Sandinistas

Dear "Emancipationt1, In the March-April issue, the article ltReflections on Nicaragua" suggests that anarchists follow the example of liber-tarian theologists and neo-Stalinists, who 'Traok up with self-determination movements all over the world." Since the author gives us no examples of autonomous worker organization in Nicaragua, his suggestion can only mean giving aid to pro-Sandinista groups. Apparently "~illie"believes that within the Sandinistas there are anarchist "antibodies" and an unarticulated liber-tarian spirit," which can be encouraged to produce a spontaneous defense against creeping authoritarianism in Nicaragua. What this amounts to is a program for class collaboration. The Sandinista may not have imposed as repressive a regime as Castro's Cuba (not yet anyway). At the moment the Sandinista regime resembles the Mexican Revolutionary Institutional Party regime, a somewhat social democratfc one-party State. Sandinista hopes of turning Nicaragua into a full fledged Marxist-Leninist State, have been frustrated by the lack of Russian economic aid, and the need to placate world opinion and attract capitalist investment. The Sandinistas have shown themselves to be prepared to repress the labor movement when workers' demands come into conflict with "national interests." The Sandinista publicly sup-ported the Polish junta's crackdown on Solidarnosc. The Sandinistas outlawed strikes, until international opinion forced them to change the laws for cos-metic purposes. The Sandinistas have draf-ted workers into the military and used draftees to harvest crops, thereby under-cutting agricultural wages and militar-izing labor. ' None of this justifies a return to wer by the followers of Somoza, nor agan's war. As anarchists, however, we should not be taking sides in conflicts between nation-stares, political parties, nor employers. The existence of liber-tarian "antibodies" has never been suf-Eicienttostopcreepingbureaucracybe-fore. ~ntibodiesdidn't stop Lenin, Mao or

Castro, and I doubt they will stop the Sandinistas. Only an organized labor move- ment, committed to self-management and social equality, can do that. If such a movement exists in Nicaragua, Anarchists , in the U.S. should support f t. But .if there is no such movement, our efforts should be dfrected solely towards obstsuc- ting the U.S. war effort, while aiding the authentic libertarian Labor movements in the rest of the world. Currently the IWW is following such a , program, The IWW regularly raises funds for the AIT-CNT in Spain and the Solidar-nosc underground in Poland. Next year rhe IWW will be bringing together workers from around the world, in Chicago for an inter-national revolutionary labor conference. Delegates are expected to come from Europe, Asia, and Latin America. The con- ference will be used to strengthen ties between workers, not with nation-states. Anarchists who have a commitment to inter-national labor solidarityshould support these efforts. The IWW can be contacted by writing them at: 3435 N. Sheffield, Suite 202, Chicago, IL 60657. For the Social Revolution, Jeff Stein

EAYKAMET OBSERVLLZBCE PUNNED May 1986 will mark the 100th anniversary ' of the Hatmarkets tragedy in Chicago. During this brutal attempt to suppress the workers' movement in America, eight anar-chists were arrested and put on trial, five of them laterdyingat thehandsof the state-Anarchists in Chicago and across North America are calling an international labor conference to commemorate the Ray-market events and to observe as well the 50th anniversary of the Spanish Revolution that began in the summer of 1936. A tar-get date for this conference has been set as April 28 to May 4, 1986. The organizers askyoursupportandanearlycommunica-tion if you're interested in attending. A Itpreparation conference" to plan the May events will be held in Chicago over the Thanksgiving weekend 1985. For more info: Immpossible Books, Box 102, 120 W. Fuller-, ' ton, Chicago, IL 60614

The Kropotkin Dear "Emancipation" Recently, I had the opportunity to travel in ~Gssia. I really wasn't sure what I'd find there since all you aver hear about the place is propaganda from one side or the other. I least of all expected to find other anarchists, but I

did, I was sitting in a wharf-side bar in Leningrad, boldly wearing my AAA pin, when I noticed a middle-age man, obviously a dock worker, looking me over. And I began to wonder if being bold and ail'dne das such a good idea in the domain of a total-itarian stare. As the worker, who by now was KGB in my mind, started over, I began to run over alibies and excuses in my head. He sat down next to me, tapped my pin and whispered, "Makno? Durutti?" Feeling bold again, T replied, perhaps a little too loudly, "And Kropotkin and Bakunin!" Shhing me, he again whispered, "American Anarchist?" I nodded, confused about exactly what was happening. "Me too," he said. "Let's go." He led me back to his small apartment. After we both relaxed a lit-tle over some very stong vodka, we began toasting Anarchists past and present, and discussing little known bits and pieces of Anarchist history. Late in the evening, about half the bottle later, he raised his glass, saying, "To the Kropatkin." Smiling I raised mine announcing, "Here's to Prince Peter." Lowering his glass he said, "Not Peter Kropotkin,-the Kropotkin," Confused, I asked him what in the world could be the difference. "You don't know!" he bellowed with a hearty laugh. "The pastry --The Kropot-kin." Settling down he said, "You really don't know, do you?" Surely he's putting me on, T thought. But it was his vodka, so I played along. With a very serious look on his face, he began to tell me his tale of the Kso-potkin. In the early 1900's prior to the failed 1907 revolution in Russia, a group of Anarchists working in a fancy bakery, frequented by Russia's elite, decided to put a little humor into their work. They had noticed how it was considered chic for the aristocrats to consume vast quantities of Napoleons. Indeed, Napoleons were the largest selling item at the bakery where they worked. Naturally, the workers and peasants, who could barely afford bread, never lasted pastries of any kind. Not wishing the masses to miss out on the deligh'ts cjf pastries, our group of anarchist pastry workers dreamed up a simple, but delicious pastry --the Kro-potkin. Right under the noses of the bakeries bosses, our anarchist bakers stale an egg here and some flour there. Then, turning out Kropotkins while the boss went off to lunch, they'd smuggle I The Kropotkin continued from 3... thefr Kroporkin treats out in hollowed

loaves of bread. During the evening, they 11 would pop up at a workers' tavern, quickly: passing out their Kropotkins and the odd , revolutionary pamphlet. I ! This went on for about a year, before i one of the czar's spies brought him the I news and a captured Kropotkin. At first, the czar laughed hysterically while mun-ching on a Napoleon. But then his mood shifted. Snatching the Kropotkin from his spy's hands, he took a bite. It was truly , marvelous. Never before had the czar tasted such a pastry. This infuriated him; how dare common workers prepare such , afood! Theczarissuedordersthatthe bakers be hunted down and the recipe de- I atroyed.

I I Soon after, both Kropotkins and our , heroic bakers disappeared. Na one knows whether they'escaped or were caught. But ; being anarchists, they had published their recipe on the hack of their pamphlets --after all, such things are the property of I , no one. It is rumored that after the ; Bolsheviks seized power, they discovered I one of the baker's pamphlets in the Czar's archives and that new Kropotkins are available again, but only to the upper I echelons of the party. Though my Russian friend didn't beieve the rumor, as he put: it, "The Bolsheviks aren't smart enough to recognize a good pastry recipe when they see one." At the end of his tale, I could no longer contain myself, and laughed out loud. "So you don't believe me," my friend pouted. '*I'm sorry, but I did enjoy the stary," I replied. 81 I111 show you," he said, as he began

removing,books from the book case. He then opened a small hidden compartment and rook aut a faded old pamphlet. "There," he said, pointing to the back cover. Sure enough on the back of a copy of "God and the State" was a recipe for --the Kropot-kin. I apologized and he carefully placed the treasure back in the wall. "1'11 save it for better days," he said. Before he closed the panel, I pulled off my AAA pin and laid it an top of the pamphlet. Be smiled and I think a tear came to his eye. We embraced and I left. It was after one and my friend would have to be on the docks by 6, and I aoula be off on the rest of my tour. Salud ! Comrade X