Sun Hyung Lee traveled to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (north Korea) as part of a peace delegation of eight Korean Americans from Oakland, Los Angeles and New York in June of 2004. At a time when the Bush administration is carrying out war preparations against north Korea, the interview provides some important insights into developments on the Korean peninsula.

New York - The NY Estrada RESIGN! Movement continued to brave the cold weather in its fourth Saturday outside the Philippine Consulate. The early December protest is was a part of a worldwide movement of the Philipino people and their supporters to remove the corrupt, U.S.-backed President Estrada.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following article from the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on the April 5 space launch by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Commenting on the May 25 nuclear test, the Korean Central News agency stated, “The test will contribute to defending the sovereignty of the country and the nation and socialism and ensuring peace and security on the Korean Peninsula.”

a Fight Back! exclusive interview with Agustin Jimenez

Bogotá, Colombia – Tom Burke, a reporter for Fight Back! conducted the following interview with Agustin Jimenez Cuello, the president of the Committee in Solidarity with Political Prisoners, on Dec. 7. Agustin Jimenez is the lawyer who represents the Colombia Three – three Irish political activists imprisoned in Colombia on politically motivated, false charges. The three are awaiting the continuation of their trial.

New York, NY – Caitriona Ruane, the national chairperson of the Bring Them Home Campaign in Ireland, was here Sept. 5 to highlight the situation facing the Colombia Three. The Colombia Three, Jim Monaghan, Niall Connelly and Martin McCauley, all from Ireland, have spent over two years in prison in Colombia awaiting trail and sentencing. They are charged with training members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in guerrilla warfare.

The Colombia Three, Jim Monaghan, Niall Connelly and Martin McCauley, all from Ireland, were recently acquitted after having spent almost three years in prison in Colombia. The three men were found innocent of charges that they were in Colombia to train the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP) in guerrilla warfare tactics aimed at overthrowing the Colombian government. They were arrested in August 2001 after visiting the demilitarized zone (established as part of a failed peace process) and have been held in some of Colombia’s most notorious and dangerous prisons since then.

Response to Bush’s State of Union Speech

Jess Sundin is a leading member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization. She traveled to Iraq in 1998 and has played a important role in the Twin Cities anti-war movement since then. We interviewed her after the State of the Union address, where President Bush attempted to bolster support for his plans to expand the war in Iraq.

Los Angeles, CA – Philippine President Estrada was repeatedly hit with demonstrations during his visit to U.S. cities this summer. Protesters charged that he is a tool of U.S. corporations and Washington D.C., and he has betrayed the interests of the Philippino people.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa'adat.

Demands U.S. Cut Off Aid

Minneapolis, MN - An emergency response protest here, June 29, condemned the military coup that happened on June 28 in Honduras. The protest also expressed solidarity with the Honduran people's resistance to the right-wing military coup and demanded that the U.S. government cut off aid to Honduras. This was one of many emergency protests that happened in the U.S. and throughout the world.

A struggle has broken out over the results of Iran’s presidential elections, held Friday June 12, which resulted in the apparent landslide victory of incumbent President Ahmadinejad. On Friday night, before the results had been announced, the main opposition candidate, Mir Hossein Mousavi, declared himself the winner. The following day, Iran's election commission announced that Ahmadinejad had won with 62% of the vote. Mousavi responded with allegations of vote-rigging. This set into motion a chain of events that has resulted in hundreds of thousands coming out to the streets in protest. Some of the protests turned into riots, with protesters attacking police, government offices and banks and burning cars. 19 people are reported to have died in clashes with the government.

Israel’s 22-day assault on the Palestinian people in Gaza, starting Dec. 27, 2008, ended when Israel acknowledged defeat – declaring a unilateral ‘ceasefire’ Jan. 17. Israel’s political and military goals were not met and, as in the summer of 2006, when the Lebanese resistance defeated Israel’s military, the Palestinians and their resistance emerged victorious.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Sudan Workers Trade Unions Federation on the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for Sudanese president, Omar Hassan Al Bashir.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)

Leila Khaled, a leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, was interviewed in Beirut, Lebanon Jan. 17 by Fight Back! editor Mick Kelly.

2009 started off poorly for U.S. and NATO forces occupying Afghanistan. Shortly after the U.S. military invaded and occupied Afghanistan in October 2001, Fight Back! reported, “No one wants their country occupied by foreign powers. So, the people of Afghanistan will mount a resistance. Its scope and power remain to be seen, but it will certainly be a factor.” (Afghanistan Occupied, New Targets Ahead, Winter 2002, Fight Back!)

Venezuelan socialists netted another electoral victory, Feb. 15, winning a popular referendum on constitutional changes. The changes will remove the two-term limit on elected office.

The Colombia Action Network is organizing events in six cities to honor and remember those killed by the U.S.-backed war in Colombia. March 1 is significant because one year ago the U.S. government directed an attack inside Ecuador that killed Raul Reyes and 25 others. Raul Reyes was a commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army (FARC-EP). Angela Denio who will be speaking in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, said, “We will remember the brave Colombian rebels, Ecuadorian supporters and Mexican students who died at the hands of the U.S.-sponsored attack in Ecuador, especially FARC leader Raul Reyes who gave his life for the freedom of the Colombian people.”

Chapel Hill, NC – Six members of UNC-Chapel Hill’s chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) met with Congressman David Price and his staff on Jan. 23 to demand a just U.S. policy toward the Palestinian people. SDS is outraged with Representative Price for his vote in support of House Resolution 34, a one-sided resolution passed by Congress on Jan. 9 that condoned Israel’s massacre of hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza.