During the American Revolution, the Good Guys received enormous assistance from a small number of foreigners, including the Polish soldier and politician Casimir Pulaski, who emigrated to North America and became a General in the Continental Army. We now face a crisis no less grave, and once again we have a Polish friend offering assistance.We know so little about what has happened in foreign countries, even in our own lifetimes. Many of us remember the imposition in 1981 of martial law in Poland. As some of us recall, it was a brutal onslaught against the Solidarity movement led by Lech Walesa. A few of us could even tell you the name of the Army General who led the assault, although very few of us could spell Wojciech Jaruzelski.
But most of us know nothing of the struggle of the Polish people against this monstrosity, and in view of the current situation, we ought to be trying to learn everything we can about it.
I urge you to consider the following passages from Lech Biegalski's "Martial Law" (via Canada Watch dot Org, and mirrored here):
Historical precedent and parallels:
There are many similarities between the situation that led to the establishment of martial law in Poland and the current situation in the United States and other Western countries. Among these, the most relevant are:
* Expected popular protest and social unrest to oppose the corporate take over of the political system, the end of democracy, and the continental deep integration;
* Expected protests and organized action to oppose the war agenda;
* Crashing economy and a possibility of a market break down.
Due to these similarities, it can be expected that the organization and management of the martial law in the United States (and possibly in other western countries) will be similar to that in Poland two and a half decades ago. It is also possible that forces preparing the martial law today draw on experiences and conclusions from the "Jaruzelski's War Against the Nation." Therefore, it seems to make sense to recall and to analyze the historical events of the 1980s.
Techniques and tactics of popular resistance:Following are the most common strategies used by population under the martial law in Poland in 1981 - 1983 and how they may apply to a potential martial law in U.S., and Canada:
* Compile and constantly update lists of persons arrested and interned, to keep the authorities accountable for all political prisoners.
* Collect pictures, statements, and other documented evidence of crimes and incidents involving abuse of power by the authorities, including names of persons responsible, publish the information and share it with international organizations such as Red Cross and Amnesty International. Pass this information to foreign journalists, foreign embassies, etc.
* Demand access to political prisoners by Red Cross, Amnesty International, and families of persons interned.
* Organize help (including material support) for families of persons arrested and interned.
* Organize legal help for political prisoners and popular awareness of their cases.
* Organize small, independently working groups of writers, publishers, and distributors of independent newspapers, brochures, and flyers. (Internet will most certainly be shut down.)
* Print and distribute independent books (these will be outlawed).
* Work in small groups with people that you know well and trust. Avoid extensive contacts with other groups. Avoid people who try to infiltrate your group from outside.
* Use nicknames, even between people who work together. Use messengers. Use contact places that cannot be easily observed or infiltrated (places with large numbers of people randomly contacting each other and frequently moving.)
* Build transmitters and organize "illegal" radio programs. These can be transmitted locally, within a radius of a few kilometres, using a tape deck, a transmitting circuit, a wire antennae, and a couple of 9V batteries. Use two or three twin transmitters on high points in the neighbourhood, for example on the roofs of apartment buildings or local plazas. Have a remote-control that allows you to switch the transmitters on and off in sequence in order to confuse military units with directional tracking devices. These remote controls can be adopted from remote-control toys, especially boats and planes (these have longer range than cars.) Distribute information about the program shortly before its transmission by dropping it in places where large numbers of people gather (malls, churches, etc.)
* Continue suspended activities of trade unions and other organizations in underground. Make sure that communication with members and organization of members is possible. If necessary, select / elect / appoint new governing bodies. This should be done confidentially and with limited number of people involved. Take over old structures, if they are inactive and useless.
* Refuse to use private transportation. Be ready to work but demand that the government provides sufficient public transportation for everybody to go to and from work. They cannot force you to use your private car to travel to and from work.
* Be prepared for and support a general strike. Exclude from general strike companies and services essential for the survival of the population.
* Prepare for sharing of essential needs (food, drinks, medications, clothing.) In critical situation, when the general strike takes a long time, sharing should replace buying. Goods essential for survival of families should be shared everywhere, (store chains and warehouses included.) Ideally, this will be the first step towards establishing local self-governments.
* Support your local self-government in everything they ask for but allow them to work in secrecy. Volunteer your time and your possessions. Respond to their appeals and calls.
* Organize public disobedience and peaceful protests at every occasion possible.
* Organize private meetings and workshops.
* Whenever and wherever strikes are not possible, SLOW DOWN and COMPLICATE the work.
* Ignore and socially isolate people who support the system and the martial law.
The importance of information:It is necessary to provide people with convincing reasons for resistance. These must be political and must hit home. People must be aware of all consequences of accepting the political agenda of the current government, including the illegal global war for resources, the risk of nuclear pollution of the environment, and the criminal depopulation policy. People must understand that this is a war for survival with a criminal oligarchy and corrupted politicians that serve it. This is an ideological war for the kind of political system we will have in the future. This is a war for our freedom and our liberties. This is a war for democracy and justice. In this war there will be no compromise, it's either them or us. It's serious.You got all that? I think you should read the entire article. Save it. Print it. Prepare to distribute copies.
We want all our resources, our land, our markets, our banks, our monetary and fiscal systems nationalized. We want key media corporations nationalized. We want private armies, operating mafia-style outside of any democratic control, outlawed. We want the politicians to represent the people and the military to protect the people. We want to lead the world to a better future. If we do nothing, we all will soon live like Palestinians in the Occupied Territories. People must understand that this is not a conspiracy theory. This is real.
Save other important articles, too. Be ready to print and distribute them as necessary.
This is only one of the things we must all be prepared to do. All of them are crucial.
This is an ideological war for the kind of political system we will have in the future. This is a war for our freedom and our liberties. This is a war for democracy and justice. In this war there will be no compromise, it's either them or us.