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Indymedia, Terror, Anti-Cuts demos & the CPGB-ML

Dario Fo | 26.09.2011 23:34 | Indymedia | Public sector cuts | Terror War

The following URLs link to a BBC TV documentary from 1992 about the 'stay-behind' terror network which was armed, recruited and funded by NATO and the OSS / CIA in Europe after WW2, which used far-right killers to discredit anarchists and the radical left through false-flag terrorism and so-called Strategies of Tension. Most interestingly in context of current UK protests, the film describes how an Italian Fascist group was tasked with inventing a fake Maoist group and fly-posting Maoist posters etc...

State sponsored Maoism
State sponsored Maoism

CPGB-ML
CPGB-ML


The following URLs link to a BBC TV documentary from 1992 about the 'stay-behind' terror network which was armed, recruited and funded by NATO and the OSS / CIA in Europe after WW2, which used far-right killers to discredit anarchists and the radical left through false-flag terrorism and so-called Strategies of Tension. The lessons of this documentary series are highly relevant to anti-cuts protests in the UK right now.

Part 1 of the documentary describes how the CIA protected and employed Nazi war-criminals like "The Butcher of Lyon" Klaus Barbie, Fascist veterans of the Spanish Civil War, officials of the Fascist Republic of Salo etc, to build-up their so-called Gladio (ie - "gladiator") network across Europe. The documentary describes how the Fascists received training from the British SAS and police Special Branch, and explains that although Gladio's original purpose was to oppose any invasion of Western Europe by Stalin's Red Army, in fact Gladio's earliest projects included murdering Belgian Communist leader Julien Lahaut and (unrealised) plans to oppose Italy's Communist Party by sabotaging democratic elections -

 http://vimeo.com/28343891

In Part 2 of the film former Gladio commanders, agents and police investigators describe how Gladio planned an abortive coup against Italy's democratically elected government, planned to attack striking industrial workers, and carried out terror attacks including the massacres at the Piazza Fontana in Milan (killing 18 people) and Bologna railway station (killing 82 people, including 2 young Britons). The film goes on to describe how Gladio blamed its own terrorism on leftists and anarchists (including anarchist railway worker Giuseppe Pinelli, whose murder by police interrogators is commemorated in Dario Fo's play "Accidental Death of an Anarchist"), then describes how Gladio directly infiltrated left-wing groups to encourage them to discredit themselves with more terrorist outrages (watch part 2 of the documentary from 33:16, 37:45 & 43:33 minutes in especially) -

 http://vimeo.com/28347047

Part 3 of the film describes attacks carried out by Belgian Gladio agents with American Special Forces, stealing weapons from Army bases which later turned-up in possession of Cellules Communiste Combattante (CCC) - a hard-left faction allied to the Red Brigades and the Baader-Meinhof Gang (aka Red Army Faction, co-founded by Horst Mahler, who since joined Germany's modern Nazi party the NPD). The film describes the kidnap of moderate left-wing Prime Minister Aldo Moro, an alleged early supporter of Gladio, who, after changing his mind and proposing an alliance with Italian Communists, was killed by the Red Brigades to PREVENT him voting for a pact with the Communist Party in a coalition government (watch from 30:05 especially).

Most interestingly in context of current UK protests, the film describes how Italian Fascist group "Avvanguardia Nazionale" were tasked with inventing a fake Maoist group and fly-posting Maoist posters etc, in order to fabricate a group far more extreme than the Italian Communist Party (watch from 32:48 + 1st photo). An obvious comparison would be to the Stalinist and Maoist images displayed on May Day and anti-cuts protests by the CPGB-ML - a hypocritically self-styled "proletarian" sect, ironically founded by Hampstead resident and high-class textile importer Harpal Brar (2nd photo)-

 http://vimeo.com/28355146

Any "radical" who advocates terrorism is an idiot or a plant. See you on the streets!

Dario Fo

Comments

Hide the following 27 comments

Anti-Fascist UK

27.09.2011 00:29

BNP leader Nick Griffin's business partner Roberto Fiore was part of the Nazi group that blew up Bologna Station, and Fiore was protected by MI6 after fleeing Italy to seek refuge with Nick Griffin in England.

Likewise Nick Griffin met with Horst Mahler (who was Badder and Meinhof's lawyer as well as being the actual founder of the RAF) as part of an official BNP delegation to meet the NPD.

a/ Britian's not immune from this shit b/ left-wing terrorists and right-wing terrorists are usually both State

Roddy Frame


define 'terror' please...

27.09.2011 05:39

because attacks by Cells of Fire in which state and corporate targets are attacked, often in a very amateurish / ad-hoc way hardly equates with 'state terror' nor does it have anything to do with any 'strategy of tension', quick history recap : the state kills civilians, CCF nor any of the new groups attack civilians, so try again officers, erm I mean wankers. as for 'Roddy Frame' grow the fuck up mate, haven't you got a pair of boots to polish or some harmless neo-folk gig to brutalize? who's the fucking terrorist? you wanna tell me what music I can and can't listen to? that's pretty fascist. I'd say I am more likely to see you in the pension queue than on the mythical 'streets' you claim to inhabit.

reality


CPGBML party of businessmen?!

27.09.2011 09:47

Maybe. Another dubious figure that clambered into that party and shot straight to leading position on the central committee with Harpal Brar is a certain wealthy consultant businessman former arch enemy of brar, toff sounding keith bennet, hob nobbing in elite circles, jumping onto the brarite hands off china campaigne, buttering up to chinese businessmen and finance director of cantonese
properties. Former 'maoist' Hmmm he like the smell of money, he say.
Thats your CPGBML party of the prol for you.

A


Conspiracy Cells of Fire

27.09.2011 10:18

Conspiracy Cells of Fire etc are trying to progressively introduce increasingly terroristic methods - bombings, arson attacks etc, into protest movements, so by definition of course that has to do with a strategy, and any strategy that causes tension (by blowing stuff up etc) is a strategy of tension. How this works politically is that destructive but non-lethal bombings etc are justified as being "non-violent" within the rhetoric of a protest movement, therefore accepted (by some people at least) as being a legitimate part of "the struggle", then one of those gas canisters "accidentally" explodes next to a pedestrian and maims or kills them, or a bomb warning isn't delivered to or is (accidentally or deliberately) misunderstood by the State - hey presto, radicals find the actions some of them have been tricked into supporting are now considered to be a full-on and possibly lethal terrorist campaign. Result? Protest movement discredited by association with violent terrorism!

As for the quality of the "analysis" in the comment above, where does the article mention ANYTHING about music? It's an interesting comment however, because a small minority of right-wing nutters in the neo-folk music scene (some of whom are ULTRA-right wing) have got a real complex about being "persecuted" by antifascists, the above comment lets slip that a person who's criticising the original post shares in that mindset, which strongly suggests that whoever made that comment is NOT what you'd call a typical Indymedia reader, ideologically speaking, but instead spends their time hanging out at right-wing concerts

Roddy Framed


Nazi war criminal employed by German Secret Services

27.09.2011 10:26

A high-ranking Nazi officer who helped develop a mobile gas chamber became a spy for West Germany after World War II... Former SS officer Walther Rauff worked for West German intelligence service, the BND, between 1958 and 1962. In hindsight, his recruitment was "politically and morally incomprehensible", said BND historian Bodo Hechelhammer. Rauff died in Chile in 1984, having evaded trial for war crimes... As US intelligence later put it, Rauff designed gas vans used to murder Jews and people with disabilities...

The government of General Augusto Pinochet, who seized power in Chile a military coup in 1973, resisted all calls for Rauff's extradition to stand trial in West Germany or Israel... He showed no remorse for his Nazi past, and remained in Chile till his death at the age of 77... He was buried in the capital Santiago to cries of "Heil Hitler, Heil Rauff"

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15069333

So, with the full knowledge of US intelligence, a Nazi war criminal was employed by the German Secret Services in a "democratic" Western European state, then moved to (surprise surprise) Chile, where he was supported by "democratic" leader Margaret Thatcher's great ally Augusto Pinochet

Announce


Yeah, right

27.09.2011 11:29

I remember those documentaries and they are interesting. But they don't translate to needing to pay someone to set up the CPGB-ML, as such tactics are only necessary when the mainstream communist party the state wants to divert attention from or discredit is strong. The British CP was falling to pieces slowly since the 1950s and disintegrated entirely around 1990. Unfortunately, no state intervention was needed to bring about the sidelining of Marxism-Leninism in British politics. Once the Soviet Union started collapsing, this happened organically.

The CPGB-ML is what it is - a small communist organisation, with some eccentric members, a Maoist tradition and a soft spot for Stalin. It's harmless.

long memory


Roddy Frame - Roddy Rock

27.09.2011 12:29

i LOVE ANTI-FASCISM. I was looking at the 7/7/05 bombings, if you add the numbers together it makes 777! That is a Freemasonic-Zionist number! GLADIO was linked to P2! Which is a fascist freemasonic sect which BERLUSCONI WAS A MEMBER.

UK FALSE FLAG OH NOES!

Is Conspiracy Cells of Fire "STRATEGY OF TENSION" muppets too? I did see them wit Kermit and miss piggy. Gosh, them kids are terrorists too!? I neva saw the guy wit da hand up the back, makin' THEM GREEK KIDS speak like a consultant of SOCIAL CONTROLZ.

I guess we don't want any social war or greek anarchy herez.


IS CPGB-ML THE EDL, OR MI5!?? OR IS IT THE KLF? I THINK IT IS THE N.A.T.O / FAI


STOPZ DA GREEK ANARCHIES! QUICK!

August


@ long memory

27.09.2011 12:45

Fully agree that the CPGBML is a harmless tiny sect with a soft spot for stalin.They hav a a lil tea party once a month called the stalin society where they hav tea and biscuits and hav cozy chats about thier love affair with stalin. They dont organise as they say, they would appear weak. Gosh they are getting much needed publicity on here today. They shy away from confrontational situations at demos. First sign of trouble and they disappear. They are no threat,apart from Mr wealthy Bennet who maybe MI5.

Former missionary


CPGB-ML are not harmless

27.09.2011 20:46

The CPGB-ML are risible, but sadly not harmless. Their flying huge hammer and sickle flags on anti-cuts protests visually dominates the visual appearance of the protests and does enormous damage to the image of those protests in the eyes of the general public, they actively harm the causes they claim to support

Word


still harmless

28.09.2011 09:08

Maoists with big red flags, unwashed anarchos with dogs on strings, religious nutters of all varieties... Sorry, don't think you can start saying who is and isn't allowed to support causes. 'The public' is pretty varied, and includes people of all shades of opinion. Nine times out of ten the person who says 'I would agree with you if you got rid of the commies/anarchos/loonies' doesn't really mean it and is just looking for an excuse.

Forget the CPGB-ML and get on with attacking the real enemies!

long memory


either confused or deliberately slanderous...

28.09.2011 13:35

there are a number of similar sounding parties in Britain...cpgbml...cpgb....cpbml....rcpbml*...etc etc

the cpgb-ml was founded in 2004, it never has been affiliated with maoism and the leading members of it have always been strict marxist-leninists (supporters of soviet union until Khrushchev). displaying a picture of a chinese and/or korean ambassador is baseless crap. the koreans are not maoists, the chinese aren't even bloody maoists!

in fact, the party which has a history of slavish maoism is rcpb(ml).

quite a tiresome post that is either sectarian or misinformed.

cracker


Reply to Cracker

28.09.2011 17:11

"There are a number of similar sounding parties in Britain...cpgbml...cpgb....cpbml....rcpbml*...etc etc... quite a tiresome post that is either sectarian or misinformed" how can a response that highlights the sheer variety of CPGB sub-sects logically accuse the original post of being "sectarian" - that comment literally doesn't make sense, it's the CPGB sub-sects that are sectarian. Ditto if the original post is "misinformed", please provide evidence showing which of its claims are factually incorrect?

Slacker


cpgb ml facts

29.09.2011 00:46

not in the CPGB-ML but some facts:
the CPGB-ML are not Maoists, but they uphold the Chinese revolution. in my opinion rightly. but Maoism is a different tendency. the CPGB ML are hoxhaists, pro Albania. there are influential parties of this tendency in Tunisia, for example.
They uphold the legacy of Stalin, because they understand the Russian revolution in a different way to both to most of the British left- anarchists, liberals, and trotskyists- but fairly common outside of the UK,especially in Asia and Africa. They support many third world causes, some in a way that I think is a little silly - .pro gaddafi in libya, pro mugabe in zimbabwe etc. but also stuff around palestine etc.
they have quite an old membership, they are not a young and hip group, and the core is based around harpal and his family. it has a little influence amongst young people of Indian origin around southall. It is nothing more than that.

uncle joe


long live stalin!

29.09.2011 02:07

check out this video tribute to Stalin!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpAczCQoTvk&feature=related

I am proud to call myself a Stalinist, at least in the sense that I recognise the great things that happened under Stalin in the USSR and I dont believe the western media crap.IT is not a secret that it was the red army under stalin that broke the back of the Nazis, liberated the concentration camps etc. Yet this side of Stalin is never recognised by trots. check out another view of Stalin:

 http://www.stalinsociety.org.uk/

Keith


stalin and hitler

29.09.2011 08:39

The process of equating communism and fascism, Stalin and Hitler, bundled into one has been underway for a while now in Europe, most notably the Baltics, Czech republic etc. Anyone cought hodling a hammer and sickle in those area, now finish up behind bars. Conveniently, the goverments are pro -NATO, with support from former SS betrayers who sided with the Nazis in WWII. Its a useful tool in order to get communist symbolics banned, and equated with nazi symbolics under the pretext of the fight against extremism and "crimes" of communism. As the class struggle intensifies, some people will look to parties like the CPGB ML for inspiration...weak as the party may be at present, who knows sometime in the future. The ruling regime in the UK, will take steps to ensure that doesnt happen.

Fb


CPGB-ML Maoism

29.09.2011 18:01

If the CPGB-ML aren't Maoist why do they display portraits of Mao at their meetings, and why does their You Tube channel says their "schools" are "Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Ho CHi Minh, Che Guevara"?

Either way the hypocrisy of their "proletarian" posturing is so transparent the truth is they're only ever going to be able to attract people who're stupid enough to Stalinists, and the real issue here is the damage they're causing to protest movements

Sandro


why the CPGB ML are not Maoist

30.09.2011 00:29

Sandro,

in communist terms the cpgb-ml 'uphold' the Chinese revolution and Mao. They are not Maoists because they do not recognise Maoism as being another stage of Marxism-Leninism, and do not propose particularly Maoist programs such as Peoples War or the Mass line. Maoism is very influential in India and Nepal, Peru, the Filipines and many other third world countries, but is not in the UK. Even the Zapatistas, who are not even Marxists, were influenced by Mexican currents of Maoism.

it is quite easy to see the CPGB-ML as Maoists, but they are not. Their tendency is generally considered Hoxhaist, after Enver Hoxha of Albania. Likewise, Cuba and Castro is not Maoist, and neither is North Korea. this might seem a bit picky, but i guess it is the same if one were to confuse, say, the Anarchist Federation with Class War. Yes, they are similar in that they are both anarchist, but they are different as well in their style of working and program. it depends also how much you care about the differences between communist groups. here is a british Maoist site:

 http://democracyandclasstruggle.blogspot.com/

the main attraction that people might feel to Maoism is that it has real influence in the world, mainly in the third world, while Anarchism and Trotskyism barely exist outside of the West and even in the West do not have mass support. It is not necessarily to do with either Stalin or Mao or what happened or didn't happen in Russia or China, but the fact that at this moment the peasants of India are defending themselves from the Indian state and multinational exploitation under the banner of Maoism, and have a base area and an army etc.

uncle joe


SFW

30.09.2011 09:38

OK, even if the CPGB-ML aren't Maoists, they still revere Mao, celebrate his legacy and display his picture - either way shit like that totally alienates members of the public who stumble across them on demos

Try to keep up

Sandro


Alienate or not

30.09.2011 10:57

Sandro. There is little you can do about that. Some people will feel alienated and some won't. Unless the regime bans them altogether there presence will continue. Maybe you would a supporter of banning communist symbolics at demos? Would i be right in that? But there you go.Thats politics. You have to live with that. You cant please everyone, and communists are here to stay, whether you like it or not, i'm afraid.

A


you have a point

30.09.2011 11:03

Sandro

you have a point that it alienates people. i agree with this. but so do a lot of things. for some it might be anarchists with dreadlocks, for others the swp selling papers, for others groups like cpgb ml with portraits of stalin. I would not myself go around with pictures of mao and stalin for the reason you mentioned, but that does not make the CPGB ML agents of anything. I think in western liberal discourse, Stalin and Mao are outside the pale, but they are not viewed as such in other parts of the world, and I dare say that if one looks at the issues more closely, a lot of the western propaganda is seen through ( ie wild swans by jung chang etc) and one simply does not believe it anymore. but yes, you have a point that it alienates people.

uncle joe


a question for Indymedia + other stuff

30.09.2011 11:40

if i were to post articles asking for solidarity with the Indian Maoist and their Peoples War on Indymedia, would that be breaking any rules, or not? not quite clear about this, clarification would be useful. also, is it something that the usual users of Indymedia would be interested in, or not? if i can get an answer, it will save time as I will know whether it is worth my while to post articles and links about the PW in India etc on Indymedia. i notice that there are posts about the zapatistas which are pretty good, but not sure whether Maoists are also welcome on Indymedia.

here is an article in todays guardian from arundhati roy discussing mainly Kashmir, but also talks about the Maoists and the repression that is going on in India.

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2011/sep/30/kashmir-india-unmarked-graves


ugly kid joe


Ugly kid joe

30.09.2011 15:44

I somehow doubt it. Most communist material is suppressed by Indymedia moderators. Stuff on korea, cuba and general stuff is usually a no go. But then again, if you have concrete news and not just statements by central committees for example, it could get published. But for example any pro north korean stuff from korean friendship association KFA is banned, although stuff has been published by them before, but recently, they wont publish anything by KFA. Its mainly anarcho stuff on here. But no harm trying.

Fb


cheers fb and a bit extra

30.09.2011 18:47

cheers fb. at the moment i am trying to get support/solidarity for the current 'unreported war' in India, and this solidarity is essentially with the Indian Maoist party. ( I could lie and pretend it wasn't, but let us be honest) . Apart from occasional articles from Arundhati Roy (who is not a maoist in any way, but a sympathetic progressive liberal who feels the plight of her poorer countryfolk), there is not and there will not be much coverage of this war. Even the Trotskyist groups will not really support the Maoists struggles, and the tag of 'stalinism' is used by them to dismiss almost all third world communist struggles that are taking place. (anarchists- let us unite in our mutual disdain for the trots!)

also, among british and western maoists, there are none that I have come across that have ever advocated terrorism. most british maoists are a bit on the old side, communists from back when there was still a communist tradition in parts of Britain. the state may well set up some wierd group that does terrorism and call itself Maoist or Anarchist or whatever, but that still has nothing much to do with actual Maoism or Anarchism. (in france there was even a wierd anarchist/ Maoist synthesis called 'Mao spontex'.) if people think that a false flag operation is taking place, then that should be called out. but the grey panthers in the cpgb-ml? you're having a laugh!

joe


your motives are questionable

03.10.2011 13:38

stop using indymedia as your place to carry on this little crusade against flying hammer and sickle flags at demo's. have read your other posts and now this rubbish. i take it that this is also you  http://redyouthuk.wordpress.com/2011/09/21/the-cheek-to-fly-hammer-and-sickle-flags-on-pro-nhs-rallies/

peacenik


wasn;t me

03.10.2011 16:09

not me. Dont know what you are talking about there or who the comment is aimed at.

Joe


CPBG-ML - LAST WORD?!

04.03.2012 13:31

If flying Hammer & Sickle flags and Mao banners etc was really HARMLESS, presumably the CIA wouldn't have paid Fascist groups like Avvanguardia Nazionale to do it?!

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