ISSUE FIVE
Eleven weeks of 'humanitarian' bombing of Serbia and Kosovo ended in ‘peace’ in the region. The Serbian forces were compelled to leave Kosovo, and the economies of both regions are almost destroyed.
The bombings drove many Kosovar Albanians into the arms of the nationalist Kosovo Liberation Army, and accelerated moves by the Milosevic regime to carry out further massacres in its “ethnic cleansing” programme. Far from protecting the Albanian Kosovars, the bombing caused a situation where the majority of ethnic Albanians were forced to flee Kosovo. Thousands of people have died, both Serbs and Kosovars.
The Milosevic regime was frantic to draw more recruits into the armed forces. This failed with many young Serbs leaving the country, the unrest in South Serbia and the return of whole units on the Kosovo front in mutiny to support their communities.
Frantic
A breakaway by Montenegro supported by the Allies is possible which will further weaken Milosevic. At home the nationalist forces that are more openly pro-market than Milosevic as well as pro-democracy have already begun demonstrating. They will be backed by the US-Europe axis to overthrow the regime, and to act as midwife to further market ‘reforms’- more cuts, more privatisation, more attacks on pay and conditions for workers.
The war allowed the US to send a message to both Russia and Europe on the power of its military might. It strengthened the US’s plans to control the European bloc by making sure it stayed in NATO. It increased US influence over Europe and allowed new military bases in Bosnia, Albania, Macedonia and Hungary. It stopped the Europeans from having paramount influence in the Balkans.
As for the KLA, they started out as Stalinist supporters of Hoxha’s Albania and ended up mainly Islamic fundamentalists. At first the KLA was backed by Germany, eager for influence in the region. The US backed a different nationalist outfit, led by Ahmet Krasniqi. He was murdered by the KLA. Now that other Kosovar Albanian political forces have been sidelined, there is no alternative to the KLA for the Americans who are cautiously backing them.
Massacres
The KLA carried out murders of both Gypsies and muslim Kosovan Serbs from 1997 onwards. They press ganged Kosovar Albanians and with the retreat of Serb forces have continued to massacre local Serbs and gypsies.
The KLA dreams of a greater Albania. This means uniting Albania with Kosovo, parts of Macedonia and Greece. The US will not stand for this and will probably soon deliver a mighty slap to the KLA. The US will remain in Kosovo, just as they are permanently based in Macedonia and Bosnia, perhaps openly, perhaps under cover of United Nations “protection” of the region. It has already been stated that NATO troops will remain in Kosovo from 5 to 10 years. Kosovo will become a laboratory for ultra-liberalism, for the worst excesses of the market, a state without taxes where official currency will be the German mark and the US dollar.
Working Class resistace
As anarchists, we take a stand against both the murderous Milosevic regime and the KLA, and against the Allied powers and their attacks on the region. The uprisings in South Serbia point the way to working class resistance. The movement against Milosevic in Serbia may allow the working class there to once again mobilise, and thwart plans by the US and its allies. We shall see.
Revolutionary opposition to war continues.
Contact: No War But The Class War
at: Escape c/o PO Box 2472, London, N8 0HW
or email: escape6@hotmail.com for the latest information on resistance to the war
Also meetings in London: Wednesday 7.30pm, Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, WC1 (nearest tube Holborn).
While world leaders were plotting our fates they lost control of the city and some of London’s coppers got the kicking they deserve. Damage to the city was put at over £5,000,000 - a good days work.
We started the day by invading the offices of the Trades Union Congress with comrades from the Northern Anarchist Network to put the boot into the pimps of Capitalism.
Then we went to the main event where up to 10,000 had gathered. We knew why we were there and we knew we wouldn’t have to go far to cause huge disruption to Capitalism’s heartland.
The first bricks were soon thrown and the cops lost their smug grins. It was class anger verses riot armour.
We moved down towards Cannon St. where some impressive climbing put CCTV cameras out of action with the use of plastic bags. The Mc Donalds was given an anarcho-refurbishment, so no one was stopping for burgers. From here people were everywhere from the stock exchange where windows were shattered to the LIFFE building where a breeze block wall had been erected in protest. The wall was soon repositioned in the foyer via the windows allowing the building to be stormed under the cool of an 80ft fountain.
Nearby the demand to test drive the new Mercades “@” class was unbelievable with scaffold poles deployed to give punters access to the cars that were then modified according to personal taste.
After some persuasion posh city bar La Quai was kind enough to redistribute it’s drink to the thirsty revellers who in gratification promptly returned the empties to the premises. People battled with the pigs for several hours as we slowly moved to Trafalgar Square.
This anti-capitalist demonstration showed us setting the agenda on their turf, hopefully a feature that will continue. The media came up with the usual crap but our violence is nothing compared to that used by the state machine on our class, but through our actions we can show that this is not invulnerable.
One problem was the fluffies, who demand that we fight with one arm behind our backs and hinder those getting stuck in. By their actions they risk getting us arrest and through isolating us they pinpoint us to the police. They are the enemy of our class .
During this Summers day large numbers of people went out without adequate protection from the Sun. Sensible protective gear should be used to cover exposed skin especially on the face or you might end up on the front page!
16 people were nicked on the day, and more since.
To support these defendants contact: Legal Defence and Monitoring Group, BM Haven, London, WC1N 3XX.
Nicola Sacco and Bartelomeo Vanzetti had their brains fried in the electric chair by the US state in 1927. These two Italian born class struggle anarchists became victims of state repression and murder fuelled by an insane ‘red scare’ which swept the USA following the Russian revolutions of 1917.
Sacco and Vanzetti, though undoubtedly innocent were by no means pacifist saints. They belonged to the insurrectionary wing of anarchist communism. They believed in revolutionary violence, and armed retaliation against oppressors. When they were arrested for murdering a paymaster and a guard at a shoe factory in 1920 they were both armed.
However, it is one thing to tool up against armed agents of the law and quite another to have actually carried out murders. But the state was intent on claiming victims and the court used any methods to claim their lives. Eyewitnesses to the armed robbery who could not make positive identifications of the defendants were not called to give evidence. It was claimed that Vanzetti’s revolver belonged to one of the murdered guards, even though their serial numbers were different. Though one of the bullets supposedly fired at the scene of the crime matched the calibre of Sacco’s, it is likely that the prosecution substituted a shell taken after the event.
Despite the supposed fairness of American justice, the judge and prosecution frequently mislead the jury by misquoting Sacco and Vanzetti’s interrogation statements whilst ensuring that the real transcripts never appeared in court. The jury was hardly impartial either: the foreman was quoted as saying “Damn them, they ought to hang anyway!” And the judge was overheard describing the defendants as “anarchist bastards”.
There was a well organised campaign to have their convictions set aside, but to no avail. Sacco and Vanzetti were executed by electrocution on August 23rd, 1927. Only in 1977, fifty years after their death, did the Commonwealth of Massachusetts acknowledged that there had been a miscarriage of justice. But the US state continues it’s brutal execution of militants to this day. It is a barbarity which must be swept aside by whatever means necessary!
Radical prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal is currently facing imminent state execution, and similar dishonest means have been used to ensure his conviction and discredit his defence campaign.
For more information contact: Mumia Must Live, BM Haven, London, WC1N 3XX. email: mumia@callnetuk.com or visit: http://www.callnetuk.com/home/mumia
Over 500 people joined the Rally at Model Farm in Oxfordshire to say NO to GM crops, hitting the profits of agrochemical giant ArgEvo by applying direct action. Half of the crop was destroyed by protesters flattening and up rooting the crop. It was a joyous experience to witness this fight back against the capitalist bastards who try to justify the growing of GM as way to feed the third world!
The rally was well organised by the Genetic Engineering Network. White biohazard suits and face masks were issued to everyone with clear details of how to avoid being arrested. The police will have great difficulty in identifying anyone from the mass of photos they were taking. Police presence was remarkably low key – probably taken in by the event being publicised as a cosy picnic and friendly symbolic holding of hands around the field. Protesters were amazed that it took so long for more cops to arrive, much of the damage had been done before red faced reinforcement arrived. One desperate copper was overheard saying ‘let’s arrest someone’ and six protesters were nicked on the day.
To join in the fight back against GM crops contact the Genetic Engineering Network on 0181 374 9516.
Everyone’s favourite revolutionary organisation, well OK, the ACF have decided to simplify their name to just the Anarchist Federation. Our politics remain unchanged: we are still revolutionary class struggle anarchist communists (with special emphasis on being critical of syndicalism and influenced by council communism). If you want to know more about why we’ve changed our name and what our politics are about you’ll have to buy the next issue of Organise! due out in October.
resistance goes monthly!
More exciting news from the AF is that resistance will now come out monthly - continuing to put the class into class struggle. So get your subscription now!
Czech anarchist prisoner Michal Patera, imprisoned for shooting a fascist in self defence has been freed on bail, but still faces a sentence of up to 15 years. The campaign to free him continues and the Solidarity Federation and Anarchist Federation will be demonstrating outside the Czech embassy as this issue of resistance goes to press. For more information on Michal contact SolFed, PO Box 1681, London, N8 7DN.
A support group for American anarchist prisoner Harold Thompson has been set up in this country. Harold was recently attacked by neo-nazis and has asked comrades to write to the governor asking that he’s moved to another jail for his own safety. Write to: Warden Jack Morgan, Turney Centre Industrial Prison, Route 1, Only, Tennessee 37140-9709, USA. The Friends of Harold H. Thompson can be contacted at: PO Box 375, Knaphill, Woking, Surrey, GU21 2XL.
Domestic violence prisoner Susanne Owens has been denied parole for the eighth time by the State of South Carolina despite having served twice the normal time for her conviction. Write protest letters to: State of South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, Attn: Deputy Director Carla J. Smalls, 2221 Devine Street Suite 600 PO Box 50666, Columbia, SC 29250, USA. Send letters of support (particularly welcome from women) to: Susanne Owens 086789, Leath Correctional Institution, 2809 Airport Road, Greenwood, SC 29649-9240, USA.
Prisoner Ray Gilbert writes:
The latest information on the conviction [his] is that a Mrs Olive Tunstall (forensic psychologist) has recently interviewed me and a member of my family for a report requested by my solicitor to submit to the caseworker investigating my case at the criminal cases review commission.
This is because the psychiatrist’s report for the trial indicated that I was the weaker personality of the two. Because of this assumption, my brief recommended to the CCRC that a report be compiled.
“Trial and Error” did a programme earlier this year and did their best to castigate me as the scapegoat ...[it] highlighted the fact that an all white jury tried two coloured men in the aftermath of the Toxteth riots. The rules on identification parades were not adhered to regarding colour, height, age, hairstyle, etc. We are aware of numerous cases where false confessions were later found to be fabricated. ... The decision has already been made on behalf of my co-accused, who has been referred back to the court of appeal in April. Some MP’s have informed me that it will not be long before mine if referred back. If the decision is negative my solicitor will be seeking and immediate review of the case, as it is all interlinked. Anyone interested in the case please contact either Mr G Summers at McGrath & Co Solicitors, 52/54 Maddox St, London, W1R 9PA or myself at Ray Gilbert 410111, HMP Durham, CSC “G” Wing, Old Elvet, Durham, DU1 3HU.
Escape from Campsfield:
We have heard a lot about Britain’s so called concern for refugees during the war in Kosovo. But now many of the Kosovan refugees who were coming to Britain are no longer being admitted, because the government says it is now safe to go back.
Asylum seekers, escaping repression, violence, torture and death in other countries, already face a uphill struggle getting into Britain. When they do, many are put in detention centres or prisons for months while they wait for their cases to be heard. Currently more than 800 refugees are banged up. Two of the most notorious joints are Campsfield Detention Centre near Oxford, and Rochester Prison in Kent. Conditions at Campsfield, run by Group 4 security, are so bad that some ‘inmates’ have attempted suicide, and others have gone on hunger strike. One said “We’ve come to the UK seeking shelter from injustice, hoping to get back our right to live full lives, why lock us up like animals? We did not commit any crimes.” At the end of June, two asylum seekers escaped from Campsfield over an 18ft high fence, topped with coils of barbed wire, and disappeared into the countryside. Well done!
Conditions for asylum seekers will soon get even worse as new legislation will replace the pittance of benefits they currently receive with vouchers worth even less.
As anarchists we look forward to the day when all prisons are abolished.
Until then contact:
National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns,101 Villa Road, Birmingham, B19 1NH Phone: 0121-5446947 email: ncadc@ncadc.demon.co.uk or visit the website: http://www.ncadc.demon.co.uk/
ANTI YUPPIE ACTION
The Mission Yuppie Eradication Project has been flyposting San Francisco calling for posh cars to be vandalised to “drive those cigar bar clowns back to ...where they belong!”.
MINERS KILL LENINIST BUREAUCRAT
Selby Mayise, union leader, ANC and South African Communist Party member got what was coming to him recently whilst addressing a meeting in West Driefontein. 2000 miners, irate over changes to their pension fund, surged forward attacking union leaders, pelting them with stones and bricks. Mayise died from his wounds and four other union officials were hospitalised. Union spokesman George Molebatsi showed he is as in touch with the membership as Mayise was by saying “...a tragic thing has happened. [He was] a very popular leader”!
COMMUNITY resistance KNACKERS MULTI-NATIONAL
Following Royal Dutch Shell announcing they couldn’t meet all their export commitments due to disruption of production by community activists in the Niger delta a wave of community resistance in SE Nigeria has forced ELF Auitaine to stop production of 28,000 barrels of crude oil a day from the Obya oil filed
WORKERS FIGHT BACK!
Workers at the Vyborg paper mill in Sovetskii, Russia successfully fought off dozens of hired thugs and special forces police who attacked on the 9th of July to try and regain control for the owners. The workers took control eighteen months ago after not being paid for two years!
COLOGNE DEMO
The international demonstration in Cologne, Germany on 29th May against “The Europe of capital” drew over 30,000 people. There was a large anti-fascist bloc and an equally large anarchist and anarcho-syndicalist bloc, with 2,000 people behind a sea of black and red-and-black flags and banners. The French daily newspaper Le Monde (hardly sympathetic to anarchism) remarked that since the last international demonstration in Amsterdam in 1997 there had been a subtle change of colour…”few red flags, many red and black banners”.
HACKNEY SOLIDARITY GROUP
Has been formed and is fighting for a better world already. See the diary page for what they’re up to and how you can get in touch with them.
Please visit the regularly updated AF diary page for details of the latest events