Today's Topics:
1. Britain, brighton solfed: Brighton Solidarity Federation
opens a dispute with Brand Vaughan (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
2. Britain, communis tanarchism: Leicester meeting Tuesday 23rd
January (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
3. levante cnt-ait: The "CNT" denounces the CNT-AIT by the
courts -- AGAINST THE YELLOW CLEPTOCRACIA (ca) [machine
translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
4. Turkey, sosyal savas: Rising Militarism and Nationalism in
Visual Culture in Turkey -- Militarist TV Series
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
5. freedom news: Mind the gap! (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
6. Greece, Thessaloniki: Statement and Call for a Demo by
Libertatia Collective After Todays Fascist Attack (gr) [machine
translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
7. Workers Solidarity Movement (Ireland) on Turkey attak on
feminist Rojava (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
8. Australia, aawl: Don't celebrate, demonstrate on Invasion
Day (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
9. anarkismo.net: Squat Libertatia's statement regarding
Sunday's arson by Libertatia (fr, gr) (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
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Message: 1
Brighton Solidarity Federation has started a dispute with Brand Vaughan, a large estate
agency with branches in Hove, Kemptown and Preston Park. A tenant has been organising with
SolFed after deposit deductions were made from their joint-tenancy deposit, despite the
fact they left the property in a clean condition. The deductions were unreasonable, not
properly costed and, on top of this, service from the agency was poor throughout her
tenancy. ---- Along with the tenant, Brighton SolFed wrote to Brand Vaughan December 1st,
explaining the issues and outlining options for redress. Brand Vaughan claimed the dispute
was something they could not address, after they had opened up a TDS case without the
tenant's express permission. The tenant was wholly unsatisfied that months after the end
of her tenancy, she had not been returned any of her deposit.
Due to the lack of response from the agency or the TDS in relation to the demands,
Brighton SolFed has begun a public dispute with Brand Vaughan. This began with a picket
outside the Hove branch at 5pm on Wednesday 17th January. Nearby staff and students of the
British and Irish Modern Music Institute, passing the picket on their walk home, expressed
concern about such treatment of students and tenants, and explained their own problems
with agencies in the city. The frustration about agencies taking deposits is obvious to
see, and there was great solidarity shown for the tenant's campaign, including one
passerby who went into the agency to make her dissaproval toward their practices clear.
With the support of Brighton SolFed, the tenant is demanding that the landlord return the
£390.40 withheld from their deposit, along with 10% of rent paid as compensation for
distress and poor service (£541.67). The tenant was not given a proper inventory or keys
when they started the joint-tenancy. When they told Brand Vaughan they felt unsafe in the
property, her communications were not adequately addressed, and sometimes they were
ignored. Then unreasonable deposit deductions were made, and the agency tried to distance
themselves from the problem. As the tenant explained: 'I am so disappointed with Brand
Vaughan. I was locked in a joint tenancy agreement paying 8 months up front because of my
lack of guarantor. They were unsympathetic to my safety concerns, When conflict endured
they told me to not to go back to my house but to pay my rent.'
Brand Vaughan's response to the reasonable demands for the full return of the deposit has
been to make threats of legal action. On the streets, however, there is support for the
tenant to challenge the practices of estate agents taking money from deposits. With direct
action, we can understand that each of us has the same problems, and that we won't accept
being subject to obfuscatory procedures or having money taken from us unjustly.
An injury to one is an injury to all!
http://www.brightonsolfed.org.uk/brighton/brighton-solidarity-federation-opens-a-dispute-with-brand-vaughan
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Message: 2
Leicester Anarchist Communists run regular Libertarian Socialist Discussion meetings. This
month's topic is... ---- "Nation or Class?" ---- 7.30pm on Tuesday 23rd Jan ---- Upstairs
at the Regent Club ---- 102 Regent Road ---- Leicester LE1 7DA ---- (5 mins walk from
Leicester station) ---- "The working class has no country!" But what does this really
mean, when workers in any given country seem to willingly embrace the idea of the nation,
patriotism, nationalism and all the baggage that goes with these concepts. And it's not
just a matter of the popularity of far right governments in Poland, Hungary and the USA
but also includes the left, some anarchists included, who continue to support national
liberation struggles. So this meeting aims to explore the potential for building genuine
class politics in the face of the ever present ideas of the nation.
Leicester Anarchist Communists' website
https://communistanarchism.blogspot.co.il/2018/01/leicester-meeting-tuesday-23rd-january_20.html
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Message: 3
"You can fool all of them a short time, you can fool some of them all the time, but you
can not fool all of them all the time" ---- Recently several unions of the Regional
Confederation of Levante of the CNT-AIT have received a lawsuit filed by the CNT not
re-structured, in which an indemnity of € 50,001 is requested for the fraudulent use of
acronyms, damage its image and expansion ... Without going into the foundations on which
it is based, we wonder how it is explained that an organization that calls itself
anarcho-syndicalist can come to sue the IWA section in Spain for these reasons. Can you
degenerate more in such a short time? ---- In the first place, we will say that the
CNT-AIT of Levante is composed, mostly, of unions and affiliates in fraud, against all
libertarian regulations and morals (a decision that was made thanks to some biased
reports, prepared by the "decent observers" "Of the SPCC that had its headquarters in
Valladolid). From that moment on, we continue to constitute the CNT-AIT insofar as we
never cease to be. After the last AIT congress held in Belgrade, the entire Levantine
regional has cleared any doubt of its organic membership, since it is part of the
re-structured CNT-AIT that is the section of the AIT in Spanish territory . Therefore, the
use of the acronym "CNT-AIT" is more than legitimized because it is also, and it is the
agreement of said international congress, the CNT-AIT re-structured the historical
continuation of CNT.
Secondly, we consider that many of the agreements that have been made in the CNT in the
last decade separate the Confederation from anarcho-syndicalism and its own Principles,
Tactics and Purposes; and they take her on a path that we do not know where she will end
up, but we are convinced that she distances her from revolutionary syndicalism. We do not
think it is necessary to go long, but we can not fail to list some of these changes:
* Increase in the number of affiliates to form a union and the obligation to spend a year
as a confederal nucleus before being able to establish a union, even if they have
sufficient affiliation. This supposes an attack to the federalism and a centralization of
the capacity of decision around the great cities and population nuclei.
* Change of the voting system to favor the formation of simple majorities, instead of
forcing the search for consensus. Attempt to transfer that domain system to the AIT.
* Progressive change of militant union model towards the service union model, focusing
only on getting all the possible affiliation even if it does not translate into militancy,
completely renouncing direct action, to the implication of the workers in the struggles ,
etc. The best example of this is the SOV of Valencia, which declares to have 180
affiliates but that in its assemblies is not able to collect more than twelve people
habitually, according to one of the last expelled from said SOV.
* Excessive importance to the ability to quote, ending up taking away the vote of the
unions if their members have problems paying the fee; and even resorting to charging the
affiliates and the regional ones through automatic monthly bank statements, which is a
flagrant contradiction with our anti-capitalist principles, besides being completely
unnecessary.
* Replacement of the Law Office and Pro-Prisoners by a Confederal Technical Cabinet that
leaves presidents aside, focusing only on labor conflicts. This Cabinet has been a
terrible economic drain on the unions, and in most cases only performs consulting
functions, which could be carried out in other more economical and efficient ways. This
also implies the existence of contract workers by the CNT, which puts the Confederation in
the role of exploiter.
* Increasingly vertical and less horizontal nature of decision-making, with Plenaries of
the Committees that make proposals and make decisions, leaving only the role of the
assemblies to ratify them or not. This was what happened during our process of
disfederation, without going any further. The inevitable consequence of this drift has
also occurred in the form of "irregularities" in the Treasury.
* Aberrant populism front that, in addition to summoning campaigns and acts with
subsidized unions like the CGT, has degenerated in unnecessarily sharing headquarters with
political parties such as Podemos (and its white marks) or the CUP, or double militancy in
those political parties and the CNT at the same time.
* Expulsion of those who do not agree with this change of direction, using various
excuses. In our case, there were alleged breaches of the organic regulations, if they can
be qualified as such, as there are continually Regionals that act in the same way without
this posing a problem. In the case of other companions, the excuses are different. The
real reason is that you have to purge those who are fighting to get the CNT to remain what
it has always been.
In this sense, the Regional Confederation of Levante of the CNT-AIT, was disfederada two
years ago of that CNT; in the process of expulsion, the organic norms of the CNT were
violated in a much more serious manner than the supposed breaches of the same for which in
theory we were disfederated. We will not go into this communication to analyze the unjust
and illegitimate disfederation that we were subjected to, since the IWA has left it
without effect. Of course, we say that it is "striking" that those who have entered the
CNT to empty content, violating their TFP, doing and undoing at will, have managed to
convert an organization, once revolutionary, into a mercantile, whose advice The
administration grants powers to a law firm to file claims against the alleged "unfair
competition."
The CNT-AIT of Levante has not proceeded in the "same way" even when it has not been
returned what belonged to it. We recall that, on April 11, 2015, when the Confederal
Plenary took the decision to desfederar the Regional of Levante of the CNT and re-federate
it instantly with only a minority of unions (Valencia, Albaida and Elche), another equally
serious fact, which is the theft by the CNT not restructured of a money that does not
belong to it since it legitimately corresponds to the inorganically unweighted Regional of
Levante, signatory of this document. We are talking specifically about two pecuniary concepts:
- The payment of duplicate contributions that the SOV of La Safor made to the SPCR in
resident functions in Valencia. This money reaches a sum of € 138.60, for this concept.
- The money corresponding to 7/11 parts of the funds of the Regional of Levante at the
time of its dissolution. This amount is € 3238. Regarding the last point, when a regional
federation disappears, all its assets have to be distributed among the unions that form it
at that moment. At the time of the disfederation, the Levante Regional had eleven
federated unions. Since the agreement taken by the plenary session of April 2015 implied
the complete disfederation of the Levante Regional, its patrimony would have to have been
distributed among its members independently of the fact that a new regional was later
federated with a minority of Levante unions. This implies that we correspond seven
eleventh parts of the treasury of the Regional Levante (seven unions of eleven), which
have not been returned.
It is "paradoxical" that those who have stolen have the nerve to sue their victims asking
for compensation of € 50,000 for the use of abbreviations and damage their image and
expansion. You have to have a very hard face! Obviously, we are facing a malicious act
with provocative spirit, whose sole purpose is to confuse the proletariat, and, if
possible, take advantage of it in the form of profit. You just have to visit the web of
that franchise called "cnt" to realize it: you can see that the abbreviations of the AIT
are still being used. Was not the CNT out of the Congress of Zaragoza that in public
communication insulted, defamed and publicly attacked the International Workers
Association, denying it?
But it is now necessary to ask what attitude the unions still belonging to the
non-restructured CNT will have that have decided to remain within the capitalist franchise
that was expelled from the IWA for its practices. Will they agree with this lawsuit
against the IWA? Will they agree with that practice of not paying the fees to the
International after seeing that they could not control the AIT with their proposals on the
distribution of votes?
They stopped paying dues, breaching congress agreements, with the untenable argument that
the IWA was a terrible economic burden for the CNT. Was not the existence of the
Confederal Technical Cabinet an economic burden? Was not it a burden for the CNT to
exercise the role of an entrepreneur with the GTC and contradict the principle of direct
action? Was it not an economic bleed for all unions (payment of a share of the quota for
the GTC was mandatory) despite not being absolutely necessary? Was not money squandered in
propaganda in a scandalous way, with videos whose development cost around € 6000 when
professionals in the sector claimed that the same video could have been made with a budget
six times lower? Was not a burden the lack of treasury reports for several years despite
the complaints of many unions, and the subsequent discovery that the Permanent Secretariat
of the Confederation Committee of the CNT based in Valladolid had stolen a five-figure
amount of the Heritage funds?
What do "critical" unions expect to react to? What do the anarcho-syndicalists and,
therefore, internationalists who remain in the CNT® think? Enrich also these thefts and
those to come? To expect that one of us will even be imprisoned in the face of the
possibility that the lawsuit will be transferred as a criminal complaint? We know that the
plenary meetings have become a private estate of executives, who do and undo behind
confederal militancy, which at this point leads us to ask if it is due to ignorance or
passive complicity that involves each SOV that does not act or react.
Comrades of the CNT not re-structured, it is no longer time for hot packs,
self-congratulatory speeches, home remedies aesthetics, comfortable attachments ... The
fact that in the territory of the Spanish state there was a section of the AIT (congress
agreement of Warsaw, December 2016), there being so many anarcho-syndicalists in that same
geographical setting, it must have been sufficient reason to re-structure and try to
return to its bosom. We have restructured the Organization and you have been informed
since the beginning of this process.
Our proposal is inclusive and mobilizing. As anarcho-syndicalists, as internationalist
CNT, which is what we claim to be, we can only and must have the same line in the
direction and meaning of our principles and their consequences: UNION, FEDERALISM,
INTERNATIONALISM, SOLIDARITY, AND DIRECT ACTION. It is what has led us, after the process
started in Chinchón, followed in Benissa and finished in Villalonga, to have a
Confederation that requested re-adhesion to the IWA and guaranteed the union of the
anarcho-syndicalists who feel it. We have restructured the Organization and it has
returned to the heart of the IWA. The tool is intact, the desired goal is worth it.
LONG LIVE THE CNT-AIT!
DOWN THE THIEVES!
DEATH TO CAPITALISM!
LIVE ANARCHY!
Regional Confederation of Trade Unions of Levante of the CNT-AIT.
https://levantecntait.wordpress.com/2018/01/19/la-cnt-denuncia-por-los-tribunales-a-la-cnt-ait/
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Message: 4
Video 1 and 2: Nameless Squad (2017) (Turkish: İsimsizler) ---- Fatih who is a young and
promising Turkish diplomat waits to start his new overseas duty. When militants kill the
district governor of Virankaya in Turkey, Fatih changes his mind and takes the governors
position. ---- Video 3 and 4: The Oath (2017) (Turkish: Söz) ---- Yavuz Karasu, a
well-trained Turkish soldier, is in Istanbul with his fiancée, while an operation takes
place there. Dr. Bahar, who is not a surgeon, tries to save Yavuz fiancée. After this
incident, Yavuz goes back to Karabayir. Bahar follows him all the way to give him
something that belongs to him. Another incident happens, Yavuz is chosen to be the
commander of a team, whose mission is to protect Karabayir and their country Turkey. ----
Video 5 and 6: The Warrior (2017) (Turkish: Savaşçı) ---- Story of a team from Special
Forces of Turkish military.
Video 7: Resurrection Ertugrul (2014-) (Turkish: Diriliş-Ertuğrul)
Story of Ertugrul Gazi, the grounding father of Osmans, who founded the Osmanian State.
Video 8: Mehmetçik, Kut'ül Amare (2017)
A movie from the times of First World War (1914-1918).
AKP Propaganda Videos
Video 1: Nation Chooses It's Bundespräsident (2014)
Video 2: Nation Doesn't Surrender (2014)
Video 3: 100. Years Anniversary of Çanakkale War (2015)
Video 4: Turkey Is Bigger Than Turkey (2016)
Video 5: 15 July 2016 Coup Attempt Propaganda Video (2017)
Militarist Movies
Video 1: Mountain 2 (2016) (Turkish: Dağ 2)
A Turkish elite military squad commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Veysel Gökmusa (Murat
Serezli) is assigned to rescue the Turkish journalist Ceyda Balaban (Ahu Türkpençe) that
was kidnapped in Iraq.
Video 2: Valley of the Volves - Homeland (2016) (Turkish: Kurtlar Vadisi Vatan)
Video 3: Börü (2017)
Video 4: Troop (2017) (Turkish: Bölük)
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk Cult
The founding father of the Republic of Turkey Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, died on 10th of
November, 1938, at 09:05.
Every year on the 10th of November at exactly 9:05am, traffic stops throughout Turkey,
people stand still for a moment, and sirens blare. The occasion is the anniversary of the
death of the Republic's founder.
Video 1: 1 Minute in Istanbul 10th of November 9:05am. (2017)
Prepared by a independent media channel called ‘140journos'.
Video 2: There are some depts that you can't pay back. (2016)
Prepared by one of the most important company in Turkey called ‘Koç‘. Koc is also holding
Turkey's largest private capital defence industry company, Otokar.
Video 3: I Saw Ataturk (2017)
Also made by Koç. Same subject (10th of November) , just a year after.
Extra Videos
When a country divides into in at least 3 social groups (conservatives, seculars and
kurdish) you need a lot of propaganda to unite these parts. Generally using rhetoric like
‘our culture is so beautiful and diverse but still we are together'.
Video 1: Advert of ‘Sabancı' Company - Anniversary of founding the Republic of Turkey,
29th of October (2017)
Some sentences from the end of video:
Being united called republic for the last 94 years - Bir olmaya 94 yıldır cumhuriyet denir
Unity leads to republic - Birlikten cumhuriyet doğar
Video 2: Advert of ‘Ziraat' Bank - ‘You Can't Give Up!' (2017)
In this Ziraat Bank advert, again used same rhetoric but this time message is: ‘our
culture and country is so so beautiful, so you can't (or you don't want to) escape from
this country'
Etiketler:anti-militarizm, conscientious objection, Militarizm, movies, tv series, vicdani ret
http://sosyalsavas.org/2018/01/rising-militarism-and-nationalism-in-visual-culture-in-turkey/#more-31721
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Message: 5
The 2017 snap election was notable for many things, not least the Tory party itself
proclaiming that its policies have not worked. Well, it did not quite say that - the
problems it admitted existed seemed to have no cause, they just were. No mention of who
was in office for the past seven years nor whose ideology had dominated the political
landscape since 1979. ---- Yet, at the same time, the Tories were keen to portray the
dangers of a Labour victory that would undermine "our strong economy," "prosperity" and
"strong economic fundamentals." How can you have that when increasing numbers of people
are finding it harder to make ends meet or joining the "just-about-managing" is left
unasked, never mind unanswered. ---- The economy exists, surely, to ensure people's needs
are meet? Not under capitalism - hence the contradictions in the Tory campaign,
contradictions which reflect the nature of capitalism itself.
The Tory mantra that being in work as the best way out of poverty rings hollow when used
to answer the question of why so many people in work are in poverty (child poverty has
been steadily increasing since 2010, with two-thirds of poor children in working
families). Britain was unique amongst developed nations for having economic growth but
falling real wages (wages fell almost 10% in 2007-14).
Wages, moreover, have not risen in line with productivity so far this century, yet
marginal productivity theory is still taught in universities as if it explained the real
world. Ironically, as the economy was forced, by State intervention, to more closely
approximate the economics textbooks by means of anti-union laws, so the link between
productivity and wages ended.
The share of wages in UK GDP has fallen from a peak of 76.2% in 1975 to 65.8% in 2015,
which is the real fear underlying all the talk of Labour taking us "back to the 1970s."
The impact of Thatcherism can also be seen outside of production. While average pay
packets increased by 19% in nominal rather than real terms since 2006, the bills of the
privatised utilities have increased far faster - the average gas bill by 73%, electricity
by 72%, and water by 41%. It has become so bad that, after denouncing the energy-cap
proposed by Ed Miliband as Marxist madness, the Tories recently embraced it - much to the
horror of company bosses.
As for water, consumers are paying around £2.3 billion more a year in water and sewerage
bills to the privatised companies than if they had remained in state ownership and almost
all the industry's post-tax income is paid out in dividends, while capital expenditure is
financed by borrowings (now standing at £42bn when there was no debt burden at the time of
privatisation).
So the gap increases between product and pay, between profits and people. Property is
theft is still true - how else can the many enrich the few?
The Tories are caught by the contradictions of capitalism, stuck in the gap between
reality and rhetoric. Capitalism is not freedom as it is based on despotism in production
- the worker sells their liberty and labour to the boss who, in return for ordering them
around, keeps the product of that toil. Property is monopolised by the few and so any
"free agreement" in such circumstances will benefit the stronger party - as shown by
neo-liberalism. And as inequality rises, social mobility stagnates alongside wages.
Some kind-hearted liberals proclaim all this as examples of "market failure" but no: it is
how capitalism is meant to work. That the resulting inequality undermines society and the
economy is just one of many contradictions facing capitalism.
Little wonder May and Hammond have been left defending the abstract notion of a "free
market" capitalist economy - mere months after proclaiming that they did "not believe in
untrammelled free markets" - in the face of an opposition which simply seeks to save
capitalism from itself.
The Tories have no ideas and are simply, at best, offering watered-down versions of ideas
first raised by Labour. That the opposition are setting the agenda is significant: "There
is no alternative" convinces fewer and fewer, particularly as it meant a new form of
feudalism. Invoking the 1970s will not counteract a life-experience of being ripped-off
daily in the world the Tories have created.
We are faced with the gap between rhetoric and reality. This system of economic
contradictions will continue until such time as we end it, by our own efforts. The task is
to convince people that they need to act for themselves, to fight for what they need by
their own direct action and solidarity.
More - we must raise libertarian alternatives to both private and State capitalism:
instead of privatisation/nationalisation, we must urge socialisation rather than replacing
the boss with the bureaucrat (or vice versa); water companies owned by their consumers and
run by their workers; railways under workers' control with strong links to passenger
associations; solving the housing crisis must go beyond replacing the private landlord
with a State official, tenants must control their homes collectively and individually;
co-operatives should be favoured over capitalist firms in both production and consumption...
The biggest gap remains, as ever, that between what is and what could be. We are a rich
country which could provide well-being for all but the distribution of wealth and power is
so dysfunctional even the Tories have to pay lip-service to doing something about it. The
answer to the social question remains, as ever, in our hands and not in those of
politicians, regardless of how nice or radical they seem. The answer lies in whether we
remain content to let others act on our behalf or whether we take control of our fates.
Iain McKay
This article first appeared in the Winter 2017 issue of Freedom Anarchist Journal
https://freedomnews.org.uk/mind-the-gap/
------------------------------
Message: 6
Today, Sunday, 21st of January, around 13:30 at noon and before the nationalist rally for
Macedonia, partaking fascist groups began a series of attacks against squatted spaces.
Since they were successfully driven away from the free social space "School", which they
attacked first, they approached our squat causing damages at the front of the building and
the fence. Those damages were restored immediately by members of our collective, which
later went to the anti-nationalist demo in Kamara. Approximately two hours later, a group
comprised by 60-70 fascists attacked our squat again using molotovs and flares which set
the building on fire. At that time, there was nobody inside. During the attack, there were
members of the state security present, which did not interfere and offered to cover the
fascists, while a riot police van was parked nearby. The reaction of the neighbourhood was
notable, since people came out shouting at the fascists who were swore back and threw
flares at them. When the fascists attempted to re-approach "School", the police maintained
the same stance toward them: they offered cover and isolated the comrades inside.
People must not be fooled: the attacks and the arson would not have been possible without
the "cover" of the rally for Macedonia. This is where they went to and where they returned
from. All the far-right neonazi groups were calling for participation to the rally but
since nobody cared for that fact, fascists were legitimized socially and given public
space to express themselves and act. We are well aware that these would not be made
possible under different circumstances, so each and everyone must reflect on their stance
toward fascism. These actions by parastate groups enhance state repression against those
who fight and resist for the betterment of this world. Let each and everyone consider who
benefits from the arson of a building that has a history that goes back over 100 years and
was derelict for decades. A building which we, as anarchists, libertarian communists and
revolutionaries, decided to occupy and preserve, on one hand with the aim to cover the
housing needs of proletarians, immigrants and people mistreated by the state and
capitalism and on the other hand to create a space of radical political processes and
promotion of a new libertarian culture. It must be made clear that these attacks
constitute criminal acts which could have brought a tragic outcome, had there been any
victims.
These attacks won't terminate our struggle against state, capital and fascism. No attack
is going to terrorize us and we will not do fascists any favours, but we will armor our
conscience and keep on fighting with tenacity for our values, for a society of equality
and freedom.
FASCIST ATTACKS WON'T REMAIN UNANSWERED LET'S RAISE WALLS AGAINST THE FASCIST THREAT FOR
ANARCHY AND LIBERTATIAN COMMUNISM
DEMO ON MONDAY 22/1 AT 18:00 AT THE SQUAT
Libertatia Collective for Libertarian Communism,
----------------------------------------------------
MEDIA, Libertatia in flames
January 22, 2018 by Beyond Europe
In Greece, right-wing and extreme right-wing groups called for a nationalist mass
demonstration against Macedonia. Under the protection of the Greek riot police units MAT,
Fascist groups attacked occupied houses and burned down the anarchist squat Libertatia.
The article was first published in German at re:volt mag.
by John Malamatinas and George Pouleaux
The conflict has been going on for decades. Tens of thousands of protesters today
participated in the nationwide rally demanding that the term Macedonia not be included in
the name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). Greece should by no means
allow this because it would discredit Greek history and contribute to the destabilization
of the region. The last major nationalist gathering with hundreds of thousands of
participants on the same topic was last held in 1992. At that time in 1991, that was in
the midst of a nationalist uprising against the establishment of the small neighboring
state after the end of the Yugoslav war. Because of the smoldering (continuing) dispute
with Greece, Macedonia entered the United Nations with the cumbersome name Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia. Since 2008, Greece is also blocking the accession of this country
to NATO. In addition, it threatens to block the entry of the country in the European
Union. In the meantime, Macedonia itself, at least from the point of view of Greece,
relied on a policy of provocation, naming airports and other important places after
Alexander the Great and built several monuments referring to ancient Macedonia. Since
1992, the negotiations on the name dispute have been in a standstill, though the UN
promoted talks between Greece and Macedonia. The last agreement was between the
governments of both countries was in 2006 in Bucharest, Romania, where certain guidelines
on a possible name for the country were agreed. The UN mediator in the dispute, Matthew
Nimetz, recently stated in New York that he was "very optimistic that the process is going
in a positive direction". According to various media reports, Nimetz is proposing five
possible names, all of which contain the word Macedonia, including North Macedonia and New
Macedonia.
For days now, the 21 January rally has been staged by various sides: Right-wing parties
and organizations, certain conservative and Christian circles, Golden Dawn, football
clubs, etc. Well-known personalities such as the composer Mikis Theodorakis clarified in
statements and social media posts: "Macedonia is Greek". Some 300 buses carried people
from many parts of the country to the rally. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras admonished the
nationalist madness and promised to achieve a good solution for his country in the coming
negotiations with the new government of Macedonia which has indicated they will be more
amenable to a reasonable solution than the previous government led by Gruevski.
Thessaloniki Mayor Giannis Boutaris positioned himself against nationalist mobilization,
as did anti-fascist and anti-authoritarian groups from the northern Greek city. Even in
the days before the nationalist spectacle, the latter organized motorcycle demonstrations
and rallies to secure a counter public opinion and warn of the emerging nationalist rage.
On Saturday night, the White Tower, the landmark of Thessaloniki and the starting point of
the rally, was sprayed with slogans such as "Fell asleep as a patriot, woken up as a fascist".
The right-wing organizers of today's major rally speak of more than 400,000 participants.
But certainly they were not so many: about 50,000 people came together in one of the most
central squares of Thessaloniki under the statue of Alexander the Great near the White
Tower, with flags, banners, and creative and traditional disguises. They included a large
organized bloc of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party, which now stands accused as a criminal
organization in court. This bloc had its own security forces, led by the member of
parliament and the well-known cadre Ilias Kasidiaris. Already in the days before, they
organized flash mobs and announced the rally on the front page of their party newspaper.
On the way to the rally members of Golden Dawn sprayed the party name on the holocaust
memorial. Also present were the Conservative Regional Governor of the Region of Central
Macedonia, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, Parliamentarians of the Independent Greeks Party and
the Center Union Party, numerous former Conservative MPs and Mayors of Northern Greece.
Anti-authoritarian groups warned already the days before about the planned attacks on
counter-demonstrators and leftist / anarchist infrastructure. Already on the way to the
rally, the occupation of Scholio (school) was attacked under the protection and
participation of the MAT units, but was successfully defended by comrades present. During
the rally, about 150 hooded people tried to overrun the police cordons and attack the
anti-fascist demonstration in the central square of Kamara. The riot police MAT used tear
gas to prevent a clash of the two groups. Following the nationalist rally, a group of over
100 people attacked and set fire to the anarchist and anti-fascist Squat Libertatia.
According to unconfirmed rumors in social media, the perpetrators were a group of
nationalist supporters of PAOK, the fan club Makedones, or from the nationalist groups
ProPatria and Ideapolis. . The Libertatia building has now been completely burned down.
Motorcycle groups of the Golden Dawn and nationalists were on the streets until late in
the night; other occupations are still in high alert. Whether there was coordination
between the fascist groups and the football fans remains unconfirmed, but this can not be
ruled out. The situation has calmed down by now.
The biggest fears have been confirmed hereby. On Sunday, the streets of Thessaloniki
belonged to the fascists and the thousands who protected them with their presence in the
nationalist spectacle. The fascists literally moved like fish in the water. The Greek
media has been slow in making a connection of the Libertatia burning with the rally. In
fact, the largest Greek daily, Kathimerini, dubbed a recent article dealing with the
attack on the counter-rally: "Controversy between anti-authoritarians and MAT units." The
next nationalist mass rally will take place on January 28 in Athens on the historic
Syntagma Square. Nationalism may continue to live in Greece - Libertatia apparently not.
Libertatia has called for a solidarity demonstration for today, Monday at 18:00. in front
of the burned squat.
------------------------------
Message: 7
In the last days Turkey has launched its latest major attempt to crush the feminist Rojava
revolution in Northern Syria. They launched a ground invasion using their force of proxy
fighters supported by Turkish military armour and artillery. Meanwhile the Turkish
airforce has been bombing villages and towns with impunity as the defenders lack effective
anti-air weaponry. In a turn that will suprize no one with an understanding of imperialism
- despite playing the major role in defeating ISIS in Syria - the SDF defenders were
rapidly abandoned by both Britain and the US. Turkey after all has the second biggest army
in NATO. ---- Many anarchists have travelled to Rojava to defend that revolution,
including some form Ireland, Rabble recently published a interview with one Irish
volunteer who explained his motivations; "Being involved with Shell to Sea was a real
eye-opener for me, regarding how the country is run and on whose behalf. What I saw
happening in the rest of the world started to make a lot more sense when I realised that
state/corporate collusion and violence is more the norm than the exception.
No state, whether Irish or Islamic, is fond of being told no, and the people of Kilcommon
know as well as the Kurds that citizens' rights don't count for much when there's coin
involved.
There's a good chance that what's on offer here in Rojava allows us a way out of the
global ecological, economic and political mess of a system we've inherited; enough of a
chance to make it worth fighting for."
http://www.rabble.ie/2018/01/18/pride-tinged-with-sadness-an-interview-from-the-front/
The map circulated on state friendly media in Turkey suggests the intention is to invade
all three of the cantons that comprise Rojava to create a broad zone along the border
controlled by the Turkish state. The map shows a total invasion of Afrin the canton
currently under attack, Afrin was spared much of the destruction of the Syrian Civil War
and ISIS assault. Elsewhere the map appears to show a 30km zone along the border which
includes almost all the major cities in Rojava. The map also indicates an intention to
completely occupy the Manbij region, liberated from ISIS in 2014 at considerable cost. All
of this would fit into public statements made by Turkish president Erdogan.
All has not gone to plan, the initial assault saw the Turkish forces capture a few border
villages but at the loss of several armoured vehicles. Yesterday a counter attack by the
SDF saw at least a couple of those villages recaptured.
The Turkish army has enormous superiority in weaponry, including the German supplied
Leopard II tank and 155mm self-propelled Howitzers. The defenders lack any effective
anti-aircraft weaponry meaning Turkish warplanes are striking behind the lines with
impunity. But the enormous purges that followed the attempted coup by elite Turkish
military units has left the military demoralised and disorganised. Erdogan has worsened
that situation by stuffing the high command with yes men, some sources claim that as much
as a quarter of the Turkish airforce is currently unable to operate.
Rojava provides the ‘threat of a good example' to the Turkish regime but also Britain and
the US. They are determined to restrict the people of the region to the ‘choice' between
neo-liberal rule of the few, dictatorships or religious sectarianism. But the
multi-ethnic, multi religious region that the Rojava revolution is creating is built on
women liberation and direct democracy - proving that there can be an alternative. It's not
without it's problems, contradictions and compromises and is certainly a long way short of
anarchism but remains worth defending.
https://www.wsm.ie/c/rojava-revolution-between-rock-and-hard-place
We will be RTing what we consider to be reliable reports over on Twitter and where time
permits will provide updates here. Follow us at https://twitter.com/wsmireland for these
updates
------------------------------
Message: 8
Australia Day on January 26 marks the day the Great Britain began its occupation of
Aboriginal land. The process of occupation, dispossession and exploitation has been a
devastating one for the Indigenous people of Australia. For many decades, Aboriginal
people were forced to labour or had their wages stolen. More recently, the Northern
Territory Intervention and Federal Work Programs have continued this exploitation.
Aboriginal people first protested against Australia Day in 1938. Their resistance
continues today. Protest marches will occur in all major Australian centres on Friday
January 26.
Always was, always will be, Aboriginal land
http://aawl.org.au/content/don%E2%80%99t-celebrate-demonstrate-invasion-day
------------------------------
Message: 9
These attacks doesn't mean that we will stop fighting against the State, capitalism and
fascism. No attack can manage neither terrorizing us nor making us do curtsey for any
fascist, but with conscience and determination, for a society of equality and freedom, we
will continue to fight our ideal. ---- Sunday, January 21th - around 1.30pm and just
before the nationalist gathering for Macedonia, fascist teams who took part in it realized
several attacks on occupied spaces. ---- First, they attacked the free social space "" and
they were rejected with success by our comrades. Then, they approach our squat, provoking
some damages on the facade and the fence. These damages were fixed immediately by the
members of our collective, who then decided to join the antinationalist gathering in
Kamara. About two hours later, a group of some 60/70 fascists attacked again our squat
with molotov cocktails and distress flares, which provoked the fire. At this time, there
were no-one left in the building as everyone were in the gathering in Kamara. While the
attack was going on, there were so many cops in plain clothes and vans of the antiriot
police () who were staying next to the squat. They covered the attack without intervening.
The resistance of the neighborhood must be noticed, as some people went to their balconies
and screamed at the fascists, who replied insulting them and throwing flares to them. When
the fascists tried to head again towards, the police was already there holding the place,
covering the fascists and locking the comrades inside the building.
Don't be fooled: these attacks and the setting on fire of the building couldn't have
happened without the «support» of the gathering for Macedonia. They were going there and
they were coming back from there. All the far-right and neo-nazi groups were calling for
this gathering but no-one gave a fuck about it, offering them social legitimacy and public
space so they could express and act freely. We know very well that all this couldn't have
happened under other circumstances and that's why everyone should clarify its position
regarding fascism. All these energies from such actual and real groups work as supplements
for the repression from the State agains those who fight and resist for something better.
Everyone should have a stand regarding the arson of a building with more than a century of
history which has been abandoned for decades. The arson of a building that we, anarchists,
libertarian communists and revolutionnaries, have decided to renove and maintain, first to
cover housing needs of proletarians, migrants and people who are expelled by the State and
Capitalism and also in order to create a radical political space where people can grow
together and promote a new libertarian culture. It must be clear to everyone that we are
here talking about a criminal act, which could have ended with tragic consequences, i.e
deaths.
These attacks doesn't mean that we will stop fighting against the State, capitalism and
fascism. No attack can manage neither terrorizing us nor making us do curtsey for any
fascist, but with conscience and determination, for a society of equality and freedom, we
will continue to fight our ideal.
THE FASCIST ATTACKS WON'T STAY UNANSWERED
LET'S RAISE DIKES AGAINST THE FASCIST THREAT
FOR ANARCHY AND LIBERTARIAN COMMUNISM
Libertatia, collective for libertarian communism
https://www.anarkismo.net/article/30812
------------------------------
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Anarchic update news all over the world - 26.01.2018
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