A Police Plot to Discredit Anarchism?

[redstar2000]

A letter bomb has been delivered to the headquarters of Eurojust, the EU agency co-ordinating the fight against crime.

The device, which did not explode, was the fourth letter bomb delivered to a European figure in the past three days.

German police said they were focusing, with their Italian counterparts, on a group called the Informal Anarchist Federation.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/europe/3357063.stm

Ok, why a "police plot"? The only "evidence" I can offer is that these "letter-bombs" are actually getting delivered...the normal security precautions taken by our rulers would keep them very distant from such crude attempts.

In other words, none of those bastards ever open their own mail...and everyone with any political sophistication at all knows that.

So even if there actually were a small group of Italian "anarchists" who wished to revive the 19th century "propaganda of the deed"--assassination of prominent members of the ruling class elite--they would know that "letter bombs" would be useless.

That smells to me like cop.

And it also suggests that our rulers are getting a little "worried" about the appeal of anarchism to the young...and have begun to take some "pro-active" measures to keep that appeal from spreading.

My prediction: there will turn out to be no real anarchists involved in this shit.

But, as always, I could be wrong. :(

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[Blackberry]

Originally posted by [email protected] 31 2003, 01:01 PM
My prediction: there will turn out to be no real anarchists involved in this shit.

But, as always, I could be wrong. :(
Well, if they 'are' anarchists, then it was certainly a ridiculous plan. The 'recent' anthrax attacks in the USA have showed us that the victims of 'assassination by mail' are the mail handlers, rather than the people they are intended for.

I find it strange though, that an anarchist group has actually 'admitted' to carrying out two explosions, under an actual name, which they can easily be associated with and caught (!). It is rather strange indeed.

You never know, the people who planned the actions could still be anarchists, but largely uninformed anarchists.

But like you say redstar2000, it could be a planned attempt to discredit anarchism and anarchists in Italy, as they are not exactly hated.

I know a left-leaning Italian family who are sympathetic with Italian anarchists (!) and their actions. However, upon hearing this, they won't be too impressed, I would imagine.

There is no need to discredit the Red Brigades, because they are already largely isolated from the Italian working class.

[Blackberry]

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/12/30...reut/index.html (http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/12/30/europe.letter.bombs.reut/index.html)

This article makes no mention of anarchists until the last part.

In the last part, it claims the group falls under an umbrella group 'Euroopposizione' -- which translates to Euro (-ean Union) Opposition. They make no mention of the Informal Anarchist Federation. And the BBC article made no mention of Euroopposizione.


The letter bomb sent to Prodi exploded in his hands but he was unhurt.

The last bomb surprisingly made it to his hands (because it was hidden). The 'bomb' didn't even scratch his hands when he went to open the envelope. If anarchists really did send it, I would imagine that they would have scratched him at least.

The most likely explanation is that some sort of cop sent it, without the intention to hurt, but to raise fear and suspicion, and then link the attack to whoever they wanted to discredit (in this case, anarchists).

I am now more sure that anarchists didn't do it...with the chance of being wrong, of course.

Here's another thing I noticed...


Eurojust is made up of prosecutors and judges who help authorities in member states investigate and prosecute serious cross-border crime.

Are they really worthy targets? Even if there is/are some anarchist(s) who cannot cross the border for some reason (which I highly doubt), that would most likely be their last target, if they intended to bomb anyone. Attacking them would only raise the security and policing of European borders.


I smell too much shit, for lack of a better word.

[ComradeRobertRiley]

I think these letter bombs are great, just a shame no-one was killed

[Rastaman]

Redstar you don't know that anybody admitted to doing it.. maybe the just say somebody admitted.. it's been done before.

[redstar2000]

Originally posted by [email protected] 31 2003, 10:16 AM
Redstar you don't know that anybody admitted to doing it.. maybe they just say somebody admitted.. it's been done before.
You are quite right, of course. The bourgeois media will always report police statements "with a straight face" unless there is video evidence that shows the police are lying.

Also to be considered is the possibility of fascist involvement. If I'm not mistaken, Italian neo-fascists (linked to Opus Dei, the P2 Masonic Lodge, and the Vatican Bank scandal) blew up a railroad station in Italy, killing a substantial number of people...and "claimed responsibility" in the name of a "left group" that no one had ever heard of. This was back in the sixties...and it was evidently their intent to provoke a right-wing military coup.

But you're right to be hyper-sceptical...none of this crap sounds real.

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[Rastaman]

its sad... the media sais that what it's told to say... pls read my post on nukes in the politics section...

[Blackberry]

Two more letter bombs go off today and anarcho's across Europe are getting pissed off.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3369129.stm

Italian Anarchist Federation denounce bombs and deny any knowledge..

http://www.indymedia.org/en/2004/01/110259.shtml

Posted by a guest in the Practice forum.

[Ian]

How did a mail bomb get across a national border? With all the increased security I would have thought it would be found quickly.

From the first link comrade James provided: "the apparatus of control that is repressive and leading the democratic show that is the new European order". That's a lot of proof of some kind of stupid anarchists that hate democracy, or some kind of plot by who knows to scare the populace.

[Guest1]

sounds like bullshit to me. remember, berlusconi is a very right wing man, I'm suspecting this has very little to do with the european union at all. The anarchist group in question (which doesn't exist), has the same initials as a bigger group in Italy. According to the second article. I'm suspecting berlusconi is very much behind this, looking to reign in the anarchists and score patriot-style laws and powers for himself.

reichstag.

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

*sniff sniff* Can you smell that?

no?

*Sniff* There's definately a whiff of something there...

You smell it?

Smells like bullshit dunnit? :lol:

[Blackberry]

Anti-anarchist force formed in Italy. (http://www.iribnews.com/Full_en.asp?news_id=195886&n=34)

Unbelievable!

Will this be Europe's equivalent to the USA's 'War on Terrorism'?

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

The articlr doesn't mention how they will operate... :unsure:

[Kez]

I thought was bullshit to be honest, remember they sed Sept 11 was done by anarchists first, then it was palestinians then it was al quaida...although i cant say for sure it isnt anarchists, its either bullshit cop job, stupid fuck anarchists (che-lives robriley types) or someone masquerading as anarchists

[Invader Zim]

I saw an artical about it on the news, from what I gather they were sending these bombs to only EMP's, and that the only link they have (the police) to anarchist groups is that it happened to be sent from Italy. Could have been anyone, why anarchists? Seems like guess work and scapegoating to me.


Robert... your an idiot, the only people who are likley to get killed are secretaries. Like killing some innocent typist is going to really strike a huge hole into the capitalist system. :rolleyes:

[LSD]

well if any European country were going to fake something like this it would be Italy. Very right wing goverment, very very corrupt prime minister who owns 90% of the media in the country....

[YKTMX]

Informal Anarchist Federation.

LOL, what a truly great name for an organization, it's so "Anarchist" it hurts.


"So, you're in a group that sends bombs to prominent Euro politicians?"

"Yea, it's just an informal thing though" :lol:

[Morpheus]

According to NPR one of the letter bombs contained fascist writings. There is no evidence linking them to anarchists, it's just a bunch of crap the police are inventing.

[timbaly]

Originally posted by Lysergic Acid [email protected] 6 2004, 01:32 PM
well if any European country were going to fake something like this it would be Italy. Very right wing goverment, very very corrupt prime minister who owns 90% of the media in the country....
90%, that seems like a bit much to me. Can you show me a source, or better yet sources.

[LSD]

"If [Berlusconi] wins again on May 13th, he will control a good 90% of all national television broadcasting. He has made not the slightest effort to resolve this clear conflict."
- The Economist (Apr 26th 2001)

"Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi effectively controls the material seen by 90 per cent of TV viewers in Italy."
- Reporters Without Borders (Italy - Anual Report 2003)

Not only does his 'Fininvest' control three commercial TV stations, but as Prime Minister he also has control over the country's three state telelvision stations. He also controls Mondadori, the biggest publishing house in the country, as well as Il Giornale, the leading daily newspaper and Panorama, a news magazine.

His latest draft law on telecommunications "would allow companies to have interests in more than one news medium. In theory, this would benefit the big print media groups which until now have unable to own TV stations. But in practice, because of the disproportionate financial resources involved, only Mediaset [ownded by Berlusconi] would be in a position to take advantage of the proposed legislation by making print media acquisitions, and not the other way."

In addition Berlusconia has:
Censored Five Television Programs
Dramatically increased searches of the homes of journalistsunder the pretext of terrorism
Sent two Journalists to prison for media offences, against UN standards.
Dropped a popular Radio 3 cultural programm "Mattino Tre," which regularly discussed freedom of expression and press freedom, from state controlled RAI.

http://www.economist.com/opinion/displayst...story_id=587107 (http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=587107)
http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaySt...Story_ID=593654 (http://www.economist.com/opinion/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=593654)
http://www.igirotondi.it/reporters.htm
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=6521

[Guest1]

Hehe, welcome Josh. Took me a second to realize it was you. Glad to see you're posting.

As for Berlusconi, he does own a pretty large percentage of the media in Italy, as LSD pointed out. That's exactly the kind of media loyalty you would need to make a reichstag in Italy work. His media empire will enable him to make the most of this event, pouncing on it and ripping Anarchists to shreds on Italian TV on a daily basis. I suspect we'll see all his holdings run reports of similar attacks by the "Anarchist Insurrection" in Italy over the next few months.

Once again, I wouldn't be surprised if this ended in an expansion of his powers and the suspension of the right to be considered innocent until proven guilty.

[LSD]

Hey, Fehr.

And remember that Berlusconi is still being investigated for money-laundering, association with the Mafia, tax evasion, complicity in murder and bribery of politicians and judges, so if anyone were going to pull something like this off if would be him.

[Kez]

As for the title of this thread, how many Leninists have rejoiced?

a rather secterian assumption redstar...maybe you should bring evidence insteada of using slogans to try and discredit Leninists?

[Guest1]

It was a joke.

On another tangent, why did you change your name? :)

[timbaly]

I can't believe that this is the first time I have heard of the fact that Berlusconi owns 90% of the television media. With a number that high I would think it to be mentioned more often.

[redstar2000]

Originally posted by [email protected] 7 2004, 01:49 PM
As for the title of this thread, how many Leninists have rejoiced?

a rather sectarian assumption redstar...maybe you should bring evidence instead of using slogans to try and discredit Leninists?
Well, I did add a question-mark to the title. :lol:

But it would be consistent with the general Leninist outlook to rejoice at this "proof" that "anarchists are nutballs" and "incompetent nutballs" at that, would it not?

You can't see some Leninist telling some newbie that "hey, those anarchists are a bunch of fools...they sent stupid letter-bombs to bourgeois politicians and the fucking bombs didn't even do any damage...bunch of wankers, they are."

I can see that happening very easily.

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[Blackberry]

http://www.eubusiness.com/afp/040108151420.so721frj


Pisanu said intelligence services had seized a document indicating that new anarchist groups had ties with the reconstituted Red Brigades -- a left-wing militant movement which carried out a series of spectacular kidnappings and murders in the 1980s.

Bullshit!

Now they're trying to say that these 'anarchists' have ties with Leninists!

[Mick Black]

Italy: Mass Struggles, Repression, and Anarchism (http://www.infoshop.org/inews/stories.php?story=04/01/05/6737641)
Federazione Dei Comunisti Anarchici

Pretty solid analysis by the Italian anarchist-communist federation.

[TC]

Now they're trying to say that these 'anarchists' have ties with Leninists!

Perhaps the italian anarchists are more mature in their attempts to build solidarity among anti-capitalists than their American counterparts.

The real question would be why the Brigada Rossa would want to associate itself with people like the anarchist letter bombers.


---------


Anyways, I don't think the cops are responsible. I know that whenever one of you anarchists stands up and does something illigal, instead of defending your comrade you all screem "PIG" but really, it doesn't mean that you have to be legitimate revolutionaries to think that others could be. The fact is, that the cops would have reason to discredit Italian Marxist-Leninists, because they are an actual threat, they shoot imperialists. There is no point in attacking Anarchists though, because Anarchists are no threat to anyone, they are disorganized, weak, and incapable of any action that goes violently against the system...historically at least.

That said, they may not have been "incompetent" because they may not have intended to assassinate anyone. These people would have tested their devices (unless it is just one 15 year old anarchist who is doing it as an after school project, which to me seems more likely than a cop). They would have known that they'd be very unlikely to hurt anyone, let alone kill someone. The point would then have been just to get attention, to create a greater media awareness, maybe to radicalize other anarchists (the ones who aren't such cowards as to call them pigs). If they had wanted to kill someone, they would have sent a pipe bomb wrapped in nails. They didn't, so one would just assume that the minimal violence they used was intended to be sufficent to cause a media upset (just writing in crayon "anarchists want you dead, haha" wouldn't have done the trick), it was propaganda, not intended to cause any damage.

That would be my evil Marxist-Leninist interpretation of it, which I think is much more charitable to your Anarchist counterparts than what I've heard.

[Blackberry]

Originally posted by [email protected] 10 2004, 05:59 AM
Perhaps the italian anarchists are more mature in their attempts to build solidarity among anti-capitalists than their American counterparts.

Well now, you really are are tragic clown.

Italian anarchists have been quick to denounce the attacks. (http://www.federazioneanarchica.org/archivio/20031228cdc.html)

And, anarchists do not see things in a 'left/right' view. Anarchism is its own ideology, disassociated with others. I doubt very much any sort of anarchist would participate in such a tactic with people who would lock them up if they got the chance. It has been done numerous times in the part. The most notorious case is the backstabbing the anarchists in Russia and Ukraine received when the Bolsheviks seized power in Russia.


I know that whenever one of you anarchists stands up and does something illigal, instead of defending your comrade you all screem "PIG"

An extremely ignorant statement! (http://www.notbored.org/seattle.html)


The fact is, that the cops would have reason to discredit Italian Marxist-Leninists, because they are an actual threat, they shoot imperialists.

The Red Brigades have already been discredited in the past. Anarchism has been untouched, and is an extremely influential force in the anti-globalisation movement. There is plenty of reason to discredit anarchism.


Anarchists are no threat to anyone, they are disorganized, weak, and incapable of any action that goes violently against the system...historically at least.

Another blatant (http://www.federazioneanarchica.org/archivio/20031228cdc.html) lie. (http://www.infoshop.org/faq/secA5.html)

What has your Leninism achieved? Nothing but capitalism!


Marxist-Leninists, because they are an actual threat, they shoot imperialists.

Oh, and what's this? A Red Brigades founder (http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,3852325,00.html) says that in fact infiltrators were the masterminds of the assassination of a former Italian Prime Minister. :lol: Oh my.


That said, they may not have been "incompetent" because they may not have intended to assassinate anyone. These people would have tested their devices (unless it is just one 15 year old anarchist who is doing it as an after school project, which to me seems more likely than a cop). They would have known that they'd be very unlikely to hurt anyone, let alone kill someone. The point would then have been just to get attention, to create a greater media awareness, maybe to radicalize other anarchists (the ones who aren't such cowards as to call them pigs). They didn't, so one would just assume that the minimal violence they used was intended to be sufficent to cause a media upset (just writing in crayon "anarchists want you dead, haha" wouldn't have done the trick), it was propaganda, not intended to cause any damage.

From the Italian Anarchist Federation:


- asserts once more its condemnation of bombs, exploding parcels and such devices, that may strike without discrimination, and in any way look - at best - to be functional to logic of provocation and criminalization of dissent through the media, in a moment in which anarchists are among the protagonists of social conflicts - from strikes, to initiatives against war, etc.;

Other and similar reasons why this could be a police plot?

- Some of the letter bombs were actually delivered to the intended recipients. They surpassed the usual security checks that members of the ruling class use to root out such dangerous packages.

- The letter bombs have so far failed to injure no-one, even when they have exploded into fires in the hands of the recipients. They have merely created small, easily extinguishable fires. Surely if the senders intended to kill or at least injure, they would have been successful in at least one attempt?

- So far, no evidence has been produced to support the claim that an anarchist or anarchist has sent the letters, or anyone else for that matter. The authorities have merely been raising suspicion through the corporate media, along with the suspicious letter and as always, they have produced the results.

- The 'Informal Anarchist Federation', in its letter to an Italian newspaper, claimed that it wanted to target 'the apparatus of control that is repressive and leading the democratic show that is the new European order.' This in itself is suspicious, as it has actually labeled the European Union as 'democratic', even though 'show' has been added afterwards. A more anarchist-like description of the EU would have been the 'fascist show', or something with similar negative connotations, rather than something that has positive connotations, where the wording can easily be misinterpreted by those who do not understand anarchism or anarchists.

- There is nothing to gain from such a tactic, other than gain more crack downs on dissent by the State. It is questionable whether anarchists working in communities of struggle would knowingly place their comrades in danger for such imperceptible gains.

- The Italian ruling class have abetted terrorism (http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4158945,00.html) in order to stop the rise of the 'left' before.

[redstar2000]

Perhaps the Italian anarchists are more mature in their attempts to build solidarity among anti-capitalists than their American counterparts.

You mean "more naive" about the ultimate intentions of Leninism, don't you? More willing to be employed as "useful idiots"?

Unlikely. Italian anarchists have a very long history and are probably as well acquainted with Leninist "united front" scams as any movement anywhere.


That would be my evil Marxist-Leninist interpretation of it...

"Evil"? Interesting choice of words.

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