Repression – Page 42

Besançon (Doubs), France: It’s not just their techno-surveillance tools in our lives, it’s the lice too

Posted on 2021/09/20 - 2021/09/20 by darknights

Source: Indymedia Lille, 15 September 2021

As 5G is deployed, the fight against this controlling society continues apace. Attacks against telecommunication antennas or companies involved in them also continue: in France, more than a hundred sabotage actions have been carried out since March 2020. Enough to piss off this capitalist society and the state that protects it. The repressive wave knows no truce, and the cops use all the technological surveillance tools at their disposal to try to repress and stifle any hint of revolt.

Since last year, about thirty people have been raided, indicted or imprisoned for sabotaging cell towers. This is the case of Boris, a fellow anarchist who was sent to prison in Nancy in September 2020 for burning two of them in Jura, and is now in the hospital following a fire in his cell. In a letter written from prison, he mentions the devices used by the cops and gendarmes to spy on his daily life during the investigation: imsi catcher suitcases, cameras in front of a home, GPS under the cars of people close to him, live listening and geolocation, GIGN undercovers (from Versailles) following him around and staged in hideouts, requests for placing microphones in a home and in the wall of a park where he regularly met friends, discreet seizures of beer bottles left in public spaces,…

In Besançon, a few months after Boris’ imprisonment, at least two people have been approached by the cops since the beginning of 2021. If we don’t know what happened to the first one, the second one has been approached several times. A classic move; blackmail for papers combined with, as is often the case, isolation, precariousness, possible legal problems, or simply the fact that these people gravitate towards the periphery of anarchist militant circles.

It all starts with a first meeting: they are offered a job, money or accommodation in exchange for information. They are told that they will be able to speed up their administrative procedures, and that they will be slowed down if they refuse. Under pressure, this person thus put his finger in the gears and agreed to go to regular meetings with plainclothes cops in a park near the police station.

His missions were the following, while the investigation against Boris was not closed and he was still under investigation for “criminal association”:

– To participate in collecting information about people designated as close to him, to locate the relationships between them and to identify vulnerabilities/pressure tactics, to be on the lookout for future actions of support/solidarity.

– going to militant places and events (outdoor struggle assemblies, canteens) to identify the presence of particular anarchists, understand the links between groups and individuals in the same city, identify political connections between different cities.

– identify certain profiles and attitudes: potential saboteurs, people who are more vehement or charismatic than others (in their own image, the cops are always looking for a leader!)

This kind of situation is very disturbing and cannot be ignored. The manipulation of cops has no limits, and the use of informants has always been part of their methods to map subversive and anarchist networks and try to glean sensitive information.

We can’t say it often enough: it’s useless to think you’re a double agent, it would be known by now if it worked. Talking to the cops is playing their game and exposing yourself to further pressure. Talking to them means informing them, even in a harmless way, for example by divulging details that are not meant for them. Talking to them means putting others at risk.

To talk to them is to collaborate. To talk to them is to betray those close to you and to lose any bond of trust while ruining your militant life.

The eyes and ears of the state will never cease to intrude into our intimate and political lives, with technology as well as with human intelligence.

In the face of this, let’s be careful everywhere and all the time without becoming paranoid, by finding ways to build and deepen relationships of trust and affinity, while learning in general not to speak lightly, including among ourselves.

Anarchists from Besançon,

September 2021

Via: Sans Nom

Via & Translated by Act for freedom now!

Spain: Elisa Di Bernardo – “We are winning battles for Gabriel Pombo’s freedom”.

Posted on 2021/09/11 - 2021/09/12 by darknights

“Never having approached drugs, being very clear about his ideas, and his physical and mental strength have helped him to survive in prison, despite the FIES. Almost all of his comrades have died. He survived a genocide” explains in Oviedo the companion of the anarchist prisoner.

Elisa di Bernardo went to Oviedo yesterday to tell the situation of her colleague Gabriel Pombo da Silva. Invited by the group Higinio Carrocera, in collaboration with the local Cambalache, taking advantage of her visit to Pombo to the prison of Mansilla de las Mulas in León, Elisa gave a very complete account of both the legal situation of the anarchist prisoner and his life and struggle in his more than 30 years in the prisons of the State. It was a talk that not only served to have information about Pombo but also to show how, inside the prison walls, “democracy” disappears and one enters a dark world, subjected to physical and psychological torture, to personal revenge by judges and jailers, to prisons inside the prison (FIES). In addition, Elisa gave us perspective and context on how inequality, misery, injustice and poverty consubstantial to the capitalist and statist system manufactures criminals.

Elisa began the talk by taking out of her backpack three important books to know the situation of prisoners and the world of the anti-prison struggle: “Extrema Indigencia, extrema violencia”, “Para que no me olvides” by Madres Unidas contra la Droga and the Informe sobre la Tortura en el Estado español that Elisa explained was censored by the police, as it tells the saddest time of the FIES regime (files of inmates of special monitoring).

After this bibliographical introduction Elisa di Bernardo spoke about Gabriel Pombo’s life trajectory. “They lived in Vigo in a shack until they emigrated to Germany to earn a living. There he discovers a new world and also begins to know the instinctive solidarity among the poor. The first political question Gabriel asked himself was: “If my father builds houses, why don’t we have a house? Continue reading “Spain: Elisa Di Bernardo – “We are winning battles for Gabriel Pombo’s freedom”.” →

Part Three: What’s happening in Cuba? An Anarchic look at the 11-J protests EN/ES

Posted on 2021/09/06 by darknights

ES: TERCERA PARTE: ¿QUÉ PASA EN CUBA? UNA MIRADA ANÁRQUICA DE LAS PROTESTAS DEL 11-J.

-Interview with comrade Gustavo Rodriguez (Third of three parts)

AI: To what extent was the 1959 revolution willing to destroy the system of domination and its protagonists determined to promote a Social Revolution?

First of all, it is necessary to examine thoroughly who were the forces in conflict in 1959; what were the motivations and; above all, the ideological limitations of those involved. Of course, this is an exercise fraught with difficulties for those who continue to be fascinated by the official mythology1 and; equally difficult for those who -from different points of view, even dissidents- cling to the supposed tendencies raised by certain protagonists (Camilo Cienfuegos, Hubert Matos, Ernesto “Che” Guevara, Pastorita Núñez, for example), as if trying to decipher (at a distance of six decades) what would have been the attitude of this or that character in a specific situation or whether or not he or she was right at a given time and what would have been his or her action if he or she had greater political weight in the process. In that tenor, the legends of Camilo “anarchist”; Matos “socialist”; Che Guevara “Trotskyist” and Pastorita “feminist” arose. All dilettante speculations that in no way help to understand what those figures hypothetically opposed to revolutionary autocracy and bureaucratization represented. Unfortunately, these digressions do not manage to escape from the legends that must be demolished. Neither Cienfuegos was “anarchist” nor Matos “socialist” nor Che “Trotskyist” and, Pastorita, much less “feminist”. By the way, the latter came from the old nucleus of Fidel Castro’s nationalist militancy2 ; as did Huber Matos, Ñico López, Haydée Santamaría, among other members of the “Orthodox Youth” of the Cuban People’s Party (Orthodox)3 who would found the 26th of July Revolutionary Movement (MR-26-7).

The opposition to the Batista dictatorship was made up of a coalition of traditional nationalist (anti-imperialist) parties4 and the so-called “revolutionary movements” which -from diverse and equally nationalist perspectives- were articulated in the course of the struggle. Among the traditional parties, the following stood out: the Cuban Revolutionary Party (Authentic), which emerged after the nationalist revolution of 1933; the Cuban Orthodox People’s Party, -established in 1947 by Eduardo Chibás, after his break with the “authentic” ones-; the Cuban Revolutionary Nationalist Party (Authentic), which was formed in 1947 by Eduardo Chibás, after his break with the “authentic” ones; the Revolutionary Nationalist Party (PNR) of José Pardo Llada (co-founder of the Orthodox Party) and; the Free People’s Party, instituted by Márquez Sterling and a group of assailants of the Moncada barracks who had broken with Castro and precociously warned: “We come from armed struggle, exile and clandestinity. We have shed blood […] and we invite you to break the hateful conspiracy of silence and fear. Against Batista. Against the Dictatorship. Against the useless blood that serves as a pedestal for new pernicious dictators “5 . Among the “revolutionary movements”, the following stood out: the July 26th Revolutionary Movement (MR-26-J) led by Fidel Castro; the Revolutionary Directorate (DR), created by José Antonio Echeverría – assassinated during the ill-fated assault on the Palace – and led by Faure Chaumón; the Federation of University Students (FEU) and the Radical Liberation Movement, founded by Amalio Fiallo and several “moncadistas” who also distanced themselves from Castro’s dictatorship. Continue reading “Part Three: What’s happening in Cuba? An Anarchic look at the 11-J protests EN/ES” →

Bristol: Write to the Kill the Bill prisoners

Posted on 2021/09/06 by darknights

Source: Bristol ABC

Part Two – What’s happening in Cuba? An Anarchic look at the 11-J protests EN/ES

Posted on 2021/09/05 - 2021/09/06 by darknights

ES: SEGUNDA PARTE – ¿QUÉ PASA EN CUBA? UNA MIRADA ANÁRQUICA DE LAS PROTESTAS DEL 11-J.

-Interview with comrade Gustavo Rodriguez (Second of three parts)

AI: Do you think a U.S. military intervention instigated by the annexationist yearnings of the Cuban exile is possible?

To speak in the singular of “Cuban exile” is to refuse to see the whole picture. We must refer to “the exiles” and, not only for chronological but even “ideological” reasons. One should mention, for example, a first exile, which originated in December 1958 and the first half of 1959, with the flight of high-ranking army and police officers of the Batista dictatorship (most of whom -including Batista- did not obtain visas to enter the U.S.). Another one immediately after, between December 1959 and January 1961, where the aristocracy and the upper classes of the society (sectors that, curiously, had financed the struggle of the Catholic nationalists to overthrow “the black man” who governed the Island in an apocryphal way 1 ). A third wave would follow, which originated between 1962 and 1965, with the departure of the middle class. During those years, Cuban anarchists and anarcho-syndicalists also went into exile; some of them after having served “political imprisonment”. The story would be similar for a large group of rebels who had fought against Batista -including Castro’s former comrades of the 26th of July Movement- who opposed the Stalinist turn of “their” Revolution. From 1966 to 1979, the first leftist dissidents fled in dribs and drabs. 1980 would be a turning point for Cuban migration with the mass departure of the “scum” (an epithet used to designate thousands of artists and intellectuals, considered until then “sons and daughters of the Revolution”). In 1994, a new chapter was opened with the flight of thousands of ” rafters” who risked their lives in order to escape from the “socialist paradise”. These last two migrations stand out for the high incidence of Afro-Cubans from the poorest strata. And, of course, with the different waves of exiles, there is also evidence of diverse political-ideological positions, from the conservative right to the ultra-left (including libertarian socialists, Trotskyists, Maoists, Stalinists, Luxemburgists and “pure” Marxists), without forgetting the more hackneyed expressions of that same National Socialism which, from the extremes of the pendulum, aspire to a Castroism without Castro. A reliable example of that political-ideological diversity was the customary edition of the anarchist magazines Guángara Libertaria and A Mayor, in the heart of Miami.

Once these nuances have been highlighted, it only remains for me to underline that the only thing that gives a certain “unity” to the different exiles is the unison rejection of the dictatorship. This common denominator, in fact, has never exceeded the limits of a local industry (very lucrative) that is far from being a binding force capable of capitalizing some political leadership and, much less, consolidating a uniform and monolithic ideological vision (Fortunately!). And this is where the theoretical-practical heterogeneity comes in, which influences behaviors as disparate as the choice of the method of struggle or the geographical site we choose as residence. Of course, in this extensive political-ideological plot, there is also the annexationist position. However, it is necessary to point out that this political figure had a certain prominence in the 19th century and, at present, it is reduced to an entelechy fabricated by the dictatorship. “Annexationism” is significantly small and caricatured. It is so buffoonish that it leaves no doubt that those who express it -on this side of the Florida Straits- are probably on the payroll of the Cuban State. Continue reading “Part Two – What’s happening in Cuba? An Anarchic look at the 11-J protests EN/ES” →

Italy: Green Pass? Block everything

Posted on 2021/09/05 by darknights

Refrain from what has the head on the shoulders, set the pace on that of storms said an adage of some time ago.

Today, Wednesday, September 1, was launched in various railway stations of the Belpaese, an invitation to block trains to criticize the obligation of the green pass, necessary for those who want to travel on certain means of transport. What could happen when the train of resignation to coercion stops, on the wave of “if I can’t move, nobody moves”?

When a telematics control repeater is attacked, when a vaccination center is sabotaged, when a virologist calling for confinement for those who don’t vaccinate is confronted in the street, when a party banquet is overturned, when you have the bright idea to start blocking the movement of human-commodities, how many other possibilities might emerge? When a nascent protest against green passes and the disciplining of people’s movement opens up spaces for anyone, without leaderism or law enforcement, can we begin to develop content that highlights social contradictions as a response to the increasingly asphyxiating controls on our lives?

There are many possibilities for insubordination to explode as thinking individuals. Alone or together with others. In the light of the sun as well as in the glare of the night – with the idea of breaking with everything that suffocates us – we could move away from the cage of politics and the chains of common sense. For with just a little imagination we can attempt to experience unheard of moments of liberation from constraints.

Blocking everything rejuvenates to stop a present made of discriminations forged by the past, restores the imagination of reflection, makes the spirit of revolt fruitful. Unlike the technical vocabularies of the regime, blocking is never an end in itself, it means to provoke cracks of meaning, to open up new spaces where we were unable to grasp them, to create unexpected surprises, to invite us to travel along unknown horizons, to give rise to opportunities for new challenges.

Blocking everything, therefore, to open up with pride to life and finally discover the uniqueness of each individual.

Few and some vagabonds

(flyer distributed in Cremona, September 1, 2021)

Source: Finimondo

Harm Reduction Guided by the Goal of the Abolition of Prisons and Capitalism: An interview with former Direct Action member and ex-prisoner Ann Hansen

Posted on 2021/09/01 - 2021/09/23 by darknights

(Above) The now closed P4W (Prison for Women) in Kingston, Ontario.

Originally published at Kersplebedeb

Ann Hansen was imprisoned in 1983 for her involvement in the urban guerilla group Direct Action. She is the author of Direct Action: Memoirs of an Urban Guerilla and Taking the Rap: Women Doing Time for Society’s Crimes. She wrote the introduction for Margrit Schiller’s Remembering the Armed Struggle: My Time with the Red Army Faction. This interview was conducted in the summer of 2021.

How would you like to introduce yourself?

I am a 67 year old white cis gender female anarchist on parole for life after being convicted of a number of actions in 1984 along with some members of the urban guerrilla group, Direct Action. Since being released from prison, I have been living for almost 25 years now on a small farm that I own near Odessa just west of Kingston, Ontario. I am active with the Prison for Women (P4W) Memorial Collective which has been fighting for a Memorial Garden at the site of the now closed Prison for Women, and a Gallery where the women’s art and writing can be seen in order to give some context to their lives and deaths.We also agitate to improve prison and parole conditions as a harm reduction tactic in order to alleviate some of the suffering, but always within the context of the abolition of prisons and capitalism as the goal, the light that guides us through the darkness

I should also add that my parole conditions have a direct impact on my political activism. In 2012, my parole was suspended for allegedly not telling my parole officer about a Prisoners Justice Day (PJD) film I screened at the Kingston public library in conjunction with a lawyer who outlined our civil rights in the context of large civil disobedience actions. My parole was reinstated by the Parole Board but only after adding this new parole condition in which I must “notify” my parole officer about any political activity in which I am engaged, such as attending events, public speaking, writing, etc. Even though the word is “notify” as opposed to “approve,” they could revoke me for anything. This seems shocking to activists, but any prisoner who has been on parole knows that you can be revoked for anything, anytime. It is very common to be suspended for obscure things like “deteriorating behavior” or “having a bad attitude,” especially if you are not a politicized prisoner. Politicized prisoners usually have some community support and a radical lawyer, so parole suspensions are more likely in the public eye and thus parole officers and the Parole Board are more accountable. “Social prisoners” on the other hand are usually invisible and are less likely to have legal representation so parole officers feel less constrained in terms of suspending them for ridiculous reasons. Continue reading “Harm Reduction Guided by the Goal of the Abolition of Prisons and Capitalism: An interview with former Direct Action member and ex-prisoner Ann Hansen” →

Leipzig: Wir bleiben militant – Autonomen Antifaschismus verteidigen! DE/EN

Posted on 2021/09/01 - 2021/09/01 by darknights

Kommt am 18.09.2021 zur Grossdemo “Wir sind alle Antifaschist*innen – Wir sind alle LinX” nach Leipzig in den Antifa-Block!

Am 8. September 2021 startet in Dresden ein medial groß inszeniertes Justizspektakel, in dem Lina und drei weiteren Gefährt*innen der Prozess gemacht werden soll. Seit November 2020 sitzt Lina – ihrer Freiheit entzogen – im Knast in Chemnitz. Grund dafür ist der Vorwurf, Angriffe auf gewalttätige Neonazis in Ostdeutschland durchgeführt zu haben. Gleichzeitig rückt die Urteilsverkündung im Prozess gegen Jo und Dy in Stuttgart immer näher. Auch ihnen werden Angriffe auf FaschistInnen vorgeworfen und auch sie wurden zeitweilig inhaftiert bzw. sind es immer noch. Die damit verbundenen Verfahren nach dem Paragraphen 129(a) sind der Höhepunkt eines steigenden Repressionsdrucks gegen Antifaschist*innen, welcher bundesweit spürbar ist, sich aber in den letzten Jahren auch in Leipzig konzentriert.

Diese Repression richtet sich allerdings nicht gegen alle Antifaschist*innen. Sie richtet sich nicht gegen einen oft beschworenen “zivilgesellschaftlichen Antifaschismus”, welcher sich allzu oft darauf ausruht, beim gemeinsamen Bratwurstessen gegen Rechts “Gesicht zu zeigen” und sich selbst zu vergewissern, ein besseres oder bunteres Deutschland zu verkörpern, als die Neonazis es gerne hätten. Der staatliche Angriff richtet sich nicht gegen einen Antifaschismus, der darauf abzielt, den FaschistInnen zu zeigen, dass “wir mehr sind” – ein Ansatz mit dem sich die antifaschistische Linke schon immer selbst belog, um das eigene Gewissen zu beruhigen. Ein solcher Antifaschismus ist längst Teil der politischen Selbstinszenierung des deutschen Staates geworden, welche hilfreich dafür ist, die eigene nationalsozialistische Vergangenheit doch endlich hinter sich zu lassen und sich als geläuterte Nation darzustellen. Continue reading “Leipzig: Wir bleiben militant – Autonomen Antifaschismus verteidigen! DE/EN” →

Chile: New extension in the investigative term to comrades Monica and Francisco Solar

Posted on 2021/08/29 - 2021/08/29 by darknights

On August 9, 2021, the court agreed to a 4-month extension of the investigation period against Francisco and Monica, adding to the two previous 6-month extensions, before the beginning of the pre-trial stages. During that week the precautionary measure of preventive detention against both comrades was reviewed and completely rejected by the court.

Let’s multiply everywhere the solidarity and complicity with Monica and Francisco!

[Estado Chileno/Brasileño] Solidaridad con lxs presxs subversivxs y anarquistas de largas condenas

Posted on 2021/08/10 - 2021/08/10 by darknights

Gesto audiovisual editado de manera conjunta en solidaridad con lxs prisionerxs subversivxs y anarquistas de largas condenas en lucha en las cárceles chilenas por el Ciclo de Cine Anticarcelario (Chile) y Antimidia (Brasil).

Source: Contra Info