We are publishing an open letter from the Anarchist Black Cross Belarus.
It is also available in other languages Belarusian, Ukrainian, Polish, Russian, Spanish, French, Greek, Italian, German, Turkish, Portuguese
Over the past few years, quite a few organizations and groups have appeared in the anarchist milieu that actively exclude activists from Solidarity Collectives, ABC-Belarus, and a number of other anarchist and anti-authoritarian organizations from public events, blocking their participation and writing various kinds of “statements” condemning their work in support of Ukrainian resistance to the Russian invasion. The basis for such behavior is often the distorted positions of activists from Eastern Europe on the war. Anarchists are accused of becoming militarists, supporting the war, and not being critical enough of the Ukrainian state.
In our opinion, such behavior is not worthy of the anarchist movement — we believe in the need for dialogue on controversial issues. Attempts to force anarchists to say the “right” things so that Western comrades are willing to listen to them and donate to them look like coercion. We do not consider the work of the Solidarity Collectives and ABC-Belarus to be in any way pro-war or supportive of state militarism. We categorically condemn any attempts to isolate anarchist collectives from Eastern Europe on the issue of the Russian regime’s military expansion.
We call on other anarchist collectives to show solidarity with anarchists who are fighting here and now against the regimes of Putin and Lukashenko with weapons or stones in their hands. Resistance to the state is not possible without solidarity, critical thinking, and dialogue on complex political issues.
List of signatories to this statement (if you want to be added to this list, please contact one of the organizations from the list):
- Solidarity Collectives
- Anarchist Black Cross Belarus
- Anarchist Group Amsterdam
- Anarchist Black Cross Moscow
- Fires of Freedom (RU)
- Anarchist collective “Periphery” (RU)
- Solidrones (CZ)
- Antijob (RU)
- Autonomous Action (RU)
- BOAK (Battle Organization of Anarchist-Communists, RU)
- Priama Diia — the independent Ukrainian student union
- Anarchist Black Cross Dresden (DE)
- Pramen (Belarus)
- Assemblea de Solidaridad Antifascista con Ucrania
- Belarusian anarchists of Warsaw
- Anarchistyczny Czarny Krzyż – Galicja (ABC Galicja, Poland)
- XVX Tacticaid (Poland)
- Friends of Ukraine and Batko Machno (Poland)
- Anarchistická federace/ (Czech) Anarchist Federation
- Resistance support club (Czech/Brno)
- Samosprávné komunitní centrum Trhlina (Czech/Praha)
- Riot over River (Czech/Praha)
- Antifašistická akce (Czech)
- Utopia libri, publishing coop (Czech, Praha)
- Anarchist Black Cross Gothenburg (Sweden)
- Mustan kanin kolo (Helsinki, Finland)
- Tattoo Circus Helsinki (Finland)
- Food Not Bombs Praha (sobota) (Czech)
- Prague Anarchist Bookfair
- Radical Aid Force (DE)
- Oddolne Centrum Społeczno Kulturalne “Postój” (Poland)
- Revolutionary Antifascists (Copenhagen/Denmark)
- R.O.T.T.A. (Helsinki/Finland)
- ANIKA – Anarchismus in Karlsruhe (DE)
- FAR Hamburg (DE)
- Tábor Solidarity (Czech)
- Musta Lippu-collective (Black Flag) (Tampere, Finland)
- Ukrainian Solidarity Front (USA and Canada)
- Lisbon Kidz
- Redazione di “Qui siamo in guerra” (Italy)
- Antiauthoritarian Alliance (Italy)
- AK Athens (Greece)
- Good Night Imperial Pride (DE)
- 161 Crew (Poland)
- Radical cuties 1312 (Berlin, DE)
- Tofustand (Berlin, DE)
- Solitraktori (Finland)
- Resistance Connections UA (Berlin, DE)
- AK Ioannina (Greece)
- Mustaselja collective of anti-authoritarian sex workers (Finland)
- Feminist Translocalities (DE)
- Taxanka (Catalunya)
- Helsingin Varjokirjamessut (Finland)
- Turun Varjokirjamessut (Finland)
- Kapinatyöläinen (Finland)
- Vrije Markt (NL)
- Anarchist Collective Antwerp (Belgium)
- Feminist Antiwar Resistance Finland
- Dekonstrukce (CZ)
- Anarhisti Latvijā / Anarchists in Latvia / Анархисты в Латвии
- Sinistra per l’Ucraina
- Sektor M (DE)
- Sinistra per l’Ucraina (IT)
- Rescue Rangers UA (Poland)
- Chornozem — the collective of Ukrainian anarchists
- Nakladatelství Neklid (CZ)
- Schwarze Raupe (Austria)
- Anarchistisch Collectief Antwerpen (Belgium)
- Musta Pispala festival (Finland)
- Shadowbookfair Helsinki (Finland)
- Shadowbookfair Turku (Finland)
- Umsonstladen Villa Galgenberg (DE)
- 19th January Committee (Berlin)
- Collectif d’Éducation Populaire Antifasciste – Rouen Autonome
Individually:
- Peter Gelderloos
- Javier Sethness
- Mikola Dziadok
- Dmitry Petrov senior
- Anatoly Dubovik (Dnipro, Ukraina)