Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2001 00:19:36 -0800
From: radman <resist-AT-best.com>
Subject: White Overalls from Finland -  document


 >Date: Wed, 14 Mar 2001
 >From: Antti Rautiainen <antti.rautiainen-AT-kolumbus.fi>
 >Subject: AUT: White Overalls from Finland -  document

 >Here is a document made by Finnish white overalls to
 >PGA meeting in Milan (I do not identify with this movement,
 >so you must turn questions to them - valkohaalarit-AT-ecn.org ).
 >
 >Antti R.
 >
 >Introduction and Proposals for the PGA s European Meeting (Milan 24-
 >25.03.2001)  White Overalls from Finland
 >
 >
 >Helsinki 26.01.2001
 >
 >The White Overalls from Finland
 >Introduction and Proposals for the PGA s European Meeting (Milan 24-
 >25.03.2001)
 >
 >The Finnish scene
 >
 >During the last year the Finnish radical scene has have some new
 >developments. Basically we have a differentiation between five major
 >positions:
 >
 >1) The "white overalls/zapatista" (referring at international level to the
 >white overalls movement) operating through five local groups.
 >2) The anarchist/AFA (referring at international level to AFA-networks and
 >syndicalism)
 >3) People involved in Attac Finland and Friends of Earth Finland
 >4) The Marxists (the Communist Youth League - connected to the Finnish
 >Communist Party - and the Socialist League - members of the IS, the
 >Trotzkyist international network)
 >5) People that participate to activities from a personal or affinity group
 >point of view
 >
 >During the past years Friend of Earth Finland has participated to the PGA s
 >activities.
 >
 >Differences
 >
 >The main differences between the anarchist/AFA groups and us - (it is
 >important to note that some of us are also anarchists) - is that our
position
 >is not strictly related to a particular ideology or a "flag". We are also
not
 >dogmatic regarding forms of political activities (participation to local
 >elections, contacts with institutional organizations as the Green Party
 >etc.). Our vision of processes of liberation is different than the position
 >expressed from some purist Finnish anarchists, but we also respect
 >differences. We believe that we can show at practical level that our choice
 >is the more functional one. We think that we do not have the need to explain
 >the differences between us, Marxists and Friends of Earth.
 >
 >Some anarchists in Finland also think that we are a hierarchically operating
 >group. Our opinion is that in direct action  direct action is the central
 >unifying point of our network - we need people who take responsibility. We
 >agree with the zapatistas idea of command obeying and obey commanding. As we
 >agree with the idea of marching and asking. As we agree with the idea that
 >all the responsibility position has to circulate. For us the idea of not
 >taking any individual responsibility is quite nave. Some of those anarchists
 >also think that we privilege the spectacular point of view and we organize
 >action for the media. That is true, but is true in part. We recognize the
 >importance of spectacle in the present society, but if the "street theatre
of
 >civil disobedience" is virtual, it is also true that, for example, the 19
 >people arrested in the civil disobedience action of December 6 and people
 >that have to go in hospital after the same direct action are real, not
 >virtual.
 >
 >Our activities in Finland and at global level
 >
 >As white overalls of Finland we have produced during the last year civil
 >disobedience acts regarding GMO and biotechnologies (photos:
 >http://kulma.net/vaikuttava/kuvat.php3?c=nayta&id=88 ) and, in particular,
we
 >have participated to the yellow block in Prague (photos at
 >http://kulma.net/vaikuttava/kuvat.php3?c=nayta&id=101 and indymedia ) and
 >produced the very first mass white overalls-style civil disobedience action
 >in Finland, with hundreds of participants, in December 6 in front of the
 >presidential palace in a demonstration connected to the Nizza EU-summit.
 >(Photos at http://kulma.net/vaikuttava/kuvat.php3?c=nayta&id=136)
 >
 >Some of us are also involved in the project of Indymedia Finland
 >(http://kulma.net/vaikuttava) and we are networked at global level with
 >different groups in Europe and abroad. We feel that our sister groups are Ya
 >Basta! in Italy (in particular in the North-East and Milan) and the white
 >overalls of Spanish State. We are also networked, directly or through Ya
 >Basta! with EZLN in Chiapas, Kein Mensch ist Illegal in Germany, and other
 >groups and network like the No Borders  network. Of course our people co-
 >operate at local level with many different Finnish groups.
 >
 >Our methods of struggle are non-violent, but at the same time we are not
 >Gandhian pacifists, and for this reason our civil disobedience is protected,
 >collective and organized. Our symbolical target is to show in the public
 >space (in the virtual "agora") that between constituted power (or our
 >enemies) and the constituent power of the multitude is located the violence
 >of states and governments.
 >
 >What are for us the white overalls?
 >
 >Our vision is that the white overalls are a ZAPATISTA symbol and a method
 >open to everyone. The equivalent of the Marcos balaclava or of the balaclava
 >of the 70 s in Italy. White overalls symbolized mainly two things:
 >
 >1. We are not the traditional blue-overall working class, but a new
 >postfordist productive subject
 >
 >2. We are the faceless or invisible of the society, and the white overalls
 >give us visibility in the spectacular / mediatic space.
 >
 >Together with the white overalls an other very central thing, that we would
 >like to underline in our actions, is that in the post-modern the body is the
 >weapon, the subject and the object of the political fight. That means that
we
 >have interiorized in our political practices the concept of biopolitics
 >derivate from the analysis of Michel Foucault and from feminism.
 >
 >Chiapas, The White Overalls Convention, Gothenburg and Genova
 >
 >For the white overalls network the main event of year 2001 is the Genova G8
 >of July. We have started the debate about the event and we expect in
Genova a
 >very massive mobilization and we will organize also a Finnish delegation
 >participating to the event.
 >
 >We think also that the Gothenburg EU Summit (15-16 June 2001) is very
 >important for our internal process of consolidation and definition of
 >political organization and in order to spread our form of struggle in the
 >Nordic Countries. We are intentioned to participate together with the
Finnish
 >scene to the Gothenburg event (and we invited all the groups involved in PGA
 >to participate). We mobilized together for Prague 200 person in September
 >2000 and we think that this is also our target for Gothenburg. Maybe even
 >more will join us. We also suppose that we can organize a non-violent civil
 >disobedience act of some dozens of white overalls. Of course is important
 >that the organizers of the event, and the Swedish scene think that our
 >proposal is acceptable.
 >
 >Our opinion is that our form of struggle  in Genova and Gothenburg - can be
 >a valid alternative between riots made at long distance from police with
 >stones and bottles, and the typical and ritual pacifist demonstration march.
 >We also would like to point the fact that for us open communication
regarding
 >civil disobedience is very important. We will show to medias and to
everybody
 >BEFORE the event our protections and we will explain our tactics. We will
 >also organize public training. Is very important to explain that we do not
 >accept the use of any offensive weapon (as sticks, stones and so) in our
 >activity.
 >
 >Not only Genova and Gothenburg are important event for us during the year
 >2001. Our representative will participate to the march of zapatista
 >commanders from Chiapas to Mexico City (February-march 2001) and we will
 >attend to the Convention of the white overalls in May in Italy. Of course we
 >will also do informative work in Finland related to all those events.
 >
 >Some political aspects of the Gothenburg and Genova mobilizations
 >
 >For us at present moment our struggle is first of all at global level. We
 >believe that the political space of nation-state is over and we try to
 >operate, together with our networks, at least at European level. This, in
 >order to say, that we are not against Europe and for nation-state, but we
are
 >for Europe (not EU), for a Europe of citizenship rights (right to income and
 >right to reappropriate means of production) and for an Europe of open
 >citizenship and freedom of circulation (for us European citizen is everyone
 >who live here - legally or illegally - independently of their origins). For
 >those reasons the items that we will put on the center of the mobilization
 >are:
 >
 >1) Freedom of movement and citizenship open to all
 >
 >2) Citizenship rights (universal income and free use of production
 >technologies  that means also no to the patents and no to copyright)
 >
 >Regarding Gothenburg and Genova  as for all the global mobilizations - we
 >understand the necessity to have a large platform of contents and
 >participants, but we think also that we are interested to give relevance to
 >some particular themes, in particular in order to avoid to being confused
 >with nationalist anti-globalization or anti-EU forces or with people who
 >fight for the "right to work" or other similar "socialist" demands. For us
is
 >very important to understand that we fight for a universal citizenship right
 >to income independently from job. We also think that the
 >antiracist/antifascist items have to be pointed out in a positive light as
 >for example struggle for freedom of circulation (and not only as a militant
 >fight against fascists). In finally we think that in the new European
 >political space we have to fight for more spaces of freedom, participation,
 >direct democracy and for more rights to the local communities. This is our
 >vision of federalism and Europe.
 >
 >For this reason protected, non-violent, active, and mass civil disobedience
 >is, according to our opinion, the right way to proceed. For us direct action
 >has  in Gothenburg and Genova - to enlarge consensus, has to involve new
 >sectors of civil society and not to be a vanguardist practice of small
groups
 >of persons. We think that we have to involve civil society in our activities
 >and not to be isolated in some violent practices.
 >
 >PGA
 >
 >Regarding the PGA we have to say that we are quite inexperienced with this
 >network. Some of us have participated to the ICC in the year 99 and to some
 >others PGA initiatives. For this reason we do not have a clear vision of the
 >future of the network. In any case we feel that we will like to be involved
 >in PGA s activities. We think also that if the white overalls network will
be
 >a cluster of affinity groups sharing more or less similar analysis and
 >methods, the function of the PGA is to be a more open forum involving also
 >other sectors of civil society and of the global movement (PGA as a
 >Consulta?). Under this point of view we think that PGA have to develop the
 >following aspect of discussion:
 >
 >1) The future of the global movement after the first phase of struggle
 >(enforces and formalizes internal organization? Opening to other sectors of
 >civil society? The zapatista s model of Consulta?
 >
 >2) Contents of the Gothenburg and Genova mobilizations (our proposal: open
 >citizenship and citizenship rights)
 >
 >3) New forms of global struggle after the recent problems in Prague, Nice
and
 >Davos with freedom of movement (in particular what we can do in order to
 >protest against imperial institution when they meet in very insulated places
 >like Qatar?)
 >
 >4) New forms of global struggle that are not over determined from the
 >imperials summits but are autonomously decided. In other words not only
 >reactive struggles, but offensive practices.
 >
 >Finnish white overalls
 >
 >Zapata vive - la lucha sigue !!!