Against the criminalization, aestheticization and nationalization of Uprising!

What has been most evident during the ferment of the uprising, defined by multiplicity, heterogeneity, and non-hierarchical structure, are the attempts of instrumentalizing, taking control of and directing the uprising, which are all interrelated. On the one hand, there have been several patronising appeals for “nonviolent protests”, for “peaceful and dignified demonstrations” and for a “cultivated uprising”. On the other hand, we are witnessing calls for an early unification of the uprisers’ demands, in some cases even for a formation of a party and an incursion into the parliament. Besides this the uprising is all too often reduced to the question of Slovenia and of the Slovenian nation and thus its emancipatory potential is numbed. These tendencies come from some intellectuals, cultural workers, artists, representatives of the civil society and the media, who consider themselves supporters of the uprising, yet they typically want to define it, direct it and channel its course. With such supporters, who have completely internalized the prohibition against any kind of real, radical, political resistance, we essentially need no opponents. There are at least three things that need to be clarified at this point.

Firstly, with each call for non-violence we should be aware that non-violence does not exist. Violence is the integral part of society’s antagonism. The state is founded on violence – systemic, structural, objective violence – which it needs to unify this variety, multiplicity, heterogeneity of voices, identities, relations into a homogenic, citizenly, national – constructed and thus imaginary! – community. Systemic, structural, objective violence is thus an attribute of the social conditions of global capitalism and manifests itself in the automatic violent creation of the excluded and dispensable individuals, from the homeless, the immigrants, the homosexuals, the minorities, the women, the physically and mentally disabled, the minors, the representatives of subcultures, the poor, the unemployed, the structurally unemployable or precarious workers. The dominant system supports the creation, preservation and reproduction of a global dominion, in which people are valued only as cheap labour force – i.e. commodities. It does that through a structural production and preservation of inequality, exploitation and control and is therefore maintained by violence.

Subjective violence, usually manifested in some kind of “outburst”, “excess”, “deviation” from the “normal state”, is merely a consequence of the state violence (systemic, structural, objective violence), which invisibly maintains this “normal” state (through ideological and repressive apparatuses). Actually, only subjective violence makes the state violence visible, exposes it in all its brutality. In both cases we are dealing with violence though, yet state violence is completely normalized and legalized, while any form of subjective violence or any more radical gesture of response is criminalized and brutally sanctioned.

This is exactly what we are witnessing during the process of the uprising where the uprisers (some even under age), who have been deprived of their future and dignity by the exploitative policy of “belt tightening”, end up in prison, are the subjected of criminal charges, tapping, are being followed and intimidated, while the criminals, the tycoons and speculators, as well as professional politicians suspected of criminal acts of corruption, nepotism and abuse of office are not merely at large, but are also in charge of high positions with which they buy their social reputation. This is why we have to understand that subjective and state violence are two variants of violence which differ in quality, the former aiming at a (radical) change of the existing state, and the latter at preserving the status quo. Dreams of a revolution without violence are dreams of a “revolution without revolution” (Robespierre). On the other hand, the role of state violence is exactly the opposite: violence, whose aim is to prevent real change – something spectacular should happen all the time so that nothing happens really (Žižek). Non-violence, which is supposed to be the empty ideal of the “democratic” civilization, therefore does not exist. Let us not forget this as we arise against excessive violence in its multiple forms. This means that each smashed window of the parliament, each thrown granite cube and each attempt of moving the police fence should make us wonder first and foremost about the reasons for these actions, instead of moralizing about vandalism. By criminalizing such actions a priori, the attention shifts away dangerously from the real problems: the aggressive disintegration of the common good, the total devastation of the welfare state and the insistent trampling on the values of solidarity. The fact that people in the streets are angry, enraged and furious is therefore not the cause, but exactly the consequence of completely misunderstanding the process of governance where all the forms of real political participation have failed completely.

Secondly, with each new call for a unification of the uprisers into a political party, it must be repeated time and time again that the most emphasized message of the uprisers is: “Nobody represents us!” This does not only represent a demand for the resignation of the whole political elite – both “right” and “left”! -, but it also means a radical problematization of the question of representation and a demand for new, truly inclusive forms of political participation. And it is not surprising that this is what neither the “right” nor the “left” want to hear. The appeals for the formation of a political party represent a banal attempt to use the uprising as an instrument in the direction of undermining the “right” and reducing the uprising potential to the promotion of the interests of the “left”, which is disrespectful to the uprising and its truly political potential. So long as there is an (apparent) battle between parliamentary “left” and “right”, the political elite feels strong and safe, so it opposes united and unconditionally the emancipatory potential of the uprising with its call for radical structural political changes beyond the “left” and the “right”. The uprising poses the question about the crisis of the dominant understanding of the concept of democracy as parliamentary, representative, delegational politics. “Democraticness” as the opposition of “totalitarianism” has become some kind of universal marker of a successful functioning of the state. The triumph of democracy is presented as the triumph of the system of (state, trans-state and parastate) institutions which materialize the sovereignty of the people, and as a practice of the political that ensures the political form of justice and the economic form of production of wealth. Yet this democracy is not conceived as the rule of the demos, that is the people, or exactly as an absence of any kind of governance. On the contrary, this democracy is understood as a form of the state, as a condition of the society and appears under several names: as liberal, parliamentary, representative democracy. The model of democracy understood in such terms exposes the fundamental problem. In such a constellation, political plurality and multiplicity are perceived as many “left-wing” and “right-wing” political parties which are supposed to “represent” the various interests of the people, political participation is reduced to the elections as the “feast of democracy” (that enacts the rule of counting), political equality is supposed to be guaranteed by the jurisprudence, while the combination of all this is supposed to be run by economic interests and competitivity. What we are really dealing with is the phenomenon of capitalo-parliamentarism or the “all-too-objectivist suture of market economy and election ritual” (Badiou), where there is no essential difference between “left-wing” and “right-wing” political parties, which are as such the delegates of the capital and not of the people or of basic equality. In this parliamentary fetishism that substitutes democracy, plural opinions are homogenized, any kind of multiplicity is unified and classified in a pragmatic and utilitarian manner, while the well-being of the common is subjected to the lucrative and technocratic interests of the political elites. What disappears in such a situation of matching without remainders between the forms of state and the state of social relations is precisely the demos; the phenomenon of the people as the basis of democracy, as the principle of ruling in the name of the people, only without them, is dissolved. This actually means the disappearance of politics itself, where people are reduced to voters or in other words buyers of a party’s programme, and it means further distancing from the emancipatory process of the uprising in which people have begun to take their own wishes and needs seriously and destroyed the chains of alienation which is the very basis of capitalist (re)production. By stressing the principles of self-organization, non-representation and non-hierarchicalness and exposing their bodies in the streets and squares, the uprisers remind us that the basis of each politics must be the well-being of the people and not the interests of capital. So the demand of the uprisers is not a political party “of their own” but a radical change in the understanding of political participation. The attempt to aestheticize the truly political demands of the uprisers represents a banal attempt to usurp its emancipatory potential and reduce this potential to the antipolitical interests of partitocracy, where politics is intended merely as a means towards achieving certain pragmatic goals and is preserved through the constant creation and reproduction of inequality.

Thirdly, the all-Slovenian uprising has never been the Slovenian uprising. Those who interpret the uprising in an exclusively national context, as a desire to preserve the Slovenian national identity, as a question of patriotism or statehood, have missed its essence due to their conservatism. The demands of the uprising are universal political demands: radical equality, good living and obedient governance. Such demands go far beyond the national – and any particular, identitary, communitary – frame, since they apply to everybody or rather whoever, they touch upon virtually anybody. The multiple and various singular demands of the uprising are crossed by the very universal, emancipatory demand for equality, which envelopes everybody or rather whoever and does not refer to any (individual or group) more in particular than to anybody else, or rather contains the ability to be referred to everybody without exception, without remainder. The uprisers know that Slovenia is not an isolated island and that under the conditions of global capitalism – privatization of the commons, people reduced to commodities i.e. workforce, disintegration of everything that doesn’t make profit – uprisings have been happening all over Europe and all over the world from Tunisia, Egypt and Lybia… through Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy… to the USA, Mexico and South America… All these uprisings (including the all-Slovene one) go beyond the national; they are distinguished by exceptionally evident transnationality, transversality and solidarity.

This is a global struggle between those who are violently excluded from the political space and those who have violently usurped this space. If anything, then this is an uprising against capitalism as a way of forming a society and against the political elites which enable and perform it. The attempts at nationalizing the uprising demonstrated through (apparently harmless) cultural, artistic, civil society events and addresses that wish to consolidate Slovenian culture, history and tradition, represent dangerous tendencies which may lead into identity exclusion and populism. The reduction of its universality and its political character to the context of nation, culture and statehood – which is always based on the constitution of a closed identity, formed by the exclusion of the Other (non-citizen, foreigner, migrant) –, is a favour to those who wish to use the uprising for their needs, to control it and to limit it. The increasing influence of fascist, neo-nazi and nationalist (patriotic) parties, movements and initiatives in Europe and across the world, which strengthen their position precisely through populist proclamations of the importance of one specific identity – nation, language, culture – distinctly shows this. The normalization of the perception of fascist, neo-nazi and nationalist (patriotic) tendencies has become frightening during the last years. The uprising represents a struggle against such tendencies, yet it does not reduce this struggle to humanitarian problems of intolerance, discrimination, disrespect of the state of law, but structures it as a fight against the inexistence of the true politics, that is equality. So the all-Slovenian uprising is not about the struggle of a nation and of a culture, it’s a class struggle, the anti-capitalist and anti-fascist struggle of each or any nation and each or any culture. The emancipatory struggle does not bring together nations and cultures in their identity; the repressed, the exploited, the suffering part of every nation and every culture come together in the shared struggle (Žižek).

Let us stop pretending. People are in the streets because they are angry, robbed and indignant, not because they are Slovene or because they want to become professional politicians or vote for a new political party or because they want to cram around a centralized stage in freezing cold to listen to the messages that come from it in the form of one-way monologue.

Besides, they understand very well that their well-being is not being threatened by foreigners, the others or those different, but by the ideology of global capitalism represented by the political elite, the “left” as well as the “right”. They participate in the uprisings because they have discovered their power, the power of political thinking and acting. Since they have understood that in its essence politics can not be represented – it can only be realized, checked and practiced, since true politics as a living idea of radical equality is in its essence non-representative –, they demand a radical transformation of the understanding of politics. Since they perceive politics as the building of the power of those who are no more entitled to govern than to be governed; their belief in the power of everybody leads them in the active creation of new, inclusive, beyond-parliamentary forms of political participation, which are beyond the concept of governance and division of power. The uprising has revealed the scandalous side of politics demonstrated in the absence of any kind of governance, as a creation of an an arche situation. And the scandalous side of democracy, where people have taken seriously their role (the people’s rule). This is what all those who only wish to rule fear the most. Both, professional politicians (“left” and “right”), as well as professional revolutionaries or representatives of the civil society who understand the protests just as an ascent to power. The attempts to depoliticize the uprising and deny it of its emancipatory potential, which is demonstrated in the constant discovery of the possibility of the impossible, in the constant moving of the boundaries of the possible or not yet possible, will always be seen as problematic. The declaration of the possibility of emancipatory politics and radical equality thus remains the main objective and purpose of the uprising, especially in view of the fact that, historically speaking, all rights were attained and not granted.

Lana Zdravković

PresenceCounts-15o-OccupyLjubljana

Civilna družba in odprti prostor

Protestnikov in protestnic ne more in nima legitimnosti nihče predstavljati. Vsak predstavlja sebe in le v sodelovanju z ostalimi posamezniki tvori ODPRTI PROSTOR SLOVENIJE, in le znotraj njega lahko pride do artikulacije problemov in zahtev protestnikov in protestnic ter ustvarjanja alternativnih praks vsakdanjega življenja. Protestniki in protestnice bodo vzpostavljali ta ODPRTI PROSTOR SLOVENIJE po principu ljudskih skupščin z uporabo bazičnih načinov pogovarjanja na horizontalnem nivoju, brez vodij, brez „režiserjev in scenaristov”, ideologov.

Pojem odprti prostor ni preprost pojem, da ne bo pomote, je zelo kompleksna materija, ki se nenehno giblje in razvija. Odprti prostor ne pomeni zaokrožanja, ne pomeni organiziranja, organizacij ali karkoli podobnega.

Odprti prostor, če ga definiramo v njegovem bistvu, pomeni to, da se srečujejo posamezniki, ki so OPEN MIND (odprti za razmišljanja drugih posameznikov, s katerimi prihajajo v družbene interakcije in na ta način gradijo samo družbo) in ki razmišljajo OUT OF THE BOX.

Kaj je razmišljanje OUT OF THE BOX?

Out of the box oziroma “izven škatle” pomeni preprosto to, da razmišljaš samostojno, nekonformno (da se v svojem razmišljanju ne podrejaš razmišljanju drugega in si se zaradi lastnega interesa pripravljen odrekati lastni misli) a si obenem odprt (OPEN MIND) za razmišljanja posameznika, s katerim prihajaš v družbeno interakcijo, kar pomeni, da odtlej gradita neko novo zavest, kolektivno zavest, kolektivno razmišljanje, ki je nadgradnja vajinih subjektivnih razmišljanj in dognanj.

Po domače rečeno, VEČ GLAV VEČ VE, toda več glav lahko da VEČ ZNANJA, do ZAVEDANJA pride le tako, da si dopustijo razmišljati in da drug drugega v tem ne omejujejo, pač pa spodbujajo.

Ko se dve osebi soočata z odločitvijo, je normalen odziv konfrontacija.

Prav vsak brani svoje mnenje s ciljem prepričati nasprotnika, dokler eno mnenje ne prevlada ali je dosežen kompromis.

Na drugi strani, je cilj kolektivnega razmišljanja v grajenju. Dve osebi z različnima mnenjima delujeta skupaj z namenom izgraditi nekaj novega.

Breme torej ni na moji ideji ali tvoji, ampak je smisel, da dve zamisli skupaj ustvarita nekaj novega, nekaj kar se ne da predvideti vnaprej.

Ta usmeritev zahteva od nas aktivno poslušanje in ne zgolj priprave odziva na slišano.

_______________________

To je možno zagotoviti le preko vzpostavitve in ohranjanja odprtega prostora kot takega, ki pa lahko obstaja le dotlej, dokler se na njem srečujemo ljudje kot posamezniki in tudi govorimo kot posamezniki v svojem imenu, ne pa v imenu nekih družbenih struktur oziroma organizacij.

Osnovni smisel pa vsekakor vidimo v ODPIRANJU teh PROSTOROV, ki so vedno znova soočeni s poskusi PRISVAJANJA. Ta SKUPNI PROSTOR mora vedno biti ODPRT, da je vedno na razpolago vsakemu posamezniku, da vanj vstopa neovirano in nevodeno spregovori o svojih vsakdanjih dilemah, življenjskih zgodbah, predlogih, rešitvah in se v njem povezuje z drugimi posamezniki in na ta način soustvarja skupnostno.

Ne potrebujemo novih političnih strank. Potrebujemo močno civilno družbo, ki bo služila kot izjemno močan korektiv v smislu nadzora nad vsakokratno politično oblastjo. Potrebujemo civilno družbo, ki ne prosi, se ne udinja, se ne pogaja,……..AMPAK ZAHTEVA od vsakokratne politične oblasti, da uresničuje legitimne zahteve ljudstva.

Civilna družba mora biti sposobna v širši družbeni sferi detektirati, kaj so legitimna pričakovanja in zahteve ljudstva. Do tega spoznanja lahko pride ravno preko ljudskih skupščin, ki morajo nenehno zagotavljati odprti prostor vsakemu posamezniku.

PrisotnostŠteje-150-OccupyLjubljana

Gibanje OTPOR po Mariboru tudi v Ljubljani

Prenos pogovora z aktivistom protestnega gibanja OTPOR po včerajšnjem v Mariboru danes v Ljubljani, v Klubu Gromka

V ŽIVO  v sredo, 6.2.2013 ob 16. uri na:

http://www.livestream.com/prisotnoststeje

Najprej bomo pričeli z dokumentarnim filmom “Bringing Down a Dictator” (Kako zrušiti diktatorja) nato pa ob 17. uri nadaljujemo s prenosom pogovora s Srđo Popović, ki bo potekal do približno 19. ure.

Klub Gromka v Ljubljani (Metelkova mesto), 6.2.2013, ob 16h

Srbski kulturni center “Danilo Kiš” gosti političnega aktivista Srđo Popovića, enega od ključnih voditeljev študentskega protestnega gibanja Otpor, ki je konec devedesetih let odločilno vplivalo na padec režima Slobodana Miloševića v Srbiji. Srdja Popović je ustanovitelj Centra za nenasilno borbo (http://www.canvasopedia.org/), predava o strategijah in metodah nenasilne akcije za politične spremembe ter sodeluje v civilnih gibanjih po celem svetu. V zadnjih letih ga je več globalnih medijev uvrstilo med vodilne svetovne mislece in ljudi, ki spreminjajo svet.

PrisotnostŠteje-15o-OccupyLjubljana

Solidarnost iz Srbije

Drage tovarišice in tovariši!

Že nekaj časa pozorno spremljamo situacijo v Sloveniji in želimo izraziti popolno podporo vašemu boju ter odločenosti, da prevzamete nadzor nad vašimi življenji v svoje roke. Še posebej pozdravljamo direktno-demokratičen način organiziranja in neposredne metode boja, ki jih uporabljate. Samo neposredno naslavljanje problema v njegovem bistvu vodi do njegove rešitve.

Vse pravice, izborjene med dolgo zgodovino razrednega boja, kot so pravica do dela, sindikalnega organiziranja, osemurnega delovnika itn., so bile dosežene z množičnimi protesti, blokadami, splošnimi stavkami in radikalnimi spopadi s šefi in državo. Vladajoče elite to dobro vedo, zato vam skušajo na vsak način preprečiti, da bi se lahko samoorganizirali. Po eni strani poskuša sistem zrušiti upor z brutalnimi policijskimi intervencijami in aretacijami, po drugi strani pa jo poskuša ideološko nevtralizirati s pomočjo nacionalističnega diskurza, političnih strank, birokratskih sindikatov in drugih skorumpiranih predstavnikov. V takšnih pogojih je ključ do uspeha zmožnost, da vsi udeleženci protestov enakopravno sodelujejo v procesu odločanja. Direktna demokracija vam daje moč in onemogoča zastraševanje in podkupovanje, kar bi se zgodilo, če bi proteste vodila peščica voditeljev.

Vaša borba, ki temelji na principih neposredne demokracije in direktne akcije proti neoliberalizmu, samovolji oblasti in ropanju ljudstva, vidimo kot pomemben korak k vzpostavljanju nove, pravičnejše družbe. Družbe, ki bo utemeljena na individualni in kolektivni svobodi, enakosti, solidarnosti in medsebojni pomoči, in v kateri ne bo nikakršnih oblik represije, hierarhije in dominacije človeka po človeku.

Povsem se zavedamo, kakšne ogromne količine poguma in energije potrebujete v takšnem boju, a smo prepričani, da jih boste našli dovolj, da izpolnite svoje cilje. Upamo, da bo vaša enotnost in odločnost navdih za vse zatirane ljudi na Balkanu.

Hvala za vaš boj in inspiracijo!
Smrt državi in kapitalizmu!

Sindikalna konferederacija „Anarhosindikalistična iniciativa“ (ASI-MUR), Srbija
sekcija Mednarodnega združenja delavk in delavcev (IWA-AIT)

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Dragi drugovi i drugarice,

Već neko vreme sa zanimanjem pratimo situaciju u Sloveniji i želimo da u potpunosti podržimo vašu borbu i spremnost da preuzmete kontrolu nad svojim životima. Posebno pozdravljamo direktno demokratski način organizacije i neposredne metode borbe koji koristite. Jedino direktno hvatanje u koštac sa problemom može dovesti do njegovog rešavanja!

Sva prava izborena tokom duge istorije klasnih borbi, poput prava na rad, sindikalno organizovanje, osmočasovni radni dan itd. ostvarena su masovnim protestma, blokadama, generalnim štrajkovima i radikalnim sukobima sa gazdama i državom.
Vladajuća elita to dobro zna i zato na sve moguće načine hoće da osujeti vaše organizovanje. S jedne strane sistem pokušava da uguši pobunu brutalnim policijskim intervencijama i hapšenjima, sa druge da je ideološki razvodni pomoću nacionalističkih priča, političkih partija, birokratskih sindikata i drugih koruptivnih predstavnika. U takvim uslovima je mogućnost svih u protestu da podjednako učestvuju u donošenju odluka ključna za uspeh. Direktna demokratija vam daje snagu i onemogućava zastrašivanje ili potkupljivanje kao u slučaju kada bi proteste vodila šačica lidera!
Vašu borbu, baziranu na principima direktne demokratije i direktne akcije, protiv neoliberalizma, samovolje vlasti i pljačke naroda, vidimo kao važan korak ka uspostavljanju jednog novog, pravednijeg sveta. Društva koje će biti bazirano na individualnoj i kolektivnoj slobodi, ravnopravnosti, solidarnosti i međusobnoj pomoći, lišeno svih oblika represije, hijerarhije i vlasti čoveka nad čovekom!
Svesni smo koliko je energije i hrabrosti potrebno u takvoj borbi, ali ubeđeni smo da ćete ih u sebi naći dovoljno da ostvarite svoje ciljeve. Nadamo se da će vaše jedinstvo i odlučnost biti nadahnuće za sve potlačene stanovnike Balkana.

Hvala vam na borbi i inspiraciji!
Smrt državi i kapitalizmu!

Sindikalna konfederacija „Anarhosindikalistička inicijativa“ (ASI-MUR),
sekcija Međunarodnog udruženja radnika i radnica (IWA-AIT)

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Dear comrades,

For quite some time, we’ve been following the situation in Slovenia carefully, and we wish to express our full support for your struggle, and your determination to take control over the course of your lives.
We commend, in particular, the directly democratic mode of organizing, and the direct methods of struggle that you resort to. Only the direct tackling of the problem can lead to its solution!

All the rights, won during the long history of class struggle, such as the right to work, to union organizing, to the eight-hour day and so on, were achieved through massive protests, blockades, general strikes and radical clashes with the bosses and the state. The ruling elites know this well, and that’s why they try to prevent you from organizing yourselves in every way they can. On one hand, the system attempts to crush the rebellion by brutal police interventions and arrests, and on the other, to dilute it ideologically with the help of the nationalist discourse, political parties, bureaucratic trade unions and its other corruptive representatives. Under such circumstances, the ability of all involved in the protest to participate equally in decision-making is the key to success. Direct democracy gives you strength by preventing intimidation or corruption, as usually is the case when the protests are led by a handful of leaders!

Your struggle, which utilizes the principles of direct democracy and direct action against neo-liberalism, highhandedness of the government, and looting of the people, we see as an important step towards the establishment of a new, just world, a world that will base itself on individual and collective freedom, equality, solidarity and mutual aid, and be devoid of all forms of oppression, hierarchy and domination.

We are fully aware that enormous quantities of courage and energy are needed in such a struggle, but we are confident that you will find them enough within yourselves, in order to achieve your goals.
We hope that your unity and determination will inspire all the oppressed people of the Balkans.

Thank you for fighting and for the inspiration!
Death to the state and capitalism!

Anarchosynidicalist Initiative (ASI), 
section of International Workers’ Association (IWA)

Pismo podpore iz Hrvaške

Drugarice i drugovi Slovenci!

Neoliberalna agenda rastočila je lokalne ekonomije, ispraznila novčanike srednje klase i uvela bankarski teror nad običnim građanima. Dala je maha i političkoj korumpiranoj oligarhiji, koja situaciju koristi za ostvarivanje vlastitih ciljeva i koristi. Taj se proces događa globalno i globalno mu se mora i pristupiti da ga se zaustavi. Novac, pohlepa, diskvalifikacije, bešćutnost, zamijenili su moralnost, humanizam i duh solidarnosti i zajedništva.

E, pa, ne ide! Odbijamo!

Naša zajednička poruka je jasna: POHLEPA I MRŽNJA NEĆE PROĆI !!! NO PASARAN!

Vaš Prvi i Drugi ustanak globalno su izazvali veliku pažnju i pokazali kako se obračunati s korumpiranim političarima. Vaše držanje je bilo odlučno i odmjereno, a poruka koju ste poslali, svima pokazala je da snaga jedne grupe ljudi može MIJENJATI politički život.

Vjerujemo da će sljedeći ustanak možda biti onaj koji će pokrenuti društveno-ekonomske odnose prema društvu u kojem će vladati zajedništvo, solidarnost i harmonija.

Građanska Akcija Zagreb

Ob rob k “ogorčenosti” ljudi oziroma protestom v Sloveniji

 

Tako kot 15. oktobra 2011, so tudi 29. oktobra 2012 oziroma natančneje, od 26. novembra 2012 bili zaznani znaki, da se tudi Slovenija s protesti priključuje v družbo hotenj ljudi po svetu in njihovim stremljenjem za socialno pravičnost človeštva, od prvih isker, ki so začele preskakovati v arabskih državah, kjer je na tisoče ljudi prevzelo ulice in trge in spomnilo njihove vlade, v čigavih rokah dejansko je moč. Sledili so Islandci, ki so si na zavzetih ulicah izmenjevali mnenja in se odločali o skupni prihodnosti. Kmalu zatem so Španci zasedli soseske, kraje in mesta in nato se je plamen širil preko Francije, Grčije, Portugalske, Italije, vse do Turčije in so kriki mirnih demonstrantov odmevali po vsej Ameriki in Aziji, kjer so nastajala številna nova gibanja.

Ves čas delovanja, Prisotnost šteje, ki je bil v tem času v glavnem usmerjen v grajenje globalnega omrežja gibanj, tudi preko srečanj akterjev v Magrebu v Tuniziji, Nog20 v Nici, pohoda do Aten z zaključno globalno Agoro, pohoda v Bruselj, Agore99, Firenc 10+10 itd., je bilo usmerjeno tudi v obveščanje slovenske javnosti preko objav, livestreamov, predstavitev, pogovorov… Ob tem smo predstavljali tako dobre kot tudi slabe prakse, nastale na podlagi izkušenj mnogih gibanj po svetu. Pri tem smo posebej izpostavljali pomen pogovorov med ljudmi oziroma tim. Assemblies (Skupščine) v soseskah, trgih, ulicah, delovnih mestih, domovih… Še posebej od začetka protestov v Sloveniji smo poudarjali pomen decentraliziranega, horizontalnega delovanja, povezovanja in pomena razpršitve razprav po slovenskih mestih, četrtnih skupnostih krajih, vaseh, soseskah…

Ni pa za nas bistveno to, da bi se kot DRUŽBENA STRUKTURA udeleževali pogovorov z drugimi družbenimi strukturami ali ljudmi kot posamezniki, kajti potem zapademo nazaj v institucionalizem in o odprtem prostoru govoriti ne moremo več, kajti vsaka organizacija se podreja volji nekega zaokroženega kroga ljudi in ima že vnaprej artikuliran lastni interes in v ta odprti prostor vstopa z namenom, da si ga podredi.

Odprti prostor lahko obstaja le dotlej, dokler se na njem srečujemo ljudje kot posamezniki in tudi govorimo kot posamezniki v svojem imenu, ne pa v imenu nekih družbenih struktur oziroma organizacij.

Osnovni smisel pa vsekakor vidimo v ODPIRANJU teh PROSTOROV, ki so vedno znova soočeni s poskusi ZAPIRANJA, OSVAJANJA. Ta SKUPNI PROSTOR mora vedno biti ODPRT, da je vedno na razpolago vsakemu posamezniku, da vanj vstopa neovirano in nevodeno spregovori o svojih vsakdanjih dilemah, življenjskih zgodbah, predlogih, rešitvah in se v njem povezuje z drugimi posamezniki in na ta način soustvarja skupnostno.

Še posebej pa bo delovanje Prisotnosti šteje še naprej usmerjeno v grajenje globalne mreže gibanj, ki je ta trenutek zelo učinkovita in skrbi za to, da se globalno povezujemo. Osredotočenost na globalni prostor je pomembna z vidika vpetosti Slovenije v ta globalni prostor, kajti razmišljanje v smeri družbene samozadostnosti je vse prej kot ideal, h kateremu pa zagotovo stremimo. Mnenja smo, da je izjemnega pomena razmišljati v globalnem kontekstu, delovati pa v lokalnem in to se bomo trudili početi tudi odslej, kajti le na ta način bo moč adekvatno odgovarjati na probleme družb po svetu, ki so v svoji osnovi globalni problemi, ki se odražajo sicer z lokalnimi značilnosti a so v bistvu del globalnih.

PrisotnostŠteje-15o-OccupyLjubljana, 7. januar 2013

A message from Slovenia to the World: We take responsibility for each other!

Maribor, Liberty Square

We demand that the irresponsible and the unpunished government officials, bankers and CEO’s withdraw from the democratic process we are creating at this moment in Slovenia.

We know exactly what we don’t want. Let us speak to each other what we want; what we desire as individuals, what we desire as a community. We need to open all the possibilities, all channels, all flows to talk about pain, oppression, violence, as well as hopes and visions. We need to listen to each other and to know that we are able to take the steps and enter the path of building such a democratic society, where even the weakest voice is heard, and one’s pain everyone’s pain.

Violence, injustice, intimidation and arrogance can no longer find refuge in our country. Theft and economic looting must be punished, and undue oppression of the people put to an end. We have to put the concepts of equality, reciprocity, fairness and dignity into action. Only through action and activity we can find our way to where we want to go and how to get there. Strategy and vision development can not be generated or delegated by the few; we must all make an effort to determine our collective future.

We have risen! We have conquered fear. In exactly two weeks, Slovenia has had a total of 54 uprisings in 28 cities: Maribor, Ljubljana, Ptuj, Gornja Radgona, Jesenice, Kranj, Bled,  Koper, Nova Gorica, Novo mesto, Velenje, Ajdovščina, Trbovlje, Celje, Dravograd, Ravne na Koroškem, Krško, Brežice, Izola, Murska  Sobota, Bohinjska Bistrica, Lendava, Trebnje, Slovenske Konjice, Litija, Kočevje, Radenci. Over 77,500 people took the streets, according to reports from all over Slovenia, though of course media, police and politicians counted our numbers several thousand less. They trivialize our fight and they will continue to do that. They can’t hide our numbers, because the streets belong to those who care about the country and want to change what has been forced upon us over the last 20 years. In order not to lose the future, we have to take back the freedom and power of our votes!

Repressive authorities have detained 254 people in Slovenia, some of them still remain in custody. Young people are locked in jail because Minister of Interior Gorenak claims they will return to the protests. Thousands return regardless, for we are not all in jail! We are the mothers of the arrested children, we are all the friends, families and supporters who will return to the streets and participate in the uprisings until we achieve change. As long as there are children confined, no one is free! Young people can not be criminalized by the very people who have stolen all the prospects of their future, by those that violently choke the protests that are the only channel available for the people to express their collective will. The never ending violence of capitalism goes unchecked, and meanwhile the attacks of rulers and marshals continue in impunity, without responsibility or accountability. What they call riots have emerged from the state of fear and poverty, into which we as citizens were pushed. We demand tears of joy, not tear gas!

We have a responsibility to judge and condemn these corrupt powers for the intentional destruction we still suffer as we stand up alone and almost unheard as they continue to attempt to render us mute. Slovenia stood up with such vehemence, and now, as we taste a rare moment of freedom, denied to us for so long, we will not shut up. We must connect, communicate, organize, promote and move forward – toward a solution. We must set goals, seek consensus, establish strategies, and create a shared vision. We must not be silent and must not give up. Now is the moment, we must seize it! We must break free of the tenticles of corruption that extend from Maribor to Ljubljana, crisscrossing across Slovenia and extending into Europe. Janez Janša, Slovenian prime minister, carries the objective responsibility for overhearing what has been said in Maribor, Ljubljana and the other uprisings. The authorities who thought nothing of having stolen all the flowers in the garden should listen now that their roots are being pulled out. Janez Janša, you are finished.

We are gathered against the nepotism, corruption, impunity of those responsible for the theft, destruction of our futures for the profit of the few, saving at the expense of the impoverished and the needy, political manipulations, making a mockery of the state, the lives, the people. We hold 20 years of smothered cries in our lungs. To replace humiliation and oppression we have stood up and demanded a different, alternative common creation of our communities. No one can do this but ourselves. This is not just a resistance, this is a class struggle. We raise our hands, our fists in solidarity. Fists of freedom!

We will not pay for your crisis! We have a long and difficult path ahead of us if we are to continue our achievements of the last several weeks and continue to nurture this miracle uprising. The resounding cry “THEY ARE FINISHED!” must be followed by the even louder cheers that will accompany the resignation of all who denied the will of the people, who manipulate them for personal gain, who have brought this country to the brink of collapse. We are now faced with the task of finding solutions. Slovenia will be choked if we merely delegate new faces to represent us and manage our lives. We must persevere to ensure we take a permanent step forward, if not for ourselves, for those that will come after us. Failure is leaving for the future what we have inherited from the past. Let’s search for new systems, new mechanisms. They have destroyed our country, we shall rebuild a much better one with the foundations of principles and the advancements of collective invention. Even as we gather, various nationalist initiatives and rising party leaders are sniffing about for opportunities to privatize and monopolize on the anguish of the humiliated and impoverished. We recognize that every uprising opens a possibility for negative consolidation of forces to attempt to seize control; we must guard vigilantly against these people who sit back and wait to co-opt our efforts. Jankovic is not an alternative for Slovenia, nor any of the other tired faces of the established quasi-left parties. We have been let down and robbed by them just as often as by those who now form the coalition. Our parliament has been filled by those who wanted to delegate: some have no education, others have false degrees or diplomas, some have just an empty bag that they would like to fill with millions. It has been filled by those who want to subjugate others. But we must not let them! This isn’t the time for parties, nor for new leaders, new faces.

This has been a clear message of the uprisings. Now is the time for resignation of the government. Now is our turn.

We must organize ourselves in formal an informal networks. We must begin in our streets and communities, organize where we feel at home and where we are most exploited. In our streets, our buildings, our squares, in neighborhoods, in our workplaces, in pubs if necessary. We must carry the uprising in our hands like a precious jewel. We must not surrender it to anyone until we are ready to find the people among us who will not let us down. People we can trust and can be proud of. People who will be able to collaboratively create with us our cities, our country, the world.

We must form people’s assemblies on the level of communities, made up of citizens instead of government, to give voice to civil society. We must engage the public institutions, the university, cultural and social institutions, education and health care. They are on our side, and we must find a way to awaken them to participate in the struggle for a better future. These institutions must play a key role in the development today. They should be the first to raise their voice and not keep silent as they did 20 years ago. We have all been fighting for our existence, but divided into separate categories of workers, university professors or pensioners. We are finished with that! Let’s look beyond our own gardens and create our communities together. Where are you, trade unions? Where are you, civil society movements? We must reach out and connect with the workers, with the unemployed, with the retired, with farmers. We must all wake up ! We must break all the barriers ahead of us. We will move forward even if we must risk our paychecks, our jobs, even violent attacks from these privileged groups who are tying to retain control despite the cost to us all. We are already risking everything; we have nothing to lose. They have already almost destroyed our companies, our environment, our social services; our young people have been forced to go abroad to survive. Together we shall make Slovenia the place they can come home to; they will return with options and a life of dignity.

We must move from the digital reality of online organizing into real Assemblies, committees should initiate concrete proposals to deal with the issues of the common needs in each community. We need to accomplish the most difficult task – achieving consensus agreement, the intersection where needs and interests meet. We must begin at the point where our common needs meet and build from there. There are examples of both struggles and accomplishments all around us. Iceland is a successful example. Egypt shows us uprising can result in an even more closed system, with increased delegation and dictation. We must beware of the pitfalls that Greece has suffered,where a decade of general strikes, university occupations, and global initiatives for justice have failed and the population finds themselves partitioned into the left/right party options, which continue to function as mechanisms for oppression. We must stop relying on the media, which has stolen truth, locked it away, and bombards us with a barrage of sensational topics that are at best cheap diversions. We must take responsibility for ourselves and each other, and communicate the truth and news through our own channels.

There are several groups who are already working on preparing operational, strategic and organizational methods, and searching for new approaches for achieving consensus. Many have not yet found the means or opportunity to make their voices heard; we must begin in the streets and look for solutions. The general public has initiated a conversation, and we must insure that all voices are heard, the elderly, the poor, the desperate, the isolated. We do not want banners, we want transparency! But until transparency is achieved we shall carry banners!

The uprising must not take place only in the evening, it must flourish in the full light of day. What we have seen so far is merely a rehearsal for the 21st December, when people from across the country will stand together as one and raise their voices. Our weapons are art, creativity, and word of mouth communication. We know we will face the same mechanisms of oppression once again, which forces us to radicalize, but not to retreat. The government has been clear that above all, they seek to silence the cries of “THEY ARE FINISHED!” that are ringing through their streets. We shall not be silent. The old is finished, the mafia is finished. We are starting anew. We are going to build a new country. The government must resign, the parliament must resign. They will be held accountable for the consequences of the actions they take against their own people, for the disappearing documents that are turned into ashes even now. There is no turning back. We choose life, we choose courage!

We have only just begin our uprising, and it will only intensify and grow as we build an alternative to the corruption and economic despair offered by the officials of Slovenia.

We reject your methods: we don’t intimidate, humiliate or use force, we will deny them the repression they try to impose on us. We are different, ordinary people, the crowd in the street. If their only communication is using violence and oppression, we will respond by playing music and dancing in liberation. If they use the army, they still will not take away our voice. We do not destroy, we collaborate and create. We want to create a society of welfare, trust, justice, equality. We shall achieve that. Their water-cannons and pepper spray are useless. They must open their eyes and ears to the messages of each and every uprising. We will show them what we can accomplish without them.

Together we know, another world is possible…

They are finished! (GOTOVI SO)

Slovenian uprising – Protest in Ljubljana #GOTOVISO (They are finished)

Ljubljana, 30.11.2012

“It started at 4pm in Congress Square. A very diverse crowd gathered, equipped (amongst others things) with posters stating “You’re finished”, with the names of almost all the current politicians listed.
Many people were holding red carnations as a symbol of peaceful expression of their protest against austerity, corruption, clientelism and violation of legal and social state.

Journalist and cameraman were also present among the crowd of protesters. It was interesting to see a journalist from the national Radio and TV station that was guarded by the cameraman as well as by a security officer. The crowd slowly grew and occupied also the park and the streets near the Congress Square. Police officers kept themselves in the background. Several members of the Special Forces were positioned close to the Knafelj underpass.

Then the crowd slowly moved towards the Parliament. To emphasize the peaceful nature of the demonstrations and solidarity, the protesters gave carnations to police officers , which they attached on their uniforms.

At some point it started. Shortly after 6 pm a group of about 30 masked rioters entered Republic Square in front of the Parliament. They were wearing a banner stating “US against everyone – no to EU-servant”, with the letter “o” crossed with a cross. It is a symbol of many European neo-Nazi or new right wing organizations. These words can now be read on the front page of “Dnevnik” (Slovenian daily newspaper) in the article “They stole our country, and now the protests.”

According to eyewitnesses, then just before 7 pm the group of masked people began with a very organized attack on police officers. Those masked persons were among other, equipped also with gas masks.

The rest of the crowd was shouting loud, making it clear that they did not approve this violent behavior of the troublemakers. But the rioters increased their attacks and mixed with the peaceful protester, which lead to the withdrawal of people. The epilogue is known. The focus of media coverage oriented itself from the “festival of democracy” to violent riots. Red carnations were replaced by granite cubes in the hands of few masked rioters.

Of course, the question that arises is – who are these rowdies? Some experts on extreme right-wing groups confirmed that according to the words and posters used, they were members of various neo-Nazi groups.
From here on, according to all the events, as well as their wider context, all options are open. Let’s start with the statement of the former Chief of Police Pavle Celik, who had previously warned of provocateurs starting violent protests. As he told the newspaper Dnevnik, he is “firmly convinced that in the recent protests, intentional ringleaders appear with the aim of leading the other protesters in a certain direction, so that the government can say that the protest were violent.”

Since the predictions of Pavle Celik turned out to be true, now the next logical question follows: if the rowdies were hired, who hired them?

An interesting answer to this question was given by a comments in response to the mentioned Čelik’s statement in the magazine Mladina: The commentator wrote, that ” the initial report of the Slovenian intelligence and security agency-SOVA, (which has been withheld by the government from discussion in the parliament for quite some time) shows, that some neo-Nazi groups are closely linked to SDS (Slovenian Democratic party, the party of our prime minister Janez Janša). Individuals from these groups are even members of the SDS.”

Of course, we cannot and we must not believe just any comment.However, let’s examine this claim. What do we find?

We found the following article: “Neo-Nazis: stowaways of parliamentary elections” in which the journalist Anuška Delic, writes: “the leader of Slovenian Blood and Honour Division says that he is not a leader and has no function in SDS. Others say otherwise. “The journalist describes that she received information from multiple sources, stating that Dejan Prosen is the leader of Blood and Honour Division, also confirming his direct connection to SDS. Blood and Honour, as stated on their webpage, is an “independent, patriotic, National socialistic movement.”

Another article was found: “Neonazism in Slovenia: Tell me with who you hang out with” in which the author of the article stated that “Kristian Podobnik is a member of the Slovenian Democratic Youth (SDM) that is and offspring party of Janša’s SDS. Since the establishment of SDM in Žiri, on the 15th of December 2010, Kristian is a very active member. This is documented also with photos, taken at various SDS events and his activity on the SDM facebook page. The last event he participated in, was the presentation of Irena Tavčar, an SDS candidate for the National Assembly from Žiri. He sat in the front row. In March this year he participated also in the winter sports games organized by SDS, which took place in Cerkno. He represented the municipal SDS committee of Žiri. In addition to his loyalty to SDS, he is also a disclosed neo-Nazi and a member of the neo-Nazi group Blood & Honour. ”

If we go further – what is happening with the SOVA report on extremist groups? As the recent events show, the situation in this field is quite strange.

Three deputy members (from the opposition parties) of the Parliamentary commission for the control of intelligence and security services, in fact send a request to the government to provide them with information about what was happening with the report on the problem of extremist groups and movements in the country. This happened at the beginning of this week, a few days before the protests. They adressed the government with the demand to provide them with the information when was the first time that SOVA delivered the report for discussion and adoption to the government.

They also wanted to know when and if the government had returned the report to SOVA for completion, and when SOVA delivered the corrected report back to the government for the second discussion. The also want to know when and if SOVA returned the report for correction to the government,when this completed document was then sent into further discussion and when it was discussed by the competent working bodies of the government and if any changes were made during this process. Furthermore, the MPs state, that they asked SOVA for this report, the same that they are now requesting from the government, after the working group sessions on this topics was postponed various time, due to the fact that the neither SOVA nor the government had prepared the needed material. The mentioned report at the end figured only tree pages, and the deputies are convinced that it was prepared in a way, that minimizes and diminishes the phenomenon of extremism in Slovenia. (Dnevnik, 26.11. 2012).

All of this puts the above mentioned comment in the Magazin Mladina in a completely new perspective and following all this evidence another logical question arises; what if those neo-Nazi street rowdies are actually an extension of a concrete political interest of a specific political party?

Of course, at this point any exact answer to this question is impossible. But an answer to the question why they were present at Friday’s peaceful demonstration needs to be found, especially in the name of rule of law and without any political instrumentalisation.
We also need to remember the behavior of SDS in 2010 towards student protest. SDS, which at that time was in the opposition, requested an extraordinary meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Domestic Policy, Public Administration and Justice, on the issue of ” suspected political interference in police work, that has led to professional errors of the Ministry of Interior affairs and GPU during the student demonstrations “, where the President of the Committee, Dr. Vinko Gorenak (current Minister of Interior affairs) tried to blame rather awkwardly and constantly Fronta Prekercev, a group of students, who at that time organized a parallel protest, for the disorders at the demonstrations.

It is really unfortunate for the rule of law in Slovenia that all the questions written in this text are not being asked. But at the same time, we have to add that all those questions have arisen also because we have a prime minister who persistently avoids hearings in his judicial proceedings and because referendum signatures are incomprehensibly disappearing in our governmental bodies.

Goran Lukic