Years of lead (Europe)

In Europe, the Années of lead indicate the years having seen being held terrorist actions , made mainly by groups of Extreme left (Bande in Baader or Red Army Fraction - RAF, red Brigades), but also of Extrême right-hand side ( Ordine Nuovo or Avanguardia Nazionale ), mainly in Italy, Greece and Germany within the framework of the Cold war. This “red terrorism” could call upon the concept of Propagande by the fact developed by the medium Anarchiste at the end of the 19th century, though with the attacks of the RAF against bases of NATO, those formed integral part of a Stratégie of support for the Liberation movements main road, in particular with the Vietnamese soldier-minh. The little of eagerness to clarify this particularly obscure period of our history authorizes all kinds of hasty readings and extrapolations. The years of lead are generally associated in Europe with the years 1970, although a certain number of terrorist acts were made during the following decade.

Germany

In West Germany, the Red Army Fraction ( Rote armed fraktion , RAF) (1970-1988) (or Band in Baader) will take part in attacks, some against bases of NATO made at the time of the Guerre of Vietnam. They will remove and assassinate the representative of German employers and old S Hans-Martin Schleyer.

The Red Army Fraction was principal and the most effective of the anti-impérialistes revolutionary organizations in Germany. Supported as of the middle of the years 1970 in Belgium, in particular by Pierre Carette (future CCC). The RAF, with AD, will represent the current anti-impérialiste not-Marxist-Leninist of the “guerilla Western-European”.

Belgium

The fighting communist Cells (CCC) (1983-1986) consisted of militants resulting from the range from the social struggles and policies, they are responsible for twenty-eight actions of armed propaganda targeting, on all the territory, of the symbolic systems places and strategic of the " impérialisme" the USA, NATO and capitalist system. The CCC were in contact with AD, the RAF and Br, in particular. Beyond the bombs, they will take part in the ideological reinforcement of the line Marxist-Leninist.

Other clandestine structures were active in Belgium in the years 1980:

  • the Brigades Julien Lahaut: remained with the state of project.
  • the Walloon National front of release (FNLW), set up in the middle of the years 1980, it did not pass however to the direct action.
  • the anarchistic unknown Group (GIA), person in charge of several small attacks against targets symbolic systems.
  • the Flemish group Gift Quichot.
  • the Face of proletarian revolutionary action (Frap), transitory structure installation in Belgium in an artificial way by Direct action, after its rupture with the CCC.
  • …

In 2003, attacks were launched to Flanders against military targets, at the time of the beginning of the war against Afghanistan and Iraq. These attacks were asserted by the Brigades Che Guevara, remained unknown until today.

Spain

“Groups of resistance antifascist of October first” ( Grapo and PCE (R) ) (1975) form the wing politico-soldier of the Spanish Communist party (reconstituted), of inspiration Marxist-Leninist. Since June 2002, justice returned the existence of the PCE (R) illegal. With Italian Br and the CCC Belgian, Grapo and the PCE (R) form the communist current combatant of orientation Marxist-Leninist.

France

Direct action (AD, 1979-1987) was an organization of active armed struggle in France, rested by former militants of Gari (Action groups revolutionary internationalists) and of Napap (Cores armed for popular autonomy). Anti-impérialiste from Libertarian obedience Marxist antileninist, AD will profit from some clandestine bases in Belgium.

Greece

In Greece, the Régime of the colonels arrived at the capacity at the time of the coup d'etat of 1967 sees certain groups being opposed to him, inter alia while taking part in attacks. Groups such as the Groupe of November 17th, which continued its terrorist activities until its dismantling in 2003, result from these years of dictatorship.

Italy

Italy is struck, during one decade, by terrorist activities asserted by groups, initially of extreme-right-hand side, then of extreme-left. The red Brigades Italian ( pink Brigate , Br) (1970), most known of the organizations of this period, are, at the same time, a political movement (established in factories) and an organization of armed struggle. Asserting current Marxist-Leninist for the foundation of the “Communist party Combatant” (the PCC), they will be used as reference to the CCC in Belgium. Today, certainly weakened by a generalized repression and increasingly rare actions, Br always exist nevertheless.

Br are the principal one, best structured and the oldest organization of " guérilla" activate in Italy. However, of many other revolutionary groups politico-soldiers have " animé" " years of plomb" Italian. Some of these groups result from Br.

During the Italian years of lead, which begin with the Attentat of Piazza Fontana the December 12th 1969, then with the Attentat of Peteano in 1972, by Vincenzo Vinciguerra, more than 600 attacks made between 1969 and 1980, made 362 died and 172 wounded. The group of the red Brigades is responsible for 75 of these victims. From 1969 to 1975, the clandestine organizations of extreme right-hand side are responsible for 83% of the violent actions of 90,2% of the political assassinations (83 out of 92). The proportions are reversed after 1975, but the terrorism of extreme right-hand side remains strong until 1985, with, in particular, the Attentat against the station of Bologna, the August 2nd 1980, which makes 85 dead, the Attentat against the train Naples-Milan, which kills sixteen people, and the assassinations of the revolutionary armed Noyaux, seventeen between 1977 and 1985.

The most known act of the Italian years of lead is the removal and the assassination of the former president of the council Aldo Moro by the Red Brigades, which puts an end to any attempt historical Compromis between the Christian Democrat (directed by Moro) and the NCV, directed by Enrico Berlinguer. These heavy years still weigh on the collective conscience and especially on the political life (cf for example recent the “Battisti business”). The terrorism of extreme-left continued in Italy in the years 1980 to know a resurgence in the years 2000, but without finding the intensity of the decade 1970. Various misadventures of the red Brigades made or tried to make terrorist activities since 1999, after several years of silence. Terrorist groups of extreme-left were dismantled in 2003 and 2007. The journalist-writer Giovanni Fasanella, specialist in the Red Brigades, estimates that " Forty years after the birth of the red Brigades, the political violence of left became an endemic factor, it is the only case in Europe. (...) This phenomenon is the degenerated product of an ideology of which the roots were not completely extirpated because the political system and cultural of the country is not there opposite rather extremely, of fear to have to recognize its own responsibilities (...). Among young Italian victims of social instability, who finds itself in the movement Total No (Altermondialiste), the armed struggle is seen with sympathy. " Lastly, Italian justice dismantled during the summer 2005 DSSA, a group directed by neofascists with the head of a trade union of the Italian security services. One of the hostages died in Iraq would have been sent for the account of this mysterious group, of which the persons in charge acknowledged themselves to have belonged to Gladio, the secret organization of NATO related to the maconnic cabin Propaganda Due (P2).

Theories of the plot around the years of lead in Italy and Europe

The neofascist Vincenzo Vinciguerra declared later with the judge Felice Casson that the attack of Piazza Fontana was to encourage the Italian State to proclaim the state of emergency and to turn to more authoritative solutions. One generally considers that the Attentat of the station of Bologna, in 1980, mark the large last massacres years of lead, also made to him by terrorists neofascists. One initially put the totality of the attacks on the back of groups known as Gauchiste S, before raviser in the years 1980, when the judicial enquiries in Italy clearly showed some of these attacks to have been in fact of the attacks False flag, i.e. carried out under cover of the unfavourable flag. Thus, the track of “black terrorism” (or neofascist) was explored, giving place sometimes to news Théories of the plot. Certain analyzes of this time evoke the existence of a Stratégie of the tension which would have been installation by Washington “in order to prevent NCV and, to a lesser extent, PSI, to reach the executive power”, as a parliamentary report of the coalition of center-left notes it Olivier published in 2000. In Italy, this one would have made use of bonds with certain neofascists mediums like with the maconnic cabin Propaganda Due (P2) directed by Licio Gelli. Elsewhere, it would have supported the introduction of Dictature S, in particular in the case of the Régime of the colonels installed in Greece by the coup d'etat of 1967, or by the recurring support for Turkish militarism and the organization of the gray Loups.

Other organizations also inspired by the Marxism

Terrorist movements engaged in a combat of “national release” were also characterized by their Marxist inspiration on the level of their ideology. It is the case:

  • of the Euskadi your Askatasuna (Eta) with the Country-Basque.

  • of the National Irish Release Army (Inla) in Northern Ireland: dissidence of extreme left of the Irish Republican Army
  • of part of the core founder of FLNC in Corsica.
  • several clandestine groups of armed struggle in Brittany.
  • etc

Internal bonds

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