119 lines
5.3 KiB
Plaintext
119 lines
5.3 KiB
Plaintext
South African Anarchists Organise
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In 1989 one of the first anarchist organisations in modern
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African history came into existence. This was the
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Awareness League of Nigeria. The AL had a membership
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of over 1000 people at the time of its formation and,
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despite the severe repression in that country, it has
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continued to function as one of the organisations fighting
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the military dictatorship there.
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Now a further organisation has begun to work for the
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objective of anarchism in Africa - this is the Workers
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Solidarity Federation (WSF) of South Africa. The WSF
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was formed in 1994 and it publishes a newspaper called
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Workers Solidarity.
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APARTHEID
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The first issue of this paper contains major articles on
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Anarchism, the Student Struggles in South Africa, the
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current situation in Nigeria and the recent local elections
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in South Africa. In a short article on the 1994 General
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Election the WSF note that the election - and the formal
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ending of apartheid - was a massive advance for the
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struggle in South Africa allowing for freedom of
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association and speech for the right to strike and protest.
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Further on, however, they warn that the legacy of
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apartheid is still with us. 2.3 million South Africans
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suffer from malnutrition. Only 45% live in houses. Only
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2 out of every 10 Africans finish school At the same time,
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5% of the population own 80% of the wealth. The WSF
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notes that the ANC government has set itself very
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limited goals to redress this.
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The WSF is, at this stage, a very young organisation. Yet,
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its very existence at this time in South Africa is proof
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positive that anarchist ideas are growing again as an
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important force on the left. Anarchists and socialists
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everywhere will wish them the very best. The WSF can
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be contacted at PO Box 1717, Rosettenville, Joburg 2130,
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South Africa. Please send a donation if you want a copy
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of their paper, Workers Solidarity.
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Anarchist students win in Australian NUS election
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Reports from Australia indicate that an anarchist influenced
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student initiative called the Non-Aligned-Left has been
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elected to almost all the regional National Union of
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Students officer ships and is the largest faction on the
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national officer ships. The NUS represents some 450,000
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students. It is the first time the Australian Labour Party has
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lost control of any state NUS branch and the first time non-
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Labour factions have had a majority on the national
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executive.
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According to NAL activist Marcus Westbury "The NAL has
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existed for only 2 years. They have grown from a handful of
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delegates to the second largest NUS faction primarily
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because of their commitment to participatory decision
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making, a non hierachial structure, and their non binding
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nature."
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Czech anarchists mobilise against fascists
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According to a local correspondent, there was a day of
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action against "racism, fascism and police terror" in
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Brno in the Czech Republic on December 9th 1995
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organised by the Czech Anarchist Federation and Czech
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Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice (SHARP). There
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has been a rise in both paramilitary fascist groups and
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'respectable' parliamentary ones in recent years
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growing out of both anti-Gypsy and anti-immigration
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racism. Some 60% of Czechs, according to polls, are
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hostile to Gypsies.
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A number of people have been killed in recent years by
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fascists but the police ignored the fact that these killings
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have been carried out by fascists. A previous but
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smaller anti-fascist march in 1992 was attacked by a big
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group of fascists but this time the larger march spotted,
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attacked and drove off a gang of fascists despite the
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police attempting to protect the fascists. Three people,
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all anti-fascists, were arrested after this incident.
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513 anarchists arrested in Greece
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On November 18th this year after an overnight battle
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with police and fascist gangs on one side and Greek
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anarchists on the other riot police stormed Athens
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Polytechnic and arrested 513 of the 2000 mostly
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anarchist occupiers.
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The occupation of the polytechnic is an annual
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demonstration to commemorate the massacre of
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students carried out there in 1973 by the brutal military
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junta which then ruled the country. The media
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attempted to portray the occupation as the work of a
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handful of teenage hooligans and went as far as using
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'live' footage which was actually from riots last year. In
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actual fact of those arrested only 40 were under 18.
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One eyewitness reported how "one man was caught by
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the police in the evening. He was brutally beaten up by
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25 police officers. He was taken behind a police car and
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kicked on the head by high-rank police officers, he was
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already unconscious. He was then delivered to the
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hospital. Reporters' videos' of that scene were taken
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away by the police. Other reporters helped wipe the
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blood of the street."
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In the course of the attack and defence of the building
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some 2.5 million dollars of damage was done to the
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building. Not surprisingly the anarchists were charged
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not only for this damage but also with 'invading the
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Polytechnic', and 'destroying a national symbol' by
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burning Greek flags. Over 100 have now been
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sentenced to jail terms of between 4 and 40 months.
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This is the latest of an apparent wave of repression
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directed at Greek anarchists which has included bizarre
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accusations like blaming them for the forest fire that
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swept a suburb of Athens this year.
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