ئەرشیفەکانى هاوپۆل: English

Englishمێتالێکۆڵینه‌وه‌

Kurdish reaction to the current situation in Rojava*

Zaher Baher

22/01/2026

Rojava, Syria, and neighbouring countries are going through a very complicated situation. It is very difficult for us to fully understand what is happening at the moment. What we know so far is that there is a hidden agenda involving Israel and the United States. The players in the region, including Turkey, the Syrian government, and IS, are taking part in a bloody game, and the blood is flowing from the body of Rojava.

We all know what happened and each of us may have our own prediction about this bloody game. I will only address the points I have observed here.

First, the wave of racism:

 A widespread wave of racism and nationalism has spread across protests, demonstrations, media, and social media among Kurdish people. This wave is mainly driven by Iraqi Kurds, especially those in the Kurdish diaspora, many of whom are sitting behind computers and promoting extreme nationalism.

This is clearly evident in the areas I mentioned above. Dozens of videos are being shared on Facebook and WhatsApp showing how people in Rojava and their fighters are treated after being captured by the Syrian government army. These videos come from people in Gaza and from other chauvinist Arab groups and IS elements within the Syrian army. There are also many other videos that support Rojava and praise its fighters among Arabs and Turks, but they are rarely seen and are not widely circulated.

What is happening is very dangerous. These racist tendencies are not present among Kurdish people in Rojava or in Kurdistan in Turkey, and if they do exist, they are very rare. Such so-called activities do nothing but fuel the fire of a Kurdish-Arab war.

Second, the call for the removal of Tom Barrack:

 Many people believe that what has happened in Rojava and Syria is the result of the policies of the US envoy Tom Barrack himself. They think that replacing him with someone else would change the situation in the interest of the Kurds. It is true that Tom Barrack is of Lebanese Arab descent and may have some inclination toward Arabs on minor issues, but he represents the policy of the US administration in Syria. He only implements US policies and cannot go against them. The proof of this is the presence of senior US military commanders and senior CIA intelligence officials in the region. If Tom Barrack were to reverse US policy, they would not remain silent.

Another piece of evidence is the prisons of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which were holding large numbers of IS prisoners and their families. When these prisons were attacked by the Syrian government army while being guarded by the SDF, the SDF informed US forces and warned them about how dangerous the situation could become if IS prisoners were released. However, the US forces did nothing. This raises the question of why they allowed the Syrian army to attack and break the prisons, leading to the release of IS prisoners.

Third: Trump is a businessman, not a politician:

 Many Kurdish intellectuals and social media users say that Trump is a businessman, not a politician, when discussing his attitude toward Rojava and the Kurdish people. These people have little knowledge of politics or economics. They do not understand that politics is a reflection of the economy and serves economic interests, as if former US presidents were not connected to major businessmen and giant corporations.

Political administration is nothing but the protector of the economy and economic hegemony. The power and dominance of any country depend on its economic strength. For this reason, government policies, education programs, and various plans and efforts are aimed at economic growth, and even the army serves this purpose. Trump is both a politician and a major businessman. His political decisions reflect economic realities and are designed to protect and benefit the super-rich and giant corporations.

Fourth, the impact of this incident on the so-called peace process in Turkey:

 There is no doubt that what is happening will have a very negative impact on the Kurds in Turkey, the PKK, and Ocalan himself. The SDF was the backbone of Rojava and of the Kurds in Turkey. While the SDF and the autonomous administration in Rojava were important to Erdogan and his government, the PKK was neither important nor threatening to them as much as Rojava. The PKK is under the control of the Turkish state. The Turkish government could have fought it at any time, as they did, and in doing so, destroyed three parts of Kurdistan. Erdogan and his allies in the government knew that the PKK’s armed movement had done the greatest service to the Turkish state since 2015, when the fighting started again between Turkish state and PKK,  while it had not provided even the slightest benefit to the Kurds or to any part of Kurdistan.

Erdogan and his government consider Rojava so important and dangerous for the Turkish state that, if it were not for the US alliance with the SDF and the support it received not only from Kurdish people but also from many countries around the world, the Turkish government would have destroyed it from the start. They never hesitated to attack, as they did in 2018 when they managed to invade Afrin, one of the Kurdish regions in Rojava.

In my opinion, if the situation worsens and the war in Rojava continues between the SDF and the Syrian army, ending in the defeat of the SDF, it will also end the so-called peace process. Ocalan will either be ignored or forced to do what the Turkish state wants. The SDF was a great force and a very important moral support for Ocalan, and it is still significant. Defeating the SDF would be a defeat for both Ocalan and the PKK.

Fifth: Blaming the US:

 Most Kurds, along with some European and Arab leftist politicians and governments, blame the US for being unfaithful to the Kurds, even though the Kurds have made all the sacrifices to defeat IS and protect their citizens in Europe, the US, and other countries.

Those who hold these views do not ask what agreement existed between the SDF and the United States. Anyone aware of the situation knows that the United States never made any promises to the SDF or to the Kurds of Rojava from the beginning. On one occasion, Trump said, “The Kurds are brave and good fighters. They have helped us destroy IS. We have given them their rights, helped them, and paid them.” Tom Barrack also confirmed this a few days ago, but in a different way, saying, “We no longer need the SDF, and now we have a government that is our ally in the fight against IS.”

The US not only did that, but it also came and divided the Kurds and the Kurdish resistance in Rojava. The US only had a contract with the SDF and worked with them, while rejecting the other two parts of Rojava: the autonomous administration and the Democratic Union Party (PYD) itself. The SDF is the army that protects the autonomous administration, while the PYD is its planner and leader.

The United States has never hidden that it is an ally of the SDF, not of the PYD or the autonomous administration. This policy of the United States, which all three parts of Rojava accepted from the beginning, was aimed against them and was extremely dangerous. It is therefore one of the factors behind what is happening now.

Many of us know that relying on the United States and Western countries is not reliable. They are not only pursuing their own interests, but most of them have no history of liberating any nation or supporting any revolutionary movement. On the contrary, they also have a bloody history.

Unfortunately, we are now seeing the same scenario that occurred in Afghanistan being repeated in Syria. All the sacrifices made in Afghanistan and all the money spent to overthrow the Taliban ended up bringing them back to power, which Trump highlighted during his election campaign as a major weakness of Biden and his administration. The same thing is happening in Syria, but this situation is extremely dangerous. It could lead to genocide, potentially spark an Arab-Kurdish war, and the destructive flames of this conflict could spread to Iraq and a few other countries in the region.

This is the plan and agenda of the United States and some Western countries.

It is time to learn a big lesson, not just in Rojava. We must reject the dirty role of political parties, leadership, sacred leaders, and armed warfare except in self-defence. It is time to organize ourselves outside the control of political parties and dominant leaders and thinkers. It is time to awaken. Let us reject the attractive slogans of “long live… and death to…” and move beyond thinking driven by emotion and feeling. We must think with our minds and learn from history about the bloody role of rulers and authoritarians. That is the only way forward. At the same time, we must stand up against the oppression and genocide of the Kurdish nation in Syria, and against the dark forces that seek to control the urgent course of history under the guise of religion, vanity, chauvinism, and fascism.

………………….

* Rojava is the northeastern part of Syria where the Kurds live.

Englishمێتالێکۆڵینه‌وه‌

Trump and his politics

Zaher Baher

16 January 2026

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Donald Trump is not the fool that much of the global media and social media portray him to be. While his decisions, behaviour and policies can be hard to predict, he is a businessman and politician who generally follows through on his statements and presents himself consistently.

Unlike many before him, he does not appear to operate with a hidden agenda. His predecessors were less like independent businessmen and more like listeners who followed the interests of major companies. Trump, however, approaches politics as a businessman and is less influenced by corporate voices. In my view, his policies toward this system, and his efforts to preserve it, partly align with the interests of large companies in the United States and abroad. By allowing conflicts and turmoil to spread, attention is diverted away from public concerns and the media becomes occupied, weakening workers’ movements and the struggles of other oppressed groups.

 He understands that organizations like the UN and NATO no longer play the roles they were originally created for, and that their founding purposes have largely faded. He also believes they have become costly commitments for the United States, requiring the country to spend large amounts of money without receiving matching benefits.

Ukraine and Trump’s politics:

When you look at his approach to Ukraine, it is based on a practical view of the situation. Ukraine has been defeated, and a government that has lost a war cannot set terms for the side that has prevailed. For that reason, making peace sooner would bring Ukraine the greatest benefit. Trump also understands that NATO cannot enter the conflict directly, and he sees that many European governments and political parties are weak and often dependent on the electoral support of Islamic communities.

China and Russia:

Trump believes that China is engaged in an ongoing effort to gain global dominance and eventually replace the United States. He also understands that no matter what the United States does, it is unlikely to fully win this coming economic and strategic competition. Still, he knows it can be slowed down, and he aims to delay China’s rise for as long as possible.

Trump has identified several factors that could temporarily slow China’s advancement, reduce the pace of competition or create significant challenges for Beijing. He understands that the United States does not rely on oil now or in the future to the same extent, but he also knows that China depends heavily on oil as a primary source of energy to sustain and expand its economy, which in turn affects the economic balance with the United States.

Russia may not rely on oil and gas in the same way as the United States, but these resources are a major economic tool and a strategic weapon. They allow Russia to fund its wars and keep certain countries dependent on its energy, effectively keeping them under Putin’s influence. These countries desire oil and gas, but at a low cost.

Venezuela:

What Trump did in Venezuela was seize its oil fields so that millions of barrels of oil could be added to the global market each day. Doing this would lower the price of oil, which would hurt Russia by worsening its financial and economic situation. As a result, Russia might raise taxes on its citizens to make up for the losses from selling oil, reduce spending on public services, increase the cost of basic necessities, and cut or reduce aid to people who need help with daily living expenses. Meanwhile, the cost of importing anything into Russia would go up, and consumers would have to pay more. These effects and others would have a serious and damaging impact on the economy and directly affect how the government manages the country.

As for China it will inevitably face challenges from its competition with the United States, as well as from America’s economic influence over the countries where China invests.

What Trump is doing in Venezuela is not what I mentioned that some regional and international media are talking about. Trump knows that Venezuela is not only the heart and lifeline for some neighbouring countries and other states, but also a centre of aid and support for some countries, including Cuba, which receives 95 percent of its energy from Venezuela. Colombia is another example, as well as Caribbean countries like Trinidad and Tobago that have major trade agreements with Venezuela.

In addition, Trump can weaken the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China), which now has 11 members, but Venezuela is not one of them. Venezuela applied to join BRICS, but Brazil blocked its membership because all BRICS members must agree for a new country to join, and without that approval Venezuela was left out of the group.

The BRICS leaders at recent summits have confirmed that there is no formal joint BRICS currency yet, and no official release date has been set. Instead, the bloc is focusing on other forms of monetary cooperation. Occasionally, they use digital currencies among themselves for trade and other purposes. If BRICS eventually launches its own currency, it could weaken the dollar, reducing its value and global influence. If events unfold according to Trump’s plan, both the BRICS countries and any future currency they introduce could be weakened, if not rendered completely useless.

Trump, whether we like him or not, or agree with him or not, is, in my view, a smart person who knows what he is doing. He wants the United States to maintain its position, ensure the economy stays at least as strong as it is, and make sure that economic growth benefits large corporations and the super-rich. He wants American companies and the wealthy to remain dominant. In short, he aims to take from the poor and give to the super-rich.

Venezuela, Cuba, Colombia and the United States:

Venezuela has historically been Cuba’s main supplier of oil and fuel under long‑standing bilateral agreements, often in exchange for services such as medical support and technical assistance. Venezuela accounted for about 95 percent of Cuba’s crude oil imports in 2022, and Cuba imported around $161 million worth of goods from Venezuela that year according to United Nations trade data, with crude oil and fuel products being the dominant category.

Trade between Venezuela and Colombia has grown again since 2022. Between January and July 2024, bilateral trade reached about $607 million, an increase of 36.5 percent compared to the same period in 2023. Figures show that from January to June 2025, total trade was approximately $560.7 million, up about 14.1 percent from the same period last year. From January to September 2025, trade volume continued rising, reaching about $863 million, an increase of around 8.3 percent compared to the same period in 2024.

Much of that expansion in trade comes from Colombian exports to Venezuela, including food, consumer goods, chemicals and plastics, which make up the majority of the exchange. Venezuelan exports to Colombia remain much smaller and consist mainly of goods such as iron and steel products, fertilizers, aluminium and some fuels. In short, the total value of trade with Colombia is now in the hundreds of millions of dollars each year, with the balance of trade heavily tilted toward Colombian exports. Two‑way trade is rising as cross‑border economic integration continues to recover after 2022.

Venezuela and the Caribbean

Venezuela has historically played a significant economic and political role in many Caribbean and Latin American countries, especially through concessional energy programs such as PetroCaribe. PetroCaribe was an agreement that allowed Caribbean states to buy Venezuelan oil on favourable terms, including long‑term financing and deferred payments, and it was a major driver of regional trade for more than a decade. The agreement helped many countries secure energy supplies at preferential prices but has largely been held up by Venezuela’s declining oil production and broader economic problems.
In the first seven months of 2024, Venezuelan exports to Aruba and Curaçao were about $6 million.

Trade relations with Trinidad and Tobago have been shaped by both opportunities for trade and energy cooperation, as well as recent diplomatic and logistical challenges. Trinidad and Tobago has sought to develop natural gas partnerships with Venezuela, including joint ventures to tap offshore gas fields, reflecting potential future energy‑related business. For example, the two countries signed a long‑term licence agreement to develop the Dragon gas field, which could supply natural gas across the maritime border and support Trinidad and Tobago’s energy industry.

However, such projects have faced regulatory, political and sanctions related setbacks, including changes in US licences and shifting diplomatic relations that have stalled or complicated development. As a result, overall trade with Trinidad and Tobago remains regionally significant but lower than past levels and has been limited recently

In 2019, Venezuela exported about $8.96 million worth of goods to Guyana, mainly refined petroleum products, while Guyana exported about $73.9 million worth of goods to Venezuela, with rice as its main export.

Trump and Greenland

Trump is not naive enough to believe that China or Russia will invade the island and pose a direct threat to the United States. He is fully aware of this, but he aims to be able to block Chinese and Russian ships in the future, if necessary, partly to create more challenges for Europe and its leaders. He might even seriously consider annexing the island to the United States, but not because of any immediate threat from Russia or China.

He chooses his timing and tactics very cleverly to achieve his goals. Many of us know that Trump wants two things: to challenge Europe and its leaders and to assert U.S. dominance over them. His strategy involved raising tariffs on European imports while framing compromises that still benefited the United States and himself.

The other goal is to focus on Russia and improve relations with it. In this case, he aims to stop the war between Russia and Ukraine and broker an agreement that serves the interests of both Russia and the United States.

He tried hard, but European hardline leaders, especially in Britain and Germany, still insist on agreements that benefit Ukraine and themselves. Trump, in turn, has no choice but to create events or situations that put them in a fragile position, forcing them to agree to his terms. In this scenario, either Trump’s demands are met, or he withdraws from involvement in the Ukraine–Russia conflict. If that happens, Europe will lack the capacity to further support Ukraine and secure its victory. Meanwhile, Russia would gradually occupy more territory in Ukraine. The consequence is that the next agreement between the two sides would be even more difficult, leaving European politicians with no option but to accept what they would see as an insult and humiliation.

The question is whether this will work for Trump and if he can stop China and its rise to hegemony. Only the future will tell.

Whatever the outcome whether the United States remains dominant or China or another country takes its place there will be no fundamental change in the lives of workers and oppressed people worldwide, and the wage labor system will continue. There is no good capitalism or bad capitalism, just as there is no inherently good or bad state. Capitalism is a global system, and the state is its strongest pillar. To challenge it, we must collectively act locally, think globally, and offer solidarity to those resisting the system wherever possible. This requires organizing ourselves everywhere in horizontal organizations and groups. These are the means to build a classless and non-hierarchical society that is, to create a socialist/ anarchist society.

Englishمێتامقالە

The Iranian uprising is at a very crucial stage

By: Zaher Baher

09/01/2026

According to informed sources, demonstrations have spread to 150 cities and 600 towns across all 31 provinces of Iran during the past twelve days, including the western provinces of Ilam, Kermanshah and Lorestan. Several towns, along with the city of Abadan, are reported to be no longer under government control and are now in the hands of the people.

The protest that began on 27 December was triggered by the sharp decline in the national currency. This development made it harder for the government to address the concerns raised by citizens and protesters. In addition, the government announced the end of a subsidised exchange rate for importers, a decision that has already caused grocery prices to rise sharply.

Last night, Thursday, the protests spread to major cities such as Tehran and Mashhad, reaching the northern districts as well as many other cities and towns. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets. At the same time, in most major cities and towns across Kurdistan, residents went on strike, and shops, schools, hospitals, municipal offices, public services and other institutions were closed as people gathered outside. Although the authorities shut down internet access, photos and videos of the crowds and the police crackdown on demonstrators still found their way onto social media.

Fortunately, the uprising is not directed by any political party and has no central leadership. Although Reza Pahlavi has attempted to align himself with it by sending messages and issuing statements from abroad, he does not hold a strong position inside Iran. Most of his associates and supporters are based in Europe, Canada, the United States and other countries.

What happened last night gave significant momentum to the demonstrations and to the hopes of the people, placing the uprising in a sensitive and challenging phase. This is the point at which the next steps of this movement will be shaped, and it cannot remain as it is now. It will either continue with greater force, drawing in more participants from additional cities and towns, or it may move toward a temporary quiet. I will never describe it as failure, because it cannot be defeated if the people involved now, or those who come after them, continue the struggle and build on the valuable experience gained. At the same time, some of their demands are being addressed, and in certain ways the movement has shaken the regime and created a significant fracture that could lead to its collapse with another major shock. This is the nature of uprisings and revolutions.

Let us not forget that the people are standing against an oppressive regime that shows no mercy or compassion toward the people of Iran, while we see in the southern Fars province and other areas, brave demonstrators pulled down the statue of Qassem Suleimani, the former senior Revolutionary Guards al Quds Force commander who is regarded by government supporters as a national hero. He had been portrayed as a key figure in Iran’s internal development as well as in directing assistance and various forms of support to allied armed groups in other countries.

On the other hand, the regime understands that the people who have shaken the foundations of its rule could ultimately bring it down, so it resorts to every possible tactic, including deception and repression, in an effort to survive. According to the Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR), as of Thursday the death toll has reached 45, with more than 200 injured and over 2,400 people arrested.

There is another point to consider: the current uprising is not as large as the Woman, Life, Freedom movement or the 2009–2010 Green Movement. It is true that both of those movements, especially Woman, Life, Freedom, made major strides. They weakened the grip of the authorities to some extent, delivered an important lesson to them and restored courage and confidence among the Iranian people. More importantly, they laid the groundwork for what is happening now. The difference between then and now is that Iran has become significantly weaker after the recent twelve-day conflict with Israel, and people have gained greater experience in mobilising and adapting their tactics against the police, the Basij and the Revolutionary Guards.

It is impossible to predict with certainty whether this uprising will stop at this point or lead to the fall of the Iranian regime. However, it can be said that if people in Iran seek only to change the individuals in power, replacing this regime with another, the oppression, hardship, lack of freedom and hunger experienced over the past forty-seven years under the rule of the Mullahs and earlier governments will not come to an end.

Let us hope that the people of Iran will choose a path that rejects simply replacing this regime with another, and instead take control of their own affairs and lives, free from both centralized and decentralized authorities. May they come to the conviction that true freedom for all exists outside the power of government and the state, and that unless everyone is free, the freedom of individuals or any community cannot be fully realized.

Englishمێتالێکۆڵینه‌وه‌مێتاهه‌واڵ و ڕاپۆرت

Demonstrations and protests continue in Iran

Zaher Baher

01/01/2026

The Iranian protests have spread to nearly 30 cities and towns by the fifth day. Meanwhile, the gendarmerie and the Revolutionary Guards have responded with brutality and continue to repress the protesters through killing, arresting, and kidnapping them.

There are no exact figures, and no one knows how many people have been killed or injured, arrested, or kidnapped. What is clear, however, is that the people have gone beyond demonstrations and protests, and the movement has turned into an uprising. Likewise, their everyday demands about the rising cost of basic necessities have shifted into political demands, reflected in slogans such as “Down with the regime,” “Out, out, dictators,” “Women, life, freedom,” and many others.

Meanwhile, Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, claims that he is trying to talk to the protesters peacefully, saying that he is “listening to their demands, solving their problems, and wanting to meet their representatives and talk to them.” However, as Farhad, not his real name, a university student, said, “Only a fool would believe them. If they want to listen to us, why are they killing us in the streets? Why don’t they release the prisoners? Why don’t they change people’s lives?”

There is extensive reading and analysis among some of Iranian and Iraqi people about the current situation, much of which is pessimistic and even suggests that the outcome may be worse. These views are often justified by examples from previous years, such as Iraq, Egypt, Libya, and Syria. In addition, some leftists and Marxists argue that changing one regime for another will not improve the lives of workers.

Of course, just as uprisings are unpredictable, their outcomes will not necessarily follow our plans, wishes, or goals. What is clear is that the course of history cannot be stopped by anyone, and change often takes place beyond our will.

If the Iranian uprising succeeds, I believe there will be major changes not only in Iran but also across the region.

First, it will restore people’s will and confidence in themselves. When they are able to change a regime that has been in power for 47 years and has controlled all aspects of life, they will be able to change future rulers more easily. The people of Iran will gain valuable experience that can serve as an example for the whole world, especially the region.

Second, changes in Iran would lay the groundwork for change in Iraq, because it is widely believed in Iraq that Iran dominates and controls many aspects of the country and has diverted large amounts of Iraqi money to Iran and to pro-Iranian forces.

Third, the threat of Israeli and US attacks on Iran would disappear, even if only temporarily. This would not only prevent casualties but also restore a degree of security to the region for a period of time.

Fourth, the major Shiite and Sunni powers that confront each other will become better armed, boosting weapons and ammunition companies in developed countries. This also encourages the formation of armed groups in other countries to fight each other and be used as proxies against Israel and the United States. With a change of regime in Iran, these tensions would ease to some extent, even if only temporarily.

Fifth, the dependent political parties of the Iranian authorities would lose their logistical, ideological, military, and financial support, leaving them weakened.

Sixth, the weakening of nationalist and other authoritarian parties in Iran would occur, which is a very positive development.

Seventh, the Iranians’ 47-year experience with this regime makes it less likely that another religious regime will take its place, leading to significant improvements in the situation of women in Iran.

Eighth, it is clear that demonstrations and uprisings are always driven by basic necessities, rising prices, and lack of freedom, not by distant goals such as those envisioned by leftists and Marxists who aim to establish a workers’ government or a dictatorship of the proletariat. We must understand that people prioritize secure access to food and essential needs over the lofty slogans of authoritarian parties and organizations. People who are hungry, lack medical care, or cannot send their children to school cannot wait for a better labor or proletarian government; they need solutions immediately.

Undoubtedly, the points above are the main positives of a change in the mullahs’ regime in Iran. There are many other benefits that need not be discussed here. At the same time, the uprising could be silenced or suppressed, either through the control of political parties, which is unlikely, or through authorities negotiating with a few demonstrators chosen as envoys rather than electing delegates through mass meetings and direct democracy. Another significant danger is the involvement of US, European, Russian, and Israeli leaders, who have heavily influenced media coverage and openly supported the demonstrators.

In my opinion, and that of many others, the success of this uprising would be very positive. The people in Iran are highly conscious and experienced just as workers and citizens organized themselves during the 1978–1979 so-called revolution, they can now act with even greater experience, both in Iran and globally. They can make important decisions themselves through non-hierarchical assemblies in workplaces, universities, streets, and neighbourhoods, practicing direct democracy. Together, they can implement these decisions, work collectively, and establish cooperatives to manage and improve their own lives.

Doing this is necessary, and life shows that socialist or anarchist communities, whether small or large, can be created and serve as examples for other places and regions.

Let us hope that the people leading the uprising in Iran are taking these steps.

Englishمێتالێکۆڵینه‌وه‌مێتاهه‌واڵ و ڕاپۆرت

Demonstrations and Protests in Iran

Zaher Baher

30/12/2025

The situation in Iran, as in many countries, has deteriorated in almost every aspect of life. High inflation, the rising value of the dollar, pound, and euro, the collapse of the national currency, the soaring cost of living, and the lack of basic freedoms have created unbearable conditions. Repression, arrests, kidnappings, and violence against anyone who speaks out against the regime have become routine.

These conditions have led to demonstrations and protests that began three nights ago in Tehran and have since spread to many neighbourhoods, as well as to cities such as Karaj, Qeshm Island, Hamadan, Kerman, Alborz, and others. Shops and markets have closed in solidarity with the protesters and joined the movement.

Iranian society has specific characteristics that shape these uprisings. A large portion of the population is young and largely unemployed. The country has been ruled for more than four decades by a dictatorial clerical regime. At the same time, there is a conscious and experienced working class across many sectors, especially in oil and gas. Decades of repression and failed political organizations have left the population deeply disillusioned, but also experienced.

What is happening today is a continuation of earlier uprisings, including the student protests of 1999 and 2003, the Green Movement of 2009–2010, the general protests and strikes of 2018–2019, the fuel price protests of 2019–2020, and the Woman, Life, Freedom movement of 2022–2023.

The current demonstrations, which began on December 27, have an uncertain outcome. They are being met with extreme repression, including live fire, arrests, killings, and kidnappings.

After all these painful but valuable experiences, there is hope that people will organize themselves in neighbourhoods, streets, schools, and workplaces through non-hierarchical, horizontal groups. By forming neighbourhood assemblies and then city-wide assemblies, people can make collective decisions and take direct action through genuine direct democracy.

Englishمێتالێکۆڵینه‌وه‌مێتالێدوان

Is the labor movement a socialist/anarchist movement?

By: Zaher Baher

December 2025

Authoritarian socialists, communists, and even some anarchists believe that the labor movement and the socialist/anarchist movement are the same and share identical goals. In this article, I want to show that there is a difference between these movements and to explain how this misunderstanding arises. This does not mean that the working class which drives the country’s economy should be overlooked. On the contrary, we can say that a socialist or anarchist revolution cannot take place without the participation of the working class and the vital role it plays.

It can be understood that workers are not inherently (or necessarily) revolutionary in the way that some expect or demand. The labor movement is primarily a union movement,

and its demands arise from the reality of exploitation and oppression they face. Workers fight for more holidays, higher wages, better workplace safety, the right to form unions, shorter working hours, improved living and working conditions, and other rights that affect their families. Among their most ambitious demands are participation in the management of factories and companies and the acquisition of shares. In other words, their efforts are aimed at modifying and reforming the capitalist system to ensure its survival. This has been the historical condition of workers and remains so today. We can observe this more clearly now, especially with the rise of a sector of the aristocratic working-class workers employed in key industries and advanced technologies.

The workers’ struggle remains primarily an economic struggle, not a political one a trade union struggle, not a struggle led by a political party. It is not directed against the authorities or the state, but rather seeks to adapt to and secure a better position within the existing system. Workers may be able to change governments or administrations in a short period, but overthrowing the system and fundamentally transforming it is neither their role nor their responsibility.

The socialist and anarchist movements are fundamentally different from the labor movement. Their aim is to abolish wage labor and the capitalist system entirely, and to create a classless, non-hierarchical society.

Authoritarian communist and socialist elements, along with their political parties, are fully aware that workers are not inherently revolutionary in the sense of abolishing the system and establishing socialism or communism. Because they see themselves as fundamentally different from the workers, they believe that by seizing power, they can bypass mere reforms and guide society toward a classless, non-hierarchical structure.

They are fully aware of the workers’ situation. Workers are the backbone of the country’s economy and have the power to halt daily life, stop profits, and weaken the state and its system.

What is clear to me is the following:

First, workers possess class consciousness simply because they exist. The existence of any person, animal, or living being necessarily involves a form of consciousness shaped by the environment in which they live.

Second, as I stated above, there can never be a revolution without the participation of workers, since they control production and profits. However, this does not mean that workers can or want to abolish the system of wage labor. That task is not their responsibility and lies outside their immediate agenda of struggle.

Third, I also know that, historically, many socialist movements and parties emerged from working-class organizations. Through these organizations, the working class became familiar with socialism, and socialist ideas were introduced to them and spread among them.

Throughout history, we see many uprisings and events in which workers clearly played an important role. These have often been cited by socialists, authoritarian communists, and some anarchists as evidence that past uprisings and revolutions prove the labor movement and the socialist movement are the same, and that every revolution is essentially a workers’ revolution.

I find it necessary to cite important examples of labor movements from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to support my argument. To do this, I will refer to some statistics to illustrate my point about the size of the working class in these countries at the time, as well as their membership in and support for the organizations and political parties of that period.

First: The Paris Commune:

The Paris Commune took place in 1871 and lasted only 72 days. During this period, it abolished many capitalist institutions and practices, such as night work, child labor, poor housing conditions, and private ownership. It also replaced the old ministries with ten executive commissions, each functioning like a ministry, along with many other significant measures.

The revolutionary workers were largely influenced by the supporters and followers of Louis Blanqui, commonly known as “Blanquists,” as well as by socialists and anarchists. This experience is often described by Marxists as the first serious attempt by the working class to overthrow capitalism.

The administration that emerged there, largely because it lasted only 72 days, was neither a fully developed workers’ administration nor a bureaucratic one. The Commune was simply too short-lived for such structures to fully take shape.

The legislative and executive body of the Commune, the Communal Assembly, was elected on March 26, 1871. Although 92 members were elected, only 79 were active at any given time. Of these, approximately 30 to 40 were workers. In addition, teachers, journalists, employees, and small shopkeepers also participated in the councils. Professionals such as lawyers and doctors formed a small minority, mostly drawn from working-class or lower-middle-class backgrounds, and many of them earned extremely low incomes.

At the time, Paris had a population of between 1.8 and 2 million, although war, famine, and expulsions significantly reduced this number. Even so, workers who supported the Republicans or Jacobins also known as “Red Republicans” numbered between 400,000 and 500,000.

The socialists, particularly the Blanquists (revolutionary socialists), had between 200,000 and 250,000 worker members. The First International, also known as the International Workingmen’s Association (IWA), which included both Marxist and Proudhonian factions, had between 65,000 and 70,000 members in Paris. Communists and Marxists formed a small but influential minority. Anarchists were intellectually important and influential, especially the Proudhonians, but they were not numerically dominant.

Overall, the vast majority of Parisian workers were republicans, leftists, or socialists who were not aligned with any organized political party.

Second: The Bolshevik Revolution.

The Russian Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 led to the creation of the Soviets (workers’ councils), and many factories were taken over and brought into the Bolshevik movement. Although the Bolshevik Party had many supporters, members, and activists among the workers, it was the workers’ strong support for the party that enabled it to lead the overthrow of the Provisional Government.

Let us examine the statistics concerning the number of workers in Russia and the participation of socialists, communists, and anarchists in the 1917 Revolution.

In 1917, the Russian working class included about 3 million industrial workers. If transportation, construction, and other categories of labor are included, the total rises to between 4.5 and 5 million. However, the industrial proletariat what Marxists define as the working class numbered approximately 3 million.

Supporters of the Bolshevik Party made up 40–60 percent of the workers, and the party itself had between 150,000 and 200,000 worker members out of a total of 350,000, up until October 1917. The Mensheviks accounted for 10–20 percent of labor membership. Other parties and organizations also had worker members. Anarchists represented about 5 percent of industrial workers, while other active workers mainly in Petrograd, Kronstadt, and Ukraine supported roughly another 5 percent.

The events in Russia represent a historic moment in which the Bolshevik Party successfully leveraged the movement of the working class and the broader Russian population to seize state power.

 Three: The German Revolution of 1918-1919

Revolutionary workers’ councils were formed across Germany with the goal of replacing capitalism with a council republic (Räterepublik). In certain regions, particularly Bavaria, these councils proclaimed a socialist republic aimed at overthrowing capitalism; however, these efforts were short-lived and ultimately failed.

Germany, which was far more industrialized than Russia at the time, had approximately 7.5 to 8.5 million industrial workers. By late 1918, about 3 million of these workers were members of trade unions. Many workers were divided among the Social Democrats the largest workers’ organization the Independent Social Democratic Party, and several other political groups. Anarchists, although significantly weaker than their counterparts in Russia and Spain, numbered between 50,000 and 150,000 workers.

Four: Spanish Revolution 1936-1937

The revolutionary forces in this movement, known as the CNT-FAI, were anarcho-syndicalist organizations. The FAI (Federación Anarquista Ibérica, or Iberian Anarchist Federation), founded in Spain in 1927, was closely aligned with the CNT as well as with the General Workers’ Union (UGT), established in 1888. These groups sought to abolish both capitalism and the state. They occupied as many factories, farms, and transportation systems as possible.

It is clear that anarchists and anti-government socialist elements played a major role in this revolution, which controlled large parts of Catalonia and Aragon. The revolution ultimately failed due to internal conflicts and the pressures of war.

The Spanish working class in 1936–1937, in a country less industrialized than Germany and Britain, numbered between 2.8 and 3.2 million industrial workers. In addition, a large portion of the population consisted of rural wage laborers and landless peasants, bringing the total working population to between 5.5 and 6 million.

Membership in the anarcho-syndicalist unions (CNT) ranged from 1.5 to 2 million workers, representing approximately 70 to 80 percent of the workforce. These organizations also enjoyed broad support, with an overall following of between 2.5 and 3 million workers, concentrated mainly in Catalonia, Barcelona, Aragon, and parts of Madrid. The largest revolutionary group within the working class was the FAI (Iberian Anarchist Federation), which had between 70,000 and 100,000 fighters, almost all of whom were workers.

Five: The 1919 Hungarian Soviets

In Hungary, workers’ councils were established in 1919 by socialist and communist parties with the aim of overthrowing capitalism and creating a socialist republic. This system was implemented but lasted only 133 days before being defeated by Romanian forces and local opponents.

The Hungarian working class in 1919, following World War I and the collapse of Austria-Hungary during a period sometimes referred to as Magyarstan included an urban industrial workforce of approximately 800,000 to 1 million workers. Hungary at the time remained predominantly agrarian. A much larger number of workers were employed in agriculture or were landless farm laborers, numbering between 1.5 and 2 million.

The dominant political forces among workers were socialists and communists. Anarchists were neither numerous nor well organized in Hungary during this period.

Workers were divided between communists and social democrats. In early 1919, the Social Democratic Party had between 500,000 and 600,000 members, including landless peasants and industrial workers; in total, its membership ranged from 800,000 to 1 million.

The Hungarian Communist Party, founded in 1918, officially had between 30,000 and 50,000 members by March 1919. Despite its relatively small membership, it exercised significant influence. An estimated 100,000 to 150,000 workers supported the party.

Conclusions

According to the above examples, the Social Democratic Party, the Bolshevik Party, the Socialists, the Trade Unions and the Anarchists had a very active and widespread position among the workers. It is obvious that this great position and power is reflected in the activities and movements of these parties and they have been very strong, so they have been able to have a great dominance and influences over the workers. In some countries, workers, party members and supporters were so huge and mixed that workers were political parties and political parties were workers. This meant that the labor movement of that time, in all the examples I have given above, was a follower and dependent on the organizations and political parties I have listed above, and was loaded with the ideas and principles of socialism and to some extent anarchism as well.

What about right now? If we are a little conscious or being workers, we know that the workers and their movement are so weak that they cannot even defend what has been achieved since the middle of the previous century. How can they talk about the overthrowing the system and the abolition of wage labor? It was not easy to obtain reliable statistics on the number of socialist, communist and anarchist workers in the ranks of the workers in the countries I have mentioned above, but what we see among current workers is hardily many socialist or anarchist.

We can say that the building of a socialist society is a dream for the workers themselves, and an imagination for those of us who think that it is the duty of the workers.

English

IFA statement on the situation in Sudan

IFA statement on the situation in Sudan

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See background information on IFA website: https://i-f-a.org/2025/04/15/article-about-anarchism-in-sudan/

Solidarity with people in Sudan from Ljubljana, joint statement of the CRIFA delegate meeting of the International of Anarchist Federations that took place in Slovenia, 2/11/2025.

We received the news of the fall of Al-Fachar with sorrow. After the killings and the displacings, horror never stops in Sudan.

The war between different autoritarian armed forces for control of the territory is one of the largest military conflicts still ongoing in the world. This butchering caused more than 150,000 victims, the displacement of more than 10 millions and widespread famine, rape, diseases…

In order to survive, the Sudanese population tried to organize and created Revolutionary Commitees. These initiatives have been repressed by the military with arrests, torture and killing of our comrades.

We share to you the appeal of Ali Abdel Moneim from the Anarchist group in Sudan :
“We in the Anarchist Group in Sudan have lost comrades; some of our members were injured and some died; others face the imminent danger of war. Our families suffer from hunger, lack of medicine, and lack of food. We believed in anarchism in a land where authority is everywhere, and we fought to defend ourselves, our idea, and our unity. Today we need you – reach out your hands to us and stand with us so we can resist the authorities and the Janjaweed.”

As anarchists, members of the IFA gathered in Ljubljana for a CRIFA we want to address our support to the sudanese people who’s oppressed. Our thoughts go to the fallen ones that defended themselves. Those comrades fought to defend a better life and payed the cost.

This war is like every other, all to be denounced and deserted. As anarchists we will try our best to support the victims of conflicts and to oppose this situation. Our antimilitarism and antiwar activism overcome the borders and the seas. “May the revolution endure — a poisoned dagger in the hearts of tyrants. “

The Committee of Relations of the International of Anarchist Federations (CRIFA), Ljubljiana 2 November 2025

Englishمێتاهه‌واڵ و ڕاپۆرت

The Situation inside Sudan

05/11/2025

The Situation inside Sudan

 October 4, 2025

 Anarchist Group in Sudan

 The Current Situation inside Sudan

 Our fellow revolutionaries around the world, you have been following the events in El Fasher and the developments through the platforms of groups concerned with the revolution in Sudan. However, we would like to inform you of the following:

First, after paying tribute to our comrades who struggled in El Fasher and Khartoum and who became beacons of light for the group, we declare that while we completely reject the principle of bearing arms—as we are aware that arming one side or the other in the conflict serves only imperialism and its interests in this war—our fallen comrades had no choice but to take up arms and defend themselves and their families. They did not belong to any military faction before the war, and when the siege of El Fasher began and the Janjaweed attacked, they had no option but to defend themselves. They fought alongside the Popular Self-Defense Forces, which continued fighting in the city even after the withdrawal of the Sixth Division Command of the army.

 Contact with our comrades was lost on September 9, 2025, but we learned from their families, after their displacement to the Tawila area and the camps for displaced persons, that they were martyred defending them. They were defending themselves as a natural right to life, freedom, and dignity.

The least we can do for these comrades is to care for their families, with whom the group is in contact. These families are sleeping on the ground, scorched by the sun during the day, and enduring hardship. The bitter cold at night, as well as their severe malnutrition and lack of healthcare, are causing them hardship. We are doing everything we can to help their families in their honor. Comrade Kahraba used to say that he hated the Kalashnikov, but he hated even more the loss of his freedom and the humiliation of his dignity.

 We also want to clarify that after our contact with the comrades was cut off, they were martyred at different times, but we were unable to confirm this due to the suffocating siege and the communications blackout. We fear the Janjaweed’s revenge against their families who are still in Janjaweed-controlled areas. We will suffice with their names, which will be engraved in our hearts and in the history of the liberation movement.

We want to reassure everyone that our comrades in the group remain in areas far from the armed clashes. However, there are still comrades in Sudan who have not yet left to convey the group’s message to the world. But there is no safe place in Sudan, as the country teeters on the brink of a civil war, like the one in Rwanda. The state and the Janjaweed have begun mobilizing thousands for the coming confrontation, and if the war does not stop, it will be a humanitarian catastrophe in which we expect millions of innocent people to die.

O comrades of the path of liberation, O revolutionaries of the world, the direct struggle against authority comes at a heavy price on expense of our lives and our freedoms. Your comrades in Sudan have chosen not to remain silent, and this is the nature of revolutionaries. While we desire peace, call for peace, and reject war, the most heinous experiences of racist authority, imperialist hegemony, and international conflict are manifesting themselves in Sudan.

 One of our comrades’ famous sayings is that the weapon is the idea, and the idea is the weapon. Either you direct your idea against your oppressor, or you die carrying it for yourself. This is how we live: free or die as revolutionaries. Therefore, we ask you to expand support campaigns throughout the world, for our comrades have a right upon us. Their defense of El Fasher is a defense of all revolutionaries. After the fall of El Fasher in Sudan, there will be either the division into two dictatorial military states or a civil war and rivers of blood.

Donate to support your comrades in Sudan

 Glory and eternity to our free revolutionaries

 

Secretariat

English

The Situation Inside of the Sudan

The Anarchist Group in Sudan

The Situation Inside

Our revolutionary comrades around the world — you have been following what happened in Al-Fashir and following developments on the platforms of groups interested in the revolution in Sudan — but we would like to share the following with you.

First, and after remembering our comrades who fought in Al-Fashir and Khartoum and raised the banner of the group: while we categorically reject the principle of bearing arms — because we understand that arming one of the warring components serves only imperialism and its interests in this war — our comrades who died had no option but to take up arms to defend themselves and their families. They did not belong to any military faction before the war, and when Al-Fashir was besieged and the Janjaweed attacked it, they had no choice but to defend themselves. They fought alongside the Popular Forces for Self-Defense, which continued to fight in the city even after the command of the 6th Division of the army withdrew.

Contact with our comrades was cut off on 9 September 2025, but we learned from their families after they fled to the long displacement camps that they were martyred defending themselves. They defended their right to life, freedom, and dignity. The least we can do for these comrades is to care for their families, with whom the group remains in contact. They sleep on the ground, scorched by the sun by day and battered by bitter cold at night; they suffer from severe malnutrition and poor medical care. We are doing everything in our power to reach out to their families and support them in honor of the fallen.

Comrade “Kahraba” used to say he hates the Kalashnikov, but he hates even more to have his freedom captured and his dignity humiliated. We should make clear that after our communications with the comrades were cut off, they were killed at different times, but we were unable to know because of the suffocating siege and communications blackout. We fear Janjaweed reprisals against their families who still remain in Janjaweed-controlled areas. We will limit ourselves to their names, which will be engraved in our hearts and in the history of the liberation movement.

We want to reassure you that our remaining comrades in the group are in areas far from armed clashes, but there are still comrades in Sudan who have not yet left and who carry the group’s voice to the world. There is no safe place in Sudan, where the country stands on the brink of a civil war like the one that happened in Rwanda. The state and the Janjaweed have begun mobilizing thousands for the coming confrontation. If the war does not stop, it will be a humanitarian catastrophe in which we expect millions of innocent people to die.

O comrades of the paths of liberation, O revolutionaries of the world — direct struggle against power carries a steep price: our lives and our freedoms. Your comrades in Sudan chose not to remain silent — that is the nature of revolutionaries. We want peace and call for peace and the rejection of war, yet the most horrific expressions of racist authority in Sudan, imperial domination, and international rivalry are manifesting themselves. One of our comrades’ well-known sayings is that “the weapon is the idea, and the idea is a weapon”: either you aim your idea at your executioner, or you die carrying it within yourself. Thus we live free or die as revolutionaries. Therefore we ask you to expand support campaigns worldwide: our comrades have a right upon us — their defense of Al-Fashir is a defense of all revolutionaries. After the fall of Al-Fashir in Sudan, the country faces either division into two military dictatorships or civil war and rivers of blood.

Donate to support your comrades in Sudan.

Glory and eternity to our free revolutionaries.

Secretary-General of the Group,

English

Claiming Freedom in Revolution and in War: an Introduction to the Anarchist Group in Sudan

Claiming Freedom in Revolution and in War: an Introduction to the Anarchist Group in Sudan

In 2024, Black Rose/Rosa Negra’s International Relations Committee began working closely with anarchist revolutionaries in Sudan. This relationship has involved the exchange of ideas, practical advice, and support.

Earlier in 2025, Black Rose/Rosa Negra organized a campaign to raise $20,000 USD on behalf of our Sudanese comrades, which they have since used to purchase a printing press.

In this article, developed in consultation with our Sudanese comrades, we provide a written account of how the organization now known as the Anarchist Group in Sudan (AGS) came into being.

By Morgan P.

The Sudanese Revolution was one of the great revolutionary upsurges of the 21st century. Like all too many of our great revolutions it has — for the moment at least — been throttled in blood and dictatorship. But also like all great revolutions, it was a crucible that forged significant new political ideologies and tendencies.

While anarchism is not new to Africa, like in many other parts of the world it has struggled recently to go beyond being an intellectual tradition or a lifestyle and toward becoming a living movement with substantial strategic recommendations. Through fully throwing themselves into the social movements that drove the Sudanese Revolution while simultaneously growing their own formal political organization, anarchists in Sudan have been able to develop a revolutionary practice that has real meaning for class struggle in their country. Despite their conditions being far different from ours here in the US, we can still learn valuable lessons from their experiences both in the process of revolutionary struggle, and in the current state of surviving under civil war and intense repression.

Before the outbreak of mass street protest in December 2018, Sudan had already been experiencing simmering opposition to the dictatorship of Omar al-Bashir and the crushing economic conditions that the people faced under his rule. And this atmosphere of successive outbursts of student and worker protests encouraged young student activists to study and look for ideologies that would help them overcome the many obstacles they faced. It was in this period that some of the founding members of the Anarchist Group in Sudan (AGS) first found anarchism, and that they founded the organization as a small group of five comrades in April 2017.

The AGS was initially a small student organization, and they began by focusing their efforts on establishing a foundation in Sudanese colleges. They organized secretly, and concentrated on the smaller, more peripheral campuses where the eye of the state would not be so intense. Within the context of the Sudanese opposition, clandestinity was common practice. AGS itself strategically avoided direct confrontation with power, with its members instead attempting to immerse themselves in spaces of broad popular struggle, particularly student unions. The reach of the group grew as they came into contact with more young activists seeking alternatives to the failed and stale political ideologies of yesterday.

As the organization grew, it attracted professionals such as lawyers and engineers — which was, through the Sudanese Professionals Association, a prominent organization representing a specific class layer driving the Revolution. The AGS began emphasizing recruitment more, and spread across many universities, and achieved influence within the coalition of student unions. As they grew, they used the name “Anarchist Federation of Sudan”, which a number of their statements appear online under, but ended up using the term “group” rather than “federation” as they operated as a single unitary organization.

The founding and initial growth of the AGS was well-timed to match the explosion of the Sudanese Revolution in December 2018. The Revolution was led by grassroots social movements such as workers unions, student unions, women’s organizations, and the neighborhood-based resistance committees.

Protesters celebrate the collapse of president Omar al-Bashir’s government in 2019.

The resistance committees are of particular note. Similar to the local coordination committees of the 2011 Syrian Revolution, the Sudanese resistance committees are essentially small groups of neighbors self-organized to participate in protest and the revolutionary process. Networking together as hundreds of local committees, they formed the fabric of the movement to overthrow al-Bashir. We see them as a classic example of popular power in practice, as neighbors confront state power and simultaneously begin taking control over their own neighborhood and creating the organizational structures of self-management that could replace the state.

The AGS actively worked in the resistance committees and student organizations during the first months of the Revolution while still staying underground. Militants were able to advocate for anarchist positions and influence the direction of groups without publicly announcing themselves as anarchists. Through participating in this mass upsurge in self-organization coupled with mass street confrontation, anarchism moved from an idea into a lived strategic practice. They saw anarchism as a pragmatic way to involve themselves in social struggle while contesting all of the authoritarian forces that oppress the Sudanese people, whether it be tribal, cultural, military, religious — a comprehensive struggle against all this and for freedom and individual rights.

The strategies proposed by anarchists in Sudan are unprecedented in addressing the complex social crisis. The principle of rejecting even small, grassroots authorities—such as tribal domination and racism based on ethnicity—forms the core of dismantling power structures in Sudanese society. This has psychological effects on the individual and social consequences that may bring them into direct confrontation with entrenched authority. However, we believe that freedom is indivisible, and every individual deserves to be free—even outside institutional power, including power within one’s own behavior. Authority is a social behavior rooted in the individual’s desire to monopolize violence and deprive others of freedom.

— Member of AGS during dialogue with members of BRRN, September 2025

Within the resistance committees, the AGS coordinated anarchist activity to push the committees in a more anti-authoritarian direction. The resistance committees were in many ways an organic expression of existing Sudanese society — the basic elements of solidarity and mutual aid that have been necessary to survive in a country where the government provides nothing for the survival of the people. While this gave them strength, it also meant that a lot of work needed to be done to give them the organized power and vision to challenge the state. The AGS worked, for example, to expand the nature of many committees from being more limited groups with a selected membership and president, vice-president, etc., into being open to everyone in the neighborhood to join and participate.

Protesters clash with security forces after the military coup initiated by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in 2021.

Alongside the practical organizing work, the AGS initiated the organization of “thinking circles” to discuss anarchist ideas and worked on making anarchists texts available in Arabic. They put their modest membership dues to use printing anarchist pamphlets and organizing university events.

While the Sudanese social movements succeeded in overthrowing al-Bashir by April, the military took control of the government and the struggle deepened. On June 3rd, 2019, government forces conducted a massacre of a sit-in protest in Khartoum, martyring more than 100 and raping more than 70. This was just the largest of many massacres during this time, when many protesters and comrades were murdered by state forces. Workers responded to the June 3rd Khartoum massacre with a general strike that shut down the country, and brought the military leadership to the negotiating table. It was in this context, of a country on the brink, with the resistance committees taking control of territory, that the AGS first announced themselves to the public during a massive march in Khartoum on June 30th.

Predictably, they faced a large backlash after publicly declaring themselves as an anarchist organization. But because they had embedded themselves within the student unions and the resistance committees, and made themselves known to their fellow students and neighbors as committed comrades with sensible ideas, they were able to gain many new members. Many youth who were disillusioned in the false choices presented by the so-called leaders — including the “national liberation” state communists who had propped up the dictatorship — were drawn to the principled stand for freedom of the anarchists.

However, anarchism in Sudan was not able to grow freely for long. The mass uprising achieved a historic victory in forcing out the military dictatorship in July 2019, with a compromise civilian-military transitional government put in place. But this was an inherently unstable solution, and the military and ‘Rapid Support Forces’ (RSF) together led a counter-revolution in October 2021 that brought a renewal of harsh dictatorship.1 This too was an unstable solution, and the RSF and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) fell out in a power struggle and initiated a civil war in April 2023. The tragedies that have spread across the country since then are too deep and numerous to detail in this account.

Heavily armed members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF)

The civil war, which has deep roots in both the legacies of British colonialism and in local histories of domination, is also a war for Black survival against attempted genocide. Ruling powers in Sudan, particularly the RSF, are Arab supremacists who seek to dominate and ethnically cleanse dark-skinned Sudanese ethnic groups from their lands. Our comrades report that slavery is being perpetrated against Black people in Sudan, and so they see the current struggle as one for liberation from racial authoritarianism.

As the revolutionary movement continued a bitter struggle against the return of military power, this period has seen many martyrs, including anarchist comrades such as Omar Habbash, a doctor in Al Fashir, Sara, a leading activist in Khartoum, and others. Comrades, wherever they are, are constantly under threat of prison – which generally means death within a month. Faced with these losses, the AGS is committed to continuing their struggle with selflessness and determination. As armed conflict spread, anarchist comrades had two general approaches – to fight with independent resistance militias that attempt to defend the people from the ravages of the RSF and Sudanese Armed Forces, or to focus on avoiding armed confrontation through planting ideas and organizing at the grassroots to grow the movement. The AGS supports both strategic approaches currently.

With the country being ripped apart in a proxy war by external powers like the United Arab Emirates and Egypt intent on exploiting its natural resources, as some seven different military factions unleash terror on the Sudanese people, the AGS has nonetheless survived. Members have been scattered as internal and sometimes external refugees, but have managed to stay in contact and coordinate. When possible, they help run communal kitchens, they help refugees reach safety, they provide medical care, they support resistance militias, and they continue anarchist propaganda whenever possible.

Black Rose / Rosa Negra has been coordinating solidarity for the AGS together with our comrade organizations in the International Coordination for Organized Anarchism (ICOA), in particular Die Plattform in Germany and Union Communiste Libertaire in France. Along with smaller initiatives, a public fundraising campaign riased more than $20,000 USD to support AGS in their purchasing an industrial printing press to use for both spreading anarchist propaganda and for providing a means of economic self-support. While the printing press has not yet been put into full operation due to the always-shifting front lines and waves of repression behind the lines, it is a symbol of the AGS’ determination that continuing revolutionary anarchist struggle is a practical necessity, even in the midst of one of the planet’s worst humanitarian catastrophes.

Image of printing press purchased by AGS using funds raised by Black Rose/Rosa Negra’s solidarity campaign.

Anarchists in Sudan believe that international solidarity will be critical in ending the conflict, particularly focusing on those powers that are fueling the civil war:

Combating foreign [state] intervention in Sudan’s war requires a global uprising of struggling networks to expose the entities profiting from the blood of the people—not only in Sudan but across the region. Ideally, their own populations should stand against them to stop the bloodshed in exchange for wealth accumulation. Everyone can contribute to exposing this crime of war sponsorship in their own locations and raise awareness among people that the war in Sudan can stop if the external support for it ends—then peace will follow.

— Member of AGS during dialogue with members of BRRN, September 2025

The political goal of the AGS now is, in the most immediate term, the end of the war and of the massacres committed by both the RSF and army. In the longer term, they continue struggling to overcome the tribal and ethnic divisions that have been exacerbated by racist colonialism to win the social revolution and create a self-managed socialist and feminist society in Sudan and throughout Africa.

As revolutionaries in the imperialist core, our lives are far removed from that of our comrades in Sudan. Nonetheless, we have much to learn from their experiences inserting themselves into the base a mass movement, transforming anarchism into a lived practice that is meaningful for the lives of working class people, acting collectively as a political force to influence the direction of movement struggle, and their determination to continue anarchist struggle even in the most challenging conditions. Support for our comrades in Sudan is important for all of us who want to see anarchism reborn as a true force for global liberation.

Notes

  1. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) was initiated as a paramilitary group primarily composed of Janjaweed tribesmen. Previously it acted as an auxiliary force of the Sudanese state and was used by the military Junta which took power in 2019 to violently suppress popular protests. Since 2023 it has been in armed conflict with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). ↩︎