Dallas, TX – About 150 people gathered here, Feb. 5, to remember the victims of Egyptian government repression and demand that Hosni Mubarak leave. The protesters came out in spite of the icy roads and heavy pre-Super Bowl traffic. Protesters declared that not only Mubarak but also his vice president, Omar Suleiman, are responsible for the hundreds of murders committed by police and gang members hired by the Mubarak government and that neither one of them could be allowed to oversee Egypt's transition to democracy.
Chicago, IL – Chanting, “Brick by brick, wall by wall, we will see Mubarak fall,” more than 1000 people demonstrated here, Jan. 29, at the office of the Consulate General of Egypt. The protest in solidarity with the struggle of the people of Egypt was one of many that took place in cities across the U.S.
History is unfolding before our eyes in Egypt this week, as millions of Egyptians take to the streets to demand the ouster of Hosni Mubarak and fundamental democratic reforms. The future is unwritten, but there is no doubt that the Jan. 25 movement marks a turning point in the struggle for national liberation in the Middle East. For what the Egyptian people are proving as they march through the streets demanding justice and pushing back against police forces wielding tear gas and live ammunition, is that the people are stronger than their oppressors.
Khalil Maqdesi, member of the Central Committee of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) expressed support, Jan. 27, “for the people of Egypt and their struggle for democracy and social justice, as centrally important for all Arab people.”
Fight Back! News Service is circulating the following article from the New China News Agency on the celebrations marking the 117th anniversary of Mao Zedong’s birth.
In the Foreword to sociologist James Brittain’s Revolutionary Social Change in Colombia: The Origin and Direction of the FARC-EP, Pluto Press, 2010, James Petras states that during the period 1999-2001 the FARC-EP was recognized as “a belligerent force,* a legitimate interlocutor in peace negotiations by all major European and Latin American regimes. During this period FARC-EP was invited to France, Spain, Scandinavia, the Low Countries, Mexico, and elsewhere to discuss the peace process. During the same period, top US leaders and businesspeople, along with dozens of trade unionists and electoral politicians from across the spectrum, engaged the FARC-EP in a demilitarized zone in Colombia, where the United Nations mediated peace negotiations between the FARC and then President Pastrana. While Washington opposed the entire peace process and President Bill Clinton secured the passage of the huge multibillion dollar military package (Plan Colombia), the United States was not able to scuttle the process or pin the narco-terrorist label on the FARC-EP. It was only after Washington went to war against Iraq and Afghanistan, and the US-dominated mass media launched a massive and sustained propaganda blitz labeling all critics and adversaries of US global militarism that the ‘terrorist’ label was pinned on the FARC.” Testing the accuracy of the “terrorist” label, among other beliefs about the FARC, James Brittain embarked on an extensive examination of existing works, public documents, and other material, as well as five years of field studies in FARC territory.—Editor’s Note
Orem, UT – Tom Burke from the National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera spoke to students at Utah Valley University, Oct. 27. The event, sponsored by the Revolutionary Students Union, brought in many students wanting to know more about the U.S.-held Colombian political prisoner, Ricardo Palmera and the situation in Colombia.
Milwaukee, WI – Colombia Action Network organizer Tom Burke came here Oct. 28 to speak about U.S. intervention in Colombia. Burke, who was served a Grand Jury subpoena in the FBI activist raids in late September, made strong observations on people’s movements both in the U.S. and Colombia.
New York, NY – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met here, September 21, with 100 leaders and representatives of anti-war, labor, alternative media and Iranian and Palestinian solidarity organizations. Among the participants were Sarah Martin, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Margaret Sarfehjooy, board member of the Minneapolis-based Women Against Military Madness, former attorney general Ramsey Clark, former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, Sara Flounders from the International Action Center, Brian Becker of the ANSWER coalition, Ramona Africa of the Free Mumia Coalition and Amiri Baraka, poet and activist.
Fight Back! is circulating following two statements from Colombian political prisoners at the infamous U.S.-designed La Tramacúa in Valledupar, Colombia. The first is from Felix Roberto Sanabria, who is entering into the second month of a hunger strike. The second is from the political prisoners of La Tramacúa's Tower Five. The alerts were provided by Traspasa los Muros – Beyond the Walls: The Permanent Campaign of Solidarity with the Political Detainees (libertadpresxspoliticxs.jimdo.com ).
Chicago, IL – Chicago police at downtown Millennium Park arrested an activist who was participating in a protest organized by the Palestine Solidarity Group-Chicago, Aug. 23. At the Chicago Sister Cities annual International Festival, more than 30 activists protested Israel’s inclusion in the program and called for the cutting of Chicago ties with Israeli apartheid.
Fight Back News Service urges all of our readers to support this important campaign to free the imprisoned leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Ahmad Sa'adat.TAKE ACTION AGAINST ISOLATION – FREE AHMAD SA'ADAT!INTERNATIONAL DAYS OF ACTION – OCTOBER 5-15, 2010
Minneapolis, MN – Activists in the Twin Cities anti-war movement responded to President Obama’s Aug. 31 nationally televised speech on the U.S. war in Iraq at a press conference immediate following his address. Representatives from Military Families Speak Out, Women Against Military Madness, the Anti-War Committee, the Twin Cities Peace Campaign and others said that the U.S. occupation will continue and that the anti-war movement needs to continue the effort to get U.S. troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Oaxaca, Mexico – El 22 de mayo, 70,000 maestros fueron a huelga en Oaxaca, México, ocupando el centro de la ciudad y una amplia zona a su alrededor. Oaxaca es uno de los estados más pobres de México y tiene más indígenas que los demás estados mexicanos. Los huelguistas tomaron el centro de la capital de Oaxaca, creando barricadas en toda la ciudad. Ellos exigieron aumento de salario para maestros, mejoramiento de facilidades escolares, y más fondos para cubrir las necesidades de los estudiantes. También exigieron un aumento del salario mínimo en Oaxaca.
En julio de este año, un grupo de activistas anti-guerra viajó a Colombia en una delegación de derechos humanos organizada por la Red de Acción de Colombia. La delegación se reunió con sindicatos, asociaciones de granjeros y organizaciones estudiantiles. FENSUAGRO, la Federación Nacional Sindical Unitaria Agropecuaria de Colombia, hospedó a los activistas estadounidenses. La delegación visitó regiones rurales y fue testigo de las condiciones de vida de los campesinos colombianos.
