In the last months the environmental movement in Bulgaria started to look something like the beginning of a movement indeed. There had been street blockades, big demonstrations and many other smaller and larger actions of various kinds throughout the country. We are using the word “movement”, because all of a sudden different actions were organized from many different groups and individuals and the struggles went a bit out of the NGOs into a level that is more close to the grassroots forms of organizing, but still the whole thing was working close to the NGOs. It felt like all that increase in actions and all that came all of a sudden, but the truth is that what is going on now is a result of years of hard work behind. We will try to give a brief explanation of the processes that are going on here from our very subjective and somewhat anti-authoritarian perspective, so have in mind that there are many other opinions of what is going on here.
Now let’s look of what has influenced the recent developments. In the last year – 2006 – there had been two large and somewhat successful campaigns that were coming not only from the NGOs, but from different grassroots initiatives as well.
What happened in Popinci?
For some years now there has been a project from one Canadian corporation for the creation of a cyanide gold mine near a village called Popinci. The people there have been resisting the project, because of various reasons. Mainly it is the understanding of the local people about that the large multinational company, that is trying to undertake the developmental project, would only use them as cheap labor in order to be able to exploit the gold in the mine as fast as possible, the natural environment in the area will be destroyed and there will be potential health problems for them and their children. There have been nearly identical cases in other countries (Rosia Montana in Romania for example) and the people in Bulgaria were very aware of them and thus of the results of similar developmental projects in other places. Speaking about the resistance it is good to know here that apart from the grassroots initiatives in Popinci and the other villages of the area, the struggle against the cyanide gold mine was supported from various environmental NGOs, individual activists (both bulgarian as well as international) as well as from the local authorities. It is important to note that the vast majority of the local people were against the project, there was a local referendum and something like 97% voted against it.
When in July 2006, against the will of the people, in the region the project started its initial work about two hundred people went on a barricade to stop them, the state had send riot police (gendarmerie), which was not finally send to attack the blockade, but some people from the mafia did. There were some clashes with the “security” forces, and one person from the village was stabbed with knife almost to death after being on the blockade. The official police statement about the murder attempt is that he had committed attempt for suicide, because of private problems - a proof of the cooperation between the state, the police, the mafia and the investors. In the end, after 36 days of constant blockade the company went away and temporarily canceled the project.
The most recent update on the case that we have is that on 25th of April 2007 there was information that the company might be trying to start the project again. The people there once again seem to be ready to fight.
The same problem emerged in Rodopi Mountain, where the corporation Dundee Precious Metals wants to create another cyanide gold mine.
What happens with “Da Spasim Irakli” (To Save Irakli)?
The other big campaign last year was the case with “Da Spasim Irakli”. While it might have not been as successful as the case with the mine in terms of its own goals, it has succeeded to a much great extend to influence the environmental movement in Bulgaria.
Irakli is a protected natural area next to one small village at the black sea coast. It is very popular because many alternative people use the beach there for “illegal” camping; it’s still very preserved nature with many rare and “supposed to be protected by the state” species of both animals and plants. In the beginning of last year there was information that there is a project of the construction of a resort village near to the beach. Apart from that the beach is important for a lot of people who go camping there, most of the society in Bulgaria is very angry of what is going on in the seaside – overdevelopment: huge hotels and resort areas, result of which is the destruction of environment and the impossibility of people to have a quiet and calm holidays between the huge concrete sites.
“Da Spasim Irakli” (To Save Irakli) started as a grassroots initiative in the support of that beach, first spreading call-outs in the internet, but pretty fast it grew to a very big campaign and a lot of people showed solidarity with and it became a symbol of environmental struggles and the anger of people. There were many kinds of actions and the people from the group “Da Spasim Irakli” managed to have a very successful PR campaign with the mass media and the struggle received a very strong and also positive to some extend mass media attention. The group is working closely with the environmental NGOs and many of the active people are actually working in some of them. That is why probably most of the people accepted the idea that in order to actually save Irakli their chance is to use the two directives of the European Union (Bulgaria became part of EU in 2007) forming the network of Natura2000 (I will brief that network below). The limited success in the struggle itself was that the State had freeze any developments in the area for an year and while people were hoping that this would be extended, very recently the State has removed the territories where the developmental project is to take place and the construction might soon begin as the company is already preparing. Probably the most extreme cases were when some private security forces had destroyed some small infrastructures (like little tables, benches, places for fire etc.) there, which had been made by the people who had been using the beach “illegally” throughout the years, and the other one is when the backpacks of some people who were camping there were burnt.
All of the building projects in Irakli are approved and soon will start. One of the projects is financed by AKB Forest, led by former member of the communist regime.
I mentioned the EU Network NATURA2000 and that many activists (both NGO and grassroots) have accepted it as the only chance to protect the natural environment. But what is it briefly? It is basically a network that is supposed to exist in all EU member states consisting of protected territories, where the survivor of a certain part of some endangered species has to be observed and it is backed by two EU directives. The territories themselves had to be offered by experts from the NGOs and the state to approve them. Last year a large campaign started with the idea to back up the territories that had been proposed by the NGOs to the State and what happened in the end is that the State had accepted a much lower percentage than what the NGOs had expected. The effectiveness of NATURA2000 network could of course be arguable.
The case with Stranja in the summer of 2007
This is where most certainly everyone here felt a change. On 29 June the status of the natural park Stranja had been removed by the High Court Council, after the company that started the trial – “Crash2000” – won the trial it had started few months before. Natural Park Stranja is may be the one with the most wildlife and preserved natural environment here so it was not unexpected that people got so angry. Very soon after the news different protests in different cities took place. The first 3 of them were the so called “flash mobs”. On the second protest about 400 people blockaded the main crossroad in the capitol Sofia for 30-40 minutes. 35 people were arrested. Different actions went on throughout all the country for some weeks, and even there were no more blockades, many of the actions were “without permit”, which here is considered a bit as a revolutionary act. The number of actions for such a short time, the fact that they were happening everywhere in the country as well as the way they were organized, was something that was unseen here after (and surely at the times of) the bolshevist dictatorship. This campaign managed to cause some pressure towards the state and in the end there was a decision by the Parliament that lead to the “return” of the status of Natural Park Stranja. This was very inspiring for people as they saw a direct effect of their actions, but still that was no victory first because on the way that it was made – the law the Parliament passed is very arguable – as well as that now the situation with the illegal construction of the hotel by “Crash2000” is just what it used to be two months ago. Still people went on passed that and accepted their struggle as a struggle for the entire natural environment in Bulgaria. On the day of the decision of the Parliament there was probably one of the biggest demonstrations in the recent history of Bulgaria, which was organized without the involvement of any of the authoritarian structures, where more than 2000 marched in Sofia to say “Nature, Not Concrete”. The struggle is really going towards a direction of expansion in order to be able to cover all the environmental and nature preserving topics on a nation-wide level.
There are a lot of other and even bigger building projects (“Super Borovetz” and “Panichishte” in Rila Mountain). The investors here are also big corporations, which come from off-shore zones and work with local capitalists with totalitarian past. The protests against them already started – on 29th of August another crossroad was blocked for an hour. One person with his two dogs was arrested for no reason.
What is the position of the anarchists in all this?
(No “official” position, but collectives such as “Katarzis”, autonomous anti-authoritarian group “AnarhoSaprotiva”, “Ecotopia” infoshop in Razgrad, who try to work closely together very positive, trying to help with little things and to show solidarity.)
Certainly there are lots of people with different forms of horizontal views within the movement, but we have to acknowledge the fact that it is not the only case. There have been talks about the formation of a new political party by some of the NGO leaders (they see it as a way to make a change), some people were speaking on behalf of the movement etc ... As well there is a huge difference between the NGOs, like for example environmental association “Za Zemiata” (“For The Earth”) - the only horizontalist NGO in Bulgaria, often seems to be interested in forms of direct action, helps with and organizes street protests and actions, works together with grassroots activist groups initiatives (such as RoR-Samba band Sofia), etc, while there are those NGOs that are very professionally oriented (like ecology or different animals etc) and there are those which are really authoritarian and tied with the authority as well... But at the moment there is no open conflict between views and they coexist together as people are trying to find solutions. In its roots this movement is from below, even though the thinking of most of the people involved is not so radical.
The movement has also some problems. A lot of the people are in some way with patriotically-nationalistic thinking (some even singing the national anthem on the biggest protest), which is a potential problem. The depolitisation of politics is another problem - a lot of people from the eco-movement define themselves as apolitical, turn quite easily to simplistic right wing solutions (“free market” promises, EU savior from above or nationalistic nonsense) and try to find solutions within the capitalist system.
Environmental problems are more than what people could cover, so the only way to succeed would be when the movement understands that it has to be part of a wider movement of the struggle against capitalism.
August2007
autonomous anti-authoritarian group “AnarhoSaprotiva”
from http://noborderscamp.org:
As long as the US/Mexico border has existed, people having been struggling against it. The border itself is a colonial war monument and it continues to be the site of a not-so-low intensity war. It is a boundary marking an internal space of fear, control and domination over people, while simultaneously allowing for the unrestricted movement of capital and wealth. This border regime--like the border regimes in Mexico, Israel, Spain and more--is a system of apartheid.
For years around the world people have been tearing down fences, freeing detainees and fighting for autonomy. A global movement against borders and migration controls is rising. One of many tactics in this movement is the no borders camp - a space for direct action and building community. Join us for a transnational no borders camp on the Mexico/US border. Celebrate global days of action for freedom of movement on the 18th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall...
We are currently an informal network of collectives, working groups, and individuals, in many cities, on both sides of the border. We are planning a no borders action camp for the second week of November 2007, in the region of Calexico and Mexicali.
The PGA hallmarks are the basic points of unity for the mobilization. See below.
The camp is intended to be a spectacular intervention in a discourse that at times ignores, and at other times justifies, the systematic violence, indignity and exploitation experienced by migrants in the United States, Mexico, and across the world. The mobilization will bring many of us together in one place to share, learn and take action. It is of equal importance that it not be just one isolated event that lasts a few days in one location. We view this mobilization as a process and we hope to further link this mobilization with other powerful events and processes such as the G8, the Other Campaign, the US Social forum and the Anti-RNC organizing. It is also intentionally, and somewhat inevitably, a process of creating an anti-capitalist network for freedom of movement.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
For this mobilization to be a success, groups and individuals from a diversity of locales and experiences must make this project their own. Groups and individuals are encouraged to take initiative and start now. For instance you could: organize an encuentro in your city. Go to an upcoming one that is already planned. Distro what we have, or make new propaganda. Organize a fundraiser. Start working on media and art. Start talking strategy and action with your affinity group. Contact us and come visit some collectives and individuals working in the region. Maybe stay for a while.
Check the email contact page to get more info.
HALLMARKS:
- A very clear rejection of capitalism, imperialism and feudalism; all trade agreements, institutions and governments that promote destructive globalisation;
- We reject all forms and systems of domination and discrimination including, but not limited to, patriarchy, racism and religious fundamentalism of all creeds. We embrace the full dignity of all human beings.
- A confrontational attitude, since we do not think that lobbying can have a major impact in such biased and undemocratic organisations, in which transnational capital is the only real policy-maker;
- A call to direct action and civil disobedience, support for social movements' struggles, advocating forms of resistance which maximize respect for life and oppressed peoples' rights, as well as the construction of local alternatives to global capitalism;
- An organisational philosophy based on decentralisation and autonomy.
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2007 No Borders Camp Contact
General Web: http://noborderscamp.org or http://deletetheborder.org
Local Organizing Contacts
San Diego
Email: nobordercamps(at)gmail[d0t]com / o contra.las.fronteras(at)gmail[d0t]com
Mexicali
Email: ningunserhumanoesilegal(at)gmail[d0t]com
Tucson
Email: info(at)blac[d0t]detritus[d0t]net / Web: http://blac.detritus.net/
Orange County
Email: basecollective(at)riseup[d0t]net / Web: http://myspace.com/basecollectives
Los Angeles
Email: burridge(at)usc[d0t]edu
Announcement List / Lista para Anunciar
A general, low traffic list for information about events which are part of the process of the 2007 No Borders Camps.
Una lista general con pequeno trafico con información sobre events que estan parte del processo de los Campamentos Contra Fronteras 2007.
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29.May.07 - From 19th to 24th September 07 we will gather at Gatwick Airport for the first No Border Camp in the UK. This camp will be a chance to work together to try and stop the building of a new detention centre, and to gather ideas for how to build up the fight against the system of migration controls.
Gatwick is a border in the middle of Britain. People arrive here everyday. People are forcibly deported from here everyday. It is a place where people are imprisoned for unlimited lengths of time without trial, where people are forced to hide underground and be invisible, where people are treated as criminals for the 'crime' of crossing the border.
In Britain, the government has recently announced its intention to build a new detention centre, near Tinsley House, another detention centre at Gatwick airport. This will be another in a long line of barbarous prisons across the world, imprisoning people who migrate. Unless we stop it from being built.
Not far from Gatwick there are other border fortifications: the immigration reporting centre at Croydon, the airline companies who charter deportation flights and the ID Interview centre in Crawley. And a few miles away are the border posts at Dover and Folkstone, where fear of detection by the border police forces people to risk their lives hiding under lorries, or in suffocating containers.
While the physical borders get fortified, governments also tighten up the internal controls: from international databases to video surveillance, biometric ID cards to electronic tagging. Just recently, the UK government has announced the introduction of the Sirene System. This will grant Britain access to the SIS (Schengen Information System), a EU wide police database for refugees and migrants, planned to be extended to keep protesters from moving around.
How does daily life, from the need to work for survival to the welfare system, reinforce these borders? How can we fight against the common acceptance of borders, the idea of an inside and outside? How can we claim freedom of movement as a basic right? How do we assert our ability to decide whether to go or stay, according to our needs and desires, not the needs of the state or the economy? How can we escape control, and start building a movement powerful enough to challenge the divisions between people?
We need to share knowledge with those who have broken these borders, the hackers who escape control, those who survive without work and money, those who fight the detention system , those who question identities, those who have learnt to organise themselves without hierarchy or divisions.
This camp is continuing the tradition of the No Border camps across the world since the late 1990s, and like the camps taking place this year in the Ukraine in August and on the US/Mexican border in November. It will be a space to share information, skills, knowledge and experiences. A place to plan actions together against the system of borders which divides us.
We are aware that the struggles for "no borders" reach far beyond "open borders". Without borders the idea of states will become obsolete, without states the national economies will be history. In a world without borders, nobody will ask for papers anymore.
The camp will also be a laboratory of political and practical self-organisation. The camp will consist only of people's contributions to this. We are aware of the borders which divide ourselves from each other, be it sex, class, race, nationality, or whatever. The border camps are experiments in how to overcome these artificial and separating identities.
No Borders is a network of groups struggling for the freedom of movement for all and an end to all migration controls. We call for a radical movement against the system of control, dividing us into citizens and non-citizens.
We demand the end of the border regime for everyone, including ourselves, to enable us to live another way, without fear, racism and nationalism.
We move, we meet. We talk, we fight. Come camp with us.
more information: more information at noborders.org.uk | Contact: g-anbc2007@riseup.net
