Δείτε το video της συνέντευξης των εργατών του εργοστασίου Dita εδώ:

http://en.labournet.tv/video/6657/interview-dita-workers-tuzla

We are showing here an interview with the workers of the factory Dita, whose protest was a trigger to the whole movement that is sometimes referred to as the Bosnian Spring.

The workers of the detergent factory Dita told us that they had been on strike for more than a year and tried different forms of peaceful protests (including a hunger strike) that did not lead anywhere. When they demonstrated with other workers on the 5th of February, they were brutally attacked by the police. This provoked a massive movement of solidarity by younger people and unemployed, who took to the streets and stormed and burned the government building of canton Tuzla, forcing the government to resign (local authorities in Bosnia-Herzegovina are more important than national ones).

In this short video, the workers tell us about the history of their struggle as well as their grasp of the movement that is currently shaking Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Παρά το σαφή εργατίστικο προσανατολισμό της ανάλυσης του Wildcat αναδημοσιεύουμε το άρθρο γιατί θεωρούμε ότι φωτίζει με ικανοποιητικό τρόπο τα αποτελέσματα αλλά και τις εσωτερικές αντιφάσεις της πολιτικοποίησης των ταραχών στην Αίγυπτο.

 W.

πηγή: http://www.wildcat-www.de/en/eindex.htm

Go to the Afterword from February 2014

For two years, Tahrir Square was the symbol of a radical departure from social ossification and crisis. The military coup in the summer of 2013 ended this phase. The various illusions and hopes were buried with the hundreds that died. Essential parts of the liberal milieus have accepted state-led massacres and mass arrests in the name of ‘defending democracy’. The hope of a state solution to social misery is also lost; the last heirs of Nasserism and trade union movement-hopefuls now sit at the military (side) table. Their vague promises of reform are drowned out by their appeals to peace, order and willingness to work.

In the acute social situation there is currently no room for participation. The movement will have to provide new questions about social revolution and organisation and will have to find new answers. To this end, migrants play an important role.

Egypt’s ruling class

With the fall of President Morsi at the beginning of July 2013, the amalgamation of the state and military apparatus with the economy once again became visible. This form of class power emerged at the end of the Nasser era. In the mid-seventies, the military had lost its role as protectors of an ‘anti-colonial’ state industrialisation, and the bloated military apparatus afterwards found itself new fields of activity in the civil economy after the 1978 peace treaty with Israel. A new model of accumulation developed, particularly during the second, ‘neoliberal’ half of the 30-year long Mubarak regime, which was less based on industrialisation, and more on privatisation, the plundering of social wealth and on state-secured investments in infrastructure (transport, tourism, telecommunications). This model was enforced by a gigantic repressive apparatus, which was detached from any ‘democratic control’. This apparatus included an informal army of baltagiyyas (thugs) and the military courts, which had been installed permanently since the state of emergency in 1981. The uprising in 2011 showed the crisis of this model.

It is still the case that most of the companies are small and medium-sized enterprises, but they are controlled by a very small layer of society through an old boys network, which means that we are dealing with monopolies. In 2010, around 500 families owned financial assets of more than 30 million USD, while 20 families (the ‘core-elite’) owned more than 100 million. The main economic focus of these groups of enterprises is on construction, telecommunications, tourism, food and pharmaceutical production, and (foreign) trade. At the very top stands the Sawiris family, which owns Egypt’s largest construction company and rules over the telecommunications market and the media sector. In the 2000s this new economic elite took over the high command of political power directly; prime examples being Gamal Mubarak and the Nazif government, which came to power in 2004. Politically, they thereby entered into competition with the military apparatus, which manages the factories of the Nasser-ite epoch of industrialisation (consumption goods and arms manufacturing) and which, in addition, started to participate in the business of mass tourism since its boom in the 1990s. In total the military controls 5 to 15 per cent of the national economy.

The military played a significant role in the enforcement of this neoliberal looting because it has the right to confiscate land e.g. for the construction of infrastructure projects, tourist parks, and new industrial zones. This was the cohesive element between the military and the oligarchic elite. The top-layer of the Muslim Brotherhood, which mainly engaged in trade, were part of this arrangement, although, apart from a few exceptions, they were situated rather in the second or third tier. The military and civil top elite is partly Coptic (like the Sawiris) and in general rather secular.

The network of clientelism that was directed towards the masses was organised in ‘religious’ terms. After the privatisation in the 90s, the welfare system (benefits for the poor, education and health care) was split off into a completely deficient and corrupt public sector, an expensive private sector and a third sector comprising the various liberal, islamist and christian charities. The vast NGO sector is based on voluntary and informal labour and, in part, directly organises the informal economic sector.

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Freedom is my nation

πηγή: http://www.crimethinc.com/index.html

The past two weeks have seen a fierce new protest movement in Bosnia, commencing with the destruction of government buildings and continuing with the establishment of popular assemblies. Unlike the recent conflicts in Ukraine, this movement has eschewed nationalistic strife to focus on class issues. In a region infamous for ethnic bloodshed, this offers a more promising direction for the Eastern European uprisings to come.

To gain more insight into the protests, we conducted two interviews. The first is with a participant in Mostar, Bosnia, who describes the events firsthand. The second is with a comrade in a nearby part of the Balkans, who explains the larger context of the movement, evaluating its potential to spread to other parts of the region and to challenge capitalism and the state.

Interview with a Participant

Give us a brief timeline of the important events.

On Wednesday, February 5, workers from several local companies that were destroyed by post-war privatization organized another protest in front of the Cantonal Government Building in Tuzla. Those workers have been protesting peacefully for a decade, organizing strikes and hunger strikes—which were very common in Bosnia until this month—but nobody listened. For just about the first time in post-war Bosnia, young people organized over social networks to express solidarity with desperate workers. Almost 10,000 people supported their protest on Thursday, February 6; that was when the first clashes with the police happened, and the first attempt to enter the government building.

Tuzla, February 5, 2014

On Friday, February 7, more than 10,000 people gathered in the post-industrial city of Tuzla in front of the Cantonal Government building, asking for the Prime Minister’s resignation. The Prime Minister arrogantly refused to resign. None of the officials came out to speak to them, so people broke through the police lines, entered the building, and burned it down.

On the same day, solidarity protests with the workers of Tuzla were organized in almost all the industrial towns of Bosnia. News from Tuzla spread fast; people in Bihać, Sarajevo, Zenica, and Mostar felt that this could be a moment to try to win a change. After the police attacked protesters in Sarajevo, during which some of the people were pushed down and thrown into the river Miljacka, the crowd fought back, forcing back the police and burning down the building of the Cantonal Government, as well as the buildings of the Presidency (including the state flag), the municipality of Sarajevo Center, and several police cars and vans. In Bihać, people attacked the building of the Cantonal Government and smashed it up. The same thing happened in Zenica.

Everyone was anticipating the events in the ethnically divided city of Mostar. More than 4000 people gathered in front of the Cantonal Government, demanding resignations. Soon, the first rocks were thrown, to great applause. From that moment, more and more people were putting t-shirts, balaclavas, masks—whatever they could find—over their faces; without any police resistance, within a few minutes, the building was on fire. Then people went to the City Hall and burned it down, as well as the building of the cantonal Parliament, Mostar Municipality, and the offices of two leading nationalist political parties that have ruled this city since 1991. That made quite a statement.

Protests are still going on, and people have organized themselves in plenums [assemblies]. Four cantonal governments have been forced to resign. Two of them are negotiating with plenums about forming governments of people who are not active members of any political parties. The authorities are fighting back hard—spreading fear of another civil war, arresting people, beating them, pressing charges for terrorism and attack on constitutional order…

Tuzla, February 7, 2014

Who participated? How and why did the protests spread? What limits did they reach?

The participants were from all social groups. Workers, unemployed, pensioners, many young people, demobilized soldiers, activists, football fans, human rights activists, parents with their children…

The people of Bosnia and Herzegovina are the poorest in Europe. Unemployment is over 50%; among young people, it is over 70%. At same time, Bosnian politicians are among the best paid in southeast Europe, and the most corrupt. The healthcare system is the worst in Europe, and social safety nets are almost nonexistent. The society that was one of the most egalitarian in Europe 25 years ago now has a huge social gap.

Capitalism and the process of privatization have completely destroyed the local economy; all the big factories and companies that were saved during the war have been privatized and shut down. All the wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few. There is no production in Bosnia any more, only import. The authorities are taking bigger and bigger loans from the IMF, knowing that they have no way of paying them back—so we can expect to be forced to privatize Bosnian Telecom and Electro-energetic system, the last viable pubic companies.

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nEWVFb7w_Y[/youtube]

Unemployed Macedonians organized protests today in Skopje, in front of the Union of Labor Unions of Macedonia (ULUM) building. During the protests, they chanted “Bosnia,” “Bosnia,” and stated that, should changes not take place, Macedonia will witness a scenario worse than the one in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Anadolia Agency reported.

Several hundred Macedonian citizens were protesting the new legal regulations that affect only a small number of laid-off workers. Protests were supported by leftist organizations such as “Lenka,” and “Solidarnosti.”

Protesters demanded that the union president, Živko Mitrevski, address them, chanting slogans against the ULUM.

The leader of the unions, however, only issued a written statement, which notes that he will protect workers’ rights, and that they are attempting to solve this problem.

There were clashes with the police and protesters in front of the government building and four people were injured. Police also detained one of the organizers of the protest, Ljiljana Gjorgievska, as well as Vasko Cacanovski from “Solidarnosti,” both of whom were later released after Uraniya Pirovska, the president of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Macedonia intervened.

Ljiljana Gjorgievska later stated to the press that they live in terrible times

“Our government is not behaving the way we want, but more like the governments of Bosnia and Herzegovina or the Ukraine. If they want to pick a fight, next time we will come prepared. We will fight for our rights and they cannot scare us,” Gjorgievska noted.

She also said that they want the Minister of Internal Affairs of Macedonia, Gordana Yankulovska, to resign, adding that the condition they find themselves in is a result of discrimination and abuse of power.

Gjorgievska also invited the representatives of embassies in Macedonia to open the borders of their countries to 6,000 work refugees, unless the Macedonian government manages to solve this problem.

Pirovska added that she will begin an investigation into the events at the protests.

[youtube]www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ujFYB7CCeE[/youtube]

Αναδημοσίευση από το πρακτορείο rioters:

Για τις ταραχές στη Βοσνία-Ερζεγοβίνη, 7/2/2014

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crss3v9PmFM[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GM3VBP2aYZ8[/youtube]

Στις φλόγες για δεύτερη ημέρα οι δρόμοι στην πόλη Τούζλα. Χιλιάδες διαδηλωτές έστησαν οδοφράγματα, έσπασαν βιτρίνες καταστημάτων και συγκρούστηκαν με δυνάμεις της αστυνομίας. Διαμαρτύρονται για την διαφθορά και την οικονομική πολιτική της κυβέρνησης. Οι πτωχεύσεις δεκάδων επιχειρήσεων έχουν οδηγήσει σε πρωτοφανή ποσοστά ανεργίας, στην άλλοτε βιομηχανική εργατούπολη του Βορρά.

Οι συγκρούσεις με τους μπάτσους και οι επιθέσεις σε κυβερνητικά κτίρια γίνονται πιο σφοδρές. Οι κάτοικοι της Τούζλα βρίζουν και πετάνε από τα μπαλκόνια νερό στους μπάτσους, ενώ οι γηραιότεροι χτυπάνε άδειες κατσαρόλες.

Χθες, Πέμπτη, οι τραυματίες ξεπέρασαν τους 130, εκ των οποίων οι 104 είναι μπάτσοι.

Οι ταραχές εξαπλώνονται και σε άλλες πόλεις της χώρας (Σεράγεβο, Μόσταρ, Zenica, Bihac).

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/bosnia-privatization-protests-reach-other-cities/2014/02/06/4907df00-8f65-11e3-878e-d76656564a01_story.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/06/us-bosnia-protests-idUSBREA151HF20140206

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/bosnia-police-use-tear/985626.html

https://twitter.com/search?q=%23protesti&src=hash

https://twitter.com/search?q=bosnia&src=typd

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa68fnk6FIk[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbhtpiXMPwI[/youtube]

Police and protesters violently clashed in Rio de Janeiro’s main train station in a demonstration against a 10-cent hike in bus fare.

A cameraman for Band TV was hit in the head by either a stun grenade launched by police or a homemade explosive tossed by protesters; it was not immediately clear which.

Band said in a statement that cameraman Santiago Andrade was taken to a hospital by police and underwent surgery. He is in serious condition.

It is the latest protest to hit Brazil since last June, when nationwide demonstrations broke out after a sharp police crackdown on a group in Sao Paulo that was marching against an increase in public transportation fares.

That increase was reversed in the face of protesters’ pressure.

Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes recently approved a 10-cent increase for bus fares starting this Saturday.

About 800 protesters had peacefully gathered on Thursday in central Rio before they started marching to the city’s main train station, some holding aloft signs condemning the billions of dollars spent to host the World Cup, money they want used for better hospitals, schools and infrastructure.

Clashes broke out inside the train station after demonstrators began jumping over turnstiles and police used batons and tear gas to disperse members of the Black Block anarchist tactic.

Police pushed the demonstrators outside and used more tear gas to disperse those gathered, while demonstrators hurled rocks at the officers.

Authorities were forced to close the station, leaving thousands of commuters stranded. Some bystanders were made ill by the tear gas, while others fainted.

Thais Jorao, a 22-year-old protester, said that demonstration was not simply because of the 10-cent bus fare hike.

“If it was a public transportation fare hike when we had good health services and education, you wouldn’t have this many people on the street,” he said.

“On top of this you see spending with the World Cup, things that we really don’t need. We want health, education, decent public transportation.”

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2014/02/rio-fare-hike-protests-turn-violent-20142722055180599.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-26077374

http://metronews.ca/news/world/934249/violent-clash-at-protest-in-rio-over-fare-hike/

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dgyl21inMY[/youtube]