From 29 September through 1 October, the Spanish Communist Party (PCE) organized its annual festival, the Fiesta, in Rivas-Vaciamadrid, Spain. As in past years, the Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path Movement (Masar Badil) and Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network had a strong presence at the Fiesta, together with Al-Yudur, the Palestinian Youth Mobilization in the Spanish State, and Alkarama, the Palestinian Women’s Mobilization.
The PCE Fiesta is a political and cultural event that has been commemorated each year since the PCE emerged from the underground after the end of the Franco regime in the late 1970s. The event is a space for discussions, lectures, book presentations and concerts, as well as meetings with various organizations and groups, with participants from the left throughout the Spanish state and internationally.
The Masar Badil and Palestine tent, as an internationalist organization, was present in the Fiesta alongide other nations and peoples fighting imperialism and colonialism, such as Cuba, Venezuela, and Western Sahara.
This year, activities at the stand focused on the liberation of Palestinian prisoners and all of Palestine and its people, from the river to the sea, as well as several campaigns in Europe. Participants in the stand raised the case of Zaid Abdulnasser and the #StandWithZaid campaign. Zaid is the coordinator of Samidoun Germany who is being threatened with revocation of his refugee status and residency in Germany simply for his activism for the Palestinian cause. This is the latest in a series of attacks on Palestinians in Germany, from denial of residency to deportation of prominent Palestinian writers and activists, such as Khaled Barakat and Rasmea Odeh.
The stand also highlighted the case of our comrades from Madrid. As they protested the presence of the Israeli ambassador on the campus of the Complutense University of Madrid, an Israeli agent pointed a gun at the protesters. However, rather than restraining the Israeli agent, the riot squad of the National Police repressed the demonstration and violently removed the protesters from campus, causing wounds and bruises; they also detained two of the participants and are unjustly prosecuting them through a police setup. The PCE provided Masar Badil and Samidoun organizers with an adjacent stand to provide specific information about the case and the campaign to defend the persecuted activists against repression.
On Saturday, 30 September, Samidoun screened the film, “Fedayin: The Struggle of Georges Abdallah,” accompanied by an informative talk by Jaldía Abubakra of the Masar Badil and Ghassan Saliba of the Communist Party of Lebanon. The stand sold copies of the book, “Manual de militancia dentro y fuera de la cárcel. Georges Ibrahim Abdallah,” along with t-shirts calling for his release. These actions are also part of the month of action for Georges Abdallah’s release, leading up to the Masar Badil gathering in Toulouse, France on 19-20 October and the mass demonstration to liberate Georges Abdallah at Lannemezan, France, outside the prison where he is held, on 21 October. These activities raised awareness about the tireless struggle of Georges Abdallah, the Lebanese Communist Arab fighter for Palestine jailed in France for 39 years, who continues to highlight his alignment with the Palestinian resistance and the Palestinian prisoners’ movement.
The discussion also highlighted the boycott campaign against Teva, the major Israeli pharmaceutical company and the largest producer of generic drugs. Teva provides large tax revenues to the Zionist colonial regime, thus financing its military operations. We informed the people who came to our stand and told them that of the taxes that TEVA pays to Israel, which runs into millions, 13.25% of those taxes are destined to continue developing the arms industry.
Many people who visited the stand were inspired to boycott TEVA after learning of the massive taxes paid to the Zionist state by this company and the millions sent to develop its arms industry and military occupation.
The stand also sold and distributed many t-shirts, bags, flag, posters and materials to stand with Palestine. We look forward to continuing to participate in the Fiesta in the coming years, continuing our work and struggle for the liberation of Palestine and in the fight to end imperialism and colonialism.
Freedom to all Palestinian prisoners!
Down with state repression!
Long live international solidarity!
From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!
