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- IAT-
The black star is the official symbol of IAT, together with the red shadow it means anarchism

The International Anarchist Tribunal

The official pages of the International Anarchist Tribunal of IFA-IAF-AI, founded 1982.


Links

Contact IAT - Click here!

Picture above made by cego - all credits to him - brown cards made by papers.com - all credtits to them

The IAT official website is http://www.anarchy.no/iat.html


Brown Cards to Jo Freeman & false "anarchist" provocateurs in Belarus!
Meaning they are expulsed from the Anarchist Movement!


Authoritarian degree =
"

The Economic-Political Map - The degree of democracy = The libertarian degree = 100 % - The authoritarian degree.


From: Globaldistribution
Sent: Friday, November 27, 2020 4:43 AM
To: Joreen Freeman; 'belarus_abc@riseup.net'
Cc: 'pramen@riseup.net'
Subject: Update 2! Reminder! Hi Fellows? in Belarus... Well?!!! - Goodbye to Jo Freeman

To  Jo Freeman jfrbc@ymail.com + so called “ABC” Belarus + copy & blind-copies.

We will not let you go unharmed marxist provocateur asshole Jo Freeman a.k.a. Joreen. You will go with a Brown Card, provocateur, as the other marxist provocateurs. Hierarchy and STATE-Lover! Posing as anarcha-feminist in the 1970-ties….

See the Anarcha-Feminist Manifesto: http://www.anarchy.no/maf.html

Anna Quist Co-writer of the Anarcha-Feminist Manifesto

PS. Anarchists and anarchism are not “structurelessness”. It is firm horizontal organization, i.e. with optimal order and law. We are against the “structurelessness”. But  not for the STATE  as you = Vertical organization. Now we will get rid of all the provocateurs!!! Marxist and others! And we will succeed!

We are many more than  50 000 and well armed. Nice try: https://www.jofreeman.com/joreen/tyranny.htm. Thank you for the word/idea, but the answer is not the STATE as you will have, but firm horizontal organization. First now we will clean up the Anarchist Movement!!!

PPS. Globaldistribution sending out global for ifa@anarchy.no .

From: Jo Freeman [mailto:jfrbc@ymail.com]
Sent: Friday, November 27, 2020 1:27 AM
To: globaldistribution@wemail.no; Globaldistribution; belarus_abc@riseup.net
Cc: pramen@riseup.net
Subject: Re: Update! Reminder! Hi Fellows? in Belarus... Well?!!!

Unsubscribe 

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

From: Globaldistribution [mailto:globaldistribution@wemail.no]
Sent: Friday, November 27, 2020 12:01 AM
To: 'belarus_abc@riseup.net'
Cc: 'pramen@riseup.net'
Subject: Update! Reminder! Hi Fellows? in Belarus... Well?!!!

Well, we have corrected some minor errors in your answer, and sent it to the local Southern secretariat…. + Some blind copies! [to a among others Jo Freeman]

AQ.

http://www.anarchy.no/wscifa.html

From: Globaldistribution [mailto:globaldistribution@wemail.no]
Sent: Thursday, November 26, 2020 11:49 PM
To: Afed; BulgariaAF; FAF - Infos Internationale; FAF Contacts; FAFrelations-exterieures; FAI-ITALY; FAIS-Albatros; FLA; secretariat@i-f-a.org; Tierra y Libertad
Subject: Reminder! Hi Fellows? in Belarus... Well?!!!

 Stop supporting this Belarusian brown ochlarchist shit Southern CRIFA!

 Or else… (we have military training, and we are not ochlarchs, but real fighters in legitimate self defence.)
 
AQ for the WSC-IFA
_____________________________________________
From: Globaldistribution
Sent: Thursday, November 26, 2020 11:31 PM
To: 'ABC-Belarus'
Cc: 'pramen@riseup.net'
Subject: RE: Reminder! Hi Fellows? in Belarus... Well?!!!

We don't pay you anything but a Brown Card from IAT-APT, you marxist, ochlarchist idiot. Meaning you are expulsed from the anarchist movement.

Read:  http://www.anarchy.no/ija133.html

And:  http://www.anarchy.no/abc.html

 AQ for IAT-APT and AI/IFA & ABC

 -----Original Message-----
From: ABC-Belarus [mailto:belarus_abc@riseup.net]
Sent: Thursday, November 26, 2020 10:48 PM
To: Globaldistribution
Subject: Re: Reminder! Hi Fellows? in Belarus... Well?!!!

Hello,

thank you for your e-mail. Here is a detailed answers to your questions:

* Anarchist “street fighters” are getting paid from 300 to 1000 euro depending on the skills (stone throwing is basic, building advanced barricades is paid better).
* Anarchist ochlarchs are high ranking members of the fighting groups. Salary starts from 1500 euro.

 There are some other types of anarchists in Belarus, but we believe this is of no value for this conversation.

Regards ABC-Belarus

From: Globaldistribution [mailto:globaldistribution@wemail.no]
Sent: Thursday, November 26, 2020 9:53 PM
To: 'pramen@riseup.net'; 'belarus_abc@riseup.net'
Subject: Reminder! Hi Fellows? in Belarus... Well?!!!

How much are you paid by Lukashenko for the ochlarchy included chaos?  And ruining anarchism!

From: Globaldistribution [mailto:globaldistribution@wemail.no]
Sent: Thursday, November 26, 2020 3:28 PM
To: pramen@riseup.net; 'belarus_abc@riseup.net'
Subject: Reminder! Hi Fellows? in Belarus... Well?!!!

Reminder! Hi Fellows? in Belarus... Well?!!!
 
ACEE-Section Belarus, rooted back more than 100 years, is still going strong, ready for anarchist action, i.e. of course 100% WITHOUT OCHLARCHY!!!!!

http://www.anarchy.no/eastern.html

PS. Reply quick! Both! WE MEAN QUICK!
PPS. AISC reports about PROVOCATEURS in the anarchist movement in Belarus. We will get rid of them – SOON!  ALL OF THEM!
PPPS. Globaldistribuition mailing out for ACEE-SECTION Belarus!

From: Globaldistribution
Sent: Thursday, November 26, 2020 3:46 AM
To: pramen@riseup.net; belarus_abc@riseup.net
Subject: Hi Fellows? in Belarus.

Hi Fellows? in Belarus.

If you drop ochlarchy (mob rule broadly defined) 100% and drop support for ochlarchs 100%, we will all support you 100%. We have resources!

@-greetings Anna Quist (off. spokesperson)

 http://www.anarchy.no/
 http://www.anarchy.no/links.html
 
PS. Reply quick! Both!


Anarchist International protest against repression in Belarus

The Lukashenko regime on the road from communism to ultra-fascism with more than 75 % authoritarian degree?

Belarus: The Anarchist International denounces brutality against demonstrators and arrests of labor activists and human right advocates. The Anarchist International (AI/IFA) has denounced the violent attacks by the police and the special security forces on demonstrators protesting over disputed presidential elections on Sunday 19.12.2010 in Minsk. Of the 20,000 people who took to the streets, more than 600 were arrested and detained, including labor activists, human rights advocates and journalists. 

The Anarchist International demands that all those detained be released without delay and the Lukashenko regime respect fundamental human rights, including freedom of association and freedom of assembly.  This kind of repression is totally unacceptable, and the international community must not let it go unchallenged! The Lukashenko regime's appalling record on trade union and other human rights has already led to an ILO Commission of Inquiry and the withdrawal of EU trade preferences under the GSP+ system.

In 2020 there have been large protests against the Lukashenko regime, that have provocateurs falsely posing as "anarchists" on the payroll, doing ochlarchy (mob rule broadly defined) to create chaos and de facto support a heavy and very repressive Lukashenko dictatorship. One false "anarchist" group is "Pramen", another is a false "ABC" group, and there are more "anarchist" provocateurs. The People's protests, including the real anarchists' at ACEE Section Belarus non-ochlarchical actions, are heavy repressed by the Lukashenko regime. Belarus was until 2020 ranked as no 71 internationally according to libertarian degree, with a degree of democracy = libertarian degree at 32,2 %, and with a Gini-index at 30,4 %, i.e. a totalitarian state-communist country & economic-political system, democracy in the name only, but not a heavy dictatorship, and clearly socialist.

But now the system is on the road to left-fascism and ultra-fascism, with less than 25 % libertarian degree, i.e. 100 % - 25 % = more than 75 % authoritarian degree. ACEE Section Belarus, AI/IFA and GGS protest against this extreme & ultra-authoritarian development in Belarus. The Green Global Spring (GGS), ACEE Section Belarus and AI/IFA will make actions pressing the Lukashenko-regime in progressive green & real democratic direction! SLOGANS: Less Than 1,5° C Global Warming! Drop Fossil Fuel! Green Energy! Full Employment! 5 % Green GDP growth! Small Income & Rank Differences! Down with the Gini-index to 20 %! Liberal Social-Democracy! Real & Green Democracy! Eco-Anarchy For Ever! Sufficient High Democracy Degree!!! And the so called "anarchist" provocateurs are expulsed from the anarchist movement via Brown Cards from IAT-APT. Sources: AIIS, GGS, AI/IFA & ACEE Section Belarus 26.11.2020.

Relevant links:
http://www.anarchy.no/
http://www.anarchy.no/links.html
http://www.anarchy.no/eastern.html
http://www.anarchy.no/andebate.html
http://www.anarchy.no/iat.html
http://www.anarchy.no/ija133.html
http://www.anarchy.no/ija136.html


ANARCHISTS AGAINST OCHLARCHY (MOB RULE)
AND OCHLARCHIST INFILTRATION

We have seen enough of criminals, police provokers, mislead kids and others doing ochlarchy (mob rule broadly defined), i.e. ochlarchists, infiltrating the anarchist movement, during the history, making trouble of various kinds for the anarchist movement and thus real progress in society. A firm stand against these ochlarchist infiltrators to the anarchist movement, being it police provokers, criminals and/or mislead kids or others, is a necessity for obvious reasons. The anarchist movement should of course not get mixed up with ochlarchists as we really have nothing to do with this sort of doings and persons.

This means among other things expulsion of the ochlarchist infiltrators from the anarchist movement, via the independent and autonomous International Anarchist Tribunal giving expelling Brown Cards in relevant cases, and followed up by expulsion of ochlarchists from anarchist arrangement as, say, congresses, demonstrations and actions, a.o.t. via internet, press releases and newsletters and websites.

It is extremely and especially important that the official anarchist websites take a firm stand against the ochlarchist infiltrators to settle things right and show the media and the people in general where the anarchist movement officially and generally stands in this case, not to get mixed up with the ochlarchists, because that may be extremely harmful to our movement, regarding say recruitment, public relations and influence, as a movement mixed up with ochlarchy and ochlarchists will never be taken seriously as a political social movement of alternatives and improvements to the existing more or less bad, inefficient and unfair economical-political systems, it will only be seen as an even worse alternative.

Furthermore, the typical strategy of the ochlarchist infiltrators, i.e. provocateurs, to the anarchist movement is to 1. put anarchists in the front of the fight against the bad existing order and government (with heavy losses and imprisonment and torture), 2. to discredit the anarchist movement by sustaining the lie that anarchy = ochlarchy including chaos, and thus 3. reject the truth that anarchy is horizontal organization, i.e. liberal social-democracy = real democracy = libertaire = anarchy and anarchism i.e. freedom and equality, optimal order and law, etc., i.e. good, and 4. reject the idea of democracy in general for dictatorship and strong man rule, of red-brown, just brown including dark brown, or blue-brown - totalitarian type, with more than 67 per cent, i.e. more than 666, 666 ... per thousand authoritarian degree, i.e. ultra-authoritarian hell societies voluntarily accepted by sufficient of the masses, the People and more of the population.

This was the strategy of the brown Mussolini, the dark brown Hitler and Franco, the red-brown Mao followed by the dark brown Xi Jin-Ping, etc. and in 2020 the blue-brown arch-conservative unenlightened plutarchist Donald Trump in USA. Perhaps Trump will not succeed. Time will show... And in Belarus we have the red-brown Lukashenko, now probably developing in dark brown direction, similar to Xi Jin-Ping in China last year.

In this issue of IJA we will elaborate on these questions, presenting documents and historical examples from the fight against ochlarchy and ochlarchist infiltration to the anarchist movement.


TERRORIST OCHLARCHISTS - NOT ANARCHISTS -
IN THE PAST AND TODAY

Post-mortem Sergei Nechaev a.k.a. Sergey Nechayev, François Claudius Koenigstein, known as Ravachol, the criminal Bonnot mob, Émile Henry, Leon Frank Czolgosz and other terrorists falsely posing as 'anarchists' (i.e. provocateurs), in the past have got the Brown Card, and have thus got their expulsion from the anarchist movement post mortem. These terrorist ochlarchists falsely posing as anarchists have really never been a part of the anarchist movement, but been ochlarchist infiltrators to the movement.

It is an historical mistake to include these persons in the anarchist movement, as they were ochlarchist infiltrators - not really anarchists. They were ordinary criminals, ochlarchist terrorists posing as "anarchists", and acting according to the authoritarian travesty of 'anarchy', but not anarchism. This however happened long time ago, in a time with heavy repression against the anarchist international, with a lot of infiltration by a) police provokers, who did a lot to discredit the anarchist movement, and b) a red&brown Leninistoid group called Blanquists, etc. The Blanquists etc. were RAF (Baader Meinhof, Maoist Marxist-Leninists) type of groups at that time, and they also managed to use a few naive persons as "useful" idiots. This is understandable, but not defendable. Terrorism is not a part of real anarchism. 'Propaganda of the deed' is specific political action meant to be exemplary to others, and has as such nothing to do with terrorism.

Both Proudhon, Bakunin, Kropotkin and Malatesta condemned the terrorism. Proudhon denounced terrorism i.e. the Blanquists, Bakunin denounced Nechaev, see IJA 4 (31), Kropotkin wrote: "a structure based on centuries of history cannot be destroyed with a few kilos of explosives." Malatesta wrote: "He who throws a bomb and kills a pedestrian, declares that as a victim of society he has rebelled against society. But could not the poor victim object: 'Am I society?' ", etc. As far as IAT knows neither Proudhon, Bakunin, Kropotkin nor Malatesta urged terrorism or participated in terrorism themselves.

The terrorist ochlarchists, ultra-authoritarian infiltrators to the Anarchist Movement, i.e. provocateurs, mainly leftist, marxist, communist type of infiltrators, started with the Blanquists, Nechayevists, Ravacholists, Mostists, Henryists, the Bonnotists, Czolgosists, etc. and continue today in the Libcomists, the Risupists, Antifa/AFA, 'Anarquismo', 'A-Infos', Blitz, Black Bloc and similar, mainly controlled by Trotskyites and other communists, say, marxist-leninists (ml). Their propaganda is easy to spot, they are "engaged in struggles against capitalism and other forms of oppression" (Risup.net), but not 1. against THE STATE (vertical organization broadly defined, including ochlarchy), and they are not 2. for horizontal organization (liberal social-democracy = real democracy = libertaire = anarchist), as 3. the Anarchists are 100%. They all, the provocateurs & ochlarchist terrorists, have got BROWN CARDS by IAT-APT and are thus expulsed from the Anarchist Movement. ALL OF THEM!

De facto: ochlarchy (mob rule including terrorism) and anarchy & ochlarchists (including terrorists) and anarchists are opposites as peace and war. To say de facto ochlarchy is anarchy and ochlarchists (including terrorists) are anarchists are lies equal to peace is war (remember Big Brother's Ministry of Truth in Orwell's "1984"). This is proven as a practically certain truth beyond reasonable doubt in the 3 resolutions in the Preamble to IAT-APT International Branch. The proof speaks for itself, but more than 50 000 anarchists confirming the validity of the proof in 2010 add weight behind.

That terrorists sailing under false anarchist flag wrongly have been labeled as anarchists historically, mainly in authoritarian Orwellian Big Brother newspeak lying historical works, shall of course not set precedence for now and in the future. Faults of the past should never be repeated. And history books and similar should be corrected so the newspeak lies are removed. And similar faults of today in the newsmedia broadly defined should of course also be corrected. To promote such a policy the IAT-APT hands out Brown Cards to persons and organizations breaking the Oslo Convention in this connection. And more.


LEARNING FROM HISTORY BY THE METHOD INTRODUCED TO ANARCHISM BY PJOTR KROPOTKIN

Anarchism is a modern sociological science, this is a basic principle of anarchism declared by Pjotr Kropotkin in "Modern science and Anarchism" 1903, and still valid anarchism: "Anarchism is an attempt to apply to the study of the human institutions the generalizations gained by means of the natural-scientific inductive method; and an attempt to foresee the future steps of mankind on  the road to liberty, equality, and fraternity, with a view to realizing the greatest sum of happiness for every unit of human society. This method it applies to all the so-called humanitarian sciences, and, availing itself of this method as well as of all researches which have recently been called forth by it... Anarchism endeavors to reconstruct all the sciences dealing with man, and to revise every current idea of right, justice, etc., on the bases [= methodology] which have served for the revision of all natural sciences.

Whether or not Anarchism is right in its conclusions, will be shown by a scientific criticism of its bases [i.e. the anarchist principles in general, the basic libertarian  working hypothesis and theories updated] and by the practical life... But in one thing it is absolutely right: in that it has included the study of social institutions in the sphere of natural-scientific investigations; and makes use of the method by which modern natural science ... were developed. Owing to this, the very mistakes which Anarchism may have made in its researches can be detected the more readily. But its conclusions can be verified only by the same natural-scientific, inductive-deductive method by which every science and every scientific concept of the universe is created. Anarchism does not recognize any method other than the natural-scientific.  No struggle can be successful if it is an unconscious one, and if it does not render itself a clear and concise account of its aim... [The method is a part of Anarchism]: Perhaps we are wrong and they are right. But in order to ascertain who is right, it will not do either to quote this and that authority, to refer to Hegel's trilogy, or to argue by the "dialectic method." This question can be settled only by taking up the study of economic relations as facts of natural science.   Whithout entering into  further discussion of the principles of Anarchism and the Anarchist programme of action [called Anarchist praxeologi, human action research, today], enough has been said, I think, to show the place of Anarchism among the modern sociological sciences." [Thus Anarchism is a modern sociological science broadly defined, including political economy etc, based on the methodology of modern natural sciences, i.e. the hypothetical deductive method.]

This means learning from history by the natural scientifical method, not to repeat the faults of the past, and to understand history by the natural scientifical method, by nomothetical statements (universal laws), not quote this and that authority, to refer to Hegel's trilogy, or to argue by the "dialectic method." To fight ochlarchy and oclarchist infiltration among other things the anarchist movement has investigated and also unanimously decided a nomothetic law, the Oslo Convention. As a nomothetical law, this can be used to the expulsion of ochlarchist infiltration to the anarchist movement in the past, the present and in the future. It is also used against the media, often mixing the ochlarchist infiltration up with the anarchist movement:

The Oslo Convention and the media

ANARCHISM VS AUTHORITARIAN TENDENCIES

Resolution unanimously decided upon by the first combined IFA & FICEDL Congress in Oslo 1990

1. Authoritarians notoriously mix up anarchy, anarchist and anarchism with authoritarian tendencies: Chaos, disorder, mob rule*, lawlessness, the law of the jungle, criminality, riots, theft, corruption, drugs, mafia, terrorism, autocratic rule, the right to the strongest, antisocial tyrannical behavior, etc. i.e. different types of superiors and subordinates.

2. The word anarchy origins from greek. The prefix "an" means "negation of" as in anaerobe versus aerobe and "arch" means "superior, i.e. in contrast to subordinates", as in archbishop, archangel, archduke, arch villain, etc. Thus anarchy, anarchism, anarchist, a.s.o., mean coordination on equal footing, without superiors and subordinates, i.e. horizontal organization and co-operation without coercion. This is the opposite of the above mentioned authoritarian tendencies, i.e. different types of superiors and subordinates.

3. The above mentioned mixtures of anarchist and authoritarian tendencies are principal contradictions similar to the Newspeak slogan "peace is war" in Orwell's "1984", and have correspondent repressive functions. Anarchists won't have any of that! For obvious reasons significant mixtures of anarchist and authoritarian tendencies should be denounced, i.e. as a general anarchist opinion, now and in the future. These actions may be taken on individual, municipal or international level, dependent on the situation.

The media may act a) as a free press or b) as The 4th power of the state, i.e. generally give a negative and wrong description of anarchy and anarchism, mixing up authoritarian and anarchist ideas and roles. "The Bureaucracy" as a class concept is all superiors, i.e. criminal or not, in private and public sectors. "The People" are "The Total Population" minus "The Bureaucracy". The part of the people generally following and supporting The Bureaucracy, that is the ramifications of The Bureaucracy. We think a good reporter cannot be a part of The Bureaucracy or its ramifications. Reporters, spokesmen and others [e.g. provocateurs], breaking the Oslo convention severely, or several times, will receive the BROWN CARD** as a symbol of free criticism. Authoritarian journalism and similar [e.g. provocations] must be criticized in a relevant way!

*) The Greek rooted word for mob rule is ochlarchy. Ochlarchy broadly defined may also be used as a common word for all the authoritarian evils mentioned in part 1. above, i.e. in general lack of security and law and order in a society as a public sector service. This is ochlarchy, the opposite of anarchy, i.e. based on libertarian law and order and security as public sector services, according to the anarchist (IFA) principle of social justice. The ones doing ochlarchy broadly defined are called ochlarchists, i.e. the opposite of anarchists. Sufficient public service of policing is important. Man is not like ants who cooperate socially, naturally and voluntarely without coercion/repression automatically by themselves. Thus, doing away with the existing rule or tendencies of authority may easily result in ochlarchy, mob rule, and not anarchy, if not a firm horizontal social organization, ideally or practically is established with a sufficient police corps to create security and libertarian law and order and to do away with tendencies towards ochlarchy. See System Theory and search for the keywords "law" and "corps". Furthermore it must be mentioned that variation in the degree of "flatness" of organizations/federations of different purposes and aims may be optimal, say, a police or defence corps organization/federation may have a somewhat less degree of flatness than a study circle. And the police corps shall of course be well educated in libertarian human rights and policing and be democratically regulated and controlled, and bully types, corrupt and other "brown", ochlarchical elements should be expelled mainly during the education prosess and thus stopped from participating in the police corps... (More information at Oslo Convention)

**) Ochlarchists, i.e. people and organizations/groups infiltrating the anarchist movement and posing as anarchists [e.g. provocateurs] and doing ochlarchy (mob rule broadly defined), getting the BROWN CARD, are expelled from the anarchist movement. Thus, receiving the BROWN CARD means expulsion from the anarchist movement.


From: IAT-APT, AIIS, GGS, AI/IFA & ACEE Section Belarus via Globaldistribution
Sent: Saturday, November 28, 2020 5:16 AM
To: International newsmedia and mandated persons etc.; The Green Global Spring Revolution; The people & anarchists and authorities world wide
Cc: 'Belarus' Embassy in Sweden'
Subject: Mr Lukashenko has announced he will step down. International, national and anarchist pressure work!

Mr Lukashenko has announced he will step down. International, national and anarchist pressure work!

From: From AIIS, GGS, AI/IFA & ACEE Section Belarus via Globaldistribution
Sent: Thursday, November 26, 2020 9:21 PM
To: The people & anarchists and authorities world wide
Cc: International newsmedia and mandated persons etc.; The Green Global Spring Revolution; + Blind to: Belarus' Embassy in Sweden <sweden@mfa.gov.by>
Subject: The Anarchist Confederation of Eastern Europe ACEE - Anarchist International protest against repression in Belarus - The Lukashenko regime on the road from communism to ultra-fascism with more than 75 % authoritarian degree? Provocateurs...

From: IAT-APT, AIIS, GGS, AI/IFA & ACEE Section Belarus via Globaldistribution
Sent: Friday, November 27, 2020 10:55 AM
To: The people & anarchists and authorities world wide
Cc: Belarus' Embassy in Sweden <sweden@mfa.gov.by>
Subject: Brown Cards to Jo Freeman & false "anarchist" provocateurs in Belarus! - Meaning they are expulsed from the Anarchist Movement! READ IT ALL - NOW!

BROWN CARDS TO JOREEN FREEMAN AND BELARUSIAN PROVOCATEURS - CLICK HERE!

PS. Mr Lukashenko has announced he will step down. Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko says he will no longer be president when a new constitution is introduced, Belta News Agency reports. Ever since the presidential election on August 9, the opposition has mobilized demonstrations with up to 200,000 participants. The demand is that President Lukashenko must resign. He claims to have received 80 percent of the votes, but is accused of widespread electoral fraud. Source: NRK. Published 27.11.2020 at 14:11.

In Belarus, women lead revolt against communist tyranny and reaction.

Since August, the streets of Minsk, capital of the eastern European nation of Belarus, have been flooded with protesters demanding change. Women are in the forefront of this protest. The fuse was lit by the August 9 presidential election. Incumbent Alexander Lukashenko claimed a landslide victory with 80% of the vote. But the people called foul. Protests erupted demanding he step down. The European Union and the Anarchist International have backed the charges of widespread fraud and refused to accept the election results.

President and dictator. Alexander Lukashenko was first elected president in 1994 and has been in power for 26 years. Often labeled in mainstream press as the “last dictator in Europe,” he is an ultra-authoritarian communist whose government rests on repression, fraud and corruption. Lukashenko’s regime is notorious for its history of human rights violations along with persecution of national minorities, opposition politicians, journalists and workers. The years-long record is so blatant that the United States and the European Union have imposed personal sanctions on dozens of Belarusian officials responsible for political suppression and forced disappearances.

A former satellite of the Soviet Union, Belarus shares a common border with Russia. There are strong, if tense, economic and political ties between the two countries. The turmoil has prompted Lukashenko to ask Putin for assistance to enforce order. As the protests spiraled up, Russia sent specialists to keep Belarus State TV and Radio up and running. In late October, the head of Russian foreign intelligence met with Lukashenko in Minsk. But now late November 2020, Putin has asked Lukashenko to calm down.

The female opposition. The people of Belarus have long been daunted due to brutal retaliation by the state. But the combination of a disintegrating welfare system, dismantled state-run services, a five-year wage freeze and skyrocketing prices were too much for them to stand.  The tipping point was reached when Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya joined the presidential race. Her pro-democracy husband was a major political opponent to Lukashenko, but he was arrested on bogus charges. In a shrewd political move, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya ran in his stead. Lukashenko’s misogyny led him to dismiss her candidacy, stating that the country wasn’t ready for a woman leader. He was wrong. Tsikhanouskaya formed a pact with two other female opposition figures, Maria Kolesnikova and Veronika Tsepkalo. The trio became leaders of a broad-based opposition that denounced the rigged election and demanded Lukashenko step down.

After the elections, threats by the regime forced Tsikhanouskaya and Tsepkalo to flee. Attempts to remove Kolesnikova from Belarus failed when she ripped up her passport at the border. She has since been detained in Minsk and charged with undermining national security. But this attempt to cut off the head of the resistance failed. The spark had already been lit. Women, workers, students, leftists, anarchists and retirees came out in droves, and stayed out. According to ABC news, the U.N. human rights investigator demanded in October that the government “stop repressing its own people,” noting that over 20,000 were detained in August and September and hundreds reported beaten, intimidated, tortured or ill-treated in custody.

Yet the almost daily protests continue. In response to a call for a general strike, on Oct. 25 an anti-government rally drew 200,000 participants. The government exerted enormous pressure on workers in the state-owned enterprises to stay on the job so the general strike did not quite come to fruition. But the continued grassroots pressure is causing shake-ups across the country. A women’s march on Nov. 1 drew a huge, multi-generational crowd. The massive outpourings show no signs of stopping despite increasingly harsh crack-downs using stun guns, water cannons, rubber bullets and mass arrests.

In addition to ramping up state violence, Lukashenko has closed the borders with Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine. Ostensibly done to control coronavirus spread, these countries have been accused by Lukashenko of fomenting rebellion in Belarus. The border to Russia — and the threat of Putin’s troops — remains open so far. The end of the story is not yet fully decided. What is clear is that the women activists have shattered stereotypes and catalyzed a new spirit of rebellion and solidarity. They, together with workers, retirees, students and anarchists in the streets of Belarus, are fired up. As their chant says, “We believe we can. We will win.” 27.11.2020 Mr Lukashenko announced he will step down...

29.11.2020 the demonstrations, anti-government protests, by the People including anarchists continue. As every Sunday, 29.11.2020, Belarus protesters gathered in Minsk districts. At least 300 people were detained as thousands of opposition protesters staged a series of smaller rallies in Minsk suburbs. Demonstrators had tried a new approach to try to evade a crackdown by authorities. Local media reported that at least 20 protests took place in Minsk. In some areas, separate rallies merged to form columns of several hundred people.

Heavy security! Riot police were deployed to break up the protests and, as in previous weeks, authorities shut metro stations and blocked mobile phone coverage in an attempt to stop people from meeting. There were also reports of power cuts in some neighborhoods. "Large columns of people have assembled in all districts of Minsk, without exception. The Lukashenko police are desperately rushing from district to district," said opposition Telegram channel Nexta Live, which has been coordinating the demonstrations. Belarusian news website Tut.by reported that police were using stun grenades and tear gas, while videos of masked officers dragging protesters into vans circulated on social media.

'Proud, brave and peaceful': Belarus' opposition has alleged the election was rigged and that Lukashenko's main challenger, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who is in exile in Lithuania, was the true winner. "Everyone takes to the streets in their district and sees dozens, hundreds and thousands of supporters," Tikhanovskaya said in a message to her Telegram channel ahead of Sunday's protests. Belarusians are a "proud, brave and peaceful people that have learned the price of freedom and will never agree to live without it," she added. Source: AIIS.

06.12.2020. More than 300 people were detained in the Belarusian capital on Sunday 06.12.2020, where crowds of people took to the streets for the 18th consecutive weekend, demanding the ouster of the country's ultra-authoritarian ruler who won a sixth term in office in an election widely seen as rigged. Thousands of people Sunday took part in dozens of small rallies scattered all over Minsk, the Belarusian capital -- a new tactic the opposition employed instead of one large gathering to make it harder for the security forces to target the protesters. "We believe! We can! We will win!" the demonstrators chanted. Several people wore Santa Claus costumes and masks depicting President Alexander Lukashenko. "Give Belarusians a gift: go away," a banner they carried read. Source: AIIS.

13.12.2020. Security forces in Belarus detained dozens of people in the capital, Minsk, as opposition demonstrators staged scattered marches and rallies on December 13 2020 to pressure strongman ruler Aleaksander Lukashenko to make political concessions. Human rights group Vyasna said that nearly 180 people were detained during protests across the country. Mass protests have gripped Belarus, an ex-Soviet nation of 9.5 million people, ever since official results from the Aug. 9 2020 presidential election gave Lukashenko a landslide victory over his widely popular opponent, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. She and her supporters refused to recognize the result, saying the vote was riddled with fraud, and some poll workers came forward to detail how the election was rigged in their areas. Authorities have cracked down hard on the largely peaceful demonstrations, the biggest of which attracted up to 200,000 people. Police have used stun grenades, tear gas and truncheons to disperse the rallies.

This was the first Sunday in over four months of protests when subway stations in Minsk were not closed ahead of the demonstrations and internet access wasn't restricted. Videos of the rallies posted on social media showed security forces chasing and detaining protesters in courtyards in residential areas. One journalist was detained, the Belarusian Association of Journalists said. Protesters believe the constant repression of their movement won't help Lukashenko, who has been in office for 26 years, hold on to power for much longer. "Lukashenko will not be able to hold on to power for a long time with repressions and violence. The majority of Belarusians don't believe him anymore, he has become toxic and his departure is only a matter of time and our persistence," Alena Turavets, one of those rallying in Minsk on Sunday 13.12.2020, told The Associated Press. "Tens of thousands of Belarusians have already gone through detentions, torture and paid a high price for freedom," Turavets said. According to the Viasna centre, over 30,000 people have been detained since the protests began in August, and thousands of them were brutally beaten. Four people are reported to have died as the result of the government's crackdown on demonstrators and opposition supporters. Sources: AIIS and AP.

16.12.2020. The 2020 Sakharov Prize awarded to the democratic opposition in Belarus. The democratic opposition in Belarus has been awarded the 2020 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. European Parliament President David Sassoli announced: “Let me congratulate the representatives of the Belarusian opposition for their courage, resilience and determination. They have stood and still stay strong in the face of a much stronger adversary. But they have on their side something that brute force can never defeat - and this is the truth. So my message for you ... is to stay strong and not to give up on your fight. Know that we are by your side”. The democratic opposition in Belarus is represented by the Coordination Council, an initiative of brave women, as well as prominent political and civil society figures. Belarus has been in the midst of a political crisis since the disputed presidential elections on 9 August, which led to an uprising against ultra-authoritarian President Aliaksandr Lukashenka and a subsequent brutal crackdown on demonstrators by the regime. The EU Parliament also adopted new recommendations calling for a comprehensive review of the EU's relations with Belarus. The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is awarded each year by the European Parliament. It was set up in 1988 to honour individuals and organisations defending human rights and fundamental freedoms. It is named in honour of Soviet physicist and political dissident Andrei Sakharov and the prize money is 50 000 euros. Last year, 2019, the prize was given to Ilham Tohti, an Uyghur economist fighting for the rights of China’s Uyghur minority. The anarchists, the IAT-APT, AIIS, GGS, AI/IFA & ACEE Section Belarus, congratulate the winners. Sources: AIIS and the European Parliament.

20.12.2020. On Sunday 20 December 2020, marches and rallies were reported in several districts of Minsk, with many carrying the red-and-white flag or banners. Protests were also held in other towns and cities across Belarus, including Barysau, Homel, Hrodna, Salihorsk, Smilovichi, Navapolatsk and Brest. Police with dogs patrolled the streets, water cannon were deployed. At least 152 people were detained. Sources: AIIS & Wikipedia.

27.12.2020. On Sunday 27 December, the March of Balloons took place, people throughout Belarus, also in Minsk, are releasing white-red-white balloons, flags and other symbols into the sky. People gather in their neighborhoods and then move to the places previously defined in local chats. Many carried the red-and-white flag and chanted slogans such as "Long live Belarus!". There were reports of detentions. Sources: AIIS & Wikipedia.

2021... the revolt continues...

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