fascism
from mid-September. Campaigns such as "Women Defend Rojava" and "Riseup4Rojava" followed suit.
The current situation demands readiness and mobilization from all supporters of the revolution, we must all be ready to defend the
revolution. The Turkish regime is planning the complete suppression of the revolution, but a successful uprising of the grassroots
democratic forces in Iraq alone would be enough to turn the tide lastingly, as the embargo, which is blocking the social and economic
progress of the revolution, could be circumvented.
WHAT CAN WE DO IN GERMANY?
a) Informing and inspiring - It is still more important than anything else to inform yourself, to develop a picture of the revolution and
the local conditions and to infect neighbors, work colleagues and comrades with the euphoria for this revolutionary movement in hundreds of
one-on-one conversations. This movement still needs broader support and acceptance among the German population.[5]To the same extent, the
crimes of the Turkish regime must be continuously investigated.[6]
b) Economic pressure - The governments of the EU states are obviously unwilling to shake hands to protect human rights in Syria or Turkey.
The reasons lie in the deep economic and political integration with the regime, which as a border guard, production location, military
partner and buyer of goods is far more important to the heads of the EU than their own empty phrases about women's rights, democracy,
freedom of expression and peace.[7]
The global solidarity movement has the best chance of stopping the military deployment from an economic weakening of the country, which, due
to the depth of the economic crisis, also directly limits the military possibilities of the regime.
For this purpose, an overview is currently being created of companies that are making money from the regime's machinations. In particular,
workers can support this work by leaking their companies' economic relations to Turkey. In addition to the armaments industry, particular
attention should be paid to tourism, as German consumers play a special role in this important branch of the economy and can easily be
educated, but also political pressure against companies.
At the same time, of course, it is important to support the anti-fascist trade unions in Turkey in their struggles to prevent the regime
from simply passing the economic consequences on to the country's wage-dependent class. At the same time, the expansion of the syndicalist
trade union movement in Turkey also means a basis for a stable opposition for a time after Erdogan's fall. Anyone who wants to get involved
in this area can contact the FAU International Committee through their local FAU syndicate.
c) Apply pressure against repression- More than almost any other European country, German intelligence services and police forces make
themselves henchmen of Turkish repression. The PKK movement, which is still formally a party, but in recent years has increasingly assumed
the character of a general, transnationally active revolutionary organization, is still classified as a terrorist organization in Germany.
All of this at the request of the Turkish government, despite the hundreds of well-documented support from German NATO partner Turkey for
Al-Qaida, IS, in view of the massacre of its own civilian population, the involvement in bomb attacks, etc. by the Turkish secret service
and many others Crimes against humanity. This farce, in which a grassroots, feminist movement is persecuted as a terrorist organization,
During a terror regime, drones and tanks worth billions of dollars are sold, must be discussed and debunked again and again by us. The ban
on the PKK must be lifted with all possible effort. Not because the PKK is the part of the movement that is closest to us in terms of
content or organization, but because the ban on the PKK still serves as a sharp weapon for the Turkish state to put supporters of
self-government behind bars for years in Germany and elsewhere.
d) Better interlinking of our movements - If we, as a syndicalist movement , want to take an active part in the development of
self-governments in Turkey, Syria and Iraq, and if we want to benefit in return from the experiences of the movement in Germany, we must
grow together better. There are many ways to do this, for example to overcome language barriers[8]or join the local Kurdish association to
organize. As a trade union federation, we should above all make it clear how welcome we are wage earners who support the revolution and want
to build up democratic self-government in Germany as well. The revolution in northern and eastern Syria has long since ceased to be purely
Kurdish, it is multiethnic and global. We should therefore show that our trade union federation is a suitable tool to bring this revolution
to Germany as well.
NEXT STEPS
The beginning of the offensive of the revolutionary movements must be followed by media and actionist echoes all over the world. The
"Riseup4Rojava" campaign days from November 1st to 8th, 2020, are a first step in this direction . At the end of November there will also be
a nationwide demonstration in defense of the revolution.
We have now set up a support group for this matter within FAU. Even our International plans a transnational working group. The FAU
International Committee invites all interested workers to become members of FAU and to get involved in these structures.
https://direkteaktion.org/syndikalistische-unterstuetzung-fuer-rojava-aufbauen/
https://awsm.nz/?p=7425
------------------------------
Message: 3
"If tomorrow women woke up and decided they really love their bodies, imagine how many industries would go bankrupt" this quote from Gail
Dines, a radical American-British sociologist and feminist, found an illustration with the market crisis lipstick from wearing a mask. ----
Fewer outings during confinement, mandatory mask wearing, and a weak recovery when stores reopen, the makeup market is down. 17% drop for
the global cosmetics market from January to August, 53% drop for makeup and even more for lipstick [1]. As this desire is not political,
unfortunately, sales of mascara soar. But this decline opens up prospects.
Self-esteem to respond to physical injunctions
Imagine that women are satisfied with their appearance: more make-up, more miracle shampoos, dyes, skin rejuvenators, vulva cleaners,
various products to remove hair, special toothpaste for women's teeth ... And that suddenly, they start to find that, for clothes, clothes
must above all be comfortable: disappearance of shoes made for everything except walking, haute-couture and its contempt for women, sexy
underwear according to the patriarchal standards, of most clothing brands. Other areas could be affected: girly and shiny sports clothes,
gyms and nutritionists, everything related to diets and weight loss, all lightened or hacked industrial food products ... Loving your body
could lead to loving yourself in general and no longer wanting to be exploited or manipulated. Towards the end of the cycle washing machines
with 192 programs and other superfluous devices intended to make women believe that their value lies in domestic skills (in addition to
their conformity to physical standards) and that modern equipment is the guarantee of happiness. domesticated.
Less sexist ads, more feminism
A good part of the sectors of chemicals and pharmacy, household appliances, agrifood, textiles and clothing would find themselves in a major
crisis if women stopped consuming useless foods that add nothing to pleasures and happiness, on the contrary. And the advertising industry
would disappear, sweeping gendered marketing into the void from which it should never have emerged. It makes you dream no? But the reality
is that women at any age, all the time and everywhere are under unbearable pressure on their appearance. A good dose of self-esteem and a
benevolent entourage (or a great disregard for the opinions of others) could allow to override the advertising and patriarchal dictates when
they are only trying to convince us and we are able to see them. and decrypt. But how to get out of absurd and sexist regulations,
initiatives of morons who have a little power to prevent us from doing things ? Coming together and fighting, strong and united is surely
part of the solution.
Christine (UCL Sarthe)
cc Pixabay / Alanydak
Validate
[1] According to BFMTV which relays the figures of the Nielsen company, September 9, 2020
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Plus-rebelle-sans-mon-Rimmel
------------------------------
Message: 4
Following the Festival's postponement back in March due to the Covid-19 outbreak, we have now decided to host the Aberdeen Anarchist
Festival online on the 21st and the 22nd of November 2020. Although this is not the outcome that we had envisioned for the first ever
anarchist festival in Aberdeen, we remain excited! If anything, we don't view the online format of the Festival only as necessary for the
protection of public health, but we also hope it will serve as an opportunity for the world to meet some of Aberdeen's grassroots folk and
vice versa! ---- All events will take place on Zoom (links to be shared nearer the date). ---- Please ensure that you've read our ONLINE
SAFER SPACES policy before joining in. This can be found at the very bottom of this page.
FULL PROGRAMME
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day 1 (Saturday 21st November 2020)
-''Class Power on Zero-Hours. Organising in Tough Times''
Talk by the Angry Workers of the World
https://angryworkersworld.wordpress.com/
12:30 - 13:30
-''We Need to Talk about Covid-19: Current Situation and Future Social Change''
Panel discussion with:
Edinburgh Plan C
Bristol Plan C
Myshele Haywood
https://www.weareplanc.org/
14:00 - 15:30
- ''Reflections on Black Lives Matter''
A discussion with Imelda Uwase
16:00 - 17:00
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day 2 (Sunday 22nd November 2020)
-''Gender and Class Struggle''
Talk by Tanya F., from Edinburgh Action for Trans Health
https://www.facebook.com/edinburghath/
12:30 - 13:30
-''Greece: Government Repression and Movement Responses''
Talk by Interregnum
https://interregnum.live/
14:00 - 15:00
-''Decentralised, Non-violent, Non-hierarchical? Stories from Extinction Rebellion''
Talk by Scott Herrett, XR Aberdeen
https://xrscotland.org/act-now/local-groups/xr-aberdeen/
15:30 - 16:30
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DONATIONS
All donations will go to the Aberdeen Social Centre. If you wish to make a donation please do so here:
Account name: Aberdeen Social Centre
Account number: 20400664
Sort code: 608301
Please add ''AFEST'' as a wee reference.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ONLINE SAFER SPACES POLICY
(Adopted from Dundee Anarchist Bookfair and Edinburgh Anarchist Feminist Bookfair)
- Participate in good faith
- Be respectful to each other - verbal, written or any other form of abuse based on gender identity, sex, sexual orientation,
disability/mental health status, ethnicity/nationality/race, migration status, social class etc won't be tolerated
- Keep what is said at meetings vague enough to maintain privacy and confidentiality. Feel free to take any necessary measures when joining
online to protect your and other people's identity (e.g., use pseudonyms)
- Give everyone time and space to speak and be heard
- Try your best to keep terminology simple
- Don't make assumptions about anyone's circumstances or conventions and avoid generalisations about groups of people
- Use content warnings where content may be upsetting
- This Festival is safe for trans people and transphobia of any form is not welcome in this space. Anyone who refuses to respect the rights
of trans people to exist and identify as they feel comfortable will be immediately asked to leave.
https://www.facebook.com/events/272879097378353/
------------------------------
Message: 5
From the London Clash ( Capital Radio One & Two , This is Radio Clash ) to the Lyon gones des Partisans ( Radio rebelle ), from the
Transalpins of RedSka ( Riot Radio ) to the veterans of the anti-fascist skinhead scene of Los Fastidios ( Radio Boots ), the groups of the
punk-ska movement have often invoked the theme of radio in their songs. ---- Obviously it is not a question of formatted radios of the FM
band, but rather of pirate radios, which give to hear the soundtrack of the revolution. Resaka Sonora's residents of Bordeaux have made it a
common thread for this second album with strong revolutionary accents.
Resaka Sonora is first and foremost an attitude. Since 2011, the group has been a tireless promoter of counter-culture - that is to say an
autonomous and popular culture, which lives and circulates outside the circuits formed by bourgeois economic-institutional structures - and
is part of a political process. who claims to be "no-profit" ; no fees for its musicians. Alternative, united and internationalist, the
group likes to mix cultures and writes its lyrics in French, Castilian, Euskara, Italian or Arabic.
Storming the waves
This new, tight album opens with the energetic 1000 vocals and announces the color of the tracks to come ; frenzied ska supported by an
omnipresent brass section and a heady drum machine. The tone is set, the head moves, and from the first listening, the titles are linked and
imprinted in the cortex. The group balances twelve tracks of a sometimes dancing ska ( Seguir adelante or Dall'alba della storia ),
sometimes more skinhead revival ( Invade the city ) and sometimes frankly ska-punk ( Silencio or 202.0 MHZ with Max and Pawall from Los Tres
Puntos featuring).
In terms of words, the group gives pride of place to the revolts. Those of yesterday ; K-1921 evokes the revolt of the sailors of Kronstadt
and its repression by the Bolshevik power, but especially those of today ; Ey Raquib on the fight for the autonomy of the Kurdish people, or
even Clandestin and One hero the people, with accents - unfortunately - contemporary.
Songs that speak to us and speak of us too: Like a beating heart immediately makes one think of the Partisans, or the magnificent finale To
the assault of the waves , which closes an album that we immediately want to listen to again if we can't. discover on stage.
Twelve old-fashioned tracks, the format of a vinyl no more no less. An essential album for the social return, and after !
David (UCL GPS)
Resaka Sonora, Frekuenzia , LP & CD, Fire & Flames / General Strike / Hard reality, March 2020, 10 euros (album for sale on the group's
website and at bar 33.290 in Blanquefort)
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Ecouter-Resaka-Sonora-Frekuenzia
------------------------------
Message: 6
Solidarity with the feminist mass protests against abortion bans in Poland - For years we have been experiencing a global shift to the right
that has brought reactionary and authoritarian movements onto the streets all over the world and repeatedly heaves their leaders into
government positions. Whether in Brazil, in the USA or here in the German-speaking region: a right-wing authoritarian formation is on the
advance and combats the successes that emancipatory movements have achieved in the last few decades. Those who suffer are primarily women *,
the LGBTQ community, blacks, people of color and indigenous populations, but also other parts of the wage-dependent class.
A particularly blatant example of right-wing advance has been Poland for years, where the right-wing PiS government has been in power since
2015. Since it came to power, this government has worked steadily to restrict the rights of women * and queer people in order to make their
nightmare of a Christian authoritarian state a reality. These efforts reached their peak again last Thursday, October 22nd, when a Polish
constitutional court decided to criminalize abortions due to fetal malformations. This decision further tightens Polish abortion laws, which
are already among the strictest in Europe, and amounts to an almost complete ban on abortion. However, already on Thursday, hundreds of
people showed that they will not accept this renewed attack on the right of women * and all other people who can become pregnant (e.g. trans
men) to determine their own bodies and took the streets of Warsaw and other Polish cities in angry mobilizations . There were also
demonstrations beyond the borders of the country to show solidarity with the feminist struggle in Poland. We also declare our solidarity
with the protests in Poland and call on you, wherever there are mobilizations of solidarity, to support them and to increase the pressure on
the Polish government. This can only happen from below, on the street; Relying on the EU will not bring any improvement, as it has proven
often enough in recent years,
Therefore: Keep fighting the right-wing authoritarian, anti-feminist advance in Poland and everywhere! Solidarity with all fighting women *
and all other affected people!
https://www.dieplattform.org/2020/10/26/solidaritaet-mit-den-feministischen-massenprotesten-gegen-abtreibungsverbote-in-polen
------------------------------
Message: 7
Another day of protests is behind us - all as a result of the decision of the Constitutional Tribunal, the ruling of which is another
element of tightening the anti-abortion law. Today is to be a signal to "Block Everything". Just before 4:00 p.m., marking the beginning of
the action, there are signals about the first traffic blocks. Paralysis occurs when a large group of people - including anarchists and
anarchists - enter Rondo Kaponiera. ---- Keywords women's rights abortion Law and Justice PiS Constitutional Court Cars, trams and MPK buses
stop. In the middle of the roundabout, the car is blocked by the car marked with the symbols of today's protest. The motorists from the
stopped vehicles are really understanding and calm, as you say from the traffic supervision, "Today all of Poland has stopped, there is
nothing to be nervous about". There is also a girl among the people who passes through the tube the most important information in the event
of a possible police arrest, people pass on an emergency number to legal aid. This is important, especially after yesterday's police attacks
on protesters. However, during the blockade, the police are practically invisible, they are hidden (apart from the road), they are almost
absent. There are also other spontaneous blockades throughout the city - taxi drivers block the passage around the train station very
slowly, there are many signals of solidarity from drivers. Some of the protesters at the roundabout head towards Aleja Niepodleglosci after
about an hour - this is also where traffic is completely blocked, as at the next intersection at ul. St. Marcin. The city is still standing,
but the number of protesters is growing! The slogans "My body, my case", "We are pissed off", "I think, feel, decide" and of course "Fuck
PiS" are heard again. At some point, at Rondo Kaponiera, there is a skirmish with a few nationalists, but they quickly run away, looking for
shelter near a police car. When 6:00 p.m. is approaching, people slowly start to march towards Wolnosci Square, from there, after the rally,
a further march is to start towards selected points in the city: the PiS offices on Mlynska street, the cathedral, the headquarters of TVP,
At 19:00 the rally begins on Plac Wolnosci. The representatives of the organizers recalled yesterday's events - the police attack near the
cathedral. They were reminded of what is at stake - for women's health, access to legal and safe abortion, medical examinations, support,
and against forcing women to give birth and treat them as living incubators, without rights and subjectivity. The accusations about the
vulgarity of the protesters' message, which outraged the clerical circles, were noted - it was noticed that the real vulgarity was the
treatment of young clerics by the church hierarchs and covering up sexual scandals (a clear reference to the case of the late Archbishop
Juliusz Paetz, involved in the sexual abuse of pedophilia), from parish to parish. Then it was mentioned that the state is trying to shift
the blame for the possible increase in the incidence of the COVID-19 epidemic to the ongoing protests and their participants. Women are not
to blame for the epidemic going on! The authorities are trying to use it for their political purposes from the very beginning. This was the
case at the beginning of the year when, instead of helping to organize medical equipment, politicians started filling their pockets, later
due to elections, announced the end of the pandemic and attacked LGBT + people. Today, pretending that there is no pandemic results in an
increase in cases of disease, overburdened medical personnel, attempts to build field hospitals, the need for medics and medics without
equipment, and above all overloading doctors and nurses. The rulers blamed their own ineptitude on women - the result of which is a specific
resolution of the case by the politicized Constitutional Tribunal. There is no consent that women should be guilty of it! The crowd
responded with "Fuck Pis"
Katarzyna Czarnota from the Wielkopolska Association of Tenants also took the floor, starting with the slogan "Whose revolution is this?
Women! Then she emphasized that the tightening of anti-abortion laws affects the poorest women, they, often struggling with housing
problems, will not be able to afford surgery in another country or in a private clinic, they should be remembered when fighting today and
they deserve support and solidarity . Abortion is a fundamental social right, and its aggravation increases social inequality. Then Joanna
Malinowska pointed out that the authorities are responsible for the suffering of women, lack of support, refusal of prenatal tests, refusal
of birth control pills, refusal of abortion. However, the authorities did not expect such female solidarity. If the authorities are now
threatening with the introduction of a state of emergency or with the taking of military police units onto the street, this only proves
their fear. This cannot be blamed on those fighting for fundamental rights. The crowd of thousands chanted - I think, feel, decide!
Other people took the floor, while the protesters repeatedly raised the slogans "Fuck PiS", "We shouldn't have pissed off" or "Get the fuck
out", clear and adequate to the situation.
After the speeches ended, the crowd moved towards the first point on the route, the parliamentary office of PiS politicians at ul. Mlynska
(the same which was defended the day before by the police, while blocking the way for the protesters). When the protest passed in the
vicinity of the office, there was already a line of police, horse troops, and a lot of plainclothes policemen. The front of the protest and
the car with the sound system passed, but some were left behind. There was a commotion, roaring firecrackers flew, and undercover agents and
police provocateurs were also seen near the gates on Mlynska Street. Some of the people got scared and backed away, they shouted to stop
throwing firecrackers when the cavalry police blocked further passage. Eventually, the crowd moved forward. If we want to fight we must be
ready to fight and its various forms of expression in the face of the repressive police apparatus should not undermine the purpose of this
struggle. In the face of the threat, the slogans of solidarity must be put into practice.
Moving on, the crowd continues to raise the slogans "Fuck PiS", "We want health, not good health", "Fuck clergy" "We are strong, together
stronger", "Row on the pavement, row on the row", slowly approaching the Poznan cathedral. It is worth remembering that the car with the
sound system was far away from the huge group of people who were just approaching the Boleslaw Chrobry Bridge. This is a fatal
organizational error, it has been emphasized many times that the next destination on the route is the cathedral, but now the car passes it
and continues on, the rest of the protesters do not know what is happening and turn towards the cathedral. It turns out that a group of
nationalists has gathered at the monument of John Paul II, they are protected by a police cordon and a horse unit. This cordon surrounded
them only after it first allowed them to attack a small group of people who first reached Ostrów Tumski.As reported by Glos Wielkopolski ,
two nationalists beat a 21-year-old woman from Poznan, in front of the eyes and with the passive attitude of police officers who did not
react!At a time when the biggest protest in years to defend women's rights is going through Poznan, the nationalists got mad that monuments
of popes were more important than women's lives. Firecrackers are flying here again, it is not known whether they are thrown by the police
or nationalists, it is difficult to tell them apart. For a moment, the horse unit starts moving, which causes some people to run backwards.
Then the chanting begins: "Fascists, the police are one coalition", "All Poznan shouts with us, get the fuck out of the nationalists",
"Krzysztof Bosak, get the fuck out", "The police defend the fascists". Hidden behind the police cordon and hiding in the shadow of the
monument, they try to shout back, but are easily screamed out. The decision is made to let go this time, because you have to join the rest
of the protest. The neo-fascists on the lead of the ruling party are left alone. There is confusion but the crowd is huge and many people
don't even know that something else is going on under the cathedral. They go straight to the next designated point, which is the seat of TVP.
A huge mass of people heading towards the Rondo Rataje, which is still being renovated, is chanting all the time, most often "Fuck PiS", but
there are also slogans: "Krzysztof Bosak has a little", "My pusia, not Jarusia", "Morawiecki treacherous dick" "Fuck PiS and Confederation
"," Freedom, Equality, Solidarity "" Abortion on Demand "" My body, my rights, my business "" This is war. "
The headquarters of TVP, which you have to reach through a narrow street, is tightly protected by the police. Inside, there is probably a
hectic inventing of stripes and headlines scaring hordes of barbarians. The propaganda tube of power slandering refugees first, then
leftists and LGBT + people, and now women, is really a point on the map of this protest. They deserved, the women shout: get the fuck out!
Through the Roch Bridge, the protest reaches Mostowa Street. There is a parliamentary office, PiS MP Bartosz Wróblewski. The deputy is a
distinguished apparatchik, he was always the first to insult and repeat party phrases. He was also one of the deputy rapporteurs before the
Constitutional Tribunal, acting as a collaborator of Kai Godek and her fundamentalist milieu. The deputy is also presented as a candidate of
the ruling coalition for the new Ombudsman. The absurdity of such a nomination does not require any comment. While walking down Mostowa
Street and further towards the Old Market Square, you can see a lot of acts of solidarity with the protesters. Banners with slogans and
umbrellas appear in windows and on balconies. People cheer and greet the crowd. The deputy's office was fenced off with a line of police -
only after the end of the entire operation,
When the protest returns to Wolnosci Square, you can see that there are almost the same number of people. They did not allow themselves to
be intimidated by the violence of the police, state and nationalists. Three hours of walking is just another warm-up. This is not the end,
there will be more protests! We have more days of showing solidarity, support, sisterhood (and skilful, not intrusive, support from men) in
practice! There is an appeal to come back in groups, watch out for bands of nationalists and the police.
The next days are the next actions!
We're pissed off and we're fighting for our rights!
https://www.rozbrat.org/informacje/poznan/4738-dzien-blokad-trzeba-bylo-nas-nie-wkurwiac
------------------------------
PISS US OFF!, (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
I'm assuming you all already know that a massive protest movement took over Poland since last Thursday when the country's constitutional
tribunal ruled that abortion carried out when the foetus is malformed is against the constitution. By delivering this decision, the tribunal
effectively delegalised abortion in Poland. The protests started immediately after the verdict and, at time of writing, only grow in
strength and fierceness. ---- In this text, I will introduce you to the lesser-known happenings of recent days, and to a bit of history on
the fight for abortion rights in Poland. ---- The so-called "abortion compromise" ---- Pregnant people in Poland seeking abortion were
subjected to severe maltreatment for decades, and the latest legal developments just add another layer of cruelty to it.
The current abortion law passed through the Polish parliament (Sejm) in January 1993. The new law replaced the legal act from 1956, which
made provisions for abortion due to social reasons. The 1993 bill abolished it and allowed for the procedure to be carried on only in three
cases:
When the pregnancy poses a risk to life and health of the pregnant person;
Due to fatal defects
When the pregnancy is a result of a crime (up to 12th week)
Hence the 1993 bill removed the right to abortion due to social reasons. It also made no provisions in regards to the respect of body
autonomy of a pregnant person who simply does not want to carry on with the pregnancy for whatever reason. The law was passed under the
government of Hanna Suchocka: a right-wing politician and a Thatcher look-a like who, fun fact, later in her political career was nominated
as Poland's ambassador to the Vatican.
The major lobbying power behind the law was, of course, the catholic church. The church was, and still is, bend-over-backwards on the idea
of controlling women's and other gender-oppressed peoples' bodies, autonomy, and the right of making decisions over their own lives.
Back in the 90s, the new law has already caused outrage and triggered a movement which, among other actions, gathered 1.7 million signatures
backing the petition to the Polish parliament (Sejm) to relax the new law. This movement was ignored by Sejm.
And so, the 1993 law, dishonestly called "abortion compromise" stayed in place for the past 27 years. The myth of a "compromise" was
incredibly prelevent in Polish politics. Since 1993, pretty much any attempt to change it was met with accusations of destroying the
"compromise", creating unnecessary social conflict, and "politicising" the issue of abortion.
For the record, the recent move on abortion is to be blamed solely on the now-ruling Law and Justice party (PiS). However, the previous
governments also took no action to ensure the right to legal abortion in the country, instead opting for leaving the issue as it was. It was
basically a "hot potato" kind of issue, and it was never acted upon, largely due to the fear of the powers of the catholic church by the
whatever party was in power at any given time.
To make the lives of pregnant people even more difficult, in 1996 Sejm passed another law, this time under the social democrat government of
Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz. The new law allowed doctors the right to "conscientious objection to abortion". Or, in other words, it provided
freedom for doctors to refuse otherwise legal treatment based on their religious beliefs and consciousness. Further, the law required the
doctor refusing a procedure to point the patient to the institution where they would be able to get it.
Similar laws exist in, among others, 21 other EU countries as well as the UK. But in Poland, the doctors using the "conscientious objection"
to refuse abortions routinely ignored their legal duty to give information on where to get it. They often sabotaged the whole process for as
long as it took for the pregnancy to be mature enough to make terminating it illegal. What's more, some doctors started to use the law to
refuse people access to contraceptives. They were followed by a significant number of pharmacists, who, in their turn, started to refuse to
sell or stock such medications.
So, what was the result of this?
Along with making the lives of people wanting to decide on their reproductive rights for themselves very difficult, Poland's laws lead to
the unbearable suffering of many pregnant people.
One of them is Alicja Tysiac, who, during her third pregnancy in 2000, was diagnosed with pathological changes in her retina. The diagnosis
further said that the carrying of her pregnancy will likely result in her losing sight and numerous other health issues. Despite abortion
being legal in such cases under the 1993 law, Tysiac was forced to carry on with the pregnancy by her doctors. After delivering birth to her
child, she had lost her sight almost entirely. As a consequence, Poland's social warfare decided that she is unable to look after her, now
three, children because she is unable to see from a distance of more than 1.5 meters.
Alicja Tysiac filed a criminal complaint against the doctor responsible for sabotaging her right to pregnancy termination. Her claim was
subsequently dismissed by the prosecution, and after some more legal back-and-forth, the case ended up in the European Court of Human
Rights, which decided that the treatment of Tysiac by the Polish state was a violation of Article 8 of ECHR (right to private life) and
Article 3 of ECHR (torture, inhuman or degrading treatment). Tysiac was also subjected to a campaign of hate and harassment by religious
fundamentalists.
There were several other cases regarding the access to (still) legal forms of abortion in Poland over the years. In 2017, the ECHR stated
that Poland lacks sufficient measures to enable pregnant people the right to carry on pregnancy termination allowed by Polish law.
In 2008, a 14-year-old girl, Agata, was subjected to a horrific campaign of abuse for wanting to get an abortion following rape. Agata and
her mother first attempted to get the treatment in her hometown of Lublin. Despite trying in two different hospitals and the case very much
falling into Poland's legal framework, the treatment was refused. In one of the hospitals, a priest entered a room, uninvited, during
Agata's medical consultation. He then proceeded to intimidate Agata and her mother to force them to give up on getting an abortion.
Since then, Agata and her family were harassed and stalked by catholic fundamentalists. A legal case against the mother was also filed.
Eventually, Agata's mother took her to a hospital in Warsaw where she was told she will be able to get help. She was followed there by local
to her priest and other anti-abortion extremists, who occupied the hospital's reception. The abortion had not taken place, and shortly
after, a family court decided to place Agata in a foster care pending a trial designed to deny her mother custody rights.
The religious fundamentalists' campaign against Agata and her family was so horrific that it forced then-minister of health Ewa Kopacz to
nominate a hospital where she will be able to get the procedure. Agata eventually successfully terminated pregnancy on the very last day
when it was still legal. The catholic church and other fundamentalists have never faced any consequences for their harassment and abuse of a
14-year-old rape survivor and her family.
Is there no abortion in Poland then?
Of course, this mistreatment of pregnant people in Poland was met with significant opposition. First of all, the strict laws, unsurprisingly
really, have not reduced the number of abortions at all. In Poland, about 100 thousand abortions are carried on annually, of which only
about 1000 are legal (this number will likely be reduced by about 98% if the recent constitutional tribunal decision comes to force). Due to
restrictive laws, the majority of abortions are conducted in so-called "abortion underground" and often homemade.
Some informal schemes are in place to ensure peoples' reproductive rights. There are many mutual aid kind of groups providing assistance to
those wishing to terminate their pregnancy. They usually help with travelling abroad or with access to safe ways of homemade abortion. There
are entire spreadsheet files publicly available, listing doctors decent enough to prescribe contraception without judgement or prejudice, or
indeed perform an abortion in the cases where the law (still) allows it.
It is also possible to get an illegal abortion, provided that one can afford it. These are sometimes performed by the very same doctors who
refused it, citing their religious beliefs, in their day job in public hospitals but are more than happy to conduct it after hours for a
fee. Polish classifieds ads feature plenty adverts for that, coded as "bringing back periods" and others. This situation has made access to
abortion a class issue, with some people able to afford to undergo the procedure either abroad, or illegally in Poland, while others were
forced to either carry on with unwanted pregnancies or were forced to rish their life and health during homemade abortions.
The recent protests
The recent far-right if not blatantly fascist government since it came to power in 2015 repeatedly tied to further restrict the already
reduced access to abortion. This lead to the creation of a protest movement which, over the last few years, was able to successfully block
previous attempts which were presented in the Polish parliament through mass protests and strikes.
PiS does not like protests and strikes in the slightest, and the recent move to, in reality, by-pass the proper legislative process and
instead enforce the ban on abortion by the decision of country's highest court is a response to this movement. What's more, the government
decided to move on abortion rights in the midst of the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic, apparently in hope that this will reduce the protests.
What it did instead was creating, in my opinion, the biggest threat to the existing government to date. So far, Poland has been gripped by
protest actions in all forms for the past five days. The protests are supported by an increasing number of people and groups. Many Polish
health workers joined actions over the past few days. Farmers also expressed their support, so did the miners' union WZZ "Sierpien 80".
The horrifying cruelty of the constitutional tribunal's ruling united large parts of society: some of which are not exactly known for their
support of gender-oppressed peoples' rights. In one instance, the football hooligans from the notorious Arka Gdynia club have trashed the
office of their local ruling party MP to express how they feel about the tribunal's ruling.
The anarchists, unsurprisingly, take an active part in the protest actions in the country. Along with of their daily presence on the
streets in the past few days, in Poznan, the anarchists occupied a derelict hospital and set up a symbolic abortion clinic there (they were,
sadly, removed by the police). Poland's ABC is providing vital legal help to those arrested.
The protests also took some unseen before forms. On Sunday, many catholic churches across the country became a stage of protest actions
during masses. There are also daily protests in front churches and other church-related institutions, sometimes resulting in the damage
caused to the church property. Online, people are organising to formally leave the catholic church, and priests are routinely heckled in
both big and small towns. Here, you can see a group of protesters in Szczecinek, a 40 thousand people town, heckling their local priest,
first ordering him to "go back inside the church" and then to simply "go and fuck himself":
This level of hostility against the catholic church institutions was previously pretty much unthinkable in Poland and shows how the church,
by its own actions and assumed sense of power really, is losing its grip over the country.
Other actions include today's occupation of Sejm by the left MPs, which resulted in the PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski being ambushed by
people holding pro-abortion signs and cloth hangers:
Kaczynski previously said that that "we will strive to ensure that even in pregnancies which are very difficult, when a child is sure to
die, strongly deformed, women end up giving birth so that the child can be baptised, buried and have a name".
Yesterday, mass blockades brought many Polish cities to a standstill for hours, in many cases to the support of drivers and whoever else
still have not joined the protests yet. More actions, both in Poland and abroad, are planned for the upcoming days.
The protests were met with significant levels of police brutality and many arrests. Polish police, among others, resorted to using gas to
contain the protest, but this so far proves ineffective, and if anything, just brings more people to the streets.
The far-right
The far-right appears to be taken by surprise by the recent wave of protests. They are scrambling trying to react to it. So far the
notorious fascist Robert Bakiewicz announced the formation of "National Guard". Similarly to the UK far-right who recently attempted to
"protect the monuments" from the BLM protesters, the "National Guard" plans to protect churches, and wider, so-called "western values" from
protests.
It is difficult to call this "guard" successful so far. Yesterday evening they performed their first action and were, according to the
report by Bakiewicz himself, pelted with bottles, firecrackers and stones by the pro-abortion protesters, resulting in a number of nazis
having to be taken to the hospital by an ambulance.
In the previous days, the fascists, among them Bakiewicz, forcibly removed two women from the so-called holy cross church in Warsaw
following a protest inside. The women were assaulted and one was pushed down the stairs, while the police were watching. Lucky, both women
have not sustained serious injuries.
As for the catholic church itself, after expressing their satisfaction with the constitutional tribunal verdict, they now appear to try to
mitigate the first anti-church protests they have ever faced by appealing for calm and civility. So far, without success.
What's next?
The constitutional tribunal's ruling, while unbelieveablly inhumane and if implemented, bringing misery to scores of people, also created
unintended positive result: it has effectively abolished the previously untouchable "abortion compromise". This leaves all options,
including abortion on request, on the table. The resulting backlash towards the catholic church can, and sooner or later will, bring changes
similar to those in the countries hijacked by religious fundamentalists in the past. This is exactly what happened in Spain and Ireland.
It seems that the PiS government, for the first time since it came to power, is facing a serious, and potentially government-abolishing,
mass opposition to their actions. This may be considered by some as long overdue. However, in my opinion, the events of the last few days
were built up to by a number of other protests from the not-too-distant past, most notoriously the recent actions against the government's
crackdown on queer rights, and the pro-abortion rights protests from the past few years.
PiS appears unsure how to deal with the protests. So far, the PM signed a decision allowing the military gendarmerie to go on the streets
from tomorrow, under the pretence of the pandemic. The minister of justice Zbigniew Ziobro also announced that there will be serious
consequences inflicted on the people who took part in actions against churches, under Poland's "profanity laws". The rest of the government
is nowhere to be seen so far, and Jaroslaw Kaczynski himself was taken away from Warsaw by a helicopter following a protest outside of his
home: something which surely was difficult to manage by this paranoid little man.
But other than taking interim measures, PiS is struggling with coming up with a plan on how to deal with the situation they themselves
created. They are being left in a rather difficult situation, in which the choices are to either embed the recent constitutional ruling in
law and face the, likely severe, consequences of a popular protest movement, or to ignore the decision of the highest court in the country
and enrage their catholic fundamentalist supporters, which may result in PiS losing their, already fragile, parliamentary majority.
Additionally, the protests from the past few days are difficult to manage by other parliamentary parties, perhaps with an honourable
exception of a few, mainly left, MPs. The very rhetorics of the protests, with the main slogan, "Wypierdalac" translating to "get the fuck
out", followed by "Jebac PiS" or "Fuck PiS" are difficult to digest by many liberals making it quite impossible for them to hijack the
recent movement of opposition to the government.
What PiS did appear to achieve however is uniting large parts of the population of a country which in the recent years experienced massive
divides and conflicts the party have created themselves. The opposition to PiS is growing by the day and it seems they kind of brought it on
themselves by committing a rather common among fascists mistake of thinking they are more powerful than they actually are and forgetting
that most people, in fact, aren't fascist.
zb
https://freedomnews.org.uk/what-the-hell-is-happening-in-poland/
------------------------------
Message: 2
In Rojava, or rather the Democratic Federation of North and East Syria (DFNOS)[1], a revolution has been going on for several years that
hardly anyone had thought possible: in 2013, local councils of the liberal Kurdish movement filled the power vacuum created in the Syrian
civil war. Educational institutions, women's shelters, cooperatives and local self-defense units were established. Under a common social
contractA federation of several cantons developed, in which women and also ethnic and religious minorities are present at all levels of
self-administration. It is estimated that over 5 million people live in the self-government today. From a military point of view, the
federation has had to defend itself against Daesh, the so-called "Islamic State", as well as against Turkey and the jihadist militias it
supports.
The values of this federation - localism, grassroots democracy, feminism, sustainability, anti-fascism, needs economy, economic democracy
and ecology - coincide in many respects with the basic values of anarcho-syndicalist theories and organizations.[2]This revolution is
similar to the uprising of the Zapatistasin Mexico, a communalist answer for those regions of the world in which industrial syndicalism has
few points of contact. Ultimately, there are two sides or expressions of movements with basically the same thrust - the revolution in
north-east Syria is also our revolution. The DFNOS can be a beacon of motivation, a field of experimentation and learning for us, at the
same time the DFNOS in countries like Germany needs strong communalist and syndicalist movements in order to experience support and relief
in the fight against the dictatorship of Turkey.
CURRENT SITUATION
After the Daesh (IS) was largely suppressed by the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) led by the revolutionary movement, the US troops largely
withdrew from the areas of the DFNOS. In 2018, this enabled Turkey to launch a war of aggression against the canton of Afrin in violation of
international law, which was carried out with German weapon systems such as the Leopard II tank and German drone technology.[3]Turkey also
made use of many former IS fighters who were now fighting in new jihadist formations. The international community remained silent about the
war crimes of the NATO partner. As a result of the invasion, thousands of emancipatory activists and civilians lost their lives, tens of
thousands their houses, and the DFNOS lost a strategically and agriculturally important mountain region and one of its larger cities. Turkey
is now pursuing a repressive policy of displacement and resettlement in Afrin.
Another invasion of Turkey on the territory of the DFNOS followed in 2019, also in violation of international law. Important cities such as
Serê Kaniyê and Suluk were captured and one of the most important connections in northern Syria, the M4, was made virtually unusable.
Since this invasion, which was finally ended due to the intervention of Russia, which supports the Assad regime, a war of low intensity has
smoldered. Artillery and drone shelling of individual villages repeatedly occurs, and the fields in the DFNOS are set on fire. The water war
is probably having the worst impact, however: all the water supply lines for northern Syria originate in Turkey. Since the constitution of
the DFNOS, the Turkish regime has enormously promoted the extraction of water from the tributaries, among other things through Turkish
agriculture, so that in some important rivers hardly any or no water arrives. The problems that result from this concern the basic supply of
the population, the manufacturing industry, sewage management, agriculture, but also electricity production.
In addition, the region has been under a total embargo for many years. There is therefore a lack of basic means for the care of tens of
thousands of refugees who have been admitted, of medical equipment to be able to adequately counter war and corona, as well as possibilities
for an ecological development of local economic cycles.
Militarily, the Turkish regime under Erdogan is currently preparing for a new offensive on three fronts: In Turkey itself, waves of
repression are rolling through the country again, most recently against the Kurdish opposition party HDP. There are increasing indications
of a renewed civil war against the own population, as we experienced from autumn 2015 in southeast Turkey.[4]Troops are being gathered again
along the border with Syria and the dictator Erdogan is trying to establish an intensive diplomatic exchange with Russia in order to clear
the way for the next invasion. In Iraq, where the PDK oligarchy party loyal to Turkey under Masud Barzani controls the autonomous region of
Kurdistan, its party militias, the Peshmerga, which are also known in Germany, are being positioned against the revolution. The US military
leadership is also working towards an alliance with the Iraqi central government and Turkey to militarily crush the Yazidi self-government
structures in the Shengal Mountains (Jabal Sinjar). The # Riseup4Rojava campaign recently delivered a very readable, more detailed
assessment of the situation .
A REVOLUTION ALWAYS WINS THROUGH HOPE
Once again, this revolution seems to be all or nothing. Both the Erdogan regime in Turkey and the Barzani regime in the Iraqi Autonomous
Region of Kurdistan are getting worse and worse. The main problems facing Turkey are the enormous national debt, high inflation rates and an
enormous downturn in economic output. Erdogan tries to smooth the waves domestically with nationalism, aggressive foreign policy and tough
internal repression. But even military operations, especially when they make the use of tanks and air strikes "necessary", cost a lot of
money - which Turkey is increasingly lacking. There have also been protests against Barzani for years because of the miserable economic
situation and the suppressing of the opposition.
There is therefore hope for Turkey that the Erdogan system will run out economically. The German left can also make its modest contribution
to this. A replacement of Erdogan by a pragmatic alliance of all bourgeois and revolutionary parties in Turkey remains the most realistic
hope for the time being, as is an uprising of the democratic forces against the outmoded Barzani regime in northern Iraq.
Against this background, the Koma Civakên Kurdistan (Union of Kurdish Societies, KCK) called for a new offensive against Turkish fascism
from mid-September. Campaigns such as "Women Defend Rojava" and "Riseup4Rojava" followed suit.
The current situation demands readiness and mobilization from all supporters of the revolution, we must all be ready to defend the
revolution. The Turkish regime is planning the complete suppression of the revolution, but a successful uprising of the grassroots
democratic forces in Iraq alone would be enough to turn the tide lastingly, as the embargo, which is blocking the social and economic
progress of the revolution, could be circumvented.
WHAT CAN WE DO IN GERMANY?
a) Informing and inspiring - It is still more important than anything else to inform yourself, to develop a picture of the revolution and
the local conditions and to infect neighbors, work colleagues and comrades with the euphoria for this revolutionary movement in hundreds of
one-on-one conversations. This movement still needs broader support and acceptance among the German population.[5]To the same extent, the
crimes of the Turkish regime must be continuously investigated.[6]
b) Economic pressure - The governments of the EU states are obviously unwilling to shake hands to protect human rights in Syria or Turkey.
The reasons lie in the deep economic and political integration with the regime, which as a border guard, production location, military
partner and buyer of goods is far more important to the heads of the EU than their own empty phrases about women's rights, democracy,
freedom of expression and peace.[7]
The global solidarity movement has the best chance of stopping the military deployment from an economic weakening of the country, which, due
to the depth of the economic crisis, also directly limits the military possibilities of the regime.
For this purpose, an overview is currently being created of companies that are making money from the regime's machinations. In particular,
workers can support this work by leaking their companies' economic relations to Turkey. In addition to the armaments industry, particular
attention should be paid to tourism, as German consumers play a special role in this important branch of the economy and can easily be
educated, but also political pressure against companies.
At the same time, of course, it is important to support the anti-fascist trade unions in Turkey in their struggles to prevent the regime
from simply passing the economic consequences on to the country's wage-dependent class. At the same time, the expansion of the syndicalist
trade union movement in Turkey also means a basis for a stable opposition for a time after Erdogan's fall. Anyone who wants to get involved
in this area can contact the FAU International Committee through their local FAU syndicate.
c) Apply pressure against repression- More than almost any other European country, German intelligence services and police forces make
themselves henchmen of Turkish repression. The PKK movement, which is still formally a party, but in recent years has increasingly assumed
the character of a general, transnationally active revolutionary organization, is still classified as a terrorist organization in Germany.
All of this at the request of the Turkish government, despite the hundreds of well-documented support from German NATO partner Turkey for
Al-Qaida, IS, in view of the massacre of its own civilian population, the involvement in bomb attacks, etc. by the Turkish secret service
and many others Crimes against humanity. This farce, in which a grassroots, feminist movement is persecuted as a terrorist organization,
During a terror regime, drones and tanks worth billions of dollars are sold, must be discussed and debunked again and again by us. The ban
on the PKK must be lifted with all possible effort. Not because the PKK is the part of the movement that is closest to us in terms of
content or organization, but because the ban on the PKK still serves as a sharp weapon for the Turkish state to put supporters of
self-government behind bars for years in Germany and elsewhere.
d) Better interlinking of our movements - If we, as a syndicalist movement , want to take an active part in the development of
self-governments in Turkey, Syria and Iraq, and if we want to benefit in return from the experiences of the movement in Germany, we must
grow together better. There are many ways to do this, for example to overcome language barriers[8]or join the local Kurdish association to
organize. As a trade union federation, we should above all make it clear how welcome we are wage earners who support the revolution and want
to build up democratic self-government in Germany as well. The revolution in northern and eastern Syria has long since ceased to be purely
Kurdish, it is multiethnic and global. We should therefore show that our trade union federation is a suitable tool to bring this revolution
to Germany as well.
NEXT STEPS
The beginning of the offensive of the revolutionary movements must be followed by media and actionist echoes all over the world. The
"Riseup4Rojava" campaign days from November 1st to 8th, 2020, are a first step in this direction . At the end of November there will also be
a nationwide demonstration in defense of the revolution.
We have now set up a support group for this matter within FAU. Even our International plans a transnational working group. The FAU
International Committee invites all interested workers to become members of FAU and to get involved in these structures.
https://direkteaktion.org/syndikalistische-unterstuetzung-fuer-rojava-aufbauen/
https://awsm.nz/?p=7425
------------------------------
Message: 3
"If tomorrow women woke up and decided they really love their bodies, imagine how many industries would go bankrupt" this quote from Gail
Dines, a radical American-British sociologist and feminist, found an illustration with the market crisis lipstick from wearing a mask. ----
Fewer outings during confinement, mandatory mask wearing, and a weak recovery when stores reopen, the makeup market is down. 17% drop for
the global cosmetics market from January to August, 53% drop for makeup and even more for lipstick [1]. As this desire is not political,
unfortunately, sales of mascara soar. But this decline opens up prospects.
Self-esteem to respond to physical injunctions
Imagine that women are satisfied with their appearance: more make-up, more miracle shampoos, dyes, skin rejuvenators, vulva cleaners,
various products to remove hair, special toothpaste for women's teeth ... And that suddenly, they start to find that, for clothes, clothes
must above all be comfortable: disappearance of shoes made for everything except walking, haute-couture and its contempt for women, sexy
underwear according to the patriarchal standards, of most clothing brands. Other areas could be affected: girly and shiny sports clothes,
gyms and nutritionists, everything related to diets and weight loss, all lightened or hacked industrial food products ... Loving your body
could lead to loving yourself in general and no longer wanting to be exploited or manipulated. Towards the end of the cycle washing machines
with 192 programs and other superfluous devices intended to make women believe that their value lies in domestic skills (in addition to
their conformity to physical standards) and that modern equipment is the guarantee of happiness. domesticated.
Less sexist ads, more feminism
A good part of the sectors of chemicals and pharmacy, household appliances, agrifood, textiles and clothing would find themselves in a major
crisis if women stopped consuming useless foods that add nothing to pleasures and happiness, on the contrary. And the advertising industry
would disappear, sweeping gendered marketing into the void from which it should never have emerged. It makes you dream no? But the reality
is that women at any age, all the time and everywhere are under unbearable pressure on their appearance. A good dose of self-esteem and a
benevolent entourage (or a great disregard for the opinions of others) could allow to override the advertising and patriarchal dictates when
they are only trying to convince us and we are able to see them. and decrypt. But how to get out of absurd and sexist regulations,
initiatives of morons who have a little power to prevent us from doing things ? Coming together and fighting, strong and united is surely
part of the solution.
Christine (UCL Sarthe)
cc Pixabay / Alanydak
Validate
[1] According to BFMTV which relays the figures of the Nielsen company, September 9, 2020
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Plus-rebelle-sans-mon-Rimmel
------------------------------
Message: 4
Following the Festival's postponement back in March due to the Covid-19 outbreak, we have now decided to host the Aberdeen Anarchist
Festival online on the 21st and the 22nd of November 2020. Although this is not the outcome that we had envisioned for the first ever
anarchist festival in Aberdeen, we remain excited! If anything, we don't view the online format of the Festival only as necessary for the
protection of public health, but we also hope it will serve as an opportunity for the world to meet some of Aberdeen's grassroots folk and
vice versa! ---- All events will take place on Zoom (links to be shared nearer the date). ---- Please ensure that you've read our ONLINE
SAFER SPACES policy before joining in. This can be found at the very bottom of this page.
FULL PROGRAMME
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day 1 (Saturday 21st November 2020)
-''Class Power on Zero-Hours. Organising in Tough Times''
Talk by the Angry Workers of the World
https://angryworkersworld.wordpress.com/
12:30 - 13:30
-''We Need to Talk about Covid-19: Current Situation and Future Social Change''
Panel discussion with:
Edinburgh Plan C
Bristol Plan C
Myshele Haywood
https://www.weareplanc.org/
14:00 - 15:30
- ''Reflections on Black Lives Matter''
A discussion with Imelda Uwase
16:00 - 17:00
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day 2 (Sunday 22nd November 2020)
-''Gender and Class Struggle''
Talk by Tanya F., from Edinburgh Action for Trans Health
https://www.facebook.com/edinburghath/
12:30 - 13:30
-''Greece: Government Repression and Movement Responses''
Talk by Interregnum
https://interregnum.live/
14:00 - 15:00
-''Decentralised, Non-violent, Non-hierarchical? Stories from Extinction Rebellion''
Talk by Scott Herrett, XR Aberdeen
https://xrscotland.org/act-now/local-groups/xr-aberdeen/
15:30 - 16:30
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DONATIONS
All donations will go to the Aberdeen Social Centre. If you wish to make a donation please do so here:
Account name: Aberdeen Social Centre
Account number: 20400664
Sort code: 608301
Please add ''AFEST'' as a wee reference.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ONLINE SAFER SPACES POLICY
(Adopted from Dundee Anarchist Bookfair and Edinburgh Anarchist Feminist Bookfair)
- Participate in good faith
- Be respectful to each other - verbal, written or any other form of abuse based on gender identity, sex, sexual orientation,
disability/mental health status, ethnicity/nationality/race, migration status, social class etc won't be tolerated
- Keep what is said at meetings vague enough to maintain privacy and confidentiality. Feel free to take any necessary measures when joining
online to protect your and other people's identity (e.g., use pseudonyms)
- Give everyone time and space to speak and be heard
- Try your best to keep terminology simple
- Don't make assumptions about anyone's circumstances or conventions and avoid generalisations about groups of people
- Use content warnings where content may be upsetting
- This Festival is safe for trans people and transphobia of any form is not welcome in this space. Anyone who refuses to respect the rights
of trans people to exist and identify as they feel comfortable will be immediately asked to leave.
https://www.facebook.com/events/272879097378353/
------------------------------
Message: 5
From the London Clash ( Capital Radio One & Two , This is Radio Clash ) to the Lyon gones des Partisans ( Radio rebelle ), from the
Transalpins of RedSka ( Riot Radio ) to the veterans of the anti-fascist skinhead scene of Los Fastidios ( Radio Boots ), the groups of the
punk-ska movement have often invoked the theme of radio in their songs. ---- Obviously it is not a question of formatted radios of the FM
band, but rather of pirate radios, which give to hear the soundtrack of the revolution. Resaka Sonora's residents of Bordeaux have made it a
common thread for this second album with strong revolutionary accents.
Resaka Sonora is first and foremost an attitude. Since 2011, the group has been a tireless promoter of counter-culture - that is to say an
autonomous and popular culture, which lives and circulates outside the circuits formed by bourgeois economic-institutional structures - and
is part of a political process. who claims to be "no-profit" ; no fees for its musicians. Alternative, united and internationalist, the
group likes to mix cultures and writes its lyrics in French, Castilian, Euskara, Italian or Arabic.
Storming the waves
This new, tight album opens with the energetic 1000 vocals and announces the color of the tracks to come ; frenzied ska supported by an
omnipresent brass section and a heady drum machine. The tone is set, the head moves, and from the first listening, the titles are linked and
imprinted in the cortex. The group balances twelve tracks of a sometimes dancing ska ( Seguir adelante or Dall'alba della storia ),
sometimes more skinhead revival ( Invade the city ) and sometimes frankly ska-punk ( Silencio or 202.0 MHZ with Max and Pawall from Los Tres
Puntos featuring).
In terms of words, the group gives pride of place to the revolts. Those of yesterday ; K-1921 evokes the revolt of the sailors of Kronstadt
and its repression by the Bolshevik power, but especially those of today ; Ey Raquib on the fight for the autonomy of the Kurdish people, or
even Clandestin and One hero the people, with accents - unfortunately - contemporary.
Songs that speak to us and speak of us too: Like a beating heart immediately makes one think of the Partisans, or the magnificent finale To
the assault of the waves , which closes an album that we immediately want to listen to again if we can't. discover on stage.
Twelve old-fashioned tracks, the format of a vinyl no more no less. An essential album for the social return, and after !
David (UCL GPS)
Resaka Sonora, Frekuenzia , LP & CD, Fire & Flames / General Strike / Hard reality, March 2020, 10 euros (album for sale on the group's
website and at bar 33.290 in Blanquefort)
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Ecouter-Resaka-Sonora-Frekuenzia
------------------------------
Message: 6
Solidarity with the feminist mass protests against abortion bans in Poland - For years we have been experiencing a global shift to the right
that has brought reactionary and authoritarian movements onto the streets all over the world and repeatedly heaves their leaders into
government positions. Whether in Brazil, in the USA or here in the German-speaking region: a right-wing authoritarian formation is on the
advance and combats the successes that emancipatory movements have achieved in the last few decades. Those who suffer are primarily women *,
the LGBTQ community, blacks, people of color and indigenous populations, but also other parts of the wage-dependent class.
A particularly blatant example of right-wing advance has been Poland for years, where the right-wing PiS government has been in power since
2015. Since it came to power, this government has worked steadily to restrict the rights of women * and queer people in order to make their
nightmare of a Christian authoritarian state a reality. These efforts reached their peak again last Thursday, October 22nd, when a Polish
constitutional court decided to criminalize abortions due to fetal malformations. This decision further tightens Polish abortion laws, which
are already among the strictest in Europe, and amounts to an almost complete ban on abortion. However, already on Thursday, hundreds of
people showed that they will not accept this renewed attack on the right of women * and all other people who can become pregnant (e.g. trans
men) to determine their own bodies and took the streets of Warsaw and other Polish cities in angry mobilizations . There were also
demonstrations beyond the borders of the country to show solidarity with the feminist struggle in Poland. We also declare our solidarity
with the protests in Poland and call on you, wherever there are mobilizations of solidarity, to support them and to increase the pressure on
the Polish government. This can only happen from below, on the street; Relying on the EU will not bring any improvement, as it has proven
often enough in recent years,
Therefore: Keep fighting the right-wing authoritarian, anti-feminist advance in Poland and everywhere! Solidarity with all fighting women *
and all other affected people!
https://www.dieplattform.org/2020/10/26/solidaritaet-mit-den-feministischen-massenprotesten-gegen-abtreibungsverbote-in-polen
------------------------------
Message: 7
Another day of protests is behind us - all as a result of the decision of the Constitutional Tribunal, the ruling of which is another
element of tightening the anti-abortion law. Today is to be a signal to "Block Everything". Just before 4:00 p.m., marking the beginning of
the action, there are signals about the first traffic blocks. Paralysis occurs when a large group of people - including anarchists and
anarchists - enter Rondo Kaponiera. ---- Keywords women's rights abortion Law and Justice PiS Constitutional Court Cars, trams and MPK buses
stop. In the middle of the roundabout, the car is blocked by the car marked with the symbols of today's protest. The motorists from the
stopped vehicles are really understanding and calm, as you say from the traffic supervision, "Today all of Poland has stopped, there is
nothing to be nervous about". There is also a girl among the people who passes through the tube the most important information in the event
of a possible police arrest, people pass on an emergency number to legal aid. This is important, especially after yesterday's police attacks
on protesters. However, during the blockade, the police are practically invisible, they are hidden (apart from the road), they are almost
absent. There are also other spontaneous blockades throughout the city - taxi drivers block the passage around the train station very
slowly, there are many signals of solidarity from drivers. Some of the protesters at the roundabout head towards Aleja Niepodleglosci after
about an hour - this is also where traffic is completely blocked, as at the next intersection at ul. St. Marcin. The city is still standing,
but the number of protesters is growing! The slogans "My body, my case", "We are pissed off", "I think, feel, decide" and of course "Fuck
PiS" are heard again. At some point, at Rondo Kaponiera, there is a skirmish with a few nationalists, but they quickly run away, looking for
shelter near a police car. When 6:00 p.m. is approaching, people slowly start to march towards Wolnosci Square, from there, after the rally,
a further march is to start towards selected points in the city: the PiS offices on Mlynska street, the cathedral, the headquarters of TVP,
At 19:00 the rally begins on Plac Wolnosci. The representatives of the organizers recalled yesterday's events - the police attack near the
cathedral. They were reminded of what is at stake - for women's health, access to legal and safe abortion, medical examinations, support,
and against forcing women to give birth and treat them as living incubators, without rights and subjectivity. The accusations about the
vulgarity of the protesters' message, which outraged the clerical circles, were noted - it was noticed that the real vulgarity was the
treatment of young clerics by the church hierarchs and covering up sexual scandals (a clear reference to the case of the late Archbishop
Juliusz Paetz, involved in the sexual abuse of pedophilia), from parish to parish. Then it was mentioned that the state is trying to shift
the blame for the possible increase in the incidence of the COVID-19 epidemic to the ongoing protests and their participants. Women are not
to blame for the epidemic going on! The authorities are trying to use it for their political purposes from the very beginning. This was the
case at the beginning of the year when, instead of helping to organize medical equipment, politicians started filling their pockets, later
due to elections, announced the end of the pandemic and attacked LGBT + people. Today, pretending that there is no pandemic results in an
increase in cases of disease, overburdened medical personnel, attempts to build field hospitals, the need for medics and medics without
equipment, and above all overloading doctors and nurses. The rulers blamed their own ineptitude on women - the result of which is a specific
resolution of the case by the politicized Constitutional Tribunal. There is no consent that women should be guilty of it! The crowd
responded with "Fuck Pis"
Katarzyna Czarnota from the Wielkopolska Association of Tenants also took the floor, starting with the slogan "Whose revolution is this?
Women! Then she emphasized that the tightening of anti-abortion laws affects the poorest women, they, often struggling with housing
problems, will not be able to afford surgery in another country or in a private clinic, they should be remembered when fighting today and
they deserve support and solidarity . Abortion is a fundamental social right, and its aggravation increases social inequality. Then Joanna
Malinowska pointed out that the authorities are responsible for the suffering of women, lack of support, refusal of prenatal tests, refusal
of birth control pills, refusal of abortion. However, the authorities did not expect such female solidarity. If the authorities are now
threatening with the introduction of a state of emergency or with the taking of military police units onto the street, this only proves
their fear. This cannot be blamed on those fighting for fundamental rights. The crowd of thousands chanted - I think, feel, decide!
Other people took the floor, while the protesters repeatedly raised the slogans "Fuck PiS", "We shouldn't have pissed off" or "Get the fuck
out", clear and adequate to the situation.
After the speeches ended, the crowd moved towards the first point on the route, the parliamentary office of PiS politicians at ul. Mlynska
(the same which was defended the day before by the police, while blocking the way for the protesters). When the protest passed in the
vicinity of the office, there was already a line of police, horse troops, and a lot of plainclothes policemen. The front of the protest and
the car with the sound system passed, but some were left behind. There was a commotion, roaring firecrackers flew, and undercover agents and
police provocateurs were also seen near the gates on Mlynska Street. Some of the people got scared and backed away, they shouted to stop
throwing firecrackers when the cavalry police blocked further passage. Eventually, the crowd moved forward. If we want to fight we must be
ready to fight and its various forms of expression in the face of the repressive police apparatus should not undermine the purpose of this
struggle. In the face of the threat, the slogans of solidarity must be put into practice.
Moving on, the crowd continues to raise the slogans "Fuck PiS", "We want health, not good health", "Fuck clergy" "We are strong, together
stronger", "Row on the pavement, row on the row", slowly approaching the Poznan cathedral. It is worth remembering that the car with the
sound system was far away from the huge group of people who were just approaching the Boleslaw Chrobry Bridge. This is a fatal
organizational error, it has been emphasized many times that the next destination on the route is the cathedral, but now the car passes it
and continues on, the rest of the protesters do not know what is happening and turn towards the cathedral. It turns out that a group of
nationalists has gathered at the monument of John Paul II, they are protected by a police cordon and a horse unit. This cordon surrounded
them only after it first allowed them to attack a small group of people who first reached Ostrów Tumski.As reported by Glos Wielkopolski ,
two nationalists beat a 21-year-old woman from Poznan, in front of the eyes and with the passive attitude of police officers who did not
react!At a time when the biggest protest in years to defend women's rights is going through Poznan, the nationalists got mad that monuments
of popes were more important than women's lives. Firecrackers are flying here again, it is not known whether they are thrown by the police
or nationalists, it is difficult to tell them apart. For a moment, the horse unit starts moving, which causes some people to run backwards.
Then the chanting begins: "Fascists, the police are one coalition", "All Poznan shouts with us, get the fuck out of the nationalists",
"Krzysztof Bosak, get the fuck out", "The police defend the fascists". Hidden behind the police cordon and hiding in the shadow of the
monument, they try to shout back, but are easily screamed out. The decision is made to let go this time, because you have to join the rest
of the protest. The neo-fascists on the lead of the ruling party are left alone. There is confusion but the crowd is huge and many people
don't even know that something else is going on under the cathedral. They go straight to the next designated point, which is the seat of TVP.
A huge mass of people heading towards the Rondo Rataje, which is still being renovated, is chanting all the time, most often "Fuck PiS", but
there are also slogans: "Krzysztof Bosak has a little", "My pusia, not Jarusia", "Morawiecki treacherous dick" "Fuck PiS and Confederation
"," Freedom, Equality, Solidarity "" Abortion on Demand "" My body, my rights, my business "" This is war. "
The headquarters of TVP, which you have to reach through a narrow street, is tightly protected by the police. Inside, there is probably a
hectic inventing of stripes and headlines scaring hordes of barbarians. The propaganda tube of power slandering refugees first, then
leftists and LGBT + people, and now women, is really a point on the map of this protest. They deserved, the women shout: get the fuck out!
Through the Roch Bridge, the protest reaches Mostowa Street. There is a parliamentary office, PiS MP Bartosz Wróblewski. The deputy is a
distinguished apparatchik, he was always the first to insult and repeat party phrases. He was also one of the deputy rapporteurs before the
Constitutional Tribunal, acting as a collaborator of Kai Godek and her fundamentalist milieu. The deputy is also presented as a candidate of
the ruling coalition for the new Ombudsman. The absurdity of such a nomination does not require any comment. While walking down Mostowa
Street and further towards the Old Market Square, you can see a lot of acts of solidarity with the protesters. Banners with slogans and
umbrellas appear in windows and on balconies. People cheer and greet the crowd. The deputy's office was fenced off with a line of police -
only after the end of the entire operation,
When the protest returns to Wolnosci Square, you can see that there are almost the same number of people. They did not allow themselves to
be intimidated by the violence of the police, state and nationalists. Three hours of walking is just another warm-up. This is not the end,
there will be more protests! We have more days of showing solidarity, support, sisterhood (and skilful, not intrusive, support from men) in
practice! There is an appeal to come back in groups, watch out for bands of nationalists and the police.
The next days are the next actions!
We're pissed off and we're fighting for our rights!
https://www.rozbrat.org/informacje/poznan/4738-dzien-blokad-trzeba-bylo-nas-nie-wkurwiac
------------------------------
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten