who are the Informal Anarchist Federation?

international | rights, freedoms and repression | opinion/analysis Monday December 27, 2010 20:38 by reposter

A bomb posted to the Greek embassy in Rome this morning ,apparantly by the terrorist Informal Anarchist Federation , failed to explode . Police say the device was similar in construction to those claimed by the IAF that seriously injured an embassy worker at the Chilean embassy and a Swiss diplomat in Rome last week .

In 2003 the Italian Anarchist Federation which shares the IAF acronym with the terrorist grouping issued a statement denouncing a series of bomb attacks ithat had taken place in Bolgna .The statement condemned the use of the name " Informal Anarchist Federation" by the shadowy group that had claimed the 2003 attacks.

In the absence of clarification from "mainstream" anarchist organisations ,media reports are blaming anarchists in general for the recent spate of bomings: two days ago CNN reports conflated the two anarchist groups .Quoting the Italian Anarchist Federation website as background to the bombings and without distinguishing between the two groups, CNN wrote:

"Formed in 1945, Italian Anarchist Federation had seen a "a slow but constant increase" of supporters in recent years, said the website of an umbrella group, L'International des Federations Anarchistes.The Italian organization aims for "radical change" in support of "oppressed and exploited peoples," doing so with opposition to political powers and even the Catholic Church, the website said."

In times of crises, capitalist states inevitably become more and more repressive in defence of the capitalist system they serve. Nobody votes to be poor , and when masses of people become disillusioned with the sort of democracy on offer police forces resort to the use of provocateurs to create the conditions for the criminalisation of dissent .Under such conditions there is a danger of genuine anarchist federations being designated terrorist organisations The viscous actions of the Informal Anarchist Federtion need to be opposed by the left and particularly by anarchists themselves . .