arm the spirit - 4 unpublished pieces

8/14/2019 Arm The Spirit - 4 Unpublished Pieces

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Arm The Sp i r i t#18 - Fall2000

M i l i t a n t e Z e l l e o m m u n i q u eArso n Attack O n Th e Bundesgrenzschutzinspektion (B G S) Grunewald/Cordestrasse In BerlinO u r a t tack on a B G S [ G e r m a n y ' s f e d e r al b o r de r po l i ce-A T S ] s t r u c t u r e h a s a s i t s a im to exp o s e t h i s rac is t i n s ti tu t i on and to nam e i t as s u c h .W e h o p e thatwec a u s e dasm u c h d a m a g easpos s ib le , a n d t h e r eb y s h o w e d p e o p lethat s u c hp ro jec t s of the ru l i n g p o w e r s c a nber e s i s t e d .T h is shou ld mo t i va te o the rstoca r ryout a c t ionsas w e l l . Desp i t e be ing inatimeofre la t ive inac tivity, mi l i tan t in tervent ions are an i n d i s p e n s a b l e m e a n sofe xpand ingthe le f t - rad ica l exper i e n c e ofr e s i s t a n c eanda c t ingwith de te rmina tionagains t t he ru l i ng cen te rs ofpowe r .Wewi l lno t leto u r s e l v esbe i n f l uencedby the p resen ts ta te te r ror i s t campa ig n aga ins t a l l eged m em bersof theRevo lu t iona ry C e l l s (RZ) andRo teZ o r a . Militant an t i - rac is t po l i t i csi s andwi l lalw a y s be e m a n c i p a t o r y . An y form ofcr imina l iza t ionord iscred i t ingofan t i - rac is t wo rkby the ru l i ng p o w e r s s h o u l d o nl y i n c r e a s e ourdeterminat ion to con t in ue .Wewi l l no tbein t imid a t e d : OnD e c e m b e r 19, 1999, a na t ionwideea r l y mo rn ing ac t ion by f ede ra l po l i ce , t he B G S ,th e G S G 9 , andl o ca l a u tho r i t i e s resu l t ed in arres t sand ra idsonl ef t is t s t r u c t u res dueto s u p p o s e d c o n n e c t i o n sto the m il i tan t g rou ps Revo lut ionary C e l l s a n d R o t e Z o r a . J u d g i n g fromthem a s s i v e med ia c ove rag e g ivento t hese ra ids ,t he a r res toft h ree peop le on cha r ges of" m e m bersh ip in ate rror is t as s oc ia t i on " w a s a nattemptt o l e g i ti m i z e t h e s e r a i d s on l ef t i s t es t a b l i s h m e n t s .

T h i s aim of t h i s s t a t e s e c u r i t y a c t i o ni sc lea r : F i rs t ly ,to c o m p l e te l y e r a s ea le f t - rad ica lp r o j e c t w h i c h h a s l on g b e e n i n a c t i v e, n a m e l ythe Revo lu t iona ry C e l l s an dth eR o t e Z o r a ,andt o m a k eit ofno u s etot h o s eofu s w h o r e m a i nin thes o c i a l -r e v o l u t i o n a r yand an t i - impe r ia l i s tp r o c e s sofs t r ugg le .

S e c o n d l y , to nip in the bud anyformofcont inuing mi l i tan t r es i s t anc eaga ins t the s ta te ' sr a c i s t p o l i c i e sof s e l e c t i o nan ddepo r ta t ion , ap r o c e s s largely init iated by theR Z sin the mid-1 9 8 0 s .

Th ird ly ,thes t a te ,bym e a n sof itsa c t ion ,is s e n d i n ga s igna lthats t a te rep r ess ion aga ins tmi l i tan t or a r m e d a c t i o n s w i ll r e m a i n u n i n t e r r u p ted , even af t er many yea r s have p a s s e d ,ino rde rto in t imidate and demo ra l ize allf o r m sofl e f t i s t res is tance .

Th e p r i n c i p l eof theR Z s , n a m e ly toformmany , independen t r es i s t anc e ce l ls a n d a u t o n o mou s g rou p * , i s s t il l app l i cab le t oday : "W e r ea l iz e thatthec o n c e p tof f o rming ind iv id ua l ce l l sisa long-term anddif f iculteffort. B u t i f wor thi t , b e c a u s eit b u i l d s u p o n the self-init iat iveandse l f - responsib i l i ty o f the mi l i tan ts , and itp reven tsfunct iona l iza t ion andd i v i s ionsof labor .The res i s t anc e d o e snotbeg inwith p lan t ing bombs .Iti n v o l v e s a th o u s a n d l e v e l s of a c t i o n . "( 'Revo lu t ionae re r Z om'#5)T h i sformof mil i tanto rgan iza t ion iss t i ll r e le v a n t t o d ay , b e c a u s e itp r e v e n t s anyform of h i e r a r c h y a r i s i n g in themi l i tan t s t r ugg le and t he reby d isp lays its ownemanc ipa to ry po ten t ia l . Itcanno t be den ied thatt h e R Z s a n d t he R o t e Z o r a took mil i tant anti-rac i s mas an em a n c i p a t o r y p r o j e c t a m o n g the

leftand gave i t p ub l i c e x p o s u r e ." If abou t b reak ing t h rough thed ay - t o -d a y a c c e p t a n c eof rac is tan d s ex i s tn o t i o n s , m a k in g o u r s e l v e s m o r e s e n s ib le , and be ing ab leto in terveneat allpolit icall ev e l s . "This is atheoretical andpractical process which

cannot be laid outindividually, flatand smooth,but rather which must be gradually worked outby people from the anti-imperialist resistance,with refugees, andwith immigrants. Inthiswayinternational solidarity can become real. (ext rac tfrom t h e c o m m u n i q u e o n t h e a t ta c k o ntheA u s l a e n d e r a m t ' inB o b l i n g en , A u g u s t1991)

Th e R Z s a n d R o t e Z o r a h a v e s h o w nthatana t ionwide , c landes t ine ne two rk c an bec o n t i n u o u s l y a b l e to i n d e p e n d e n t l y i n t e r v e n e in ana r m e d andm i l i tan t m anne r ina c t u a l po l i t i ca lcon f ron ta t ions , or to e v e n p u s h c e r t ai n q u e s t i onsto thef o reg roun d w i t h in the( rad ica l ) lefti tself . Fore x a m p l e , the d e b a t e s a b o u t r ac i s m ,g e n e t e c h n o l o g y , h u m a n g e n e t i c s ,and so on,in theea r l y 1990s , bo th ins ideand o u t s i d etheRZ , an dthef o rm a t ion oft he Ro te Z o ra . Thes eleftag rea t l egac y f o r t he rad ica llefti n Ge rm any ,which every mi l i tan t o r armed in i t ia t ive today cand raw on in bo th concep t iona l and p rac t i ca l way s .A l s o , th e R o t e Z o r a ,a f emin is t m i l it an t g rou pw h i c h a r o s efromtheR Z , s h o w e dthatw o m e n /l es b ians can se l f -o rgan ize an independen t revo l u t i ona ry s t r ugg le ,a c r i t i ca l d i s tancefrom pa t r i a r c h a l s t r u c t u r e s w i th i n thes c e n e , andi n jec tthe i r own posi t io ns in to s i ng le - i s s ue m o v e m e n t s( fo r exam p le , t hei r bom b a t t ack on t he L u e r s s e nsh ipya rd in su ppo r toft h e w o m e n i n t h e K u r d i s hl ibera tion s t r u gg le ) . The s ta te t e r ro ri s t cam pa ignaga ins t a l l e g e d m e m b e r s oft h e RZ andthe i ra r r e s t , asw e l l as the ra id on the Meh r ingho fcom p lex in Be r l i n ,ap l a c e w h i c h i s h o m e t o v a r i ou s po l i t ica l in i t ia t ives, wa s anattempt to in t imida te ther a d i c a l left an d to cr im ina l ize mi l i tan tan t i - rac i s m . Le f t i s tandle f t - rad ica l po l i t ics areto bes i l enc ed .Thebann ingof th e L u x e m b u r g -L iebknech t Demons t ra t ion onJ a n u a r y9,2000s h o u l d a l s obe s e e nint h i s w ay . Ano the r d i s g u s t i n g e x a m p l e is the s ta te 's shoot - to -k i l l po l icywh ich i s s ti l line f f ec t aga ins t t he RA F.

In the R Z ' s " F r e e F l o o d s " c a m p a i g n ,inaddit ion toma te r ial a t t acks on ins t it u t i ons wh ichrep resen tthe rac is t soc ia l - t echn ic a l appa ra t u s ,a formofa c t io n w a s c h o s e n w h i c h h i ts t h isap p a r at u s w h e r e it h u r t sthe m o s t . T h i sformofa c ti o n w a stoe x p o s ethep e o p l e w h otry to rem a i n a n o n y m o u s b e h i n dthef a c a d eofth isapp a r a t u s , to g i v e t h e s e i n d i v i d u a l s n a m e s andf a c e s , and to h ol d t h e m r e s p o n s i b l efor the i rpo l i c i es by m e a n sof d i r e c t , p h y s i c a l at t a c k s .Fo r e x a m p l e , the a c t i o n s a g a i n s t b u r e a u c r a c ych ie f Ho l lenbe rger in O c tob e r 1986 and Be r l i n ' sch ie f admin is t ra t i ve j udge Ko rbmache rin S e p t embe r 1987 we r e no t i n tended as ac t sofpolit ical l iqu idat ion .Theintent of t h e s e a c t io n s w a sra ther t o gu a ran teethatt h e s e r a c i s t b u r e a u c r a t ss u r v i v e d . B e c a u s ethe RZwe re ne i th er m i l i tar i s t no r " u n s c r u p u l o u s " ,butthey feltit w a spo

l i ti cal l y u se f u l to i n j u re and t he reby pub l i c l yexp o s e t h e s e f a c e l e s s t e c h n o c r a t s ,in o r d e r tomake the i r f unc t ions mo re c lea r l y knownto thep u b l i c .D o S o m e t h i n g ?DoS o m e t h i n g

Today mo re t han eve r ,th eB G Sis an ap propr ia te ta rget for mi l itan t ant i - rac is t po l i t ics .Itis a s y m b o lofa g g r e s s i v e r a c i s m in aninst i t ut i onal i zed f o r m. The appa ra t u soft h e B G S h a sdeve loped in the 1990s in toal og is t i ca l andorganizat iona l ly e f f ic ien t inst rumentof r ep res s ion .N o w a d a y s ,all ofG e r m a n y is c o n s i d e r e d b o r der territory by t he B G S a n d i s t h u s to be c o n t ro l l ed . Coope ra t ion among s ta te agenc ies , aswe l l as the i n c r e a s i n g u s eof c o m p u t e r s , h a v em a d e t he B G Sa cen te rofr a c i s t e x c l u s i o n andr e p r e s s i v e p r a x i s . TheB G S f u n c t io n sas ani n s t r umen t ofthe v i r tu a l abo l i t ionof the r igh ttoa s y l u m and,b e c a u s eof its respons ib i l i t yforbo rde r con t ro landdepo r ta t ions , is to be he ldpo l i t i ca l l y respons ib le . " (Militant G r o u p A a m i rM o h a m e d A h m e d A g e e b '-J u n e9,1 9 9 9 ) B a c ki n O c t o b e r 1 9 9 3 , the RZb o m b e d an e lec t r i cpowe r s ta t ion wh ich supp l ied powe rto the B G Sb a r r a c k s i n F rank f u r t /Ode r , and in t hei r com m u n i q u eon thea c t ion t hey exp la inedthef unc t iono fthe B G S w it h in theS c h e n g e n A g r e em e n f s y s t e m . Th e RZ we r e we l l ahead o f the i rtimeinhigh l igh t ing th is over looked inst i tut ion as a poten t ia l ta rget for mi l i tan t ant i - rac is t po l i t ics .Th e po l i ti cal a tmos phe re in th i s cou n t ry isc r e ating a b r o a d a c c e p t a n c eoft he rac is t p rac t i ceso f th e B G S ,for e x a m p l e by d r a w i n g in s u c ht h e m e s as p ro tec t ing the e n v i r o n m e n t at thelocal , na t iona l , reg iona l , o r even g loba l leve l in toa b r o a d e r c o n c e p tofsecur i t y .Thep r e s e n t s c i e nt if ic d i s c o u r s e c l a i m sthat r i s ing g loba l populat ion ismain ly to b l a m efor thedes t ruc t ionoft he env i ronmen t , andthatth isint u rn i s c rea t inga " p r e s s u r eto m ig ra te " . Butm ig ra tion a c r o s sb o r d e r s ist u r ned in to a s e c u r i t y p r o b l e m bec a u s e it e x p o s e s s oc ia l p rob lems a lM(fc .as e thni c t e n s i o n sandi n su f f i c ien t s o c i a l in tegra t ion .In s u c h s c e n a r i o s , alls oc ia l c r is is p h e n o m e n aa r e t r an s f o r m e d i n to s e c u r i t y q u e s t i o n sto bea n s w e r e d withthe appropr ia te m i l i ta ry and par ami l i ta ry inst i t ut ions. Insteadof s t ra teg iesofs o c ia l pac i f ica t ionori n t eg ra t ion M pand in g s e c u rityp o li ti c al m e a s u r e san^Bttl p u s h e d m o r est rong ly in tothe foregrou^Hf

At ano the r leve l , refuses a r e s u b j e c t e dto anyn u m b e roft y p e sofpoo r t rea tmen t .Fore x a m p l e , war r e f u g e e s in B e r l i n h a v e b e e nt r e a t e d in a p a r t i c u l a r l y i n h u m a n m a n n e rbys oc ia l i n s t i t u t i ons ,withthe aid of the G e r m a nRe d C r o s s . They a re f o rced toea t s t range fooda n d m a n y no l onge r rece iv e any f i nanc ia l as s i s t anc e wha tso eve r . Desp i t e hu nge rs t r i kes ando the r po l i t i ca l i n i t i a t i ves by ther e f u g e e s ,theau tho r i t i e s havenotc h a n g e d t h ei r w a y s .W e are inso l idar i tywiththes t r u g g l e sbyr e f u g e e s A n d w e h o p ethatwe c an deve lop t oge the rintoapo l i ti ca l f o rce , desp i t e t he m any mi s takesand con t rad ic t ionsin ourpo l i t ics .Ourp rax isofmi l i t an t an t i - rac ism is our ownpos i t i onand


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Arm The Sp i r i t #18 - Fa l l2000our con t r i bu t i on .F r e e d o m F o r A x e l , H ar a l d , A n d S a b i n eA g a i n s t R a c i s t P o l i c i e s O f S e l e c t i o n A n d D e por t a t i onT h e 8 P r i s o n e r s F r o m T h e R A F M us t B e R e l e a s e d - Uncon d i t i ona l lyFo r F r e e F l o o d sMilitant C e l lBer l i n - January 16 , 2000(T rans la t ed by Arm The Sp i r i t )

The Revo lu t i onary C e l l s ( R Z ) :A C h r o n o lo g y O f R e p r e s s i o nAugus t 1978 - Fo l l ow ing invo lun t a ry s t a t ement sb y b l in d e d R Z m e m b e r F e il i n g , a G e r m a n f e d e r a l c o u r t i s s u e d a r r e s t w a r r a n t s f o r S a b i n eE c k l e ,R u d o l f Sch ind le r ,S o n j a S u d e r , a n d C h r i s t i an G a ug er , who a re a l l eged by po l i ce to b e t heF r a n k f u r t c e l l o f th e R Z . T h e fo u r g o u n d e r g round. Tarek [ s ee be low ] l a t e r t e l l s po l i cethatS c h i n d l e r an d E c k l e l i v e d i n B e r l i n - K r e u z b e r gfrom a round 1985 t o a round 1990.O c t ober 26 , 1986 - The ch ie f o f t he Fore igners 'D i v i s i o n o f t h e b u r e a u c r a c y [ t h e' A u s l a e n d e r b e h o e r d e ' ] i n B e r l i n , H a r a l dHo l lenberg , i s s ho t i n t he l eg s ou t s ide h i s ho mein Zeh lendor f . Th e po l i ce s u s p ec t a man and awomen car r i ed ou t t he a t t ack , with o t her m ena c t i n g a s l o o k o u t s . T h e e s c a p e v e h i c l e , aV o l k s w a g e n P a s s a t , i s la t e r d i s c o v e r e d inf l ames . Ho l l enberg no t on ly purs ued a hard l i nea s h e a d o f t h e ' A u s l a e n d e r b e h o e r d e ' , h e a l s ow a s g u i lt y o f a c c e p t i n g b r i b e s a n d w a s e v e n t ua l l y f o rced t o res ign from h i s pos t .February 1 , 1987 - Bomb a t t ack by t he R Z ont he ' Zen t ra le Soz ia lh i l fs t e l l e f uer As y lbew erber 'i n B e r li n . T h e a t t a c k c a u s e d o n l y m i n o r d a m age, bu t a l a te r f i rebombing by t he Revo lu t i ona r y V i r u s e s / Y o u t h O r g a n i z a t i o n o f t h e R Zburned t he bu i l d ing t o t he g round.S e p t e m b e r 1 , 1 9 8 7 - T h e R Z a tt a c k G u n t e rK o r b m a c h e r , C h i e f J u s t i c e o f t h e F e d e r a l A d m i n i s t r at i v e C o u r t . T h e 6 1 - y e a r - o l d w a s s h o tt w i c e i n t h e t h ig h a s h e left h i s h o u s e . Th ep o l i c e s u s p e c t t w o p e o p l e e a r n e d o u t t h e a t t ack and t hen f l ed on a mot orcyc le . The mot or c y c l e ,with a f ake number t ag , was la t e r f oundn e a rb y . K o r b m a c h e r ' s r u li n g s a s j u d g e i n c l u d edo n e w h i c h s t a t e d that t he o ppres s ion o f Tami l sw a s n o t s y s t e m a t i c a n d that t h e r e f o r e e a c ha s y l u m c a s e had t o be judged ind i v idua l l y . Healso s p o k e o u t in f a v o r o f t i g h te n in g G e r m a n y ' sa s y l u m l a w s ; h e w a s w e l l a h e a d o f t h e t i m e s i nd o in g s o .Dec em ber 18 , 1987 - Na t ionw ide po l i ce ra idsaga ins t t he RZ an d Rot e Zora res u l t in 33 a r r es t s , i nc lud ing t he a r res t o f U l l a Pens e l i n andIngr id St rob l . Fo ur peop le, inc luding Ul l i D i l lmann,T h o m a s K r a m , a n d C o r i n n a K a w a t e r s , a v o i dt he ra ids and go un derg rou nd.A p r i l 1 9 8 8 - T h e p o l i c e c o n f i s c a t e a c a r inDah lem wh ich had been s t o len in Aug us t 1987.It con t a ins 3kg o f exp lo s i ves , a ga s cann is t e r ,a n a l ar m c l o c k , t w o m o t o r c y c l e h e l m e t s , t w oj o g g i n g p a n t s , t w o w i n d j a c k e t s , a n d s e v e r a l

b a g s . T h e c a r i s s a i d t o h a v e b e e n a n R Z e s c a p e veh ic le . The exp los i ve d id no t i gn i t e.O c t o b e r 1 9 8 8 - T h e F e d e r a l P r o s e c u t o r ' s O f f i c e d r o p s i t s i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f S c h i n d l e r a n dEc k l e .J u n e 1989 - Ingr id St robl is s e n t e n c e d to 5 yea rsi n p r i s o n f o r " s u p p o r t i n g a t e r r o r i s t a s s o c i a t i on" . L a t e r t h e s e n t e n c e i s r e d u c e d to 3 y e a r s .J a n u a r y 1 99 1 - R u d o l f S c h i n d l e r a n d S a b i n eE c k l e r e a p p e a r o n t h e w a n t e d p o s t e r s .J a n u a r y 1991 - Fa i l ed a t t ack on t he Soc ia lMin-is t ry in the s tate of North R h i n e - W e s t p h a l i a a n dt h e S t a t e C h a n c e l l o r ' s O f f i c e i n D u s s e l d o r f .S o o n t he reaf t e r , t he c e l l res pons ib le f o r t hes eac t i ons anno un ces it s d i s s o lu t i on , and t he endof the R Z beg in s .F e b r u a r y 1 99 1 - B o m b a t t a c k o n t h e' S i e g e s s a e u l e ' war monument i n Ber l i n i n p ro t es t aga ins t the G u l f W ar .J u n e 1 9 9 1 - F i r e b o m b s i g n i te d i n s i d e t h e R e i c h s t a g ' i n B e r l i n a s a n R Z p r o t e s t a g a i n s tt h e p l a n n ed m o v e o f G e r m a n y ' s c ap i t a l b a c k t oBer l in .Ju l y 1991 - Th e Revo lu t i on ary C e l l s f i r e b o m btw o K a i s e r ' s s u p e r m a r k e t s , s i n c e t he cha in hasp l a n s to c o n s t r u c t a n e w s u p e r m a r k e t o n t h es i te o f t h e f o r m e r R a v e n s b r u c k c o n c e n t r a ti o nc a m p .N o v e m b e r 1 9 9 2 - S e v e r a l h o m e s a n dw o r k p l a c e s a r e s e a r c h e d b y p o l i c e in B e r l i n .P o l i c e s u s p e c t o n e B e r l i n r es i d e n t is a m e m b e ro f th e R Z a n d p a r t i c ip a t ed i n t h e K o r b m a c h e ra t t ack . The inves t i ga t i ons a re l a t e r c l o s e d ,l a t e March 1995 - Th e Feder a l A t t o rney ' s O f f i c e ( B A W ) c l a i m that t w o y o u t h s s t o l e t w od o z e n s p a c k e t s o f t h e e x p l o s i v e G e l a m o n 4 0as we l l as 4 .15m o f f us e w i re from a cel lar inP r e n z l a u e r B e r g .ear l y Apr i l 1995 - Po l i ce con f i s c a t e t he abov em e n t i o n e d e x p l o s i v e s from t h e y o u t h s , w h oc la im t o have f ound t he m at er ia l s i n a park . Th es i g n i f i c a n c e o f t h e d i s c o v e r y d o e s n o t d a w non the pol ice at f i rs t . I t isnt unt i l the spr ing of1 9 9 9 that t h e c o p s c l a i m t h e e x p l o s i v e s a r ep a r t o f a c a c h e o f e x p l o s i v e s s t o l e n b y " u n i d e n ti f ie d R Z m e m b e r s " from a co ns t ruc t i on s i t ein North R h i n e - W e s t p h a l i a o n J u n e 4 , 1 9 8 7 .T h e s e exp lo s i ves a re s a id to h ave been us e ina t l eas t t h ree R Z a t t acks o r a t t empt ed a t t ack s .Anot her round o f i n t e r roga t ions with t he you t hst a k e s the pol ice to the cel lar .O c t o b e r 2 5 , 1 9 9 5 - C o r i n n a K a w a t e r s t u r n sh e r s e l f in t o f edera l au t h or i t i es , a f t e r hav ingm a d e c o n t a c twith Mr. Benz of the intel l igencea g e n c y ( V S ) .m id -1990s - U l li D i llmann res ur f aces a f t er t heinves t i ga t i ons aga ins t h im are c l o s e d .March 1998 - Thetriala g a i n s t C o r i n n a K a w a t e r sb e g i n s . S h e is a c c u s e d o f h a vi n g b e e n a m e m ber o f the R Z / Ro t e Zora f o r a t l eas t 11 mont hsin 1987. Dur ing a s ear ch o f her hom e, an a la rmc l o c k w a s c o n f i s c a t e d .J u n e 1998 - A cour t i n S t u tt gar t ru les on Cor innaK a w a t e r s ' c a s e .1 9 9 8 - H a n s J o c h a i m K l e i n i s a r r e s t e d in F r a n c e .Ma y 19,1999- Tarek Mous l i ,s a i d t o have ren t edt h e c e l l a r m e n t i o n e d a b o v e , is a r r e s t e d a n dc h a r g e d with s u p p o r t i n g a te r r o r i s t a s s o c i a t i on . He i s de t a ined in p r i s on . A f o rm er par t nero f h i s d u r i n g t h e 1 9 9 0 s i s a l s o i m p l i c a t e d i nren t ing t he ce l l a r . Tarek exp res s es no in t e res tin Dol i t ical suDDort . He t r eats the mat ter as a

p e r s o n a lmatter. Ne i t her he nor h i s l awyer h aveof f e red any in f o rmat ion about what t he po l i cewe re in t e res t ed in . A s h or t no t i ce i n a Ber l i nd a i l y n e w s p a p e r a b o u t h i s a r r e s t i s t h e o n l ys o u r c e o f i n f o r m a t i o n f o r t h e p o l i t i c a l m o v e ment .Ju l y 7 , 1999 - Tarek Mous l i i s re leas ed on ba i l .He m ak es a b r ie f s t a t ement abo ut t he ch arg es .N o v e m b e r 1 3 , 1 99 9 - R u d o l f S c h i n d l e r i s a r r e s t e d i n F r an k f u r t o n c h a r g e s o f " a c c o m p l i c et o murder " a s a res u l t o f s t a t em ent s mad e byH a n s J o c h a i m K l e i n .Nov emb er 17 , 1999 - Fed era l au t hor i t i es filec h a r g e s a g a i n s t R u d o l f S c h i n d l e r a f t er K l e i ns a y s he w as invo lved in the O P E C ac t i on andprov ided log i s t i ca l s uppor t .Novem ber 23 , 1999 - Tarek Mous l i i s a r res t edaga in , t h is time f o r be ing t he " l eader o f t he R Z inBer l i n " a n d i s t a k e n t o O s s e n d o r f P r i s o n in C o logne . He i s conc re t e l y char ged with th e O c t o b er 28,1986 s hoo t ing o f Hara ld Ho l l enberg . Heis a l s o s a id to hav e f i red t he t wo s ho t s a t G un t e rK o r b m a c h e r on Sept ember 27 , 1987. I t ' s s u r pr i s ingthat th e B A W d i d n o t s im p l y c h a r g e h i mwith pa r t i c ipa ti ng i n t he a t t ack bu t ra t her withactual ly f i r ing the s h o t s . He i s a l s o s a id t o havepar t i c ipa t ed in t he February 6 , 1987 R Z bom ba t t a c k i n B e r l i n . H e i s a l s o s a i d t o h a v e h a d" i m m e d i a t e a c c e s s t o t h e w e a p o n s d e p o t o ft he R Z in Ber l in " . He i s a l s o s a id t o have "par t i c i pa t ed in t he s t ra t egy d i s c u s s i o n s w i th in theR Z i n t he ear l y 1990s " . The B A W hav e no t s a idw h e r e t h e ir e v i d e n c e f o r t h e s e c h a r g e s c o m e sf r o m . T a r e k ' s la w y e r m a k e s n o s t a t e m e n t o nth e matter. R u m o r h a s i t that s t a te m e n t s w e r emad e by a f o rmer par t ner o f Tarek (1995) , wh o,a f t er a l o n g s t a y a b r o a d , told e v e r y t h i n g s h ek n e w t o p o l i c e . T a r e k i s s a i d t o h a v e s p o k e nopen ly o f h i s pas twith he r . A t exac t l y t he s a m etimeon t h i s day , e igh ts i tes a re ra ided by po l i c e ,f i ve i n Ber l i n , t wo in Bran den bur g , and one inS a x o n y - A n h a l t . Fo u r o f t h e s i t e s w e r e r e g u l a rl y u s e d b y T a r e k , fo u r w e r e t h e h o m e s o fc o n t a c t p e r s o n s . T h e s e i n c l u d e t h e h o m e s o fAxe l H . and Martin B . , who had " i n t ens ive per s o n a l a n d written c o n t a c t with t h e a c c u s e d "a c c o r d i n g t o a u t h o r i t i e s . A l s o , t he hom e o f aw o m a n a n d th e w o m a n ' s p a r t n e r a r e a l s os e a r c h e d b y p o l i c e . T a r e k ' s h o m e i s a l s os e a r c h e d , a s a re h i s two mar t i al a r t s s t ud ios inPrenz lauer B erg and Marzahn in Ber l i n .D e c e m b e r 6 , 1 9 9 9 - A n a r t i c l e a p p e a r s in aB e r l in n e w s p a p e r w h i c h c l a i m s t h e p o l i c e a r einves t iga t i ng S t as i l awyer Jurg en Wet zens t e in -O l lensch lag e r . He i s s a id t o have been invo lvedi n c o n c e a l i n g m il li o n s o f G e r m a n m a r k s b e l o n g ing t o t he S t as i and went underg roun d in 1992.He i s s a id to be l i v i ng s om ewh ere in E a s t Ber l i n .F rom t he a r t i c le i t be co m es c l ea rthatth e w o m a nw h o s e h o m e w a s s e a r c h e d b e c a u s e of T ar e k ' ss t a t e m e n t s w a s O l l e n s c h l a g e r ' s e x - m o t h e r - i n -l aw . Acc ord ing t o t he a r t i c le, t he po l i ce s ea rc hedt he h om e o f a "Ms . K" to f i nd a k ind o f lifei n s u r a n c e " p o l i c y b e lo n g i n g t o T a r e k M o u s l i ,wh ich l i s t s h im as a par t i c ipan t i n R Z ac t i on s .W h e t h e r s u c h a text wa s ac t ua l ly f ound i s no tc lea r .D e c e m b e r 1 4 , 1 9 9 9 - T a r e k ' s l a w y e r r e s i g n s .B y th i s po in t it s hou ld have be en ob v ious thatT a r e k w a s h a n d l i n g e v e r y t h i n g , s i n c e h i s l a w y e r , a fr i e n d o f h i s fo r m a n y y e a r s , c o u l d n olonoer no a lonn with wh a t w as haDDen ina *


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Arm The Spir i t #1 8 - Fal l2000B u t t h i s in f o r m a ti o n w a s n o t m a d e k n o w n t op e o p l e i n t h e m o v e m e n t e f f e c t i v el y e n o u g h .F rom t h i s day on , a t t he l a t es t , Tarek beganm a k i n g s t a t e m e n t s t o p o l i c e . T h e a r r e s t w a r ran t s fo r Axe l , Hara ld , Sab i ne , and Rud o l f wer es i g n e d o n t h i s d a t e , a s w a s t h e s e a r c h o rderf o r the ra id on t he Mehr inghof com plex . It canb e a s s u m e dthat Tarek has en t e red t he s t a t ew i t n e s s p r o t e c t i o n p r o g r a m( 'Kronzeugengese t z ' ) , and that infuture he wi l lbe g i ven a new iden t i t y with the h elp of s tateau t hor i t i es .Dece mb er 19 , 1999 - The Mehr inghof and t hepr i va t e hom es o f Ax e l , Sab in e , and Hara ld a rera ided by po l i ce . Rudo l f , a l ready in p r i son bec a u s e o f K l e i n ' s s t a t e m e n t s t o t h e c o p s , i shand ed a seco nd a r res t o rder . Desp i t e t he e f for ts of more than 1,000 c o p s , n o R Z w e a p o n sdepot i s uncovered ins ide t he Mehr inghof . Ther a i ds and a r res t s wer e t he d i rec t resu l t o f s t a t e men t s g i ven by Tarek Mous l i . Rumo r has i tthatT a r e k g a v e p o l i c e t h e n a m e s o f 5 0 p e o p l e a s s o c i a t e dwith t he RZ .D e c e m b e r27,1999- An ar t ic le in' F o c u s ' m a g a z ine ment ions a l i s twith th e n a m e s o f 5 0 s u s p e c t e d R Z m e m b e r s . I t' s u n c l e a r w h e t h e r t h i sl i s t rea l l y e x i s t s , o r i f i t h a s a n y j u d i c i a l r e l e v a n c e , s i n c e the s tatute of l imi tat ions on mosta c t i o n s has exp i red . The f ac tthatt h e B A W a r eh a v i n g p r o b l e m s with the s tatute of l imi tat ionsis mad e c lear by t he f ac tthatth e 1 9 8 0 a c c i d e n ta l fatal s h o o t i n g o f H e s s i a n E c o n o m i c s Minis t e r K a r r y i s n o l o n g e r r e f er r e d t o a s a s s a u l tresu l ti ng in dea t h bu t i ns t ead i s ca l l ed a mur der . The re is no s tatute of l imi tat ions on murd e r c h a r g e s .J a n u a r y 4 , 2000 - Tarek i s sa id t o have mad ef u r t h er s t a t e m e n t s t o p o l i c e a n d i s w i l l in g t os p e a k with i nves t iga t o rs to c lear up inco ns is t e n c i e s i n h i s ear l i e r s t a t em ent s .(T rans la t ed by Arm T he Sp i r i tfrom' Inter im' 492- J a n u a r y 2 7 , 2000)

A Shor t B iography O f Tarek Mous l iT h e f o l l o w in g i s a s u b j e c t i v e a s s e s s m e n t b ys o m e p e o p l e w h o h a v e k n o w n T a r e k prettywel l f o r qu i t e som e t ime. The po in t s ment ioneddo not g ive a complete pic ture of Tarek, but i ts h o u l d m a k e t h e r e c e n t e v e n t s m o r e c l e a r t op e o p l e w h o d o n t k n o w h i m .Tarek Mous l i w as bom o n March 19 , 1959 inB e i r u t, L e b a n o n . H i s m o t h er i s G e r m a n , a n d h i sf a t her i s a c i t i zen o f Sau d i Arab ia . A f t e r a f ewy e a r s i n Be i ru t , Tarek g rew up in G ermany . H isy o u t h w a s s p e n t s t u d y in g n e a r t h e NorthS e a .He went t o K ie l in t he 1970s t o a t t end u n iver si ty , a n d t h e r e h e j o i n e d t h e s q u a t t e r s ' m o v e ment an d t he an t i -nuc lear s c e n e .Af ter atime in Hambu rg , Tarek c am e t o Ber l i n i nt he 1980s and was eng aged in t he au t onom is ts c e n e i n m a n y w a y s . H i s m a i n in t e r es t w a smar t i a l a r t s . He s eem ed esp ec ia l l y i n t e res t ed ina t t a i n i n g f o r m a l r e c o g n i t i o n , s u c h a s b l a c kbe l t s .S o m e t i m e s h e l i v e d a lo n e , s o m e t i m e s h el i ved in co l l ec t i ves i n f o rmer l y s qua t t ed h o u s e s .B e c a u s e h e a l w a y s h a d p r o b l e m swithh is v i s as ta tus wh en he t ravel l ed abro ad , Tarek app l i edf o r G erm an c i t i zensh ip i n t he 1980s . He d idn th a v e p r o b l e m s o n t h e G e r m a n s i d e , rather i tw a s t he Saud i Ar ab ia ns who ma de i t d i f fi cu l tf o r h im t o g i ve up h i s c i t i zensh ip t here . T he yf inal ly re lented af ter two y e a r s .T a r e k h a d s o m e l o n g - t e r m r e l a t i o n s h i p s , a n ds e v e r a l a f f a i r s . H e w a s k n o w n e v e n i n t h o s ed a y s a s s o m e o n e w h o l i k ed t o tell s t o r i e s t owo men about h i s advent u res . It wou ld betempt-ing to d i s m i s s t h i s f ac t a s t yp i ca l c rap , bu t i tw a s t h i s t enden cy o f h i sthat t r i pped h im up in1995 and 1999.In the m id 1980s , he wo rked in an a l t erna t i vephot o co l l ec t i ve , and even t ua l l y se t up h i s owni n d e p e n d e n t b u s i n e s s . Bu t th i s wen t bank rup tin t he l a t e 1980 s , s i n c e h e c o u l d n o t k e e p u pwith t h e s w i ft t e c h n o l o g i c a l c h a n g e s in thatmarket .In t he ear l y 199 0s , Tarek g radua l l y d i s a s s o c i a t e d h i m s e l f c u l t u r a l l y with t h e K r e u z b e r gs c e n e . Th is wa s par t ly i l l us tra t ed by h i s l av i shwedd in g t o h i s t hen-g i r lf r i end . B u t t hey go t d i vo rc ed a year and a ha l f l a t er . A l so a t t h i s t ime,h e o r g a n i z e d 2 4 - h o u r - c a r e f o r a p a r a p l e g i cf r i e n d o f h i s w h o w a s p a r a l y z e d i n a n a c c i dent , spar ing h im from p r o f e s s i o n a l c a r e a n da d m i s s i o n t o a care ho m e. Bu t t he t wo la t e rhad a fa l l ing out over money.In t h e 1 9 9 0 s , T a r ek s h o w e d m o r e i n t e r e s t i nE a s t B e r l i n an d e v e n t u a l l y m o v e d t h e r e . H eopen ed a mar t i a l a r t s s t ud io in Prenz lauer B erg ,a n d l a t er a n o t h e r s t u d i o i n M a r z a h n , w h e r ee v e n c o p s took par t in t ra in ing s e s s i o n s .(T rans la t ed by Arm The Sp i r i t )


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Arm The Sp i r i t #18 - Fa l l2000A Sho r t In t roduct ion To The H is t o ry O f The Rev olut ionary C e l l s ( R Z ) A n d R o t e Z o r a" W h a t w e w a n t i s t o o r g a n i z e c o u n t e r - p o w e rin sma l l , o rgan ized ce l l s , wh ich work , s t rugg le ,i n t e rvene, and de f end au t onom ous ly i n var iou ssoc ia l a r e a s , a n d w h i c h a r e p a r t o f t h e m a s spo l i t i ca l work . O nce we have enough c e l l s , t henwe w i l l have c rea t ed t he impet us f o r t he u rbanguerr i l la as a m a s s pe rspec t i ve . ' '

T h i s i d e a o f a r m e d s t r u g g l e w a s f o r m u la t ed by t he 'Revo lu t i onare Ze l l en ' , o r Revo lu t ionary C e l l s (RZ ), in 1975 in the f i rs t i s s u e o ft he i r magaz ine 'Revo lu t i onarer Zorn ' ( "Revo lu t io n a r y R a g e " ) . T h i s c o n c e p t s a w a r m e d s t r u g g le as par t o f a soc ia l - revo lu t i onary movement ,s t rugg l i ng t oge t herwith" l ega l " ac t i ons l i ke squa t t i ng , revo lu t i onary f ac t o ry work , t eac h- ins , ands o o n , a g a i n s t s t a t e r e p r e s s i o n . B y m e a n s o fc l a n d e s t i n e l y o p e r a ti n g , au t o n o m o u s , a n ddecent ra l l y o rgan ized g r oups , i t wou ld be pos s ib l e t o s t reng t hen m a s s in i t iat ives and take af i rs t s t e p t o w a r d s t h e l o n g - t e r m a s s a u l t o npower . An in t egra l par t o f t he d i s c u s s i o n s atthat time w as t he so -ca l l ed m i li t an t va r ia t ions o ft hought b y bu i l d ing a mo de l o f a f unc t ion in gs o c i a l - r e v o l u t i o n a r y c o u n t e r - s o c i e t y w h i c hcou ld und erm ine cap i t a l i s t soc ie t y in t he l ong-term a n d e v e n t u a l l y o v e r c o m e i t b y m e a n s o fa t t acks and a m ass ive dec ay o f l oyal t y to t hes y s t e m .

"Create and mul t ip ly the f ight ing col lec t ivesa s t he core c e l l s o f a n e w s o c i e t y " w a s o n e o ft h e s l o g a n s o f t h e R Z in 1 9 7 8 . T h i s c o n c e p tw a s a l s o c o n c e i v e d a s a p r a c t i c a l c r i ti q u e o fand al ternat ive to the cont inuing at tacks by theR e d A rmy F rac t i on (RAF) on " t he hear t o f t hestate" wh ich were a l s o t ak ing p lac e a tthat t ime.

A c c o r d i n g to G e r m a n y ' s i n t e l l i g e n c ea g e n c y , t he Revo lu t i onary C e l l s and Rot e Zoraw e r e r e s p o n s i b l e f o r 1 8 6 m o s t l y u n s o l v e d a t t a c k s from 1 9 7 3 to 1 9 9 5 o n g o v e r n m e n t o f f i c e s , c o r p o r a t i o n s , a n d m i l i t a r y i n s t a l l a t i o n s ,a s we l l as a f ew kn eecap p in gs o f o f f i c i a l s re s p o n s i b l e f o r r e p r e s s i v e a s y l u m p o l i c i e s . T h ef i r s t a rmed ac t i on a t t r i bu t ed t o t he Revo lu t i onar y C e l l s took p lac e in Novem ber 1973, an a t t ack on t he Amer i can corpo ra t ion I TT in p ro t es to f t he m i l i t ary coup in Ch i l e . Two year s l a te r t hename "Revo lu t i onary C e l l s " w e n t i n to c o m m o nu s e .Th e f i rs ti s s u e o f t he magaz in e 'Revo lu t i ons.O r er Z o r n ' c l a s s i f i e d t h r e e t y p e s o f R Z a c t ions: ant i - imper ia l is t a c t i o n s ,l i ke ac t i ons aga ins tt h e A m e r i c a n c o r p o r a t i o n I T T o f t h e C h . i l e a nc o n s u l a t e ; an t i -Zion is t ac t i o ns , li ke t he a t t ackon the of f icers of the Is rael i a i r l ine EI -AI or onc o r p o r a t i o n s that impor t I s rae l i fruit; a n d a c t i ons i n so l i dar i t y with t h e s t r u g g l e s o f w o r k e r s , y o u t h s , a n d w o m e n , l i k e a t t a c k s o n c a r sbe long ing t o rea l es t a t e sp ecu la t o r s o r i nd i v idua l s respon s ib le f o r t ear ing do wn you t h cen t e r s ,pr int ing coun ter fe i t publ ic t ranspo rt p a s s e s a n df o o d v o u c h e r s f o r th e h o m e l e s s a n d d i s t ri b u ti ng t hem in "p ro le t a rian ne igh bourh oods " .

T h e R Z w e r e a l w a y s a w a r e o f t h e f a c tthat t h e g e n e r a l p o p u l at i o n i n G e r m a n y w e r enot eng aged in so li dar it ywith internat ional s t rugg les : " Bu t t here i s a par t o f our po l i t ic s wh ich , i ns o f a r a s w e h a v e p r o g r e s s e d t h e d i s c us s i ons ,d o e s n o t i n te r es t m a n y c o m r a d e s , a n d w h i c hm a n v o f t h e m c a n n o t u n d e r s t a n d o r a e e e D t .

and wh ich t he peop le cer t a in l y won ' t be i n t e r e s t e d in at the time being. But we s t i l l th ink i t isco r rec t . Th i s par t o f our s t rugg le i s i n t e rna tiona l i sm, mean ing so l i dar i t y with c o m r a d e s in for-e ign guer r i l l a movement s and so l i dar i t y with t hes t r u g g l i n g p e o p l e s o f o t h e r c o u n t r i e s . " froman in t e rv iew with an R Z , May 1975) B u t , fo l l o w in g t w o s p e c t a c u l a r a c ti o n s w h i c h R Z m e m b e r s pa r t i c ipa ted in , and wh ich un leashed heavyd e b a t e s a n d d i s c u s s i o n s , the organizat ion spl i tinternal ly into an internat ional is t fac t ion and adomes t i c f ac t i on . Th is b reak , a v i r t ua l sp l i t i nt he o rgan iza t ion , d id no t become c lear l y knownunt i l about 15 years later .

O n e o f t h e s e t w o s p e c t a c u l a r ac t i o n sw a s t he a t t ack by a jo in t Pa les t i n i an ,L a t i n A m e r i c a n ,a n d G e r m a n c o m m a n d o o n t he O P E C C o n f e r e n c e i n V i e n n a i n D e c e m b e r 1 9 7 5 . E l e v e nArab ian o i l m in i s t e rs were he ld hos t age t o demand mat er ia l and ideo log ica l suppor t f o r t hePa les t i n ian l i be rat i on mov emen t . Th ree s e c u rity guards w ere k i l led dur ing t he ac t i o n . It re ma ins u nc lear t o t h i s day jus t ho w b ig a ro le t heSyr i an g o v e r n m e n t a n d t h e L i b y a n g o v e r n m e n to f Kh adaf f i p layed in t h i s ac t i on , t hus b lu r r ingt he d i s ti nc t i on be t w een " mercen ary work " an d"an ac ti on o f i n t e rna tiona l so l i dari t y " . RZ me mber Han s -Jo ach im K le in par t i c ipa t ed in t h i s ac t i on . He la t er b eca m e a w i t nes s f o r t he s t a t e ,and t he a r res t s o f Rudo l f S . , i n t he f a l l o f 1999 ,a n d S o n j a S . , w h o w a s a r r e s t e d i n F r a n c e i nJ a n u a r y 2 0 0 0 , w e r e b a s e d o n h i s s t a t e m e n t st o po l i ce that t hey a l so p rov ided log i s t i ca l s u p por t . K le in qu i t t he R Z in 1977 rem ained in h id ing fo r over 20 y ears , due t o t he suppor t g i vent o h i m b y D a n i e l C o h n - B e n d i t . K l e i n w a s a r r e s t e d in F r a n c e i n 1 9 9 8 a n d s o o n b e c a m e at u rncoa t , po in t i ng t he f i nger a t o t hers .

T h e s e c o n d c o n t r o v e r s i a l a c ti o n w a s t h eJ u n e 1976 h i j ack ing o f an A i r F ranceflight fromTel Av iv to P a r i s . The p lane was o rdered t o f l yt o E n t e b b e , U g a n d a , w h e r e t h e g u e r r i l l a s d e man ded f reedom f o r 53 po l i ti ca l p r i so ners , i n c lud ing 40 Pa les t i n ians in I s rae l i cus t o dy and 6p o l it ic a l p r i s o n e r s in G e r m a n y . T w o R Z m e m b e r s ,WilfriedB o s e and Br ig i t t e Kuh lmann, werek i ll ed w h e n I s r ae l i s p e c i a l f o r c e s s t o r m e d t h ep l a n e . I t b e c a m e k n o w n a f t e r w a r d s that p a s s e n g e r s w e r e s e p a r a t e d i n to g r o u p s a c c o r d ing to t he i r pass po r t s dur ing t he h i j ack ing . A l lI s rae l i s w e r e f o r c e d t o r em a i n o n t h e p l a c ew h i l e m o s t o f t h e o t h e r p a s s e n g e r s o f o t h e rn a t i o n a l i t i e s w e r e r e l e a s e d . It i s u n c l e a rwhet her t he pas sen ger s were a l so d i v ided in to" J e w i s h " a n d " n o n - J e w i s h " g r o u p s , a s t h e a u t hors o f the R Z c r it i que "G erd A lbar t us I s Dead"h a v e a l l e g e d . B u t t h e m o r a l d i l e m m a s o f t h isa c t i o n r e m a i n n o n e t h e l e s s .

The in t e rna t iona l i s t f ac t i on o f t he R Z even t ua ll y deve lo ped in to wh at t he m a s s m e d i a h a v ec a l l e d th e " C a r l o s G r o u p " , a n d t h i s g r o u p n olonger used t he nam e Revo lu t i onary C e l l s (RZ) ,i n s t e a d c a l li n g t h e m s e l v e s " G r o u p o f I n t er n a t i o n al R e v o l u t i o n a r i e s " . T h e d o m e s t i c R Z f a c t i o n , h o w e v e r , m a d e a r a d i c a l b r e a k with i t si n t e rn a t i o n al c o n t a c t s a n d s o u g h t to d e v e l o pit s future i n t er n a t i o n a l i s t a n d a n t i - i m p e r i a l i s ta c t i o n s s o l e l y from t h e c o n d i t i o n s e x i s t i n gw i th i n W e s t G e r m a n y . B u t it s e e m s s o m e i n d i v idua l members d id ma in t a in some ind i rec t l i nkst o t he "Car l os G roup " . O ne p erson in par t icu la rw a s G er d A lbar t us and t h i s cos t h im h i s life in

1 9 8 7 . A c c o r d i n g t o s t a t e m e n t s from t u r n c o a tM a g d a l e n a K o p p ( ' Focus 'm a g a z i n e , A p r il2000)h e w a s a c c u s e d o f " t r e a s o n " b y m e m b e r s o fthe internat ional is t fac t ion dur ing a v is i t to L e b a n o n a n d w a s i m m e d i a t el y e x e c u t e d b y C a r l o s .It i s n o t k n o w n w h a t t h e a c c u s a t i o n s w e r eb a s e d o n . T h e a u t h o r s o f th e p a p e r " G e r dA l b a r t u s Is D e a d " h a v e n o d o u b t s a b o u t G e r d ' si n t e g r it y , h o w e v e r . A c c o r d i n g t o t h e b o o k" C a r l o s ' A c c o m p l i c e W e i n r e i c h " , p u b l i s h e d i n1 9 9 5 , h i s n a i v e a s s o c i a t i o n s with t he i n t e l l i g e n c e a g e n c y in E a s t B er li n ( the S t a s i ) cau seda po in t o f con f l i c t be t ween h im and t he res t o ft h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l i s t f a c t i o n . T r a n s c r i p t s o fw i r e t a p s from t h e H u n g a r i a n s e c r e t p o l i c e ,f ound am ong St as i f i les , a re sa id t o sh ow t h i s ,a c c o r d i n g t o t he book ' s au t hors .

T h e p r o b l e m s s u r r o u n d i n g th e " C a r l o sG r o u p " c a n ' t s i m p l y b e d i s m i s s e d a s b e in g d u et o t he con d i t i ons a t that t ime. I n Rad ika l ' # 104(May 1982) , a l ong a r t i c le d i s c u s s e d t he a t t a c k s by t he "C ar los G roup" and t he i r re la ti onsh ip t o t he Sy r ian in t e l l i gence agency . Th is texts t a t e d : "The no t ion o f ' t e r ro r i sm ' - by t he s t a t eor o t hers - i s i ncom prehens ib le t o t he ma jo r it yof the populat ion due to i ts inv is ib i l i t y and element s o f con f us ion . In t h i s way , i t on l y he igh t e n s t h e f e el i n g o f p o w e r l e s s p e o p l e h a v e i nt he i r da i l y l i ves i n cap i t al i s t soc ie t y , t he i r pow e r l e s s i n t h e f a c e o f e c o n o m i c c r i s i s a n d t h ef a c t that t h e y a r e j u s t p a w n s i n t h e s e c r e tg a m e s o f i n t e rna t iona l po l i t i c s and s t a t e repres s i o n . "

A s f o r t he dom es t i c f ac t i on o f t he R Z , t heym a d e t h e m s e l v e s h e a r d from b y m e a n s o f s e v eral at tac ks in the fo l lowing ye ars . In par t icu lar ,t hey were ab le to k eep t he poss ib i li t y o f a r meds t r u g g l e o p e n d u r i n g th e s o - c a l l e d " G e r m a nA u t u m n " o f 1 9 7 7 . I n t h e s u m m e r o f 1 9 7 8 , abom b u ndergo ing a f i nal t es t exp loded in t he l apo f Herm ann Fe i li ng ou t s ide the genera l c o n s u la te of the mi l itary regim e in Arg ent ina in the c i tyo f H e i d e l b e r g . H e r m a n n l o s t b o t h o f h i s e y e sand had bo t h o f h i s l egs amput a t ed as a resu l to f t h is a c c i d e n t . A l t h o u g h h e w a s u n d e r t h ein f l uence o f heavy pa ink i l l i ng d rugs and was inn o c o n d i t i o n t o s p e a k , G e r m a n s t a t e a n d f e d era l po l i ce i n t er roga t ed h im ex t ens ive l y andtooks o m e 1000 p ages o f t ransc r ip t s . B a s e d mos t l yo n p o l i c e f a n t a s i e s , s e v e n m o r e a r r e s t s w a r r a n t s w e r e e v e n t u a l l y i s s u e d . F i v e o f t h e s ea c c u s e d peop le were ab le t o d i sappear be f o rep o l i c e co u l d n a b t h e m : R u d o l f R a a b e , R u d o l f S .and Sab i ne E . (who resu r f aced in 1999 as par to f t he Ber l i n T r ia l ) , and Son ja S . and Chr i s t i anG . ( w h o w e r e a r r e s t e d in F r a n c e in J a n u a r y2 0 0 0 ) .T h e " W o m e n o f t h e R ev o l u t i o n a r y C e l l s "f i r s t appeared with a bomb a t t ack on a f edera lcour t bu i ld ing in Kar l s ru he in 1975. Th e i r a t t ackw a s pa r t o f t he s t rugg le aga in s t t he abor t i onlaw Paragraph 218 . S t a r t i ng i n 1977, t he "Rot eZ o r a " a p p e a r e d a s a i n d e p en d e n t l y o p e r a ti n gf em in i s t g roup c lose ly o r ien t ed t o t he R Z . So m ef u n d a m e n t a l d i s c u s s i o n p a p e r s w e r e l a t e rs i g n e d j o in tl y by t he R Z and Ro t e Zor a .

I n J a n u a r y 1 9 8 1 , i s s u e #6 o f' R e v o l u t i o n a e r e r Z o r n ' w a s p u b l i s h e d , a t j u s tthe r ight time acco rd ing t o man y ac t i v i s t s i n t hes q u a t t e r s ' m o v e m e n t , d u r i n g th e h i g h p o in t o ft he you t h revo l t s o f 1980 / 81 . In Ber l i n and m anyot her c i t i es a t that t ime, t here were coun t -


5/13

Arm The Sp i r i t #18 - Fa l l2000l e s s n u m b e r s o f s q u a t t e d b u i l d in g s . T h e m a i np a r t o f t h e m a g a z i n e w a s a text written in ar a d i c a l s e l f - c r i t i c a l t o n e , c o n c e r n i n g t h e p a s te ig h t y e a r s o f e x p e r i e n c e s with a r m e d s t r u g g l e . T h e c o n c e p t a n d t h e p r o b l e m s o f t h e R Zw e r e c o r r e c t l y a n d s h a r p l y c r i t ic i z e d b y t h em e m b e r s t h e m s e l v e s . T h e l e v e l o f s e l f - r e f l e c tion a n d a d m i s s i o n s of p r o b l e m s a n d c o n t r a d i c t io n s w a s u n p r e c e d e n t e d a m o n g a r m e df igh t ing g roup s a t that time. Th etextwen t on t os a y : "A t t acks on cen t ra l s t a t e i ns t i t u t i ons a rep o l i ti c al l y i m p o s s i b l e a t t h e p r e s e n t t i m e : W ec a n n o t p o s e t h e q u e s t io n o f p o w e r W e a r e n o twag ing a war Rat her , we a re a t t he beg inn ingof a long and di f f icul t s t ruggle to win the heartsand m inds o f t he peop le - we a re no t a t t he f i rs ts t a g e o f a m i li t ary v i c t o ry W e charac t e r i ze ours t ra t egy as a de f ens i ve one - bu t a t t he s amet i m e , o u r s t r u g g l e c a n b e o f f e n s i v e a s w e l l . "T h e p o s i t i o n s o f i n d iv i d u a l s w h o h a d left t heg r o u p w e r e e x p l a i n e d a n d c o u n t e r - p o s e d witht h e a u t h o r s ' o w n r e a s o n s fo r d e c i d i n g t o c o n t i nue t he s t rugg le .

T h e c o n c e p t o f t h e R e v o l u t i o n a r y C e l l s ,c l a n d e s t i n e ac t i o n s o n a m a s s i v e s c a l e , b e ca m e a rea l i t y dur ing t he revo l t s o f 1980/81( "You have t he power , bu t t he n igh t be longs t ou s " ) , a lbe i t no t i n t he one- t o -on e re la t ions h ipe n v i s i o n e d b y t h e R Z . T h e R Z often c r i t i quedt he lack o f an o rgan iza t iona l con t inu i t y t o t hem o v e m e n t . T h e r e w a s a l w a y s a d e g r e e o f c u l t u r a l a n d e m o t i o n a l d i f f e r e n c e , o r d e f e r e n c e .Th i s lay in the fac t that the RZ had i t s roo t s i nt h e y e a r s a f te r 1 9 6 8 . T h e y often f o r m u l a t e di d e a s a s s o c i a t e d with th e " F r a n k f u r t s c h o o l "(Marcu s e) , marked by pedagog ica l t h ink ing anda c o n d u c t b a s e d o n k n o w i n g w h a t i s ri g ht f o rpeop le . Pun k , on t he o t her hand , had mo re inc o m m o n with t he ph i l os oph y o f "educa t ed ex i s t en t ia l i s m" (Sar t re ) . I n t he text T h e E n d O fO ur Po l i t i c s " , one R Z wro t e : " The conc ept " C r e a t e m a n y R e v o l u t i o n a r y C e l l s " w a s o n l ya c h i e v e d i n s o f a r a s t h e r e w a s s o m e p a r a l le l i s m i n t h e m e t h o d s o f s t r u g g l e . W e w e r e n o tab le to ge t a f oo tho ld i n t he var ious m ovem ent s ,or to win over mi l i tants from t h e i r a s s o c i a t i o n st o a revo lu t i onary pers pec t i v e and form o f o r g a n i z a t i o n . "

In add i ti on t o t he s qua t t e r s ' mov ement andt he an t i -nuc lear movement , t he s t rugg le aga ins tt he S t a r t bahn-Wes t a i rpor t expans ion in F rank furt w a s a c e n t r a l p o i n t a r o u n d w h i c h r e s i s t a n c e w a s o r g a n i z e d . L i k e n e v e r b e f o r e , s o m egroup s o f RZ s wer e ab le - des p i t e a ll t he p rob l e m s o u t l i n e d a b o v e - t o b e c o m e a n i n t e g r a lp a r t o f t h i s m o v e m e n t . A n d t h i s , d e s p i t e t h ef ac t that thei r par t ic ipat ion in the ant i -Star tbah nm o v e m e n t w a s m a r k e dfrom the beg inn ing by amajo r fa i lure: In May 1981, dur ing the at temp tedk n e e c a p p i n g o f t h e H e s s i a n s t a t e 's E c o n o m i c sMin i s te r He inz -Herber t Kar ry , t he man res p ons i b l e f o r th e p l a n n e d e x p a n s i o n o f S t a r t b a h n -Wes t , t he s hoo t ing ended up k i l l i ng Kar ry , whob led t o dea t h . I n t he m ont hs that f o l l owed, t heR Z ca l l ed f o r a t t acks on f i rms con nec t ed t o t hec o n s t r u c t i o n o f th e r u n w a y a s t h e b e s t s t r a t egy t o f o l l ow , and t hey backed up t h i s ca l l witha c t i o n s o f t he i r own . A f t e r t he an t i -S t a r t bahnm o v e m e n t f a d e d , th e R Z r e l e a s e d a n ex t e n s i v e text w h i c h u n l e a s e d a w a v e o f c r i t ic i s mfrom t h e au t o n o m i s t m o v e m e n t . A f t er m o s t s o cia l mov ement s had run t he i r cours e a f t er 1980/

8 1 , m a n y a c t i v i s t s b e g a n a s k i n g th e q u e s t i o n ," H o w d o w e g o o n from h e r e ? " H o w c a n c o n tinuity be ma in t a ined w i t hou t s imp ly wa it i ng f o rt he nex t movement t o a r i s e ?

T h e a u t o n o m i s t m o v e m e n t w a s a l w a y sc o n s c i o u s l y d i f f us e o n t he m i l i t an t t e r ra in , i nc o n t r a s t t o th e a t t e m p t s a t h e g e m o n y b y t h eR Z , du r ing bo t h t he s q ua t t e r s t rugg les i n Ber l inand t he an t i -S t a r t bahn ac t i ons i n t he F rank f u r tr e g i o n . A n a u t o n o m i s t textpub l i s h ed in 'Rad ika l '#114 (March 1983) s t a t ed : " In t hei r re la ti ons t ot h e m a s s m o v e m e n t , t h e R Z a l w a y s c l a i m t owant to l ink up with th e m a s s m o v e m e n t , a n dthat b y m e a n s o f t h e ir a c t i o n s t h e r e w o u l d b ea n a d v a n c e o f m i l i t a n c y a n d o f f e n s i v e , t h u sf i r eb o m b s a n d e x p l o s i v e s b e c o m e t h e t o o l s o fp e d a g o g y . W e c a n n o t a c c e p t s u c h a n e d u c a t i o n - m i n d e d r e l a t io n s h i p . " T h e a u t h o r s w e r ec lea r abou t thei r c r i t ical sol idar i ty with t he R Z .Th ey wer e par t icular ly i r r itated by the fac t thatt h e R Z s t h e m s e l v e s h a d n o t s t u c k t o t h e c r i te r i a t h e y t h e m s e l v e s s p e l l e d o u t i n ' Z o r n ' # 6 .T h e a r t i c l e e n d e d with th e c o n t r o v e r s i a l c a l l :" Ce l l s - j o i n th e m o v e m e n t " W h a t t h e y m e a n tw a s that mi l i tant cont inui ty and exper ience areg a i n e d a s p e o p l e i n r e a l m o v e m e n t s , n o t a s a no r g a n i z a t i o n . " A c t i o n s a r e o n l y s p i c e s i n t hes o u p , n o t t h e s o u p i t s e lf ." T h i s d e b a t e w a scon t inued in 'Rad ika l ' #121 (O c t ober 1983) : " I n s o f a r a s a n o r g a n i z e d m i li ta n t g r o u p h a s d e c i d e d t o w a g e c o n t i n u o u s r e s i s t a n c e ,that a l s oc h a n g e s t h e i r s t r a t e g y ; m o v e m e n t s , o n t h eo t h e r h a n d , h a v e t h e ir o w n d y n a m i c a n d a r euncont rol lable. " [ . . . ]

O n e R Z r e s p o n d e d t o s u c h c r i t i c i s m s in' R a d i k a l '#123 (Dec em ber 1983) : "M i li t ancy anda c t i o n s a r e s e e n a s g o o d , s o l o n g a s t h e y d o n ' tc o m e frompol i t ical a s s o c i a t i o n s or i l lus t rate anycont inu i t y . 'G o ou t , f uck s h i t up , and ge t away 's e e m s t o b e t h e a u t o n o m i s t motto. A n y t h i n gb e y o n d that i s d i s m i s s e d a s p o t e n ti a l c a d r ef o rmat ion and t he s e e d s o f a new s t a t e . Po l i t ics is dirty b u s i n e s s , t h e y s a y , s o w e ' l l n e v e rdo po l i t i c s . A l l that mat t e r s i s new s ub jec t i v i ty .H o w c a n I g e t th e b e s t f ee l i n g ? A n e x p r e s s i o no f t h i s i s t he s e a r c h f o r n e w n i c h e s ( n e w c u l t u re ) , wa i t i ng a round f o r t he nex t movement t os t a r t w i t hou t even ana lyz ing t he mov ement thatj u s t f i n i s h e d . "

In the ear l y 1980s i n Wes t G erman y , ano t her impor t an t s o c i a l i s s u e w a s th e q u e s t i o no f n u c l e a r a r m s . T h e o p p o s i t i o n w a s s p l i t i n t ot h e p e a c e m o v e m e n t , o n th e o n e h a n d , an d t h ea u t o n o m i s t m o v e m e n t with i t s ant i -mi l i tar is t out l ook on t he o t her. Then t here w as t he an t i -imp e r i a l i s t m o v e m e n t , w h i c h w a s o r i e n t e d s o l e l ya g a i n s t the U SA and NATO . Dur ing o f f i c ia l v i s i ts b y r e p r e s e n t a t i v es o f t h e A m e r i c a n g o v e r n m e n t to W e s t G e r m a n y , t h e r e w e r e a l w a y sm a s s i v e ,oftenm i l it an t , d emons t ra t i ons . The v i s i tb y R o n a l d R e a g a n t o W e s t B e r l in o n N o v e m b e r6 , 1 9 8 2 w a s a c c o m p a n i e d b y R Z a tt a c k s o nU . S . m i l it ary i ns t a l l at i ons . The RZ a l s o a lw ayst r ied to make the point that th e a r m s r a c e w a sn o t a n e v i l c o m i n g j u s t from t he ou t s id e , and t ot h e r eb y a l s o o p e n u p th e G e r m a n a r m s i n d u s t r y t o a t t ack . The mos t s ign i f i can t a t t ack i n l i newith t h i s p o l i c y w a s t h e b o m b a t t a c k o n t h ecomput er corpora t i on MAN wh ich c a u s e d m o r ethan 20 mi l lion DM ind a m a g e . T h e R Z a ls o m a d et wo in t e l l ec t ua l i n t e rven t ions i n t h i s i s s u e . O nt h e o n e h a n d w a s t h e text " P e a c e . W a r A n d

C r i s i s " , t h e n t h e r e w a s t h e c o m m u n i q u e" B e e t h o v e n A n d M a c D o n a l d ' s " , i n w h i c h t h e ydrew a c lear d i s t i nc t i on be t w een ne o-naz i a t t a c k s o n th e h o m e s o f A m e r i c a n s e r v i c e m e nand an t i - imper ia l i s t and an t i -Am er i can a t t ac ksa imed aga ins t t he po l i t i c s o f t he U . S. gov ernment .

I n t he years 1979, 19 80, and 1982, a g roupca l l ed 'R Z in the I G MetalP[ G e r m a n m e t a l i n d u s t r y ' s t rade un ion ] c la im ed res pons ib i l i t y fo r s e v era l ac t i ons , f o r example an a t t ack on a f edera ll abour cour t i n t he c i t y o f K a s s e l . In Marc h 1984,t h e R Z r e l e a s e d a text re lated to the publ ic d i s c u s s i o n a r o u n d t h e 3 5 - h o u r w o r k w e e k c a l l e d" A WolfI n S h e e p ' s C lo t h i n g : T h e 3 5 - Ho u r WorkW e e k , T h e S o c i a l P a r t n e r s h i p , T h e L e f t , A n dC l a s s A n t a g o n i s m " . T h i s text a c c u r a t e l y p r e d i c t ed t he deve lopment o f a f u l l y f l ex ib le work in g c l a s s . In a l s o e x a m i n e d h o w " a u t o n o m i s t sc o u l d d e v e l o p s o c i a l - r e v o l u t i o n a r y p o s i t i o n s " .T h e R Z a l s o a c t e d i n s o l i d ar i t y with th e c o a lm i n e r s ' s t r i ke i n Br i t a in by means o f a t t acks i n1985.

D u r i n g t h e s e y e a r s , t he RZ and t he Rot eZ o r a a l s o d i s c u s s e d n e w f o r m s o f c o n t r o l t e c h no logy . For exam ple , t he s o c i a l a s p e c t s o f genet echno logy and reproduc t ion t echno logy . The i rgenera l re jec t i on o f comput er t echno logy as an e w m e a n s o f s o c i a l d o m i n a t i o n a n d c o n t r o lmay s eem Ludd i t e to peop le t oday , bu t even a tthat time it w as no t w i t hou t s o m e con t rovers y .In a S e p t e m b e r 1 9 8 5 c o m m u n i q u e from an at t a c k o n t w o s o f t w a r e c o m p a n i e s , t h e R Z s t a t e d :T h e log i c o f t he comp ut er i s t he l og i c o f c a p i t a l i s m : it s e r v e s e x p l o it at i o n a n d o p p r e s s i o n ,s p l i n t e r in g a n d s e l e c t i o n , r e g i s t r at i o n a n d r e p r e s s i o n . T h e u s e l e s s d e b a t e s a b o u t a l t e r n a t ive u s e s f or c o m p u t e r s r e p r e s e n t s p o w e r i e s s -n e s s , no t f an t as y , in the f ac e o f t h i s mons t ro ust e c h n o l o g i c a l v i o l e n c e . " B u t w e s h o u l d n ' t for-g et that i n t h o s e d a y s a c o m p u t e r c o s t 50 000DM, and home comput ers f o r p r i va t e us e d idn ' trea ll y beco me a rea li t y be f o re 1990.

J u s t h o w w i d e l y th e R Z c o n c e p t w a s b e ing t aken up wa s i l l us t rat ed in t he m ont hs f o l l o w i n g t h e C h e r n o b y l n u c l e a r d i s a s t e r i n A p r i l1 9 8 6 . Nightly a t t a c k s o n e l e c t r i c i t y p y l o n s a l la c r o s s G e r m a n y t o p p le d m o r e t h a n 1 5 0 utilityt o w e r s . B u t that d o e s n ' t m e a n that e v e r y o n ea g r e e d with a l l o f t he con t en t o f t he RZ ' s p o s i t i o n s . W h a t w a s f o r s o m e a p o l i t i c a l s t r a t e g yw a s f o r o t h e r s s i m p l y a s u b j e c t i v e form o f a c t ion.

In the m id 198 0s , anoth er f ie ld of pol i t icalc o n f l ic t c r y s t a l l iz e d i n W e s t G e r m a n y , n a m e l yth e i s s u e o f immigra t i on . A l t hough G erman h i s tory h a s a l w a y s b e e n m a r k e d b y i m m i g r a ti o n ,t he ru l i ng powers and a l a rge s egment o f t hep o p u l a t io n d o n ' t w i s h t o a c c e p t that f ac t . I n s t e a d t h e y c h o o s e t o d i ff er e n ti a te t h e m s e l v e sfrom " t h e s t r a n g e r s " a n d a n " e t h n i c iz a ti o n o fs o c i a l con f l i c t s " res u l t s . In t he years a f t e r Wor ldW a r II, 1 2 m il li o n G e r m a n - s p e a k i n g r e f u g e e s(s t i l l about 20% of the populat ion) froml o s t e a s t e r n t e r r i to r i e s w e r e i n t e g r a t ed w i t h o u t m a j o rideo log ica l p rob lems . Wh en t h i s i n fl ux s u b s i d e d ,G e r m a n y b e g a n t o e x p e r i e n c e a l a c k o f l ab o u rr e s o u r c e s i n t he 1950s . Then b egan t he imm i g r a t i o n o f m a i n l y y o u n g , m a l e w o r k e r s , f i r s tfrom I ta ly , Por t ug a l , and Sp a in , and la t e r i n t he1960s from Yugos lav ia and Turkey . The end o ft he Ford i s t econ om ic boom in 1973 res u l t ed


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Arm The Sp i r i t #18 - Fa l l2000i n an s t op t o l abour impor t a t ion , and gu es t work e r s w e r e told to re t u rn t o t he i r hom e cou nt r i es .B u t t h e y d i d n ' t. I n s t e a d , t h e y b e g a n t o h a v et he i r fam i l i es j o in t hem in G ermany , and in a f ewy e a r s t hey ach ieved the sa m e leve l o f emp loy m e n t a s th e G e r m a n s , B y t h e e n d o f th e 1 9 7 0 s ,W e s t G e r m a n s o c i e t y b e g a n t o r e a li z ethatt he rew e r e n o w s o m e 4 m i ll i on s o - c a l l e d " f o r e ig n er s " w h o w e r e l i v i n g in t h e c o u n t r y a n d w h owant ed t o s t ay i n t he coun t ry un t i l t he i r re t i re ment .

S i n c e th e e a r l y 1 9 8 0 s , m o r e a n d m o r ep e o p l e from t he Three Cont inen t s were ab le t om a k e t h e i r w a y i nt o W e s t G e r m a n y , es p e c i a l l yv ia th e o n e - w a y o p e n b o r d e r b e t w e e n E a s ta n d W e s t B e r l i n . T h e y d id n ' t c o m e t o G e r m a npr imar i l y t o earn money , ra t her t hey were f l ee in g from c i vi l wa rs and eco no mic m isery . Mos to f t h e s e p e o p l e c a m efrom t he Near E a s t , Tur k e y , a n d S r i L a n k a / C e y l o n . T h i s d e v e l o p m e n tled t o domes t i c po l i t i ca l con f l i c t s s t i r red up byt he CDU [ Chr i s t i an Democ ra t i c Par t y ] . The cour t'Ber l i ne r Verwa l t ungsger i ch t ' ru led that tortureis no t a g rounds f o r asy lum " , and tiie n u m b e r so f a c c e p t e d a s y l u m - s e e k e r s b e g a n t o d e c r e a s e . O n t he o t her hand , 1985 a l so saw t hefai led f i rs t attempt t o i n t r o d u c e fo o d c o u p o n sf o r a s y l u m - s e e k e r s , d u e t o w i d e s p r e a d r es i s t a n c e from c i vi l s o c i et y . R e f u g e e s f a c e d withd e p o r t a t io n w e r e s u p p o r t e d b y a c t i o n s l ik e'F luch t burg ' , i n it i at ed by t he A L [ l a te r t he G re enPar t y ] i n Wes t Ber l i n . I n 1983, ttie T u r k i s h a s y l u m - s e e k e r C e m a l A l t u n j u m p e d t o h i s d e a t hfrom th e fourth f l oo r o f a f edera l cour t house inBer l i n t o avo id depor t a t ion . Tha t even in g , mo ret han 10,000 took pa r t i n a spon t aneous p ro t es td e m o n s t r a t i o n . A l s o i n t h o s e y e a r s , th e soc ia la s p e c t o f peop le from o t her coun t r i es changedfrom exp lo i t ab le " workers " t o t he mo re e t hn icc o n c e p t o f members o f a "d i f f e ren t cu l t u re" .

Tha t exp la ins t he b ackgrou nd t o t he re f u g e e c a m p a i g n b y t h e R Z . T h e p u b l i c at i o n o f' Zorn-Ex t ra ' , i s s u e #9 o f the R Z ' s mag az ine , i nO c t o b e r 1 9 8 6 r e p r e s e n t e d t h e o p e n in g o f t h eR Z ' s r e f u g e e c a m p a i g n . T h i s w a s a g a i n s t t h eb a c k g r o u n d o f i n c r e a s i n g n u m b e r s o f p e o p l ecoming in t o t he met ropo les from t he poorer re g i o n s o f t h e w o r l d a n d t h e r i g o r o u s m e a s u r e sb e i n g t a k e n b y t h e r u l i n g p o w e r s t o s t o p t h i sdeve lopm ent , The R Z s t a t ed ; "We w ant t o c o n tribute t o t he w inn ing bac k o f a conc re t e formof an t i -imper ia l i sm in We s t G erm any - t h i s i s ouro r ien t a ti on t o t he re f ugee ques t ion . " By c om ingt o t he met ropo les , t he peop le from t he ThreeCont inen t s a re j us t l y demand ing a r i gh t t o lifea n d c o m p e n s a t i o n . T h e R Z c a l l ed fo r o p e n b o r d e r s and f ree c i t i es f o r re f u gees , bu t t h i s cou ldon ly be ach ieved i f "we c rea t e an open s p a c ef o r re f ugees wh ich cannot be con t ro l l ed o r reg i m e n t e d b y th e s t a t e " . T h e R Z ' s p r o p o s a l w a sd i r e c t e d a t t h e a u t o n o m i s t a n d s o c i a l - r e v o l u t ionary left, " t o make t he re f ugee ques t ion ttiet o u c h s t o n e f o r p o l i t ic a l p r a x i s a t v a r i o u s l e v e l s " . V a r i o u s R Z a c t i o n s m a d e u p t h i s c a m p a i g n , i n c l u d i n g t h e k n e e c a p p i n g s o fHo l l enberg , t he head o f t he Fore igner D iv i s ioni n t h e W e s t B e r l i n p o l i c e , a n d K o r b m a c h e r , af edera l j ud ge respon s ib le fo r ru l i ngs res tr i c t i nga s y l u m c la im s , and t he a t t ack on t he ' Zen t ra leS o z i a l h i l f e s t e l l e f u r A s y l b e w e r b e r ' a d m i n i s t r a t i ve o f f i ce rs .

La t e r , t h i s camo a ian w as sharo i v c r i t i c i zed

w i t h in t he rank s o f t he R Z . In con t ras t t o t hep o i n t p u t f o r w a r d b y t h e R Z in i s s u e #6 o f'Revo lu t i onarer Zorn ' , namely that m o v e m e n t scannot be b rought i n t o ex i s t ence by means o fa rm ed ac t i o ns , t h i s i s exac t l y wh at t he R Z w eret ry ing t o do with t h ei r c a m p a i g n . O t h e r s c r i ti c i z e d t h e u s e o f r e f u g e e s a s " t h e r e v o l u t i o n a ry sub jec t " in t he m et ropo les as " f a l se" . In t hetext " T h e E n d O f O u r P o l i t i c s " , o n e R Z g r o u pwro t e o fttie r ef u g e e c a m p a i g n ; " W e f a n t a s i ze dabout t he w il l o f t he re f ug ees , about t hem se ek ing thei r s l i c e o f t i e w e a l t h a n d a s e c u r e ex i s t e n c e i n t he m et ropo les as be ing a d i rec t an t i -imper ia l i s t s t rugg le l i nked t o t he i r exper ienceso f r e s i s t a n c e i n t h e T h r e e C o n t i n e n t s , a n dt hereby us ing t h i s as a poss ib le t e r rain f o r ouro w n p o l i t i c s . W h e n t h e s t r u g g l e s w e h o p e t oident ify with fa i l ed to mat er ia l i ze (we a l so over l o o k e d m a n y o f th e " r e f o r m i s f d e m a n d s o f th ea s y l u m - s e e k e r s ) , w e c o m p e n s a t e d with a nana l ys i s o f t he s t a t e ' s re f ugee po l i c ies and a t t ack ed i t s respon s ib le agent s . W e ac t ed in t henam e o f t he re f ugees w i t hou t con s ider ing t hei rsub jec t i v i t y o r t he i r expec t a t i ons , i ndeed w i t h o u t e v e n k n o w i n g t h e m , "

T h e a u t o n o m i s t s c e n e w a s d i s m a y e dw h e n t h e R Z d r o p p e d t h e c a m p a i g n i n th e e a r l y1 9 9 0 s , j u s t a t a time w h e n , a c c o r d i n g t o t h eau t onomis t s c e n e , s u c h a c a m p a i g n w a s n e e d e dm o r ettian ever be f o re s i n c e h u n d r e d s o f t h o u s a n d s o f p e o p l e w e r e c o m i n g i n to t h emet ropo les from e a s t v ia ttie t emporar i l y o penb o r d e r s .Then t he s i tua t i on esca la t ed even mor ei n 19 9 1 ; i n t h e s u m m e r , t h e r e w e r e m a s s i v epogroms by c i t i zens in t he E a s t G erman c i t y o fH o y e r s w e r d a d i r e c t ed a g a i n s t f o r m e r c o n t r a c tw o r k e r s from A n g o l a a n d M o z a m b i q u e . T h a ty e a r a l s o s a w a m a s s i v e p o g r o m i n R o s t o c k -U c h t e n h a g e n , f u e l e d b y t h e p r o p a g a n d a c a m p a i g n s o f t h e C D U , a g a i n s t R o m a a n d S i nt i p e o p les a n d c o n t r a c t w o r k e r s from V i e t n a m , T h ea im o f tj he CD U w as t o s t r i ke t he ind i v idua l r i gh tt o a s y l u m e n s h r i n e d in th e G e r m a n C o n s t i t u t i on , wh ich t hey wer e even t ua l l y ab le t o do b ym e a n s o f t h e s o - c a l l e d " a s y lu m c o m p r o m i s e " ,A u t o n o m i s t r e s i s t a n c e c o u l d o n l y p r e v e n t aw o r s t o f a l l p o s s i b l e s c e n a r i o s , for thei r p o s i tion " O p e n B o r d e r s F o r A l l " w a s c e r ta i n ly am inor i t y op in ion in G ermany a t that t ime. Th ea u t o n o m i s t s w e r e i n t h e d e f a c t o p o s i t i o n o ff ight ing to pro tect the Const i tut ion an d the c iv i lr i gh t s o f re f ug ees . F rom ab ove , t he i nd i v idua lr i g h t s o f r e f u g e e s w e r e b e i n g r e s t r i c t e d , i np a r t i c u l a r t h e b a n o n w o r k i n g , r e s i d e n c e r e s t r i c t i ons , a n d t h e h o u s i n g o f i n c r e a s i n g n u m b e r s o f a s y l u m - s e e k e r s i n h o s t e l s i n s t e ad o fp r i va t e hom es . A t t he sam e t ime, border po l i ceo n th e e a s t e r n b o r d e r s with P o l a n d a n dC z e c h o s l o v a k i a w e r e i n c r e a s i n g l y a n d m a s s i ve l y a r m e d .

T h e s e p o l i c i e s b y t h e g o v e r n m e n t d r a s t i c a l l y r e d u c e d th e n u m b e r s o f r e f u g e e s w h ower e ab le to m ake i t i n to G e rm any t o file a s y l u m c l a i m s . T h e R Z ' s re f u g e e c a m p a i g n w a sf i v e y e a r s a h e a d o f i t s t i m e , a n d i t c o r r e c t l yp red ic t ed that t he ru l i ng power s wou ld attemptt o mut a t e r i s ing s o c i a l con f l i c t s i n t o an e t hn iccon f l i c t aga ins t re f ugees . Bu t no t even t he RZwer e ab le t o spe l l ou t how t he s t rugg le o f re f u g e e s c o u l d b e l i n k e d to t h e s t r u g g l e s o f t h eG e r m a n u n d e r c l a s s e s . T h e R Z a d m i t t e d t h i st h e m s e l v e s in an ac t i on com mu niaue in 1989:

" W e n e v e r h a d t h e i l lu s i o n that p r o l e t a r i a ny o u t h s , w o m e n , t h e u n e m p l o y e d , o r o t h e r s e c t o rs o f t he soc ie t y wou ld qu ick l y deve lop c om m o n i n t e r e s t s with r e f u g e e s an d i m m i g r a n t s ,b e c a u s e r a c i s m a n d s e x i s m a r e to o s t r o n g l yingra ined in t he soc ie t y . Bu t ttiat i t exact jy whyant i -imper ia l i sm m us t i n t ervene t o b reak t h rought h e s e k n o t s , "

D u r in g t h e s e y e a r s , t he Rot e Zora con t in ued t o make t he i r own po l i t i c s and d id no t wantt o b e s e e n a s j u s t a f e m i n i s t w i n g o f t h e R Z .The Rot e Zora wro t e : "We do no t any ' l e f t i s t 'd iv is ion o f l a b o r: w o m e n w o r k o n w o m e n ' s i s s u e s , a n d m e n d e a l witti t he gen era l po l i t i calt h e m e s , " R o t e Z o r a a t t a c k s w e r e often d i rec t eda g a i n s t w o m e n t r a d e r s a n d s e x s h o p s . B u tt h e y a l s o t h e c o r p o r a ti o n S i e m e n s E l ec t r on i cs ,t h e c o m p u t e r firm Nixdorf, and a da t a cen t e r asa form o f r e s i s t a n c e a g ai n s t a r m s p r o d u c t i o n ,s t a t e s u r v e il l an c e m e a s u r e s , a n d e c o n o m i cres t ruc t u r ing . A f t e r 1985, t hey took up t he re s i s t a n c e o f w o m e n a g a i n s t g e n e a n d r e p r o d u c t i o n t e c h n o l o g y a n d c o n c e n t r a t e d m o s t o fttieir a t t a c k s o n t h e s e a r e a s . Most , but not a l l ,s i n c e t he i r ac t i on that g a i n e d t h e m o s t p u b l i ca t t en t i o n w a s t h e ir s e r i e s o f a t t a c k s o n t h ec lo t h ing cha in 'Ad le r ' i n so l i dar i t y with a s t r ikeb y f e m a l e textile w o r k e r s i n S o u t h K o r e a . A f t e rt h e s t o r e ' s m a n a g e m e n t i g n o r ed o n e a r s o n a t t ack , n ine Ad le r s t o res went up in f l ames s imu l t a n e o u s l y o n t h e n i g h t o f A u g u s t 1 5 , 1 9 8 7 .S h o r t y a f t er a n o t h er a r s o n a c ti o n b y A m a z o n si n B e r l in , t h e c o m p a n y g a v e i n to t h e d e m a n d so f t h e K o r e a n s t r i k e r s . S e l d o m h a d a n a r m e da c t i o n i n G e r m a n y h a d s u c h a c o n c r e t e , p o s i t i ve e f f ec t . I t w as be cau se o f t h i s s u c c e s s thatG e r m a n y ' s f edera l po l i ce and in t e l li gence agen c i e s l a u n c h e d a n a t i o n w id e s e r i e s o f ra ids onD e c e m b e r 1 8 , 1 9 8 7 , attempting t o a r res t 33p e o p l e a n d c h a r g i n g t h em with m e m b e r s h i p i nt h e R Z / R o t e Z o r a , Many peop le were ab le t oe lude po l i ce cap t u re dur ing t he ra ids . So m e o ft h e s e people are s t i l l l iv ing underground today.A m o n g t h o s e a r r e s t e d , h o w e v e r , w a s In g r idS t r o b l , w h o p o l i c e s a i d p u r c h a s e d th e a l a r mc l o c k w h i c h w a s u s e d a s a t i m e r i n o n e o f t h ea t t a c k s , S h e s p e n t t w o a n d a h a l f y e a r s i np r i s o n .

I n 1990/ 91 , t he RZ began t o s t umble overv a r i o u s t h e o r e t i c a l p o i n t s , a n d t h e g r o u p d ef ac t o d i ss o lved i tse l f over t he nex t f ew y e a r s .The las t m i l i t an t ac t i on c la imed under t he name"Revo lu t i onary C e l l s ( R Z ) w a s a n a t t a c k o n aborder pol ice elec t r ic i ty substat ion in Frankfur t /O der near t he borderwith P o l a n d . T h e l a s t a c tion c la im ed by t he Rot e Zor a was a 1995 a t t a c k o n a w h a r f i n B r e m e n that w a s p r o d u c i n gw a r s h i p s f o r T u r k e y . T h e e x t e r n a l c o n d i t i o n swh ich con t r i bu t ed to t he dem ise o f t he RZ in c l u d e d t h e r e u n i fi c a t io n o f G e r m a n y a n d t h eo v e r w h e l m i n g c o l l a p s e o f th e left fo l lowing theC o l d War . Th is new s i t ua ti on mad e a t t acks see ml i ke m e r e a c t i o n i s m i n a v a c u u m . O n e " t r ad i t ional" R Z g roup re leas ed a com mu niqu e in 1991ent it l ed "Th is Is Not A Lov e S o n g " w h i c h s u m mar ized t he s i t ua ti on as f o l l ows : Th e a t t ack ont h e n o w a d a y s c o m p l e t e l y p o l i ti c a ll y i r r e le v a n tmemo r ia l to m i l i t a r i sm,ttie' S i e g e s s a e u l e 'i n B e r l in,has mad e i t c lear thatt he Revo lu t i onary C e l l sare ac t i ng en t i re l y ou t o f time and place, ( . . . )A p a r tfrom t he f ac tthat the act ion took p lace a ta n i r r e l ev a n t t i m e , t h e c o m r a d e s h a v e r e - i


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Arm The Sp i r i t #18 - Fa l l2000v e a l e d that t h ey h a v e n o a n s w e r s f o r t h e o b j e c t i v e q u e s t i o n s w h i c h t h e y t h e m s e l v e s r a i s e d ,n a m e l y t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n n a t i o n a l i s m ,r a c i s m , a n d s e x i s m , a n d t h e i r o w n p o l i t i c a lp rax i s . T h e c o m m u n i q u e that a c c o m p a n i e d t h eac t ion l acked any po l i ti ca l o r i en t at i on . The c om r a d e s s e e c l a r i t y w h e r e n o n e e x i s t s . (...) Mili-tant a c t i o n s s h o u l d a im t o s h a r p e n s o c i a l c o n t rad i c t i ons , t o ad vanc e soc ia l s t rugg les , and t os e c u r e o r e x p a n d e d f r e e s p a c e s w h i c h h a v eb e e n s t r u g g l e d f o r a n d w o n . Militant a c t i o n ss h o u l d e x p o s e th e v i o l e n c e o f th e r u l i n g s y s t em, i den t if y i n ju s t i ce , sabo t age t he p ro jec t s o fthe rul ing c l a s s , a n d d e s t r o y t h e s y s t e m o f s o c i a l a n d r e p r e s s i v e c o n t r o l . Militant a c t i o n ss h o u l d ac t to revers e t he in c reas ing f ee l i ng o f .p o w e r i e s s n e s s a m o n g t h e r e s i s t a n c e , t o s h o wthat r e s i s t a n c e is p o s s i b l e , a n d t o d e s t r o y t h em y t h o s o f t h e r u l i n g p o w e r s . Militant a c t i o n ss h o u l d h it t he ru l i ng po wer s po l i t i ca l ly , m aket h e m f e e l i n s e c u r e , a n d e x p o s e t h e m t o r i d i c u l e . "

I n te rnal l y, t he murder o f G erd A lb ar t us i nL e b a n o n b y h is fo r m e r c o m r a d e s s e e m s t o haves t a r t ed a dynamic o f a l i ena t ion and res igna t ionwith th e R Z . T h e text " G erd A lbar t us I s Dead" ,w h i c h a p p e a r e d i n D e c e m b e r 1 9 9 1 , m a k e t h i sd i s c u s s i o n an open debate for the f i rs t t ime. InJ a n u a r y 1992 , an RZ group from NorthR h e i n -Wes t pha l i a announced t he end o f i t s ac t i v i t i esin a text en ti t led " The En d O f O u r Po l i t i c s " . A tthe t ime, th is text wa s heav i ly , and jus t ly , c r i ti c i z e d . B u t s i n c e t e n y e a r s h a v e p a s s e d , its e e m s that many p o in t s f o rmu la t ed inthat p a per , a l t hough often unc lear and o f f t he mark ,s e e m , in fac t , "correc t " now. In par t icular , theyr a i s e d t h e q u e s t i o n o f w h e t h e r a t t a c k s w h e r et he p roper res po nse t o t he ever -chang in g c o n d i t i ons . " Theforma n d t h e m e a n s o f a r m e d s t r u g g l e , a s w e o u r s e l v e s kn o w v e r y w e l l , c a n t o oeasi ly bec om e an en ds in and o f i t se l f, a subs t i tute f o r po l i t i ca l s t ra t eg ies . "C o n c l u s i o n

The Revo lu t i onary C e l l s , i n severa l o f t he i rc o m m u n i q u e s , u t i l i z e d c i t a t i o n s from B r e c h tfrom h i s t a les o f t he fi c t iona l Mr K . " Wh at a rey o u w o r k in g f o r ? ' Mr K . w a s a s k e d . Mr K . a n s w e r e d , ' I am mak ing a g rea t effort I am prep a r in g f o r m y n e x t m i s t a k e .' " A s w a s s a i d b e f o re , no one c r i t i c i zed t he R Z m ore harsh ly t hant h e R Z s t h e m s e l v e s . T h e b i g g e s t p r o b l e ms e e m s t o h a v e b e e n t h e d r a s t i c s h i f t in t h eg l o b a l c o o r d i n a t e s in 1 9 9 0 , w h e n t h e r u l i n gp o w e r s c o m p l e t el y r e al i g n e d t h e m s e l v e s . E v e nt h e C D U h a s b e e n o v e r t a k e n b y t h e s e ev e n t s .Represen t a t i ve o f t h i s i s t he f ac t that J o s c h k aF i s c her , w h o u s e d t o h u r l s t o n e s a t p o l i c e to g e t h e r with R Z m e m b e r s in th e e a r l y 1 9 7 0 s ,b e c a m e G e r m a n y ' s F o r ei g n M i n is t er a n d D e p u tyC h a n c e l l o r in 1999.

A n o t h e r p r o b l e m w a s t h e c o n t r a d ic t i o nbe t ween t he R Z ' s des i red po l i ti ca l o rgan i za t i onand t he i r s imu l t aneous ex i s t ence as a " m i l it ary "o rgan i za t i on . I n " The En d O f O ur Po l i t i c s " , oneR Z g r o u p w r o t e : " O u r fi x a ti o n o n m e t h o d s o fs t rugg le meant we n eg lec t ed a t heore t i ca l pol i ti c al d e v e l o p m e n t , s o m e t h i n g w h i c h w o u l dhave added more con t en t t o our i nd i v idua l c o n t r i bu t i ons t o var ious con f l i c t s . O ur soc ia l - revo-l u t io n a r v th e o r e t i c a l u n d e r s t a n d i n a w a s b a s i

ca l l y j u s t a m o s a i c o f t h e s u m o f o u r v ar i o u sc o m m e n t a ri e s a n d a n a l y s e s , l u m p e d t o g e t h erfrom va r ious f i e lds o f s t rugg les , and a t i gh t e run i f i ca t ion o f t he se w as no t po ss ib le . ( .. .) Thed ia lec t i c o f a rmed r es i s t ance and m a s s s t r u g g l e r e m a i n e d p u r e l y e x t e r n a l . O u r o w n , s u b j ec t i ve dec is ion fo r an a l l -enc om pass ing po li t ic a l c o n d u c t , f o r a r m e d a t t a c k s , a n d th e a p proval of the left fo r our a t t ack s we a t t r ibu t ed -f a l se l y - t o a revo lu t i onary f o r ce wh ich co u ldt ake on t he sy s t e m, t he f i r s t s t ep s o f a revo lu t ionary p r o c e s s . D id we real ly bel ieve that s u c ha reduc t i ve p rogram cou ld ac t ua l l y have an in f l uence on t he complex i t y o f so c ia l ch ang es inal l thei r pol i t ical , cul tural , s o c i a l , a n d o r g a n i z a t ional e x t e n t s ? O f c o u r s e w e d i d "

O n e o f the ma in m ot i ves fo r t he f ound ingo f t he RZ w as to m ake m i l i tan t and a rm ed ac t i ons i n a coun t ry l i ke G ermany conce ivab le asa form o f ac t i on . Look ing back t oday , t hey w ereab le to ach iev e t h i s . Bu t that doesn ' t so l ve t heques t ion o f wh at f o rms o f ac t i on a re more u s e f u l and jus t i f i ed i n ac t ua l s i t ua t i ons t hese days .Th i s text w a s written i n S e p t e m b e r 2000 by :D i a - G r u p p ec /o B u c h l a d en S c h w a r z e R i s s eG n e i s e n a u s t r a s s e 2 a10961 Ber l inG e r m a n y( S o u r c e : " I n te r im" #499; T rans la t ed by Arm TheSpir i t )


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A r m T h e Spirit #1 8 - Fall 2000

nterim eets RadikalInterview WithR ad i ka l AndInterimFour years ago, on June 13, 1995, the Germanfederal pol ice, the BAW, launched a series ofnat ionwide raids to defeat the organized structures of the clandest ine autonomist publ icat ion'Radikal'. The BAW fai led, however, and mostof the criminal cases were eventual ly dropped.Since then, two brochures have been publ ished,in which former Radikal members announcedtheir retireme nt from the project. Last summer,the only issue of Radikal publ ished by the thirdgenerat ion thusfar appeared. Nothing has beenheard of from the project since then. The fol-lowing is ajoint discussion with members ofRadikal as wel l as some people involved in ' Interim', a semi-legal weekly autonomist publ ication based in Berlin.

I n t e r i m : R a d i k a l o n ly a p p e a r s s p o r a d i c al l y t h e s ed a y s . Wh at s i tuat ion is the pub l icat ion in at them o m e n t ?R a d i k a l : I t wasn ' t our i n t en t ion t o on ly appearo n c e a year . O ne reas on f o rthatw a sthat m a n ypeop le a re no longer with t he p ro jec t , wh ic h i sfal lout from t h e w a v e o f r e p r e s s i o n . T h e c o p ss m a s h e d some par t s o f our s t ruc t u re . The badt h ing about appear ing on ly onc e a year i s thatwe c anno t par t ic ipa t e i n c ur ren t d i s c u s s i o n s .F o re x a m p l e , w e w e r e w e l l o n o u r w a y t o w a r d s p l a n ning the next i s s u e w h e n N A T O s t a rt e d b o m b i n g Yu g o s l a v i a . W e s h o u l d h a v e t o s s e d e v e r y t h ing and s t a r t ed r i gh t away on somet h ing new .B u t , as a c landes t ine o rgan iza t ion , i t ' s no t thate a s y , and c hang ing p lan s t akes a l o t o f energy .I n t e r im : I s t here any po in t i n p roduc ing a m aga z i n e w h i c h o n l y c o m e s o u t o n c e a y e a r ?R a d i k a l :I f t here wasn ' t hope o f c oming ou t mor ef requent ly , no. B e c a u s e d i s c u s s io n s a r e m u c hm o r e s u i t e d t o o t h e r p u b l i c a t i o n s , li k e y o u rprojec t , the Inter im, for example.I n t e r i m : B u t y o u a ll a l s o h a d d i s c u s s i o n s aboutwhet h er you sho u ld be a s t ruc t u re , a po l i t i c a l -m i l i ta n t n e t w o r k , o r j u s t a r a d i c a l m a g a z i n epro jec t . Wh ere d id t hes e d i s c u s s i o n s l e a d ?R a d i k a l : I n the d i rec t i on o f be ing m ore t han jus ta m a g a z i n e . W e s e e o u r s e l v e s a s a n attemptt o ne t work from the loc al level to the nat ionw ideleve l . The perspec t i ve i s t o us e t h i s ne t work f o rmore t han ju s t a pub l i c a t ion . Th is c on t rovers ia ld i s c u s s i o n is an old one wi th in the pro jec t . Par t lyb e c a u s e i t revea ls how di f f icul t i t is to bui ld ad i s c u s s i o n o n a s t r u c t u r e o f i n f o r m a t i o n e x c h a n g e , one in wh ic h t here i s so m e degree o fac c ount ab i l i t y .I n t e r im : In t he ear l y 1990s , t he o rg an iza t iond e b a t e b e c a m e r e d u c e d t o tw o p o l e s , t h e s p o n t aneous -or ien t ed au t o nom is t s , who r e jec t i n t e rreg iona l o rgan iza t ions , and t he an t i f a -w ing o ft h e m o v e m e n t , w h i c h b e c a m e o r g a n i z e d in t h eA A / B O [ An t i -Fasc i s t Ac t i on /Nat ionw ide O rgan i

za t i on ] . You a l l a re a l so a form o f na t ionw ideo r g a n i z a t i o n . In p r a x i s , e s p e c i a l l y b e a r i n g i nm i n d y o u r c o n d i t i o n s , d o e s a n a t i o n w i d e o r gan iza t i on make s e n s e ?R a d i k a l : There w i l l be c ond i t i ons aga in i n t hef u t u re, bu t t hey f i rs t mus t be c rea t ed by t he rad i c a l - l e ft , i n wh ic h a na t ionw ide o rgan iza t ion , ab iggera s s o c i a t i o nw h i c h i s n o t i so l a ted ,w i l l havea w h o l e o t h er s i g n i f i c a n c e . S o m e d a y t h e r ec ou ld be a s i tua t i on when t he q ues t ion o f pow eris pos ed aga in , a s i t uat i on i n wh ic h t h

arm the spirit - 4 unpublished pieces

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