Palestinian writer Khaled Barakat has been subject to an ongoing political ban in Germany on 22 June when he was prohibited from speaking about the Bahrain “economic peace” conference and the “deal of the century.” Part of an ongoing series of repressive actions targeting Palestine organizing in Germany, the political ban on Barakat comes alongside an anti-BDS resolution, criminal charges against protesters interrupting a Knesset member, the deportation of Rasmea Odeh and the closure of Jewish Voice for Peace’s bank account, among other attacks.
Around the world, people of conscience are raising their voices in solidarity with Khaled Barakat and against the ongoing racist violations of Palestinian human rights both in Europe and in occupied Palestine. Please join the support campaign! Send your statements of solidarity to [email protected] or take a solidarity photo featuring the campaign posters to post online or share with us!
Some of the most recent statements and expressions of solidarity include the following documents and the solidarity photos from the CUP of Catalonia and the Zurich Youth Platform.
No One Is Illegal | Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany (MLPD) | Sindacato Generale di Base
No One Is Illegal Statement
Barakat was a co-founder of No One Is Illegal in Vancouver in 2002, fighting racism, deportation and repression. The following statement was issued on 4 July:
Statement of solidarity with Khaled Barakat
from No One Is Illegal-Vancouver, on unceded Coast Salish territories
We write in solidarity with comrade Khaled Barakat facing political censorship and repression in Germany. Khaled Barakat was a founder of the No One Is Illegal network and movement in Vancouver, advocating for the rights of Palestinian refugees and for all refugees in Canada, and fighting for the right of return for Palestinian refugees. He articulated a clear connection between Israeli apartheid and Canadian settler-colonialism. As a member of No One Is Illegal and as an active leader in social movements in Vancouver and across Canada, he was a consistent and passionate organizer against Zionist occupation and U.S imperialism and for Palestinian liberation from the river to the sea.
We stand unconditionally with Khaled Barakat. The attacks on Khaled Barakat are part of the illegal Israeli state’s attempt to quell the Palestinian diaspora in exile and the international Palestinian solidarity movement. The attempt to silence our friend Khaled Barakat occurs in the context of a campaign by the Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs to attack Palestinian and solidarity organizations globally. By barring Khaled Barakat’s right to speak at demonstrations or meetings, threatening him with prison time, and potentially denying him and his wife the right to reside in Germany, the German state is aligning with the racist Israeli state. The illegal occupation of Palestine has been perpetuated by targeted killings, ethnic cleansing, massacres, torture, assassinations, humiliations at hundreds of checkpoints and roadblocks, curfews confining entire populations to their homes, caging of Palestinians in jails and open air prisons, annexation of Palestinian-owned land, building of illegal settlements, demolitions of homes and a systematic policy of material deprivation- all of which should be rightfully and legitimately exposed and resistance to which does not constitute anti-Semitism.
We offer our continued unconditional and unequivocal support to the Palestinian resistance movement against Zionist/Israeli apartheid and occupation. We support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign as a strategy of international solidarity. We oppose the Zionist-Eurocentric settler-colonial foundation of the State of Israel that claims a racist, exclusionary, and privileged Jewish identity and has, since its inception, violently displaced and discriminated against Palestinian people. We affirm the fundamental and inalienable right of all Palestinian refugees to return to the original towns, villages, and lands of 1948 and 1967 occupied Palestine from which they were expelled.
Knowing Khaled Barakat, we know he will not be intimidated nor be silenced. We will not be intimidated or silenced either, and we reiterate that we stand with him. We demand an end to the ongoing colonization and occupation of Palestinian lands, an end to the apartheid system in Palestine, full recognition of the fundamental right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes, and an end to all forms of international support for Israeli war crimes. Palestine will be free.
MLPD Statement
The Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany has also come under attack from anti-Palestinian forces in Germany, particularly in 2017 when politicians demanded the prohibition of the Internationalist Alliance because of its inclusion of supporters of the PFLP among its ranks. The statement is below:
Statement of solidarity against political repression against Khaled Barakat
The MLPD hereby expresses its solidarity with Khaled Barakat and condemns his expulsion from Germany.
Dear Khaled,
The order of the Foreigners’ Authority of Federal Republic of Germany against you confirms the further repressive legal development of the Federal Government and the bourgeois parties. This order has been made without any evidence of a police defense against dangers.
With the passing of the new police laws, the “orderly return law” of Minister of Interior Seehofer and the reactionary condemnation of the German Bundestag against the BDS campaign it becomes clear: It is not about the prevention or prosecution of offenders and fascists like Anis Amri and the fascist Stephan E. who according to his own statements murdered the CDU politician Lübcke, but instead directed against the people and groups who are committed to international friendship, freedom and democracy. It serves to intimidate those who publicize and denounce the crimes committed by the Israeli military and Zionist government against the Palestinian people, including the false assertion that Khaled Barakat’s political and journalistic activity “brings foreigners against each other.”
Khaled Barakat is accused of belonging to an organization that is on the terrorist list of the US and Israel as well as the EU! President Trump calls the Chief Executive of North Korea “the dictator and enemy of world peace,” and the next day he is “his best friend.” This terrorist list depends on where and how best the imperialists can obtain money and political influence. The imperialists understand this, while claiming to respect peace and democracy. What a double standard!
The Federal Government’s decision to label the BDS campaign as anti-Semitic campaign is as unfounded as it is for the Palestinian forces who have been in reality fighting for years against the oppression, expulsion and murder of the Palestinian people.
We condemn this criminalization and denial of essential democratic rights and freedoms and will make this statement known and continue to protest.
Immediate withdrawal of the orders against Khaled Barakat!
Raise high international solidarity!
Proletarians of all countries unite!
With solidarity greetings
Monika Gärtner-Engel
International secretary of the MLPD
https://samidoun.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/190704-MLPD-Solidariaetserklarung-an-Khaled-Barakat.pdf
SGB (Sindacato Generale di Base)
The SGB, an Italian rank-and-file trade union, sent a letter from President Massimo Botti to the German Ambassador in Italy denouncing the attack on Khaled Barakat and the ongoing campaign to smear the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement. The letter called for the defense of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, protection of freedom of expression and cancellation of the political ban on Khaled Barakat. See the letter below:
Youth Platform Zurich
