In Kiev, anarchists set on fire cell tower

Русский

From the editorial mail dated 27 December 2019:

Anarchist sites report that in recent months in Donetsk and Kiev region base stations (aka towers) of mobile operators were attacked 4 times. Behind the attacks are mostly anarchists.

The first attack was to blow up the base station of the Phoenix operator. Then it was reported that two Lifecell towers were set on fire. December 10, 2019 it was reported about the arson of the mobile base station “Vodafone Ukraine”.

For example, when attacking the Lifecell communication towers, anarchists claimed that the main reason for the attack was solidarity with the Democratic Federation of North and East Syria (Rojava), the struggle of the Kurdish people for liberation from the Turkish occupation.

Wishing to give intensity to these attacks, we, a cell of the Informal Anarchist Federation, set fire to another cell communication base station in Kiev. Unlike the aforementioned attacks, our motives and view of the targets under attack are different. We suggest taking a broader look at the topic of communication towers.

Mobile operators are eager to capture as many subscribers as possible. This is a fact. There are three main operators in Ukraine: “Kyivstar”, “Vodafone Ukraine”, Lifecell. These companies do anything to place their mobile antennas everywhere, to get more money and control. They do not care what we think about it. But the most important thing is that the operators cooperate perfectly with the police, leaking them all the data of their subscribers. Each mobile operator receives more than 20,000 court orders annually for temporary access to things and documents.

We want to draw the attention of those trustful people who blindly accept all technological discoveries and innovations promoted by authorities and corporations. We have long known how the State, under the guise of technological improvement, puts additional traps to gain easy access to our personal information and uninterrupted surveillance. There are a number of ways to avoid them and we anarchists use that in our daily lives. However, authorities and corporations progress in their efforts to control every step we take through telecommunications connections and continue to strengthen our digital control system. Those who try to control us have more power, but with knowledge and the right layered security system, we can remain anonymous. Even if we do not destroy their plans with these sabotages, we hope to draw attention to this issue and generate public debate.

It is important to highlight the following observations made earlier by our like-minded people:

• Telecommunications infrastructure today is one of the pillars of modern technological dominance, providing functionality for other technological devices and structures that are also part of a complex network in which each element depends on the other. The authoritarian nature of the system is clearly expressed by this technological interdependence.
• Mobile phones are built into the dense network of control that envelops us from all sides. It is no longer a secret that the phone is not only a convenient means of emergency communication, but also a great opportunity for intelligence agencies to monitor their owners. Phones continue to be silent witnesses to our activities and enemies of security culture.

• Currently, police investigations are mostly based on videotapes and wiretaps, which can be mounted and modified at will. Repression and control increases with each technological discovery, which in turn provides a profitable business for companies that cooperate with governments. This trend is not political, but structural in nature, as the apparatus grows in itself and, thanks to the security pretext, justifies anything.

• A phone, especially a smartphone, is a great tool to get a map of your movements. Modern technology makes it possible to track your location to within a few tens of meters.

• Thanks to the S.O.R.M. * (system of operative search actions) calculation of your location by mobile phones, listening to calls and determination of the list of your calls is fast and easy for the police.

• The phone can be tapped. Each operator has logging and call recording equipment that stores data for a long time – up to several years. Conversations are recorded for a short period of time and are quickly copied for detailed examination.

The telecommunication infrastructure serves primarily the interests of the authorities and capital; they develop and adjust it primarily for themselves. The intended benefits for our poor everyday life are of little significance. It is about power, money and control over us. And that is why it is no coincidence that the media mention that mobile operators are major taxpayers and the state will be interested in protecting them and investigating the attacks. We don’t care about media outrage and cameraman rabies.We anarchists will always be interested in continuing attacks on power and capital, because we stick to the idea of a completely different life and want to destroy this world of domination and control. We declare firmly: where there is power, desire for profit and control, our fire will always burn!

P.S.

We include this action in the project of the Informal Anarchist Federation (FAI) and as a contribution to the Black December, an international campaign of anarchist solidarity. We, the members of the cell who signed up for this action, wish to state that this may be our last statement under the acronym FAI. With this decision we suspend our contribution to the FAI, which we have been making for the last 3 years from the territory of the so-called Ukraine.

We were proud to use FAI equipment and tools during this time, and even earlier with close attention and respect followed the development of the project from outside. In difficult moments we studied destructive attacks with the purpose of their implementation, read combat and inspiring communiqués from anarchists from all over the world, thus developing and strengthening our theory. The individuals and groups of comrades who acted under this acronym each time reminded the world anarchist movement that anarchism can only be combatful and illegal. We have learned a lot by taking part in this project. The combat practices, propaganda by action, and principles of informal organization that come from the FAI have been adopted by us and will now stay with us until the victory of the social revolution.

Nothing is over, everything continues!
The smell of gunpowder, black anarchy, explosions, shots fired, sabotage and ex!
Constant solidarity with the imprisoned enemies of the state!
Long live anarchy!

FAI Cell “Misha Zhlobitsky”
December 2019

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