The Anarchist Federation (AF) began as a revolutionary organisation of anarcho-communists in 1986, launched as a result of the growing need of class struggle anarchism to organise itself, and develop theoretically and tactically. Today the AF has members in Ireland, England, Scotland, and Wales.

We are a group of unemployed people, homemakers, posties, rail/care/council workers etc...People who are sick of spending most of the day under someone else's thumb. Sick of seeing all but a fraction of the wealth we create going into someone else's pocket when we have jobs. Sick of not having any money when we don't have jobs. Or worse yet, sick of working and not having any money when we have low paid jobs. And we are sick of a system that destroys our environment, our heritage to give to future generations, for the sake of shareholder's profit.

WHAT WE WANT

We are organised together because we think a better society, a better way of living is possible. A way of life based on direct democracy, control of work by the workers, control of communities by the residents, and based on common ownership of the land, factories, power stations, etc. We call this Anarchism (or Libertarian Socialism, or Anarchist Communism).

WHAT WE DO

Over the years the AF has been involved in active support of strikers, squatters, tenants, prisoners, anti-racists, pickets and environmental campaigns. During that time, it has learned from its own experiences and matured, moving away from the reformism of the unions that have become integrated into the capitalist system and merely arbitrate fairer forms of wage slavery and can never be radicalised; and from the concept of national liberation and nationalism espoused by, for example, the republican and loyalist movements.

WORKING CLASS SELF-ORGANISATION

The AF believes in working class self-organisation, beyond the manipulation of the unions and political parties. During the poll tax dispute, for example, we encouraged and participated in the establishment of community groups that fought the imposition of the charge on the streets of the inner cities. Direct action under the control of the community, rather than demanding that the Labour Party or T.U.C. do something. We supported the strategy of sabotage as used by the anti-roads movement in Britain during the M11 campaign. We were heavily involved in building up support for the anti-war (Gulf/Balkans) movements of the 90's (and still are today with Afghanistan and Iraq). We take the position: No War But The Class War! rather than supporting United Nationsintervention or supporting supposedly anti-imperialist butchers such as Hussein or Miliosevic. We say the only war worth fighting is working class struggle against the war system, such as the 1991 uprisings against the Iraqi regime or the refuseniks in Israel (people who refuse to be conscripted or refuse to fight in the Occupied Territories). We are involved in the international anti-capitalist movement, e.g. J18 and the Maydays in London, the recent anti-E.U. summit action in Brussels, while remaining careful not to be lured away from more mundane community activism. For example, one of our members is currently involved in fighting eviction from a collective squat in Nottingham (www.forestlodge.15m.com), a fight against high rents, homelessness, and private property for profit. So, because we stand for a free society with equal participation for all, we favour self activity and direct action.

HOW DOES THE AF ORGANISE?

As a federation, we believe in membership of local anarchist groups (see links to find out about these). Here AF members network with non-aligned anarchists, and anarchists from different national organisations, in the hope that these groups can form alliances with other groups in their region, and then to groups on a national level. While too much localism is detrimental to the movement as a whole, we believe in the autonomy of individual members to set their own goals/actions. Also we support other broad based initiatives such as the Grassroots Gathering: grassrootsgathering@yahoogroups.com here in Ireland, or the Anarchist Youth network in Britain.

AF AND ORGANISE IRELAND

The Anarchist Federation only recently set up in Ireland. Since autumn 2001, we have been involved in many struggles -whether anti-war, or pro-choice. At the moment we are seeking to develop anti-Sellafield activism in the Louth area. We have contacts already in Dundalk, Derry, Belfast, Dublin, Kildare, Sligo and Cork.