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Anarchy: a journal of desire armed. #38; Fall 1993
ON GOGOL BOULEVARD
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On Gogol Boulevard (OGB) is the bulletin of New York City
Neither East Nor West, networking East and West alternative
oppositions and printing news and documents unavailable in the
corporate or `left' media. We also bring Third and Fourth World
activists into these efforts.
This regular OGB section in Anarchy will serve the same
function. We encourage all those involved in "Neither East Nor
West" type activity to regularly contribute to this section.
Please address letters, reports, documents, debates, graphics,
photos, etc. directly to OGB. This is not a section for
anarchists only. We are interested in all things promoting
freedom, such as workers', women's, minority, and gay rights,
environmental and anti- militarist issues, and anything pursuing
paths other than the capitalist and state bureaucratic models.
By the way, Gogol Boulevard is a noted hang-out for Moscow's
counter-culture - see you there! On Gogol Boulevard/Neither East
Nor West 528 Fifth Street, Brooklyn, NY. 11215 (718) 499-7720
VICTORIES
In Anarchy, Spring '93, OGB reported on repressed Moldavian
anarchists Tamara Burdenko and Igor Hergenreorder. She had been
fired and they were having many troubles. We received word that
their case has been resolved.
Imprisoned Polish military resister Roman Galuszko has been
unconditionally freed (Anarchy, OGB, Summer '93).
Simple letter writing campaigns, like for the above, do often
work.
MACEDONIAN ANARCHISTS ORGANIZING
The first issue of Naradna Volia newspaper, representative of
the Macedonian anarchists, was published in Blagoevgrad. The
newspaper continues the same named magazine edited in London, UK.
Its 8 pages include articles on the Macedonian question, the
situation on the Balkan peninsula nowadays, and the war in
ex-Yugoslavia. Four of its pages are occupied by an article
dedicated to the life and activities of the Bulgarian
revolutionary Nary Gotze Delchev. =20
For a copy write: J.K. "Oktomvry," Bl. 36, Ap. 17, Blagoevgrad
2700, Bulgaria, Tel: 359-73-2-63-36
(Thanks to Action #4, English zine of the Bulgarian Federation
of Anarchist Youth)
CUBAN DISSIDENTS REJECT WASHINGTON/MIAMI CONTROL
By Bill Weinberg
Rolando Prats Paez of the Havana-based dissident group Corienta
Socialista Democratica (Democratic Socialist Current) recently
scored a media coup with a New York Times op-ed piece calling for
lifting the US embargo of Cuba - a view which is heresy for the
monolithic Miami-based right-wing exile establishment dominated
by Jorge Mas Canosa's Cuban American National Foundation. But
Prats says what his group stands for is "ni Castrismo ni
MasCanismo" - they reject the autocracies of both Fidel Castro
and his rightist arch-rival.
The Democratic Socialist Current finds harsh challenges to this
iconoclastic position from both sides. Their literature is
produced and copied entirely by typewriter, and distributed by a
hand-to-hand network, as samizdat was in Eastern Europe. Yet the
group sees accepting support from foreign governments or outside
interests as a threat to its basic principles.
In 1991, members of the Democratic Socialist Current launched
the General Cuban Workers' Union (UGTC by its Spanish acronym) to
provide legal and political support for employees in dispute with
state managers. Among the founders was Vladimiro Roca, a Cuban
Air Force fighter pilot and economist who is also the son of Blas
Roca - longtime head of Cuba's Communist Party and a titanic
figure in the nation's history. Vladimiro's 1991 press conference
announcing that he was joining Democratic Socialist Current sent
shockwaves throughout Cuba's political establishment.=20
Within a year, the UGTC leadership had been hijacked by a group
working in cooperation with both the Cuban American National
Foundation and the American Institute for Free Labor Development,
the AFL-CIO's international wing which has already gained control
over worker and peasant movements in El Salvador, elsewhere in
Latin America, and now ex-Communist countries. But Roca and
others who remained loyal to the Democratic Socialist Current
would have none of it. They split and formed the UGTC-I. The "I"
stands for "Independiente". Independent from what? "The United
States government," chuckles Rolando Prats.
Democratic Socialist Current founder Elizardo Sanchez is also
president of the unofficial Comision Cubana de Derechos Humanos y
Reconcilacion Nacional (Cuban Commission for Human Rights &
National Reconciliation). His human rights activities landed him
a two-year prison term in 1990 - and won him recognition as a
"prisoner of conscience" by Amnesty International. Released three
months before his term expired, Sanchez was recently allowed to
leave Cuba for a speaking tour in Europe and the Americas=FEa move
which can be credited to international pressure. However, since
his release, Sanchez has been targeted for violent harassment in
Havana by the pro-government "spontaneous" street mobs known as
the Rapid Reaction Brigades.
More radical anarchist and anti-militarist groups linked to the
semi-taboo punk youth culture also exist in Cuba - such as
Movimiento Pacifista Solidaridad y Paz (Solidarity & Peace
Pacifist Movement), several of whose members were sentenced to
prison after a protest at the Department of State Security in
1991. However, the absence of a scene in which young people can
meet and network in a free atmosphere has prevented such small
and marginal groupings from developing into a real movement. With
Cuba's deep economic crisis - the result of both the US embargo
and the collapse of the Soviet bloc - even bars, clubs and
restaurants have been shut down. Virtually the only ones which
continue to function are those which cater to the tourist trade -=20
which only take foreign currency and are effectively off-limits
to Cubans. Meetings in people's homes are promptly reported to
the authorities by the state-controlled neighborhood watch
groups, the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDRs).
UGTC and UGTC-I continue to exist as rival alternatives to the
official state- controlled workers' organizations in Cuba. Both
remain small and marginalized. Prats calls UGTC-I an "auxiliary
force for groups trying to open a political space in Cuba."
Unfortunately, the US left is as blind as the elites of Havana
and Miami to the existence of Cuban political forces outside of
the two ossified opposing blocs. This blindness is likely to play
into the hands of Mas Canosa and his ilk when cracks finally
start to emerge in Fidel's grip in power. Elements such as UGTC-I
and the Democratic Socialist Current which insist on charting an
autonomous course deserve the solidarity of like-minded stateside
activists.
Democratic Socialist Current can best be reached through their
Miami contact: Tony Santiago, 1040 SW 27th Ave., Miami, FL.
33135.=20
ANARCHISTS IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC: TWO REPORTS
(Both edited for clarity. Both groups are also at odds with one
another and we chose to edit out the various charges of which we
know nothing. -OGB)
A-KONTRA: ZINE OF THE CZECHOSLOVAK ANARCHIST UNION
A-Kontra is a monthly anarchist zine published by people from
CAS (Czechoslovak Anarchist Union). A-Kontra has published for
nearly 2 years. Since then we are trying to set up an anarchistic
information distribution site, involving everything from politics
to culture.=20
A-Kontra has changed several times. The first numbers were
published "on our knees" with neither a financial nor material
basis. Only a typewriter and the will to do something after the
revolution in 1989. (Which actually changed nothing. The power
has remained intact, only the people who used to be the
dissidents have become dangerous - they are drunk with fame and
power. The underground has become the establishment.)
Alternativists from before the revolution published an
underground magazine, Vokno [Windows - very famed -OGB], going
back 12 years. As a newsletter they published irregularly a
newspaper called Voknoviny. After the revolution it changed into
Kontra. In a years time A-Kontra was born at the beginning of
1991.
So we grew. We had to move for the first time because of our
political opinions. Too many activities were organized to list
(from demos to concerts, book publishing, and political
activities with the Left Alternative group). People came
together, the movement grew, and we became dangerous. We had to
move again and ended in a squat (which is now near closure).
During 1992 the police started tracing us, listening into and
cutting phone calls, and cutting electricity. At the end of 1992
big changes approached. The squatted house which we use for
publishing the mag was assaulted and cleared by the police and
skinheads working hand in hand. Nearly all the people left the
house after this assault (the biggest of many). Strangely, on the
same day one of our editors, P.W., was accused of assaulting the
chairperson of the Communist Party. It became clear that this was
a build up process against the anarchist movement. But due to
solidarity and the support of many people, PW had to be released
after more than 2 weeks in prison. The trial continues.
But we are alive!!! Since then we managed 20 issues, which
makes over 50 for A-Kontra. Please help us. We will try to help
you too.
PS: Late news. Somebody (probably nazis) broke into our squat.
They took all of our tapes (incl. DOWNCAST original!), most
floppy disks and a cassette- recorder. Please! Spread this ! Help
us...
A-Kontra, POB 552, 170 00 Praha 7, Czech Republic, Tel/Fax:
02-43-58-945
AUTONOMIE: ZINE IN ANARCHIST FEDERATION
Autonomie publishes anarchist classics of the 19th century and
concentrates mainly on theory. In the Czech Republic more than 10
anarchist fanzines are published. Under the last regime there
were no anarchist publications so now there is an effort to fill
in the gap.
Here's a list of important anarchist actions:
1/5/90 - MAY DAY "under black flags"
5/90 - Concert against racialism and fascism
6/90 - Night procession with lit candles to China's embassy on
the anniversary of the massacre. 1000 participants.
6/10/90 - Occupation of a train protesting a price increase
17/11/90 - For 45 minutes 200 anarchists stopped a column of
cars carrying presidents Bush and Havel who were to talk to an
open air gathering. We wanted to read our speech and weren't
successful. [This was a protest against the Gulf War. -OGB]
15,30/6/91 - Two demonstrations against the "Ceskoslovenske
Vseobecne Vystave" (Little Czech Expo - a capitalist fair). This
was the first great conflict with nazi-skinheads.
7/90 - Demonstration against racialism and fascism - 1,200
participants
1/5/91 - MAY DAY "under black flags - 600 participants
1/9/91 - Demonstration against military service - 300
participants
10/9/91 - Demonstration (700 participants) and concert (2000
participants) against the army
3/92 - Founding of the Anarchist Federation
1/92 - Demonstration and attack on upper class ball - 2000
participants
13/3/92 - Demonstration against racialism and fascism - 500
participants
1/5/92 - MAY DAY "under black flags" demonstration against
manipulations by political parties - 700 participants (our
greatest conflict with nazi-skinheads)
3/10/92 - 60-70 anarchists stopped for 30 minutes a festive
march commemorating America's 500 year anniversary with banners
saying "500 Years of Ethnocide is Enough," and "Racialism - An
Inseparable Part of America"
4/10/92 - 5 anarchists got into the "American Ball." They
displayed a banner over the US flag saying "A Disgraceful
Celebration of Genocide" and distributed leaflets.
9,10/10/92 - 2 days of lectures on Indian culture and ethnocide
organized for the public. A silent, candlelit procession took
place to the Spanish and US embassies after the lecture.
20/10/92 - A demonstration was held in support of a squat (the
only political squat in Prague) - 200 participants
2/93 - Demonstration against new anti-squatter laws
13/3/93 - Demonstration against racialism and fascism - 1000
participants=20
Autonomie, POB 223, 111 21 Praha 1, Czech Republic, Tel/Fax:
02-43-58-945.
"THE ZITZER SPIRITUAL REPUBLIC" SERB VILLAGE REBELS AGAINST THE
MILITARY =20
By Henrik Farkas
Oromhegyes (Serbian name: Tresnjevac) is a little village in
Vojvodina, Serbia, with about 2000 inhabitants. Even a year ago,
it was a peaceful, prosperous, calm place.
In May '92, 200 men of the villagers got their call-up papers.
This started a protest movement against recruitment and against
the war. On May 10th, women organized a demonstration. About 700
participants demanded: the withdrawal of the call-up orders; the
return of soldiers from the front lines; and the free return of
people who had left their homeland to escape recruitment. They
also declared that they would not disperse until their demands
were met.
During the demonstration tanks surrounded the village, but
there was no attempt to use force to disperse the demonstration.
The participants stayed together for a month, day and night, in
the Zitzer Club. They received visitors and support from other
parts of Serbia. The international press and some foreign peace
organizations also gave them moral support.
On June 26th, some of the participants of the protest
established the "Zitzer Spiritual Republic." This republic has
citizens, a president, a constitution, a hymn (Ravel's Bolero),
and a coat of arms (a symbolic pizza between 3 billiard balls),
but of course, it does not possess territory. Since then, a few
hundred people from several countries joined the Zitzer Spiritual
Republic, which is actually an international peace organization.
The protest was successful in one respect: the planned
recruitment of the reservists was not carried out until this
January. However, on January 30th the police searched for 40 men
who had formerly made a formal declaration: They - as reservists
- refused to join the armed forces. Instead they chose
alternative (civil) service. Serbian laws allow the choice of
civil service.
The police captured 5 men: Bela Bicskei, Rudolf Utasi, Attila
Magossy, Karoly Feher, and Pal David. They were transferred to
the army and forced to take the military uniform. Some of them
were beaten.
"Headquarters" of the "Republic": Zitzer Club, Oromhegyes,
Horvath Janos u. 10., Vojvodina, Yugoslavia, Tel: 38-24-883-016
Info thanks to: Alba Kor - Non-Violent Movement for Peace,
H-1461, Budapest PF. 225, Hungary: Fax: +36-1-180-45-46: Email:
H6551FAR@huella.bitnet.
Neither East Nor West-NYC has offered to be the "American
Embassy" of the "Republic." If any other any Americanos wanna
join our "Embassy" send your official request to: NENW-NYC, 528
5th St., Brooklyn, NY 11215=20
ASIAN STUDENTS REASSESS SOCIALISM
The following is an excerpt from the article "Critical
Reflections" by C.W. Hang in Asian Student Association News
September '92. The article was culled from a summer '92 Asian
Students Association Executive Council meeting in Ketari,
Malaysia. Participants included students from India, the
Philippines, Nepal, Pales- tine, Hong Kong, Australia, Pakistan,
Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, plus "Trotsky," a participants
dog, "who joined us whenever the issue of Marxism was raised."
SOCIALIST CONFUSION
In the '70s, students dreamt of socialism as an alternative to
the capitalist and imperialist systems.
In Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, millions of people died under
the hands of Uncle Sam's troops. Agent Orange was sprayed all
over the country, killing plants, deforming babies. This genocide
was to force the Vietnamese people to accept US imperialism. The
US failed, and students in Asia celebrated - Long live socialism!
To the north of Vietnam, Mao Zedong of China inspired millions
of young people - not only in China but all over Asia with such
slogans as; "It Is A Right To Revolt," "Down With Bureaucracy,"
"Struggle With The Masses, The Workers And Peasants And Learn
From=20Them!"
No wonder, his pictures were seen and his books were read not
only in China, but also in Thailand, India, Japan, and the
Philippines, because his calls for anti- authoritarianism and
anti-imperialism had a ring of truth in them.
In a world which faced the sheer violence of imperialism, both
in the form of imperial wars against liberation struggles and in
the form of support of military regimes in Asia, Mao was
inspiring.
However, at the turn of the '80s, confusion over socialism set
in. People witnessed the ruthlessness of the Khmer Rouge on
televisions, and condemned it as communist terror. The victory of
Vietnam over an imperialist power was followed by its own
invasion of Cambodia. And added to this was a war fought between
two Asian countries: China and Vietnam.
In China, leaders of the Cultural Revolution - the "Gang of
Four" - were arrested and denounced as traitors. Mao was
criticized. The new Chinese communist leaders adopted an "open
door policy" to entice western investments. What was supposedly
the better alternative turned out to be not without its own
problems.
Meanwhile, capitalist forces adopted more subtle forms of
oppression. In the '80s, rather than launching large scale wars
against the Third World, imperialist forces relied more on direct
control: economic imperialism. This tactic included the economic
blockade of socialist states and supporting client states in the
Third World - often military regimes, and collaborating with
local elites to implement pro-western policies, protecting and
enhancing the powers of multinational corporations.
In response to these changes, many leftist and progressive
student activists in Asia shifted the focus of their struggle
which was internationalist in nature, to one of a more
national-centered in character.
Despite the problems of existing socialist states, students
generally concluded that these problems came from a misguided
practice rather than from socialist theory itself. Therefore,
they tend not to go into deeper discussions of the causes of
these problems but retreated to fighting at the local front,
against the ruling class.
The priority was thus the removal of the local repressive
regimes rather than the destruction of the global capitalist
system.=20
Asian Students Association, 353 Shanghai St. 4F, Kawloon, Hong
Kong, Tel: 852- 388-0515, Fax: 852-787-5535
FREE CHINESE PRISONERS
(Readers: Little to no info comes our way regarding China,
whose Communist Party remains quite intact and in control. Please
send us any info and grafix that comes your way.)
Lin Gang was a postgraduate student and a leader when the
democratic protests broke out in Beijing in 1989. He has been
incarcerated for more than three years and has been tortured.
Lin Gang was one of the 21 most wanted student leaders. He was
arrested in June 1989 in Baolding, in Hebei province. From there
he was taken to Beijing and then to jail in Qinching where it was
reported that he was mistreated.
In February 1991 he was found guilty of "conspiracy to
overthrow the government" and sentenced to six years in prison.
He was given a reduced sentence because he "displayed a desire to
reform himself." In April 1991 Lin Gang was transferred to a
prison in the Liaoning province. There he was beaten and tortured
by electrical shock. In November 1991 he went on hunger strike in
protest. This act brought him a new round of torture. He was last
seen by political prisoners in April 1992 and hasn't been heard
from since.
Please sent letters of protest to Li Peng asking for the
immediate release of Lin Gang and an investigation into the
charges of torture.
Premier Li Peng, Quowuyuan 9 Xihnang Schenggbeijiel, Beijing
10032, Peoples Republic of China
SOUTH AFRICA: APARTHEID, COMMUNISTS AND ANARCHISTS
Dear Comrades,
Greetings from South Africa. Recently we set in motion actions
which will hopefully result in the formation of the Anarchist
Revolutionary Movement which, to our knowledge, will be South
Africa's first anarchist organization to operate in the open.
Due to our severe lack of experience, we are sending out a plea
for any form of aid we can receive. We urgently need advice,
literature, and if possible, funds. We hope that you will be able
to assist us or to put us in contact with someone who can.
We apologize for the impersonality of this letter, yet we feel
that in order to obtain a reasonable response, it is best for us
to contact as many groups as possible.
Thanking you in advance, yours in solidarity,
Renato and Elli, POB 51465, Raedenem 2124, Johannesburg, SA
Following are our thoughts on South Africa:
Perhaps the most influential of these developments has been the
unbanning of certain political parties, among whom can be found
movements as infamous as the African National Congress (A.N.C.).
Essentially the concept of free speech is relatively new in
South Africa. The last 40 years have been dictated to us by the
National Party. Everything from their Christian National
Education policy to their secret police has been designed to
suppress and oppress. It is only recently the cracks have begun
to appear in their Armor. In all honesty they have at most
another three or four years of power before disappearing like so
many of their enemies mysteriously did.
As Anarchists they pose us little threat as we should in fact
be looking ahead to the inevitable dictatorship which is to be
constructed by the African National Congress.
Right from the beginning the A.N.C. has made it crystal clear
they will sell out both their ideals and supporters to obtain
power. When the A.N.C. first re- entered the political arena they
openly allied themselves with the South African Communist Party.
Once threatened with losing the support of big business they
quickly embraced capitalist ideals.
Today, while Mandela sits inside his $250,000 house and
reminisces over his daughters recent $10,000 wedding, his
"brothers" sleep in tin shacks. While they catch busses or walk
25 miles to work, he rides in one of his two Mercedes
Benz's...but that's politicians for you. And that is truly who
the A.N.C. is there for, money-grabbing megalomaniacs like
Mandela.
Oddly enough recent revelations of A.N.C. torture camps have
done little to tarnish their image. In all honesty they are the
lesser of two evils but surely we deserve better.
So now the question arises, who else is there to represent the
South African people in this farce some would call a democracy?
Surely not the ineffective stagnant liberal Democratic Party
who represent the free market ideals of the rich. If shove comes
to shooting let's hope we don't have to turn to the extreme right
Afrikaaner Weerstand Beweeging or their black counterparts the
Azanian Peoples' Liberation Army.
If ever there has been a need for an anarchist solution it is
here in South Africa. However, massive problems face our
movement. How do we break through to people of color who tend to
distrust us? The National Party has ensured that this will be no
easy task. Unfortunately in the current political climate it is
not possible for us to take our message onto the streets without
facing prison terms on charges as ridiculous as treason. And then
of course there are the problems of funding and our lack of
knowledge. Even with all this against us we are hopeful that we
will overcome in the long-run. If not, South Africa is destined
to remain a puppet of the first world as conditions steadily
deteriorate.
LETTER: IREAN RESPONDS TO CRITICISM
(Perhaps we shouldn't have printed what IREAN is responding to.
But we did and so are now obligated to print a rebuttal. We'd
rather not be printing back and forth infighting. In the future
if our collaborators would like to send in text critical of other
anarchists please consider whether it's really necessary to make
charges, and if so, please back it up with even-handed fact from
all sides. In fact, if Moscow's IREAN and KAS could sit down
together and write out their differences than this would be a
more helpful type of thing to print. OGB will invite both groups
to do this.)=20
Dear friends,
Laure Akai's accusations against us in "Report From Moscow"
(Anarchy Spring '93) are completely tendentious and false. The
real facts are the following:=20
1. The Initiative of Revolutionary Anarchists (IREAN) doesn't
make any political blocs or unity, and doesn't have any
programmatic or organized agreements with non-anarchist,
authoritarian or pro-state groups (including Trotskyists). But we
aren't afraid of public polemics and discussions (also during
street actions), because we are conscious of the force and
superiority of anarchist ideas and our possibility to show the
justness of those ideas. In our oppositional direct actions
(against governmental actions, human rights violations,
ecological pollution, fascism, etc.) it is of course possible to
hit on not only us, but also other diverse leftists - we are for
workers unity from below on a non-party basis.
2. It's not true that IREAN hasn't syndicalists. Although IREAN
is not an exclusively anarcho-syndicalist organization, within us
exists a group of the friends of the International Workers
Association (IWA). We make anarcho-syndicalist propaganda in our
papers and leaflets and publish in common with the IWA AS- Info
bulletin for East and Central Europe. Comparatively, the majority
of Con- federation of Anarcho-Syndicalist (KAS) groups don't want
to join the IWA and don't organize anarcho-syndicalist unions.
Those groups (especially in Moscow) support the concept of
"market socialism" or "syndical capitalism" and work jointly
with the old official trade union bosses. The pro-KAS news agency
"KAS- KOR" - whose foreign representative is a French Trotskyist
- has contacts with the AFL-CIO and Voice of America and supports
police repression against us.
3. On Nov. 7th (anniversary of the Russian Revolution) we
didn't join the Stalinist and nationalist demonstrations, but
made an alternative action. Like May 1st actions it is a general
left-wing demonstration, in which the anarchists make a special
bloc. There we distributed our leaflets and papers explaining
that we don't celebrate the Bolsheviks seizing power, but
celebrate a larger peoples movement with strong anarchist
participation, that led in Nov. (Oct.) 1917 to the temporary
extinction of the state and the sweeping away of the foundation
of the capitalist economy, "but was enveloped by the new
Bolshevik state power." (G. Maximoff)=20
4. The action with the Brezhnev portrait wasn't organized by
IREAN but by another group of people (including one former IREAN
member) as an "Orange action" - i.e., as a satire against
political norms and customs (the term comes from Polish
anarchists). Brezhnev was and is an object of many wits and
anecdotes and nobody takes him as a serious political figure. His
portraits today mock the nostalgic or pro-Yeltsin idolatry of
leaders.
5. The action on Oct. 24th was organized parallel to
anti-racist demonstrations in West Europe but was against fascism
and racism in the ex-USSR. It is clear that Laura Akai doesn't
sufficiently understand Russia and the situation in our country.
She has close personal contacts with KAS. This group in Moscow is
very small and the members do nothing, except write articles in
official papers, have nostalgic parties, and defame
anarchist/libertarian organizations (IWA, IREAN, etc.).
SALUTE and ANARCHY,
For IREAN, Vadim Damier, 107285 Moscow, Per. Alymova 13, Kv.
24. Russia
(Both Laure Akai and the representative of KAS have written and
objected to the points made by IREAN. NENW has decided that those
and any further letters we receive on this particular squabble
will be handed over to the Anarchy letters section.)=20
STUPID SOVIET JOKES
The teacher was saying that communism is already on the
horizon. He was asked: "What's the Horizon?" "It's an imaginary
line over which the sun goes down which keeps getting farther
away from us as we try to get closer to it."
What's a Soviet string trio? A string quartet returning from
tour abroad.