Note: after this interview the movement known as TIR (Portuguese for Land, Identity and Resistance) was legally disbanded and its former membership gave birth to the Free Revolutionaries Circle and the National-Anarchist Faction. TIR also founded, after this interview, the Portuguese section of the French alternative news agency No Media, as an alternative to both Novopress and Altermedia, still active at http://pt.no-media.info .

Q: Flavio Goncalves, tell us who you are and your political background…

A: Tricky question, well, since 14 I’ve been politically active. I’ve been involved in the punk underground and after that I spent quite a few years wandering from party to party, from the far-right to the far-left. I’m a proud Azorean. In the Anarchist movement, I was one of the founders and treasurer of ACINTERPRO, an Anarchist inspired workers union that was extinguished by the Portuguese government. The foundation act was published in the Spanish Anarchist newspaper “Rojo y Negro” (Red & Black) by the CGT, which contained a report with a few pictures of me. I was also a translator for AFRE, presided by Sillis Muhammad, on which a chief elder Osiris Akkeballa is also involved; this NGO has consultant status at the United Nations. I was also the Portuguese representative of the Israeli-Palestinian One Democratic Stat, presided by Mahmoud Nimir Musa. In addition, I was one of the founders of the Portuguese-Iranian Friendship Society. I write for several national and international media. I also took part with Robert Faurisson, Serge Thion and many other “leftwing” Historians – even though the mainstream media insists in labelling us all something else – in the polemic “Holocaust: Global Vision” conference in Teheran, where I met personally the anti-Zionist rabbis of Neturei Karta and also President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. I’m listed in two separate websites sponsored by the Israeli government as being an “anti-Semite” and a “terrorist”, and I did not even give a speech in Teheran, go figure.

The new “Jewish studies for peace” chair at the Yeshiva University in New York pointed me out as being an example on how the anti-Zionist radical Left becomes anti-Semite. On a not so political level, I write fiction, one tale of mine served as a script for one of the stories of a comics book homage to H.P. Lovecraft, published this year in Portugal last May. In the long run, I hope to become a full time writer, rich and famous (one has to dream). Noteworthy, I’m also an activist for the Socialist Patriotic movement Land, Identity and Resistance.

Q: Regardless of the proximity, in Spain we hardly know anything about the Portuguese National Revolutionary movements; could you please tell us a bit about them, maybe a small synthesis on them?

A: Truth be said that in Portugal NR movements have never been so numerous, besides the old National Action Movement that includes a few NR. There exists the National Revolutionary Coordination, in a way nowadays TIR is an evolution of the former CNR (as the FRC and the NAF are evolutions of TIR now that is over). The term “NR” in Portugal has been long used by far-Rightwing personalities of the System, such as Nuno Rogeiro, television and mainstream media political commentator that in the 80’s was one of the leaders of the Nationalist Movement. He is a usual visitor of the embassy of Israel and of the synagogue of the Portuguese Israeli Community but he still claims publicly that he remains a National Revolutionary. Not one of our best examples.

Sadly, Portugal does not have a tradition regarding NR movements; the Portuguese nationalism have all been of a reactionary nature. I’m sorry if I forgot to mention any other NR Portuguese movement, but I don’t recall any other besides the NRC, perhaps because I worked with them back then.

Q: How it came about and how would you define the creation of Land, Identity and Resistance (TIR)?

A: TIR originated from a group of friends and comrades that have been active National Revolutionaries for many years in Portugal and other people that worked together before we legally registered as an association. This legal inscription had the purpose of making easier for us to hold public demonstrations, step by step – or perhaps even too damn fast – our numbers grew; now we have organized cells in several Portuguese cities, Lisbon, Coimbra, Portalegre, Almada e Oporto.

Our main bet have been social causes, our strategy passed through a delicate phase during which we lost a few members, when we decided once and for all to abandon the “national area” and create our own Socialist area, something that the MSR also did, if I correctly remember the editorial in the first issue of Krisis21. TIR is a Socialist revolutionary movement first and Patriotic only on a secondary level, we include NR, National-Bolsheviks, National Left, Maoists and we go as far as to National-Anarchism, you can say we are a real “black bloc”.

Q: What are your main activities? What objectives have you planned for short and medium terms?

A: TIR, unlike all the other Portuguese movements, works very hard at street level. We frequently hold public demonstrations and protests while all the others organize lectures for each other. While they do that we go and meet the people on the streets, go to the doorsteps of the factories that are closed, and we demonstrate against the anti-Socialist laws of the Government. We even take part in demonstrations organized by people we don’t agree with. If the cause is fair and we agree with it we will join in, no matter who organized it. We have no problems in marching side by side with Anarchists and Communists.

In the long run, our strategy is to create our own niche in the Portuguese Socialist movement, a convergence of Revolutionary wishes, a common front against the system. In the short term we are trying to get out, completely, from the pighouse that the Portuguese nationalist movement is. Personally I would be very pleased with an approximation and collaboration with the Portuguese Communist Workers Party, a Patriotic Maoist party from which, by coincidence, quite a few of our members originated from, we have members today in TIR in their 70’s and 80’ who were members of the PCTP.

Q: For all times the NR have always stood, among other things, for the defence of the Identity of the peoples and the fight carried by the Arab movements for their liberation. It´s easy to find Italian and French posters that, for example, a picture of the black rat (symbol of European NR – translator note) with a Palestinian scarf. Today we have parties, that label themselves as Identitarians or NR, that criticize the using of that scarf and that also support the same measures that Israel uses against the Arabs. What’s your opinion regarding this subject?

A: Some still insist in labelling this simply as a strategically change in tactics, taking advantage of the politically correct hate that the system has created, my personal opinion is that it’s plain treason. To listen to an Identitarian speaking the same exact words that George W. Bush and Ariel Sharon speak about Islam, accusing Islam of the same things that the system blames on him in all mainstream media, that’s treason and hypocrisy. We are anti-system but we use the same speech of the system? Do not cheat me, I wasn’t born yesterday.

In Germany the NPD is having problems because it always worked closely with Muslims and Arabs and recently an Identitarian party whose sole message is one of hate against Islam is taking it’s votes away. The same is happening in France, Belgium and England: the Identitarians are the Trojan horses for Israeli Zionism and for American Capitalism. I’m widely hated for not being afraid of claiming this publicly, and I don’t care, this is the truth, pure and simple!

Q: It’s common among the Spanish NR parties to speak about an Iberian alliance with Portugal, does the same happen in Portugal regarding Spain?

A: We very rarely discuss that, but it’s a lot better than in the early 90’s when we heard a lot of claims that the Spaniards are “our Historic enemies”. In TIR we have people that stand for the idea of Eurasia and we also have a few pan-Latinists, that stand for a union between South America and the Latin peoples of Europe (Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and Romania). Be it in either case, Eurasia or pan-Latinism, an alliance between Portugal and Spain is acceptable, but beware: an alliance, not an integration in the Spanish state.

Q: Portugal – as Spain – has strong ties with Iberian America. What role do you believe Portugal – and Spain – should have in the relationship between Europe and the Iberian American fatherlands?

A: I believe I answer that partially in the last question. We should create a Pan-Latin Union, Latin countries (specially Portugal since our ancestors where the first ones to leave for South America) should be used as a bridge in the relationships between Europe and Latin America, that way we could reduce the Imperial influence of North America, sadly, many South American politicians still prefer to speak with the “big ones” (France, Germany and the United Kingdom) instead of with their distant relatives… I remember that comrade Hugo Chavez, an inspiration for us all, upon his visit to Portugal spoke highly of the Portuguese community in Venezuela, who knows what the future has in store for us?

Q: One of the purposes of the MSR is to create a European Front, regarding that it’s public knowledge the pact between the Belgian NATIO and the MSR. What’s TIR’s stand regarding the creation of an European Front?

A: TIR is very much in favour of such a European organization being created, it’s no big news though, it’s an old idea that never gave birth to anything that lasted. We would surely support something like that, we even have among us a Luso-Belgian that acted as editor of “NATION Infos”. Both NATION and the MSR have very similar creeds with TIR, even though we do not understand their relationships with the Identitarians. But every country has the right to choose the strategy that works best for it, we are aware that the Identitarians of NATION have little or nothing in common with Les Identitaires or even with Terre et Peuple. If all Identitarians were like the ones in NATION it would be heavenly…

Q: To finish I would appreciate a few short answers to the following subjects:

Jean Thiriart: a visionary, an European Socialist Revolutionary! In TIR we have one comrade that was his personal friend and knew him very well, Thiriart used to stay in his home with his family when he visited Portugal.

Socialism: The most humane form of government if applied correctly and ethically, something the Communists have failed to do.

Altermedia: The Socialist and Patriotic indymedia, they could learn something about design with their opponents at Novopress though, but the contents are more correct and ethical than the ones in Novopress.

G. Faye: The main propagandist of Kosher Patriotism, Trojan Horse for the Zionist Israeli Racism and Supremacism, a lover of US Capitalism, he has admitted publicly in the past that the Zionists funded him. He’s a cancer.

I. R. of Iran: Our natural allies, I have visited the IRI and I had the chance of witnessing by myself the Patriotic and Socialist policies of it’s government, Tehran looks like any other European city with beautiful blue eyed and fair hair Persian women, I was shocked to find Coca Cola, pizzas, hamburgers and broadband Internet, rock bands, hip hop and heavy metal there though, the only difference between Iran and any other European country I could notice was the lack of alcoholic beverages (they do have a delicious non-alcoholic beer though), I was in Tehran when the students riot in the University of Tehran erupted with the protest of the anti-Regime students and no students where arrested, I saw anti-Regime public demonstrations and press that is hostile to the regime in quite a few newsstands, I even managed to find some revolutionary anti-regime music, by the supporters of the Sha. Even the Portuguese embassy there confirms that Tehran, a city with more population than Portugal, has a crime rate of almost zero and I hardly saw police officers on the streets. And the Government lost the local elections, what sort of dictatorship looses elections and does not have the streets filled with Police and Military?

Europe: These days an insignificant Political and Military block… we have to resurrect the sleeping giant, from the Azores to Vladivostok.

Ianki-Zionist Imperialism: Our main enemies, and the most deadly, they have destroyed European culture and identity with their Capitalism and now they are trying to do the same thing to all the peoples of the planet, they are the Great Satan!

Q: Now to really finish, any last words you wish to dedicate to the readers of Krisis21?

A: Read plenty, a revolutionary should keep his brain sharp, I try to read 1 or 2 books weekly and I strongly advise you to do the same. Besides that, remember the fight is for our people, know your people. Take part in your neighbourhood activities, in the life of your villages and cities, do voluntary work for the community, help your neighbours. Socialism is created in the family first, then in your local community and finally in the whole of the Nation. Working locally is the most important task of all and it bears sweet fruits, even if it takes a few years. Another world is possible, look at Venezuela!