On silencing voices from Eastern Europe at anarchist events in EU
Over the past few years, quite a few organizations and groups have appeared in the anarchist milieu that actively exclude activists from “Solidarity Collectives”, “ABC-Belarus”, and a number of other anarchist and anti-authoritarian organizations from public events, blocking their participation and writing various kinds of “statements” condemning their work in support of Ukrainian resistance to the Russian invasion.
Over the past few years, quite a few organizations and groups have appeared in the anarchist milieu that actively exclude activists from “Solidarity Collectives”, “ABC-Belarus”, and a number of other anarchist and anti-authoritarian organizations from public events, blocking their participation and writing various kinds of “statements” condemning their work in support of Ukrainian resistance to the Russian invasion. The basis for such behavior is often the distorted positions of activists from Eastern Europe on the war. Anarchists are accused of becoming militarists, supporting the war, and not being critical enough of the Ukrainian state.
(French, Spanish, Greek, Polish, Italian and German versions under the list of signatories)
In our opinion, such behavior is not worthy of the anarchist movement — we believe in the need for dialogue on controversial issues. Attempts to force anarchists to say the “right” things so that Western comrades are willing to listen to them and donate to them look like coercion. We do not consider the work of the “Solidarity Collectives” and “ABC-Belarus” to be in any way pro-war or supportive of state militarism. We categorically condemn any attempts to isolate anarchist collectives from Eastern Europe on the issue of the Russian regime’s military expansion.
We call on other anarchist collectives to show solidarity with anarchists who are fighting here and now against the regimes of Putin and Lukashenko with weapons or stones in their hands. Resistance to the state is not possible without solidarity, critical thinking, and dialogue on complex political issues.
List of signatories to this statement (if you want to be added to this list, please contact one of the organizations from the list):
Solidarity Collectives (Ukraine)
Anarchist Black Cross Belarus
Anarchist Group Amsterdam
Anarchist Black Cross Moscow
Fires of Freedom (RU)
Anarchist collective “Periphery” (RU)
Solidrones (CZ)
Antijob (RU)
Autonomous Action (RU)
BOAK (Battle Organization of Anarchist-Communists, RU)
Priama Diia — (Ukraine)
Anarchist Black Cross Dresden (DE)
Pramen (Belarus)
Assemblea Solidaritat Antifeixista Ucraïna (València/Spain)
Belarusian anarchists of Warsaw
Anarchistyczny Czarny Krzyż – Galicja (ABC Galicja, Poland)
XVX Tacticaid (Poland)
Friends of Ukraine and Batko Machno (Poland)
Anarchistická federace/ (Czech) Anarchist Federation
Resistance support club (Czech/Brno)
Samosprávné komunitní centrum Trhlina (Czech/Praha)
Riot over River (Czech/Praha)
Antifašistická akce (Czech)
Utopia libri, publishing coop (Czech, Praha)
Anarchist Black Cross Gothenburg (Sweden)
Mustan kanin kolo (Helsinki, Finland)
Tattoo Circus Helsinki (Finland)
Food Not Bombs Praha (sobota) (Czech)
Prague Anarchist Bookfair
Radical Aid Force (DE)
Oddolne Centrum Społeczno Kulturalne “Postój” (Poland)
Revolutionary Antifascists (Denmark)
R.O.T.T.A. (Helsinki/Finland)
ANIKA – Anarchismus in Karlsruhe (DE)
Tábor Solidarity, Czech Republic
Феминистское Антивоенное Сопротивление в Гамбурге (FAR Hamburg)
Redazione di “Qui siamo in guerra” (Italy)
Antiauthoritarian Alliance (Italy)
AK Athens (Greece)
AK Ioannina (Greece)
Good Night Imperial Pride (DE)
Radical cuties 1312 (Berlin)
Tofustand (Berlin)
Solitraktori (Finland)
Mustaselja collective of anti-authoritarian sex workers (Finland)
Musta Pispala festival (Finland)
161 Crew (Poland)
Lisbon Kidz
Musta Lippu-collective (Black Flag) (Tampere, Finland)
Ukrainian Solidarity Front (USA and Canada)
Feminist Translocalities (DE)
Taxanka (Catalunya)
Shadowbookfair Helsinki (Finland)
Shadowbookfair Turku (Finland)
Kapinatyöläinen (Finland)
Umsonstladen Villa Galgenberg (DE)
Anarchist Collective Antwerp (Belgium)
Feminist Antiwar Resistance (Finland)
Vrije Markt (NL)
Individually:
Peter Gelderloos
Javier Sethness
Mikola Dziadok
Dimitri Petrov Senior