Palestinian youth and student organizations: It is time for the “Palestinian leadership” to go!

Statement for endorsement and circulation

Palestinian, Arab and international organizations are invited to endorse the statement below, which will be reissued with all additional signatories. To add the signature of your group or youth organization, please email bayanyouth.students@gmail.com.

English | Arabic

We, the undersigned Palestinian youth and student organizations, and with us the associations, organizations and institutions that have signed this statement, call on the masses of Palestinian youth and students throughout occupied Palestine and in exile to join us in a popular initiative for the advancement and initiation of national development for the restoration of the revolutionary democratic approach for a new stage of struggle. The core of this initiative is the objectives of our Palestinian people: return, liberation, and continuing struggle to achieve all of their legitimate national goals and aspirations, no matter how long it may take.

The cause of Palestine, the sacred cause of our people, the cause of the exploited popular classes in our Arab homeland and the forces of freedom in the world, is today intended for liquidation, to be uprooted from the awareness and memory of our people and our nation. The rights of our people everywhere are subjected to all forms of distortion and confiscation. Nothing will protect this great cause from the ravages of liquidation and destruction except for the minds and arms of our people, the will of the committed, patriotic and revolutionary youth, and the steadfastness of women, workers and peasants.

Therefore, today, we call on our Palestinian people, especially the young Palestinian generations, to reject and repudiate the policies and positions represented in the approach of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his cohort, and to affirm that the leadership of the Palestinian Authority does not represent our people and is outside the ranks of our national struggle. We also call upon our great people to embody this popular will on the ground by organizing the widest, unified popular framework to overcome the disastrous phase of Oslo and all of its accompanying effects.

We invite you to participate broadly in the overthrow of the program of the so-called “Palestinian leadership,” which is based on a path of surrender and abandonment. This corrupt approach has come to its last days after over 40 years of marketing the project of a phantom state. This political class that has brought only shame and disaster to our people seeks today to convert the administrative autonomy in the occupied West Bank into the end of our liberation projects. The money of this class is mortgaged to the agents of the occupation, to “economic peace” and normalization projects. It has become imperative for our people to isolate this sector and defeat its program in the squares, streets, factories, farms, universities and schools inside and outside occupied Palestine.

And as we confront the U.S., Zionist and reactionary policies that today target the rights of our people to life and existence, in the face of the acceleration of the hostile liquidation project that aims to demolish the horizons of the national liberation project and abort all possibilities for renewal, in front of the daily brutal attack on the prisoners’ movement in the occupation prisons, and amid the confiscation of all of the natural and human rights of our people in the camps, silence becomes complicity, betrayal, a form of submission and failure.

The time has come for these leaders of surrender to depart from the Muqata’ headquarters in Ramallah and to isolate this defeated sector that holds itself close to the Zionist entity and the CIA, participating in the collective punishment of our people in Gaza, depriving the families of martyrs and prisoners of their rights, suppressing the resistance and coordinating with the occupation forces to target the fundamentals of our society, its national resistance and its youth and student vanguard.

The defeat of the Oslo project and the isolation of Mahmoud Abbas and his cronies are more achievable and realistic than ever, despite all of the capacities and resources that the forces hostile to the Palestinian people use to support the leadership of the Authority. However, the crucial element in this lengthy historical battle is the role of the popular masses and their ability to generate the revolutionary approach from the grassroots and bring it into the light, from the depths of our history and our militant legacies of struggle and from the womb of our Palestinian societies in every popular community, every neighborhood, camp, city and village.

We call on all Palestinian resistance forces, with their various political and intellectual currents and paths, to end the state of disintegration and fragmentation by forming a unified national front. This will be a support and sustenance for our people everywhere, and it sword and shield will protect our people as they continue on their historical road of great sacrifice and struggle in order to obtain their rights and break their chains, achieving our collective and complete liberation from the clutches of Zionism.

We call on you to broad popular engagement and to intensify popular national activities during the Week of Palestinian Struggle, May 15-22, 2020, as our first stage in announcing a new phase of struggle under the slogan: Palestine Day – the Day of Return and Liberation. Let history bear witness to the crime, the ongoing Nakba that has continued since 1947-48 and, at the same time, testifies to the ongoing Palestinian resistance that continues until victory, despite all of the sacrifices and lengthy years of struggle.

No to the path of surrender and liquidation! No to the project of the “self-rule government” and “administrative autonomy!”

Yes to the path of return and liberation. Yes to the resistance and intifada until victory!

To add the signature of your group or youth organization, please email bayanyouth.students@gmail.com.

Initial Signatories:

• Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
• HIRAK: Palestinian Youth Mobilization – Germany
• Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM)
• “Sada” Movement – Jerusalem- occupied Palestine 
• Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition / North America
• Palestinian Arab Cultural Center \Rio Grande de Sol, Brazil المركز الثقافي العربي- الفلسطيني/ ساو بولو، البرازيل 
• Unione Democratica Arabo-Palestinese (UDAP)- Italy  الاتحاد الديمقراطي العربي الفلسطيني- إيطاليا 
• Democratic Palestine Committees\ Brazil لجان فلسطين الديموقراطية- البرازيل
• مركز النّقب للأنشطة الشبابيّة – ِAl Naqab Center for Youth Activities
• Palestinian Chess Forum- Shatila refugee camp الملتقى الفلسطيني للشطرنج- مخيم شاتيلا
• AlKarama-Palestinian Women Movement in Spain حركة نساء فلسطين الكرامة في إسبانيا
• Centro Cultural e Politico Al Janiah\Brazil  مركز الجانية الثقافي والسياسي\البرازيل
• Brazilian Arab Palestinian Society – Corumba\ Brazil 
• Students for Justice in Palestine at John Jay College 
• Students for Justice in Palestine at Butler University
• GUPS SFSU
• Within Our Lifetime – United for Palestine
• Canada Palestine Association
• Palestinian Student Association at Wilfrid Laurier University/ Canada
• Palestine Solidarity Collective at York University
• Palestine Solidarity Group at University of Windsor
• Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights at McMaster University
• Midwest Students for Justice in Palestine
• Handala Coalition of Michigan
• Palestinian Cultural Club – Beirut / Lebanon
• Palestinian Arab Cultural Club\ Lebanon 

المنظمات الشبابية والطلابية الفلسطينية:
آن أوان رحيل ” القيادة الفلسطينية “

بيان / عريضة للتوقيع

نحن المنظمات الشبابيّة والطلابيّة الفلسطينية، ومعنا الجمعيات والمنظمات والمؤسسات الموّقعة على هذا البيان، ندعو جماهير طلبة وشباب فلسطين في عموم الوطن المحتل والمنافي إلى المبادرة الشعبية من أجل النهوض والشروع في البناء الوطني واستعادة نهج التغيير الثوري الديموقراطي للعبور نحو مرحلة نضالية جديدة جوهرها مشروع شعبنا الفلسطيني في العودة والتحرير والنضال لتحقيق كافة أهدافه وطموحاته الوطنية المشروعة مهما طال الزمن.

إن قضية فلسطين، قضية شعبنا المقدسة، قضية الطبقات الشعبية المُستغَلة في وطننا العربي وأحرار العالم، يُراد اليوم تصفيتها وقلعها من جذورها ومن وعي الشعب وذاكرة الأمة، حيث تتعرض حقوق شعبنا في كافة أماكن تواجده إلى كل أشكال التشويه والمصادرة، ولن يحمي هذه القضية الكبرى من براثن التصفية والإلغاء إلا سواعد وعقول شعبنا وإرادة شبابه الوطني الطليعي والثوري وإرادة نساءه وعماله وفلاحيه.

وعليه، فإننا اليوم ندعو شعبنا الفلسطيني وفي مقدمتهم الأجيال الفلسطينية الشابة إلى رفض السياسات والمواقف التي يمثلها نهج رئيس السلطة الفلسطينية محمود عباس وفريقه، واعتبار قيادة السلطة الفلسطينية خارجة عن الصف الوطني ولا تمثل شعبنا، كما وندعو الكل الوطني إلى تجسيد الإرادة الشعبية على الأرض من خلال تنظيم أوسع حالة شعبية موحدة لتجاوز مرحلة أوسلو الكارثية وكل ملحقاتها وآثارها.

إننا ندعوكم إلى المشاركة الشعبية الواسعة في الإطاحة الشاملة بما يُسمى ” برنامج القيادة الفلسطينية ” القائم على نهج الاستسلام والتفريط. النهج الفاسد الذي بات يلفظ أنفاسه الأخيرة بعد أكثر من 40 عاماً من تسويق مشروع الدولة الوهمية، وهذه الطبقة السياسية التي جلبت الخزي والكوارث وتسعى اليوم إلى تحويل الحكم الإداري الذاتي في الضفة المحتلة إلى نهاية مشروعنا التحرري، طبقة المال من وكلاء الاحتلال المرتهنة إلى مشاريع ” السلام الاقتصادي” والتطبيع. فقد صار لِزاماً على شعبنا عزلها وإسقاط برنامجها في الساحات والميادين والشوارع وفي المصانع والمزارع والجامعات والمدارس داخل وخارج فلسطين المحتلة.

وأمام كل ما يجري اليوم من سياسات أمريكية وصهيونية ورجعية تستهدف حقوق شعبنا في الوجود والحياة، وأمام تسارع وتيرة المشروع التصفوي المعادي وضرب آفاق المشروع الوطني واجهاض إمكانيات توليده من جديد، وأمام الهجمة المسعورة اليومية على الحركة الأسيرة في سجون العدوّ، ومصادرة كل حق طبيعي وإنساني لشعبنا في المخيمات، يُصبح الصمت تواطئ وخيانة وشكلاً من أشكال العبودية والسقوط.

آن أوان رحيل هذه القيادات المستسلمة في مقر المقاطعة برام الله، وعزل هذه الشريحة المهزومة التي ترتمي في حضن الكيان الصهيوني ووكالة المخابرات الأمريكية، تعاقب شعبنا في غزة، وتحرم عوائل الشهداء والأسرى من حقوقهم وتطعن المقاومة وتنسق مع قوات الاحتلال لاستهداف أمن مجتمعنا ومقاومته الوطنية و طلائعه الشبابية والطلابية.

إن هزيمة مشروع أوسلو التصفويّ وعزل محمود عباس وفريقه هي إمكانية واقعية أكثر من أيّ وقت مضى، رغم كل الإمكانيات والقدرات التي تملكها القوى المعادية لشعبنا التي تساند قيادة السلطة، غير أن العنصر الحاسم، في هذه المعركة التاريخية الطويلة، هو دور الجماهير الشعبية وقدرتها على توليد النهج الثوري من القاع إلى النور، ومن عمق تاريخنا وإرثنا الكفاحي ومن رحم مجتمعاتنا الفلسطينية في كل تجمع شعبي وكل حي ومخيم ومدينة وقرية.

إننا ندعو كافة قوى المقاومة الفلسطينية على اختلاف تياراتها ومشاربها السياسية والفكرية إلى إنهاء حالة التفكك والشرذمة من خلال تشكيل جبهة وطنية موحدة، تكون سنداً وعوناً لشعبنا في كل مكان، وسيفه ودرعه الذي يحميه، وهو يواصل مسيرته التاريخية ويقدم التضحيات الجسام من أجل انتزاع حقوقه وكسر قيوده وتحقيق خلاصه النهائي والجماعي من براثن الاستعمار الصهيوني.

ندعوكم إلى الانخراط الشعبي الواسع وتكثيف الفعاليات الوطنية الشعبية في أسبوع النضال الفلسطيني 15 ـــــ 22 مايو/أيار، 2020 ليكون محطتنا الأولى في إعلان مرحلة نضالية جديدة تحت شعار: يوم فلسطين. يوم العودة والتحرير. وليعود هذا التاريخ شاهداً على الجريمة ـــ النكبة المستمرة منذ العام 1947 / 1948 وشاهداً في الوقت ذاته على المقاومة الفلسطينية المستمرة حتى النصر. مهما بلغت التضحيات وطال الزمن.

لا لمشروع التفريط والاستسلام. لا لمشروع الحكم الإداري الذاتي.

نعم لنهج العودة والتحرير. نعم للمقاومة والانتفاضة حتى النصر.

لإضافة توقيع منظمتكم أو مجموعتكم الشبابية الرجاء إرسال اسم المنظمة الشبابية عبر الايميل الآتي: bayanyouth.students@gmail.com

المنظمات الشبابية والطلابية الفلسطينية:

• شبكة صامدون للدفاع عن الأسرى الفلسطينيين
• الحراك الشبابي الفلسطيني- ألمانيا
• حركة الشباب الفلسطيني- الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية (Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM
• العودة ، ائتلاف فلسطين من أجل حق العودة / أمريكا الشمالية
• حراك “صدى” القدس- فلسطين المحتلة 
• المركز الثقافي العربي الفلسطيني/ ريو غراندي دي سول، البرازيل
• الاتحاد الديمقراطي العربي- الفلسطيني- إيطاليا
• لجان فلسطين الديمقراطية- البرازيل
• الملتقى الفلسطيني للشطرنج- مخيم شاتيلا
• حركة نساء فلسطين الكرامة في إسبانيا
• مركز الجانية الثقافي والسياسي\البرازيل
• Students for justice in Palestine at John Jay college طلاب من أجل العدالة في فلسطين/ جي كولدج
• Students for Justice in Palestine at Butler University طلاب من أجل العدالة في فلسطين/ جامعة بتلر
• GUPS SFSU الاتحاد العام لطلبة فلسطين/ جامعة سان فرانسيسكو
• Within Our Lifetime- United for Palestine
• الجمعية العربية الفلسطينية البرازيلية- كرومبا
• Canada Palestine Association  
• رابطة الطلاب الفلسطينيين في جامعة ويلفريد لوريير / كندا
• تجمع التضامن مع فلسطين في جامعة يورك
• مجموعة التضامن مع فلسطين في جامعة ويندسور 
• التضامن من أجل حقوق الإنسان الفلسطينية في جامعة ماكماستر
• Midwest Students for Justice in Palestine طلاب الغرب الأوسط من أجل العدالة في فلسطين
• Handala Coalition of Michigan ائتلاف حنظلة في ميشيغن
• مركز النقب للأنشطة الشبابية- مخيم برج البراجنة 
• النادي الثقافي الفلسطيني- بيروت/ لبنان
• النادي الثقافي الفلسطيني العربي\ لبنان 

The following statement is signed by a wide array of groups, organizations and individuals, including Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, Collectif Palestine Vaincra (member organization of the Samidoun Network in France) and the Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa’adat. We urge all to act for freedom for this imprisoned Lebanese Communist struggler for Palestine jailed in France for 35 years:

On 25 March 2020, French Minister of Justice Nicole Belloubet announced that a decision had been made by the government, in view of the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, to release several thousand prisoners in advance of the end of their sentences.

Since then, many voices have been raised once more to demand the release of Georges Abdallah: we no longer count the letters addressed in this regard to the Minister by many collectives and support organizations nationally and internationally as well as the appeals by parliamentarians and elected officials who are increasingly active in this struggle.

And yet it is clear that this time, once again, despite the very exceptional context of the growing threat and the urgency of action, that the refusal to accept these appeals is again expressed through the deafening and criminal silence of the political and judicial authorities that are fully responsible and guilty of exposing Georges Abdallah to the threat of the coronavirus.

This time again, it seems, once more there is no question of freeing Abdallah! No question of releaseing Georges Abdallah for whom for over 21 years now, “the request for release is not accepted!”

No question of freeing Abdallah! While Georges Abdallah saw his mandatory sentence completed in 1999 and he has been eligible for release for over 20 years.

No question of freeing Abdallah! While Georges Abdallah, aged 69, is today one of the oldest political prisoners in Europe after 36 years of captivity.

And yet, if there is indeed a state of emergency that must be declared today, it is that of freeing Georges Abdallah!

Faced with the denial still reiterated by the authorities rather than the legitimate release of Georges Abdallah, we, the signatories of this appeal, once again demand the release of this resistance fighter and urge increased pressure to change the balance of power which alone will make these officials bend – as Georges Abdallah already pointed out when, in October 2019, he already declared: “It is not enough that the state of Lebanon asks for my release, it remains necessary to establish a real power struggle to make the representatives of French imperialism understand that my incarceration is starting to weigh more heavily than any possible “threats” inherent in my release!”

Let us hear as widely as possible, every day and everywhere, the call of Georges Abdallah and with him, of all political prisoners, and multiply all initiatives, in the diversity of our expressions, to demand his immediate release, here and now!

Let a thousand initiatives flourish!

It is together and only together that we will win!

Initial signatories: To add your name, email campagne.unitaire.gabdallah@gmail.com

Unified campaign for the release of Georges Abdallah, ACTA – média autonome et partisan, Action antifa NP2C, National Association of Communists (ANC), International Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa’adat, CAPJPO-EuroPalestine, Cases Rebelles, Collectif “Bassin minier” for the liberation of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, Collective Against Police Abuse (CLAP33), Collective in support of the Palestinian resistance (CSRP59), Collective Jaunes Etc33, Collective Libérez Georges 33, Collectif Palestine Vaincra, Collective for the liberation of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah (CLGIA), Collective for the liberation of Georges Abdallah 65, Collective 69 to support the Palestinian people, Committee of action and support for the struggles of the Moroccan people, Committee of international support for the people’s war in India, Committee “Liberez-les!”(59-62), Front Uni des Immigrations et des Quartiers Populaires (F.U.I.Q.P), G.R.C, International Solidarity Movement -France (ISM-France), Jeunes révolutionnaires, Belgian Call for the Liberation of Georges Abdallah, le Cri rouge pour la libération des prisonniers révolutionnaires, Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, Nouveau parti anticapitaliste (N.P.A), OCML Voie Prolétarienne, Orchestre Poétique d’Avant-guerre (O.P.A), Parti des Indigènes de la République (P.I.R), Plate-forme Charleroi-Palestine Belgium, Plateforme des prisonniers politiques en Turquie et au Kurdistan, Secours Rouge Lille, Soccorso Rosso Proletario Italia, Solidarité Georges Abdallah Lille, Union Juive Française pour la Paix (U.J.F.P), International Committee for Political Prisoners London, Anti Internment Group London 

Individual signatories:
Khaled BARAKAT, Badia BENJELLOUN, Saïd BOUAMAMA, Youssef BOUSSOUMAH (PIR), Houria BOUTELDJA (PIR), Michel COLLON, Philippe DAUMAS, Jacques GAILLOT (bishop), Dominique GRANGE (singer), TARDI (author-designer), Djelloul HATTAB (collectif 65), Sarah KATZ, Daniel LARREGOLA (collectif 65), Aline PAILLER (journalist, former Member of European Parliament), Pierre STAMBUL, Françoise VERGÈS

Le 25 mars 2020, Nicole Belloubet, ministre de la Justice, annonçait que décision était prise avec le gouvernement, au vu de la crise sanitaire engendrée par la pandémie, de libérer de façon anticipée plusieurs milliers de détenus en fin de peine.

Depuis lors, nombreuses sont les voix qui s’élèvent pour exiger une fois de plus la libération de Georges Abdallah : on ne compte plus les lettres adressées, en ce sens, à la Garde des Sceaux par les collectifs et les organisations de soutien sur le plan national et international mais aussi les interpellations formulées par des députés de plus en plus acteurs et actifs dans ce combat.

Et pour autant, force est de constater aujourd’hui cette fois encore, et ce malgré le contexte très exceptionnel de la menace grandissante et de l’urgence d’agir, qu’une fin de non-recevoir est là encore exprimée à travers le silence assourdissant et criminel de ce pouvoir politique et judiciaire pleinement responsable et coupable d’exposer Georges Abdallah au risque du coronavirus.

Cette fois encore, semble-t-il, pas question de libérer Abdallah ! Pas question de libérer Georges Abdallah, dont, depuis maintenant plus de 21 ans, « la demande de libération n’est pas recevable ! ».

Pas question de libérer Abdallah ! Alors que Georges Abdallah a vu sa peine de sûreté accomplie en 1999 et qu’il est libérable depuis plus de 20 ans.

Pas question de libérer Abdallah ! Alors qu’en 2012, le tribunal d’application des peines a donné un avis favorable à sa libération et que, depuis lors, le Liban, son pays, a réaffirmé à maintes reprises son accord pour son retour.

Pas question de libérer Abdallah ! Alors que Georges Abdallah, âgé de 69 ans, est aujourd’hui l’un des plus anciens prisonniers politiques en Europe après 36 ans de captivité.

Et pour autant, s’il est bien un état d’urgence qu’il faut décréter aujourd’hui, c’est bien celui de libérer Georges Abdallah !

Face à ce déni encore réitéré par le pouvoir en place de la légitime libération de Georges Abdallah, nous, signataires de ce texte, exigeons une fois de plus la libération de ce résistant et appelons à accentuer la pression pour imposer le rapport de force qui seul fera plier ces donneurs d’ordre – comme le signalait déjà en toute clairvoyance Georges Abdallah quand, en octobre 2019, il déclarait déjà : « il ne suffit pas que l’État du Liban “demande” ma libération, encore faut-il établir un rapport de force réellement existant pour faire comprendre aux représentants de l’impérialisme français que mon incarcération commence à peser plus lourd que les possibles menaces inhérentes à ma libération ! ».

Faisons entendre le plus largement possible, chaque jour et de partout, le cri de Georges Abdallah et avec lui de tous les prisonniers politiques et multiplions toutes les initiatives, dans la diversité de nos expressions, pour exiger sa libération immédiate, ici et maintenant !

Que mille initiatives fleurissent !

C’est ensemble et seulement ensemble que nous vaincrons !

Paris, 25 avril 2020

Premiers signataires (liste ouverte à signature) :

Campagne unitaire pour la libération de Georges Abdallah, ACTA – média autonome et partisan, Action antifa NP2C, Association Nationale des Communistes (A.N.C), Campagne internationale de solidarité avec Ahmad Sa’adat, CAPJPO-EuroPalestine, Cases Rebelles, Collectif « Bassin minier » pour la libération de Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, Collectif Contre Les Abus Policiers (C.L.A.P33), Collectif de soutien à la résistance palestinienne (CSRP59), Collectif Jaunes Etc33, Collectif Libérons Georges 33, Collectif Palestine Vaincra, Collectif pour la libération de Georges Ibrahim Abdallah (C.L.G.I.A), Collectif pour la libération de Georges Abdallah 65, Collectif 69 de soutien au peuple palestinien, Comité d’action et de soutien aux luttes du peuple Marocain, Comité de soutien international à la guerre populaire en Inde, Comité « Libérez-les !  » (59 – 62), Front Uni des Immigrations et des Quartiers Populaires (F.U.I.Q.P), G.R.C, International Solidarity Movement -France (ISM-France), Jeunes révolutionnaires, L’Appel belge pour la libération de Georges Abdallah, le Cri rouge pour la libération des prisonniers révolutionnaires, Réseau de soutien aux prisonniers palestiniens Samidoun, Nouveau parti anticapitaliste (N.P.A), OCML Voie Prolétarienne, Orchestre Poétique d’Avant-guerre (O.P.A), Parti des Indigènes de la République (P.I.R), Plate-forme Charleroi-Palestine Belgique, Plateforme des prisonniers politiques en Turquie et au Kurdistan, Secours Rouge Lille, Soccorso Rosso Proletario Italia, Solidarité Georges Abdallah Lille, Union Juive Française pour la Paix (U.J.F.P)

Signataires à titre personnel :

Khaled BARAKAT, Badia BENJELLOUN, Saïd BOUAMAMA, Youssef BOUSSOUMAH (PIR), Houria BOUTELDJA (PIR), Michel COLLON, Philippe DAUMAS, Jacques GAILLOT (évêque), Dominique GRANGE (chanteuse engagée), TARDI (auteur-dessinateur), Djelloul HATTAB (collectif 65), Sarah KATZ, Daniel LARREGOLA (collectif 65), Aline PAILLER (journaliste ex députée européenne), Pierre STAMBUL, Françoise VERGÈS

42 associations and 229 individuals signed on to a Belgian statement calling for the immediate release of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah – Lebanese Communist and prisoner for Palestine held in French prisons – amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network is one of the signatories of this statement, released on 29 April 2020. The statement and the signatories follow below in English, French and Dutch, republished from the original post at Plate-Forme Charleroi-Palestine. 

COVID-19 crisis: Free Georges Abdallah Now!

English | French | Dutch

The coronavirus crisis accentuates the urgency of the immediate release of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah.

We, the undersigned Belgian organizations and citizens, join with the numerous calls for the immediate release of detainees in order to deal with the threat posed by COVID-19 inside prisons.

We launch an urgent appeal for the release of Georges Abdallah, Lebanese Communist and anti-imperialist activist, the longest-held political prisoner in Europe, detained in France for over 35 years.

Georges Abdallah saw his mandatory sentence completed in 1999. He has been eligible for release for over 20 years.

Already in 2012, he received a favorable decision for his release from the court. His country, Lebanon, has repeatedly affirmed its agreement for his return. The only thing missing for Georges’ release was the signature of the French Minister of the Interior on the order deporting him to Lebanon. The French minister refused to affix this signature, in direct collaboration with the United States and Israel!

We reject endless sentences for political prisoners who, like Georges Abdallah, have remained faithful to their principles.

We reject the establishment of an American model of imprisonment that executes inmates through detention until death and which only releases them when they are seriously ill and on the verge of eath.

In 2013, political prisoner Herman Wallace died at the age of 71, just three days after his release. He had spent four decades in prison. Another political prisoner, Marilyn Buck, died in 2012, aged 62, one month after her release from prison, where she spent 25 years.

Georges Abdallah is now 69 years old. He is one of those elderly prisoners for whom the United Nations has requested immediate release in the context of the coronavirus crisis.

France has freed thousands of prisoners as part of the pandemic: France must free Georges Abdallah NOW!

Organizational signatories:

ABP, Belgian-Palestinian Association
ABP, Belgian-Palestinian Association, Liège
Alhirak Cha3bi Brussels
Antwerp for Palestine
Attac Brussels
BACBI Coördinatiecomité / Coordination committee
Be.One
BRussells Tribunal
Brussels Panthères
Campaign Stop Repression
Arab Cultural Center in Pays de Liège
De-colonizer
CLAC – Collectif de luttes anti-carcérales
Coalition européenne de soutien aux prisonniers palestiniens
Comité de Vigilance pour la Démocratie en Tunisie
Comité Free.Assange.Belgium
Comité Verviers Palestine
Communauté palestinienne en Belgique
Forum démocratique palestinien en Europe
Gauche anticapitaliste
GAPP – Gents Actie-Platform Palestina
Investig’Action
JOC, Jeunes Organisés et Combattifs, Bruxelles
Käthe Kollwitz Vredesloop
MCP, Mouvement Citoyen Palestine
MOC, Mouvement Ouvrier Chrétien, Charleroi-Thuin
Muslims for Socialism
Nouvelle Voie Anticoloniale
Palestina Solidariteit
Palestina Solidariteit Herent
PCB – CPB, Parti Communiste de Belgique – Communistische Partij België
PJPO BW – Paix Juste au Proche Orient, Brabant wallon
Plate-forme Charleroi-Palestine
Plateforme Watermael-Boitsfort Palestine
Raj’een dabke dance group
Rebuild Christians for Socialism
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoners Network
Solidarity for All
UPJB – Union des Progressistes Juifs de Belgique
V-SB, Vlaams Socialistische Beweging
ViaVelo Palestina
Vrede vzw

Individual signatories:
Abou Jahjah Dyab, author
Aguidi Najat, author and BDS activist
Ahmed Bissan, Prof. of Pathology and Histology and Cancer Researcher in Pharmacology department, Arab international University
Al-Damiri Hamdan, Palestinian Community of Belgium
Alegre Gréta, retired producer and director of documentary films
Allouache Nadir, heating engineer
Amy Jean-Jacques, professor emeritus, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, VUB
Andersen René, trade unionist Charleroi region
Arnaut Karel, anthropologist, KU Leuven
Awad Mustafa, former political prisoner in Israel
Bantuelle Martine, citizen
Barnet Rudy, cultural activist
Barrea Dirk, social worker CSC-ACV
Baudson Adeline, federal secretary of the MOC Charleroi-Thuin
Beauthier Georges Henri, lawyer at the bar of Brussels and Paris
Béghin Juliette, criminologist
Benkhelifa Selma, lawyer
Berger Anne, retired
Blaze Véronique, doctor in the public hospitals of Charleroi
Blume Marianne, Association Belgo-Palestinienne
Bonfanti Eve, actress, writer and director La Fabrique Imaginaire
Boumazzoughe Nadia, employee, Brussels
Bounir Yamina, president Comité Verviers Palestine
Bovy Yannick, journalist and editor
Brion Fabienne, professor Faculty of Law and Criminology UCL
Bronstein Eitan, De-Colonizer
Bronstein Eléonore Merza , De-Colonizer
Bruneel Jean-Marc, citizen of the world
Cailloux Guy, retired
Catherine Lucas, author
Chakri Abdelhamid, retired
Chakri-Robert Annick, retired from the civil service
Challande Brigitte, cultural administrator and BDS activist
Chaquiri Najib, artist
Claes John, Palestina Committee, sympathizer PVDA
Claessens Carmen, Antwerp for Palestine, health activist
Coen Renée, psychologist
Colicchio Pasquale, trade unionist
Constantini Valeriana, pensioner
Cordemans Marie-Françoise, retired teacher, member of the committees Free Ali Aarrass and Free Julian Assange Belgium
Cottenier Jo, study service PTB
Couturiaux Marie-Claire, retired secretary
Creuwels Leni, Hannah Interculture Projecten, vzw
D’Hallewin Grégory, active in education and the voluntary sector
David Eric, Professor Emeritus of public international law at ULB
David Marc, emeritus professor, Universiteit Antwerpen, Dep. Wiskunde
De Brabander Ludo, Vrede vzw
De Buck Lieve, yoga teacher
De Cauter Lieven, philosopher, art historian, author and activist, KU Leuven
De Ley Herman, Em.Prof. UGent, member of the BACBI Coordinating Committee
De Ly Myriam, Plate-forme Charleroi-Palestine
De Maegd Frans, worker, Instituut voor Marxitische Studies (Imast-Inem) België
De Queecker Ida, feminist, actief in FURIA in BOEH!
De Walque Francis, unionized pensioner
De Witte Ludo, author
Defieuw Marij, volunteer for 11.11.11
Dekkers Daniel, engineer
Delporte Jean-Paul, member of PJPO-Walloon Brabant, ex-director ONE (French Community)
Delrez Marc, University of Liège
Delrue Jan Gabriel, Prof in the KU Leuven architecture department
Dembour Stany, former worker-priest
Den Hond Chris, video journalist
Deneckere Gita, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy UGent
Denis Baudouin, general practitioner
Depoorter Dounia, Artist and Choirmaster of Patshiva Cie
Depoortere Johan, retired journalist
Deprez -France, citizen
Deswaef Alexis, lawyer and vice-president of FIDH
Dethy André, retired hospital executive, active member of Amnesty International.
Devos Magda, UGent honorary professor.
Djebara Sarah, doctor
Doom Ruddy, Prof. Em. UGent
El Mahdi Madmad, computer scientist
Faraj Abdesslem, ULB teaching assistant
Ferrian Sandra, employee
Flémal Jean-Marie, translator
Flinker Jean, member of Attac-Bruxelles (1)
Franssen Lieve, member of BACBI
Frassini Ahmed, artist
Frères Geneviève, retired teacher
Fruchon Yves, retired
Gastaldi Eliane, retired
Germain Marc, Lecturer at the University of Lille
Gillis Pierre, honorary professor at UMONS
Ginsburg Victor, honorary professor at ULB
Goetelen Brunhilde, social worker
Goethuys Jean-Pierre, retired
Goldschmidt Tom, retired journalist
Goubeau Patrick, Professor Emeritus of UCLouvain
Graux Allain, writer-traveler
Gregoor Annick, supervisor / educator
Griez Jean-Pierre, director
Groffils Marie, retired clerk
Guzmàn Ringo, president asbl Arlac, Bruxelles
Haepers Chris, gepensioneerd paramedicus buitengewoon onderwijs
Helbo Marie, travel agent
Herlemont Louise, teacher at the School of Arts in Braine-l’Alleud
Hoyaux Anne, citizen
Hufkens Eric, doctor at MPLP
Hulsens Eric, honorary lecturer of the Provincial Higher Education Antwerp
Humblet Perrine, Honorary Professor, ULB
Hunstad Yves, author director La Fabrique Imaginaire
Hustache Serge, MP PS
Huyghens Suzanne, retired social worker
Ioannidis Fotoula, pensioner and pacifist
Iven Joris, poet – writer
Jabary Salamanca Omar, Ghent University, Department of Conflict and Development
Jamar David, sociologist UMONS
Jamar de Bolsée Albert, retired
Jaroszewski Julie, artist and activist
Jaumotte Anne-Marie, lawyer, member of Amnesty International and ABP
Kajoua Wafi, Alhirak Cha3bi Bruxelles
Karras Hafed, garden cultivator urban community organic; intal / viva salud
Kellens Dominique, secretary for secondary education
Kesenne Stefan, professor emeritus of economics, KULeuven
Khleifi Michel, director
La Meir Karin, marriage counselor
Laenens Leen, retired
Lalieu Gregory, journalist
Larnout Korneel, internationaal coördinator, Moslims voor het Socialism
Leburton Jean-Marie, union delegate FGTB, activist for the rights of the undocumented
Lepas Claude, retired surgeon
Leurin Marcel, honorary education inspector
Lothier Marie-Christine, member of the Plate-forme Charleroi-Palestine, former director of Entraide and Fraternité
Louckx Fred, professor emeritus, VUB
Lutjeharms Madeline, professor emeritus VUB
Mahy Jean-Luc, educ’actor
Malchaire Jacques, Emeritus Professor UCLouvain
Marage Pierre, Honorary Professor ULB, former Dean of Faculty. des Sciences
Marchetti Lino, citizen
May Xavier, researcher at ULB
Mayer Cathy, retired teacher
Merckx Kris, physician, founder of Medicine for the People (PTB/PVDA)
Mielants Herman, prof. Em. UGent
Mignolet Huguette, retired
Mommaerts Omer, retired
Mommerency Michel, activist PTB
Mondelaers Toon, retired, member of Christenen voor het socialisme in PVDA
Mooren José, retired docent
Morelli Anne, honorary professor at ULB
Mottart Anne, PJPO
Mottequin Agnes, retired
Mrani Mohamed employed
Neefs Inge, teacher
Neve Marc, Président – Voorzitter Conseil Central de Surveillance Pénitentiaire – Centrale Toezichtsraad voor het Gevangeniswezen
Nicaise Idesbald, professor KULeuven
Nysthoven Lieve, clerk in the health sector
Off-Nathan Josiane, retired
Offermans Jerome, educator and activist
Pagnoulle Christine, ULiège, member of the Board of ATTAC-Liège and CADTM
Passos Monica, singer
Pauwels Mia, retired teacher
Pena Miguel, coordinator of Coordinadora Latinoamericana de solidaridad en Bégica
Péromet Mireille, retired teacher
Piérard Christine, activist for Palestine and defense of human rights
Piolat Jérémie, anthropologist
Plasman Robert, University professor, ULB
Polet Mia, retired
Poncin Léon, Belgian citizen, retired from the civil service
Poncin Corinne, honorary lawyer
Provoost Veerle, Professor UGent
Qasem Maysan, student in Environmental Sciences at ULB
Quoizola Magali, computer scientist
Raeymaekers Geert, retired
Ragala Naima, member of PJPO-Walloon Brabant
Ramon Maria, retired teacher
Renoir Milady, poet engaged in the struggle of the undocumented
Roeck Bob, retired psychologist
Roland Michel, family doctor, retired teacher general medicine and social medicine ULB, past-president Médecins du Monde
Rosa-Rosso Nadine, teacher
Sabbagh Nagi, Center Culturel Arabe en Pays de Liège
Sabbe Isabelle, pharmaceutical employee
Saey Pieter, honorary professor, UGent
Saïdi Nordine, Decolonial activist and member of Brussels Panthères
Salmon Michèle, retired teacher
Samraye Marianne, retired professor, coordinator of ViaVelo Palestina
Saublains Raymond, photographer
Schillings Jacques, retired from the European civil service
Schomblond Christiane, Honorary lecturer at ULB
Scohier Claire, criminologist and urban activist
Scordia Manu, designer
Scrève Marie-Christine, retired citizen, activist
Smit Johan, retired nurse
Sottieau Charles, retired
Souissi Youssef, teacher and sworn translator / interpreter
Staszewski Michel, retired teacher
Stengers Isabelle, philosopher
Takahashi Nozomi, Staff scientist VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation Research, BACBI coordination committee member
Terryn Peter, coördinator Solidarity for All
Thielemans Lea, retired
Thirifays Fanny, project manager in a participative democracy asbl in Namur
Timmermans Marie-Henriette, Honorary Wallonia-Brussels Delegate
Tits Viviane, humanist
Umay Tulay, sociologist
Van de Wateringen Ilja, theater technical director, in opera
Van den Berghe Gie, ethicist and historian
Van den Broeck Mieke, advocate
Van den Broeck Stefan, author / teacher
Van Dijk Hélène, founder and trainer of the association “Questions de justice”
Van Doninck Maria, retired
Van Doninck Irena, homemaker
Van Doninck Wouter, retired railway worker
Van Dyck Barbara, researcher, Coventry University
Van Haeren Mark, retired director of primary education
Van Hauwe Yvette, retired
Van Herck Catherine, retired nurse
Van Hove Anita, retired citizen
Van Langendonck Geert, coördinator van Käthe Kollwitz Vredesloop
Van Loock Lieve, higher school teacher (retired)
Van Moorter Geert, emergency doctor
Van Riet Thomas, Prof. KULeuven
Van Vlierden Rob, PVDA activist, retired social worker
Vandepitte Marc, philosopher
Vanderlooy Raymond, ex-delegate BNP Paribas Fortis
Vanhove Daniel, MCP
Vannyvelseel Noé, retired
Vercheval Véronique, photographer
Vercruyssen Frank, actor
Verlaine André, président de la Coordination Namuroise Belgo-Palestinienne asbl
Verschuere Piet, retired educator
Vervaet Luk, Prisoners’ News
Viart Pierre, doctor
Waroquiez Dominique, retired teacher
Watrin Philip, nurse
Zine Abdellah, worker

International signatories:

France

Organizations:
Campagne BDS France Montpellier
Groupe Non-Violent LOUIS LECOIN
Questions de Justice, association

Individuals:
Boumediene-Thiéry Alima, lawyer
Cabanne Valérie, UJFP 34
Cauvy Francis, physiotherapist and union activist CGT
Coudrais Geneviève, retired (lawyer), member of AFPS
Desbois Jean, activist for the Palestinian cause, member of the BDS Committee Montpellier
Franville Jean, France
Joseph Joëlle, member of PRCF Initiative Communiste
Moraguès José, BDS activist France Montpellier
Mousset Nelly, Montpellier 34
Nastasio Andro, Brest-France
Paumier François, co-founder of the association “Couserans Palestine” in Ariège
Sauty Philippe, France
Soursac Elisa, retired from national education (hygiene teacher: microbio and ecology)

Luxembourg

Organizations:
CPJPO (Committee for a Just Peace in the Middle East) -Luxembourg

Individuals:
Grégoire Claude, teacher
Kleinberg Martine, Committee for a Just Peace in the Middle East (Luxembourg)
Legrand Michel, CPJPO Luxembourg

Switzerland

Schöni Marc, pastor, Switzerland

Netherlands

Nieuwenhuijsen Gérard, Palestina Comité and Kifaia Rotterdam
Risseeuw Anita, chair, Palestina Komitee Rotterdam
Thieme Kees, church worker, Rotterdam
Verzijl Anne, Rotterdam 1 Mei Comitee

Crise COVID-19 : Libérez Georges Abdallah maintenant !

La crise du coronavirus accentue l’urgence de la libération immédiate de Georges Ibrahim Abdallah.

Nous, organisations et citoyen.ne.s belges soussignées, nous nous joignons aux nombreux appels à la libération immédiate des détenus pour pouvoir faire face au COVID-19 dans les prisons.

Nous lançons un appel urgent à la libération de Georges Abdallah, militant communiste et anti-impérialiste libanais, le plus vieux prisonnier politique en Europe, détenu en France depuis plus de 35 ans.

Georges Abdallah a vu sa peine de sûreté accomplie en 1999. Il est libérable depuis plus de 20 ans.

Déjà, en 2012, le tribunal a donné un avis favorable à sa libération et le Liban, son pays, a réaffirmé à maintes reprises son accord pour son retour. Il ne manque à la libération de Georges que la signature du ministre français de l’Intérieur sur l’arrêté d’expulsion vers le Liban. Signature que le ministre français refuse d’apposer, en collaboration directe avec les États-Unis et Israël.

Nous refusons les peines sans fin pour les prisonniers politiques qui, comme Georges Abdallah, sont restés fidèles à leurs convictions.

Nous refusons la mise en place d’un modèle carcéral américain qui exécute des détenus par la détention jusqu’à ce que mort s’ensuive et qui ne les libère que lorsqu’ils sont gravement malades et sur le point de mourir.

Ainsi, en 2013, le prisonnier politique Herman Wallace est mort à 71 ans, à peine trois jours après sa libération. Il avait passé quatre décennies en prison. Une autre prisonnière politique, Marilyn Buck, est morte en 2012, à 62 ans, un mois après sa libération de la prison où elle avait passé 25 ans.

Georges Abdallah est aujourd’hui âgé de 69 ans. Il fait partie de ces prisonniers âgés pour lesquels l’ONU demande la libération immédiate dans le cadre de la crise corona.

La France a libéré des milliers de prisonniers dans le cadre de la pandémie : qu’elle libère Georges Abdallah maintenant !
h3 class=”blue_color”>COVID-19-crisis: Georges Abdallah moet nu worden vrijgelaten

De coronacrisis vereist meer dan ooit de onmiddellijke vrijlating van Georges Ibrahim Abdallah.

Wij, ondergetekende Belgische organisaties en geëngageerde burgers, sluiten ons aan bij de talrijke oproepen voor de onmiddellijke vrijlating van gevangenen om zo het hoofd te kunnen bieden aan COVID-19 in de gevangenissen. Wij lanceren een dringende oproep voor de vrijlating van Georges Abdallah, de Libanese communist en anti-imperialistische activist, de oudste politieke gevangene in Europa, die al meer dan 35 jaar in een Franse gevangenis zit.

Georges Abdallah komt sinds meer dan twintig jaar in aanmerking voor een invrijheidsstelling. In 2012 gaf een Franse rechtbank daarvoor een positief advies. Libanon bevestigde meermaals zijn instemming met de terugkeer van Georges naar zijn vaderland. Het enige wat nog ontbrak, was de handtekening van de Franse minister van Binnenlandse Zaken, die het uitzettingsbevel naar Libanon moest bekrachtigen. Tot op vandaag weigert de minister echter zijn handtekening te zetten, in directe samenwerking met de Verenigde Staten en Israël.

Wij verzetten ons tegen de straffen-zonder-einde voor de politieke gevangenen die, zoals Georges Abdallah, hun overtuiging trouw zijn gebleven.

We verzetten ons tegen de invoering van een Amerikaans gevangenismodel in onze landen. Dat executeert gevangenen door hen in de gevangenis te houden tot de dood, en laat hen alleen nog vrij wanneer ze dodelijk ziek zijn. Zo stierf de politieke gevangene Herman Wallace in 2013, op 71-jarige leeftijd, drie dagen na zijn vrijlating. Hij had vier decennia in de gevangenis gezeten. Een andere politieke gevangene, Marilyn Buck, stierf in 2012, op 62-jarige leeftijd, een maand na haar vrijlating uit de gevangenis, waar ze 25 jaar had doorgebracht. Beiden waren dodelijk ziek.

Georges Abdallah is nu 69 jaar oud.

Hij behoort tot de categorie van de bejaarde gevangenen voor wie de Verenigde Naties de onmiddellijke vrijlating eisen in het kader van de strijd tegen de corona-crisis. Frankrijk heeft duizenden gevangenen vrijgelaten in het kader van de strijd tegen de pandemie.Frankrijk moet Georges Abdallah vrijlaten! NU!