Home Blog Page 180

15 December, Paris: International Mobilization for Georges Abdallah

Sunday, 15 December
2:00 pm
Place de la République
Paris, France
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/368367944003576/

Since 17 October, a popular uprising has been unfolding in Lebanon at an unprecendented rate against the corruption of the government in place, among other protests…

Among the slogans chanted during the many daily gatherings: the call for the liberation of their compatriot, Georges Abdallah.

Throughout his 35 years of incarceration, Georges Abdallah has consistently linked the liberation of revolutionary prisoners to the mobilization on the ground of the anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist struggle:

“It is of utmost importance to know and, especially, to include in our solidarity movement the global dynamics of ongoing struggles here as well as elsewhere in the region, on the other side of the Mediterranean.”

A call for an international day for the release of Georges Abdallah, supported by the Lebanese Communist Party, was launched by Secours Rouge Arabe (Arab Red Aid). A rally will take place in Paris on Sunday, 15 December at the Place de la République at 14h/2 pm. In Lebanon, initiatives are in preparation.

Call for Mobilization

In this period, we are witnessing massive popular uprisings around the world. The common denominator of these uprisings is the rejection of the policies inspired and imposed by imperialist institutions. As our comrade Georges Ibrahim Abdallah wrote (in his statement from prison on 22 June 2019): “The popular masses…say clearly and strongly that there is certainly an alternative for another future, rather than submission to the dictates of the imperialists and their attack dogs in power.”

The dimension of class struggle is clearly apparent in these spontaneous popular movements, which are joined by what remains of a disappearing middle class following successive economic crises in recent years. The crisis of the capitalist system mainly affects the popular classes who today rebel against rulers responsible for the impoverishment of their people, to demand social justice and direct political decisions that affect their lives and the future of their people and their children.

The popular movements in Lebanon have joined this international dynamic with slogsns demanding change and freedom, particularly that of political prisoners and, first and foremost, that of our comrade Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, whom our comrades of the Lebanese Communist Party support with all their might, because it is part of the global struggles of the people against imperialism, French in this case, and its geopolitical and economic interests in the region.

Therefore, and as part of a day of international mobilization, we call upon all progressive and democratic forces to join us for a unified rally to support our comrades in Lebanon and to demand, again and again, the immediate release of our comrade held hostage in French prisons for more than 35 years.

Sunday, 15 December
2:00 pm
Place de la République
Long live the peoples’ struggle for freedom!
All our support for our comrades in revolt in Lebanon!
Free Georges Ibrahim Abdallah!

APPEL A RASSEMBLEMENT

Nous assistons de nos jours à des soulèvements populaires massifs partout dans le Monde. Le dénominateur commun de ces soulèvements est le rejet des politiques prônées et imposées par les institutions impérialistes. Comme l’a écrit notre camarade Georges Ibrahim Abdallah (dans sa déclaration du 22 juin 2019) : « Les masses populaires … affirment haut et fort qu’il y a certainement une alternative pour d’autres futurs que la soumission aux diktats des impérialistes et de leurs chiens de garde charognards au pouvoir ».

La dimension de lutte des classes apparaît très clairement dans ces mouvements populaires spontanés qui sont rejoints par ce qui reste d’une classe moyenne en voie de disparition suite aux crises économiques successives de ces dernières années. La crise du système capitaliste impacte essentiellement les classes populaires qui s’insurgent aujourd’hui contre des gouvernants responsables de la paupérisation de leurs peuples pour réclamer la justice sociale et une participation politique directe dans les décisions qui concernent leurs vies et l’avenir de leurs descendants.

Les mouvements de révolte populaire au Liban ont rejoint cette dynamique internationale avec les mêmes mots d’ordre réclamant le changement et la liberté, notamment celle des prisonniers politiques et prioritairement celle de notre camarade Georges Ibrahim Abdallah que nos camarades du PCL soutiennent de toute leurs forces car elle s’inscrit dans la lutte globale des peuples contre l’impérialisme, français en l’occurrence, et ses intérêts géopolitiques et économiques dans la région. Par conséquent, et dans le cadre d’une journée de mobilisation Internationale, nous appelons toutes les forces libres à nous rejoindre pour un rassemblement unitaire pour soutenir nos camarades au Liban et pour exiger, encore et toujours, la libération immédiate de notre camarade otage dans les prisons françaises depuis plus de 35 ans et ce le :

Dimanche 15 décembre 2019 à 14H00
Place de la République
Vive la Lutte des peuples pour la liberté
Tout notre soutien à nos camarades révoltés au Liban
Libérez Georges Ibrahim Abdallah

Signatures :
Le Secours Rouge Arabe
Lobnane Yantafedh (Le Liban se soulève)
Campagne unitaire pour la libération de Georges Abdallah
Front populaire (Halk cephesi)
Plateforme international contre L’isolation (IPA)

Palestine Vaincra

Parti révolutionnaire de travailleurs – Devrimci İşçi Partisi _turquie

اهتز العالم خلال أيامنا الأخيرة بموجات من الانتفاضات الشعبية الاجتماعية تأخذ طابعها الديمقراطي من شمولها المطالبة بالحريات بما فيها حرية التنظيم بما هو هدف حاسم لرفع القيد الثقيل على الطبقات الشعبية لتنظيم نفسها نقابيا وحزبيا للدفاع عن مصالحها والنضال من أجل مستقبل أفضل.ويتجلى البعد الطبقي لهذه الانتفاضات بوضوح ، ولا تخفيه مشاركة ما تبقى من الطبقات الوسطى المضغوطة بالأزمات الاقتصادية والمطالبة بمزيد من المشاركة الديمقراطية في اتخاذ القرارات السياسية الخاصة بها والطوق لتكافؤ الفرص. ولقد تأثرت الطبقات الشعبية من الأزمة العالمية بشكل خاص ، نظرا لشراهة طغمها الحاكمة التي دمرت كل آمال شعوبها في التطلع إلى العيش الكريم بإفقار الأغلبية منها، والصراعات السياسية للطغم الحاكمة مع الغرب، ولذلك تشكل تلك الطبقات الأكثر تضررا, الأغلبية الساحقة من المنتفضين تحت شعار العدالة الاجتماعية والمشاركة السياسية والحرية في تقرير مصيرها بعيدا عن أملاءات المؤسسات التابعة للإمبريالية المسؤولة عن تفقير شعوبنا وممارسات الاستعمار المباشر وغير المباشر عليها عبر تركيعها

اقتصاديا وسياسيا بتواطؤ من الحكام المفروضين علينا والمدعومين من طرف المنظومة الإمبريالية المسيطرة بسبب موالاتهم لها

وفي خضم هذا الحراك الشعبي الدولي انتفض الشعب اللبناني بدوره معلنا ذات الشعارات المنادية بالحرية والعدالة الاجتماعية معبرا عن إصرا ره على التخلص من الطغم الحاكمة العميلة المفقرة للشعوب ومن ضمن أولوياته المطالبة بالحرية للرفيق البطل الباسل جورج إبراهيم عبد الله الذي يعتبر رهينة سياسية في سجون الإمبريالية الفرنسية منذ اكثر من 35 سنة وبالتالي ندعو كل الرفاق الأحرار ضمن يوم تضامني عالمي الى تجمع وحدوي لمساندة الحراك الثوري اللبناني وللمطالبة بإطلاق سراح الرفيق جورج عبد الله الفوري وبدون مماطلة وذلك

يوم الأحد 15 ديسمبر 2019 على الساعة الثانية بعد الضهر في ميدان الجمهورية بالعاصمة باريس

عاشت نضالات الشعوب من اجل الحرية

كل التضامن مع رفاقنا الثوار في لبنان

الحرية لرفيقنا البطل الصامد جورج إبراهيم عبد الله

الإمضاءات :
ألإنفاد الأحمر العربي
لبنان ينتفض

APPELLO A MOBILITAZIONE
In questo periodo assistiamo a massicci sollevamenti popolari attraverso il mondo. Il denominatore comune  di questi sollevamenti è il rigetto delle politiche ispirate e imposte dalle istituzioni imperialiste. Come l’ha scritto il nostro compagno Georges Ibrahim Abdallah (nella sua dichiarazione dal carcere, il 22 giugno 2019): “ Le masse popolari … affermano chiaro e forte che esiste sicuramente un’alternativa per un altro futuro che non la sottomissione ai diktat degli imperialisti e dei loro cani da guardia al potere.”

Il carattere di lotta di classe emerge chiaramente in questi movimenti popolari spontanei, raggiunti da ciò
che resta di un ceto medio in via d’estinzione a causa delle crisi economiche successive di questi anni. La  crisi del sistema capitalista impatta proprio queste classi popolari che oggi insorgono contro i governanti  responsabili dell’impoverimento dei loro popoli, reclamando giustizia sociale e una partecipazione diretta  alle decisioni che toccano la propria vita e l’avvenire dei propri figli.

Il movimento di rivolta popolare in Libano ha raggiunto questa stessa dinamica internazionale,
caratterizzata dagli stessi obiettivi di cambiamento e libertà, e anche la libertà per i prigionieri politici.
Prioritariamente quella per il nostro compagno Georges Ibrahim Abdallah che i nostri compagni del PCL
(Partito Comunista Libanese) sostengono con tutte le loro forze, poiché essa s’inscrive nella lotta globale
dei popoli contro l’imperialismo, francese nel caso specifico, e i suoi interessi geopolitici ed economici nella  regione. Perciò, nel quadro di una giornata di mobilitazione internazionale, facciamo appello a tutte le forzelibere a raggiungerci per un raduno unitario per sostenere i nostri compagni in Libano e per esigere  ancora  e sempre, la liberazione immediata del nostro compagno ostaggio nelle prigioni francesi da più di 35 anni e questo:
domenica 15 dicembre 2019, alle ore 14, in place de la République à Parigi
Viva la lotta dei popoli per la libertà
Tutto il nostro sostegno ai nostri compagni in rivolta in Libano
Liberate Georges Ibrahim Abdallah
Adesioni:
Soccorso Rosso Arabo
Lobnane Yantafedh (Il Libano si solleva)
Campagna unitaria per la liberazione di Georges Abdallah
Fronte Popolare (Halk Cephesi) – Turchia
Piattaforma Internazionale contro l’isolamento carcerario

Eine neuer Welle der Proteste geht durch Die Welt in dem Kamf für soziale Gerechtigkeit und Chancengleichheit in der Welt, vor allem in den ärmeren Länder wo die Oligarchen der Macht weiterhin ihre Völker ausbeuten und wo die Schere zwischen Arm und Reich einen beispiellosen Ausmaß erreicht hat.

Im Libanon dauern die Proteste seit fast 2 Monaten an. Gegen Korruption Vetternwirtschaft und für mehr Freiheit.

Im Herzen dieser Bewegungen stehen auch die Verteidiger der Meinungsfreiheit und die Freunde der politischen Gefangenen, vor allem auch die Freunde von Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, der älteste politische Gefangene in Europa der seit über 35 Jahre in Frankreich gefangen gehalten wird, trotz mehrere Gerichtsurteile die seine Freilassung fordern.

Justizministerium in Frankreich verhindert die Gerichte an der Umsetzung dieser Urteile, unter Druck aus den USA und Israel.

Die internationale Front für politischen Gefangenen gemeinsam mit den Freunden von Georges Ibrahim Abdallah rufen zu dem “Internationalen Tag der Solidarität mit Georges Ibrahim Abdallah” am 15.12.2019.

Dazu werden Aktivisten in aller Welt aufgerufen Solidarität zu zeigen und die Freiheit zu fordern für allen Menschen die wegen ihrer Meinung und politischen Aktivitäten verfolgt oder eingesperrt werden.

#Freiheit_für_Georges_Ibrahim_Abdallah

15 December, Athens: Victory to the Palestinian Resistance

Sunday, 15 December
7:00 pm
Veranzerou 13
Exarcheia, Athens, Greece

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, Intifada Anti-Imperialist Front and Pan-Hellenic Anti-War Mobilization (PAKE) are calling for an information and solidarity event for Palestine on 15 December.

The event will be addressed by Mohammed Khatib, coordinator of Samidoun in Europe.

Video address by Palestinian writer Khaled Barakat, who has been targeted by the Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs and with a recent ban on political activity in Germany.

Το Δίκτυο Αλληλεγγύης Παλαιστινίων Πολιτικών Κρατουμένων «Σαμιντούν», η Ιντιφάντα – Αντιιμπεριαλιστικό Μέτωπο και ο Πανελλαδικός Αντιπολεμικός Κινηματικός Συντονισμός (Π.Α.Κ.Σ.) καλούν σε εκδήλωση ενημέρωσης και αλληλεγγύης στην Παλαιστινιακή Αντίσταση, την Κυριακή 15 Δεκεμβρίου στις 7 μ.μ. (Βερανζέρου 13, 5ος όρ., Εξάρχεια).

Στην εκδήλωση θα μιλήσει ο Μοχάμεντ Χατίμπ, συντονιστής του Δικτύου Σαμιντούν στην Ευρώπη.

Παρεμβαίνει μέσω βίντεο ο Παλαιστίνιος συγγραφέας και ακτιβιστής του κινήματος για μποϋκοτάζ στο Ισραήλ (BDS), Χαλέντ Μπαρακάτ. Ο Μπαρακάτ έχει στοχοποιηθεί από το ισραηλινό Υπουργείο Στρατηγικών Υποθέσεων και με την πρόσφατη απαγόρευση κάθε πολιτικής του δραστηριότητας στη Γερμανία.

14 December, Toulouse: Stand for Palestine – end the siege on Gaza!

Saturday, 14 December
11:00 am
Metro Capitole
Rue de Saint-Rome
Toulouse, France
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1190464347813620/

11 years after the war on Gaza in December 2008 which took the lives of 1400 Palestinian victims, we will be on the streets again to demand an end to the siege on Gaza.

On this occasion, we organize a Stand for Palestine on Saturday, 14 December from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm to share information about the situation in the Gaza Strip and the Israeli-Egyptian siege. We invite you to join us!

On the agenda: small exhibit on the siege, solidarity photos, Palestinian music, sales of T-shirts, banners, calendars and tote bags; information table on the situation in Gaza, the boycott of Israel, support for Palestinian prisoners and Georges Abdallah, etc

More info: palestinevaincra.com

11 ans après la guerre de Gaza de décembre 2008 qui a fait près de 1400 victimes palestiniennes, nous serons une nouvelle fois dans la rue pour exiger la fin du blocus de Gaza.

A cette occasion, nous organiserons un Stand Palestine le samedi 14 décembre de 11H à 13H pour informer sur la situation de la bande de Gaza sous blocus israélo-égyptien. N’hésitez pas à nous rejoindre !

Au programme : mini expo sur le blocus ; photos solidaires ; musique palestinienne ; prise de parole ; vente de Tshirts, drapeaux, calendriers, tote bags ; table de presse sur la situation de Gaza mais aussi le boycott d’Israël, le soutien aux prisonniers palestiniens et Georges Abdallah etc.

Plus d’infos sur : palestinevaincra.com

10 December, Vancouver: Defend the Defenders! Defend Human Rights!

Tuesday, 10 December
5:30 pm
Commercial-Broadway Skytrain
Vancouver, BC
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/2549509241793757/

On the International Day for Human Rights, link arms with local organizers and send messages of solidarity to human rights defenders on the front lines of struggle from Turtle Island to the Philippines.

In the Philippines, Palestine, Chile, Bolivia, Kashmir, India, Mexico, and beyond there is an inspiring upsurge of people’s struggles! But human rights defenders pay the price of reg-tagging, criminalization, and far too often their lives.

Here on Turtle Island the war on drugs, attacks against poor people, and ongoing colonial land theft continue to take a grave toll on communities, while those who dare speak out and resist face state repression and violence.

9 December, Pittsburgh: Imprisoning a Generation Film and Children of Bethlehem exhibit

Monday, 9 December
7:00 pm
Eastminster Church
250 N Highland Ave
Pittsburgh, PA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/2515205562137564/

IMPRISONING A GENERATION is a documentary film following the stories of four young Palestinians who have been detained and imprisoned under the Israeli military and political systems. Their perspectives, along with the voices of their families, combine to form a lens into the entangled structures of oppression that expand well beyond the prison walls.

CHILDREN OF BETHLEHEM EXHIBIT presents the experiences of 12-13-year-old Palestinian youth living under military control and colonial power in Bethlehem. Photographer Katie Archibald-Woodard will lead a discussion on dire conditions facing Palestinians in Bethlehem today.

8 December, Toronto: Cultures of Resistance – A Night of Sharing and Celebration

Sunday, 8 December
6:00 pm
OPSEU
31 Wellesley St East
Toronto, ON
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/2808441029174104/

CULTURES OF RESISTANCE

In celebration of the people’s movements around the world which are in upsurge at this moment, several organizations in Toronto are collaborating to express international solidarity.

From Latin America to Yemen to Palestine to the Philippines, we know that our people have created for themselves strong cultures of resistance. We want to hold these cultures close and bring them to light, in the most interactive way possible!

Food, music, artwork, poetry, performances. It’ll be a good time.

>> Bring your instruments – we’ll end in a big ol’ culture jam! <<

31 WELLESLEY ST E, TORONTO
SUNDAY DEC 8, 6-9pm
ALL AGES
SUGGESTED DONATION: $10

Brought to you by the following organizations:
Latin American and Caribbean Solidarity Network – LACSN
ICHRP-Canada International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines
Yemeni Community in Canada
Palestinian Youth Movement (Toronto)

If you would like to get on the performance list, please message the ICHRP-Canada page or any of the others.

8 December, Santa Fe: The Red Nation Anniversary Party

Sunday, 8 December
6:00 pm
6600 Valentine Way
Santa Fe, NM
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/450066282319847/

It’s hard out here in the struggle. The Amazon is burning. Fascists are murdering Indigenous leftists. Israel keeps bombing Gaza. The United States continues to destroy the world through coups, bombs, and capitalism.

This holiday season, don’t let the bastards get you down. Join The Red Nation as we celebrate the one-year anniversary of our Santa Fe Freedom Council and the five-year anniversary of our existence as a radical force in the fight to protect and heal our planet.

It was never guaranteed that TRN would last a month, let alone five years. It is true that Indigenous revolutionaries are being targeted. Persecuted. Criminalized. Terrorized. Caged. It is a desperate and heartbreaking time.

But it is also true that we are rising, that we are in a historic moment defined by the ascension of Indigenous peoples, the reclaiming of our rightful place in the long histories of revolutionary struggle that have been waged for centuries. The Red Nation is part of a resurgence of Indigenous liberation struggles in the Americas that include #NoKXL and #IdleNoMore in 2012 and 2013, #ProtectOakFlat and #NoDAPL in 2015 and 2016, #ProtectBearsEars in 2017, and, now, #ProtectMaunaKea in the Pacific. Not to mention the Indigenous revolution of 2006 in #Bolivia or the rallying cries of countless #waterprotectors and #landdefenders that echo across the Americas today.

This moment represents the reforging of our bonds with our land and water relatives, and with our ancestors in struggle. Although we face a serious and dangerous fate, we must pause to celebrate our strength. To nourish our courage. And to remember our love for all our relations and for all life.

On December 8th, we will celebrate Indigenous revolutionaries everywhere and nourish our souls and bodies to fight another day. We will give thanks to the countless relatives who have helped us survive this journey. We’ll discuss urgent issues facing Indigenous people. We’ll talk about the history of The Red Nation and our victories in 2019. We’ll roast Nick Estes, famous author of “Our History is The Future” and TRN comrade. We’ll be in the company of Indigenous revolutionaries who carry optimism in their hearts and conviction in their politics.

We’ll throw down, like we always do. Join us!

No RSVP required. Bring a potluck dish and sweet dancing jams. Kids always welcome!

Leave the drugs, alcohol, sectarianism, and bad attitudes at the door 🙂

6 December, NYC: Certain Days 2020 Launch Party

Friday, 6 December
7:30 pm
168 Canal St
NYC
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/2431281240493656/

Come on out and hear from people who made and contributed their art and articles to the 2020 Certain Days Freedom for Political Prisoners calendar! Release Aging People in Prison/RAPP, teev, No New Jails and Vikki Law will be on hand to talk about their connection to our project.

We will have calendars on hand for sale for:
$15 each
$10 if you buy 10 or more
$8 for people in jail/prison

Featuring: Annie Banks, Aric McBay, Bitty, Christi Belcourt, Cindy Milstein, David Gilbert, Eric King, Ethan X. Parker, Fernando Marti, Garen Zakarian, Jaan Laaman, Marius Mason, Mary Tremonte, Molly Fair, No New Jails, Oso Blanco, Richard Rivera, Stephen Wilson, teev, Termite Collective, Victoria Law, Xinachtli and more

Now in its 19th year of publication, the Certain Days: Freedom for Political Prisoners Calendar is required reading for radicals, leftists, and all who support political prisoners and advocate the end of mass incarceration. The Certain Days calendar is filled with radical historical dates, and 12 thought-provoking articles and beautiful artwork each month throughout the year. All proceeds support prisoners and grassroots organizations. This is a must-have!

The Certain Days: Freedom for Political Prisoners Calendar is a joint fundraising and educational project between outside organizers in Montreal, Hamilton, New York and Baltimore, with two political prisoners being held in maximum-security prisons: David Gilbert in New York and Xinachtli (s/n Alvaro Luna Hernandez) in Texas. We were happy to welcome founding members Herman Bell and Robert Seth Hayes home from prison in 2018.

7 December, Vancouver: Boycott HP and mark International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

Saturday, 7 December
2:00 pm
Best Buy
729 Granville (at Robson St)
Vancouver, BC
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/2484901531608544/

Nov. 29 marks the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. This year, join with us and show our solidarity with the Palestinians to say #BoycottHP, Technology of Israeli Apartheid!
Hewlett Packard branded companies play a key role in Israel’s oppression of Palestinians. They provide equipment and services to the Israeli military, prison system and government, including the ID card system that underpin Israel’s apartheid policies and its movement restrictions for Palestinians.
Along with providing technology to the Israeli military that maintains Israel’s illegal occupation and the aggression and siege on Gaza, HP provides Israel’s Population and Immigration Authority with the exclusive Itanium servers for its Aviv System. This system enables the government to control and enforce its system of racial segregation and apartheid against Palestinian citizens of Israel, and is directly involved in Israel’s settler colonialism through its “Yesha database”, which compiles information on Israeli citizens in illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian West Bank.
https://bdsmovement.net/boycott-hp

There are over 5000 Palestinian political prisoners incarcerated in Israeli jails, 460 of them held under administrative detention without charge or trial. Hewlett Packard Enterprise holds the current contract for maintenance of the Israel Prison Services data systems.
https://investigate.afsc.org/company/hewlett-packard

Boycott HP!
End the Siege on Gaza!
Free All Palestinian Politi

Anti-imperialist statement on U.S. sanctions and war threats against Iran

Feb. 4, 2012: International Day of Action: NO U.S. War on Iran. Actrivists rally in Times Square, NYC and march to UN and Israeli Embassy to protest war mongering against Iran, sanctions and drone strikes. Photo: Debra Sweet

Samidoun is one of the organizational signatories of the following anti-imperialist statement on Iran and sanctions. To add your name, please use this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSem4u1F0YoYW4y_o_i_DbiA2t_ikj6KL5jCQnGM4hHk6FM2Pw/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1

This statement, signed by many people listed at the bottom, demands an end to U.S. sanctions on Iran, and seeks to prevent war. While we stand in solidarity with the Iranian people who have risen up over recent weeks against domestic repression and neoliberalism, as people in the U.S. we highlight the culpability of U.S. imperialism.
______

As anti-imperialist activists, scholars, artists and lawyers located in the United States, we stand in solidarity with the peoples of Latin America, Africa and Asia in their calls to end imperialism, sectarianism and neoliberalism, and we view the recent protests in Iran within this broader international context of resistance.

The global turn to the right has led to the increasing liberalization of the international economy and worsening political repression in countries throughout the world. From Bolivia, Chile, Colombia and Haiti to Guinea, Lebanon, Iraq and Iran, people have put their lives on the line to confront the twin evils of monopoly capital and U.S. imperial domination, manifesting in different forms including coup governments, war mongering, and sanctions regimes.

As part of the current U.S. imperial project, President Trump has imposed the most severe sanctions regime in world history on Iran, seeking to choke the economy of the Islamic Republic out of existence. But it is the people of Iran who suffer. They no longer have proper access to medical supplies, industrial equipment and basic food staples. The air quality has hit an all-time low, resulting in high levels of illness, and inflation is worse than it has ever been.

In 2018, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) developed a restructuring plan to address the economic shortfalls created by the sanctions regime. In this plan, the IMF recommended “mobilizing tax revenue, removing exemptions, reducing fuel subsidies, and reforming the pension system”, alongside a “medium-term debt management strategy.” The IMF claimed these policies should be pursued “despite the challenging domestic and geopolitical environment” that the nation faces, with the overall objective of supporting Iran as it “transition[s] to a market-based monetary policy framework.”

Just weeks ago, the Islamic Republic succumbed to one of the most severe proposals in the IMF plan, announcing a more than 100 percent increase in the cost of fuel on the first 60 liters purchased, and a 300 percent increase on anything above 60 liters. This reduction in subsidies has led to massive protests throughout the country because Iranians recognize that it would lead to a dramatic and sudden decline in their standard of living.

In essence, the United States’ imperial sanctions regime has opened the space for neoliberal economic institutions such as the IMF to facilitate the ravaging of the Iranian economy.

This project is not without its Iranian native informants and cheerleaders, who serve as functionaries of U.S. imperialism. These functionaries seek regime change no matter the cost, even though Iran has only recently stabilized after the horrors of the Iran-Iraq War. If Iran loses its sovereignty and descends into civil war like its immediate neighbors Iraq and Afghanistan, or proxy war like Syria and Libya, it is worth the cost because these functionaries stand to profit and benefit from war, reconstruction, and the exploitation of the nation’s resources.

Such functionaries are supported in their cause by Iranian native informants, so-called intellectuals who opportunistically appropriate the protests under the guise of supporting human rights and liberal democracy, when in fact what they seek is a return to neocolonial governance in the form of a U.S.-backed regime, not unlike that of the deposed monarchy, or a regime led by the National Council of Iran, a front organization for the U.S.-backed fringe group Mojaheddin-e Khalq, also trained by the CIA to execute the demands of the U.S.

We believe that if the Islamic Republic falls under the weight of the U.S. sanctions regime or as a result of Israeli and American aggression, not only will the Iranian nation suffer catastrophic losses, but whatever form of government that follows will be far more violent and destructive, considering all the external pressures on Iran.

The people of Iran are resisting the economic, political and militaristic violence imposed on them both by international and domestic elites. The majority of the Iranian people do not seek regime change because they have already lived through two monumental events that destabilized their lives – the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and the Iran-Iraq War that lasted from 1980 until 1988. The elder generations can still recount the horrors that followed the toppling of Prime Minister Mossadegh during the U.S. and British-backed coup of 1953.

Iranians seek economic and political stability, and above all, they seek to maintain their national and individual dignity. We stand by them and their calls for domestic reform, and as people in the United States, we demand the end of the sanctions regime and U.S. and Israeli interference in the lives of the Iranian people.

Hamid Dabashi
Hagop Kevorkian Professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature
Columbia University

Nasrin Rahimieh
Howard Baskerville Professor of Humanities
Professor of Comparative Literature
Director of Humanities Core Program
University of California Irvine

Angela Y. Davis
Distinguished Professor Emerita
History of Consciousness, Humanities Division, Feminist Studies
University of California, Santa Cruz

Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
Professor Emerita
Ethnic Studies
California State University, Hayward

Robin D. G. Kelley
Distinguished Professor and Gary B. Nash Endowed Chair
History
University of California, Los Angeles

Rabab Ibrahim Abdulhadi
Professor and Director
Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas Studies
San Francisco State University

Moustafa Bayoumi
Professor
Brooklyn College
City University of New York

Sunaina Maira
Professor
Asian American Studies
University of California, Davis

Asad Abukhalil
Professor
Political Science
California State University, Stanislaus

Bill Mullen
Professor
American Studies
Purdue University
Member, Organizing Collective
U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel

Alex Lubin
Professor
African American Studies
Penn State University

Joshua Clover
Professor
University of California Davis
University of Copenhagen

Nada Elia
Professor
Arab American Studies
Western Washington University

Elliott Cola
Associate Professor
Arabic and Islamic Studies
Georgetown University

Baki Tezcan
Associate Professor
History
University of California, Davis

Junaid Rana
Associate Professor
Department of Asian American Studies
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Devra A Weber
Professor Emerita
History
University of California, Riverside

Flagg Miller
Professor
Religious Studies
University of California, Davis

Immanuel Ness
Professor and Interim Department Chair
Political Science
Brooklyn College
City University of New York

Lennox S. Hinds
Professor Emeritus
Program in Criminal Justice
Rutgers University

Marjorie Cohn
Professor Emerita
Thomas Jefferson School of Law

Maryam Kashani
Assistant Professor
Gender & Women’s Studies and Asian American Studies
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Lead Coordinator, Believers Bail Out

Nick Estes
Assistant Professor
American Studies
University of New Mexico

Josh Stacher
Assistant Professor
Political Science
Kent State University

Suzanne Adely
National Lawyers Guild
International Association of Democratic Lawyers

Max Ajl
Jadaliyya

Kali Akuno

Audrey Bomse
National Lawyers Guild

William Camacaro
Venezuelan Activist
New York City

Joe Catron
Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa’adat

Berna Ellorin
International League of People’s Struggle

Yoshie Furuhashi
Community Organizing Center

Tim Horras
Co-Founder
Philly Socialists

Charlotte Kates
Samidoun

Rania Khalek
Journalist

Lucas Koerner
Venezuela Analysis

Jeanne Mirer
President
International Association of Democratic Lawyers

Corinna Mullin
Adjunct Professor
John Jay College and the New School

Ben Norton
Journalist

Sina Rahmani
Host
The East is a Podcast

Devyn Springer
Walter Rodney Foundation
Journalist, Groundings Podcast

ORGANIZATIONAL SIGNATORIES

National Lawyers Guild
BAYAN – USA
Catalyst Project
Ecumenical Peace Institute/Clergy and Laity Concerned
Haiti Action Committee
International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN)
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network

INTERNATIONAL SUPPORTERS

Asociación Americana de Juristas (AAJ)

National Union of People’s Lawyers
Philippines

Khaled Barakat
Palestinian Writer

Ray Bush
Leeds University

Liliana Cordova Kaczerginski
International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network

Fatima Demirer
Lawyer, Izmir/Turkey

Osamu Niikura
Professor Emerita
Aoyama Gakuin Japan University
Former Secretary General and Current Board Member
International Association of Democratic Lawyers
Vice President, Japanese Lawyers for International Solidarity Association (JALISA)

Samah Idriss
Writer

Ali Kadri
Economist
London School of Economics

Fabio Marchelli
Italy
International Association of Democratic Lawyers

Boaventura Monjane
Centre for Social Studies
University of Coimbra, Portugal

Jana Yasmin Nakhal
Lebanese Communist Party

Vanessa Ramos
President
Asociación Americana de Juristas (AAJ)

Micol Savia
Italy
Secretary General Elect
International Association of Democratic Lawyers

Ajit Singh
Lawyer, Graduate Student

Paris Yeros
Professor
International Economics
Federal University of ABC, Brazil