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Recent articles by W.S.A.
A Talk on the Ukrainian-Russian War Aug 31 23 Class Struggle Anarchist Statement on Gaza international |
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opinion / analysis
 Friday January 16, 2009 14:20 by W.S.A. - Workers Solidarity Alliance wsany at hotmail dot com
 Workers Solidarity Alliance statement on situation in Gaza Workers Solidarity Alliance statement on situation in Gaza Gaza is in flames. Its population terrorized by the incessant bombing of Israeli warplanes against its public and residential districts and even its schools (3). Countless of the Gaza Strip's mostly impoverished residents are dead, many of these children, women and the elderly. Many more Palestinians have lost loved ones, have maimed, both physically and psychologically, and all are living without access to basic necessities, water, food, medical care, etc. All of this as the consequence of the largest military assault (codename: "Operation Cast Lead") waged by Israeli armed forces since 1967 War against the Gaza Strip and its approximately 1.5 million residents. |
HauptseiteSupport Sudanese anarchists in exile Joint Statement of European Anarchist Organizations International anarchist call for solidarity: Earthquake in Turkey, Syria and Kurdistan Elements of Anarchist Theory and Strategy 19 de Julio: Cuando el pueblo se levanta, escribe la historia International anarchist solidarity against Turkish state repression Declaración Anarquista Internacional por el Primero de Mayo, 2022 Le vieux monde opprime les femmes et les minorités de genre. Leur force le détruira ! Against Militarism and War: For self-organised struggle and social revolution Declaração anarquista internacional sobre a pandemia da Covid-19 Anarchist Theory and History in Global Perspective Capitalism, Anti-Capitalism and Popular Organisation [Booklet] Reflexiones sobre la situación de Afganistán South Africa: Historic rupture or warring brothers again? Death or Renewal: Is the Climate Crisis the Final Crisis? Gleichheit und Freiheit stehen nicht zur Debatte! Contre la guerre au Kurdistan irakien, contre la traîtrise du PDK Meurtre de Clément Méric : l’enjeu politique du procès en appel International | Imperialism / War | en Thu 18 Apr, 23:13
Australia’s militaristic national myth was founded on the Gallipoli landing. The dead Anzacs are conscripted for service in all of Australia’s wars. They have sanctified Australian imperialism in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. This year, the national commemoration of the Anzacs will be in the service of the developing conflict with China and the drive to war. It must not be uncontested. Instead of glorifying the military prowess of the Anzacs, we should be building the working class movement which can sweep away all capitalist States. We need a revolution that will establish libertarian communism, a world of liberty, equality and solidarity, where war and militarism exist no more, except as exhibits in museums and lessons from history. Today, the gangs that the states created for their interests are running away though the ruins they are leaving behind in Kobanê. While the victory of resistance is echoing in the free streets of Kobanê, the There are two possible futures. In one of them, the conflicts between the imperialist countries, and between them and China, will grow until some miscalculation leads to a nuclear war which could destroy humanity. The other possibility, the only means of avoiding that fate, is a workers' revolution to abolish capitalism and eliminate the causes of war. We can do it and we start by building the labour movement and taking a stand against militarism today. Instead of idolising the Anzacs, we should mourn them, and instead of glorifying the military, we should oppose its very existence. Statement of Melbourne Anarchist Communist Group. [Italiano] Latest news from our Syrian comrade Mazen Kamalmaz: The situation looks quite bleak for the future of the Arab peoples' revolutions: the official machine of the regimes' repression is unleashed to its maximum in several countries, threatening to put down by brutal force the uprisings of the Libyan, Bahraini and Yemeni masses. Our solidarity is needed in terms of actions of support!
Unlike the capitalists, the working class can unite across national boundaries. We can sweep away the capitalists and their State, with its armies, police and prisons. We can build libertarian communism, a world of peace and plenty, a world of both freedom and security. We can and we must.
When news from the destruction of Gaza- which has claimed more than 200 lives- reached New York City, communities jumped into action. 90 years later, let 4 November be a day for repudiating war, for anti-militarism and non-violence between peoples, for ceasefires and the de-militarization of all war zones, for the withdrawal of the Italian army and all armies from fake peace-keeping missions. [Italiano]
For those of us involved in the fight for workers' power, the 1st of May gave us much to be cheerful about. Traditionally a day to celebrate working class solidarity and militancy, workers in America and Iraq, marked May 1st with a wonderful demonstration of both of these fine qualities. more >>
A talk on the Ukrainian-Russian war, from an anarchist perspective. I reviewed my reasons for being in solidarity with the Ukrainian people. But revolutionary anarchists should give no political support to the Ukrainian government nor to the U.S. imperialists who help it.
As far as I can tell, Ukrainian anarchists have in fact followed Malatesta’s approach. Virtually the whole country has risen up to oppose the invasion. There is voluntary organizing throughout the nation, both military and providing social services, despite chaos and destruction. Ukrainian anarchists have not made fools of themselves by opposing the resistance of the people. Instead they have merged with the broader movement of Ukrainians. Some have provided non-military services through mutual aid groups, such as food distribution. Others have formed a military unit composed of anarchists and anti-fascists. Although they have a good deal of autonomy, they coordinate with the Territorial Defense Forces.
This article covers the impact of the sanction on all sides. But the real losers are the working class and the oppressed people. It shows the way how we can fight back against both wars: the current military one and the sanctions war.
A group of Ukrainian anarchists living in Kyiv declared that they have joined popular resistance against Russian invasion and organized their own group- leading to many debates among anarchist circles. As long as we do not exactly know their own circumstances, one might think that they are purely pro-NATO people, confused nationalist-anarchists or even neo-Nazi supporters. Actually, they are not! According to their declarations before and during the war, they do exactly know what NATO, capitalism, nationalism and imperialism is; and they are against all of them. For me, they are just a group of comrades who found themselves in the middle of a war and trying to find out a way to defend their own lives and their own ideas.
Both NATO and Russia must be opposed, and should war eventuate, our job is not to pick a side but to work to end the war as quickly as possible. Should war break out then the spectre of 1917 needs to be made a reality again. The best defence against imperialist wars will always be a powerful, militant working-class and the fear of revolution that brings. more >>
Australia’s militaristic national myth was founded on the Gallipoli landing. The dead Anzacs are conscripted for service in all of Australia’s wars. They have sanctified Australian imperialism in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. This year, the national commemoration of the Anzacs will be in the service of the developing conflict with China and the drive to war. It must not be uncontested.
Instead of glorifying the military prowess of the Anzacs, we should be building the working class movement which can sweep away all capitalist States. We need a revolution that will establish libertarian communism, a world of liberty, equality and solidarity, where war and militarism exist no more, except as exhibits in museums and lessons from history.
There are two possible futures. In one of them, the conflicts between the imperialist countries, and between them and China, will grow until some miscalculation leads to a nuclear war which could destroy humanity. The other possibility, the only means of avoiding that fate, is a workers' revolution to abolish capitalism and eliminate the causes of war. We can do it and we start by building the labour movement and taking a stand against militarism today. Instead of idolising the Anzacs, we should mourn them, and instead of glorifying the military, we should oppose its very existence.
Statement of Melbourne Anarchist Communist Group. [Italiano]
Unlike the capitalists, the working class can unite across national boundaries. We can sweep away the capitalists and their State, with its armies, police and prisons. We can build libertarian communism, a world of peace and plenty, a world of both freedom and security. We can and we must. more >> |
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Spring zu Komment: 1 2 3I would like to the point that although the western media has demonstrated a general attitude of bias against Palestinians in their news coverage for decades, that not all of the western media, nor all western journalists, are necessarily duplicitous in their handling of the region. The BBC, and BBC Middle Eastern editor Jeremy Bowen in particular, seem to have attempted to present an as accurate assessment of the events in Gaza over the past several weeks as is possible. This in the face of some very trying circumstances, namely, the Israeli governments refusal to allow foreign journalists into the Gaza strip during the conflict .
Generalizations are always a complicated issue... on the one hand, you need them to make political judgements (as you can't refer to every specific case in its uniqueness), but on the other hand, they can conceal real differences and exceptions to the rule. On the Western Media, it is true that not everybody was following the script of portraying Israelis as "victims" while Palestinian suffering was minimized, but the overwhelming majority did. But though we are correct to talk of a generally biased Western Media, it is important to acknowledge those few that stood up and did their job in a honest way (and people who have been doing it for decades, such as Robert Fisk or John Pilger).
Also, it is important to tell the editorial line of media from the individual journalists working on it... even the most right wing media will, every now and then, accept "critical" articles, just to "prove" their impartiality.. but those exceptions confirm the rule, and often (although they are valuable voices) they can be used only to "confirm" the "impartiality" of the editorial line.
But as we are talknig of the BBC, does anyone has any clue of what is going on with the following news?
"Pressure grows over BBC Gaza appeal"
Pressure on the BBC to screen a Disasters Emergency Committee appeal for Gaza mounted after ITV announced it would show the broadcast:
Recently, the UK-based Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), which comprises many aid agencies including the British Red Cross, Islamic Relief, Oxfam and others, called on all UK news broadcasters to broadcast a public appeal for Gaza. The BBC and other broadcasters refused, stating that "Along with other broadcasters, the BBC has decided not to broadcast the DEC's public appeal to raise funds for Gaza. The BBC's decision was made because of question marks about the delivery of aid in a volatile situation, and also to avoid any risk of compromising public confidence in the BBC's impartiality in the context of an ongoing news story." It is ironic that this very statement compromises the BBC's professed impartiality.
The DEC is unique in that it brings together the UK's aid, corporate, public and broadcasting sectors in order to rally the public's compassion. As a non-political, humanitarian organization, it has "three principles" which guide its appeals: 1. The disaster must be on such a scale and of such urgency as to call for swift international humanitarian assistance. 2. The DEC agencies, or some of them, must be in a position to provide effective and swift humanitarian assistance at a scale to justify a national appeal. 3. There must be sufficient public awareness of, and sympathy for, the humanitarian situation so as to give reasonable grounds for concluding that a public appeal will be successful.
The crisis in Gaza clearly meets all three criteria, leaving one to only speculate why the BBC refused to broadcast the appeal.
Unfortunately, the BBC's claims do not hold in the least. In 2006, the BBC broadcast an appeal for Darfur and Chad, stating at the beginning that the UN had deemed it the worst humanitarian crisis and concluding that "The crisis is by no means over, the violence in Darfur showing no sign of reaching an end, many people remain uprooted and reliant on international aid." In 2008, the BBC's Congo Appeal introduction stated that "Imagine being in such fear of your life that you have no choice but to leave home, uproot your family and flee." Strange that no one thought that this would risk the BBC's impartiality. Like Darfur and Chad, Gaza is a man-made catastrophe in which civilians are bearing the brunt of the hostilities. Making their situation even more precarious, Palestinians in Gaza are living under a strangling blockade and are not allowed to leave even for medical treatment.
The difference is crystal clear. The DEC appeal would have revealed Israel's carnage in Gaza and would drive viewers to ask questions. It would have shown the demolished UN buildings, schools, and the storage facilities that contained desperately needed aid for the people of Gaza which were completely destroyed. The BBC would have to show the unrecognizable burnt bodies of women and children, as a result of weapons that are illegal to be used in civilian areas. It would demonstrate how Gaza's hospitals are operating beyond capacity. It would also have to highlight how the blockade imposed by Israel has left the people of Gaza without basic resources. All of this would be shown without the usual Israeli excuses.
The desperation of these media outlets to maintain the old story line that "both sides are to blame" and that "they are all suffering" would be exposed as false. Those committed to "balance" in a severely unbalanced situation, at the expense of the suffering of thousands, are already taking a position because they are not showing the whole picture. The whole picture is not symmetrical -- not by any standards.
A further factor comes into play. Journalist Robert Fisk was asked in a lecture he gave in 2008 in London, "is there a Zionist media lobby?" His response was, "There doesn't need to be." He explained that the minute a journalist used the word "wall" or "occupation," a barrage of emails would be sent to the journalist with criticisms as well as accusations of anti-Semitism. And given Europe's history, this is probably the worst thing one can be accused of being. The same people who criticize the use of such terminology, which are accurate and reflect words used in law, would most certainly be at the forefront of accusing the BBC of being biased should the appeal be aired. The fear is that just as the international solidarity movement grew with the growing humanitarian crisis in Darfur and the light being shed on the situation, the same would occur regarding Israel. Once these doors are open, many people would most certainly question Israeli behavior in the region and flouting of international law, and the already growing outrage would lead people to act. Or so we hope, and so they fear.
The first part of the claim further highlights the hypocrisy. It was stated that there were "question marks" in delivering the aid. Other than question the expertise of the charities under the DEC, the BBC is once again propagating dangerous double standards. In the 2008 Myanmar Cyclone appeal, the BBC's Stephen Fry said, "There are difficulties in distributing and getting aid into the country, but despite these challenges, efforts are being stepped up." He further went on to state that some of the 13 charities under the DEC already had people situated within Myanmar. Just like Myanmar, there are charities already situated within Gaza. Unlike Myanmar, this was not a natural disaster -- the crisis in Gaza was created by humans and persists because of human indifference reinforced by the BBC's decision.
As these words are being written, an Internet-wide movement to pressure the BBC to reverse its decision is growing. Only through this pressure for accountability and an end to double standards when it comes to the Israel-Palestine conflict, can people in Palestine finally be humanized in mainstream Western media. All over the world, when civilians are killed, the crisis is humanitarian. When it is in Palestine, it is political. Sadly, the media is the driving power behind the cheapening of Palestinians lives, under the guise of "impartiality." However, in the words of Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor."