Price: R1,50 ZabalazaZabalaza A Journal of Southern African Revolutionary Anarchism #4 June 2003 NameName oneone thingthing GovernmentGovernment doesdoes thatthat thethe PeoplePeople cannotcannot dodo ThemselvesThemselves MM ZABALAZA: A Journal of Southern African Revolutionary Anarchism PAGE 2 Anarchist?Anarchist? TimeTime toto Organise!Organise! Capitalism Won't Abolish Itself. It Needs Our Help. Join the Federation! The revolutionary anarchist movement and townships of Johannesburg, Durban calise mass movements and popular in southern Africa is pleased to announce and Cape Town and an active involvement struggles, combat authoritarian and the founding of a regional anarchist feder- in the 200,000-strong United Social reformist tendencies, act as a forum where ation, uniting the Bikisha Media Collective Movements (USM) in these centres. We ideas and experiences between militants (BMC), Zabalaza Books (ZB) and the will be electing an acting international sec- can be discussed, and provide a vehicle Zabalaza Action Group (ZAG) - which are retary and an acting regional secretary as for the maximum political impact of liber- collectively members of the International well as a working group to draw up a draft tarian communist ideas in our region. Libertarian Solidarity (ILS) anarchist net- final constitution. We are not a large organisation, and work - as well as the Anarchist Black We are not a party or a self-proclaimed we have no pretensions about our impor- Cross (ABC) and a range of individual vanguard, and we do not see ourselves as tance. However, we are convinced anarchist militants. The Zabalaza an organisation that will lead the anarchist enough of our ideas to want to spread Anarchist Communist Federation, which movement, never mind lead the working them as widely as possible. If you are will operate under an interim skeleton con- class to social liberation. We recognise interested in getting involved and want to stitution, the relevant portions of which are that a successful revolution can only be find out more by receiving our literature, reproduced below, until a full Congress is carried out directly by the working class email the Federation Secretary on held before the end of the year, effectively itself. However, we believe this must be [email protected] or any of the groups has an operational presence in the cities preceded by organisations able to radi- listed on the back page. ZabalazaZabalaza AnarchistAnarchist CommunistCommunist FederationFederation Interim Skeleton Constitution as adopted at the ZACF launch in Johannesburg, South Africa, on May Day 2003. May Day is marked by the working class, peasantry and poor worldwide in honour of the anarchist martyrs of Chicago, 1886, and this year, 2003, marks a century of armed revolutionary anarchism since the Macedonian Revolt of 1903, and the 30th anniversary of the 1973 Durban Strikes which initiated the popular insurrection which eventually overthrew the apartheid regime.

PREAMBLE: FEDERATION (ZACF), "zabalaza" being a Association, and on the armed anarchist By Anarchism we mean: proud indigenous word meaning "struggle" insurrectionary tradition of the Mexican, "society organised without authority, in Zulu and Xhosa. The short name of the Russian, Ukrainian, Manchurian, Spanish meaning by authority the power to ZACF is the Federation. and Cuban Revolutions. These traditions impose one's own will ... authority not continue today in the International only is not necessary for social organisa- 2) PRINCIPLES: Libertarian Solidarity network and in the tion but, far from benefiting it, lives on it The ZACF is founded on revolutionary anarchist-influenced global mass anti-cap- parasitically, hampers its development, anarchist-communist principles. This italist struggles of the new millennium, the and uses its advantages for the special means: ultimate aim of which is an Internationalist benefit of a particular class which exploits a) internally, direct democracy, recallable, Social Revolution; and oppresses the others." mandated and rotatable delegates, real, d) regionally, the Federation recalls the Errico Malatesta functional equality among members, and revolutionary syndicalist tradition of the l'Agitazione June 4, 1897 horizontal federalism among all its struc- Industrial Workers of the World's South tures; African section, founded in 1910, of the And by Communism we mean: b) externally, a commitment to workers' International Socialist League, founded in "a society without money, without a state, self-management and direct action, and to 1915, of the Industrial Workers of Africa, without property and without social class- libertarian revolutionary anti-capitalism, founded in 1917, of the Industrial Socialist es. People come together to carry out a anti-fascism, anti-authoritarianism, anti- League, founded in 1918, and of their project or to respond to some need of the sexism and anti-statism. The Federation's associated unions set up between 1917 human community but without the possi- involvement with the progressive and rad- and 1919 by anarchist militants of all bility of their collective activity taking the ical social movements is non-sectarian, "races" such as Thomas William Thibedi, form of an enterprise that involves wages but steeped in these principles; Reuben Cetiwe, Hamilton Kraai, JD and the exchange of its products. The c) globally, the ZACF bases itself on the Ngojo, Bernard Sigamoney, RK Moodley, circulation of goods is not accomplished proud fighting tradition of some 155 years AZ Berman, Manuel Lopes, Joe Pick, by means of exchange: quite the con- of mass anarchist militancy, starting with Gordon Lee, Fred Pienaar, Johnny Gomas trary, the by-word for this society is 'from the Pan-European Revolt of 1848 and and Andrew Dunbar. This syndicalist tradi- each according to their abilities, to each stretching across Africa, Latin America, tion was revived by the likes of Rick Turner according to their needs'." Asia, Australasia, North America and - murdered by a clandestine state death- John Gray Europe. The Federation stands on the squad in 1978 - and played a key role in For Communism internationalist libertarian federal tradition worker militancy during the upsurge of the (libertarian communist website) of the First International, on the autono- trade union movement in the struggle mist councilism of the Parisian and against apartheid in the 1970s and 1980s. ARTICLES: Macedonian Communes and of the The Federation stands proudly in the fight- Russian, Ukrainian and German Soviets, ing tradition of the rank-and-file workers' 1) NAME: on the mass-based anarcho-syndicalist networks, people's civics, street commit- The name of the federation is the tradition of the International Workers' ZABALAZA ANARCHIST COMMUNIST Continued on Page 6 MM ZABALAZA: A Journal of Southern African Revolutionary Anarchism PAGE 3 TheThe Workers'Workers' StruggleStruggle atat WitsWits UniversitUniversityy

In 2000 the University of the Supercare and to Wits management; they tend to be? And how does the revo- Witwatersrand outsourced its cleaning, - An approach to the Combined Staff lutionary struggle relate to these bureau- catering, grounds and maintenance serv- Association at the University of Durban- cratic unions in general? ices. Over 600 workers either lost their Westville, with a view to setting up a We reject the Marxist view that unions jobs or found themselves employed by branch of this union at Wits. COMSA, are inherently reformist and can play no 'service provider' companies at drastically which includes academic and administra- important role in bringing about revolution. reduced wages. Workers who had previ- tive staff as well as manual workers, is Indeed, it is in just such day-to-day battles ously been paid over R2 000 per month independent of the major bureaucratic as unions engage in that the revolutionary now found themselves receiving R1 000. union federations; it includes a number of struggle begins; and since the revolution is They were robbed of medical aid, free uni- revolutionary activists, although unfortu- to be made by the workers themselves, versity education for their children and nately no anarchists; and it has achieved the organisations of the workers are of other benefits. The workers, supported by greater success in facing the challenge of vital importance. But we do see that some students and academics, fought outsourcing than any other campus union bureaucrats and sellouts can and fre- against this attack, but they were let down in South Africa. quently do emerge within unions, gain by the weak response of NEHAWU, the positions of power and undermine the bureaucratic COSATU-affiliated union Various student organisations (other workers' struggle; and we recognise that which was supposed to represent them, than the SSM) have expressed sympathy this can happen even in unions that are and were totally defeated. Workers at for the workers, and a campaign to win the explicitly revolutionary in their aims. For most other South African universities have support of academics has also been instance, leading members of the CNT, the experienced similar attacks over the past launched. But it is only the workers them- anarchist union which was central in bring- few years. (See our pamphlet Fighting selves who can hope to achieve success ing about the revolution of 1936, hesitated Privatisation in South Africa for more on in this difficult struggle. They face major to follow up the revolution and even violat- this struggle.) challenges, beginning with a campaign of ed anarchist principles to the extent of After NEHAWU had failed them, many intimidation by Supercare management, accepting positions in the Popular Front of the outsourced workers, particularly known for its harsh treatment, even by government. cleaners now employed by the Supercare capitalist standards, even of workers who It might seem that withdrawing from company, joined MESHAWU, a NACTU are not actively resisting. The intimidation bureaucratic unions to start new ones affiliate. But they found that this union campaign includes spying on workers' which are more democratic and more served them no better than its rival. While meetings; drawing up lists of 'troublemak- open to revolutionary ideas is a positive they bogged themselves down in useless ers' (one such list was captured and step. But there is no guarantee that such negotiations and accepted a 'sector agree- destroyed by student activists, but no unions will not also develop in the direction ment' that gave workers nothing, the doubt there are others); and trumped-up of selling out; and challenging the bureau- MESHAWU bureaucrats told their mem- disciplinary charges and attempted dis- cracy from within, while difficult, can also bers to wait patiently and be grateful for missals (in December Supercare tried to be productive. Moreover working-class what they had. In the meantime what they dismiss two workers, allegedly for drinking unity is vital whether for daily struggles or had was growing less as food prices shot tea;The the charge was defeated Struggle but no doubt in a revolution, and a split in workers' up during 2002. there will be more). organisations is always dangerous. But Late in that year the frustration of the At the same time the workers face all this does not mean it is never correct or workers was sparked into a new wave of the difficulties and uncertainties of building necessary. To take an obvious example, if resistance after the Wits branch of the a new organisation, in which they will a racist union excludes black workers, Socialist Students' Movement intervened. themselves make all the decisions and they have no option but to build an inde- The SSM had originally been established control all the resources instead of hand- pendent union of their own and try to win at the University of Durban-Westville; it ing these over to a bunch of bureaucrats. as many white workers as possible; if this was started atWits: Wits early in 2002 by a Continues!There are internal tensions and disagree- union takes a revolutionary direction (as broad group of revolutionaries including ments. Political opportunists are always did South Africa's first black union) so both anarchists and Marxists. In August ready to spread confusion. The connec- much the better. Perhaps the indifference and September 2002 it gave the workers tion with COMSA has not yet been consol- of 'mainstream' unions to outsourced its support in defying the MESHAWU idated. And, faced with the danger of los- workers justifies a similar direction. It is bureaucracy and the bosses, and went on ing their jobs, the workers are (for now) not always possible to tell in principle to assist in launching a campaign for bet- obliged to defend themselves within the which way will work best. ter wages and conditions. The Supercare capitalist legal system, with all the extra This article has raised more questions workers took the most active part in this difficulties that involves. This relates to than answers. We cannot tell where the campaign, although gardeners from another matter that will come to a head in struggle at Wits is going or what will be its Sonke were also involved, and catering 2003: Supercare's contract with Wits is broader significance. For the moment, staff were approached. scheduled for review, and the workers anarchists must do all they can to support must find a way to change or replace it in the Wits workers; make available to them The achievements of the workers over order to improve their position. the lessons history has taught us; spread the last few months of 2002 include: There are no easy solutions to these our ideas among them; and be ready to - A series of public meetings and the challenges; it is up to the workers to fight learn from them the lessons of their fight establishment of a committee to co-ordi- on with patience, determination and imag- for the great revolutionary struggle. nate the campaign independently of exist- ination, and to revolutionaries to support ing unions; them as best we can. But this struggle - Marches on campus in which demands raises questions of more general interest. for better conditions and restoration of pre- How do outsourced workers get organised outsourcing wages were presented to - neglected by the bureaucratic unions as MM ZABALAZA: A Journal of Southern African Revolutionary Anarchism PAGE 4 Fat-CatFat-Cat NationalismNationalism vs.vs. thethe Ultra-HungrUltra-Hungryy Michael Schmidt / Bikisha Media Collective (ZACF Gauteng) At the ANC’s 51st national congress on ing the chronic authoritarian baasskap CIGAR-SMOKE & MIRRORS 16 December 2000, President Thabo within the Alliance “as a necessary internal After Cronin was shamefully forced to Mbeki lashed out at the so-called “ultra- expression of democracy and independ- grovel and apologise, the attack continued left” which he accused of adopting a right- ent thinking”. We are unashamedly guilty in October 2002 against ultra-left forces wing agenda aimed at undermining the on that score, but even high-ranking outside the Alliance, when the ANC National Democratic Revolution. The SACP members have come under wither- Political Education Unit (PEU) launched a NDR is the ANC/SACP’s hoary 70-year- ing fire for expressing genuine concerns at scurrilous attack on the democratic revolu- old two-stage theory of pseudo-liberation the corporate drift of the ruling party. tionary forces of the Landless People’s under which full social, economic and Movement, the Social Movements Indaba political equality is perpetually delayed by CRONIN CAPITALISM vs. and allied anarchist, communist and an endless so-called “transitional develop- CRONY CAPITALISM socialist groups. mental state”. Under this socially irre- In August 2002, “Dial-a-quote” In a nutshell, the ANC alleged that we sponsible, slim-line capitalist state, the Dumisani Makhaye of the ANC viciously are “counter-revolutionaries” acting in aggressive rights of the expanded bour- attacked fellow ANC National Executive cahoots with neo-liberal forces including geoisie are consolidated and the defen- Committee member and SACP leader the arch-capitalist Democratic Alliance to sive rights of the working class are eroded, Jeremy Cronin, claiming that an interview defeat the NDR! Yes, the coming of bour- all in the name of progress. he gave to Irish writer Helena Sheehan in geois democracy and the defeat of In an October 2002 interview, Mbeki which Cronin warned about the apartheid was a huge advance for the correctly described the ultra-left: “it’s a “Zanufication” of the ANC, showed people, but the struggle cannot end there. group of people, they define themselves Cronin’s thought to be “ultra-leftist” or “a While the ZACF advocates instead an variously - as anarchists, anarcho-syndi- mix of anarcho-syndicalism, Trotskyism international social revolution by a Front of calists, socialists, Fourth International[ists] and anarchism”. This was utter rubbish the Oppressed Classes themselves, we - and they have a common platform, which because Cronin is widely recognised as a would rather see that as advancing true is let us unite to defeat globalisation and Stalinist ideologue: it was he who lead the social transformation beyond the half- let us unite to defeat neo-liberalism, which expulsion of Dale McKinley from the hearted NDR, with its in-built antagonism is a manifestation of the globalisation SACP. McKinley is now a spokesman for to social equality. process.” the Anti-Privatisation Forum, of which Although the PEU correctly identified But he claimed that the ultra-left Bikisha Media Collective is a part. neo-liberalism, and its opponents (“com- opposed the ANC’s “restructuring” of state Cronin, discussing the currents that munists, socialists, anarchists and anar- assets because we mistakenly believe it is formed Cosatu in 1985 spoke about the cho-syndicalists”), and our views of the actually privatisation under the guidance battle between the “workerists” or “syndi- self-enrichment attitude of the new elite, it of a neo-liberal agenda. We who are calists” who were wary of the ANC’s defied logic - and the lived experience of proudly ultra-left and who call for the opportunism versus the “populists” such the South African working class under socialisation of assets, rather than for elit- as the SACP who wanted a cross-class ANC rule - by claiming the ANC was anti- ist privatisation or nationalisation, say marriage - the same Alliance that is today neoliberal. Mbeki is the one mistaken for believing under such stress due to its neo-liberal, The PEU’s line of argument was tortur- that our opposition is based on ideology anti-working class policies. In this battle ous and sickening. First it appealed to and not on the reality of what the ANC’s Cronin clearly aligned himself against the xenophobia, claiming that the presence of GEAR policy is doing to the poor, the ultra- syndicalists, so to accuse him of pro-syn- a few foreign activists in our ranks means hungry. dicalist views is nonsense - unless, of that the ultra-left is controlled by foreign Also, the claim by leaders like Mbeki, course, one is such an elitist that anything interests! Then it claimed we were trying the self-confessed Thatcherite, that their that even makes empty gestures in favour to mobilise the bourgeoisie and the corpo- ultra-leftist opponents are driven by “ideol- of the productive classes is met with deep rate media - hardly ultra-left friendly forces ogy” (whereas the state and the corpo- antagonism and a smear campaign. - against the government! Later it played ratists serves on the other hand obviously The most nefarious of Makhaye’s the race card, claiming that the over- simply represent “reality” and “common assertions is the claim that the ultra-left whelmingly black, coloured and Asian sense”) is a blatant and discredited and ultra-right are not opposed, but “two community-controlled United Social attempt to camouflage the fact that they do sides of the same coin”. To state that Movements was trying to entrench white represent an ideology: neo-liberalism. South Africa’s anti-fascists, anarchists, privilege! And neo-liberalism, because of the way it autonomists, left-communists and Beating us with a stick in one hand for voraciously devours the commons, Trotskyists are identical to the white allegedly campaigning “on the same polit- whether in terms of physical space, once- supremacist AWB or the Boeremag is the ical platform elaborated and publicly pre- public services or even genetics, is fright- kind of double-speak we rather expect of a sented by the political representatives of eningly close to corporatist neo-fascism. I low-rent spin-doctor trying to tar honest colonialism, white minority rule and white defy the Alliance to demonstrate the “unre- critics with a dishonest brush. capital”, it pretended to hold out a carrot ality” of evictions and cut-offs. But then, it is not surprising that those with the other hand, claiming the “rights to The row between the Alliance and its who believe in maintaining a privileged demand that the communists, socialists, ultra-left critics, both within certain Cosatu parasitic elite to rule the productive class- anarchists and anarcho-syndicalists affiliates and certain SACP branches and es - whether Africanists or nationalists - should support us as we pursue our strug- outside it in the United Social Movements pretend that the only “movement” that ever gle for the victory of the continuing nation- in which the ZACF is involved, has been counted was the one that allowed them al democratic struggle.” Claiming that the brewing for some time. We are accused into the inner circles of the waBenzi. by the ANC of encouraging “anarchy and the breakdown of discipline” by challeng- Continued on page 6 MM ZABALAZA: A Journal of Southern African Revolutionary Anarchism PAGE 5 WhiteWhite WorkersWorkers FeelFeel Privatisation'sPrivatisation's PinchPinch Even White workers have begun to have felt the pinch. Apartheid helped keep RESIST TO EXIST feel the pinch of government's neo-liberal White workers afloat until the 1980s, when There are many obstacles to uniting capitalist policies. Hundreds of residents the PW Botha regime began to flirt with workers across the colour line in South in the low-income Claremont, privatisation. With the new government Africa. Successive governments have Coronationville, Montclare and Newlands married to the GEAR policy, conditions driven a deep wedge between workers, areas have been living without electricity have worsened rapidly. and trust between the races does not for almost eight years after Johannesburg In these affected areas, electricity come easily. Hate, national pride, compe- City cut supplies due to low payment. meters have been removed, and only res- tition for a shrinking number of jobs, and idents' protests in early January helped capitalist propaganda all keep workers GEAR: WAR ON THE POOR prevent water supplies being cut-off. divided. Electricity and water cut-offs are part Families owe debts of up to R15,000 for But the common experience of subju- and parcel of the ANC government's neo- rates and services, but many simply can- gation - and of resistance - helps lay the liberal GEAR policy. Government aims to not pay as unemployment rises, school foundation for some unity. cut tax on the rich, cut its spending on fees climb, and wages fall. And the new elite of Black and White social services, and restructure its social Many of the residents were registered capitalists needs to be taught a lesson - services into profit-making operations. with Johannesburg's poverty relief pro- and Working class struggle is the best This policy has simple aims: to boost the gramme, which is supposed to exempt the teacher. power of big business and to transform the poor from cut-offs. But the programme, No cut-offs should be tolerated, no State into a straightforward trade union for which was introduced after the 2000 evictions should be permitted, no more the rich. municipal elections, has been cancelled lying politicians should be elected. We In other words, the GEAR policy aims by the municipality. must organise a form of refusal, of disobe- at robbing the poor to pay the rich. Even While White capitalists have enjoyed a dience, of resistance. researchers at the government-funded windfall under the new government, and HSRC unit have found that 10 million peo- the White middle class has mortgaged its CAN'T PAY, WON'T PAY soul to 4X4s, coffee shops and liberal ple have suffered water cut-offs and 5 mil- Community organisations, neighbourhood pleading, White workers have seen their lion have faced eviction from their houses centres, union locals are the units of the conditions worsen sharply. Between the in the last ten years. working class army in its struggle for liber- 1970s and early 1990s, the income of the ation. If the capitalists and politicians want poorest 4 out of 10 Whites fell by nearly WHITE AND POOR to wage war on the poor, then they must half. And even residents in mainly White expect a tough fight. If they want a social blue-collar Johannesburg neighbourhoods war, let's give them one. KillKill thethe Bill!Bill! -- thethe ANC’sANC’s attackattack onon thethe WorkersWorkers andand PoorPoor It has become increasingly clear to abandoned because of widespread reac- gence of the new social movements in any activist that international repression tion due to its human rights infringements, South Africa. From the Black Bloc tac- is on the increase; both as a reaction to, into parliament. If passed into law, the Bill tics at anti-capitalist riots in Europe and among others, the massive anti-capital- could be used to justify the criminalisation the US; to massive general strikes in ist riots at the G8 summit in Genoa, Italy and imprisonment of community activists Venezuela and the Argentines’ “Fuck (with solidarity actions around the globe) and organisations, radical workers and you!” to their rulers. in June 2000, which saw the murder of unions (if we still had any) and many other The international working class is 22 year old Italian anarchist activist libertarian and anti-capitalist structures. In once again raising its’ middle finger to Carlo Giuliani by forces of the Italian fact, anyone who opposes the status quo our oppressors, and with it we can state and, more significantly, since the could, at one time or another, fall victim. expect an iron fist of repression. September 11 attacks on the World Because its definition is so vague, it can This is a matter which’ does not sim- Trade Centre and the Pentagon. be used in constituting almost any initia- ply affect anarchists or socialists, trade The United States Government has tive directed against the ruling establish- unionists or community activists. It jumped at this opportunity (or played a ment as “terrorism”. affects us all, the world over: part in its’ orchestration) to implement The very same factors which are influ- For those at the top of the power new ‘anti-terrorist’ laws internationally, encing an increase in class inequality and structure the escalating level of global which could also be used to justify indeed struggle in South Africa are sys- repression and silencing, or attempts to increasing repression and criminalisa- tematically being implemented around the silence popular dissent, represent the tion of global resistance and national lib- world; privatisation, evictions, cut-offs, levels to which our class enemies will go eration movements. retrenchments, massive cuts in social in order to maintain, and increase their Ever eager to sell-out the South spending (education, health care etc.), control. It also symbolizes the true feel- African working class, to which it owes war mongering etc. ing within the ruling class, that of fear! its wealth and power, and ultimately the The working classes’ natural response They are afraid because they know, African working class as a whole; the to this oppression and exploitation has more so than our own class, that we are ANC has been quick to follow suit. been to fight back. This is evident interna- responsible for their power. Because Since S11 Government has re-intro- tionally; from the armed uprising of the duced an anti-terrorism bill, originally Zapitistas in Chiapas, Mexico; to the emer- Continued Overleaf MM ZABALAZA: A Journal of Southern African Revolutionary Anarchism PAGE 6 Continued from page 5 irreconcilable class enemies. ZabFed Constitution We must organise industrial actions Continued from page 2 we the working class produce the worlds in solidarity with both local and interna- wealth, yet we enjoy none of it. tional struggles; for better working con- tees, progressive popular fronts and com- From the point of extraction, we are ditions, higher wages, free education munity defence groups of this period of in the mines, forests and on the farms, and healthcare, an end to evictions and struggle. But instead of the authoritarian, dripping sweat, blood and tears as we cut-offs etc. multi-class National Democratic tear out our Earths’ vital organs for raw We must embark on massive inter- Revolution of the African National materials to produce the capitalists’ national campaigns of civil disobedience Congress and the South African wealth. and direct action, from industrial actions Communist Party elite vanguard, the In the factories we too process the and sabotage to armed defence of our Federation stands for a libertarian raw materials into products, which our communities to loosen, and ultimately Regional Social Revolution by a Front of bosses then sell for massive profit whilst break the noose that the State and cap- Oppressed Classes, united across region- paying us shit. italism have tightened around our al borders, in furtherance of the Also, at home, we make up a large necks. Internationalist Social Revolution; and part of the market, to which the capital- These are the tactics the internation- e) operationally, the Federation is based ists’ sell back the stolen products of our al working class used to overthrow the on federalism, individual and collective labour. racist Apartheid regime, because they responsibility, and on tactical and theoreti- We are responsible for the day-to- were proven to be the most effective, cal unity, being the core principles of the day running of both the production and and these are the tactics that have been "Organisational Platform of the Anarchist distribution of almost everything in ‘our’ used in uprisings throughout history. Communists" drawn up in 1927 by Nestor society. With the exception of laws and Because they reflect the true aspirations Makhno and other anarchist guerrilla vet- prisons, war and poverty, exploitation of the working masses, freedom, equal- erans of the Revolutionary Insurgent Army and oppression etc. Which only exist to ity and social justice. of the Ukraine. In the terms of the Latin defend power and wealth and increase This is where the power of the work- American anarchist movement, the capitalists’ profit. ing class, and the seeds of a new world Federation defines as a "specific" anar- The jobs that our bosses and man- lie. chist organisation. agers do could, for example, be just as Only through anti-authoritarian, easily performed by a rotational delega- directly-democratic, decentralized and 3) SYMBOL: tion of immediately recallable shop-floor non-hierarchical organisation(s) and The symbol of the ZACF is a silhouette of representatives elected by, and answer- Africa divided diagonally into the anarchist able to, their fellow workers. black & red, with a black star in the lower This is why they are scared, red half over southern Africa and a raised this is why they are building fist straining against its chains, encircled more prisons and this is why the by the name ZABALAZA ANARCHIST ANC is reviewing the new ‘Anti- COMMUNIST FEDERATION. Terrorist’ Bill (ATB), because they are scared of our power. Fat Cat Nationalism vs. the Only by carrying forward with Ultra-Hungry the program for the implementa- tion of Stateless Socialism, of Continued from page 4 Anarchism, can we stand a ANC voting bloc and “the people” were the chance in the face of a suicidal same thing, the PEU said that to be out- capitalist onslaught the likes of side the ANC was necessarily to be which the world has never seen. And means of struggle will we be able to against the people. build a new world free of misery, want counter and overcome international The pro-exploitative nature of that and suffering. repression, which is undoubtedly going “struggle” is then laid out, when the PEU We must organise and harness this to get worse as our struggles advance, stated: “Like its sister parties globally, the power to meet and over- come the by making it difficult for the State and its SACP has never adopted what would be a repressive new face of 21st Century agents to infiltrate our movements and fundamentally incorrect position, scientifi- capitalism. imprison or remove our ‘leaders’ cally, ideologically and politically, that our We must organise ourselves into because we have none. We have only national liberation movement should regionally and internationally federated mutual aid, co-operation, solidarity, transform itself into a socialist movement workplace and community-based coun- working class unity and a will to fight! for the destruction of the capitalist system. cils to challenge those in power and Through these means of organisa- It is therefore very wrong for the anti- regain control of our lives and our work- tion we will be able to build a power neoliberal movement to try to impose on places. To seize the means of produc- structure from the bottom up and not the the ANC and our government its own anti- tion and distribution and operate them in top down as is presently the case. A capitalist programme.” the interests of all. structure that will be strong enough both So while we are slandered as being We must develop revolutionary to combat the coming repression and ultra-left and ultra-right at the same time, working class militias to confront and overthrow the system of capitalism as a the heroic Alliance magically manages to expel the police and armies from our whole, which puts the wealth and power be simultaneously pro-capitalist and anti- communities and defend ourselves from of a few before the lives and needs of neoliberal! The shrill and paranoid tone of both foreign and internal occupation. billions. And usher in a new, free and this attack against us, combined with their They serve only to enforce the will of our equal, Anarchist, society. outright lies about the nature of the contin- uing struggle for bread and dignity in South Africa, shows the fat-cat “liberators” Organise, unite and fight - Kill the Bill! up for the frauds they are. MM ZABALAZA: A Journal of Southern African Revolutionary Anarchism PAGE 7

Change (MDC), from 1999 onwards, he Zimbabwe:Zimbabwe: RepressionRepression AgainstAgainst blamed this non-existent cabal. Sinking deeper into fantasy, he blamed his humiliating defeat in a popular referen- thethe WorkingWorking ClassClass MountsMounts dum in 2000 on the same group. The so- Zimbabwe is a dictatorship under the responded with police terror, an approach called farm invasions began soon after, iron fist of Robert Mugabe and his ZANU- he continues to this very day. Having lost and were carried out by hired gangs that PF party. This has been underlined once control of the Zimbabwe Congress of forced farm workers to join his fake trade again by the regime's crackdown against Trade Unions (ZCTU), Mugabe has settled union, and who attacked May Day rallies. opponents in March this year. for repression. More recently, he has set The aim of the desperate and unstable More than 400 opposition supporters up a yellow "Zimbabwe Federation of dictator was two-fold. First, he was turning have been arrested, beaten and in some Trade Unions" which specialises in beat- on a section of the elite who he suspected cases tortured by police and the army. ing up strikers. were plotting against him: the White farm- Over 250 people have required hospitali- ers. Second, he aimed to grab resources sation, and at least one person has died. TRUTH, LIES to pay his thugs and reward his cronies. The real beneficiaries of the land grabs Women have been sexually assaulted in AND NEO-LIBERALISM the repression. have been his so-called "war veteran" pri- The dictator's supposedly radical rhet- The repression takes place against the vate army and wealthy Blacks like his wife, oric has confused far too many activists backdrop of a two-day general strike for Sally Mugabe, and his information here in South Africa. basic political freedoms on the 18 and 19 Minister, Jonathan Moyo, each of whom Mugabe claims to be against neo-liber- March, and attacks by hired ZANU-PF have received several farms. In the mean- al policies, but in 1991, with his blessing, supporters against voters in two heated time, nearly half a million farm workers his regime implemented a Structural by-elections in Harare. have lost their jobs, and the grim spectre Adjustment Programme that makes GEAR Two days after the general strike, of starvation hangs over nearly two million look like a tea party. Mugabe announced that he would be a people. In 1993, for example, health spending "black Hitler 10-fold" in crushing his oppo- was cut in half, unemployment began to nents GIVE MUGABE THE BOOT soar to 6 out of 10 people, and govern- It is time to clear our eyes of the myths ment officials gorged themselves at the A REIGN OF TERROR surrounding Mugabe, and to support the public trough. Mugabe himself looted the Zimbabwean working class in its struggle The regime's crackdown on the work- government fund for low-income housing ing class and poor began soon after it took against the dictator. There should be no in order to build a mansion for his secre- illusions in the MDC, which has a very power in 1980. In tary. Meanwhile wages fell to the levels of 1980 to 1981 a moderate programme and is influenced by the early 1970s and inflation shot through neo-liberal policies. huge strike wave the roof, taking bread out of workers' shook the But this should not blind us to the mouths. issues at stake. The working class and country. The The Structural Adjustment Programme government poor of Zimbabwe are at war with a brutal was only dropped from 1997 onwards warlord. In this struggle, we stand with the responded by taking because the workers in the ZCTU over the unions, remov- working class and poor, and against the launched a series of general strikes regime. We stand for the creation of a sit- ing wage negotiations against his policies. In the face of fierce from union control, and uation of basic political freedoms that will repression, the workers fought and won... allow the working class movement to appointing union offi- for a while. cials. develop, and for a revolutionary anarchist The more recent so-called land reform current to emerge and flourish. When the policy is cut from the same cloth. It was unions For anarchists to support the warlord never motivated by concern for the poor. against the workers would be a disgrace began to Its only aim was to increase the wealth show and a sell-out. and power of Mugabe's faction of the rul- This means, simply, that we want some ing elite. independ- Mugabe out. Not because we have illu- sions in the MDC, but because the ence from DELETE THE ELITE around Mugabe regime is more of an obstacle on Like all dictators, Mugabe is convinced 1987 the road to a real revolution in Zimbabwe. that the people love him, a message his onwards, Our aim is anarchist communism, and advisors pour into his aging ears day after Mugabe towards that end we want, we fight for, day. Mugabe was convinced that the every small reform that will strengthen the strike wave was planned by a secret cabal working class and poor, our class, and of White farmers, British agents and gays. allow our anarchist ideas to spread. When the ZCTU set up a moderate oppo- sition party, the Movement for Democratic

Southern African Anarchism Online www.zabalaza.netwww.zabalaza.net Links to local groups, education material, email discussion lists, PDF leaflets for you to distribute etc. etc. MM ZABALAZA: A Journal of Southern African Revolutionary Anarchism PAGE 8 “The Vision WeWe RevoltRevolt AgainstAgainst thethe TTyrants!yrants! Thing: were the DC and Seattle protests A Report from the Ivory Coast unfocused, or are Since the death of the dictator Felix with limited access to health care and edu- Houphouet-Boigny, the pretenders to the cation... critics missing the throne of the Ivory Coast are legion and Vis-a-vis that, resourcefulness and point?” use all the stratagems and dubious ideolo- mutual aid are the bases of survival. gies to seize power: republicanism, ivoirity Popular revolts are also very numerous: by Naomi Klein (national preference), or death squads, student demonstrations that denounce (Extracts) attacks... corruption, demonstrations of districts With the attempt at a coup d'etat on the against expulsions, against cuts of water 19 September, 2002, one can think that and electricity. Each African knows that he “So how do you extract coherence Gbagbo (the new despot, elected official risks his life while going in the street. How from a movement filled with anarchists, with difficulty in October 2000) would not many dead and wounded to leave this whose greatest tactical strength so far today be in power without the assistance misery and to denounce corruption? has been its similarity to a swarm of of French President Jacques Chirac. It Nobody makes the calculation! mosquitoes? Maybe, as with the should be said that Houphouet-Boigny It should be noted that they do not ask Internet itself, you don't do it by imposing knew well how to sell Ivory Coast during for voting rights, nobody died for this con a preset structure but rather by skilfully his reign. trick! Those in power, it doesn't matter surfing the structures that are already in Racketeers (primarily French) for a which ideology they are, are not content place. Perhaps what is needed is not a long time invested in juicy markets with the with filling their pockets, but keep their single political party but better links help of their military and financial support compatriots in a hole. They racketeer, among the affinity groups; perhaps for the dictator. Agricultural products (cof- imprison, torture and kill any person acting rather than moving toward more central- fee, cocoa, cotton) especially interest the publicly for the right to live in dignity. isation, what is needed is further radical French. "Social peace" is necessary to capitalism, decentralisation.” Manufactured and as the life of an African is not worth Klein takes on the critics who com- goods are sold anything... plain that the new movement lacks a in all West France supported all the unifying vision, but rather only targets, to Africa, dictators and African presi- which she answers that we should be where dents, and is thus acces- thankful: "At the moment, the anti-corpo- they sory to all their crimes. rate street activists are ringed by would- very Today it is a new turn be leaders, anxious for the opportunity often that is taken with to enlist them as foot soldiers for their consti- the xeno- particular cause." Klein sees the possi- tute the phobia bility of something truly new emerging, only alter- that is rather than repeating the unworkable M native to spreading centralised movements of the past... the more across the expensive French products. Ivory Coast. Taken from a review of a Naomi Klein Then, to paralyse the econo- The "foreigners" article by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortizgoes. my of the Ivory Coast, is to touch are once again a The essay was first published in the July that of the whole sub-region. For safety-valve for eco- 10, 2000 issue of the Nation. example, since the failed coup d'e- nomic problems. tat missed in Ivory Coast, Burkina One needs a culprit Faso suffers an oil shortage for for misery; then fash- motorcycles - the most used ion indicates a means of transport by the popula- "Dioula", a "Burkinabé" tion, which is not without conse- (just like in France it is no quences. The current crisis is signifi- good being "Arab" or cant, it shows the race of the despots "Gypsy"). Let us stop follow- for power but also the dominating role of ing blindly and refuse the war in the French State in Africa. Ivory Coast. Today the Ivory Coast is again - Boubacar returned to war, it is France which refer- (an Ivorian anarchist) ees, which says "who does what" and "with whom" (Agreement of Marcoussis, This is a translation (from French) of a text January 2003). In the event of dissension, about the actual situation in Ivory Coast, it kills (30 Ivorians were killed by French written by an Ivorian anarchist. It was first soldiers on January 6, 2003). During this published it in Le Combat Syndicaliste - time, the African people live in misery, newspaper of the anarchist union, the CNT- unemployment, lacking water and food, AIT in France. MM ZABALAZA: A Journal of Southern African Revolutionary Anarchism PAGE 9 AA WorkersWorkers ParPartty:y: WhatWhat For?For? Latin American Voices LENY OLIVERA With growing disillusionment and this role and in the process... the bureau- anger at the ANC, talks have once more cratic government apparatus becomes a (Tinku Youth, Network of Autonomous Groups, Cochabamba, Bolivia) started about forming a new workers party. class in itself with interests of its own.... Speaking during the Anarchist Days 2 Is this the way to go? Can a new workers “Labour parties are no more immune to meeting at Porto Alegre, Brazil, 27 party provide us with a decent standard of the diseases inherent in the parliamentary January 2003. living? Can it give us control of our lives at system than are other political parties. If work or in the communities? We think not. the new Labour Party legislators are elect- I identify as Quechua because my father speaks Quechua [one of Bolivia's three ed they will have to "play the game" major indigenous languages]. I work in a Lets Have A Look according to the established rules and cultural group, but it's not just cultural: we In Belgium, the workers recently found customs. If they are honest they will soon also work with social topics. I like to work it necessary to take to the streets in a gen- become cynical and corrupted... Most of there because in our group we do a variety eral strike to protest plans by the coalition them, however, will find their new environ- of things: we work in ecology; problems in Socialist-Social Christian government ment to their taste because they have our society; the music that revitalises our culture. I continue working there because I (each closely linked to the two largest already learned to connive when they were operating as big wheels in their own think it should be very integral, because at labour federations) to enact a "social pact" school I never learned why poverty exists in to hold down wages and slash social union organisations... A course in the all the world, why some people don't have spending. A similar pact was recently school of labour fakery prepares the grad- anything to eat, and many things about our pushed through by Spain's socialists. uates for participation in municipal, state culture. I think I learned more things on the In Canada, the labour-backed New and national government... streets in my group than at school or worse, Democratic Party lost nearly all its seats in “Tactics must flow from principles. The the university. Now I'm studying through a national elections in the past, apparently tactic of parliamentary action is not com- university but don't think that the things that I learn - it's simple, technical things - it's use- because of widespread disgust with its patible with the principle of class struggle. Class struggle in the economic field is not ful, but it's just technical things. It was dis- role in enforcing capitalist austerity in the appointing for me because there is no social provinces under NDP rule. In Ontario compatible with class-collaboration on the consciousness to help our society according local unions refused to allow the provincial political field. This truth has been amply to our career. NDP government to participate in Labour demonstrated throughout the history of the I study computer science and it's just Day celebrations. The NDP won provincial labour movement in every land. like a tool for me. And other aspects like elections in 1990 on a platform of labour Parliamentary action serves only to rein- social consciousness and other things I law reform, pay equity, progressive tax force the institutions responsible for social learn in the streets, on marches and going to the communities - because we also play reform and public auto insurance. But injustice - the exploitative economic sys- tem and the State. music from our communities and we are when corporations threatened to use their learning little by little more things to remem- economic power in a sort of general strike “The strength of the labour movement ber. And, well, about anarchism, what I by capital, the government quickly threw in lies in its economic power. Labour pro- understood about it was that, first in Bolivia the towel. The "labour" government aban- duces all wealth and provides all the serv- this word is like a mess, it's a bad word in doned public auto insurance, abandoned ices. Only the workers can change the some of the countries. But for me it's excel- most of its labour law reform package, and social system fundamentally. To do this, lent - but I see also that it's difficult. I could- gutted social service spending. Ontario workers do not need a labour party, since n't see a person that was anarchist 100%. It's difficult to take out all of the structures workers understandably concluded that by their economic power they are in a position to achieve the Social Revolution... that we have in our minds, but it's a good they could get these sorts of anti- worker step to recognise that we have to take it out. policies from any capitalist government, As long as the means of production are in I think it's an important thing, but the prob- and so did not vote for the "socialist" NDP the hands of the few, and the many are lem is that since we are at school, and they in the federal elections. robbed of the fruits of their labour, any par- put in our minds a lot of structures, a way of These are not isolated examples. ticipation in the political skulduggery that thinking with this global system. Every worker and socialist party in the has as its sole purpose the maintenance It's very terrible; that's why I say that I'm world that workers have voted into office of this system amounts to both tacit and in the process of destroying those struc- direct support of the system itself. “ tures. I believe in anarchism, but I am trying has ended up betraying them. This is to be [anarchist] because I should change because worker parties are incapable of more and I'm conscious that I have more addressing the real cause of anti-worker Rather than diverting workers' structures [to destroy]. I also see that I have governments. resources and energies into forming yet changed in some aspects too. We don't another political party, sincere working- have many contacts in Bolivia with groups As Sam Dolgoff, an American anar- class activists would do far better to build that are anarchist so we are just like the lit- chist labour activist and author of The genuine, class-conscious unions and to tle ones that speak loud about it because it's Cuban Revolution: a Critical Perspective work with their fellow workers to build a about all of us as I told you. The ones that say they are anarchist, they are also for wrote in his book The American Labour new society through direct action in their communities and at the point of produc- example macho; the men have something Movement: A New Beginning: that should change more. It's difficult to say “A capitalist democracy is a competi- tion. Worker parties can play no part in I'm anarchist because it should change tive society where predatory pressure this struggle. more. So for me it's like this and that is a groups struggle for wealth and prestige good option because we are accustomed to and jockey for power. Because such a Based on an editorial for the Anarcho- be guided by someone, to just do what society lacks inner cohesion, it cannot dis- Syndicalist Review by Mikhail Tsovma someone says and we're not free. For (translated by Jeff Stein) cipline itself. It needs an organism that will example in Bolivia most of the people think < flag.blackened.net/asr > there should just be leaders to change appease the pressure groups by satisfying Recommended reading on this topic would something. I think that all of us can do it; it's some of their demands and prevent con- more powerful that everyone can act flicts between them from upsetting the sta- be The Failure of Socialism by Alexander Berkman, available for R1,50 from Zabalaza because all of us can do it. So, we are work- bility of the system. The government plays Books (see back page for contact details) ing on that but I think it's a process. MM ZABALAZA: A Journal of Southern African Revolutionary Anarchism PAGE 10 SomeSome IdeasIdeas forfor CommunitCommunityy Action...Action... These are a few ideas that are open to being added to, changed, and adapted to reflect the needs of particular communities. Despite the efforts of politicians and professionals to lump together working class communities as problem areas to be policed, those of us who live in these communities often see things differently. For us the problems we encounter daily are often not of our own mak- ing. Poverty, inadequate housing and crime are problems that come with the way society is structured. By taking control of our own communities, and deciding for ourselves how we should manage them, we are not only getting rid of the parasites who cause our prob- lems but also starting on the path to a new type of society where each of us can be free to live our lives as we choose.

COMMUNITY ACTION for those, like the police, who are likely to examples of how assembly proceedings This is action to benefit all of us living threaten the community from outside. In could be relayed to people in real-time. in the community not simply those with the the early stages of action chances are an Local internet systems could work particu- loudest voice, the more threatening man- ideal location will be difficult to find. Using larly well, allowing people to feed back ner or the most money. Some of the ideas empty or unused buildings (see HOUSING their views directly to an assembly. may seem unrealistic at first glance, but below) is the perfect opportunity to show most of them have worked in one form or what is possible. Accurate information HOUSING another before. about the legality of reclaiming property Poor housing, shoddy repairs, lack of should be distributed as widely as possi- choice and long waiting lists are some of Some principles of community action: ble. Not just in libraries, waiting rooms, the issues faced by working class people. 1. The people who live in a community are union offices, busses, trains, but also Rather than appealing to landlords to the ones who know best when it comes to through local free sheets and improve things another option is to create improving that community. internet/intranet forums. The sharing of resident action groups. These can be 2. Organisation in communities can only information and experience should be independent groups rather than the resi- benefit all residents if it is from the base seen as another essential part of any com- dent/tenant groups set up by landlords. upwards. Beginning with the individual, munity action. Using forms of direct action to highlight household, street and outward to the wider As well as being a meeting place the issues around housing is a move away community. centre or centres could also act as a com- from appealing for help towards empower- 3. All residents, from the youngest to the munity resource and distribution point (see ing people to demand something is done. oldest, should be encouraged to offer their DISTRIBUTION & RE-DISTRIBUTION This sort of politicisation of a community opinions and solutions. Some people may below). A few examples, amongst many, can be seen as the first stage. Once a feel intimidated or frightened by the idea of are a community food co-op, a swap shop community begins to organise for itself speaking in community assemblies. and a practical resource centre where then the options for other ways of organis- Alternatives such as written contributions people can share their practical hands-on ing housing and repairs for themselves is or a clearly acknowledged advocate could experience with others. a step closer. The use of rent/mortgage be a way of encouraging people to partici- strikes is one way residents could begin to pate while their confidence grows. If cer- COMMUNITY ASSEMBLIES flex their collective muscle (see COMMU- tain people choose not to participate that Community assemblies are the forums NITY DEFENCE below) is their decision and should be respected. where local decisions are made, decisions Reclaiming empty or unused buildings 4. Even the most well meaning of commu- that have a direct impact on the whole is another strategy that could be used to nity workers, social workers, and other community. While the obvious areas of practically address the lack of housing in a professionals to be found in our communi- decision making are likely to be things community. Rather than relying on land- ties are working to an agenda set for them. such as transport, housing, crime, social lords to allocate property those who need If they live in the community then they care etc., as self-management develops in it should be encouraged to recover and should participate as individuals with their the community other issues such as what make use of empty buildings. Information own, and the communities, best interests types of workplaces the community wants on the legal issues could be made widely at heart. are likely to become more pressing. The available, and the sharing of the skills 5. Activists, be they anarchist or other- more people realise they can manage needed to successfully reclaim a building wise, who endorse community action and their own communities the more likely they could be one of the things on offer at the wish to participate by moving into a com- are to realise they can also self-manage social centre. munity should do so with the long term their workplaces. interests of that community in mind, and The form of assemblies is likely to be FOOD not selfish temporary lifestylism. They are dictated by the size and geography of a Creating a community food co-op is there to help empower, not to dominate or community. However it should be argued one way of not only bonding a community, exist as a group separate from the com- that one overiding principle of the assem- but also a positive way of offering good, munity. bly is that anyone who has something to affordable food and other goods. In the say is allowed the time to do that. early stages this would probably involve A COMMUNITY MEETING Likewise if the meeting is to be structured the co-op buying goods directly from fruit PLACE then the role of chairperson should be and veg markets, from wholesalers or rotated to ensure the assembly is not dom- A community meeting place is essen- directly from the producers ie. farmers. inated by any one person or group. tial to any community transformation. This While the production of all the goods a People who have no experience of this kind of social centre can act as the focal community needs is unlikely to be done type of meeting should be encouraged to point for community action, bringing locally, the growing of fruit and vegetables become actively involved. together all groups within the community is one thing that could be produced in the While, ideally people would attend in a safe space. To be able to do this the community. assemblies in person, in reality this may centre should ideally be located in a cen- Wasteland and other unused land not always be possible. The use of com- tral position where the community can could be reclaimed by the community and munity radio and local intranets are some easily access it, but also difficult to access seeded for popular small-scale food pro- MM ZABALAZA: A Journal of Southern African Revolutionary Anarchism PAGE 11 duction. It's likely the skills needed in There are however some areas of a powerful deterrent. Where the people growing food are already present in a social care which people can organise for involved are known to be violent or carry- community with people who already enjoy themselves. One example of this could be ing weapons then a less direct, but equal- tending to their gardens, growing their own a local meals service, where those who ly confrontational approach may be taken. food etc. are unable to cook for themselves have It's certainly not unknown for the likes of As local authorities seem intent on sell- meals cooked for them at the social centre drug dealers and loan sharks to trip over ing off land currently used by schools and and delivered by volunteers. Another idea balconies in working class communities. nurseries etc., a community moving onto is for street volunteers who agree to take It's not a pleasant thought, but sometimes this land and using the play grounds or responsibility for checking that people in the misery and suffering inflicted by these playing fields for other uses such as food their street or building who are house- individuals' forces people to more extreme production is a way of people not only bound are okay. Some of these ideas for solutions. spoiling a local councils plans, but also social care are just common sense things While the help of professional media- directly benefiting themselves. that people already do for each other now. tors may be welcomed in a community, In other cases it's a matter of building on many of the skills needed for mediation DISTRIBUTION the care networks that have always exist- could already be there in the community. & RE-DISTRIBUTION ed in working class communities. People who have brought up a family, with Childcare is another area where care all its problems, are the perfect example of Creating new methods of distribution is networks are often already in place. this. essential if a community is to effectively Extended families have often shared child- If a community decides they would feel manage itself. The distribution of locally care responsibilities in working class com- safer with people checking on certain trou- produced food via a free-shop is one way munities. Crèches and after-school ble-spots then a possible solution is for a of achieving this. Other goods that are not groups are an area where those with street to organise a rota of residents who produced locally will need other methods young children can organise for them- would feel comfortable in doing that. of distribution. The idea of swap-shops, selves, involving people they know and Perhaps each night a different person from where people can take items they no trust. each street could get together longer use and look for with, say six oth- items they need is ers from neigh- one method of re- bouring streets, distribution which is until any trouble practical and simple calms down. to organise; a bring Taking the dog and buy without the for a walk, and use of money. helping your Another method community! of distribution is a 'tool pool' where essential community COMMUNITY items can be shared DEFENCE as and when they're Community needed. This could defence is about start with the items people in a com- needed for producing munity joining food locally, and then together to collec- spread to other items the community tively deal with politically motivated attacks decides would be best distributed in this CRIME & COMMUNITY on them themselves. If a community way. For example local transport, such as DISPUTES decides to organise a rent or mortgage bikes, is one area where the idea of a Most, but not all, crime is a result of the strike then it's likely that landlords and 'pool' has worked before. type of society we live in now. Inequality banks will employ bailiffs and police to try The distribution of information is anoth- breeds crime while the police feed off it. In to disrupt it. A good example of the type of er area where local and direct community encouraging a community to self-manage community defence that could be used alternatives can work effectively. The one of the essential requirements is that here is the anti-poll tax groups who facility to create local news sheets is now those who feed off crime, the police, are defended people in the community when available to anyone with access to a com- dispensed with, and community alterna- they were threatened by bailiffs. puter. Experiments in 'pirate' and activist tives developed. As a community grows in confidence, radio stations have also begun to make The use of mediation, someone inde- and starts to assert its own self-manage- the idea of local community radio stations pendent bringing together the aggrieved ment not only in the community but in a reality. Likewise experiments in linking parties, is one way of dealing with com- workplaces then more particular forms of communities via a community intranet munity disputes which is becoming more community/workplace defence are likely to show the possibilties for further distribut- popular. The use of mediation could be be discussed and decided on. ing information. extended to include other anti-social behaviour. Initially, however, persistent This text originally appeared on the email CARE & SUPPORT anti-social behaviour like drug dealing, list of the Community Anarchist Discussion loan sharking etc. is likely to require a & Solidarity Zone Communities are, of course, made up www.geocities.com/cadsz of individuals with a whole variety of differ- more direct community approach. This ent health and social needs. In the early could take the form of those affected join- stages of a community managing itself ing together to inform the person or people most of the medical needs will still require that they are not wanted in the community people using medical facilities outside of and should leave. A community united in the local area. condemning anti-social behaviour can be MM ZABALAZA: A Journal of Southern African Revolutionary Anarchism WhereWhere WeWe StandStand We, the working class, produce the world's wealth. We ought to enjoy the benefits. We want to abolish the system of capitalism that places wealth and power in the hands of a few, and replace it with workers self-manage- ment and socialism. We do not mean the lie called 'socialism' practised in Russia, China, and other police states - the system in those countries was/is no more than another form of capitalism. We stand for a new society where there will be no bosses or bureaucrats. A society that will be run in a truly democratic way by working people, through councils in the workplaces and communities. We want to abolish authoritarian relationships and replace them with control from the bottom up - not the top down. All the industries, all the means of produc- tion and distribution will be commonly owned, ZabalazaZabalaza AnarchistAnarchist and placed under the management of those working in them. Production will be co-ordinat- ed, organised and planned by the federation of CommunistCommunist FederationFederation elected and recallable workplace committees, not for profit but to meet our needs. The guid- Group Contact Details ing principle will be "from each according to Group Contact Details ability, to each according to need". Federation Secretary We are opposed to all coercive authority, we believe that the only limit on the freedom of Email: [email protected] Phone: 0881220416 (leave message) the individual is that their freedom does not encroach on the freedom of others. Bikisha Media Collective We do not ask to be made rulers nor do we intend to seize power "on behalf of the working Post: Postnet Suite 153, Private Bag X42, Braamfontein, Joburg, 2017, South Africa class". Instead, we hold that socialism can E-Mail: [email protected] only be created by the mass of ordinary peo- Website: www.zabalaza.net/bikisha ple. Anything less is bound to lead to no more than replacing one set of bosses with another. Zabalaza Action Group We are opposed to the state because it is Post: P. O. Box 52072, Berea Road, 4007, Durban, not neutral, it cannot be made to serve our South Africa interests. The structures of the state are only E-Mail: [email protected] necessary when a minority seeks to rule over Website: www.zabalaza.net/zag the majority. We can create our own struc- tures, which will be open and democratic, to Zabalaza Books ensure the efficient running of everyday life. Post: Postnet Suite 116, Private Bag X42, Braamfontein, We are proud to be part of the tradition of 2017, South Africa libertarian socialism, of anarchism. The anar- E-Mail: [email protected] chist movement has taken root in the working Website: www.zabalaza.net/zababooks class of many countries because it serves our interests - not the interests of the power seek- Anarchist Black Cross ers and professional politicians. Post: c/o ZB, Postnet Suite 116, Private Bag X42, In short we fight for the immediate needs Braamfontein, 2017, South Africa and interests of our class under the existing set E-Mail: [email protected] up, while seeking to encourage the necessary Website: www.zabalaza.net/abc understanding and activity to overthrow capi- talism and its state, and lead to the birth of a EverythingEverything forfor Everyone!Everyone! free and equal (anarchist) society.