A-Infos (en) UK, AnarCom: Response to the pro-war left's "petition" (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

A statement in support of Solidarity Collectives and ABC-Belarus has 
been published on the internet, signed by a number of groups and 
individuals. 
https://www.solidaritycollectives.org/en/on-silencingvoices-from-eastern-europe-at-anarchist-events-in-eu/ 
---- We are publishing our response, which is not, however, a dialogue 
with these open and covert supporters of militarism. We simply want to 
share our analysis publicly and strengthen the connection between people 
with an anti-militarist and revolutionary defeatist perspective.

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The statement to which we are responding was written by supporters of 
the war, who reproduce a binary narrative for this purpose: empathetic 
and supportive Eastern European anarchists versus arrogant and 
unsupportive anarchists from Western Europe. This narrative is false and 
manipulative. Those who share this narrative refuse to acknowledge that 
criticism of pro-war projects such as Solidarity Collectives and ABC 
(Belarus) also exists within the anarchist milieu in Eastern Europe. The 
signatories of the statement ignore this anti-militarist tendency in 
their narrative or lie when they claim that these are Putinists or 
pro-Russian propagandists. They repeatedly claim that the "Eastern 
European voice" is overlooked in Western Europe, while they themselves 
overlook anti-militarist and anti-war voices from Eastern European 
regions. It should be added that these overlooked voices also come from 
a relatively large number of people directly from the war zone. By this 
we mean not only anarchist collectives, but also other working-class 
people who refuse to support the war efforts of "their" and neighboring 
states. Let's look at how many people have deserted from the Russian and 
Ukrainian armies and how many people in both countries are avoiding 
mobilization(1). Hundreds of thousands of people are ignored by this 
"radical left" that tells us it represents the voices of Eastern Europe 
and fights against the arrogance of the West. Their binary narrative is 
hypocritical. The contradiction is not between anarchists from the West 
and those from the East. There is only a contradiction between the 
revolutionary and counterrevolutionary tendencies, which exist in all 
regions.

We quote from their statement: "They are writing various kinds of 
"statements" condemning work in support of Ukrainian resistance to the 
Russian invasion."

We respond: We do not condemn resistance to the Russian invasion. We are 
not even opposed to armed struggle, as long as it does not replicate 
militaristic logic and is directed against states and their armies. 
However, we reject the strategy of conventional warfare and militaristic 
forms of struggle. From an anarchist perspective, resistance to the 
aggressive policies of one state (e.g., Russia) should not be a 
practical service in the defense of another state (e.g., Ukraine). We 
support autonomous resistance against Putinism and Russian imperialism, 
but also against the Zelensky regime and EU/NATO imperialism. This is 
anarchist resistance against war.

We quote from their statement: "We believe in the need for dialogue on 
controversial issues."

We respond: They have long presented themselves as "experts in 
monologue", but suddenly they pretend to be interested in dialogue. This 
is not at all convincing. People who deliberately avoid face-to-face 
dialogue, slander anarchists(2), engage in dangerous doxxing(3), and are 
verbally and physically aggressive(4) are collaborating on these 
projects. Some signatories also pressure other groups to prevent 
anti-militarists from attending anarchist events(5) or directly 
participate in sabotaging anti-militarist activities(6). We believe that 
the call for dialogue is a manipulative political calculation in this 
context. They want to gain spaces in which they will receive money and 
resources for soldiers. We believe that they do not want to listen to 
criticism from their opponents and discuss controversial issues. 
Anarchists have repeatedly expressed critical analysis of their 
militaristic and pro-war tendencies in the past. There has been no 
self-reflection or acknowledgment of mistakes. So why insist on dialogue 
with them? It cannot be a constructive process.

We quote from their statement: "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 respond: Both of these groups provide propaganda, financial, and 
material support to the soldiers of the Ukrainian army, which is at war 
with Russia. Why do the signatories of this statement refuse to 
acknowledge that the Ukrainian army and its soldiers are the embodiment 
of state militarism? There is no structure more militaristic than a 
state army. Why do these people refuse to acknowledge that they are 
defending a pro-war position when they support soldiers of the state 
army involved in the war? Is it insincerity, political manipulation, or 
do they fail to understand the basic context? They claim to be against 
militarism, but when soldiers desert the Ukrainian army or men in 
Ukraine are forcibly mobilized, they do not show practical solidarity 
with these people. They object to Russia's militarism, but the 
militarism of Ukraine/NATO/EU is their main ally. We refuse to cooperate 
with them because they advocate cooperation with Western imperialism in 
its war against Russian imperialism. However, we also do not cooperate 
with those who cooperate with Russian imperialism, because this is not a 
constructive strategy that the working class could effectively use 
against American and European imperialism. We reject all one-sided 
anti-imperialism. We fight against all imperialist states and blocs.

The list of names and titles under the declaration is very long, but 
that does not mean it is significant. Socially revolutionary groups do 
not evaluate the quality of practice by quantitative measures. The 
number of signatures under a manipulative and deceitful statement does 
not make it a valuable document. Not even the biggest sum of socially 
reactionary and pro-war groups can never give rise to revolutionary 
anarchist practice.

The list of signatories to the aforementioned statement includes quite a 
few liars, manipulators, aggressors, collaborators with the far 
right(7), as well as dangerous doxxers and nationalists(8). Groups such 
as Solidarity Collectives and ABC - Belarus discredit themselves by 
publicly declaring that they maintain contact with these controversial 
individuals. If they express concern that anarchists do not want to 
cooperate with them, this is actually a positive sign. While left-wing 
supporters of militarism are losing support, the revolutionary anarchist 
tendency is gaining the necessary energy.

- Some anarchists from Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and the Balkans

anarchist_voices@riseup.net

We in the AnarCom Network fully support this statement and call on other 
internationalists to also support it.

https://anarcomuk.uk/2025/12/26/response-to-the-pro-war-lefts-petition/
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