Vol. V. 20p

Organ of the Anarchist Black Cross*^

K A F E S T O T O T H E

N A T I O N A L

II A R C H I S T

M O V EM EN T L O R E N Z OK O M B O A

E R V I N

"Before the First World War the main impetus for SocialRevolution came from the Anarchist and revolutionarySyndicalist movements. However, following the defeatof the Russian Revolution with the triumph of author-itarian (State) Communism, world Capitalism tended toconcentrate its energies on destroying this (real) appar-ent danger to its continued existence, thus giving theimpression that the Libertarian movement and its ideaswere superfluous, or, at best, a side issue to the mainstruggle, so far as the organized working class was con-cerned. Only in a minority of countries did Anarchismtake the lead, elsewhere the very idea of freedom wentinto decline (Albert Me/tzer in 'THE INTERNATION-AL REVOLUTIONARY SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT',Cienfuegos Press 1974).

"The modern States (totalitarian or democratic),private and State capita/ism, all variations of politicaland religious ideology, trade unionism (whether reformistor State-run), in general, all social groups which are panof the productive society have established, as a fact,a co-existence that tends at any cost, to ensure the presentstatus quo for all forms of privilege, exploitation, andauthority". (Meltzer)

East and West, States are the oppressors of the peo-ple. But Capitalism is being undermined due to economicand political crises (expression, inflation, exposures ofpolitical corruption) and a myriad of social and culturalills. Our time is indelibly branded by the robbery ofhuman labour power, and by the exploitation of naturalresources. The denial of freedom, world war, and op-pression by the State also characterizes our period.

The incapability of bourgeois scientists and politi-cians to get to the root of these problems opens the doorsto Anarchist revolutionary activities. This obvious worldwide destruction as well as the every-approaching planet-ary catastrophe, (that even the Bourgeoisie can see!),opens up for the Anarchist world-view the best possiblecircumstances since the beginnings of the Anarchist move-ment. Thus, Anarchism presently faces an excellentopportunity to become a dominating social force inmodern society, to change the scientific, cultural, andsocial chaos into a free society, and to implement Libert-arian Socialism on a world scale.

The Anarchist society will only be realized as aresult of world-wide social' revolution. However, thiswill be possible only when there exists a internationalrevolutionary Anarchist organization. An organizationwhich can co-ordinate the everywhere existing resistancestruggles of the people, but without centralizing thoseactivities, and which con give to the actions Libertariangoals, at which point we know we can make freedom andLibertarian Socialism come true.

The Social Revolution is proletarian international. not merely an insurrection in one land, and must

i to goal wbrld-wide Anarchist rebellion and over-throw of the State. We need an organization and a Socialrevolutionary movement capable of launching, sustaining,and co-ordinating our struggles in every country.

; Cont. page 9'

: International Prisoners; Thorpe; China;Times; Body Guards & more

BLACK FLAG is late again - andnot too well produced at that. Ourproblems have not been financial —though they could, of course, bedispensed with by cash. They restupon the breakdown of a typesettingmachine, and the difficulties of obtain-ing a typesetter where the work couldbe done commercially.

We were, in fact, all set to trans-form BLACK FLAG into a fortnight-ly, and this will certainly come aboutin the foreseeable future. Strange,when this is the second copy in theyear - and it's supposed to be amonthly (more or less)? Not sostrange when one thinly that theproblems of a fortnightly are utterlydifferen t.

However we can't go ahead withouta solution to the typesetter problem —and purchase a new one involves sev-eral thousands of pounds. We hopeto reach an agreement with somegroup doing typesetting. Meanwhile,once again we offer our opologies forirregularity and the appearance of theFlag, for so long vain of its appear-

'"#. •

K 'V.

BSNEFIT (PRE-TRIAL)'PERSONS UNKNOWN'SATURDAY 8TH SEPT.CDNWAY HALL; 7.30 PMGRASS; POISON GIRLSAND ONE MORE GROUP

3 PM - 6 PM MEETINGDEFENDANTS WILL TALKABOUT THE CASE3EFORS DANCE.

DON'T FORGET THE"FLAG" COMPANEROSWE GET NO MONEYFROM THE WORLDCOUNCIL OF CHURCHES!

On to the Fortnightly! We realisethat others are thinking of thesame thing — an Anarchist paperwith fortnightly, and some in Londonhope weekly, issues. The morethe merrier — there is plenty of scope.Regularity means topicality «T*~,and dealing with current issues - butthese cannot be dealt with by anypaper under fortnightly appearance.

Is a daily an impossible pipe dream?Not so. It is within the bounds ofimmediate possibility if three orfour fortnightly papers were broughtout by different groups, were success-ful, and saw the possibilty of collab-oration.

VOLUME V. NO. 9 20p.

Published by Black Flag, Over theWater, Sanday, Orkney, KW17v 2BL

Printed by Little @ Ltd.. MetropolitanWharf, C.1, Wapping Wall, Wappint,

London ElTypesetting & Layout by Black FlagCollective, c/o Little @ Ltd., Metro-politan Wharf, C1, Wapping Wall

London E1Subs. £4.00 per 12 issues (home).Canada/Australia/N.Z. (airmail)U S.A. $14.50. Seamail S7.50

Postage dnduding A8C) 114J&Stationery 10.00

386.50Sales & Subs 231.14Donations + 85.50 316.64

Lossdeficit c/fwd

69.861326.58

new deficit 1396.41

Last issue sold out but we wouldstill solve our deficit if all copieswere paid for. But as long as it's belowtho dreaded £1400 figure it's manageable.+ donationsLondon: Punk Concert £15; JH £5;JG £6; SM £1; 'Smithfield Mob'£25; JF £2.50, AM £20, CoshamSB £7; Washington (Tyneside) DAS£4. TOTAL. £85.50.

PAGE 2

ANARCHO-QUIZ

3fe% •••' ;*• •';/ .,-:.WM-,1. Pope Innocent III ordered acrusade against the Albigensian(Cathar) heretics: what wasthe answer of the Church to themilitary commander who askedduring the siege of Beziers(France) how in the heat ofbattle he could distinguish bet-ween Cathar heretics and theCatholic faithful?

2. How is it that Britishachievement in geriatric sciencenever gets recognised in theHonours List?

3. What have Pullman Wagons deLit (sleeping cars) to do withanarchism?

4. What has the statue of QueenAnne outside St Paul's Cathedralin London, in common with thethe statue of Brigham Young inthe middle of Salt Lake City(at least, as enshrined in jest)?

5. Which English politician wascompared during the electioncampaign (admiringly) with Mich-ael Bakunin and other Russianrevolutionaries?

6. Mr G.N.Strauss.until theelection Father of the House andnow in the Lords, once collabor-ated with Anarchists andothers in a 'terrorist murderplot'. What did he do ?

Answers on page 23

interview

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO 'INDIVIDUALIST'ANARCHISM?

'Punk is dead'.' so goes a song writ-ten by a group calliVig themselvesCRASS and who have brought anarchismback on to th urrrtable. CRASS areirt of i..f-r1 lT~fo|j||feJ "" near

Spping. We wondered if they weremerely?l i>|lig*ffrbifefB« headydays of '76, or whether in fact they™had anything to offer the anarchistmovement. Some of them have beenliving in the collective for aboutfifteen years in a rented farm-house where their lifestyle wouldseem to reflect the kinds of anarch-ism they have adopted. They livefrugally, are anti-consumer and whenthey need money they do the odd jobto get what they need. In otherwords, lihey live at a very low mone-tary level - consuming only what theyneed. At the same time they realisetnat they don't need to compensatefor an unsatisfying life by spendingmoney and 'consuming'.

Unlike most rock bands the grouphave put a lot of thought not onlyinto how their music relates totheir audience but also how it re-lates in the wider context to their

type of anarchism.' CRASS (Oxford dict-ionary: stupid, ignorant, etc.) act-ually describe themselves as 'indiv-idualist' anarchists, although onfirst sight appear to be just anotherbunch of peace freaks who live in acommune and grow their own' food. How-ever, despite this, they are trying

to spread anarchist ideas not onlyamongst the Left but also amongstthe extreme Right, this being themain thing that sets them apartfrom other 'individualist' anarchists(and rock groups). They consider thattheir way of IBfe*«*iSSies'fir*t, whilsttheir"Tfiu§i'e is only an extensionof it. One interesting aspect oftheir lifestyle is that unlike mostanarchists who find themselves outof work and who tend to advocateliving off the dole (as if in doingso they are striking a blow at capit-alist society), CRASS bluntlyrefuse to take any hand-outs, real-ising (quite rightly) .that if theyBecame claimants their collectivewould then in fact be financed bythe State. Many anarchists tend tojustify the former belief by statingthat if everyone went on the dolethen the capitalist society wouldcollapse. This is, of course,unrealistic as everyone isn't goingto go on the dole. There is theother point that eventually, inorder for capitalism to continue,it will be necessary for a highpercentage of the population to bepaid not to work (even Tory M.P.'sare getting used to this idea andsome are even advocating it). Butas anarchists this doesn't really_concern us as it is merely reformismand we are not interested in aidingcapitalism in recuping itself. Cont page 21

PAGE 3

C H INAA FILM Kajt bain made in China bas-ed on the novel "The Family" byPa Chin, whose conflicts with theStata we have recorded ki thewcolumns.

The book It available in English(theohfy one of his to be). It hasbeen censored; the film may be verymuch more so. But it would be inter-esting to see if it ever comes your

"Shouhuo" (Harvest), a Shanghailiterary publication, has in its Febru-ary issue "Memoirs on the creativework of the noted writer Ba Jih"(in.thf new spelling).

'•After a mass rally on Feb 6, theprovincial party committee in Canton"exonerated" two of the three act-ivists who issued the "notorious"poster "On Socialist Democracy andthe Legal System" in Kwang Tungback in 1974.

Known as the Li Ti Zhe poster"(after the three concerned: Ki Cheng,a student, Wang Xizhe,* worker.and Guo Hongzhi, a party cadre)it caused a big stir at home andabroad. Typical of China that oneposter on one wall could make sucha stir!

"Confessing", but only just, Liand Wang said the campaign wasnot a "drive for Western democracy",as it had been interpreted, and theywere "dissidents of the CommunistParty".

But of Gup. no word. He was notthere to join in the praise for thecurrent leadership. That means eitherhe refused to recant or that he isdead. If the former, he will be inone of the permanent prisons wherepeople rot for years as they are "re-habilitated" — which usually meansthat they petition to stay on "untilthe year of re-education" — whichmay be foiever. A grim sick jokeof Maoism.

•VuiS.ince training'shows police horses how to cope with the enemy.(Metropolitan Police training school photo).

I 111! ft'fiC'23 ^M » f f it d V d O

There has been a concerted attack onmilitant students at Sussex Universityby the University heirarchy, theAnarchist students being singled outfor vicious treatment. The Student's

authorise a programme of disruptionto stop the preliminary examinations.Many of the students had been forcedto re-sit it as they had refused toattend the original exams.

On May 31, as students werecrashing dustbins outside an examinat-ion hall and creating a row, the ViceChancellor's assistant and anothermember ot the management wereseen photographing the incident. Thisresulted on June 1 in Richard Flintbeing accused of being personallyresponsible toi the boycott/disru pt-ion, and he and Shaun Senior, anotherAnarchist, were given until midnighton the Sunday to be out of the campus.

The Vice-Chancellor told them that aUniversity had to be non-democraticin order to be run efficiently, andthere was no room for the "consumersto participate in decision making". A^__ Btingwas planned for

This attack on Anarchists is afurther illustration of the intensify-ing of action against Anarchist inparticular. The mailing list of EssexAnarchist was stolen, it is believedby Special Branch. Then came thenews that 300 Students were alsothreatened with explusion for beingon rent strike.

Sadly, therehave had no outside support. Lettersof support should be sent to .

Dave Nundy27a Park Village,Univ. of Sussex,

Falmer,Sussex.

What's Happened Here?I have been caged, iso-lated, segregated, alien-ated, classified, review-ed, denied, put off, puton, beat up, gassed,starved, tortured, sham-ed, humiliated, degraded,subjected to fear, paran-oia, frustration, depress-ion, rage and sorrow, asense of emptiness, asense of loss, and digit-ial sodomy.

" . •. -; ™i* ••.- **'-•*• i1*W- ---v4 £I have been used, abused,lied to and about, play-ed as a pawn, ignored,sensationalized, scape-goatatized, and so muchmore that words alonecannot tell you aboutthis existence.

' feel a hurt so bad, sodeep, a rage so consum-ing, that only love cansave me from myself.

PAGE 4

Carl L. Harp age 30 serv-ing four consecutive lifeterms in the Wn. StatePenitentiary is an Anar-rhist Communist and mem-ber of the Anarchist. BlackDragon Collective in thePenitentiary.

Glasgow Anarchist Group — contactJohn Cooper, 34 Raithburb Avenue,Castle-milk, Glasgow G45.

1

Forget all the talk about Thorpe'getting off because he was apnember of the Establishment. If theycan't get justice, who can?

The fact is his acquittal provestwo things. One, that the ConspiracyLaws are seen as a vicious red herringand should be repealed instantly.It was not denied that there was aconspiracy. There were "nods andwinks" which, a judge once said,was all that needed to be proved.But not a conspiracy to murder. On ecan "conspire" to do many thingssome of them lawful, some of themmeritable, some inconsequential.That can be taken to prove evidenceof a non-existent crime.

Two, the secret service got ahammering — overlooked by thepress hanging about like vulturesfb exploit the sex angle. The casewas cooked up b South Af riIntelligence throughjourhaHstt vriMfortunes though not as much as theymight have made if they had gota conviction. It is a defeat for theLaw and Order Partv.

A.T.3. 3ITE TRAINERS.

The Anti-Terrorist Squad arrestedtwo members of the HampsteadLabour Party on election day, andstrip-searched and 'interrogated'them. Ken Livingstone, Parliament-ary candidate, has protested to Scot-land Yard about this "ham-handedmistake".

Alas, the moral is that when youallow your Labour Home Secretaryto pass "draconian laws" and thenstand by while the ATS are givenfull licence to rad other politicalpersuasion than yours, you won'tbe taken seriously when it's your turn

Margaret Fletcher and Nick Mullenwere collecting elderly people whenthey called at the hit address —'they could not understand the tenorof the questioning', it was said. Butthis perhaps they can understand:when the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.

LIGHTNING INSURANCE

The Blasphemy La*s were due to begiven a critical eye once more butwith the new Attorney General thishas perhpas been dropped. How cananyone take them seriously (but fortheir possible legal consequences?)

Consider the case against GayNews ending with a large fine. Onesees the point of a blasphemy law,if it is in order to propitiate a jealousGod liable to strike us all dead for thesins of the minority, and the onlything to do to avert a calamity is toburn the offenders at the stake. Thisat least makes sense...provided onebelieves. But what is achieved by »,fine and costs? Nothing is propitiatedand nobody is persuaded. If theState cannot say openly that whatis wanted is to protect religion againstridicule then it should drop thecharges of "blasphemy" in which itclearly does not believe itself.

iLESCENT FEVERGuardian

an old friend) says that Ang-ela Carter now a leadingwriter, 'had an adolescentfever for anarchism1 whichcalls to mind Lenin's 'infan-tile disorder'. "In her mat-urity she still thinks themright, and righter all thetime"..how come the adolesce-nt bit then? "The troubleis she reflects ruefully,when two anarchists meet,there's straightaway a split."1

Chuckles from appreciative

IGuardian readers; from 57 va-ieties of Trots, eight different Liberal tendencies, terfactions of the Labour Party,]and Marxists of all shadesand sizes. Yet what split ex-ists among anarchists?Between revolutionary anarch-ists, hardly any differences.Among the Quasi-Anarchists,diluted peaceniks and life-style libertarians, perhapsa few. The problem is thatthis essential difference isnot spelled out. "She tells

Ian anecdote of Communist BplPAGE S

-ogna, a demo of millions ofcops and about JQ anarchistsold men with a record ofaeons in gaol and kids. Oh.it was a proud moment forher when she first saw thered and gold unfurled ! Butwhat a shock when she locate-ed the point of the demo: aprotest about English brutal-ity in Ireland." Someone -1 suspect at the Guardian -has got a little confused.Not so when they interviewedAlexander Zinoviev. On Solzh-enitsyn he remarked shrewd-ly that he and other dissid-ent writers "to a certainextent prevent more extremeforms of resistance, iveryone who plays a passive ro-ieplays also a negative role."And yet he does not despairof Russia. "I am sur* tahAnd yet he does not despairof Russia . " I am .su**e thttterrorism will come about.dose of Anarchism is part

Russian soul. 1 am

typical 'Russian

Mr F. Randall B.::-cDI-A vl.cnd) is a.n offic-ial academic explainer ofpolitical ideas, and ispresumed to be able toteach the young theissues and parties ofthe day. His textbook"British Government and[Politics", in th? K A :Handbook series publishedby Macdonald & Evans ic

I hereby awarded the JosephGeobbeIs/Donald Dur.k prisefor objectivity.A sample:..."(a; THE USA LEFT1 is

|not a parly out a numberof groups frequently atodds with each other »utunited in a common beliefthat society should be[governed by an elite.

Cont. Page 23

*iaiMftaB^

i£lH*f|if l|jd atjk T.. I'-

mmmmAnarchist Black Cross

77w Anarchist Black Cross is not ofitself an organisation but it is a spring-board for organization. It standsfor solidarity with political prisonersand with all libertarian prisonerswhether their offences are politicalor not. We recognise that ourresources are limited but even so havemanaged to work for authoritarianpolitical prisoners on occasion orfor others in general.

Our simple formula for prisonersaid is the 'round of drinks' for anabsent friend. It is only necessaryto contribute the cost of a round ofdrinks, at or after every meeting,use it to help a comrade inside. Groupswhich do this beome the most com-mitted to all revolutionary work.

It is as well to save money untilit is worth sending but there arealways many urgent causes — Justas, at present, in addition to theforthcoming trial (Sept. 10th is thelatest date given) thereJs the trialpending of Spani^ French and . ,British miUWfiUjn/atis; and manyin the USA, Girmams and Spain -to name but a few countries.

Work for prisoners is not thesame as propaganda activity. If one iseducating the general public onemakes generalisations-Abolish thePrison s. Disband the SPG and soon. It is a half-baked idea to paint aback wall with the request to a be-wildered passer by to free JohnSmith. If it cannot be done by a masscampaign it needs to be done by per-sonal contact, legal aid, individual(and humiliating) approaches to auth-ority or influence. It is not doneby small groups endlessly duplicatingmanifestos to each other. That is thestuff of political agitation but not theway to help prisoners. There is noreason why there whould not bepolitical agitation but one must recog-nise that these are two distinctmatters.

In the main, in the work of theBlack Cross, we have done this. Ifthere is what is known as the 'BlackFlag tendency' it is the result of manymilitants with differenct strains ofexperience coming together in acommon endeavour. One both learnsfrom militants who have fallen foul ofrepression and teaches them too. Onedraws inspiration from them and theygive it too. This is how real, not paper,in temationals are made.

O'Mcally. VtotoritV

longest semng prisoner,was released last weekafter serving 27 years of alife sentence imposed in1952 for tite killing of Con-stable George Howell.

IF THEY COME FOR YOU IN THE NIGHTby Tobin

*tf tMy ««M* ft»fti*iii tnjrrtThen they will come for me in Hfe mornntgSo we must stand together and fightWe don't need no other warningI am finished with sitting on the fenceTo fight is my best defenceI'll find you when the walls fall.

If they break you mind in jailThen they will break my heart in passingSo we must struggle on win or fail'Cause its us they're bashing and gassingRevolution is pie up in the skyHere in hell we only fryStill, I'll find you when the walls fall.

We can hear you crying at nightNo matter where they build their KatingalsCan you hear us demanding the rightTo raze the jails, let the prisoners mingleUtopia is not around the bendBut I'll be damned I will not bendI'll find you when the walls fall.

Q. Why do we need Armies?A. To keep our handles on!

PAGE 6

The following* an extract of a letterreceiving from a comrade in Aust-ralia, proving again that fact is strangerthan fiction.

On Saturday (April 14th) followingthe Tuesday picket of the Victoriantourist bureau, Paul, Geraldine, Gay,and Eric & pet Daschund cum lover(no pun intended) went out to the cityjail to hand out leaflets to outgoingvisitors, complete with I.W.W. bannersthat N.Z. exile Michelle Badgirl hadtemporarily donated to the cause.After exhausing their supplies ofprinted matter, all 5 headed back tothe Jura shrine to reassure them thattheir Standards hadn't slipped. Well,as it was a Saturday, the bookshopwas full of reverent worshippers whohad collectively gathered to pay

vthf tnefttonof yesteryearjwhose coitaetiytspfeit weekly mater-ialises through a medium - that of theprinted word; and furthermore, to

[engage in ritualistic sexual acts which(ould surely contravene the Mutual

|Masturbatory Act of 1905. Onerk Maqueer. G.O.B.

jaculation, ran at the entourage asthey came in the doorway, screaming:"Get that dog out of here!" & showingvisible signs of cancer in its inter-mediate stages. Then the Grand Lizardof Jura, recently returned from anoverseas study of the workings ofthe Freedom Bookshop in London(only last week, at 7.30 a.m., washe seen trying to pass Peace News &Industrial Worker as "Anarchist" publi-cations to an unsuspecting NorthShore public) • yes, none other thanAlan F. Westfield - engaged in verbalsparring with Geraldine (which Gerald-ine won on a T.K.O.) "they were theI.W.W., not us; we had/» daim to thebanners; it was better that the bannersstayed in the I.W.W. temple upstairsgathering dust than to fall into thehands of such riff-raff as ourselves;why, we don't even pay dues - howdare we call ourselves I.U.D. Local 5(meanwhile Bill O'Meally continues torot in gaol). However, such rationalewas no match for Geraldine's abras-ive wit, and it was an overwhelmingpoints decision in favour of the girlfrom Tasmania.

FROM YOUR ROVING REPORTERIN AUSTRALIA

Cent pap 7

usa u.s./canada

i.. M!'-"-

border

MONTGOMERY, Ala. Time has run outfor the last 23 of some 6OO black men whostood to collect thousands of dollars becausethey were tricked into taking part inthe government's infamous Tuskegeesyphilis study, comparable to the JonestownGuyana massacre.

A report from Associated Press stated thatthe US Public Health S ervice experiment./011 APril 13th ten Anarchists and four others,

crossing from Windsor to Detroit were seizedUS Customs officials on entering the States.The 12 Canadians and "two Americans werehauled from their van , put against a wall,body searched and interrogated for six hours.Finally, the two Americans were releasedbut the 12 Canadians were threatened withindefinite detention if they rtAued to submitto fingerprinting. Following forced finger-printing, they were expelled from the US

which began in 1932 and ended 4O yearslater, consisting of withholding from 4OOsyphilis victims the treatment necessary,so doctors could study the effect of theuntreated disease on the human body.The 2OO other participants did not havesyphilis and were used as a control group.

'After disclosure of the experiment in1972 produced public outcry, ttostudywas discontinued and the Health Servicebegan the following year notifying theparticipants that they had been used asguinea pigs.

The participants, all poor, unschc ledblack men, were never told the purposeof the study or that they hadsyphilis. They were persuaded toparticipate by promises of freetreatment for illnesses other thansyphilis, free meals and free burials.'At least 28 men died as a direct resultof untreated syphilis, and officialsestimate that the number of deathsattributable to the experiment mayexceed 1OO.'

Thie type of Buchenwald experimentwas carried out in Nazi Germany byforce; in free America it is carried outby fraud.i brazilFED TO FISH

Arecently discovered tribe of Chip-ula Indians. I am told, found living in'paradaisical bliss' in a remote valleyin the jungles of western Brazil werereported to have thrown two repre-sentatives of FTFiilto the piranha-infested waters of the Itui River,where they were immediately de-voured. ITT could offernoexplanation for this uncharacter-istic behaviour. The ITT salesteam had been demonstratingcolour TV to the tribe by show-ing a documentary on life in theUS when they were suddenlyattacked, no reason being given.

Anarchist literature was seized, alsodocuments intended for a conference ofthe Anarchist Communist Conference

North America in Ypsilanti.Michiganmthe group's destination.The official charges are:You are seeking to enter the U»lted States

engage in activities which wc*ld be prejud-.cialto the public interest; you advocateopposition to all organised government (i.e.anarchy); you probably would, after entry,engage in an activity a purpose of which isthe opposition to the Government of theUnited States by uncc nstitutional means.'Entry was refused under the

1952 Immigration Act, relevant sectionsof which date back to 190L It was pointedout by Toronto Anarchists that thisis a clear violation of the 1975 Helsinkiagreement which provides for the un-hindered passage of individuals and ideasbetween signatory nations.

More, this treatment, which fa morearbitrary and despotic than that sufferedat the notorious East Berlitfrontier (which at least guara nteesunhindered passage to West Berlin)

•j is directed at visitors to the US and aimedI at subverting their viewpoints.

Statists always imagine they own thecountry in which they reside. All istheirs to dispose of as they wish.

But in a commercial-minded society likethe US they will be wary of losing thelucrative business that goes with preyingon strangers - if it can be demonstrated

That the 12 are not-alone. ,

PAGE 7

tranceFive years aftBt.ltte auction of theSpanish banker Suarez (who rememb-ers?) the French Public Prosecutorhas dug-up the case, dating back tothe black years of Franco's agonis-ing rule. In Spain, all cases connect-ed with the Resistance against Francohave been amnestied. In France,they linger on.

Eleven libertarian militants onprovisional liberty since the end of1974 risk a heavy sentence at theend of a slapdash trial to be heldin the summer recess.

five years await-ing trial, not a page has been addedto the case for the prosecution.

Like that of the GARI the casehas been kept in the dark, lost in thefiles, since 1974. They were thenaccused of receiving stolen property.Abruptly, in March 1978, anotheraccusation was added, that of compli-city in holding the Director of theBank of Bilbao for a period of twentydays following his kidnapping inPans, May 1974 (a political kidnapp-ing to obtain the release of Spanishprisoners). This belated accusationpermits the case to be sent to theAssize Court. Until now, neitherpolice nor the Public Prosecutorhave been able in the slightest degreeto show any proof of their accusat-ions. It entirely rests on the accus-ation of receiving three million francswhich corresponds to the ransom.

This accusation rests entirely onthe actions of one Inocencio Martin-ez, who is said to have left the bagwith the ransom in a parked car inAvignon and disappeared into Spainimmediately afterwards. He is suppos-ed to have been followed by Frenchpolice up to the point of leaving theransom — and then lost light of.No need to comment on the weaknessof this case — the irony being thatgranted.

It involves militants from themovements in several countries —including this. It seems a last-ditchstand of the Francoists in France.

ROHAN BENNETT is still injail in Brixtor; - theofficial reason for his hav|ing been refused bail isthe dangers of "the Irishconnection" which "cannc*.be overlooked1!. It isnow officially admitted,it would seem, that pei—sons of Irish origin -even if, as in this case,born in England are secondclass citizens. Cont. page 8

westOne of the dangerous aspects forfree expression in the law is that itprovides a catch-all in that it penal-ises but does not define "the violationof public order" and an "offenceagainst personal liberty" as expressedin literature. It is open to a vast armyof interpretations - and to Statecorruption.

The arrest of the AGIT printerswill result in an epidemic of insecur-ity among printers. Not only print-shop owners but workers are maderesponsible for what they print, andpresumably all should act as censors.

The way out, in England wouldbe for printworkers to use their lawgiven rights of political censorshipto hold up the daily press, until thelaw is repealed. But this is not likely .to happen at this stage in Germany.Even to express the idea might beillegal.

In October, 1977 four rgembersof a West Berlin printing presscollective, AGIT, were arrested andcharged under 129 88a with "support-ing a terrorist organisation". In thatmonth, 38 private dwellings, librariesand one printing press were searched.Is the •'t*frodtt,ruwrttCin" jhatvlarge?

The four member of AGIT, two ofwhom had stopped working for AGITsix months before, were imprisonedbecause they had printed texts of theJune 2nd movement, the RAFand the revolutionary cells. Thesewere in a weekly, IN FO- BUG whichAGIT printed.

The weekly had been in existencesince 1973 providing an undogmaticarena for debate betwen the ex t r a -parliamentary left. Views varied great-ly. AGIT was founded in 1968 to printfor alternative groups and others.It was charged, not because it hadprovided INFO—BUG, let alone theRAF, with arms or economic aid, butbecause it had printed the 'illegal'ideas the readers had expressed.

Another printer who offered toprint INFO BUG was raided in Septem-ber. Meanwhile, the four AGIT pris-oners were held for nine months underpreventive detention awaiting trial.

In a ploy recognisable here too,the one woman was held in high secur- •ity.

In August 1978 they were finallyreleased on bail, following a massivepublic support. They now await trial. .

Such h the "State of mentalsiege" in Germany. Once more,thought does not travel free of toll.•{"Gedenken sollen zollfrei")

NYC +The New York chapter ofthe Anarchist Black Crossannounced the publicat-ion after a long delay,of Lorenzo Komboa Ervin'spamphlet "Anarchism andthe Black Revolution".For copies write to Gin-ger Katz: Anarchist BlackCross, 339 Lafayette St.,New York, NY 10012.

Komboa was one of theMarion Brothers, theprisoners at the infam-ous Behaviour Modificat-ion Centre at the Marion,Illinois prison. This unithas been used especiallyfor Black militant prison-ers whose political dis-cussions and educationalactivities among theother prisoners wereeffective enough to att-ract the attention ofprison officials who feelsuch behaviour stands in

all means necessary1 tthey can get away with.

Soon after its estab-lishment less than tenyears ago the Marion unitbecame notorious amongpeople interested inchanging the criminaljustice system and concern-ed with simple humandecency and social justicefor Black people, prison-ers and everyone else.Criticism came from allkinds of people and organ-isations, regardless oftheir political or otherassociation.

Psychological termslike "behaviour modifi-cation" and 'aversiontherapy' and a rationaleof modern pseudo sciencebecame a mask for torture- severe enough to causethe deaths of ten prisonersin the first five years,of the unit's operation.

PAGE 8 . ~

Anarchist Black Cross(New York) originallyundertook to publishKomboa's writings be-cause it was hoped thepublicity they generatedwould have three effects.Fir st, it might makethose who had Komboa attheir mercy afraid to goas far as they had withthe ten prisoners whodid not survive theMarion unit's versionof 'behaviour modifi-cation". Second, it wasthought it might leadto the Marion prisonersbeing transferred to aless dangerous prison.Thirdly, it hoped itwould lead to the close-down of Marion Prison andothers like it.

Komboa has since beentransferred to Leaven-worth Jail. The firstemergency is over butwhat he has to say re-mains exciting^ and rele-vant,

He joins MSirtinin sharing observationsand insights obtainablenowhere else.

" 1 know we support them,but don't you think theSuper, is going a bit toofar? "

Desire is the heartbeat offreedom.

Contpage 22

CHEMICAL AGENTS, dealing with

A chemical compound which permanently or temporarily incapacitates,or kills, people; or which destroysplants or material; when directedagainst such objects by any suitabledelivery system, is termed a CHEMI-CAL AGENT.

In dealing with chemical agentsit is important that every individualunderstands the nature of each agent,the symptoms each will cause, andhow to deal with them. It may bedelivered in a spray force, like anaerosol or mist, or in a gaseous form,which may be invisible. It may bebreathed in, swallowed with foodand drink, or simply penetrate theskin or eyes. It can be delivered inalmost any way imagined. Here arethe main types.Incapacitating: include Riot Controlagents such as Mace and acreolin andcan cause everything from eye irrit-ation and fainting to mental disturb-ance and paralysis.Blister agents: cause the other agentswill destroy food crops. •Protection: These are the type ofthing we can expect the ravenousinvading hordes to throw at us, afterwiping out our army, navy and RAF(Royal Air Force in this instance),

arotect oneself? The firsttective

ex-navy foul-weather suits— water-

proof smock/hood, elast cuffs, water-

trouswt, rubber overboots and glovesthat protect the wrists. A self-injectampule of atropine will counteractnerve agents, oxime tablets are alsouseful in increasing resistance tonerve attacks. But a respirator is amust, and must be put on if you geta sudden headache or blurred .vision,sore eyes or chest

The suit could also Be useful asnuclear protection. Radio-activefallout occurs over a wide area forsome time after a nuclear explosion,as well as there being inducedradiation from the ground. The suitcan be showered down. If any of ussurvive the nuclear explosion withoutbeing blinded by the flash, incinerat-ed by the fireball, or crushed by theblast, we might want to head for thehills. But you might want to qo backfor some military equipment, especia-ally if there were troops preventingyou leaving the contaminated area,

or gunning you down as you approach-ed the roadblocks.

After all, you could hardly expectthe government to allow a bombedcity to contaminate the rest of thecountry, and there is no real solut-ion to the problem other than elim-ination of the'carriers'.

Nimrod

A CALL FOR AN INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST RESISTANCE MOVEMENTIr' I '

Although it may seem that what is being discussed hereis a monolithic, centralized apparatus, such is not the case.There must be a n e t w o r k of organizations which is spreadall over the world, based on a c o m m o n_c o n c e n s u sfor revolutionary struggle. The structures would be federated intoan international revolutionary organization and Social move-ment. The revolution recognizes no border lines!

1 . Anarchtet-CftmmualBt InfrastructureThe Communes are the ground-

work for this internatienalorganisation,and are the primary social form ofthe new society, but even more arethe subversive organism to underminethe authourtty and control of theState. It is intended to organise thenew society in the shell of the old.Communes may be social organisms(such asLabor or mudtcipal communes)br affinity groups and collectives.IN a revoluttonaiffr 'situation. FreeCities would constitute communes.But we must begin now to form LaborCommunes and Community Communes(and not just be satisfied with forming

small, isolated non -functional com-munes, which are really just collect-ives for alternative life-styles) todistribute food, clothing, and other

I Ii'-iWp-v^f- *•<&, ••• iLv> '3>*SJiRt->:risis in the cap t i l i s t countries an infrastructure for di

mocracy- by the people. TWs wouundermine leaders, political partiesand the state, and would constitutethe first shet fired in the social revo-lut ion. It would mean discreditingthe state and rendering k anlrrel-ivent dinosaur. People would be able:o see how the future Anarchits society411 work, be seeing It Ui an embryonic'drm today.

Therefore we need an INTERNATIONAL to organize national and contin-ent-vile Anarchist federations all overthe world, to co-ordinate those federationswhich already exist, and to link up those fedand communes with one another all overthe world. In countries where there is notradition of Anarchist activities, it shouldestablish a string of Anarchist Pro-jpnda Leagues, book ships,

culturaleducational, cultural andnewspapers and theorers' associations, andto spread Anarchist ideals, win peopleover to our views, and build a mass Liber-tarian revolutionary movement. Of course,the conditions in each country will dic-tate how this is done, and the local peoplewill always serve as the revolutionaryorganizers, even though on occasion theinitial impetus may come from delegatesfrom the international organization. This

• is in line with our ideals of workers' self-management and the self-determination ofall oppressed peoples.

PAGE*.'

ANTI-STATE MILITARY ACTIVITIES

At some stage it is inevitable thatthe State will recognize the danger toitself of such self-managed organizationsand will then try to forcibly repress them.We must organize self-defence committees,whether Workers' Defence Leagues orCommunity Self-Defence Groups, to pro-tect ourselves and our movement fromrepression. Such military organizationswould not be a vanguard, police force,or standing Army in the Statist sense,but would rather be'defence organismsself-managed by the workers and commun-ity itself, or in other words: the peoplein-arms. These militia organizations, plusour revolutionary unity, will allow us toat any time resist attacks from the auth-orities, no matter from what direction theycome (Left or Right-wing), and we canthen ward off the assaults without beingcrippled or seriously endangered

in addition, there should be an or-to conduct an underground

resistance struggle, specially in thosecountries where an open Anarchist move-ment would be impossible, or would besure to be subjected to fierce repressionby the State. Such countries as Iran,Russia, China, Korea, South Africa, Chile,and other repressive countries are fascistdictatorships - either Red or Black. Theonly hope for freedom from slavery foithese unfortunate people, and for theestablishment of Libertanan Communismin those areas is to wage an undergroundresistance struggle. Such a struggle wouldnot merely be military, but would alsomean creating a propaganda network toexpose and undermine the State, as wellas spread Anarchist ideas; creating freeunions and other .autonomous workerorganizations to sabotage industrial pro-duction and to act as industrial "guerillas"

social groups, I and a catalyst for strikes and other Labourjournals, work- I protests; and other such protest activitr organizations | ies. Peoples' guerilla warfare techniques

should be used (particularly well organized sabotage of State installations, and theassasination of secret police, torturers andmurderers) with, the immediate aim ofdisabling the whole State system as faras possible. When such extreme forms ofrevolutionary action are required, however,a clear differe 1 be seen amonrrevolutionaries between simple terrorismwithout popular support and guerillawarfare arising out of the ccobectivefelt frustrations of the common people.

KOM30A (Continued)

It is very important and needs tobe made quite clear that the creation ofa people's guerilla warfare situation wouldbe a me; is and not an end in itself. Forsuch a means belongs to the tactics andnot the strategy of an Anarchist revolut-ion. The use if military methods wouldbe necessary in every case where theattitude and actions of the State madeit imperative for revolutionaries to defendthemselves by taking the offensive againstthe State so as to disrupt its normalfunctioning and thus make all the easierthe building of a Libertarian/Anarchistsocial infrastructure in place of the e?tis,t-ing one. An intelligently executed andsuccessfully-run people's guerilla warfarecampaign would have the effect of w arindown the State machine and its capacityfor regimentation and control. This is theonly way that Anarchism can raise itshead in such repressive States: undergroundresistance networks in the workplace andthe community.

Such activities require an internalional revolution capable of carrying onsuch struggles. Such an organization mustbe decentralized and a semic landestin?ferderation of dedicated revolutionariesthe INTERNATIONAL REVOLUTION-ARY ACTION GROUPS is the organiz-

Autonomous revolutionaryarry on clandestine propa-

ganda, industrial sabotage, anti-State milit-ary activities, organizing Anarchist Communes and Assemblies, and an AnarchSyndicalist Labor movement, among otheractivities.

nform Anarchist comrades world-wide ofthe level of the struggle, which is also inaposition to spread Libertarian/Anarchistdeas world-wide. The Information Bureau

would serve as a communications andpropaganda centre, and would carry onsuch activities as: translating Anarchistheoretical works into every major indi-

genous world language, and distributingsuch literature to every continent; creatinga SOCIAL REVOLUTIONARY ANAR-CHIST NEWS SERVICE to act as a wireservice and send information and newso Libertarian journals and newspapers

world-wide; securing an international anti-copyright agreement among Anarchist/

libertarian publishers to allow free re-sublication rights of all Libertarian works;creating one (or several) internationalAnarchist weekly newspapers; creating aLIBERTARIAN PRESS SYNDICATEto offer Anarchist publications mutualaid and international connections.

In addition, the Information Bur-eau should establish propaganda networksto engage in underground revolutionarypropaganda activities in those countrieswhich repress Anarchist ideas. Everypossible method of clandestine propagandamust be used: "pirate" radio stationsand secret transmitters, to be establishedin the target country or a neighboringcountry; establishment of an undergroundprinting press and secret distribution ofAnarchist literature (such as is being donewith the "Samizat" literature in Russiatoday): secretly plastering buildings withpaint or posters foi propaganda messages;spreading leaflets and other materials;holding impromptu raffles and demon-strations against government policy orrepression, and ether activities. The ob-jective of the underground propagandanetwork is to inform the people of Anarchist ideas, and to incite them to over-throw the State. We must be creativein our methods, our very lives and thefate of the revolution may depend uponit.

3. INFORMATIONEvery individual who is involved

in the Social Revolution must know howfar our cause has advanced in other count-ries. We must not leave the tasks of in-formation on our comrades and analysisof our movement and its activities to thebourgeois and Socialist press. Thereforewe must take all necessary measures toestablish an INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST INFORMATION BUREAU to

4. ANARCHO-SYNDICALIST LAB-OUR MOVEMENTS

Many whole continents as well aswell as individual countries have no anar-chist nucleus: Africa, Asia, the Carribean,Oceana, many countries in Eastern Europeand some in Latin America. In the majority of these countries where there hasnever been a history of Anarcho-Syndicalist activities. ANARCHO -SYNDICALIST

PAGE 10

PROPAGANDA LEAGUES should be es-tablished now to propagate class struggleunionism, create revolutionary cells inthe trade unions, and push them in therevolutionary Syndicalist direction.

Many countries in Africa such asNigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, Zambia,and others (even South Africa, wherethere is a large African working class)have very large trade union confederat-ions, but they are reformist and are underState control. The ideas of Anarcho-syndicalism among the rank-and-file ofsuch trade unions could create a revolut-ionary upsurge, free unions, and add tothe strength of the international Anarch-ist workers movement. Further, in theThird World it would change the natureof the liberation struggles from MarxistLeninist authoritarian to Anarchist Libertarian; from the supremacy of a party or"Liberation Front1' (sponsored by Moscowor Peking) to the self-organization of theworkers themselves; from the ideas of a

Workers' State" to the creation of Anarchist Communes (which are especiallyfitted for African and Asian villages andcity life) and workers and peasants'councils and unions. This is a form ofrevolutionary struggle never seen in theThird World. It will change the courseof history.

In Eastern Europe (including Russia),China, South Africa, and other repressivecountries we would have to conduct ouractivities underground. The building of anunderground autonomous workers' move-ment for revolutionary industrial sabotageand a General Strike, to organize theworkers for self-management of production,and to undermine and overthrow thegovernment is the number one priority.In those countries unions are merelyorgans of the State, (if they exist at all),there is no right to strike, therefore theInternational should organize clandestineworkers Assemblies, factory committees,independent unions and other such freeworkers' organizations. Labour Communes,Peasants and Workers Councils, Syndicalist unions should be established to createa dual power (Workers' Control) situationin both industry and society, in order tostruggle for Social Revolution and workersself-management of the economy.

In the Western industrialized countries it is necessary to infiltrate the reform-ist trade unions (event hose underCommunist Party control) and push theminto a class struggle, revolutionary Syndic-alist direction; create factory committees,workers' Assemblies, industrial councils,and other autonomous labour organs, inorder to undermine the trade union misleadershipand evade government controlof the unions We must demand an endto government control of the unions andthe repeal of all anti-Labour lav/s. as wellas rank-and-file democratic control of theunions Cont. page 17

Comrade Shellard gave me a rightshellackin' for my "State of theBritish Worker". His criticisms one byone:1.1 didn't intend negatively assault-ling the working class! My aim was todescribe some of its members asI found them in pub, caff or dig-ging holes in the road. Along withWordsworth I have time for yeraverage worker 'I love every greasywrinkle on his dirty sulky face'. ButI'm not sentimental about him by thesame token. Love isn' t blind.2 .1 agree that everyone works. Tosay clipping one's share coupons atBarclay's or screwing sociaJ securityfor a clothing allowance are'nt examplesof work is merely misusing the langu-age . But there is an ethos in Coron-ation Street not quite the sameas the one inAlbany, Mr Heath's current tener

f d sociologists have such diffidefining their difference that

few have been misled in tothinking it doesn't exist - like claim-ing that because 'red' is indefinable,the Red Flag isn't red.

Try get t ing your doctor to u t t e rin his piercing Hamstead accent:F.ctuallay, Ay'm a membah ot the

Briish working clahsss too, y'know",as I got a Tory MF to do, years ago.And try to stop laughing at the sametime.3. The beer-fags-chips-foot-ball-tellyK u r t u r is there to be seen whereverBritons earn wages instead of salaries.It is not abusive to pointit ou t : it is a billion-pound indust rybattering and frying the BW in withIns fish-fingers every night of theyear.

It is a mere philosopher's quibbleto debate whether this cul ture tor-pedos the BW's ability to think alongsound political lines (our lines) orwhether his refusal to think this way,for whatever historical reason, resultedin his present cultural state.4. Change of any kind...is a veiy slowprocess*. Not always. The Shit oflran....vro-om! My whole point is thatit ihe BW is depressed and despondent(study the boozing figures) then ourtactics should involve some study onhow to use this sad social fact for ourpolitical ends.

Q. What is passivity?A. A slow form of suicide!

Repression is noteworthy for giving"way under certain pressures to out-burts of negative emotion. The Frenchworkers were cetainly depressed in1789AII it took was a royal whore tojeer Garn! Eat cake! to usher in the well-known Revolution. "One inarticulatescream of rage fromthe French work-ing class'Vas how one historian des-cribed it; the debris from it is stillfalling down. I f one of our obligingroyals had been persuaded to addressthe workers thuswise -- "Gam, yougreat gits. Get back to the slums onthe dole where you belong!"....well.anyway, it's just a thought.

L.H.

The working class in America is notthe most revolutionary class Themost revolutionary classes id Americaare the lower classes i.e. Black, ThirdVorld, Poor and Prisoners.

The working class in America issplit into two camps i.e. the workingmiddle class and the working class.The latter is its majority is reformist.

In Russia the working class and thepeasants overthrew Czarism, theworking class then and there was themost revolutionary class. In China thepeasants overthrew the ruling power/class because they were the majorityand most revolutionary class.

In America the majority of revolut-ionary minded and active people arein the lower classes, not the work-ing class.

Each country is unique. Americanrevolutionaries are trying to copy theRussan and Chinese revolutions withthe wrong class as a startingpoint.

The petty bourgeois revolutionaryintellectuals and the minority of therevolutonary working class mustjoin hands with the lower classes tomake revolution in America.

Carl Harf

NOTE: In our view LH is provocativeand witty but confused: the working- or to be exact, productive - class isfirstly economic and secondly

{because in a parasitic society thosewho do most get least) culturallydeprived. A free society must bebased on a productive class since theexistence of a parasitic society is thereason for the need for authority.

PAGE 11

There is today a mix-up as workersoften earn higher wages becausethey're organised than many ill-organised professional people cling-ing to their social status. It is a pecul-iarity of English life and languageto distinguish class by accent butone can be a millionaire with aCockney accent - all that proves isthe sliding scale of capitalism.

It is not a question of idealisingone class as against another. Carl isright in saying the American (or theBritish) worker is not revolutionary inthat, while they think they can screwmore out of the system by organis-ation, they are not insurrectionary.But it is only they who can changethe social system, since it is a matterof seizing the economy and thatmeans occupying the places of worknot the social security offices or theprisons. They only need to be torndown in a free society. If both isn'tdone there is a situation that looksrevolutionary but can't be pulledthrough. To place any hope in the'petty bourgeois revolutionary intell-ectuals' is a fatal mistake. That is amyth of Leninism and of the studentmovement alike. They, as such, canoffer nothing but leadership, anotherword in this context for betrayal.

Dear Black Flag,

Purely you all realizethat the "Rev." Jim Joneswas not a _>outnerner, letalone from the Deep South,and never picked cotton?Also that, in the 20thcentury, the K.K.K. hashad most of it's member-snip outside the DeepSouth? 2J. HullerSouthern Libertarian

Messenger,South Carol: na U ..3. A.

I

FROM A CORRESPONDENT

Lord ThomsonJiasiuaet a well-established applecart; and of coursewith his sort of money, he doesn'tneed to worry about apples.

Who would have thought thehs tabl i shment would have so tamelyborne the loss of that old lie-machine,its cherished London Times? It f loa ted^all the rumours, evasions, propagandadisguised as news tor successive govern-ments, in an impartial way (as bet-ween governments), mistaken forliberalism. But it was a luxury theEstablishment could afford to lose,for it was always the journal of theclub rooms, the nails of academia,the embassies and consulates,rather than of the businessmen who

• make them all jump to it, moreclearly expressed in the Daily Express.'

The old Lord Thomson wasinterested in money, many Englishpress lords have been more interested

- in power, and the sort of powerthat goes with owning a'great national.:newspaper.

The present Lord Thomson inher-its an empire in which monet-ary losses of several million poundsdon't matter. He will not give way

not• ' : • • • * r<i*T •••-- ' "'-*---'Bty«'( I*-'*1 - *uqipos jn the way he. jp£ had he not ,

come in from outside .'Like the Grun-wick situation, an outsider defies thepaper tiger of English trade unions.They are supposed to have powerbut they are afraid to use it.

They are too entrenched in theState machine. They inhibit workers1

action but expect the capitalist toplay ball while they do so. The out-sider fails to do so and nothing hap-pens....social democracy it seems isfor someone who plays the game,not for export nor for someoneimported who does not observe(he rules.

The printers at the Times werenot known for their militancy. I lowthey now regret it! "These arc timeswhen we all feel we'd like to be Anar-chists." one FOC put it tome). Forin the words of the lavatory attendant"It may be your shit, but it's mybread-and-butter" - and the loss atthe Times is not the product', butthe jobs involved. Sad th a t so manyintel l igent , hard-working, experiencedmen and women were engaged inproducing such rubbish; but so theyare all over Fleet Street. (And after allthe Times was far from being theworst).

The aim of the recent Torness gather-ing (May 4-7) was to gain sympathyfor the Torness Alliance's work tooppose the building of a nuclear react-or at Torness and to try to put a haltto the nuclear programme. Whathappened at the week-end? It shouldhave been a success. Between fiveand ten thousand people went toTorness, and after a festival on theSaturday, held meetings to decidewhether and when the occupy thesite, and eventually decided on doingso on Sunday rather than Monday.

On Sunday morning people goton to the site using haystack balesas a stairway. Then various happen-ings took piact;. Floweis and treeswere 'planted', the fence was decor-ated and anti-nuke messages writtenin rocks and stones. Some directeda stream to flood the road.

A meeting was then held on thesite whether to occupy the innercompound (with its McAlpine mach-inery). Though the meeting decidednot to, some damage was done to theworks by 25 'self-confessed anarch-ists' - vide press - watched by self-confessed police — and they weresoon joined by over a hundred anar-chists and other frustrated demon-strators.

Feelings of solidarity within theAlliance were lost as those against theoccupation of the inner compoundcollaborated with the police in tryingto get the 'wreckers' out. Peaceniksoutside the compound shouted tothem to come out, and came prettyclose to collaboration with the police.No support was offered the folk inthe compound, who eventually camebut of their own accord marchingbehind a black flag.

Some questions persisted after-wards. The one one of 'violence'and 'non-violence'. Most of the Alli-ance saw the occupiers of the com-pound as 'wreckers'determined todestroy the nuclear site. They sawthis as 'violence' - so they sided withthe police. Their greatest concernwas for good (press) publicity -which would have been none butfor the 'violence' - against property,not people or animals. |s this violence?

I"

I-HWH.: Jhe Alliance is determined\t this occupation should result inV Occupiers' handbook no violence to people and no damaoe

fcTpTpperty.'Always remain polite and_reasonable.Jf you cons icier. yog Jiave been ill-treated.make a f^rma^cornplalnt to the Procurator Fiscal immediately.' He is anindependent civil servanf'entry.S.teil:K1UV3Rdistrict and*is not aiTarm of the policy

Qf crimrwithmTTis

PApE 12

THETT1MES53

The Times will not re-open (fail-ing pressure put on Lord Thomson)without the most humil iat ing surrend-er by the printworkers andalready unions arc realising the factsof the case and allowing them to goto other jobs - which will make itmore difficult for the paper to re-open(to the outrage of the managementwhich tliinks it can sack its workersand keep them waiting as well).

Why could they not have seizedthe paper and gone on printing?This was spoken aboutthroughout the Organisation. Therewas a massive expediture on locks andsecurity systems (but even so. occu-pation was always possible untilvery recently). There arc times whenwe all have to be Anarchists. Theprinters, divided into unions, dividedbetween factions, did not do it. Theycould have done it without thejournalists -which would have madeit so interesting an experiment thatLord Thomson would have re-openednext day WITII the journalists, whoare still in the payroll anywav.

Violence is what the Torness reactorwill do when it's built. What is a linledamage to fencing and machinerywhen one looks at what has been doneto the East Lothian countryside?

Months of delay caused by damagewould, on the contrary,have post-poned, maybe threatened, the frontalattack made by the reactor on thepeple and the country.

There is something to be said fornon-violence as a tactic In somesituations: when bulldozers are work-ing, for instance, and there is some-thing to be physically stopped. Thereis none for an ideological 'non-viol-ence' that is a cop out for liberalswho don't want to get arrested or who'respect property'. The Alliance asa whole look at nuclear power as asingle issue, rather than in the widerspectrum of State oppression.

-decide our poncy on arrest before-fTarur— wh'eTM'eTTb go limp or to co1

operate ue sure you don't struggle.

-SMILE!

•.*•?..•

PASSIVERESISTANCE ?

SHIT:^m.wm$?

; Pi«KV.^t£. .«*:£ 1

2iJ

ITS THEM OR US

PAGE 13

Margaret Thatcher as Wonder Womanappeared on the front page of the lastissue of the Flag.

We hear that 'insurgent sisters' fromtwo doors up from Rising Free (NorthLondon bookshop) stuck stickers onissues there saying'THIS DEGRADESWOMEN:

In Edinburgh copies were withdrawnfrom sale by two (male) members ofthe First of May Bookshop becausethey thought it "offensive towomen". It was admitted by one ofthe members that he ought to haveconsulted the collective first (especi-ally the women) but he still felt thecover was sexist.The following correspondence hasensued. The first letter is fromLondon; all the others from Edin-burgh. There were (so far as we know)no other reactions.

Dear Friends at Black Flag,I was disgusted to learn that somewomen professing to speak for all,put stickers on the last issue of BlackFlag at Rising Free because of thecaricature of Margaret Thatcher.Tory feminists? Let me tell you ofmy experience when a group of so-called feminists were discussing theGeneral Election when to my dismayone 'sister' came up with the idea weshould invariably vote for women; ifmore than one, or none, then for theTories to get la Thatcher in. I askedsarcastically if I should vote for theNational Front, as the one womancandidate in my constituency was afascist. To my horror the 'sister'said, Of course that's the wholeidea. That certainly degraded and disgusted me for one.

Martha JohnsonNOTE: To be pedantically correct,our comrade is mistaken in think-ing the Islington 'feminists' are proThatcher; they probabiy equateacrobats with strippers. Even MrsWhitehouse allows for "good whole-some entertainment" and a phone callelicits she includes Wonderwomantherein.

Is your friendly neighbourhood BlackFlag

Dear Black Flag Collective,This is about the cover of your latestissue. I don't like it and I'd like toexplain why. My first response wasconfusion — I'd forgotten aboutthe Smirnoff ad and the montage/label/caption didn't add up toanything for me. I didn't think it wasdoing anything very powerful aboutThatcherism but assumes that sinceI didn't get the point I had no rightto criticise. I was wrong.

What changed my mind was seeingsome politically naive kids comeinto the bookshop and snigger, as ifit were Playboy i.e. what your coverwas doing was reinforcing their contempt, not just for Thatcher, but forall women. I think this is likely to bea pretty common response from menwith no feminist awareness: to furtherbrutalise their attitudes to women.What you meant by the cover doesn'tmatter at all.

What the cover really does mattersa lot. I suspect it will have far moreeffect on women in general than itwill on Thatcher in particular.

So please THINK about what youpublish in the Flag and how it will bereceived: if some of your readers re-act as if it were the News of the World.If Black Flag has a real commitment toopposing sexism, then it must makethat damn clear even to men so deeplyenmeshed in it that they don't knowwhat it is.

LoveJack Camp in

NOTE: How patronising to youryoung customers! Are you an ageist?Could it not be they were less politi-cally naive than you — you can't tell •the sternly moralistic News of theWorld from Black Flag? You couldn'tdo a newsboy's job! They 'sniggered',did they? — did they see the point ofThatcher as Wonderwoman and theconnotation of the Smirnoff ad?What is the alternative? That theywere sexually aroused at seeing astockinged leg? Long shirts wentout in 1923.

PAGE 14

Letters to Black Flag • •

GUARDSI think this cover is awful. Don'tanarchists have any awareness of sex-ism? Women have had enough oftheir bodies being used to put mes-sages — we don't expect to get itfrom the left as well!

Beverley SommervilleNOTE: Any photograph or cartoonshows a body, or are you inisiting ona strict interpretation of not makinggraven images? If we had showedher in her undies being fondledthere might be some point in yourremarks.

I know you didn't mean it, but youlot of all people should have knownbetter. Simply because the Toriesused Thatcher's sex as an electioneer-ing device there's no excuse for youto go for the cheap laugh to counterthem. Thatcher may be the leaderof that party and is deinitely the sym-bol of the election victory, butwouldn't it have been more to thepoint if you'd displayed, for example,the evil Sir Keith Joseph below yourheadline?

yours in hopeA Barlow

foocrggconam/c Class 5)NOTE: Then some equally sensitivesoul would have accused us of anti-semitism!

Dear Friends,The front cover of Black Flag is agood example of the trouble you getin if you don't have a clear politicalprogramme. The cover photo seemsto be nothing more than a personalattack on one human being — Marg-aret Thatcher, not her policies or thegovernment's policies but the person.The attack is clearly based on the factthat she is a woman. (Am I missingsomething or is there more to it?)

I wonder how much public confro-ntation we should have over thiskind of stuff - it certainly shouldbe exposed but I think we can morereadily look on the idea of Black Flagas allies than we can, say, the RightWing. Maybe we should encouragediscussion on what kind of politicalprogramme is workable as well, as,or even rather than, saying nothinguntil some silly cover photo comesup. I happen to know the designerof the cover is trying to go againstof lot of sexism in Black Flag andelsewhere in the anarchist move-ment. So maybe we should remem-ber that as well as jumping down histhroat at any mistake.

Cont. page 15

Cont. from previous

Yes, it is sexist but ideas arecommunicated only with trust ratherthan leaving it to censorship. I havetold the designer some of this so don'tmake him paranoid by having himon the capet. He is on our side.

With loveMichael Spring

NOTE: Thatcher, like Hitler, is a hum-an being. That has nothing to dowith out animosity. Nor has the factof their sex. Politics is based onpeople. As for a 'clear cut politicalprogramme', this always means one'sown. How come you wait giving usthe benefit of yours until you gotoffended about the Prime Minister'

nothing but sexist (a wordconnoting everything from Playboyto*power stations}?

YES this is the unacceptable face ofanarchism due, presumably, to noticalismg the importance of feminismto every sphere of l i fe.

The attitude of many anarchists;s that anarchism, by its verynature, includes all freedoms for allpeople is at least partically to blamefor this. For feminism needs to bestated explicitly agai{ijpti|again inorder for 99% of men to even recog-nise its existence, let alone its va l id -ity.

Mrs Thatcher should be opposedfor a very great number of reasons,namely her policies, and if ridiculebe part of that opposition so be it,but the fact that Mrs Thatcher is awoman is irrelevant, and she shouldnot be subject to ricicule becauseof her sex, which is what the coverof Black Flag amounts to.

There is no anarctifsm withoutfeminism.

. ftounna OtcilNOTE: Your attitude.is (you willbe horrified to hearNKi* of the anti-suffragists of seventy years ago. Theirarguments included the one that ifa woman entered the political arena,she would be subject to polit icalridicule like all politiciansandthatwould be degrading to any lady.

Her sex is irrelevant. Don't bringit up.

Meanwhile, even the artist recanted

Dear Black Flag,It is a great pity that you chose to runthe photomontage of Margaret That-cher as Wonder Woman on the frontpage. When I made the montage Iwas only too aware that to depictThatcher as Wonder Woman wouldbe open to crit icism for being ' o f f -ensive to women' since it would beinterpreted as a cheap put-downof Margaret Thatcher because sheis a woman. That Was not my intent-ion.

I had hoped that by combiningher picture with Jim Callaghan inthe equally ridiculous body of Super-man that the message would be clear.Sadly the f inal photomontage depicting the patriarchal superheroes WonderWoman, Superman and Spider Manstruggling for political power againsta background of the Houses ofParliament was not published. Personally I feel to show one figure with-out the other is open to criticismas being 'sexist' and ('would liketo apologise for any offence that thecover has caused to anarchists oranarcha-feminists.

Having said that, I also want topoint out that here are many otherperiodicals that could be construedas offensive on sale at 'Left book-shops' and I feel dismayed at thearbitrary way the Flag has been singl-ed out. The covers of The Leveller,Tyneside Street Sheet and the backcover of Red Rag can be regarded asoffensive. To take an example. RedRag depicks a naked masked man onall fours used as a coffee table, withthe caption 'I'm Allen Jones — flyme'. If the reader does not know thatAllen Jones is the art is t who produceda series of of fensive sculptures ofmasked nude woman as tables, chairs,hat-stands etc. the viewer would bejusti f ied in thinking this was anattempt to degrade men's bodies. InWorld Information on Energy Service(WISE) a nuclear power stat ion isdepicted as a penis and balls whichcould also be construed as offensive -unless one realises that nuclear poweris a symbol of patriarchy. All theseinterpretat ions depend upon thepolit ical consciousness of the reader ,and having said that, I am sorry tohave to admit there is a lot of sexismin the anarchist movement. So if asexist person looks at this particularcover of Black Flag, it would reinforcehis or her sexism. That is where Ihave failed.

In solidarity,P. Monteur for Black Rnx

PAGE 15

Or is it mistaken identity?

NOTE: \|te did not suppress thepicture of Jim Callaghan as Supermanfor fear of upsetting those who wouldshrink from seeing him with hisunderpants outside his trousers. TheLondon editors didn't receive it intime (or even see it for weeks af ter) .But anyway i t was clear before theresult that Saatchi and Saatchi hadwon the Election with Wonderwomanand Uncle Jim's Homely Brand wasnowhere.

What s o r t of s t a tu to r y balancewould you propose next tune -if Shirley Williams contests as Labourleader by then? We accept that thecover may have been offensive to somemale or female feminists, but doubtif they represent more than a fractionof feminists, and an infinitesimalpart of women generally. The BodyGuards operate in many causes: theobsessive in e v e r y cause who convincefew and do more harm than good totheir cause. Ridicule had d r i ve the"Body Guards" out of every popularcause and they only flourish amongminorities.

Hun»»:r 4, K»i?ri. ::n.<

World Information Service on Energyshowing nuclear power as a penisand balls. (No wonder some guys gotan inferiority complex. No wondersome men got a guilt complex!)

Cont page 16

We do accept one point from ourcritics. Middle class feminism has madesome major points and will not goaway. It is absurd to say that 'the •anarchist movement is sexist' or'there can be no anarchism withoutfeminism' without defining anarch-ism, sexism or feminism. The def in i t -ions of sexism and feminism have-come from the student m'ovementinfluenced package-deal left and takenfor granted, or rejected, in thei/termswhich are different from those ofworking people.

We invite an extensive debate onanarchism and feminism from anar-chists (to be published in the Flagthe Review or as a pamphlet, accoiing to response). We do not parti-cularly want the view of the quasi-anarchists of the Zero school (thoughwe're prepared to include them)but of revolutionary anarchist especi-ally those of the Black Flag tendency.

Our experience is that womenthemselves tend not to write on thesubject — we suspect because thosewho reject the student-.movementthink it bring all women into ridi-cule or perhaps because to take a standon the subject is to accept the separ-atist portion. Or is it just apathy?Anyway, it's a mistake. If we do notspell out such issues they tend bybecoming part of the lef t packagedeal To be taken for granted (asshown here).

RE: FUSS REVIEW

I wish to question the reviews of JohnQuail's book The Slow Burning Fuseby Stuart Christie and Albert Meltzer(Black Flag Vol V No. 8) in so far asthey criticise John for basing his hist-ory of the British anarchist movementalmost entirely on written materialand hardly at all on personal mem-ories of living people.

The first, particular, objection isthat John's book describes eventsroughly from 1880 to 1930 and comesto an effective end half a centuryago; indeed he explicity (page 307)refrains from describing events inwhich living people were involved.There are still a few survivors of themovement before 1930, but it issurely doubtful whether they couldhave contributed anything signifi-cant to John's very compressed ac-count of developments after the FirstWorld War.

The second, general object-ion is that personal memoriesare very unreliable. For example,Albert mentions Mat Kavanagh, but,whatever his undoubted qualities asa propagandist, he was a very carelesshistorian, as may be found by check-ing his many biograhical articles in |the anarchist press. Albert also men-tions 'the traditions of Frank

ut again, whatever his equallytubted qualties as a propagandist,

he too was a very careless propagandisthistorian, as may be found bychecking his memoirs. Albertmentions that Charles Lahr was anauthority' on Kitz, but Lahr was yet

another very earless historian.If anything, I would make the

opposite criticism of the Slow BurningFuse— that John relies too much onpersonal memories. The problemis thjt personal memory is unrivalledfor such things as atmosphere, cha-;icter, pi ace, appearance, but that,whether vviitten or spoken^t is oftunworse than useless for hard facts,unless it is carefully checked againstcontemporary documents. I havefound this again and again, both inusing my own memories and in usingthose of others; and I would end bysaying that the most unreliable evi-once all is anecdote based on personalmemory of someone else's personmemory — the folk memory whichplays such an important part in thehistoriography of the anarchist move-ment.

NICOLAS WALTER

(To some extent, yes; bv^considerthe lists of non-existent groups andfederations published in Freedom inthe 60s and reproduced by bourge-ois historians, all of which can becontradicted by personal memoryand knowledge.

PAGE 16

Most historians are propagandistsand a lots of what they write is bunk.John Quail's book wasexceptionallygood but his omissions and mistakes'can be rectified. He is totallymistaken, for instance, about GeorgeCores — well known to many stillliving. There are also many still liv-ing who could have corrected him onmany matters — e.g. the 'pro-warminority' of 1914 where he followedrepeated, but false, assumptions.)

30S PRESS REVIEWSOCIAL

WE3UCK HOTELTOTTENHAM COURT RD.

7.30 P.M. SEPT. ?th

Nearest-3

TUBE:

KOMBOA (Continued)

The International must represent themost oppressed workers: especially immigrants to the western industrialized countries, racial minorities and women workersand to organize the un-organized workersFurther, with the current economic crisisin the Capitalist countries there are nowmillions of unemployed workers: thereshould be unemployed unions existingparallel to the workers unions to demandthe bosses provide them with (sociallyuseful) work and to provide strike supportto workers on strike against the boss.

Finally, the International should bebasis rather than by

national labour federation, because itmuch more effective for labour solidarity,including a revolutionary General Strike.Anarchists of every stripe should join thesections of the International and onceagain make Anarchism a working classdoctrine.

5. PRISON SUPPORT WORKAll Anarchists oppose Laws, prisons

and the State. Prisons or Laws are notdesigned to 'protect society' or even tolock away dangerous criminals, (thereal criminals run the State), but ratheris a means of State social control and slavelabour. Further the pnsons are mereconcentration camps ofr the poor andpowerless. We must organize to abolishthe prison system along with the State,and free all class war prisoners.

Further, we must be able to oryanize a powerful international defencecampaign to free "political" prisoners,that is, those prisoners confined for theirsocial or political beliefs or their revolut-ionary organizing activities, and/or frameup victims and those railroaded throughthe Capitalist courts. These comrades arevictims of State political or racial persecution, and it is our revolutionary dutyto free them.

This international defence campaignmay involve: armed support activities; aninternational boycott and General Strikeagainst a target country's consumer goodsand services, or the activities of the multi-national corporations; protest demonstrat-ions at Embassies and Consulates of thecounties involved; an international Petitionand letter-writing campaign; and manyother activities. We need an internationalprisoners' aid organization to lead and co-ordinate such activities. Of course branche;of Anarchist Black Cross and Habotocexisf in several countries, but full supportmust be given to building a strong BlackCross or other Anarchist prison supportorganization. The prison struggle is anintegral part of the struggle against theState and it deserves the full support ofall sections of the Anarchist movement.Wt must build an INTERNATIONALANARCHIST BLACK CROSS, with bran-ches in every country where we are active.Many prisoners will turn out to be someof our strongest Anarchist revolutionaries,and further we should not forget thatBakunin, Kropotkin, Johann Most, Saccoand Vanzetti, the Haymarket martyrsAlexander Berkman, Makhno, Emma Gold-man, Durruti, Martin Sostre, and manyother Anarchists . were political prisoners.And to this very day, throughout theworld many of our Anarchist comradesare in State dungeons. Shall we ignoretheir cries for help?

AREAS OF STRUGGLE IN THE WORLDThe revolution cannot be confined

behind national borders, but rather mustbe international in scope. We have tobuild an international revolutionary solid-arity movement. Our objective is to spreadAnarchism all over the world. Our tacticsmay vary from country-to-country, butour objective »remains the same. TheState is our eternal enemy, but will onlygo away through the triumph of theSocial Revolution. Anarchists shouldinvolve themselves in struggles in everyfield varying from wome n's andstruggles to the rapidly developing conflictbetween the much exploited poor peoplesof Africa, Asia, and Central/SouthAmerica and the rich exploiting nations.It is vital that Anarchists involveselves in such grassroots conflicts nowraging or ready to erupt. For unless we do,we will have no voice or influence in suchdevelopments, let al one be able to createAnarchist support bases in those areas.

PAGE 17

In the Western Industrialized count-ries Anarchists should expose the corruption and incompetency of government,should build a powerful working classmovement, and should build revolution-ary, communes Assemblies, and AnarchistCommunist federations in order to createdual power in both industry and society.Libertarian educational, cultural and socialactivities should emphasize countering theeffects of the authoritarian psyche(racism, militarism, patroitism, sexism,and other ills) and the ' work ethic'The objective being the creation of anAnarchist system of human relatio ns.Anarchists should, when necessary fortheir survival, practice armed self-defenceagainst repression and even guerilla struggleto some extent; but in the jnitial stagesof our struggle our activities in the"democratic" countries will be more agit-ational, educational and organisationalthan direct physical actions. More evolutlonary than revolutionary. One thing weaefutely mus t .do is to show that the'free world" is not free and that Anarchy

stands for the greatest degree of freedomand democracy possible

In the fascist and State '•Commun-ist" countries, however, our strugglemust be much more vigorous and revolut-ionary. There, Anarchists must lead anunderground existence or suffer persec-ution or death. With the fascist countriesthis is cleariy recognized and acknowledged, however the Communists pose asrevolutionaries and the State regimesthey haw erected as "workers States"where they are "building Communism".Thus Castro in Cuba. Mao in China, andother dictators have been able to win aquite large international group of sym-pathizers and followers (especially amongyouth) for being "successful revolution-aries". The ideas of Marxism-Leninism arein vogue as never before; people are sym-pathetic to what they feel is Socialismas opposed to the Capitalism of the West,although there is also a large number ofother persons who are anti-communistbecause of the crimes of Lenin, Stalin,and Mao. and the obvious bureaucracyand authoritarianism of their regimes.

Anarchists should counter the mythsand lies of these Red fascists, and shouldexpose their State crimes. But mostimnortantly Anarchists should challengethe monopoly by the Marxist Leninistsof the ideas of Socialism and Commun-ism and libertarian Socialism and Comm-unism. We must begin to challenge anddefeat the Marxist-Leninists in both ideasand practice, and show that their ideasof State Communism are obsolete andoppressive. And most importantly, Anarchists should begin a fight for freedom(Libertarian Communism) in the countries under the heel of the red "dictator-ships of the proletariat". r

Cont. pagers

KOMBOA (Continued)

We must build anunderground resistance movement withanarchist freedom fighters taking revolution-ary actiona against these dictatorshipsof the Communist party. It is a life-and death struggle which will determinethe true worth of Anarchist ideals and thefuture of our movement. There is no otherway that freedom (Anarchist Communism)will be established in those areas of theworld. It will be a violent, bloody struggle,but it cannot be avoided. All fundamentalchange is violent; and to radically trans-form our world, a violent revolution shallbe necessary - even if only for reasonsof self-defense. Liberation will not begiven to us: we must take it for ourselves.But, naturally, we cannot sing the praisesof violence for its own sake. Ratherthan say that violence inevitably and logic-ally proceeds from revolution, it is betterto say that we are forced to resort toviolence because, in order to retain theirpower and privileges, the counter revolut-ionaries (Capitalist class) will try to sup-press us with violence. All oppressedpeople have a right to rebel!

WHAT IS TO BE DONE?The creation of a large Anarchist

social revolutionary movement - globalin scope and with dense local pocketsin many parts of the world - is a vitalinitial step in preparing the ground for asuccessful - 'pocal Anarchist revolution.It would provide the necessary supportbase which is not so badly lacking forAnarchist activities of all kin^s varyingfrom a highly developed global informationnetowrk (itself a vital step in the makingof a militant global Anarchist ovement)to successful anti-State military operations,where such are both necessary andpossible.

Conditions are becoming ripe for athorough-going world Anarchist revolutionwhich will replace the long diseased and in-adequate State/class social order with astable trans-national LibertarianBut such a genuine revlution cannot takeplace unless the groun is prepared ofr itbeforehand.

The, problem ri£tt HOW fa to ciWMa militant Anarchist minority, whichwould serve as the £ £ for such socialrevlutionary movement. Many anarchistsare mere dreamers or armchair theorizers,while their follows around them are beingdestroyed by State machines. They do notinhabit the real world.

Our Mint to act HOI forever becursed by tomorrow's slaves. As Anarchistrevolutionaries (let us always rememberthat by definition Anarchists are activerevolutionaries, ever at war against Statemachines, and if not, they are not Anar-chists) we must be ready to struggle, nottheorize. Anarchism has always been adynamic doctrine of revolutioany struggle,when it becomes a haven for bourgeoismtellectusland hippie freaks, then it isno longer Anarchism.THE FUTURE IS ANARCHISM, ORTHERE W1LI BE NO FUTURE!!SMASH THE STATE!!!

prepared byLorenzo Komboa Ervin _ff_

IT 18759-175United States Penitentiary

P.O. Box 1000Marion, Illinois 62959

SPAIN•nvrrywuwwa

In a document addressed toJuan Carlos from ValenciaProvincial Prison dated^6th February 1979, tenprisoners announce theirintention of mounting aFAST TO THE DEATH. Theyquestion their exclusionfrom a recent amnesty,arguing that this is indefiance of all logic,and article I4 of theConstition. Constant vio-lations of their rightshave persuaded them towithold all cooperationand recognition from theauthorities. Theirdecision is to affirmtheir humanity and toreject all attempts toturn them into pawns orcommodities or property.They itLUes.tibn the wholemyth of prison, of order,of laws. «(VE SEEK TO BEFREE WITHOUT CONDITIONS."They have wearied of playing the role appointed bythe Authorities...conform-ing to rules...petitioningfor Rights... .acquiescingin thfr prison system. Theyhave na:4***fin Uf seekdeath, mon living. The masqueradecan go on without them.The 10 aretJose Ram6n Gornejo Sanchez.Luis Garcia Tamarit.Arcadio .del Real Rodriguez.

Cent. Page 20

PAGE 18STVno»

THE BOAT PEOPLE AND .OTHERSThe ethnic Chinese living

throughout the lands of Asiaare industrious and hardwork-ing, and are generally individualistic. They are the typeof people who normally becomeindividual craftsmen but inthe type of exploitative soc-iety they find themselves in,become minor capitalist entre-preneurs j and some, a not in-substantial minority, majorexploiters. A similar problemexists with Indians in Africawhere an agressive andambitious people finds it-self both excluded fromnormal working and pushedinto administrative positionsand buisness yet hated forbeing in that position. Inmany countries they findthemselves cheek-by-jowlwith a local people thatprefers to take things eas-ier and not to join in a ratrace; and these

This was the storybehind the Asians expelledfrom Alain's Uganda. It alsoexplains the Pakistanis whoare victims of racial pred-judice and economic exploit-ation when they come toBritain;but who once here arepillars of economic exploit-ation and "natural" capitalist!There-is an ugly side to Zion-ism, often stressed todaybecause the Jewish State, whenbuilt, is inevitably like anyother state. But it should notbe forgotten that one of theearly ideals of Zionism -andone which has been partlyacieved - was to transformgenerations of city-dwellingpeople immersed in capital-ism and competition once moreinto agricultural workers andout of the capitalistic ethic;and however the State reacts .against the national enemy, theZionist ideal in this has madea productive class out of thehangers-on of capitalism, and

in the main without losingthecivilising effects ofbourgeois life either. Itsnationalism may be as rampantas any other» but this aspectis a significant one, andsuch a solution is needed tothe "Chinese ethnic" andIndian and Pakistani emigr-ation. gUTWJERE?

But where in the worldis there a place for manyof the people expelled fromVietnam to go? Even if therewere, they would face the self-same problems of the Jews inPalestine - either to domin-ate or be dominated, to expelor be expelled.

The whole parlour Left,taking its ideals from thestudent-dominated movement,should hang its head in rem-orse over the incidents ofthe Boat People. Who was itthat only a few years agochanted "Victory to the Viet-cong"? Now* when one reads of

expulsions of thousandsof ethnic Chinese - theInese gave their

ietcong vie*ay - perhaps the glory 'ofio Chi Minh fades a little?Anarchists always bitterly>pposed the dictatorship ofto Chi Minh and the vietcong,but it is no consolation to beprovedright when one reads ofthousands being sent out inopen boats,the men torturedto find gold, the women raped,the boats refused entry any-where, and militant Islam, inthe form of the Malay States,threatening to open fire if theheretic refugees dare to landin their ports.

It is intended to expelone or two million, partly todisembarrass Vietnam of apotential middle class; partlyto ensure State Communist dom-ination! partly to embarrassthe Chinese Republic in itsconflict with Russian Imperial-ism. The West moralises. Ithas territory available.Australia does not even occupyits outer rim to the full. Butthe Nation States divide theworld as if they had a God-

given right to own the stripof land they occupy and thereis no place for the Vietnam-ese refugees. Racialism andNationalism always runs tohatred; no feelings ofracialism and nationalismin China, one of the most •racialist and nationalistof all, induce feelings ofsolidarity with their co-racialists and co-nationalsadrift on leaky boats orstranded on waterless islands.

THEM OR USThis type of genocide, now

widely practised, has no anserbut social revolution. Noamount of charity, no amountof goodwill, not even strikes .or sabotage, can help the sit-uation. There are some situa-tions in the world (the Viet-nam war as it affected Vietnamwas one\ even the massedpower of the working class isuseless against the aggressionof the State. It becomes Themor Us. The ethnic Chinese,hounded and harried likejiimals to the boats, should

- icd irv**ia*i ditchTheyMid not do so,

partly because of their indiv-idualism, everyone thinkingto save themselves; partlybecause of the pervasiveeffect of State propaganda.Like the Jews in Europe,they have trailed along tothe gas chambers, the morereadily because there wasjust a glimmer of hope.

And who knows which ofus in the world will be thenext to follow that futile'pathof non-resistance?

Are we in Europe not asbemused with the myth ofParliamentary Statism asother parts of the worudare with State Communism?If we are faced with the crunchwill we, one wonders, be queue-ing up for the gas chambersor the leaky boats; waiting forour draft papers to nowhere;entrusting our lives to who-ever happens to be in controlof the State at the time?A lengthy article on Cambodiahas been held over till nextissue.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS (Cont.)West Indies

Our position here remains thesame - five of us - DennisFletcher, Peter Chandre, Kirk-Ion Paul, Winston Ferrier &myself (Andy Thomas) awaitdeath by hanging.

Six others, Clyde Haynes,Clem Haynes, Tony Alexander,Lincoln Noreiga, Bunny Gran-saul and Andrea Jacob, areserving long prison sentenc-es, ranging from lifetime to? years .

We are all members andsympathisers of the NationalUnited Freedom Fighters(NUPF) that was engaged in aguerilla confrontation herein 1972 -75. We have beenclassified and tried as crim-inals despite the recentGeneva Convention ?n tfarwhich states that GuerillaPartisans in captivity mustbe classified and treated asPrisoners of War.

The Government here ref-our

icalAdded to this we are sub

-jected to constant mental &physical torture designed tooreak our will. Here inDeath Row we are kept in 9**6' cells 23 hours per day,with only a bed, a cup ofwater and a small slop pail.

The stench is .unimagin-able. Visits are conductedfrom a small conversationbox through a grill of 4 lay-ers of 1/8 inch mesh wire.There is no physical contacteven with one's wife or mot-her; and, an Officer standsone foot away from the visit-or. listening to every word..

is humiliating, frustrat-ing and vexatious . And total-ly unnecessary because allvisitors are completely sear-ched beforehand and our cellsand persons are searched bythree Officers, thrice daily.

Needless to say more -the horrors are endless.Please send petitions on ouroehalf to The i-Tesident ofthe Republic of Trinidad and

Tobago West Indies. Also ThePrime Minister of thePhe Attorney General of the..Ihe Minister of National Sec-urity The Ombudsman....Ihe Opposition Leader. George Weekes OWTU

tad Andy Thomas - P.O. Box 12Port of Spain Trinidad WestIndies.

JAIL STUDENTl*KDLLS HIMSELF

A law ttudent awaiting trial01, kidnapping charges electro-

.cuted himself in Stannheim jailyesterday, the Stuttgart chiefprosecutor's office said.

Werner Edrich, aged 29. con-nected a wire from a set of ear-phones to the prison's powersystem and died when tbe elec-tricity was switched on at about6 n.m» the prosecutor's offic*said.—Renter.

U.b.A. ;On May 9<th, 3 prison-ers. Carl Harp, Shane-Green & Clyde Hash*burn seized the Class-ification and ParoleBuilding with 10hostages. They held

12was hurt.During that time,

they were in constantcommunication byphone and bullhornwith media, prison-ers and peopleoutside.They talked about

maltreatment andcruel conditions in-side prison.The majority of the

prisoners supportedthem, witn over 200prisoners who stay-ed in the yard tokeep the guards andS.W.A.T. team fromattacking.The 3 instigators

peacefully surrender-ed after 1 hour infront of news report-ers and cameras.The hostages later

said that they weretreated well by theprisoners.

PAGE 20

THEIR DEMANDS:Asked for a Feder-

al Investigation ofthe prison, for Fed-eral Protection andtransfer to FederalCustody (because theyfear for their lives).Demanded lawyers,

formal court chargesand a jury trial. Theywant full public scrut-iny of the illegalactivity at thepenitentiary.They also asked to

be placed in Segret-ation.

SPAIN ContinuedJuan Paredes Daningo.Jose Saura Navarrete.Jos* Manuel Gil Ramos.Manuel Molina GAmes.[Juan Jose Llopis Ortegai• Francises Navarrete Mata.Angel Fernandez Soler.

i 23 February 1979, I**rtariansuasions were arres

in Barcelona. Gunpoint arr-ests were followed by thr-eats, beating, intimidat-ion, torture, and 10 daysbeing held incommunicadounder the new Anti-Terror-ist Laws. Deprived of foodwashing facilities and leg-al advice. The ill-treatment included: suspensionby the wrist from an ironbar. This is known as the" Democracy Bar."Forced to wear a motorcyclehelmet, bound hand & foot.and beaten about the headwith rubber truncheons.This is known as "motor-cyclist."Face and mouth and nosebound with wet. towels, im-peding respiration. This isthe so-called "sauna" treatment. Polythene bags placed-over detainees' heads untilnear asphyxiation. Fingerstwisted and pencils or rodstwisting through the fingers.

Cont. Page 22

CROSSOn the face of it GRASS

can be criticised for be-ing elitist, but given thefacts already mentioned,and also that they claimthey don't want to forcetheir ideas or themselveson others, it is impossibleto say this. Unlike the Trotswho consider that peopleneed to be led and toldwhat to do CRASS believethat you should be out'doing' rather than 'tak-ing in' adding that 'inall the years of your lifeyou've taken in so muchshit that you have tospend the rest of itgetting that shit out ofyou.' At the same time theyrecognise that there has tobe a starting point andthat by taking the aboveidea to its extreme thereis a danger of e

Even if 'individualist1anarchist lifestyles didlead to people realisingthe advantages of such away of life, it is diffi-cult to envisage thisapproach succeeding with-out the industrial workertaking the first steps.

However, having saidthat, CRASS go out oftheir way not to cutthemselves off from real-ity. Most of their gigstend to be benefits ^andtr.ey refuse to make anyprofit from them, askingonly for expenses1. Like-wise, their recent record,which they say is just a12" single (although ithas a playing time ofthirty minutes), costsless than £2 and themoney received will pro-bably just about cover thecost of making it. Theyclaim that they will do a

&i*i. 3t _ 4ii.-~. fc ~B A. -5. ,_ .« : -.

nothing.Another criticism is

that GRASS appear not togive much thought to anarcho-syndicalism. In an indust-rial society like Britain's,anarcho-syndicalism isthe most practical andwould be the most success-ful and inevitable firststep towards an anarch-ist society. 'Individual-ist* anarchism is one al-ternative, but in societyas it is today (before theresources are distributedand people are able tochoose their own way oflife) the unsavoury real-ities of high-rise flatsand overcrowding make itimpossible for most peopleto live the way CRASS havechosen to; 'individualist1anarchism is clearlylimited. On the other hand,anarcho-syndicalism wouldiffeet and embrace thewhole of the urban populat-ion.

or Right wing, because theybelieve that anarchistideas shouldn't be re-stricted to t.he alreadyconverted.

At the gigs the soundthey present is aorasive,industrial, nagging andraw, and they scream thelyrics as if in a cata-tonic rage. Through theirmusic they hope to pro-voke their audience toquestion how they liveand the way they areordered about by theState, but they refuse tocompromise themselvesby putting over a situ-ation where they are onmage 'telling it likeit is' and the audience is'out there' being told'how it is'. Accordingto Penny Rimbaud, thegroup's drummer, 'theState's power is contain-ed in our own subjugation'while they (GRASS.) are

PAGE 21

not afraid to show theirown doubts in -_he hopethat their audience willlikewise do the same.As tney say in one oftheir songs:'You're paying for prisonsyou're paying for war/youpaying for their orderpaying for lobotomies/you're paying for law/you're paying for theirorder/you're paying fortheir murder/you're payring for the ticket/towatch the farce/knowingyou've made your contrib-ution/to the systemsfucked solution....'Incidentally, the firr.t

track on one side of theirrecord has two minutes cil-ence as that particulartrack was censored - thevarious pressing compan-ies refusing to make therecord with it included onit.

Pete Wright comments onthe interview that he didnot mention anarcho-syndicalism directly(apart from a commentmade on 'isms' and 'ologies'in general; not becau:.-.-we have never consideredthe issue, age in as indiv-iduals, but because we werenot interested in a polar-ised political debate,even though the conver-sation veered that wayoccasionally. Cont ?age 22

CROSSWe try to

deal in common ground.Being interviewed to memeans explaining myselfin shared terms and ideas.To deal in the differ-ences which we all spotduring a conversationMould be to move intoareas of confrontationand possibly alienateeither or both parties.The political system,in this country especiallydeals almost entirely inareas of difference,even to the extent ofmaking most people be-lieve there are radicaldifferences betweenseperate parties. Thebroad areas of unquest-ioned agreement, and whoadministrates these,indicates where the realpower lies.

I appreciate the desirefor co-ordinated effect.

aloneBut I ha aindication of the dangersof co-ordination to keepme alone. Co ordinated Ican wage war, provide atarget - Spain, taris,slipways to a stable andovert oppressive society.

I move in space creat-ed by the political andsocial confidence trick.I think that is why mostof the activity here, ofa co-ordinated sort, at-temps to make othersaware of this space -the band, publications,graffiti and various-other anti-social pursuits.Individuals can use thisspace as they want. Factories, families, fighting,offices, fields, oppressingoneself and others mustin the end be a matter ofpersonal choice. Someonedoes the doing - theconsequences vary.

To pull a trigger isculpable arrogance, so,in a way, is being thetarget. I am sure enoughof my way of doing thingonly to the extent ofsharing not imposing.I do not want my personalshort-comings amplifiedor to go beyond the boundsof shared, immediate,constant questioningwith :tr.d by the peopleI live with and trust.

The rest is advertisingfor goods and serviceswhich the recipient mustprovide and, hopefully,want. Anarchy with asmall a.

(We seem, by the way,and as we understand yourdefinition of it, to be aprac t icale, d«n0i»trationof anarchOffKrfjdicalism.)

fierHRCAT

^NATIONAL PRISONER

Carl L. Harp, Robert J.Green jr, Robert C. Washborn,state that their act of

civil disobediencewas war over the nature ofconditions in the WashingtonState penitentiary andnearly every prison in theUSA. The only force wasthe seizure of hostages, noneof wnom were hurt. 11.was done to eliminate agraver evil and they statethat they have done nowrongand violated no law.

They are non being triedfor a crime "in order tostrike fear in the heartsand minds of other prison-ers so that they do notrebel against injustice anddemand their human rights.Jfc i*;to intimidate otherprisoners into silenceand submission to injust-ice. We need yoursupport."

-

U.S.A.ay >::iy ?th: Th--

Classification And ParoleBuilding in the WashingtonState Penitentiary at wallaWalla prison, Wash (USA) wastaken over and twelve peopleheld hostage for twelve hoursbecause the conditions in theprison threaten the lives,limbs and minds not only ofthe men taking the actionbut of every prisoner inthe jail. Ail attempts safar for reform have failed.

It is already establishedin law that prisoners havethe right to be free fromcruel and unnatural punisrf-ment and to escape fromconditions and treatmentthat threatens life, limbsand minds. Legal recoursehaving failed, the activistdeclared that they haddone what they did to thebest of their -ibility forjustice and human rights.

PAGE 22

irother Nick wesentenced to 7 and 21 years respect-ively in jail for supposedly robbingthe National Bank of Greece on 19thAugust 1977.

Please send solidarity to TheodoreTsouvalakis c/o Aeg/na Prison, Isloof Aeg/na, Greece.

He had been held in Chalkisprison but in early June was trans-fered to Aegina where conditionsare worse.

Also please write to the followingaddresses asking for details of thewhereabouts of Nick Tsouvalakiswho was also held in Chalkis prisonbut has been transferee! e Isewhere.Express concern for Nick and Theo-dores' wellbemg and state that theirtreatment by the Greek authoritiesmay violate the Universal Declarat-ion of Human Rights.Letters to:- Christphoros Stratos,Ministry of the Interior, Stadiou &Dragatsaniou, Athens GREECE.George Stamatis, Ministry of Justice,Socratous & Zenonos, Athens, GREECE

Q. What is a Vanguard ?

A. One Shop Steward andthree students '-

R.A.P. statementA Public Statement fromRadical Alternatives toPrison (RAP), lO a Brack-enbury Road, London A.6(tel (01 -7 8 5778}

Britain and West Germanyhave the highest prisonpopulation in Europe(43,000 here) and anti-social behaviour is in-creasing. Holland hasproportionately a quarterof Britain's prison pop-ulation and has been re-ducing her prison popul-ation whilst Britain hasbeen increasing hers.Also in Holland sentenc-ing is less severe -over half their prisonersserve sentences of a monthor less. In Britain o'nly17% of prisoners do suchshort sentences.

rfhat is the result?Ls not any differ-

ice between Britain'scrime rate and Holland's:prison and length ofsentencing are irrele-vant. In both countriesanti-social behaviour isincreasing. So is theremedy more prison?

The answer to over-crowding in prisons is-in obvious one of reduc-ing the prison population.:<ut all we get are callsfor longer sentences,tougner jails and thedistortion that "hooligansand muggers" are threat-ening the fabric of oursociety. Sometimes onegets the distinct impress-ion that the psychologic-al needs of people inauthority underly thecalls for more and tougherprisons. Instead we needa rational discussionof the subject of prison.

The emotionally loadedissue of the death sentence

'• nas been brought up. Itmakes an impact but what

long term harm is doneby giving the impressionthat the solution to aproblem is to kill some-one? Isn't that the typeof behaviour we discour-age from "delinquents"?

In fact it is ourcompetitive society thatencourages anti-socialbenaviour. In a caring andco-operative society anti-social behaviour based ongreed and profit canctsurvive. It is a*, thisfundamental level that•the answer t^ "crime" mu~tlie - which is why the mainpolitical parties evade arational discussion of thetopic.

The only thing therorrjnunity gets out ofprison, fr>r the millionsof pounds spent annuallyand all tr.p misery in-volved, i? lor seme peop-f-.to b» kept out qf ..sightfor a few month;That is all

BOON 'N ABOOT (ContQRegimes, except tnosewhich they specificallysupport, are seen ascorrupt and the only wayto change the system isby violent means. Theyinclude the Trotskyists(members of the Internat-ional Marxist Group), Mao-ists, who accept that theChinese version of commun-ism is the correct one,and anarchists (who sharemost of the above viewsbut do not see violenceas the way to achievetheir aims) M

There is an argumentthat prison is a punish-iment that deters but itclearly does not. Somemaintain prison has reform-ative influence yet over-all, the record of prisonas a reformer is a dismalone. Indeed many petti-thieves become profession-al criminals as a resultof prison. Most theftsare committed by peoplewho come from a deprivedbackground and prisonconfirms them in thi::situation. It does noth-ing to eliminate the en-equality which is the rootcause of the stealing.

Jerry Westall("o-crdinator)

r-U_ PAGE 23

ANSWERS TO QUIZ

1.. The answer, redolent of thecrimes of Christianity, was thatthe whole town should beslaughtered Cathar and Catholicalike - God will distinguish hisown'.

2, The leading specialist is DrAlex Comfor' an Anarchist,

an 'honour'.

3. Peter Kropotkin cited them as

an example of non-governmentalinternational co-operation.

4. Queen Anne was said, in her

statue as in her life, to have her'back to the church and herface to th e ginshop ; BrighamYoung is said to have his arseto the temple and his hand outto the bank'.

5. Lord Lambton somewhat pecul-iarly described Margaret Thatcheras deserving the support of'youn idealists' for her affinitywith Russian revolutionaries such

. as 'Herzen and to a lesserextent Bakunin' but die' not goon to describe that affinity.

6. Mr Strauss helped finance the. attempt on Hitler's life by Hilda

Monte, in which John OLdaycollaborated (but which, like

. all such attempts is nowdeliberately ignored byhistorians).

•

' DON.T FORGET THE BLACK FLAG. ANARCHO-QUIZ BOOK, the most

concise set of questions and answerssince the C of E Catechism.

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