Today's Topics:
1. Russia, avtonom.org: Dmitry Okrest: "Who are your comrades
now?" (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
2. France, Alternative Libertaire AL Nantes - ecology,
Notre-Dame-des-Landes: human tide on the ring road of Nantes (fr,
it, pt) [machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
3. A-Radio Berlin Brazil: The Passe Livre movement in Sao Paulo
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
4. France, Communistes Libertaires CGT - Valenciennes: a second
high school students union (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
At the beginning of December, Dmitry Buchenkov became the latest person in Russia’s
‘Bolotnaya Case’, a series of investigations and trials into Russia’s opposition now in
its fourth year. ---- Buchenkov, a 36-year old history lecturer at a Moscow medical
university, is the 31st defendant in Bolotnaya. More than two hundred people were detained
in the initial case, which stretches back to the ‘March of the Millions’, an opposition
demonstration on the eponymous square in May 2012. The protest was timed to coincide with
the inauguration of Vladimir Putin’s third presidential term, and this didn’t go
unnoticed. During the sanctioned demonstration, the police cut off the square, in effect
‘kettling’ the protesters. Scuffles started between police and protesters, and a pitched
battle of sorts began before the crowd was violently dispersed.
The prosecutions made against protest leaders, and allegations of geopolitical conspiracy,
have come to symbolise the Kremlin’s response to the ‘Russian winter’ of 2011-2012.
Despite the extent of the investigation and trial, Bolotnaya is yet to receive attention
inside, or outside Russia. Journalists and activists are less and less interested. Only
the police are still following it in numbers.
Yet the payback for Bolotnaya continues. On 22 December, Ivan Nepomnyashchikh, an engineer
from the Moscow region, received a two and a half year prison sentence for participating
in ‘mass disorder’, the charge against the majority of Bolotnaya defendants. By the time
Buchenkov was arrested in early December, the first defendants from 2012-2014 were already
on their way out of prison.
Dmitry Buchenkov will now face trial for turning over a chemical toilet on 6 May 2012. The
prosecution’s main evidence is a photograph of a 30-year old man on Bolotnaya who looks
nothing like Buchenkov.
Costly convictions
‘Buchenkov was an active member of the left-wing movement behind Autonomous Action, a
large organisation of libertarian communists, which had dozens of groups in Belarus,
Russia and Ukraine before it split,’ Aleksandr, a young anti-fascist, tells me. ‘Unlike
most of the young anarchists who were detained during the march, Buchenkov's name was
comparatively well-known’, he added.
‘Power exists and shall continue to do so for as long as human societies exist,’ notes
Buchenkov in a letter to me. ‘The task of libertarian communism is not to destroy power,
instead we should organise it in the form of self-government, on a socialist basis. The
political task of anarcho-communism is to organise power in non-governmental forms.’
Indeed, Buchenkov’s arrest is another instance of the Russian authorities’ focus on
anarchists and anti-fascists. Buchenkov now joins fellow members of Autonomous Action in
jail—Aleksei Gaskarov, sentenced as part of Bolotnaya, and Aleksei Sutuga, who was charged
with fighting against neo-Nazis in September 2014. For the past six months, Sutuga has
been denied correspondence and held in solitary confinement.
Buchenkov’s investigator Aleksei Dobarin has form in this area. Dobarin has previously
worked on the Bolotnaya case, investigating Vladimir Akimenkov and Leonid Rukavishnikov,
activists from the far left Russian organisation Left Front (and who have condemned
Russia’s actions in south-east Ukraine). Prior to Bolotnaya, Dobarin worked in the Kaluga
region, some 70 km from Moscow, where he investigated nationalist and neo-Nazi groups.
As Aleksandr, the young anti-fascist, tells me, in the three years he’s known Buchenkov,
the latest figure in Bolotnaya has had several encounters with the security services.
Police officials would greet him at demonstrations, and he was threatened after starting a
social club; once he was beaten to the point of losing consciousness.
Buchenkov’s arrest is another instance of the Russian authorities’ focus on anarchists and
anti-fascists
But Buchenkov remained active. Forced to leave his work in a Nizhny Novgorod university,
he moved to Moscow in 2009. Following Russia's 2015 economic crisis and multiple economic
sanctions after the annexation of Crimea, he decided to publish a free newspaper, which he
handed out to people coming to the Russian capital looking for work from the regions.
Despite the general fatigue of Russia’s civil society, Buchenkov’s case has attracted its
attention—the defendant’s lawyer Svetlana Sidorkina is yet to gain access to the case.
Instead, at the first hearing, Buchenkov was represented by a legal aid lawyer appointed
by the Interior Ministry, who had previously worked as a police investigator in Siberia.
More than 70 legal professionals have since signed an open letter questioning this behaviour.
Yet Buchenkov has few chances for solidarity from like-minded people in Europe. Following
Maidan and the war in Ukraine, the European left has split once again.
Who are your comrades now?
The active participation of the far right in EuroMaidan, the war in Ukraine and annexation
of Crimea has brought disarray to the left in Europe. Most were confused as to what
position to take. After EuroMaidan, Kyiv was seen as ripe for revolutionary change. For
others Russia—which opposed these changes—was an opponent of a unipolar world and thus an
example to follow.
Russia’s alternative banner, as heralded by Russia Today, remains out of sight for Russian
citizens themselves. The majority of programmes on the emancipatory potential of the
Kurdish women’s movement or Julian Assange’s interview with the leader of Hezbollah aren’t
accessible to Russian audiences. Only a few programmes come with Russian subtitles.
RT’s ‘western’ pull is effective. Last year, I interviewed Vicenzo Bellantoni, secretary
of Italy’s Communist Refoundation Party, which had organised a series of lectures and
concerts across Europe in support of the ‘Donetsk People’s Republic’ (DNR).
As Bellantoni saw it, the DNR was involved in a ‘mass anti-fascist struggle against an
illegal fascist and reactionary government, which had come to power as a result of an
armed coup. All communist movements are united in the people’s struggle, and we intend to
resist this reactionary coup. We rely on many websites for our convictions: the sites of
the Russian and Ukrainian communist parties, Russia-1 and Russia Today.’
People have an intuitive need to replicate the familiar contours of the Cold War, where
there’s two centres of power, each of which represents certain values
‘There’s an idea in the west that there’s an alternative to the US-Brussels consensus,’
says Ilya Budraitskis, who coordinates the Russian socialist movement. ‘People have an
intuitive need to replicate the familiar contours of the Cold War, where there’s two
centres of power, each of which represents certain values.
‘The Soviet Union, and now Russia, is associated with social justice and national
emancipation. We can choose which side in this global confrontation with which to
associate ourselves. The mistake of many on the left is that, as they see it, Russia is
far from the continuation of the Soviet Union.’
Short memories
For those who miss the USSR, the now disintegrated country is valued for its power and
position in the world, as well as certain social welfare guarantees. Russia’s anti-fascist
rhetoric and anti-American message have brought much in the way of support from some on
the European left, who have chosen to support Moscow despite its violation of labour
legislation, low wages and everyday xenophobia.
Buchenkov himself once declared that workers in authoritarian post-Soviet states now found
themselves in semi-feudal relationships with employers. The political elite, he continued,
had usurped state property while the opposition was weak. It could offer nothing but
renewed religious conservatism or the fulfillment of neoliberal demands, concluded Buchenkov.
Indeed, as Budraitsksis sees it, ‘Contemporary Russia cannot present a single idea that
could be mobilised elsewhere. It presents no alternative to the model of global capitalism
emerging from Brussels or Washington. Yet either from inertia or a lack of memory, the
politics of Moscow is seen precisely in this mold.’
Many make clever remarks about Kyiv’s neoliberal path, while ignoring the fact that Moscow
is travelling the same road
Dmitry Buchenkov considers himself to be a leftist, but he comes from that minority of
Russian left-wingers that view the Soviet experience and what came to replace it in a
critical light. Unfortunately, the arrest of a left-wing activist in a country, which,
according to tradition, is a staging ground for resisting American imperialism, is yet to
garner a reaction.
A case in point is that of Aleksandr Kolchenko, the Crimean student and anarchist activist
arrested last year for an arson attack on the office of a pro-Russian organisation. There
was precious little solidarity from European countries, at least not in comparison to the
murder of antifascist activists by neo-Nazis in the late 2000s.
Russia’s Anarchist Black Cross, an organisation set up to support political prisoners,
notes that European activists are not only less interested in news of arrests, they’re
giving less in terms of donations. Aleksandr, who is coordinating help for Buchenkov
inside prison, also notes that attention from western NGOs is decreasing.
Instead, some on the European left are busy supporting the unrecognised republics in
south-east Ukraine with music festivals, lectures and cinema clubs, comparing the conflict
to the Spanish Civil War. Many more make clever remarks about Kyiv’s neoliberal path,
while ignoring the fact that Moscow is travelling the same road.
‘You have to take everything that happens in life philosophically,’ writes Buchenkov from
jail. ‘The people in prison are also people, our fellow countrymen, many people from
former Soviet republics. It’s a slice of society, with all its problems and shortcomings.
‘I can only imagine why I’ve been arrested, but I believe that my imprisonment is
connected to my political convictions. I didn’t exclude the possibility of persecution for
my beliefs. I am outraged that I’m being persecuted for actions for which I am not
responsible. I wasn’t even at Bolotnaya.’
link
http://avtonom.org/en/news/dmitry-okrest-who-are-your-comrades-now
------------------------------
Message: 2
Hundreds of tractors and bicycles against water cannons and tear gas ... After the
unexpected Saturday's show of force on January 9 ring road of Nantes, the continuous
mobilization and intensifies. Story coming events and appointments. ---- Nantes mobilizing
Saturday against the trial in expulsion of residents and farmers in Notre-Dame-des-Landes
was massive and determined. ---- 20,000 protesters in the month, 1,600 bikes, 400
tractors. The device Nantes and especially Cheviré bridge was cut from 11 o'clock in the
morning. ---- Beautiful event, originally scheduled January 16, and the date was changed
at the last minute to take account of the trial in expulsion fixed January 13. Despite the
date change at the last moment, the massive nature of the event demonstrates a genuine
mobilization within the local population to fail the airport project.
The anti-capitalist Front 44 (with G, FA, OCL, CNT, VP) brought together close to 500
people in its procession.
Photos: Jean-Luc / AL Nantes
Officially the protest was scheduled to end at 15:30. But farmers who could, with 80
tractors, settled on the scene accompanied by numerous and many protesters. In total, over
500 people have installed on the device, cut in both directions, protected tractors.
Marquees, food stands, music ...
Around 22 hours the cops arrived with water cannons, mover ... At first the peasants
strengthened tractors dams and after negotiating with the cops, decided to break camp
(presumably to prevent their tractors , ie their tool does suffer damage). Finally all the
demonstrators started from. And it is time that the cops have chosen to put into action
water guns and throw a lot of tear gas.
Around 2:00 blockade was lifted and a priori there has been no blessé.es nor interpellé.es
Snail operations Tuesday 12
On Sunday, an AG on the ZAD has gathered 300 people, revealing significant differences
between inter citizen Association of populations affected by the airport project (ACIPA,
the main opposition to the project coordination) and Other trends such as the struggle of
the peasants of the Collective of professional agricultural organizations outraged by the
airport project (Pal 44). The ACIPA is quite reluctant to shares of blockages, fearing it
against us opinion.
In the end: there is a call-slow Tuesday, January 12 in the morning. And a rally in Nantes
on 13, which looks tense. Farmers will surely take action locks on their side.
Jean-Luc and Benjamin (U Nantes)
http://www.alternativelibertaire.org/?Notre-Dame-des-Landes-maree
------------------------------
Message: 3
Dear all, The struggle for the right to the city, against the intensification of
exploitation and valorization is complex and diverse. May it be people in Berlin stopping
an eviction, squatting houses in Amsterdam, taking squares in Greece or fighting for free
public transportation in Brazil. ---- A state with a massive territory, huge cities and as
in so many places a classist, racist and sexist division of labour that expresses itself
among other ways through the public transportation system. As Anarchist Radio Berlin we
had the opportunity to talk with an activist of the Passe Livre movement from Sao Paulo,
Brazil, about their struggle. ---- You'll find the audio (to listen online or download in
different sizes) ---- here:
http://aradio.blogsport.de/2016/01/13/a-radio-in-english-brazil-the-passe-livre-movement-in-sao-paulo/
Length: 17:04 min
You can find other English and Spanish language audios here:
http://aradio.blogsport.de/englishcastellano/.
Among our last audios you can find:
* Mediterranean 2: An interview with two anarchists working on the
refugee topic in Slovenia:
http://aradio.blogsport.de/2016/01/12/a-radio-in-english-mediterranean-2-anarchists-in-slovenia-and-the-refugee-balkan-route/
* Northern Europe 3: An interview with two members of the new Anarchist
Federation in Finland, Alusta:
http://aradio.blogsport.de/2016/01/05/a-radio-in-english-northern-europe-3-the-new-anarchist-federation-in-finland-alusta/
* Mediterranean 1: An interview with two activists of the occupied and
self-organized refugee center Notara26 in Athens, Greece:
http://aradio.blogsport.de/2016/01/02/a-radio-in-english-mediterranean-1-the-occupied-refugee-center-notara26-in-athens/
* Northern Europe 2: An interview on the Anarchist Bookfair in Tallinn,
Estonia:
http://aradio.blogsport.de/2015/12/18/a-radio-in-english-northern-europe-2-the-anarchist-bookfair-in-tallinn-estonia/
* Northern Europe 1: An audio on the countercultural Musta Pispala
festival in Tampere, Finland:
http://aradio.blogsport.de/2015/11/23/a-radio-in-english-northern-europe-1-musta-pispala-festival-in-finland/
* Eastern Europe 5: An interview with Anarchist Black Cross Warsaw:
http://aradio.blogsport.de/2015/11/19/a-radio-in-english-eastern-europe-5-anarchist-black-cross-warsaw/
* The documentation of a presentation about the topic "Undercover for
State and Capital":
http://aradio.blogsport.de/2015/11/04/a-radio-auf-englisch-audio-documentation-undercover-for-state-and-capital/
* Eastern Europe 4: An interview about anarchists and the tenants
movement in Warsaw:
http://aradio.blogsport.de/2015/10/22/a-radio-in-english-anarchists-and-the-tenants-movement-in-warsaw/
* Eastern Europe 3: An interview about anarchism and the squats in
Warsaw:
http://aradio.blogsport.de/2015/10/18/a-radio-in-english-eastern-europe-3-anarchism-in-warsaw-the-syrena-and-przychodnia-squats/
* Eastern Europe 2: An interview about the squatted ROD garden in
Warsaw:
http://aradio.blogsport.de/2015/10/14/a-radio-in-english-eastern-europe-2-the-squatted-rod-garden-in-warsaw/
* Eastern Europe 1: An interview about struggles in Poland and the
Rozbrat squat:
http://aradio.blogsport.de/2015/09/20/a-radio-in-english-eastern-europe-1-struggles-in-poland-and-the-rozbrat-squat-in-poznan/
Enjoy! And please feel free to share!
A-Radio Berlin
ps.: We are now on Twitter! Please feel welcome to follow us at
@aradio_berlin!
ps2.: Please note: We are always looking for people willing to lend us a
hand with transcriptions and translations from Spanish or German into
English as well as people able to do voice recordings - in order to
amplify our international radio work. You can contact us at
aradio-berlin/at/riseup(dot)net!
------------------------------
Message: 4
Here we announced the creation of a section CGT pupils / students in Douai. A second
section just opened at Valenciennes. An interesting field of work thus opens towards young
future employees while existing structures (UNEF, UNL, Fidl ...) are all very weak and
often led by activists who have their career plans in PS!
https://selcgtdouaisis.wordpress.com /
https://selcgtvalenciennois.wordpress.com /
http://communisteslibertairescgt.over-blog.net/2016/01/valenciennes-un-second-syndicat-lyceens-etudiants.html
