In June, two spaces - one closely associated with anti-authoritarian action, the other connected to it only by a single event (namely the Trhlina infoshop and the Žižkostel community centre) - received explicit threats of arson attack, accompanied by the throwing of objects and messages clearly indicating arsonist intent. The threats were then accompanied by an emailed list of conditions based partly on anti-Ukrainian fabrications, partly on (dogmatic) formulations so general that their fulfilment would mean the end of basically all of the activities of the victims.
This is not the first case of unacceptable practices and intimidation of those who support Ukrainian anti-authoritarians and oppose Putin's invasion. We consider it normal that within the anti-authoritarian movement we disagree on a number of issues and our paths diverge. However, any criticism must be distinguished from aggression, which in the end is not about a real anti-militarist agenda, but about settling personal scores with specific and randomly selected 'enemies'.
Among these unacceptable practices were threats of violence on the website of the so-called Antimilitaristická iniciativa, coupled with public labelling of the opposing side as everything from "the left of capital" to "shitheads" to "snitches and their accomplices" and "traitors", against whom a "strong meassures" must be made and they must be "flushed out", if not killed (e.g. according to the quote, "History is full of examples of how revolutionaries treat snitches and their accomplices.").
Such practices included doxxing the personal names of anti-authoritarian activists on the blog lukasborl.noblogs. This was an unprecedented violation of the safe space that the anti-authoritarian movement strives to be.
It is an asymmetrical conflict, where anti-authoritarian collectives have long tried to "wait it out" and go about their normal activities, while sectarians have continuously escalated the level of aggression. As a result, concerns about the safety of events, spaces and individuals have been targeted by the sectarian campaign, either purposefully or haphazardly, but with a particular viciousness that has been matched perhaps only by the activities of neo-Nazis in recent decades.
Thanks to the aggressors, the repressive forces now have a valuable tool in their hands - first and foremost against the victims. Thus, any further escalation threatens not only real damage to the health and infrastructure that the anti-authoritarian movement is developing, but also a tangible strengthening of the possibilities for state surveillance and repression.
These cultists do not shy away from the indirect use of repressive forces. In an earlier case, they did not hesitate to report an IED at a benefit concert for the Ukrainian Solidarity Collectives. We know from the past that the police can use the reporting of a bomb at a concert to take many unpleasant steps.
The undersign collectives declare that they stand together against cultist aggression and will support each other. They condemn attempts of intimidation and incitement to hatred against all those who do not conform to certain ideological standards, and recognise the right of those under attack to defend themselves. We do not consider those who have committed attacks, threats and doxxing as part of the same movement, we refuse to tolerate them in the space of the anti-authoritarian movement and we do not feel solidarity towards them. By their own actions they have renounced it.
Together against sectarianism and dogmatism in the anti-authoritarian movement!
Trhlina
Kolektiv Anarchistického festivalu knihy
Riot over river
Mad Duck Booking
K115
Anarchistická federace
Dekonstrukce
Alt*prajd Praha
Výbor na obranu revoluce v Rojavě
FNB-Plzeň
FNB-Karlovy Vary
Solidrones
Resistance Support Club
Nakladatelství AF
Utopia Libri
Černorudý čtenářský deník
FNB-Praha
* * *
The fact that the anti-authoritarian movement could not be intimidated by arson threats is evidenced, among other things, by the continued support for anarchists* and anti-fascists* in Ukraine. In this context, we would like to invite you to two fundraising events that will take place in the near future:
It is important for the anarchist movement to support its friends and comrades on the front lines. The Anarchist Federation is also aware of this and invites you to a benefit concert entitled "Empire Will Fall, Solidarity Will Prevail", which will take place on Friday 13 September at the Prague Eternia. Proceeds from the event will go to Kuba, a friend of ours who left a few months ago to defend Ukraine from a fascist invasion from Russia and just recently needed to buy new equipment.
Proceeds from the traditional Riot Over River festival, the ninth edition of which will take place as usual in Prague's Holešovice at the Cross club, will be donated, after expenses, to help the Solidarity Collectives network, autonomous collectives in Ukraine that are fighting against Russian fascism and imperialism both on the front and in the home front. The festival will take place on Saturday 5 October and will feature a lots of bands with strong ideals - you can find a list of them and more information HERE.
Statement of anti-authoritarian collectives on arson threats
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