On 24 October 2015, hundreds marched to Lannemezan Prison in France, demanding freedom for imprisoned Arab struggler for Palestine, Georges Ibrahim Abdallah. This new video from Coup Pour Coup 31 illustrates the strength of the march:
Manifestation à Lannemezan pour la libération… by coup-pour-coup
Georges Abdallah issued a statement from prison to the protesters, below (translated from French):
Dear comrades and friends,
A few meters outside the walls, barbed wire and watchtowers, we hear your slogans echoing in our heads, taking us away from these sinister sites. Certainly your mobilization today leaves no person here indifferent; so close to our cells, it brings a lot of warmth to us, raises our emotions and our enthusiasm. As for the guards, they have come to expect it somehow; from the time that political prisoners were brought here, they have become used to it…
At the dawn of the 32nd year of my captivity, Comrades, it is clear that the policy of annihilation which is the goal of the incarceration of revolutionary strugglers is invariably doomed to failure, because of the growing solidarity in the anti-capitalist/anti-imperialist struggle. There is never too much emphasis on this; only by building solidarity in the class struggle in all of its dimensions can we bring the most effective support to our fellow prisoners.
There is a war unleashed against the popular masses here, both inside the centers of the system and in the periphery, the reactionaries of all types seek by all means to bring a final end to the revolutionary prisoners as a living reference of the resistance and struggle. They must absolutely turn them into a frightening example to terrorize recalcitrant young rebels. Without the power to break them down until they recant and denounce their beliefs and convictions, they must be buried alive, and thus be used to influnence the morale of those who struggle.
Comrades, the diverse initiatives of solidarity that you have developed over time, have not only participated effectively in exposing the absurdity of judicial harassment and the revenge of the State, but also they have scathingly refuted all those who were relying on the quick evaporation of the momentum of your solidarity. You are always there,Comrades, on the ground of struggle and your multiple initiatives comfort me and strengthen more than ever my resolve and determination. With me here are the valiant resisting Basque comrades, also held for many years. The suspension of a sentence for medical reasons is systematically refused in the case of a Basque struggler. The case of the comrade Ibon Fernandez is symptomatic in this regard.
As you see Comrades, the beginning of this month the popular Palestinian masses and in particular the youth have managed to highlight Palestine at center stage as they struggle against the barbarism of the Zionist occupier. A third great Intifada is already on the way. There is no need for experts to explain the reasons for this Intifada and its diverse methods of struggle. The level of oppression and humiliation that the Zionists inflict daily on the entire people cannot but arouse an explosion and nourish its affirmation and spread, and even more so its victory…
May a thousand solidarity initiatives bloom in support of Palestine and the promising Intifada.
May a thousand solidarity initiatives bloom in support of the struggling Lebanese youth.
May a thousand solidarity initiatives bloom in support of the popular Kurdish masses and their brave fighters.
Down with imperialism and its Zionist guard dogs and reactionary Arab regimes!
Honor to the martyrs and the peoples in struggle!
Solidarity, all the solidarity to those who resist inside the Zionist jails and also in the isolation cells in Morocco, Turkey and everywhere in the world.
Together Comrades, and together we can achieve victory!
To all comrades and friends, my warmest greetings.
Your comrade, Georges Abdallah