22 September, Online event: Solidarity with Issam Hijjawi Bassalat and the Saoradh 9

21 September 2020

Online event: “Solidarity with Issam Hijjawi Bassalat and the Saoradh 9”
When: Tuesday, September 22 at 10:00am PT / 1:00pm ET/6:00 pm Ireland/8:00 pm Palestine
REGISTER TO JOIN ON ZOOM: https://bit.ly/prisonersolidarity

Please share the Facebook event:

https://facebook.com/events/s/solidarity-with-issam-hijjawi-/379237706575136/?ti=icl

We stand in full solidarity with Dr. Issam Hijjawi Bassalat and the Irish Republican prisoners, who have started a hunger strike on 16 September as protest against the isolation of Dr. Hijjawi Bassalat by the prison authorities.

Dr. Hijjawi Bassalat, who is a prominent Palestinian community leader in Scotland, was arrested together with nine Irish republicans by the British MI5, the Irish Gardaí, Police Scotland, London’s Metropolitan Police, and over 500 officers of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) in the so-called “Operation Arbacia.” We demand the freedom of all political prisoners in Palestine and Ireland, and call upon their supporters to organize solidarity actions.

Join us to hear from speakers:
* Stephen Murney of Saoradh, former Republican political prisoner
* Yousef Qandeel, Palestinian community organizer in London
* Micheáilín Butler, Irish diaspora organizer and activist

Organized by Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network

THIS EVENT WILL BE STREAMED LIVE AT https://facebook.com/SamidounPrisonerSolidarity

#DropTheChargesCO: Samidoun supports anti-racist organizers targeted in Colorado

20 September 2020

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network supports the six anti-racist organizers, including four members of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, targeted for arrest and prosecution in the Denver, Colorado area in the United States, and urges broad mobilization in their defense.

Police across the region arrested the six in a coordinated sweep on Wednesday, 17 September from their cars, a Home Depot, and in one case a home raided in a militarized operation involving a tank.

The detentions followed a massive campaign organized by the six to demand justice for Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man killed by Aurora, Colorado police and paramedics in August 2019.

After an uprising against racism and police violence erupted across the United States following the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis, Minnesota police on 25 May, these militant, disciplined protests mobilized thousands to confront local police.

Like their organization, the four PSL members – Lillian House, Eliza Lucero, Joel Northam, and Russell Ruch – are distinguished not only as talented organizers in the anti-racist struggle, but also as exemplary supporters of resistance to imperialism and colonialism across the world, including the Palestinian national movement.

The multiple felony charges each of them faces – including, in one particularly egregious example, the simultaneous kidnapping of 18 police officers – are clearly political in nature, intended to repress future organizing against racist repression at a time of pitched struggle across the U.S.

And the simultaneous filing of these fabricated charges by District Attorney Dave Young, a Democrat, as well as Republican D.A. George H. Brauchler illustrates the bipartisan nature of U.S. state repression, with both parties of the ruling class cooperating fully to crush any meaningful resistance.

On Saturday, over 1,500 supporters marched in Denver as other groups rallied throughout the U.S. to demand the dropping of all charges.

Samidoun echoes this demand and encourages all supporters of Palestinian political prisoners to join the ongoing campaign led by PSL.

The party has asked the public to sign a petition denouncing the charges, and to donate to a fund for legal and political support.

And we urge redoubled support for the ongoing struggles of U.S. political prisoners, as well as the mobilization for Black liberation, and against racism, state violence, and political repression, across the country.

As in Palestine, racism is a crime, and resistance is a duty.

El Dr. Issam Hijjawi Bassalat y los republicanos irlandeses en huelga de hambre en la cárcel: ¡organicemos actos solidarios y exijamos su libertad!

19 September 2020

Como Red de Solidaridad con los Prisioneros Palestinos Samidoun, nos solidarizamos plenamente con el Dr. Issam Hijjawi Bassalat y los presos republicanos irlandeses, que iniciaron una huelga de hambre el 16 de septiembre como protesta contra el aislamiento del Dr. Hijjawi Bassalat por parte de las autoridades penitenciarias. El Dr. Hijjawi Bassalat, que es un destacado líder de la comunidad palestina en Escocia, fue arrestado junto con nueve republicanos irlandeses por el MI5 británico, el Gardaí irlandés, la Policía de Escocia, la Policía Metropolitana de Londres y más de 500 agentes del Servicio de Policía de Irlanda del Norte ( PSNI) en la denominada “Operación Arbacia”. Exigimos la libertad de todos los presos políticos en Palestina e Irlanda, y pedimos a sus seguidores que organicen acciones de solidaridad.

El Dr. Issam Hijjawi Bassalat, que tiene 62 años, inició su huelga de hambre el 16 de septiembre, cuando nuevamente fue sometido al régimen de aislamiento en la sucia e insegura Foyle House, un ala de la prisión de Maghaberry en el norte de Irlanda. Los prisioneros republicanos irlandeses iniciaron inmediatamente una huelga de hambre solidaria para apoyar a Issam. Ese mismo día, el tribunal de primera instancia le había negado la fianza a Issam. Ahora se dirigirá al Tribunal Superior de Justicia para tener la oportunidad de esperar su juicio en libertad.

El Dr. Issam Hijjawi Bassalat tiene múltiples problemas de salud y se ha sometido a una resonancia magnética esta semana. Está claro que para cualquier persona, y mucho más para quienes tienen problemas de salud, Foyle House es una prisión insegura. Como señaló la Asociación de Bienestar de Prisioneros Republicanos Irlandeses (IRPWA), “es ampliamente conocido que recientemente un prisionero ordinario que estaba en Foyle House había dado positivo por Covid-19. Aislar punitivamente a Issam en Foyle House, que no es apto para un ser humano ni por un día, ni mucho menos dos semanas, es una prueba una vez más de la actitud y la mentalidad del régimen en Maghaberry “.

Existe una larga historia de lucha colectiva y compartida entre los movimientos de liberación nacional irlandés y palestino. El movimiento republicano irlandés se enfrenta al colonialismo británico, que mediante la fuerza, y a través de la famosa declaración Balfour y la provisión de armamento a las fuerzas sionistas para reprimir los levantamientos palestinos, alimentó y desarrolló oficialmente la colonización sionista dentro de la Palestina ocupada. Asimismo, ambos movimientos enfrentan duros intentos de represión e infiltración, como la trampa tendida en este caso. Hoy en día, los republicanos irlandeses y otras personas arrestadas por cargos políticos por el estado británico son detenidos de forma rutinaria en lugar de ser mantenidos en libertad vigilada mientras esperan el juicio, a pesar de la debilidad de los cargos en su contra. En algunos casos, los detenidos republicanos irlandeses son enviados a prisión preventiva basándose únicamente en la palabra de un oficial de policía británico.

Samidoun (Red de Solidaridad con los Prisioneros Palestinos) apoya la huelga de hambre del Dr. Issam Hijjawi Bassalat y los prisioneros republicanos irlandeses. Pedimos su liberación inmediata y exigimos que puedan esperar su caso judicial en libertad, y pedimos que se retiren estos cargos injustos resultantes de un plan de incriminación. Instamos a todos los partidarios de Palestina a unirse a nosotros y organizar acciones de solidaridad.

Actúa:

Organiza una protesta frente a la embajada británica en tu país. El Mi5 británico no solo está muy involucrado en este caso, sino que todavía ocupa el norte de Irlanda. Apoya a los presos políticos y exige el fin del dominio británico en Irlanda. Comparte tu acción con nosotros a través de Facebook o enviándonos un correo electrónico a samidoun@samidoun.net, para que podamos compartirla y promoverla.
Organiza un evento virtual o un seminario web sobre la situación de los prisioneros palestinos e irlandeses. Si tiene preguntas o desea información sobre el caso del Dr. Issam Hijjawi Bassalat y los prisioneros republicanos irlandeses, o los prisioneros políticos palestinos en general, estaremos encantados de proporcionártela. Puedes contactarnos a través de Facebook o samidoun@samidoun.net.
Hazte una foto o graba un video en solidaridad con el Dr. Issam Hijjawi Bassalat y los prisioneros republicanos irlandeses. Puedes imprimir las imágenes a continuación o crear una imagen tú mismo. Envíanos tus fotos o vídeos a través de Facebook o samidoun@samidoun.net, para que podamos difundirlo y demostrar que Issam y los republicanos irlandeses cuentan con el apoyo internacional.
Escribe una carta al Dr. Issam Hijjawi Bassalat y a los prisioneros republicanos irlandeses. Puedes escribir desde cualquier país del mundo; todas las cartas son muy apreciadas por los firmes huelguistas. Podemos enviarte más información al respecto a través de Facebook o samidoun@samidoun.net, o puedes ponerte en contacto con la Asociación de Bienestar de Prisioneros Republicanos Irlandeses.

Lee nuestra declaración original sobre la represión y los arrestos contra activistas irlandeses y palestinos (28 de agosto): en inglés y en español.

Samidoun Stockholm and Ireland Information Group protest for Saoradh 9, Issam Hijjawi, Liam Campbell

19 September 2020

On Saturday, 19 September 2020, activists from the Ireland Information Group and Samidoun Stockholm visited the British and Free State embassies in Stockholm.

We visited these two embassies to show our solidarity with our imprisoned comrades, both in the Free State and in the occupied six counties.

At the two embassies, activists lined up with message posters, banners, and the flag for the Republic of Ireland.

The messages for the two activities were:
FREE THE SAORADH 9
FREE DR. ISSAM HIJJAWI
NO EXTRADITION OF LIAM CAMPBELL

Free the Saoradh 9:

At the end of August 2020, the Socialist Irish Republican party of Saoradh was subjected to severe repression in both the occupied territories in the north of Ireland as well as in the Free State in the south. Securitas forces carried out actions against ten representatives of the party, and four offices belonging to the party were searched.

At present, nine representatives from Saoradh are detained and accused of having links to The New IRA.

Free Dr Issam Hijjawi:

Dr. Issam Hijjawi was arrested on August 22, 2020, at Heathrow Airport after visiting Derry. Dr. Issam Hijjawi was arrested as part of the MI5-led operation against Saoradh that has left nine Saoradh representatives detained.

On September 16, Issam Hijjawi was denied bail. Dr. Issam Hijjawi suffers from several serious health problems and is currently in solitary confinement at Foyle House, a prison not built to treat individuals with serious illnesses.

No extradition of Liam Campbell:

A court in the Irish Free State has decided to extradite Republican Liam Campbell to Lithuania, where he is accused of preparations for arms smuggling.

Campbell, who has never visited Lithuania at all, is accused on very loose grounds of having planned an arms smuggling from Ireland that never happened, and where there is reason to question any real plans at all.

Support for the hunger-striking prisoners:

In connection with the current situation, Irish Republican prisoners have begun a two-week hunger strike. In connection with this statement, we also want to give our wholehearted support to the hunger strikers.

/The Ireland Information Group of Sweden, and Samidoun Stockholm

Palestinian youth in Shatila camp launch #Action4Return week at Sabra and Shatila memorial

18 September 2020

Read this report in Arabic.

The Palestinian Chess Forum in Shatila refugee camp in Beirut, Lebanon, launched the #Action4Return days of action for Palestinian return and confronting normalization with a symbolic memorial event for the Sabra and Shatila massacres on 17 September 2020.

Children and youth in the camp, and members of the Chess Forum, gathered in front of the monument of the martyrs of Sabra and Shatila camp, carrying banners, “We will not forget and we will not forgive – we are steadfast and we will return,” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” They laid floral wreaths in the martyrs’ cemetery, affirming their determination as Palestinian refugees to both honor the martyrs and uphold their right to return to Palestine.

Between 16 and 18 September 1982, thousands of Palestinian refugees in Sabra and Shatila camp were massacred by far-right Phalangist militias, allowed into the camp and overseen by the invading Israeli army, then occupying Beirut.

The #Action4Return days, between 18 and 26 September, marks the commemoration of the Sabra and Shatila massacres, the September 1970 massacres in Jordan and the signing of the Oslo agreements, all attacks on the rights and struggle of Palestinian refugees for return and liberation. They are days of Palestinian, Arab and international action to affirm the adherence of the Palestinian people to their national, human, political, economic and cultural rights – the right to return home, reclaim stolen land and property and complete the comprehensive liberation of Palestine.

Dr. Issam Hijjawi Bassalat and Irish republicans on hunger strike in prison: organize solidarity and demand freedom!

17 September 2020

As Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network we stand full solidarity with Dr. Issam Hijjawi Bassalat and the Irish Republican prisoners, who have started a hunger strike on 16 September as protest against the isolation of Dr. Hijjawi Bassalat by the prison authorities. Dr. Hijjawi Bassalat, who is a prominent Palestinian community leader in Scotland, was arrested together with nine Irish republicans by the British MI5, the Irish Gardaí, Police Scotland, London’s Metropolitan Police, and over 500 officers of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) in the so-called “Operation Arbacia.” We demand the freedom of all political prisoners in Palestine and Ireland, and call upon their supporters to organize solidarity actions.

Dr. Issam Hijjawi Bassalat, who is 62 years old, started his hunger strike on 16 September, as he was again forced into isolation in the filthy and unsafe Foyle House, a wing of Maghaberry prison in the north of Ireland. Irish Republican prisoners immediately engaged in a solidarity hunger strike to support Issam. Earlier that day, Issam’s bail was denied by the magistrate court. He will now proceed to the high court in order to await his trial in freedom.

Dr. Issam Hijjawi Bassalat has multiple health conditions and has undergone an MRI scan this week. It is clear that for any person, let alone those who have health conditions, Foyle House is an unsafe prison. As the Irish Republican Prisoners Welfare Association (IRPWA) noted, “It is widely known that recently an O.D.C. prisoner who was on Foyle House had tested positive for Covid-19. To punitively isolate Issam in Foyle House that is not fit for a human being for a day never mind two weeks is proof yet again of the attitude and mindset of the regime in Maghaberry.”

There is a long history of collective, shared struggle between the Irish and Palestinian national liberation movements. The Irish republican movement confronts British colonialism, which was also the force – through its notorious Balfour declaration as well as the arming of Zionist forces to repress Palestinian uprisings – that nurtured and officially developed Zionist colonization inside occupied Palestine. Similarly, both movements face harsh repression and infiltration attempts, such as the entrapment scheme in this case. Today, Irish republicans and others arrested on political charges by the British state are routinely remanded before trial rather than released and held in isolation, despite the weakness of the charges against them. In some cases, Irish republican detainees are remanded based on the word of a British police officer alone.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network supports the hunger strike of Dr. Issam Hijjawi Bassalat and the Irish Republican prisoners. We call for their immediate release and demand that they are able to await their court case in freedom, and we call for the dropping of these unjust charges resulting from an entrapment scheme. We urge all supporters of Palestine to join us and organize solidarity actions.

Take action:

Organize a protest in front of the British embassy in your country. Not only is the British Mi5 heavily involved in this case, they are still occupying the north of Ireland. Support the political prisoners and demand an end to British rule in Ireland. Please share your action with us through Facebook or by sending us an email on samidoun@samidoun.net, so we can share and promote it.
Organize an online event or webinar about the situation of Palestinian and Irish prisoners. If you have questions or want information regarding the case of Dr. Issam Hijjawi Bassalat and Irish Republican prisoners, or Palestinian political prisoners in general, we are happy to provide it. You can contact us through Facebook or samidoun@samidoun.net
Take a picture or record a video in solidarity with Dr. Issam Hijjawi Bassalat and Irish Republican prisoners. You can print out the images below or create an image yourself. Please send your pictures or video to us through Facebook or samidoun@samidoun.net, so we can spread it and show that Issam and the Irish Republicans are supported internationally.
Write a letter to Dr. Issam Hijjawi Bassalat and Irish Republican prisoners. You can write from any country in the world – all letters are deeply appreciated by the steadfast hunger strikers. We can send you more information about this through Facebook or samidoun@samidoun.net, or get into contact with the Irish Republican Prisoners Welfare Association.

Read our original statement on the repression and arrests targeting Irish and Palestinian activists (28 August): in English and in Spanish

Below, we are republishing two statements by the Irish Republican Prisoners Welfare Association (IRPWA), issued on 16 and 17 September.

16 September statement:

“The Irish Republican Prisoners Welfare Association are glad to report that Dr Issam Hijjawi has finally been taken to an outside hospital for his long awaited MRI scan.

This was first highlighted by the IRPWA on the 13th of September; a scenario that was not called for if the Maghaberry regime had of acted with the due care that it officially holds.

However, the IRPWA are gravely concerned as to the medieval behaviour of the Maghaberry regime towards Issam on his return.

They have forcefully and punitvely isolated Issam for another two weeks on the filthy and dilapidated conditions that exist on Foyle House.

Issam, who has multiple health conditions, has insisted that if this happened he will embark on a hungerstrike. We feel that to put Issam in isolation is being vindictive and a continuation of the concerted, petty targeting that he has endured since entering Maghaberry.

The Republican Prisoners in Maghaberry Roe House and Portlaoise E3/E4 will support Issam in this stance by engaging in a solidarity hungerstrike alongside him.

It is the prisoners and the IRPWA’s belief that this could and should have be averted if the Maghaberry regime applied logic and common sense. There is room on Roe House to safely isolate Issam until the results of a Covid-19 test is complete.

It is widely known that recently an O. D. C prisoner who was on Foyle House had tested positive for Covid-19. To punitively isolate Issam in Foyle House that is not fit for a human being for a day never mind two weeks is proof yet again of the attitude and mindset of the regime in Maghaberry.

The IRPWA urgently call on the Maghaberry regime to step back from confrontation and apply common sense by transferring Issam to Roe House where his needs can be safely and humanely cared for.”

17 September statement:

“The Irish Republican Prisoners Welfare Association wish to expose the deviousness of the Maghaberry regime today as they hatefully and intentionally sent the prisoners tuck shop on to the landing in the full knowledge that all Republican Prisoners in Roe House are currently on hungerstrike.

This was immediately refused by the prisoners and was sent back.

Despite this sinister act, the prisoners in Roe House are in good spirits and are clear that this latest confrontation instigated by the MI5 run Maghaberry administration is easily rectified.

Following the release of a statement announcing the beginning of the current hungerstrike, no media outlet which had been contacted by IRPWA representatives carried this.

The fact that Irish men are hungering for dignity in a British gaol is not newsworthy makes a clear case that there is a complete blanket media ban locally and nationally.

The media would rather publish bile; the Republican family are not fooled.

Victory to the Republican Prisoners!”

We also republish below a collective statement in support of the Saoradh 9 and Issam Hijjawi Bassalat. Add your signature at: https://bit.ly/saoradhsolidarity

As anti-imperialist and anti-colonial activists, organizers, and as committed internationalists, we condemn “Operation Arbacia,” the British Crown’s recent campaign of intimidation and repression against Irish Republicans and their Palestinian comrade and their rightful political work against the imperialist occupations of both Ireland and Palestine. We furthermore reject the campaign’s clear attempt to threaten international solidarity activism, in particular the well established historic bonds between the Irish and Palestinian people.

Last week, the British MI5, the Irish Gardaí, Police Scotland, London’s Metropolitan Police, and over 500 officers of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) carried out a series of raids and searches in the North of Ireland, the 26 County Republic of Ireland, and Scotland. Their primary target was the republican political party Saoradh, whose offices were raided in Belfast, Dungannon, Newry, and Derry. Since then, ten people have been detained and charged, including members of Saoradh and a Palestinian man, Dr. Issam Hijjawi.

A few details of this case stand out. First, PSNI coordination with the MI5 shows as clearly as ever that the PSNI serves as a proxy of the British Crown in the North of Ireland. Second, the Irish government is playing a neocolonial role on behalf of British imperialism by assisting with its repression against those committed to an independent and united Ireland. And third, the targeting of Dr. Hijjawi highlights the importance and effectiveness of Irish-Palestinian solidarity as mutual support by two peoples then and now subject to the violence of British imperialism. Hijjawi is after all a native of Palestine in Scotland and an overall outspoken supporter of the Palestinian cause.

In fact, Dr. Hijjawi’s speeches at Saoradh’s meetings, on which the British base their dubious “terrorism”-related charges, brought attention to the very parallels between the Irish and Palestinian causes that his arrest brings now brings to the fore. In one of those talks, Hijjawi spoke of earlier occasions when he’d been visited by MI5, noting that the intelligence officers mentioned “what they called my Irish connection, ironically admitting the parallel between the Palestinian and Irish causes.” He added: “Comrades, be assured that we are on the right side of history, whether in Palestine or Ireland, the nearly century-long struggle for freedom, self-determination, dignity and social justice will prevail, and the imperialist, colonialist powers sooner or later will be defeated, it’s just a matter of time.”

We would also like to note the similarities between the British justification for the detainment of Saoradh members, called “internment by remand,” and the systematic Israeli policy of arbitrary imprisonment of Palestinians known as administrative detention.

A court was told that one of the detainees, David Jordan, stands accused of attempting to develop a relationship with a government “hostile to the UK.” We insist that this accusation, much like the campaign of surveillance and arrests that produced it, is fundamentally illegitimate. As supporters of Irish unity and independence, we insist that the British crown does not have a right to rule in Ireland and thus has no right to determine Irish activists’ choices of political alliance.

We call for the release of all Irish Republicans currently being held in prison, as well as an end to all house raids, stops and searches, “internment by remand”, and any further attempts to criminalize Irish Republican political movements for Irish unity and independence. We also call for all charges to be dropped against Dr Issam Hijjawi.

Free Ireland. Free Palestine.

Signed on to by the following:

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
Global Campaign to Return to Palestine
Alkarama Palestinian Women’s Mobilization
Internationalt Forum – Middle East Group
Campaign Against Criminalising Communities (CAMPACC)
All African People’s Revolutionary Party – New Mexico
Committee for the Reconstruction of the Communist Party of Romania (Maoist)
UCFR Madrid
Izquierda Unida (IU) Extremadura
Network for Democratic Palestine- USA
Movimiento Wiphala España
Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa’adat
New York City Jericho Amnesty Movement
Berkeley Women in Black
Center for Communist Studies
Samidoun Stockholm
Yayoflautas Madrid
People for Justice
Hilton Head for Peace
Voices for Justice in Palestine
Trawunche Madrid (Coordinación de Apoyo al Pueblo Mapuche)
Maoist Communist Party- Organizing Committee
Social Environmental Alliance, Victoria BC Canada
Voices for Justice in Palestine
Unadikum Association
Anti Imperialist Action Ireland
Oakland Jericho
Peace in Kurdistan Campaign
Movimiento Wiphala (Internacional)
GMB Union England
Victoria Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid
Irish-Australian Workers Group
Libyan One Nation Movement (International)
Revolutionary Communist Group / Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism!
International League of Peoples’ Struggle-US
Comité Oscar Romero de Murcia
Revolutionaire Eenheid

National Coalition Demands No Normalization with Occupation and Colonization

15 September 2020

Samidoun is among the over 50 organizations launching this call. This statement is still open for organizational signatures at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSefnn_rzwedr_KgZQ1fDREmSi-o7_szo8F14F8GpfrVN-qNuQ/viewform?fbclid=IwAR1cJi7z0yCbGk_WqEEuWXUOIwZmnPU4r7KB3UMsVBiGrLp4gm4HYeUOhoY

On Tuesday September 15th, 2020, the United States will host a ceremony to consummate the normalization agreements between the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Israel. Absent from this debacle of White House theatrics will be any Palestinians to represent the indigenous people of the land upon which Israel has created and violently maintains its colonial state. Euphemistically coined the “Abraham Accord,” the details of the plan unveil little more than a calculated semantics ploy to represent the anti-colonial struggle of the indigenous Palestinians as a religious and fratricidal fight between “the children of Abraham.”

In international arenas this farce has been touted as a “peace initiative,” even though the countries were not previously in conflict with one another. In Arab countries, there are official campaigns aiming to sell the agreements to the public as an advancement for Palestinians, in complete disregard of the position and agency of the Palestinian people. While governments and corporations talk of business opportunity, tourism, and energy deals, the sidelined Palestinians continue to exist in apartheid conditions, under brutal Israeli military occupation where home demolitions, night raids, arbitrary arrests, and unspeakable harassment, humiliation and violence against them are daily realities.

This month the UAE welcomed to its capital, Bank Hapoalim and Bank Leumi–two of nine Israeli banks listed by the United Nations Human Rights Council as financiers of illegal settlements–making the UAE now complicit in Israel’s ongoing theft, colonization, and annexation of Palestinian land. Rather than benefit Palestinians, these deals put an Arab seal of approval on what is one of the world’s worst, most enduring and well-documented records of human rights abuses and grave breaches of international law. In doing so, they reward lawlessness, theft and impunity, in addition to violating all relevant resolutions of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Far from advancing peace, the plan reveals arms deals and cyber-spying contracts that promote militarism, endanger civilians, threaten human rights activists, and delay the potential for true peace in the region–peace based on ideals of justice and universal human dignity.

While we condemn the actions of the UAE and Bahrain governments, we know that the Arab people of the UAE and Bahrain remain firm in their support for Palestine. Likewise, while we condemn the long role of the US government in pushing normalization while underwriting Israel’s violent occupation and settler-colonial project, we know that our fellow Americans want the US government to promote justice. The American people want their tax dollars spent on our crumbling education system, compromised infrastructure, and healthcare, not to prop up human rights abusers nor to fatten the bank accounts of weapons contractors.

As a coalition of over 50 US-based religious, political, cultural and human rights organizations, representing tens of thousands of Americans, we stand firmly with the Palestinian people in their fight for freedom, self-determination and demand that Israel be held accountable. We stand united in our rejection of any and all efforts to normalize with Israel at the expense of Palestine and the Palestinian people. We declare that Palestinian self-determination and human rights are non-negotiable and not for sale; and finally and most importantly we demand an end to Zionist Colonization of Arab/Palestinian land.

National Coalition
Arab America Anti Discrimination Committee (ADC)
Arab America Anti Discrimination Committee (ADC) – Georgia Chapter
Al-Awda NY
Al-Awda Palestinian Right to Return Coalition
American Palestinian Club- VA
American Muslims for Palestine
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
Coalition of Palestinian American Organizations
CODEPINK
Committee for a Just Peace in Israel and Palestine
Daarna
Dallas Palestine Coalition
Eyewitness Palestine
Free Democratic Palestine Movement
Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA)
Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF)
International Solidarity Movement
Internationalism WG (Metro DC DSA)
Israel Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church, USA
Jerusalem Center
Jews for Palestinian Right of Return
Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP)
Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP) – NYC
Labor for Palestine
Metroplex Palestine Coalition
National Arab American Professionals (NAAP)
National Lawyers Guild, Palestine Subcommittee
National Union Of Palestinian Youth Representative/ Boston
Network for Democratic Palestine
New Generation for Palestine (NGP)
NY4Palestine
Our Revolution Northern VA (ORNOVA)
Palestinain American Council – Chicago
Palestine Aid Society – Detroit
Palestine American League
Palestinian American Center
Palestinian American Club- Chicago
Palestinian American Council – Dallas
Palestinian American Council – Louisiana
Palestinian American Community Center NJ (PACC)
Palestinian American Women’s Association
Palestinian American Youth League
Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace
Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM)
Sacramento Regional Coalition for Palestinian Rights
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoners Solidarity Network
Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) – Chicago
Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) – GW Law School
Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) – Tufts
US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USPCR)
US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (USACBI)
US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN)
US Palestinian Council (USPC)
USA-Palestine Mental Health Network
Virginia Coalition for Human Rights (VCHR)

Solidarity with the Al-Naqab Center in Bourj al-Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut

14 September 2020

Republished from the original French at Collectif Palestine Vaincra: https://palestinevaincra.com/2020/09/solidarite-avec-le-centre-al-naqab-du-camp-de-refugies-palestiniens-de-burj-al-barajneh-de-beyrouth/

Following the explosion at the port of Beirut, Lebanon, the Collectif Palestine Vaincra, a member organization of the Samidoun Network in Toulouse, France, organized a solidarity fundraiser to support the Al Naqab Center, a cultural center for youth in the Palestinian refugee camp of Bourj al-Barajneh in the south of Beirut. In a few days, the collective raised € 500 to support their work, which is more necessary than ever. We publish below the message they sent highlighting that solidarity is, first and foremost, mutual aid in common struggle. You can donate online to support Al Naqab Center here: https://www.givingloop.org/alnaqabcenterforyouthactivities

The Al Naqab Center’s letter is below:

To our comrades in Toulouse, we send you our heartfelt greetings from Bourj Al Barajneh Camp in Lebanon. We send you this letter as Macron was only recently parading through the streets of Beirut and being received as a saviour by some, others protested his presence, shouting “Free George Abdallah” at him. Like them, we are not fooled by Macron’s antics. For we know all too well France’s role as an oppressor—from the colonization of Algeria, the Levant, West Africa, and Southeast Asia, to the neocolonial policies of “Françafrique”, which continue to exploit the people of Mali, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, and beyond. We have also seen how French cops act like an occupying force in the banlieue—beating, killing, and imprisoning our Black and Arab brothers and sisters. We also know of the vicious neoliberal policies the Macron government and its predecessors have enacted, and we have witnessed his cops beating striking workers and students who have stood up to resist them.

In Lebanon, our people continue to face the injustice of forced exile from our homeland. As refugees for the past 72 years, we have been deprived of our basic human rights throughout the world, but in Lebanon the discrimination and racism we face is as stark as it is blatant. As Palestinians, we are barred from many jobs, owning property, and access to social security. Our people are forced to live in overcrowded refugee camps, which lack basic infrastructure and are besieged by physical barriers and military checkpoints. The ongoing financial and economic collapse in Lebanon has continued to decimate our people, whose financial and economic position was precarious to begin with. The situation has only worsened due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent Beirut port explosion.

At Al-Naqab center, we continue to struggle for the survival of our people. Our main activity is in education. To counter the disparity in educational opportunities and quality of schools available to our people, we offer school support and tutoring to Palestinian students in Bourj al Barajneh free of charge. We also teach the history and geography of Palestine and our struggle. In addition to this we have a youth football team because we believe sports can be an educational tool that builds leadership, self-esteem, self-confidence, and cooperation. We also organize campaigns and events in support of the Palestinian struggle. Most recently, and due to the economic situation Al-Naqab has joined forces with other groups and individuals in the camp to organize food distributions.

In all our work we have relied on an independent funding model by only accepting unconditional donations and membership dues. This is part of our aim of building an organisation using an alternative model to the depoliticised NGO model that has come to dominate and police our camps and spaces. With continued principled support from our community and supporters throughout the world, we can demonstrate that another way is possible. Despite the state of utter collapse and freefall into the abyss, we refuse to surrender to the hopeless reality and we live by comrade George’s words “No remorse, no compromise, I will forever resist!”

لن اندم ولن اساوم سأبقى اقاوم

Samidoun supports global day of action to #StopTheKillingsPH

14 September 2020

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network joins in the global day of action on 14 September to stop the killings in the Philippines and build the international struggle for justice. Organized by Karapatan, the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment, 350.org Pilipinas, the Ecumenical Voice for Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines, Civicus, ESCR-Net, AWID, IADL, APWLD, the Asia Pacific Network of Environment Defenders, the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines, PCFS, and OMCT, the day of action marked the opening of the 45th session of the UN Human Rights Council.

The global day of action, which included in-person, online and Twitter calls to action, focused on extrajudicial killings targeting activists and human rights defenders, which have multiplied alongside the imprisonment of political prisoners in the Philippines. Karapatan reported, “In Quezon City, human rights activists unfurled a big “Stop the Killings” banner in Liwasang Diokno at the Commission on Human Rights compound. The hashtags #StopTheKillingsPH #HRC45 were used by individual advocates on Facebook and Twitter. Prior to September 14, human rights lawyers in Turkey conducted protest actions in several cities in their country to support the call, while rights advocates in Switzerland held a protest action in Bern.”

A statement signed by over 700 global organizations and advocates, including Samidoun, was submitted to the UNHRC, “citing the signing and enactment of the Anti-Terrorism Act which is “seen as a measure that will aggravate the attacks and vilification of human rights defenders and civil society” as well as the killings of peasant leader Randall Echanis and health activist Zara Alvarez in August, following the killings of relief worker Jory Porquia, peasant leader Nora Apique and urban poor leader Carlito Badion amid the imposition of lockdowns to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and continuing killings linked to the government’s bloody campaign against illegal drugs.”

As noted previously, “While the so-called “Anti-Terror Law” in the Philippines imposes yet another threat upon people’s rights defenders and activists struggling to defend the land, workers and people from imperialism and exploitation, these same human rights defenders are subjected to a vicious campaign of state terror. Duterte has aligned himself with all of the most extreme right, fascist forces in the world, from the military might of U.S. imperialism to the Israeli occupation regime.

Indeed, Duterte carried out the first visit of a president of the Philippines to Israel, deepening the economic, agricultural and scientific relationship between the Israeli occupation regime and the Philippines, and thanking Israel for its ‘critical assistance’ in the so-called ‘war on terror.’ In reality, the “war on terror” in the Philippines consists of violent repression of workers, peasants and human rights defenders. There have been thousands of extrajudicial killings in just the past three years, including over 50 lawyers gunned down, with no justice or accountability.

Duterte even initiated joint “counter-terrorist training” programs for the Armed Forces of the Philippines under the direction of the Israeli Occupation Forces, enhancing the oppression of people in the Philippines through tactics learned and tested through war crimes, crimes against humanity and creeping genocide targeting the Palestinian people. This includes the false labeling of resistance organizations, people’s movements and strugglers against colonialism as ‘terrorists,’ in Palestine, the Philippines, the United States and elsewhere. As the Israeli occupier stands with its fellow war criminal Duterte, the people’s movements of Palestine stand with the people’s movements of the Philippines in a collective struggle for justice.”

*Samidoun international coordinator Charlotte Kates*

We stand with the people’s movement in the Philippines and around the world in calling for justice, accountability and an end to the targeting of activists and human rights defenders for political imprisonment and extrajudicial killings, and add our voice to thousands of others raised on this day.

Republished below is the international statement from Karapatan: https://www.karapatan.org/stop+the+killings+un+human+rights+council+investigate+the+human+rights+situation+in+the+philippines

Stop the killings! UN Human Rights Council, investigate the human rights situation in the Philippines!

During the 44th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UN HRC) in June 2020, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet reported the widespread and systematic human rights violations in the Philippines. The High Commissioner found that domestic mechanisms have failed to ensure accountability, and that there is persistent impunity for human rights violations. She also cited that authorities’ harmful rhetoric inciting hatred and violence against women, human rights defenders, political opposition, civil society, indigenous peoples, drug users and peddlers, and relief workers, which continued during the COVID-19 period, could amount to a violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Weeks after the release of Bachelet’s comprehensive report, the human rights situation in the Philippines took a turn for the worse. In the first week of July, the President signed the Anti-Terror Act that is seen as a measure that will aggravate the attacks and vilification of human rights defenders and civil society. The exercise of fundamental freedoms and rights has been compromised, with numerous challenges to press freedom and activists and protesters arrested and detained on flimsy charges. In August, only days apart, peasant leader Randall Echanis and health activist Zara Alvarez were summarily executed in separate incidents, following the killings of relief worker Jory Porquia, peasant leader Nora Apique and urban poor leader Carlito Badion during the COVID-19 lockdown. The lawyer and paralegal volunteer assisting the family of Echanis are now facing police complaints for allegedly obstructing its investigation. Threats of violence, including death threats, against activists and human rights defenders have continued unabated.

We must put a stop to these unrelenting attacks now. And this worsening situation would not end as long as those who perpetrate them run free and unscathed. These perpetrators must be brought to justice before any court, tribunal or body that will act independently, with impartiality, and effectively, having allegiance to human rights and justice instead of powers that be. We need true accountability and genuine transparency in the inquiry into these human rights violations, removing the possibility that investigations would only shield and even absolve the persons liable for the crimes.

We cannot rely on the promise of a government that has shown great disdain and disrespect of human rights to exact accountability and operate with transparency. This government has shown nothing but contempt for individuals and experts, including those in the UN and the International Criminal Court, who independently and impartially seek investigation into the relentless human rights violations in the Philippines.

The Philippine Justice Secretary, during the 44th UNHRC Session, denied the existence of impunity in the Philippines, promising the creation of an inter-agency panel to review the 5,655 killings during the police’s anti-illegal drug operations. He denied allegations of widespread and systematic killings as well as other human rights violations. He stressed that the Government has respected human rights and other fundamental freedoms, reiterating the existence of accountability measures, such as an inter-agency committee on extralegal killings, enforced disappearances, torture, and other grave violations of the right to life, liberty and security of persons.

We have witnessed a long history of domestic inter-agency task forces and fact-finding commissions promising to act without fear or favor. But we repeatedly have been frustrated and even enraged by the fruitlessness and ineffectiveness of these so-called domestic accountability measures. Rather than help, these government bodies have even contributed to the infrastructure of impunity and miscarriage of justice against the victims of human rights violations.

With the 45th session of the Human Rights Council beginning today, we call on the UN Human Rights Council to exercise its mandate and urgently create an independent and impartial investigative mechanism on the rampant extrajudicial killings and human rights violations in the Philippines. The Human Rights Council’s action may contribute significantly to deter further human rights violations in the Philippines. Likewise, we also support other initiatives in urging States all over the world to send the message that such level of impunity in the Philippines is unacceptable.

This must happen now before we lose another Zara Alvarez, another Randall Echanis, another Jory Porquia, another Kian delos Santos, and another Filipino to these cruel, widespread and systematic violations. ###

SIGNED BY THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS:

Karapatan Alliance Philippines
National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL)
Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan)
350.org Pilipinas
Ecumenical Voice for Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines (EcuVoice)
Civicus World Alliance for Citizen Participation
International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR-Net)
Association of Women’s Rights in Development (AWID)
International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL)
Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD)
Asia Pacific Network of Environmental Defenders (APNED)
International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP)
People’s Coalition on Food Sovereignty (PCFS)
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR)
International Coalition Against Enforced Disappearances (ICAED)
MADRE
Protection International
JASS (Just Associates) Southeast Asia
Public Services International – Asia Pacific
Education International – Asia Pacific
Pesticide Action Network – Asia Pacific
Iniciativa Mesoamericana de Mujeres Defensoras de Derechos Humanos (IM-Defensores)
Pesticide Action Network – North America
Asia Pacific Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines
Confederation of Lawyers of Asia and the Pacific (COLAP)
Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants
Indigenous Peoples’ Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL)
IBON International
Proyecto de Derechos Económicos, Sociales y Culturales (ProDESC), Mexico
Odhikar, Bangladesh
Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and the Rule of Law
Common Room, Indonesia
PERETAS (Women Across Borders), Indonesia
Democratic Lawyers Association of Bangladesh
LGBT+ Welfare Alliance, US
V-Artivist, Hong Kong
International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) – US Chapter
Canada-Philippines Solidarity for Human Rights
Centre for Human Rights & Development (CHRD), Mongolia
Indian Association of Lawyers
Malaya Movement, US
Giuristi Democratici, Italy
Progressive Lawyers Association, Turkey
PROGRESS, Indonesia
Asociación Americana de Juristas, Puerto Rico
Migrante International-Canada
Asociación Libre de Abogadas y Abogados, Spain
Action des Chrétiens Activistes des Droits de l’Homme à Shabunda (ACADHOSHA), Congo
Centre Action Sociale Réhabilitation et Réadaptation pour les Victimes de la Torture, de la guerre et de la violence (SOHRAM-CASRA), Turkey
Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), India
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan – USA
People’s Watch, India
All India Lawyers Union
Filipino Domestic Workers Association, United Kingdom
Gabriela-Canada
Migrante Como Milano, Italy
New South Wales Teachers Union, Australia
Rights Watch AP, India
Migrante International – France
Uyirootal Trust, India
Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, India
PROHAM, Malaysia
Survivors of Torture and Trauma Assistance and Rehabilitation Service (SSTARS), Australia
African Centre for Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture Victims
Centre for Social Education and Development (CSED), India
People’s Action for Rural Awakening, India
International Longshore & Warehouse Union, US
People’s Choice, India
KUNCI Study Forum & Collective, Indonesia
Contre la Torture en Tunisie, Tunisia
Vox Populi Initiative, Congo
Associacio Catalana per la Pau, Spain
Hong Kong-Filipino Friends
Ugnayan ng mga Pilipino sa Belgium
Intal, Belgium
Viva Salud, Belgium
International Longshore & Warehouse Union-Local Union 5, US
Migrante International – Europe
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
Human Rights and Consumer Production Society, India
Society for Integrated Rural Development, India
Citizen for Human Rights Movement, India
Filipino CARES, United Kingdom
Dalit Human Rights Defenders Network, India
CIC Concern Group, Hong Kong
Migrant Solidarity Committee, Hong Kong
Justice and Peace Netherlands
Pusat Kajian Etnografi Komunitas Adat, Indonesia
NawaSLITU, Sri Lanka
Gabriela – New York, USA
Asian Center for the Progress of Peoples, Hong Kong
Moving Artists International
Fridays for Future Brazil
Human Rights Center of the National Council of Churches in Korea, South Korea
Çağdaş Hukukçular Derneği, Turkey
KASAMMAKo, South Korea
Migrante International – Netherlands
Union of Turkish Bars, Turkey
International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) – Canada
New York – Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (NYCHRP)
Kalimantan Women’s Alliance, Indonesia
Korea Women’s Association United (KWAU), South Korea
Lawyers for a Democratic Society (MINBYUN), South Korea
Korean House for International Solidarity (KHIS), South Korea
Pax Christi Victoria, Australia
Hak Inisiyatifi Derneği, Turkey
Fridays for Future, Germany
Cambodian Center for Study and Development in Agriculture (CEDAC)
Asociación Libre de Abogadas y Abogados (ALA), Spain
Stop the Wall Campaign, Palestine
Netherlands Philippine Solidarity Association
PROGRESS Lawyers Network, Belgium
Migrante International – Austria
Support for Women in Agriculture and Environment (SWAGEN), Uganda
Centre for Philippine Concerns, Canada
Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture (ACAT) Germany
Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture (ACAT) Belgium
Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre
Mandacarù Onlus, Italy
Les Corner Empowerment Association, Hong Kong
Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union, South Korea
Migrante International – Australia
Sciopero per il clima Svizzera, Switzerland
Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers, United Kingdom
Quinoa ASBL, Belgium
Revolutionary Socialist League, Kenya
Movement for Land and Agricultural Reform (MONLAR), Kenya
Zambia Social Forum
Instituto Politécnico Tomás Katari, Bolivia
Solidagro, Belgium
Fridays For Future Rosario, Argentina
Eskubideak (Basque Democrat Lawyers)
National Ecumenical-Interfaith Forum for Filipino Concerns- Northern California, USA
Ponlok Khmer, Cambodia
VIKALPANI (National Women’s Federation), Sri Lanka
Coalition of Cambodian Farmer Community (CCFC)
Bangladesh Agricultural Farm Labour Federation
National Women Farmers and Workers Association (NWFA), Bangladesh
Cambodia Youth Network
SERUNI, Indonesia
Project South, USA
Coalition for the Safety and Protection of Human Rights Defenders, PANA, Kazakhstan
Public Association “Dignity”, Kazakhstan
AwazCDS-Pakistan
Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights
Aliansi Gerakan Reforma Agraria (AGRA), Indonesia
Institute for National Democracy Studies (INDIES), Indonesia
Asian Migrant Coordinating Body- Hong Kong
Reel Women – Hong Kong
Women Festival- Hong Kong
International Migrants Alliance – Hong Kong & Macau
ILPS Hong Kong & Macau
The Association for the Advancement of Feminism- Hongkong
Abra Tinguian Ilocano Society – Hong Kong
Abra Migrant Workers Welfare Association, Hong Kong
Annak ti Maeng Tubo-Hong Kong
Association of Concerned Filipinos, Hong Kong
Association of Indonesian Migrant Workers, Hong Kong
Baggak Cultural Group, Hong Kong
Bangued Migrants Workers Association, Hon Kong
Bayan Hong Kong and Macau
Bucay Migrants Workers, Hong Kong
Bucloc Overseas Workers Association, Hong Kong
Cuyapo OFW Association Hong Kong
Divine Word Migrants Association, Hong Kong
Dolores Migrants Association, Hong Kong
Filipino Friends, Hong Kong
Filipino Lesbian Organization, Hong Kong
Filipino Migrant Domestic Workers Union, Hong Kong
Filipino Migrant Workers Union, Hong Kong
Filipino Migrant Workers Union – Chater Garden, Hong Kong
Filipino Migrant Workers Union- Bus 13, Hong Kong
Filipino Migrants Association, Hong Kong
Filipino Women Migrant Association, Hong Kong
Friends of Bethune House, Hong Kong
Gabriela Hong Kong
Gabriela Hong Kong Bank
Ganagan San Juan Association
HK Campaign for Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines, Hong Kong
Iglesia Filipina Independiente -HK Fellowship Officers, Hong Kong
Indonesian Migrant Workers Union
Kalinga Province Hong Kong Workers Association, Hong Kong
Lacub Migrants Association, Hong Kong
Lagangilang Overseas Association, Hong Kong
Langiden Migrants Organization, Hong Kong
Lapaz Migrants Association, Hong Kong
Licuan-Baay HK Association, Hong Kong
Likha Filipino Migrants Cultural Organization, Hong Kong
Luzviminda Migrante, Hong Kong
Maeng Tribe of Abra Luba-Hong Kong
Malibcong Migrants Association, Hong Kong
Migrante Pangasinan, Hong Kong
Migrante Pier, Hong Kong
Migrante Shatin, Hong kong
Migrante Tamar, Hong Kong
Migrante Tsing Ti, Hong Kong
Migrante Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong
Migrante Visayas, Hong Kong
Migrante Yuen Long, Hong Kong
Migranteng Artista ng Bayan, Hong Kong
Migrants Association of San Isidro, Hong Kong
Mission Volunteers (MOVERS), Hong Kong
Organic Cultural and Environmental Organization, Hong Kong
Overseas Nepali Workers Association
Pangasinan Organization for Welfare Empowerment and Rights, Hong Kong
Philippine Independent Church- Choir, Hong Kong
Promotion of Church Peoples’ Response, Hong Kong
Samahang Migrante, Hong Kong
Sta. Maria Migrants Association, Hong Kong
Timpuyog Ti Tayum, Hong Kong
United Manabonians Hong Kong
United Pangasinan in Hong Kong
WOPIC Antique, Hong Kong
Thai Regional Alliance, Hong Kong
International Association of Women in Radio and Television – Philippines
Artist Alliance for Genuine Land Reform and Rural Development (SAKA), Philippines
National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP)
Amnesty International – Pilipinas
Desaparecidos
Hustisya
Samahan ng Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA)
Tanggol Bayi
Concerned Artists of the Philippines
Karapatan Negros
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan Negros
Save Palawan Movement
ANNVIK Save Nueva Vizcaya Movement
Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas
Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas – Bicol
Resbak – Philippines
Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA)
Sining Na Naglilingkod sa Bayan (Art for the People)
Ibon Foundation
Kabataan Partylist
National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) – Cebu Law Students
Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines
Katribu-Youth
National Union of Students of the Philippines
People’s Forum on Peace for Life Inc.
Karapatan Bicol
Center for Environmental Concerns – Philippines
Migrante International
NNARA-Youth UP Diliman
Anakpawis -Western Mindanao
Union of Peoples’ Lawyers in Mindanao

SIGNED BY THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS:

Marc Botenga, Member of European Parliament
Verónica Vidal Degiorgis, Mexico
Ali Hines, United Kingdom
Karshiga Kushkinov, Kazakhstan
Yevgeniy Zhovtis, Kazakhstan
Anand Singh, Malaysia
Marikit Lagunzad, Philippines,
Cheryl Mae Mirasol, Philippines
Gustaff Harriman Iskandar, Indonesia
Christian Kempendorff, Germany
Judith Basco, Philippines
Mizuhito Kuroda, Japan,
Naomi Srikandi, Indonesia
Macoto Satoh, Japan Theatre Company
Romina Manalang, Philippines
Marko Brumen, Slovenia
Maja Friedrich, Germany
Gab Bates, Australia
Aien Lemence, Philippines
Ana Fajardo, Philippines
Helia Hamedani, Iran
Brigitte Dang-ay, United States
Tiny Diapana, Philippines
Jethro Pioquinto, Philippines
Genevieve Inumerable, Philippines
Adv. Hasan Tarique Chowdhury, Bangladesh
Fred IO Rebadulla, United States
Drew Elizarde-Miller, United States
Donna Miranda, Philippines
Nonoy Espina, Philippines
Bjan Bernabe, Philippines
Andre’u Buena, Philippines
Melo Mar Cabello, Philippines
Chris Sorio, Canada
Monet Pura, Philippines
Rico Villanueva, Philippines
Tetet Nera-Lauron, Philippines
Karen Piewig, Germany
Alyana Cabral, Philippines
Antares Bartolome, Philippines
Nick Poblacion, Philippines
Nica Castillo, Philippines
Beth Dollaga, Canada
Andrew Tiver, Australia
Clarisa Ramos, Belgium
Rev. Joram Calimutan, Hong Kong
Barbara Spinelli, Italy
Mandkhaitsetsen, Mongolia
Rosanna Lopez, Philippines
Hemy Mandap, Philippines
Niloufer Bhagwat, Indian Association of Lawyers
Enzo Camacho, Philippines
Malaya Arevalo, United States
Jude Holland, United Kingdom
Iris Ferrer, Philippines
Paolo Solimeno, Italy
Don Calderon, Philippines
Serife Ceren Uysal, Turkey Progressive Lawyers Association
Kartika Sari, Indonesia
José Luis Galán Martín, Spain
Cwylle Alcain, Philippines
Vanessa Ramos, Puerto Rico
Juluis Dagatan, Philippines
Claudia Pretto, Italy
Reyna de Mesa, Canada
Daisy Mules, Ireland
Farideh Karamloui, Italy
Arvee Salazar, Philippines
John Carlo Butil, Philippines
Lance Yngwie Alon, Philippines
Alberto Laconsay, Hong Kong,
Fe Duldulao, Philippines
María Galán López, Spain Asociación Libre de Abogadas y Abogados
Lief Jezreel Reyes, Philippines
Augustin Putshu Mundjolo, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Yavuz Binbay, Turkey
Kirity Roy, India
Maria Sol Pajadura, Canada
Lorena Russi, United States
Jessica Antonio, United States
Henri Tiphagne, India
Priyanka Shukla, India
Abdul Hameed, India
Phoebe Dimacali, United Kingdom
Luisito Queano, Canada
Rafunzel Korngut, Canada
Franklin Irabon, Italy
Gordon Mutch, United States
Shannon Vassou, India
Paul Robson, Australia
Balu Akkisa, India
Mohamed Haroon, India,
Norberto Autor, Philippines
Roel Hoang Manipon, Philippines
Sampath Kumar, India
Peru Sarithiran, India
Ivy Josiah, Malaysia
Alon Segarra, Philippines
Boni Macaranas, United States
McDonald Rhett, Australia
Prabahar Vedamanickam, India
Lucy May, Australia
Esther Nabwire Waswa, Uganda
Nambi Chelliah, India
Brian Turner, New Zealand
Carlos Ocampo, Australia
Noimi Sanlose, Philippines
Venkatasiva Reddy Vattigunta, India
Brian Skiffington, United States
Rajesh Kumar, India
Syafiatudina Syafiatudina, Indonesia
Mondher Cherni, Tunisia
Rajamani Angatha Ramachandiran, India
Ajeetha Bharathy, India
Fidel Rillo, Philippines
Jean Mukulumania Amundala, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Dandy Miguel, Philippines
Xavier Cutillas, Spain
Lhene Danzalan, Hong Kong
Millet Antonio, Philippines
Bon Henryk Corachea, Philippines
Fretzie Bulaclac, Belgium
Laura Baeyens, Belgium
Manikumar Ayyamperumal, India
Michael Whalen, United States
Tyler Rasmussen, United States
Lorraine Mordaunt, Netherlands
Rhod Pasion, Italy
Marieke Debusschere, Belgium
Ilanchezhian Joints Secretary, India
Ann Aspacio, Philippines
Gandimathi Alagar, India
Dr. N. Paul Sunder Singh, India
Jeeva Nantham, India
Carl Anderson, United States
Hayath Basha, India
Yahaya Badamassi, Nigeria
Canon Barry Naylor, United Kingdom
Bryan Marco Infortuno, Philippines
Yvonne Gil, Australia,
Donna Morrison, Australia
Danah Resgonia, United States
John Michael Tonares, Philippines
Emeritus Professor Joseph A. Camilleri, Australia
Donna Sensi, Australia
Romina Beitseen, Australia
Therese Torres, Philippines
Selena Liang, Hong Kong
Vida Sison, Philippines,
Priyanka Sen, Hong Kong
Luis Tutaan, United States
Vasudev Charupa, India
William Elvin Manzano, Hong Kong
Hazel Fok, Hong Kong
Amy Lan, Hong Kong
Leslie Jacinto, United States
Sathiaseelan S, India
Rakshika Raj, India
NC Kwong, Hong Kong
Ka Man IP, Hong Kong
Ken Tsui, Hong Kong
Hoi Ching Kwok, Hong Kong
Sheryl Aylward, Australia
Gino Orticio, Australia
Benedict Wachira, Kenya
Setunga Philip, United States
Norman Ediger, United States
Lydia Catedral, Hong Kong
Ana Bibal, Philippines
Mirinda Boon-Kuo, Australia
Yando Zakaria, Indonesia
Ariane Carandang, Philippines
Karuna Nawa, Sri Lanka
Candice Sering, United States
James Tan, Hong Kong
Paloma Polo, Netherlands
Disha Ravi, India
Valentina Ruas, Brazil
Garima Thakur, India
Connie Bragas-Regalado, Philippines
Naim Eminoğlu, Turkey
Nazlı Açıcı, Turkey
Leyla Stengl, United States
Nergiz Tuba Aslan, Turkey
Sinem Coşkun, Turkey
Çiğdem Akbulut, Turkey
Erkan Konukcu, Turkey
Ethem Akay, Turkey
Ugur Esat Keskus, Turkey
Aynur Besli, Turkey
Ilgın Bekdemir, Turkey
Ayşegül Çağatay, Turkey
Neslihan Piliç, Turkey
Av.Hakan Bozyurt, Turkey
Ahmet Turan Dörtdemir, Turkey
Tünay Cengiz, Turkey
Sefa Aydogan, Turkey
Alihan Pilaf, Turkey
Hacer Karaman, Turkey
Deniz Konuklu, United States
Evin Konuk, Turkey
Mehmet Altuntaş, Turkey
Hüseyin Olçum, Turkey
Luisa Pires, Brazil
Marta Santos, Portugal
Sebahat Gençtarih, Turkey
Ceren Yılmaz, Turkey
Seda Şaraldı, Turkey
Mell Garcia, Brazil
Renata Praseres, Brazil
Gökmen Yeşil, Turkey
Sergen Nisanoglu, Turkey
Tuğçe Nazli Akin, Turkey
Maria Seara, Portugal
Fatih Gökçe, Turkey
Sharmaine Gunaratne, United Kingdom
Ozan Doğan, Turkey
Nerissa Balce, United States
Yaprak Türkmen,,Turkey,ÇHD
Gopeshwar Singh, India
Murat Demir, Germany
Siddha Murada, India
Vedika Shah, India
Andrea Ragragio, Philippines
Doğa İncesu, Turkey
Fatih Aydın, Turkey
Roşna Arjen İşbilen, Turkey
Mina Kucuk, Germany
Barzan Demirhan, Turkey
Hazal Turan, Turkey
Günay Dağ, Greece
Koc Cafer, United States
Onur Can Dalkılıç, Turkey
ilhami Gülbitti, Turkey
Muharrem Erdoğan, Turkey
Pınar Yılmaz, Turkey
Volkan Sahin, Turkey
Nurgül Tosun, Germany
Yalçın Doğru, Turkey
Hüseyin Cici, Switzerland
Deniz Yılmaz, United States
Marco Latini, Italy
Güçlü Sevimli, Turkey
Hüseyin Yüksel Biçen, Turkey
Nurhan Kirac, Germany
Hasan Kocaman, Turkey
Mahir Özgür Ergüç, Turkey
Filiz Ozçelik, Turkey
Nurcan Özer, United States
Gönül Gören, Turkey
Ozgur Ozel, United Kingdom
Gülser Sarıgül, Turkey
Derya Çiçek, Turkey
Duran Cem Guney, Turkey
Ayşe Şehriban Demirel, Turkey
Ahmet Ergin Sözen, Turkey
Mihriban Çelik, Turkey
Aytekin Aktaş, Turkey
Vedat Tosun, Turkey
Antonio de Jesus, Canada
Erdoğan Akdoğdu, Turkey
Özlem Araal Arpat, Turkey
Teddy Espela, Philippines
Ibrahim Arzuk, Turkey
Nilgul Çakmak, Turkey
Minel Ekmekçiler, Turkey
Dilan Bilge, Turkey
Leyla Erkis, Germany
Dogan Emrah Ziraman, Turkey
Leyla Kacar, France
Oğuzhan Topalkara, Turkey
Nihat Kocyigit, Turkey
Özcan Çine, Turkey
Erol Aslan, Germany
Aydın Ali, United States
Elif Karlıdağ, Turkey
Erol Özbolat, Germany
Kamil Burgazli, Turkey
Gülbin Çakmak, Turkey
Baran Karslıoğlu, Turkey
Şerife Bay, Turkey
Mehmet Mahir Kurtoğlu, Turkey
Alper Tunga Aslan, Turkey
Pınar Ağyüzlü Aslan, Turkey
Ikbal Yildirim, Turkey
Rob Watts, Australia
Sevilay Özkurt, Turkey
Cennet Zuğurli, Turkey
Hasan Hüseyin Cevik, Turkey
Ebru Büyük Akın, Turkey
Cogie Sabado, Philippines
Karlyn Koh, United States
Francesca Spedalieri, United States
April Gramsci, United States
Hasan Yesil, Turkey
Hayrettin Akbas, Turkey
Agnieszka Sunga, Philippines
Nilgun Tortop, Turkey
Halil Beran, Germany
Louie Sawi, United States
Azizah Camille Salazar, Philippines
Ace Tolentino, Philippines
Ahmet Düzgün Yüksel, Germany
Süleyman Sensoy, Turkey
Sungwook Cha, South Korea
Stephen de Tarczynski, Australia
Beyza Gülmen, Turkey
Hasan Cosgun, Germany
Larissa Bison, Switzerland
Dianne Pogosa, Philippines
Naruaki Cann, Australia
Yaprak Ürek, Turkey
Kyungjin Oh, South Korea
Jophet Domingo, Philippines
Isabel Friemann, Germany
Ümit Büyükdağ, Turkey
Coleen Joyce Biore, Philippines
Max Castle, Australia
Mariel Balayo, Philippines
Suat Yilmaz, Australia
Ali Rıza Yüksel, Turkey
Kyla Cleo, Philippines
Nyl Darwin Mangunay, Philippines
Bungon Tamasorn, Thailand
Eylem Kocaman Üsgüdar, Turkey
Hakan Urun, Turkey
Harry Kerr, Australia
Ercan Kutlu, Turkey
Magalie Schotte, Belgium
Onur Öztanrıverdi, Turkey
Huw Jones, United Kingdom
Eren Odabaş, Turkey
Mehmet Arif Koçer, Turkey
Lisa Ito, Philippines
Sevil Aracı Bek, Turkey
Birsen Ayışık, Turkey
Lina Gobbelé, Germany
Lerzan Caner, Turkey
Nancy Cardoso, Brazil
E Schmitz, Netherlands
Yagmur Kavak, Turkey
Dane Justiniano, Philippines
Ali Safak, Turkey
Esther Milberg, Netherlands
Chantheang Tong, Cambodia
Rev. Dionito Cabillas, Philippines
Yavuz Aydin, Belgium
Seyit sonmez, Turkey
Dilsa Ritsa Esli, Turkey
Ayten Biggart, Turkey
Melane Manalo, Philippines
Ángeles Chinarro, United States
Liesbeth Viaene, Belgium
Dinçer Çalım, Turkey
Kemal Toraman, Turkey
Clara Handler, Austria
Naz Tuğçe Ceylan, Turkey
Hatice Aslan Atabay, Turkey
Amil Sanday, Philippines
Rodrigo Moreira, Brazil
Ida Estioko, United Kingdom
Uğur Canlı, Turkey
Clemens Huber, Austria
Hasan Oral, Turkey
Ayse Bingöl Demir, United States
Kiraz Kevser Naneci, Turkey
Tiffany Simon, United States
Ali Bozan, Turkey
Aruna Shantha Nonis, Sri Lanka
Dasarathi GV, India
Devrim Cem Erturan, Turkey,
Grace Valdez, Philippines
Hazal Aydın, Turkey
Lies Michielsen, Belgium
Chelsea Mae Manuel, Philippines
Aysegul Kiris, Turkey
Hendrik Staarink, Netherlands
Gamze Yentür, Turkey
Johnson Demin, Philippines
Sibel Uludağ, Turkey
Katrien Redeke, Netherlands
Servet Tepe, Turkey
Beste Salman, Turkey
Treenee Lopez, Canada
Hanneke Koppejan, Netherlands
Ahmey Bilal, United States
Gertrude Kenyangi, Uganda
Nevroz Bozkuş Karagöz, Turkey
Hind Riad, Belgium
Elvan Olkun, Turkey
Marie Boti, Canada
Mariz Tumambing, Philippines
Beatrice De Blasi, Italy
Faith Cuenca, Philippines
Songul Ates, Canada
Büyük yiğit Suat,,Turkey
Акмарал Жумагулова, Kazakhstan
Ron Shamelle Javier, Philippines
Jaswinder Singh Sidhu, India
Kennis Kwan, Hong Kong
Alianah Jehan Sumndad, Philippines
Leny Simbre, Canada
Lily Flordelis, Philippines
Marina Sofi, United States
Josh Dubnau,United States
Brenda Wymeersch, Belgium
Dawn Maxine Quiambao, Philippines
Melchor Garcia, Australia
Hasan Tarique Chowdhury, Bangladesh
Agatha Canape, Philippines
Münip Ermiş, Turkey
Tahsin Bilğay, Turkey
Laura Foglia, Switzerland
Sıla Abalay, Turkey
Ersin Aygül, Turkey
Joel Bermudez, Philippines,
Nurdan Kılıç, Turkey
Katrina Jackson, Philippines,
Federico Didonè, Belgium
Lilac Fameronag, Philippines
Norma Binas, Philippines
Lewis Maghanga, Kenya
Kilian Steinberg, Germany
Shamila Rathnasooriya, Sri Lanka
Gershom Kabaso, Zambia
Shiphrah Belonguel, Philippines
Gabriemle Holazo, Philippines
Alejandro Barrios, Bolivia
Turgay Karataş, Germany
Kyung Uk Jang, South Korea
Gözde Ekici, Turkey
Tim De Roeck, Belgium
Suna Aras, Turkey
Kim Hee Jin, South Korea
Reber Mazlum Safran, Turkey
María Cecilia Quaglino, Argentina
Ceyhun Yıldız, Turkey
İbrahim Korhan, Turkey
Coşkun Uysal, United States
Ümran Aykut, Turkey
Ng Wai Chiu, Hong Kong
LJ Rebadolla, Philippines
Janry Salcedo, Philippines
Muharrem Ata, Turkey
Ilknur Inanlı, Turkey
Carl Catedral, United States
Urko Aiartza, United States
Jesús Guarneros Díaz, Mexico
Ton Selbach, Netherlands
Viory Schellekens, Netherlands
Jeannette Schoone, Netherlands
Annie Kerkhove, Belgium
Josefina Forcadilla, Canada
Murat Rohat Özbay, Turkey
Tatiana Lukman, Netherlands
Eda Doğan, Turkey
Inti Paredes, Canada
Fügen Turhan, Germany
Kaeziel Santillan, Philippines
Era Rey, Philippines
Gregory Reynolds, Australia
Thabita Manga, United States
Ip David, United States
Kyaw Marma, Bangladesh
Prof. George Andreopoulos, US
Rev. Ray Sison, Methodist International Church- Hong Kong
Vida Sison, Methodist International Church- Hong Kong
Bruce Van Voorhis, Hong Kong
Legislative Councilor Fernando Chueng, Hong Kong
Rev. Dwight Dela Torre- Iglesia Filipina Indepiendente, Hong Kong

Statement from Georges Abdallah to Paris solidarity evening

14 September 2020

The following statement from Georges Abdallah, the Lebanese Communist struggler for Palestine imprisoned in France for over 35 years, was read in Paris on 12 September 2020 as part of the solidarity evening organized by the Unified Campaign for the Liberation of Georges Abdallah. Issued from Lannemezan prison, where Georges Abdallah remains jailed despite being eligible for release since 1999, the letter calls for greater mobilization to confront imperialism and reactionary regimes.

The event was organized and the letter issued in the lead-up to a month of action for the liberation of Georges Abdallah, including the 24 October mass rally and march from the Lannemezan train station to the prison, to demand his liberation.

The letter text follows below (original in French here):

Dear comrades, dear friends,

In these times of crises, catastrophes and great struggles, your gathering this evening fills me with strength and warms my heart as well.

Certainly, neither the great displays of compassion with neocolonial overtones, nor the strategy of tension with staggering catastrophes, nor the “civilized” repression with sting-ball grenades and even less the brutal repression and assassinations of demonstrators could put an end to the ongoing mobilization of the popular masses all over the world.

With or without a pandemic, blockade coupled with intermittent bombardments in Gaza, and almost daily roundups in the early mornings in the West Bank and elsewhere, the struggle continues in all its forms and asserts itself with ever more determination and self-sacrifice.

Despite media hype, disinformation and other manipulations, nothing changes, and the crisis of the system is of such magnitude that the popular masses from one country to another are pushed to burst onto the front of the political scene. Unable to remain indifferent to the worsening of their precarious conditions of existence, they come out of their torpor, as if by magic, and demand accountability from those who believed themselves untouchable. And suddenly a new era begins to form and take shape before our eyes and so many hopes are beginning to emerge on the horizon.

In the countries of the southern rim of the Mediterranean, the protest continues to spread and flourish in quasi-insurrectional uprisings of a particular type. However, the diversity of expressions of the current struggle, as well as the enthusiasm and the obvious determination of certain fractions of the popular masses, cannot make us forget the real contradictions within the movement. The stratification of the class and its structural weakness, the generalization of existential insecurity, and above all the extent of informal work on a global scale and especially in the countries of the South, mean that the petty bourgeoisie and its various proposals have a considerable weight at all levels and not only at the level of the political leadership of the movement. This gives quite a lot of space for the manipulation of the imperialist forces and their reactionary watchdogs.

Nevertheless, it is only together, and only together, that the proletarians and the various components of the popular masses will win.

Certainly, it is a long journey full of pitfalls and contradictions and, above all, ideological struggle. We know for a fact that the various social movements that are taking center stage these days can only win if they manage to get rid of the dross of the bourgeoisie. And it is then and only then that the “revolutionary social bloc” will fulfill its task as Subject of History.

It is in the process of the struggle that the identity of the class is constructed and that its political role becomes clearer. We must never lose sight of the fact that the historical bloc of workers is being built and structured in the global dynamics of the struggle in all its components.

This is why Comrades, we are called to always do what is necessary to promote the various processes of convergence of struggles, at the local level as well as at the regional level and even more so at the international level.

As you can see Comrades, the Arab bourgeoisie, for the most part, is now showing its unvarnished alignment with the enemy camp. This does not fail, on the one hand, to influence the struggle of the Palestinian popular masses and, on the other hand, to affirm the special place of the Palestinian cause as one of the main levers of the Arab revolution. And obviously, the struggle within the social bloc of the revolution should put an end to the procrastination and other compromises of the bourgeoisie in order to be able to confront all the “liquidationist” proposals. The Palestinian Resistance has and will have to confront the “reactionary Arab-Zionist bloc” led by the imperialist powers.

Quite naturally in Lebanon, the Resistance, this historic achievement, is the red line that we must imperatively keep as a marker of what is progressive and revolutionary and of what is not. Any claim that does not fit with the affirmation and and development of the Resistance can only be condemned. Gouraud’s Lebanon is dead. It remains to build ours, which is combined in its Arab horizon with the liberation of Palestine on the basis of the consolidation and the generalization of the Resistance that overcame the occupation and thwarted the Zionist aggression of 2006.

May a thousand solidarity initiatives flourish in favor of Palestine and its promising Resistance!
Solidarity, all solidarity with the resistance fighters in Zionist jails and in isolation cells in Morocco, Turkey, Greece, the Philippines and elsewhere around the world!
Solidarity, all solidarity with young proletarians from working-class neighborhoods!
Solidarity, all solidarity with the struggling proletarians!
Honor to the Yemeni popular masses in struggle against the imperialist forces!
Down with imperialism and its Zionist watchdogs and other Arab reactionaries!
Capitalism is nothing more than barbarism, honor to all those who oppose it in the diversity of their expressions!
Together Comrades, it is only together that we will win!

To all of you, Comrades and Friends, my warmest revolutionary greetings.

Your Comrade Georges Abdallah.

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