Today's Topics:
1. Britain, notts black arrow: Midlands discussion & book
events coming up in Leicester & Nottingham (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
2. France, Alternative Libertaire AL #270 - Citizenship: By and
For the People: Citizen Electoral Initiatives (fr, it, pt)
[machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
3. [Poland] Protest in Krakow in solidarity with the anarchists
detained in Belarus By ANA (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
4. ABC-Dresden: Dozens of anarchists arrested in Belarus after
anti-government protests (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
5. US, black rose fed: BEYOND PROTEST IN THE AGE OF TRUMP -
From South Florida Resistance (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
6. Czech, afed.cz: International meeting of solidarity networks
-- Report from the presentation of the anarcho-syndicalist groups
in the Clinic [machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
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Message: 1
Here are a few dates for your diaries in date order. Follow links for details. ---- The
first of these is part of a regular monthly series of discussion events in Leicester. ----
Libertarian Socialist Discussion Meeting 7.00pm, Wednesday 29th March ---- How could a
libertarian communist society meet people's needs and desires? at the Regent Sports &
Social Club 102 Regent Road, Leicester LE1 7DA (very close to the train station). ----
Then, in April and May the Masked Book Sellers open to not one, but two Nottingham
weekends of their house chock full of second-hand books to buy, all sold for charity. It's
a celeb fest as Nottingham born poet, TV/film writer and producer Henry Normal will be
opening the Megabooksale on Friday, April 28th at 10am and a prize raffle includes three
Sleaford Mods albums specially signed by one of the pair. The sale continues over the
Mayday weekend (Sat 29th-Sun 30th April and Monday May 1st) and then continues the
following weekend Fri-Sun.
Nottingham events continue in on May with the Five Leaves Bookshop Bread and Roses
bookfair on 13th May 2017 which is pair of a 4-day ‘Bread and Roses mini-festival'
(details for the rest of festival 11th-14th May are soon to be announced). Nottingham AF
with The Sparrows' Nest Library and Archive will have a stall as most likely will Peoples'
Histreh, Nottingham's radical history group.
https://nottsblackarrow.wordpress.com/
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Message: 2
To prolong the analysis of the citizens' movements published last month in AL, we examine
here some initiatives that we will see at work in future electoral processes in France.
Can these experiences of "radical democracy" overthrow or even subvert the system? ---- Is
citizenship necessarily to throw away? The movements that claim it are often part of a
historical cycle of protest against the world oligarchy, be it political, financial or
industrial. From altermondialism to Occupy and Indignant movements, through the so-called
"Arab Spring" revolutions, the sovereignty of peoples is brandished as an objective and as
a means of shifting the balance of power. We call these movements citizens, because we bet
that this sovereignty can not be achieved by "radical democracy" alone, but by the
destruction of capitalism at first, without which the peoples, who do not possess the
means of production, No access to power or autonomy.
Some of these movements are aimed not at the seizure of power, but at more or less radical
forms of empowerment (such as the development of the power of individuals or groups to
influence their conditions of existence), as, for example, / Or until it changes - the
Hummingbirds, Alternatiba, the community organizing or Night Stand Up. Others launch into
the electoral battle to subvert the political rules in force. Here are the main ones.
People's candidates in all elections
For the presidential election, LaPrimaire.org[1]announces not having a program and being a
tool. 215 people have applied to the site, and it is finally Charlotte Marchandise who,
elected by Internet users, benefits from the "presidentiable kit" enabling her to campaign
"on equal terms" with other candidates .
With no etiquette or pre-defined political ideology, Ma Voix was created during the
partial legislative elections in Strasbourg in April 2016[2]and aimed at "hacking the
National Assembly". For the 2017 legislative elections, a random draw will soon be carried
out among previously trained volunteers, in order to determine who will be the official
candidate. If he or she is elected, his / her mandate will be imperative, and he / she
will be able to vote only in the sense that will be given to him by the Internet users on
the dedicated platform.
As for the municipal elections, Belle Democratie wants to accompany the creation of local
assemblies (on the model of Saillans). It is a matter of training in "methods and tools to
take power and to share it outside of the parties. The fundamental horizon is the
citizen's recovery of the local powers at the level of the basin of life in everyday life,
particularly through the municipalities of 2020. "Beginning in 2017, dozens of collectives
seem to be on their way to the next municipal elections. Article on next page).
Common features
These movements often include:
- Neither right nor left: the true cleavage lies between the oligarchs and the "99%".
These movements denounced the professionalisation of politics, the technocratization of
Europe and the abandonment of a political class that was dependent on the powers of money
(bank bailout during the financial crisis of 2008). What matters to them is that the
proposals come from below, radicalization of democracy, which is often the essence of
their project, by refusing a preconceived program precisely. Resistant to any "militant"
approach and to classical ideological inheritances, these movements affirm the necessity
of dialogue between people who do not agree, and of being in the co-construction between
all and all, in an interclassist alliance.
- For a "real" and horizontal democracy: these movements denounce representative democracy
and vote as the ultimate instrument of participation in political life. They opt for
direct democracy, concrete and in-depth participation, and call for the responsibility of
citizens. In this sense, they denounce parties (and often also trade unions), as well as
all that prefers expertise (which confiscates power) to democracy. Defending the
transparency of power and the freedom of the press, these movements can be based on a
belief in civic techs, these digital tools supposed to benefit from the balance of power
with the institutions, and / or make the government more transparent And collaborative.
Internally,
- No anticapitalism, but cooperative models: it is extremely rare that these movements
name capitalism if not to denounce its "financialization" or "errors of governance". To
transform society and the economy, these movements bet on co-operative and peer-to-peer
models: consumption (couchsurfing, carpooling), lifestyles (coworking, colocation,
participatory housing), finance (crowdfunding, local currencies) , Education and knowledge
(Mooc or open and participative online courses), food (short circuits, shared gardens),
production (fab labs) ... They talk about self-management and claim to practice it.
Members of these movements often implement this participation and these alternatives in
their way of life,
What analysis of these movements?
These movements have the ambition to be open to all and do not ask for prior adhesion to a
common ideological framework other than that of power to the people. Thus they constitute
places of entry into politics for a not insignificant number of people, mainly from the
middle classes.
However, the absence of a reference to capitalism introduces a bias into the analyzes,
which suggests, on the one hand, that it is possible to "democratize democracy" and that,
on the other hand, it will allow freedom and equality. Without going into economic
matters, these movements are condemned to think in the present frameworks, and do not plan
much more than to rewrite a new constitution.
On the other hand, blind belief in the virtues of collective deliberation, with no prior
common definition of ideological lines other than that of power to the people, and a small
proportion of members with political training to analyze issues Play, makes these
movements relatively porous to confusion and extreme right. Nevertheless, there have been
several instances of exclusions: individuals, most often unmasked because they were not in
a position to give real power to the people, were excluded after a period of debate and
decision Collectively.
Finally, affirming the superiority of democracy over expertise, these movements totally
refuse the arguments of authority and external pressures. If, in the words of two
fashionable words, "ungovernable insubordinate", it may be so, they are as much in
relation to politicians and technocrats as to classical militants. Thus, at Standing
Night, members of political organizations or trade unions were not always well received.
Another example: in Saillans, there was talk of inviting Étienne Chouard for a conference.
Sometimes violent threats from the antifa milieu led to renunciation, but this was seen as
a serious attack on the freedom to debate. Étienne Chouard was not received, but the
incident has not built any prospects of understanding and collaboration.
Democracy rather than social justice?
The main blind spot of these movements is the struggle against capitalism as the economic
system that produces the inequalities against which they intend to mobilize. Difficult to
think that these beautiful intentions can overthrow a system that is not even named.
These movements allow the entry into politics of an increasing number of people, mainly
from the middle classes. The risk is that the demand for democracy will take precedence
over that of social justice in the event of great upheaval, as was the case during the
Tunisian revolution. Started on December 17, 2010 with the immolation of Mohammed
Bouazizi, these social revolts were quickly confiscated by a middle class more interested
in "freedom" and democracy than by the social demands of the poorest. When Ben Ali left
power on 14 January 2011, the joy of the liberal bourgeoisie was greater than that of the
working poor. And if everything finally quickly became as before,
Adeline DL (AL Paris-Northeast)
[1]For more information on these movements, see laprimaire.org, mavoix.info,
labelledemocratie.fr.
[2]The candidate then obtained 4.25% of the votes.
http://www.alternativelibertaire.org/?Citoyennisme-Par-et-Pour-le-peuple
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Message: 3
Yesterday evening, a group of anarchists held a rally in Krakow's main square demanding
the immediate release of the anarchists and other activists arrested in Minsk on March 15
during a wave of protests In Belarus against the "anti-parasite law", which provides for a
new tax on people who do not meet the 183 days of annual work. ---- Participants in the
act, which featured a lively batucada, displayed banners, posters and leaflets explaining
the protests of the population in Belarus and the repression in that country, led by
President Lukashenko, appointed the last dictator of Europe. Cries against the state and
police were also heard in the square. There were no records of incidents with the police.
---- "Today we are here because we respect and love these people and hate the repressive
machine of the Belarusian state," said one of the protesters in the megaphone.
Some banners said: "Freedom for prisoners", "Police and Lukashenko - parasites",
"Solidarity with detainees in Minsk", "Stop the anti-parasite law", "The walls will fall".
In recent days, similar demonstrations have taken place in other European cities such as
London in the United Kingdom and Kiev in Ukraine, across from the embassies of Belarus.
------------------------------
Message: 4
Today in three major cities of Belarus - Minsk, Mogilev and Grodno - people took the
streets protesting against government attempts to collect tax off the unemployed (details
of the story HERE). In Minsk, demonstrations managed to gather more that 1 500 people, in
Mogilev and Grodno 1 000 each. These are the biggest protests those cities have seen in
decades. It is worth mentioning that most of the protesters are far from major political
powers in the country and do not align with any opposition stream, rather prefer to point
out the hard economical conditions and results of 24 years of Lukashenkos rule.--- Around
40 anarchists organized in a separate block participated in the demonstration with banners
saying "For the people, the main social parasite are the bureaucrats, politicians and the
police" (refering to the law against social parasites introduced 2015 that is the major
reason for recent protests). To make the demonstration a little bit more fun, a samba band
in black joined the block. Inside of the demonstration, anarchists were by far the most
organized force that took a lot of attention from the police.
During the whole demonstration, 20-30 civil cops were constantly following the anarchist
block and at the end of the demo tried to arrest some people. Anarchists together with
other participants of the demo managed to unarrest people and get into public transport -
a tactic that was quite successful in the past months, when anarchists managed to get out
safely. However it was stopped a couple of minutes later by a bus without license plates
and civil cops rushing into the public transport. To get the people out , the pigs used
not only brute force beating up people, but also pepper sprayed the trolleybus (an action
one of the football hooligans got 10 years in jail for in Belarus just last week). At the
end of the confrontation, around 30-35 people were detained including several bystanders,
who were trying to help people resist the police. By the end of the day, some activists
were beaten up so badly that the cops had to call an ambulance.
Right now, all the arrested are in jail in Minsk police stations awaiting trial tomorrow.
Judging from recent developments, most probably they will be punished with 15 days in jail.
Furthermore it has been reported that over 9 people from the demonstration were detained
in Mogilev. Their destiny is not clear yet.
Lawyers and food parcels are covered so far by human right activists. But you can always
support people with solidarity actions next to local embassies or Lukashenko's mansions.
Apart from that you can share the news, and make the topic more visible around you.
By the moment this article is written, over 150 people were detained and sentenced to
fines or some short prison terms for protests in last weeks in Belarus.
ABC-Dresden
https://abcdd.org/en/2017/03/15/dutzende-anarchistinnen-wurden-nach-antiregierungsprotesten-in-minsk-festgenommen/
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Message: 5
In the early days of the Trump administration, we are seeing Trump's utilization of
executive orders to initiate and/or implement a wide array of right-wing policies. He is
starting to make troubling organizational moves, such as the appointment of Steve Bannon-
the former executive chairman for Breitbart News, a platform for the Alt-Right- to his
National Security Council. We are seeing the emboldenment of the far right and the rising
possibility of international warfare with nuclear capable countries such as China. Many
are feeling overwhelmed and questioning the best way to resist. None of us has the power
to resist these attacks individually; but we do have the power to resist collectively.
---- We have been engaged in protest actions across the nation mobilizing large numbers of
people; but this is not enough. Now is the time to build and strengthen groups in our
schools, communities and workplaces to not only resist the far right agenda, but to move
on the offensive while building bottom-up popular power in the process. There are three
ways we can do this and all of them are necessary: 1) maintain the protest mobilizations,
2) engage in efforts to criticize the right and put forward alternative ideas, and 3)
build collective sites of popular power for resistance, as well as going on the offensive
towards a more free and egalitarian society.
Three Pronged Approach
There have started to emerge mass protest actions resisting Trump's far-right agenda
building on momentum of ongoing action such as Black Lives Matter protests. These are
useful for the morale of those who feel alienated and isolated, for an expression to the
elites of our willingness to take to the streets to express our discontent, and to build
connections with others in struggle. These are important actions and should continue with
efforts at trying to expand our capacity for mobilization including strategic disruption
efforts and connection to flyering, message building and dialogue with others who are part
of, or witness to our mobilizations.
Part of our activity, has been and also must continue to be the development of critique of
the right and putting forward our ideas. There's a reason that Steve Bannon was
associated with a publication such Breitbart; there's a reason why Trump paid people to
argue on social media. There's a reason why politicians give speeches and create campaign
literature. We need to engage with our ideas. People have the capacity to think for
themselves; but we need to put forward our critiques and perspectives in the competition
for the battle of ideas. This must be done as communication, not just expression; we must
look to communicate with others, not at others.
There's little sense attempting to communicate with the elite or far right militants; but
by engaging working people like ourselves in communication about our ideas, we can win
more adherents to our movement and grow our own ideas in the process of dialogue. This
can include public workshops, one-on-one dialogues, writings, social media conversation,
etc. This needs to continue, increase and take on a serious reflective quality that moves
beyond sloganeering and expressions, towards engaged and thoughtful communication.
The third aspect that is fundamental is to build bottom-up, directly democratic,
anti-oppressive, direct action oriented, popular power. Whether in our schools,
communities or workplaces, we all should start to dialogue and develop relationships with
like-minded individuals. We should be developing communication infrastructure (utilizing
encrypted communication such as Signal when possible) to be able to quickly dialogue and
mobilize our groups for resistance when necessary. These groups can also be utilized to
build relations of solidarity with other groups as part of the broader resistance and
movement for popular power. In addition, they need to be platforms to agitate, to put
forward our critiques and argue for our alternatives. Students should look towards
building student unions or student collectives; workers should get involved in their union
where there's democratic participatory practices or build a tendency within their
workplace where a union doesn't exist or the union doesn't allow for participation;
communities can build neighborhood associations or issue-based groupings around areas that
affect them and others around them (from anti-deportation defense, to housing struggles,
to anti-fascist organizing, to anti-police brutality action, to various other struggles).
Organizing Our Power
These groups and the connections between them are the basis for resistance and bottom-up
popular power. They must be serious, accountable, connected and empowering to those
involved. Decisions should be made collectively and democratically by all those involved.
We should actively be confronting oppressive tendencies as a way to build our unity
within these groups and be inclusive. These groups should be oriented towards action
autonomous from the elites, and autonomous from intermediaries. We must act directly to
force the hands of the elites where we have power. We also must act to defend targeted
working class communities from immigration raids, far right hate attacks and other
oppressive actions. This action might take the form of non-cooperation, strikes, boycotts,
sabotage, obstruction, community defense and other forms of resisting strategically at the
sites where power operates.
We can look to inspiration from a wide variety of collective, autonomous, direct action
oriented groups, some of the most recent prominent US-based groups include elements within
the Black Lives Matter movement and the Standing Rock Sioux's Anti-DAPL struggle. However,
there are hundreds of thousands of activists, organizers and engaged individuals involved
in everyday struggles including tenants unions, solidarity networks, anti-deportation
struggles, reproductive justice movements, unions and other forms of autonomous workplace
organizing, indigenous autonomy movements, antifascist/antiracist organizing efforts,
environmental justice struggles, queer liberation actions, international solidarity
efforts, feminist movement building, and so many more. The power of the elites depends on
all of us; we don't depend on the elites for power. However, we must organize ourselves
and identify how we can undermine their efforts by building our solidarity, organization,
consciousness and capacity to resist and act collectively.
Taking Ourselves Seriously
If we are to effectively resist, we must take this moment seriously and resist where we
are and how we can. In this process we need to continue with our mobilizations while
strengthening our bottom-up collective power and promoting our alternatives. The elites
and those within institutions of power will not save us; though they will look for ways to
opportunistically advance- but their power comes from our compliance. The resistance must
be developed a new and taken to the next level. Along the way it must be based in
building solidarity in defense of specifically targeted communities. Now is not the time
to be overwhelmed by helplessness and isolation, now is the time to mobilize, educate and
organize together to build the resistance and move our society towards the free and
egalitarian society which we all deserve.
http://blackrosefed.org/beyond-protest-age-trump/
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Message: 6
On Saturday, March 18 at the clinic in Prague hosted an international presentation of the
anarcho-syndicalist groups. Invitation Prague solidarity network Sol! S, which stood for
the whole event, not only accepted the Slovak group Direct Action, but also the Polish
anarcho-syndicalists of the ZSP (Polski Zwiazek Syndykalistów). Both groups are part of
the International Workers' Association (MAP), which currently brings together associations
and groups from 18 countries. A third group, which came to present their activity was
Lithuanian Gyvenimas per Brangus (Life is too expensive). ---- In the title of the
organizing group was clear about what the topic of presentations and discussions will
revolve all afternoon. Prague solidarity network at home shortly also introduced its own
activity, which has recently borne the sign of a number of successfully completed cases
addressing the inequitable relations between employers and workers (for more information
on the website Sol! Su ).
Then he ceded space for guests, one of which was the first attended by representatives
from Lithuania. Their group Gyvenimas per Brangus operates in Kaunas, as well as many
others, including the Prague Sol! Su Slovak or direct shares were inspired activity
Seattle Solidarity Network (Seattle Solidarity Network - we wrote about it in existence
3/2012). The group was formed after a mass protest against the amendment of the Labor Code
in 2016. After the protests ended (and the amendment was not approved), some participants
decided to continue the activity focused on the theme of work. Currently they are involved
in a dispute fifth.
As the second announced a Slovak group Direct Action. At the beginning of the
presentation, one of its members pointed out that not only solidarity networks aimed at
resolving disputes in the workplace, such as Prague Sol! S, but it is a wider platform.
Attention members of the PA speakers focused on campaign issues at work?, which runs from
2014 proceeded according to the brochure Seattle Solidarity Network, and later this guide
on how to organize a solidarity group also translated into Slovak. Part of the
presentation was the thorough presentation of two successful cases in which direct share
managed to obtain payment of outstanding wages two mA workers who contacted PA for help.
In both cases, the procedure described solidarity actions leading to the payment of the
amount owed, which included in addition to handing over the protest of leaves or the first
calls for payment also mail campaign. International call to send protest e-mails dlužícím
employers in one of the cases heard out around 150 people from 19 countries.
At the conclusion of the Polish Association stepped syndicalists Poland. In addition to
the presentation to introduce their organization and solidarity action, within which,
among others, participated in protests postal employees. Like other groups have revived a
video presentation of solidarity actions. Originally, heralded another panel discussion,
but during the afternoon program took an unexpected slip, so in the end the final part
reduced to a free discussion, which was no less inspiring.
Organizing similar gatherings can only welcome. In addition to expanding awareness of the
audience, which was attended by several dozen and that discussions SCP lively atmosphere
of the meeting, the situation in other countries, it is also a deepening of international
contacts between groups with similar focus. These can be great to use when working on
individual cases, as shown, for example, in a direct mail campaign shares. Friends from
abroad, although not help with direct pressure on individual employers in the place of the
dispute, but may of cases inform and internationally operating companies, which often
anxiously care about his reputation before the public and to influence local branch or to
create pressure with protest e-mails and letters .
https://www.afed.cz/text/6631/mezinarodni-setkani-solidarnich-siti
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