Workers Resistance

Author: Fight Back

  • Footballs at the MN governor’s mansion: ‘Raise the welfare grants!’

    Saint Paul, MN – Members of the Welfare Rights Committee (WRC) ‘huddled’ in front of Governor Mark Dayton’s mansion Sept. 25. After a rally and speeches, low-income people hurled footballs over the locked fence. Written on streamers attached to the footballs were messages such as, “Help poor kids, not millionaires,” and “Raise the grants now!” Before they left, the protesters taped signs to the outside of the fence to hammer home the message.

    Last legislative session, Governor Dayton found $24 million to give to Vikings football team owner Zygi Wilf for 2013, but no money for poor kids on welfare. The monthly amount of cash MFIP – the state’s welfare program for poor children and their parents – has not increased since 1986 – 27 years ago. Had the cash welfare grants kept up with the cost of living, they would be double. A family of two gets a cash grant of $437 per month. According to the WRC, “That $437 has to cover rent, clothing, transportation, utilities etc. The current welfare grants all but guarantee homelessness.”

    According to the Welfare Rights Committee statement, “Governor Dayton could call for increasing the welfare grants. He could make helping the poor his priority. Instead he gives millions of dollars to millionaires like Vikings Football team owner Zygi Wilf.” Wilf was recently found guilty in New Jersey courts for defrauding his past partners and ordered to pay damages of over $80 million.

    This fall, the Welfare Rights Committee will also be fighting cuts to the Food Stamp/SNAP program. Last week, Congress voted to cut millions from the program, passing, in the words of WRC, “an irrational provision saying that adults can’t get food stamps unless they are working, even though in much of the country there are no jobs to be found.”

    For info, check out the Welfare Rights Committee at welfarerightsmn.com or on Facebook at facebook.com/groups/104618039626888.

  • North Korea up close: Interview with anti-war activist who visited DPRK

    Fight Back! interviews Chicago anti-war activist John Stachelski, who recently returned from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

    Fight Back!: In August you traveled to north Korea. What were your impressions?

    John Stachelski: I traveled to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea this past August. I was extremely impressed by the architecture and beauty of the Pyongyang, but the best part of my trip was the people. Our guides and the people we met with were extremely friendly and down to earth. As soon as they understood I was respectful of their culture and lifestyle, they opened up and were a lot of fun.

    Though the difficulties caused by the U.S. embargo are apparent in places – not unlike in Cuba – the basic needs of the people are provided for, including full employment, no homelessness and education rights.

    The infrastructural achievements of the 1990s have led to notable improvements in the food situation and green healthy crops could be seen everywhere as we drove through the countryside.

    Adequate fuel resources are still a challenge, leaving some farmers without the use of their tractors and there are difficulties keeping power on throughout the country. While I was there the power never went out, but our guides did tell us about the hardships they experienced in the past. That said there have been notable improvements in alternative fuels.

    Fight Back!: Tell us about your talks with regular people. What were their concerns and what did they think of the DPRK leadership?

    Stachelski: A thing that strikes you in the DPRK was the respect and reverence the people of the country have for their leaders. They understand Westerners are skeptical of this tradition, and find it strange. Our guide asked us to respect the customs of the country, because the respect for the leadership comes from the bottom of their hearts and helps to tie them into the history of how their country survived the occupation of the Japanese, and then the U.S. I did not doubt for an instance that he spoke with sincerity and this was confirmed as I talked to other people in the country. For them the leadership represents their revolution and the end of foreign control of their lives. It represents saving their culture and traditions from the Japanese who attempted to destroy it and the victory over the U.S. invaders in 1945.

    In the West we build monuments on the side of mountains to leaders who were slaveholders and worse – they did not do half of what Kim Il-Sung did for the Korean people.

    Fight Back!: The DPRK is known for its public art works. Could you tell us about them?

    Stachelski: The public art is absolutely stunning. There is a misconception that all of the art is of the leaders Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il, but in actuality the majority of the art depicts everyday people: soldiers, workers, mothers, athletes and others. Everywhere one could see images of women scientists and revolutionaries, promoting a positive image for young women to look up to.

    There are next to no advertisements in the country; at bus stops there are beautiful scenes of landscapes or historic events. Combined with the architecture and centralized planning of the city, Pyongyang is by far the most beautiful place I have ever been. Almost any other city I have been to is constantly bombarding me with advertisements; it was a breath of fresh air to have my identity as a working class person exalted, rather than just attempting to convince to buy useless things.

    The focus of the trip was the Mass Games “Arirang,” a mass artistic and gymnastics performance coordinating thousands of ordinary people in telling the history of Korea and other important national themes. The show was the most impressive thing I have ever seen, and really speaks to the unity and collective spirit of socialist Korea.

    Fight Back!: U.S. troops continue to occupy and divide Korea. How does this affect Koreans and what do people in the DPRK think about reunification?

    Stachelski: Almost everyone in DPRK strongly desires reunification. There is a great deal of public artwork on the topic and during the Mass Games there is an entire scene devoted to reunification of the country. At the DMZ [demilitarized zone] separating DPRK and South Korea, the guard spoke of the countries’ deep desire to reunify and how that effort has constantly been thwarted by U.S. occupation of the south. Tens of thousands of U.S. troops stand on the border in the south, only Korean troops stand on the north side.

    One of the soldiers took me out of the line to discuss how I felt as an American, regarding the situation. He was pleasantly surprised to hear that I supported reunification and the Korean nation’s right to self-determination. He came and sat next to me on our bus and we talked about our lives and families. Putting a human face on the situation made me firmer than ever in my conviction that we have a responsibility as people from the U.S. to defend the Korean people and try to help heal the immeasurable damage the U.S. has inflicted on the Korean people.

    Fight Back!: The U.S. has often threatened the DPRK. What is the attitude of the people of north Korea towards these threats and war preparations?

    Stachelski: The DPRK is very explicit in how it would handle another attack by the U.S. At the hotel for foreigners in Pyongyang, a plaque read “Soldiers of the Korean People’s Army are firmly determined to annihilate the aggressors without any mercy should war break out again in their country.” This is hardly an idle threat, despite the difficulties and setbacks of losing the USSR, their largest trading partner, alongside massive weather related disasters in the 90s. The Songun “military first” policy orchestrated by Kim Jong-Il has kept the country’s defensive capabilities strong and indeed warded off repeated efforts by the U.S. to bully and attack the DPRK. Some socialist countries had to succumb to foreign pressure and internal difficulties; the DPRK is resolute in building socialism and maintaining their national sovereignty. Their example is an inspiration to oppressed people all over the world, that the U.S. empire can be defeated, and resisted, despite all the odds.

  • Victorious Coca-Cola Strike: Take back the power of strikes!

    Fight Back News Service is circulating the following Sept. 25 statement by Fortunato Magtanggol, spokesperson, for the Revolutionary Council of Trade Unions, Southern Tagalog Chapter, on a victorious strike in the Philippines.

    The Revolutionary Council of Trade Unions – National Democratic Front of the Philippines – Southern Tagalog (RCTU-NDFP-ST) salutes the workers under the Unyon ng Manggagawa Driver, Forklift Operator, at Picker (UMDFP-IND) of the Coca Cola Bottlers Philippines, Inc. Sta.
    Rosa Plant for a victorious strike launched in May 2013. The collective action that was directed at the heart of the capitalist’s interests has once again proven that workers are indeed the decisive force in production.

    As the memorandum of agreement nears implementation this October, the RCTU-NDFP-ST reminds and urges workers to fearlessly fight the worsening working conditions under the US-Aquino regime, take back the power of strikes, and track the revolutionary road that will bring them genuine victory in the fight for a society without capitalist oppression.

    On 20 May 2013, workers under the UMDFP-IND decisively took their anger to the streets outside the CCBPI-Sta. Rosa plant and declared a strike after months of trying to negotiate with transnational Coca Cola.

    Members reached a resolution to launch the strike via strike voting after the Department of Labor and Employment Office of the Secretary blatantly reversed the previous decision released by DoLE-region 4A Med Arbiter Tongzon regarding the workers’ right to certification election abreast their regularization.

    The strike that lasted for three days brought workers from other factories and other sectors together to call for the immediate recognition of the previously released decision from Tongzon.

    Taking back what is rightfully theirs, the workers paralyzed the factory and ceased, for that particular moment, the capitalist’s seemingly endless acquiring of surplus value from the workers’ labor. For three days, the striking workers, with the support of workers from other factories and unions, have temporarily reversed their economic and social status — forcing the capitalist to bow down and heed the workers’ calls. For this particular moment, workers become the masters, and the capitalist becomes their slave.

    Coca Cola lost more than an estimated cost of 100 million pesos during the three-day strike, which left them with no other choice but to face the workers and settle with a set of agreements including the regularization of the workers under UMDFP. Based on a series of talks
    during the past 4 months, the capitalist has promised to fully implement the decisions based on the memorandum of agreement on 6 October.

    In the whole region and even the whole country, the victorious strike of the UMDFP-IND truly sets a new development in the long been oppressed trade union sector. The fight for job security, which has become a crucial struggle for the working class, has now reached a new
    level, at which we can truly say that there is still hope through our unified ranks and determination.

    While it is just right to acknowledge the power of strikes in giving workers economic and political power, there is great necessity in recognizing its momentary effect. Following their brief rise from oppression, workers return to their usual places in production and once again become modern day slaves who trade their labor for measly alms. At the end of the day, they have been able to lessen the capitalist’s rate of exploitation through better working conditions, but remain abused because of the latter’s natural interests in expanding their capital.

    RCTU-NDFP-ST calls on all Coca Cola workers, as well as other workers from other factories, to continue the fight for regularization and right to union, escalate their struggle from economic to politically motivated actions, and aim their strength at the heart of the capitalists’ interests not only by intensifying the strike movement, but most importantly, through leading the national democratic revolution that will end all forms of capitalist oppression.

  • “They tried to raise the specters of Joe McCarthy and J. Edgar Hoover”

    Fight Back! is circulating a speech delivered by anti war leader Jess Sundin, at the Sept 24 protest in front of the Federal Building in Minneapolis. About 100 demonstrators demanded an end to the federal investigation of anti war and international solidarity activists.

    First, I want to say how much it means to me that you are all here today. It reminds me of the morning my home was raided by the FBI: When Garrett was the first friend to arrive, and then so many of you gathered outside all of our homes. There was the press conference on our lawn that afternoon – Marie, you were there; and the solidarity meeting that same night at the old Walker Church. Thank you all for standing with us that day, and every day, against political repression.

    Three years ago, they busted through our front doors, armed with battering rams, search warrants and grand jury subpoenas, and they turned our lives upside-down. They treated us like terrorists, and the entire anti-war movement like some kind of criminal enterprise. The government set out to silence all of us, and to clear the way for war. Thanks to 23 grand jury resisters, and thousands of supporters, they failed. We are walking around free, speaking out against the agenda of war for empire, and standing here united against political repression.

    When they raided our homes, they took books, photographs, computers, political papers, sign-up sheets – “evidence” of who we know and what we think. None of us talked to the FBI that day, but we later learned about the McCarthy-era questions they had planned to ask us. They wanted to know about the political groups we’re involved in, and the people we’ve worked with here and abroad. Who are your leaders? When are your meetings? Who takes the notes? How do you indoctrinate people? Are you now, or have you ever been…? Well, I didn’t tell them, but I’m telling you: I am now, and I have been for quite a long time been! Everything they took that day, they kept copies of, no doubt catalogued in some FBI/NSA/fusion center database. In the case of our Chicago friend, Hatem Abudayyeh, much of his property was never returned – held for evidence in this on-going investigation.

    Now how many of you share my misfortune, of having met the undercover agent, the spy who called herself Karen Sullivan? I won’t say on this microphone what I call her now, but I think you can imagine. For two years, every word she ever said to me was a lie. Every word she said to you was a lie. She came to our meetings and our protests, our hospital rooms and our birthday parties. For two years, she worked full-time to destroy the Anti-War Committee, Freedom Road, and every organization or community we ever worked with. She sabotaged a solidarity trip to Palestine, and she used her key to let the FBI into the Anti-War Committee office three years ago today. The raids on our homes and office were based on her word. I have no doubt that the only case they could have against me and my friends is one that this professional liar manufactured.

    From the outset, U.S. Attorneys said they were pursuing “multiple indictments of multiple people.” When prosecutor Barry Jonas was confronted by protesters in Chicago earlier this year, he said he couldn’t comment on “ongoing investigations” and that he has 8 years to bring charges in our case. Back in 2010, when I refused to testify in secret before the grand jury, I believed I might be jailed for that decision. Thanks to all of you, that didn’t happen.

    But, I never imagined that I would live for three years under a cloud of suspicion, as a subject of an endlessly ongoing investigation. In its latest statement, the U.S. attorney’s office says, “there are no public criminal cases stemming from the investigation.” It seems clear enough that criminal indictments might already be there in secret, under seal, just waiting for the right political moment to bring them out. We are here today to show that the right political moment will never come. There will never be an easy time to take us. Our friends in the people’s movements will never stand by quietly while we are locked away like criminals for opposing the crimes of U.S. wars.

    We have already proven that we are stronger than them, that we can prevail.

    We beat the grand jury, and its McCarthyite witch hunt. Not one of us testified. And not one of us was jailed for refusing. Why? Because we stood together, and you stood behind us. It was solidarity.

    And with solidarity, we beat back the attack on Carlos Montes. The FBI agents investigating us cooked up new charges related to an old COINTELPRO case against our friend, a Chicano leader and anti-war activist from Los Angeles. They wanted to put him away for years, but thanks to pressure by people like you and me, he wasn’t sentenced to a single day in prison!

    Time and again, they tried to raise the specters of Joe McCarthy and J. Edgar Hoover, but we refused to be haunted by those old ghosts. Instead, through solidarity, we set an example of how to respond in the face of attacks: No one betrays their friends and political colleagues by testifying at a grand jury. And rather than hide in the shadows, we took the streets to say no to the attacks on us, and no to every attack on the people’s movements.

    We’ve spent the last three years building unity with others fighting against repression, from anarchists, occupiers and environmentalists, to those facing terrorism charges like ours. We were here at this very courthouse when Amina Ali and Hawo Hassan were shamefully sentenced to years for sending charity home to war-torn Somalia. We rallied right here on this sidewalk for the Holy Land Five, who seek freedom from long sentences won by the same prosecutor we’re up against in our case. And we’re standing by Lynne Stewart, in her just demand for compassionate release, so that she won’t die of cancer in prison for her work defending another target of the bogus war on terror.

    None of these people have done anything wrong, and neither have any of us. Was it wrong to march on the RNC against war and occupation? No! Was it wrong to travel to warzones like Palestine and Colombia, befriending those most-impacted by US policies of war? No! And to this day, is it wrong to believe in a better world – where there is no war and no want, but lasting peace built on a foundation of justice? No!

    The FBI raids three years ago and the grand jury, in some ways, they changed everything. But in the ways that matter, they changed nothing. Every one of us who was targeted on September 24 has remained committed to building the people’s movements. We have not been silenced, but instead, we have used our defense campaign as a platform for speaking out against empire and all the wrong it does in this world.

    All of us know more today than we did when the FBI arrived on our doorsteps. Of course, some of us learned that they’re watching us, personally. But now we also understand that the government has come to view every American as a suspect, and every activist or community leader as a target. While the government operates behind a shroud of secrecy, our right to privacy is gone. Grand juries, spying and warrantless phone and email monitoring have become standard operating procedure for the government. And the whistleblowers – from Chelsea Manning to Edward Snowden – are putting their freedom on the line, so that we can know the truth. We are witnessing a broad attack on democratic rights in this country today, and our case is part of that.

    Freedom fighters are called terrorists, and war criminals receive Nobel peace prizes. We say enough is enough. We don’t want to live one more day in this upside-down Bizarro World.

    For three years, we’ve stood by our activism, and insisted we’ve done nothing wrong. Today, on the three-year anniversary, and on the eve of a new war, we recommit ourselves to building the people’s movements. We defeated the grand jury, we defeated the attack on Carlos Montes, and now, we must demonstrate their complete failure in silencing activism, opposition to war, and international solidarity.

    Solidarity is under attack! What do we do? Stand up, fight back!

  • Minneapolis pushes back against FBI repression of anti-war activists

    Minneapolis, MN – About 100 people joined a protest here, Sept. 24, at the Federal Building, to demand an end to the three year federal investigation of anti-war and international solidarity activists that began with FBI raids and grand jury subpoenas on Sept. 24, 2010.

    A delegation from the Minnesota Committee to Stop FBI Repression delivered a letter, signed by academics, trade union leaders and other progressives to the U.S Attorneys office inside the federal building. The letter demanded an end to in investigation.

    The FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s office is alleging “material support for terrorism.”

    Jess Sundin, a prominent anti-war leader whose home was raided by the FBI, told the crowd, “Three years ago, they busted through our front doors, armed with battering rams, search warrants and grand jury subpoenas and they turned our lives upside-down. Treating us like terrorists and the entire anti-war movement like some kind of criminal enterprise, the government set out to silence all of us and clear the way for war. Thanks to 23 grand jury resisters and thousands of supporters they failed. We are walking around free, speaking out against the agenda of war for empire and standing united against political repression.”

    Sundin also stated, “I never imagined that I would live for three years under a cloud of suspicion, as a subject of an endlessly ongoing investigation. In its latest statement, the U.S. attorney’s office says, ‘there are no public criminal cases stemming from the investigation.’ It seems clear enough that criminal indictments might already be there, under seal, just waiting for the right political moment to bring them out. We are here today to show that there will never be an easy time to take us, that our friends in the people’s movements will never stand by quietly while we are locked away like criminals for opposing the crimes of U.S. wars.”

    Angel Buechner of the Welfare Rights Committee stated, “While our government kills poor and working people in other countries and calls that justice, we call it terrorism. While the activist community stands up and brings home about what our government is doing to the poor and working people in other countries our government wants to call that terrorism. The government had tried to silence our movement but we did not allow that to happen. We stood up and fought back and resisted. We at the Welfare Rights Committee will continue to stand and support our sisters and brothers who were targeted by the FBI.”

  • Rural Moral Monday in Yadkinville, NC

    Yadkinville, NC – About 60 people came together here, Sept. 23, to participate in the 19th installment of Moral Mondays – the offshoot Rural Moral Monday – speaking out against the Republican-controlled General Assembly and their anti-peoples policies.

    In front of the Yadkin County Courthouse, speakers told their own stories of struggle in the current socio-economic conditions of rural North Carolina, ranging from immigration rights to LGBTQ rights and workers’ rights. Signs were held throughout the crowd, saying “Education is a right,” “Forward together, not one step back,” and “We fight for what we believe in.”

    “We need sensible immigration reform,” says Uriel Alberto, member of El Cambio, an immigration rights and civil liberties advocacy group. “We need to attack the issue at the state-level; we need in-state tuition; we need driver’s licenses, for God’s sake. We can’t have these people driving around here without any driver’s license. Even if they wanted to put insurance on their car, they can’t. Even if they wanted to put tags on their car, they’re not able to.”

    Alberto continued, “I support my dear brothers and sisters; I support my unemployed; I support the NAACP; I support civil liberties for everyone, because when someone’s civil liberty is stepped on, my civil liberty is stepped on. And that’s why we’re all here.”

    As the sun fell and night time emerged, candles were then lit for the vigil held in memory of Jonathan Ferrell, a 24-year-old Charlotte man, who was unarmed and shot ten times by Charlotte police officer Randell Kerrick. The officer is being charged with voluntary manslaughter.

    Reverend Kojo Nantambu, president of Charlotte/Mecklenburg branch of NAACP, brought everyone closer together near the end of the night, as the candles were being lit. The crowd began chanting, “The people united, we’ll never be defeated! The people united, we’ll never be defeated!” With the Reverend closing it, saying, “And you must believe it!”

    “You’ve got to come together. You’ve got to come close. You have to be side-by-side. We can’t be spread all over the place, because we want to be like a family,” said Reverend Nantambu. “We want to be like an unbroken chain. The love that we have for each other must be able to be perceived by anybody that comes around us. They must know that I love you and you love me and that we love each other.”

    The reverend continued, “The people must know that this is a movement of love; this is a movement of respect, but this is a determined movement to make a change in this very wretched and un-Godly kind of General Assembly that has no morals. Because this is a moral movement and we are a moral people. We’re excited tonight because we know, in the end, we will have victory!”

    By the end of the night, the people pledged to continue their efforts in fighting back against voter suppression, homophobia and transphobia, anti-immigration, racism and anti-worker policies. The people left that night more united than ever – “Forward together, not one step back!”

  • U.S. Has Hidden Hand in Kenya-Somalia Crisis of Relations

    Fight Back News Service is circulating the following article by Abayomi Azikiwe of the Pan-African News Wire

    Billows of smoke emanated from the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya on the third day of a standoff between Kenyan, Israeli and United States forces (FBI) against the seizure of the facility by members of the Al-Shabaab Islamic resistance movement based in Somalia. Reports indicated that at least 62 people had been killed since the incident began on Saturday September 21.

    Eyewitnesses reported that a group of armed men and women stormed the entrance of the mall during midday shooting at random and tossing hand grenades. Members of the armed group were quoted as saying that their operation was in response to the ongoing occupation by approximately 2,500 Kenyan Defense Forces (KDF) troops of southern Somalia.

    Kenya, which shares a border with Somalia, entered the troubled Horn of Africa state in October 2011 in what was called Operation Linda Nchi (protect the nation in Kiswahili). The Kenyan government at this time was led by President Mwai Kibai and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, two close allies of the U.S. administration.

    KDF forces bombed the strategic port city at Kismayo in the early phase of the operation. The city was a financial base for Al-Shabaab which controlled the lucrative charcoal exports from the country.

    Since the intervention of Kenya into Somalia, unrest has continued in the south of the country where resistance is escalating outside Kismayo involving Al-Shabaab guerillas who attack KDF positions on a daily basis. Even local politicians and elders not associated with Al-Shabaab have complained about the activities of the Kenyan forces which are accused of interfering in the internal affairs of the region as well as human rights violations against civilians.

    The Role of the U.S. in the Somalia Crisis

    The attack on the Westgate Mall is being portrayed by the corporate and capitalist government-controlled media in the U.S. and Europe as a new episode in the so-called ‘war on terrorism.’ Yet the role of the White House through the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) goes without mention.

    U.S. imperialism has been involved in attempts to influence the political situation in Somalia and the Horn of Africa for many decades. During the late 1970s, former Somalian military leader Mohamed Siad Barre was courted by the Carter administration and convinced that an invasion of Ethiopia, then in alliance with the Soviet Union and Cuba, would result in Washington’s economic and military support to the beleaguered state which had attempted to adopt a socialist-orientation in 1969.

    The invasion of the Ogaden region of Ethiopia in 1978, where a large population of Somalis lived, proved to be a monumental disaster for Mogadishu. Cuban internationalist forces then in Ethiopia to assist the government of Mengistu Haile Mariam fought alongside the national army of Addis Ababa defeating Barre’s forces.

    This ill-advised military adventure plunged Somalia into a deeper economic and political crisis that lasted for well over a decade. By early 1991, the Barre regime had collapse leaving a vast security and political vacuum inside the country.

    Later in December 1992, the administration of George H.W. Bush sent 12,000 Marines into Somalia in what was called ‘Operation Restore Hope.’ The intervention was sold to the people of the U.S. and the world as a ‘humanitarian mission’ designed to address problems stemming from the drought and famine which had long plagued the country.

    Nonetheless, by early 1993, Somalians had risen up against the intervention by the U.S., other western-imperialist states and United Nations forces occupying the nation. Dozens of Pentagon and UN troops lost their lives in a humiliating defeat that drove these military occupiers from Somalia in 1994.

    Since this defeat in Somalia, the U.S. has never given up on controlling this region of Africa. With the overthrow of the socialist-oriented government of Mengistu in 1991, Washington enhanced its influence through working with the federal government in Ethiopia then headed by Meles Zenawi.

    By 2006, the U.S. ‘war on terrorism’ was well underway with occupations taking place simultaneously in Afghanistan, Iraq and Haiti. In order to avoid the political fallout of another direct intervention, the Bush II administration encouraged Ethiopia to invade Somalia in order to displace the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) which had begun to consolidate its influence and stabilize the country after years of war and factional strife.

    The main problem the U.S. had with the Islamic Courts was that it was operating outside of Washington’s influence. After two years of the intervention by Ethiopia, Somalia was again facing famine with the worst humanitarian crisis in the world at that time.

    Ethiopian military forces withdrew in early 2009 and sections of the Islamic Courts were won over to a Washington-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG). A youth wing of the Islamic Courts arose known as Al-Shabaab (the youth) and began to wage war against the TFG demanding that all foreign forces be withdrawn from Somalia.

    Beginning in 2007, the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) was formed with the bulk of its forces coming from the U.S.-allied government of President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda. Fighting has continued in Somalia since this time period with periodic and direct intervention by the Pentagon and the CIA.

    U.S. and British bombing operations have been carried out against alleged Al-Shabaab and Al-Qaeda bases in Somalia. The country is also a base of operations for the U.S. drone programs which extends from the Horn of Africa all the way into the Indian Ocean islands of Seychelles.

    In addition, the CIA has a major field station in Mogadishu and has maintained detention facilities inside Somalia imprisoning purported suspects in the ‘war on terrorism.’ The combined AMISOM forces now consisting of some 17,500 troops, receives training and funding from Washington.

    The Somalia operation of the U.S. is part and parcel of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) which was formally started in 2008 under Bush but has been strengthened and enhanced by the Obama administration.

    Kenya’s intervention in southern Somalia in October 2011 had been planned for at least two years. The release of WikiLeaks cables in 2010 documented the plans and the role of the State Department.

    In an article published by the Kenyan Daily Nation on December 17, 2010, it reports that ‘The cables also say the military action took years of planning and was not a spontaneous reaction to abductions conducted by the Islamist group on Kenyan soil as repeatedly stated by government officials. The abductions seemed to provide Kenya with a convenient excuse to launch the plan, which, officials argued, was necessary to ensure protection against threats posed by an unstable neighbor.’

    This secret plan, dubbed ‘Jubaland Initiative,’ outlined the creation of an artificial state in southern Somalia in an effort to choke off Al-Shabaab from the border areas near Kenya. At a meeting in Ethiopia in January 2010, the Kenyan delegation led by the-then Foreign Affairs Minister Moses Wetang’ula appealed for U.S. support in the operation.

    In addition to U.S. involvement in Somalia and Kenya, the state of Israel also has close ties with the government in Nairobi. Israeli economic interests are much in evidence in Kenya where tourism hotels and other businesses such as the Westgate shopping mall are owned by capitalists who are citizens of the Zionist state.

    Developments in Kenya and throughout the entire region of East Africa must be viewed within the context of U.S. economic and strategic interests in partnership with its NATO allies and the state of Israel. In recent years new findings of oil and natural gas all along the coast of East Africa is of course a source of imperialist interests in the region.

    At the same time flotillas of U.S. and European Union warships have been occupying the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia for several years under the guise of fighting piracy. Underlying this occupation of the Gulf of Aden is the vast economic resources that are transported through this waterway which is one of the most lucrative in the world.

    The current government of President Uhuru Kenyatta in Nairobi was not the favored choice of the Obama administration during the elections in March. Washington supported former Prime Minister Odinga in the race and had issued veiled threats against Kenya if it did not vote the way the U.S. wanted.

    Both President Kenyatta and Vice-President William Ruto are under indictment by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. Ruto requested and was granted an adjournment of his trial that was taking place at the time of the Westgate mall attack pending the outcome of the standoff.

    Kenyatta and Ruto are accused of human rights violations during the course of a violent dispute over the results of the previous elections held in late 2007. Their prosecution by the ICC has been rejected by the Kenyan government as well as the entire 54-member nations of the African Union.

    The ICC has been severely criticized by the African Union due to its exclusive pre-occupation with prosecuting continental leaders. Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir is also under indictment by the ICC and could be denied a visa by the State Department to attend the UN General Assembly in New York even though Washington is not a signatory to the Rome Statue that created the ICC.

  • Minneapolis protest set to demand end to federal investigation of anti-war activists

    Minneapolis, MN – Anti-war and civil liberties activists are set to protest Sep. 24, at the Minneapolis Federal Building, at 4:30 pm. They will be demanding an end to the three-year investigation of anti-war and international solidarity activists that began with FBI raids and grand jury subpoenas on September 24, 2010.

    Jess Sundin, one of the raided activists, said, “In the most recent public comment, in response to a media inquiry, the U.S. attorney’s office gave a strangely-worded response: ‘there are no public criminal cases stemming from the investigation.’ Perhaps this is suggesting that there may already be criminal indictments under seal or maybe not. We and our kids need this investigation into our protected political activity and speech to be over.”

    Sundin added, “Recent revelations by Edward Snowden – and the ACLU reports on fusion centers – show that there is a pervasive attitude amongst government that people are the enemy and that opposing government policies is a ‘security threat.’”

    A letter with 200-plus signers will be delivered to the Minneapolis U.S. Attorney’s office urging that the U.S. Attorney publicly put an end to the investigation.

    Sundin concluded, “This year, on the three-year anniversary and on the eve of a new war, we recommit ourselves to building the people’s movements. We demonstrate their complete failure in silencing activism, opposition to war and international solidarity. We will continue to do that work and to continue to build solidarity with other victims of political repression.”

  • FBI infiltrator in anti-war movement

    Minneapolis, MN – With the third anniversary of the FBI raids on anti-war and international solidarity activists approaching on Sept. 24, we are reprinting the above photo of “Karen Sullivan” (right) with her associate, “Daniela Cardenas.” These agents are dangerous to progressive activists. If you see them or are in contact with them, make their presence known to others in the peace and justice movements.

    Starting a few months before the protests against the 2008 Republican National Convention in Saint Paul, Minnesota, a law enforcement officer going by the name “Karen Sullivan” infiltrated the Twin Cities Anti-War Committee (AWC). She joined the AWC in April 2008 and about a year later she joined the Freedom Road Socialist Organization. Her associate “Daniela Cardenas” then appeared on the scene.

    Conversations between attorneys for the raided anti-war and international solidarity activists and the U.S. Attorneys Office in Chicago have confirmed that these professional liars did their best to put a criminal cast on protected political activity.

    These two, along with their higher-ups, are responsible for causing the raids on the homes of anti-war and international solidarity activists in the Twin Cities and Chicago and for the wave of grand jury subpoenas – 23 in all – that were served on progressive activists. Using their lies, the government is attempting to manufacture a case alleging “material support of terrorism.” These two posed as friends and political colleagues, while working full time to destroy progressive and revolutionary organizations.

    All of the activists involved refused to testify in these McCarthyite grand jury proceedings and have continued to build resistance to these attacks on civil liberties.

    On Sept. 24, the Minnesota Committee to Stop FBI Repression will be holding a rally under the slogan, “Three Years Too Many! End the Investigation of Anti-War and International Solidarity Activists Now!” The rally will take place at the Minneapolis Federal Building, 300 South 4th Street, at 4:30 pm.

    In a statement promoting the rally, organizers say, “Since 9/11 national security has been used to justify wars abroad and attacks on civil liberties at home. In September 2010, FBI agents raided the homes and offices of Minneapolis and Chicago peace activists, investigating them for ‘material support for terrorism.’ Demand an end to the bogus investigation and unite against the growing wave of political repression. Stand with the anti-war 23, targeted Arabs and Muslims like the Holy Land 5, jailed people’s attorney Lynne Stewart and whistleblowers Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden.”

  • Students build for 7th annual Students for a Democratic Society National Convention

    Clarksville, TN – In just four weeks, progressive students from throughout the country are convening for the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) 7th annual National Convention at Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, Tennessee. The convention runs from Oct. 11 through Oct. 13. SDS will bring together new and old chapters as well as students from other progressive organizations. Featured at this year’s convention are hip-hop group and immigrant rights activists Rebel Diaz; Sara Flounders, a longtime leader of the anti-war movement; and Kait McIntyre, a lead organizer from the Chicago Anti-War Committee.

    SDS is the nation’s largest multi-issue student organization. It re-established itself in 2006 at the height of public outrage against the U.S. war on Iraq. Since its re-founding from the 1960s organization, SDS is building broadly amongst the student left, helping to lead mass campaigns against tuition hikes, school privatizations and student debt. SDS is the leading voice of the student movement against U.S. wars and occupations. SDS organizes against the U.S. war in Afghanistan, against the occupation of Palestine, in solidarity with the people of Colombia, and against drone warfare in the Middle East. SDS is now leading and participating in the ongoing campus protests against U.S. war and intervention in Syria. SDS has good relationships with anti-war groups, trade unions and other progressive-minded youth organizations, which will be represented at this year’s convention.

    On Oct. 12 there will be workshops and panels that reflect the campaigns and goals of SDS chapters. Sara Flounders, anti-war activist and co-director of the International Action Center, will speak on the ongoing wars, occupations and so-called ‘humanitarian interventions’ of the U.S. government. Speaking with Flounders will be Kait McIntyre, an SDSer with the Chicago Anti-War Committee which is one of the leading groups opposing U.S. intervention in Syria and which is currently building for a regional action, the Midwest Action Against Drones (http://midwestactionagainstdrones.wordpress.com). McIntyre says about the convention, “As students, much of the technology utilized by the U.S. to further its wars and fuel the military-industrial complex begins at our college research institutions. I believe the SDS Convention will offer student organizers the tools to take back their campus and demand money for education and human needs, not war and destruction across the globe.”

    Rebel Diaz will perform at the convention as well as hosting a workshop on Saturday called “Hip Hop and Immigration.” Rebel Diaz is a politically minded hip-hop group based out of South Bronx, New York. Their workshop will focus on the historic role of immigration, the criminalization of immigrants and youth of color, and hip-hop’s role and responsibility in defending immigrant rights. Rebel Diaz is performing the night of Oct. 12 on the Austin Peay campus.

    Other workshops will run through Saturday and part of Sunday, with topics such as abortion rights, overcoming problems with organizing through student governments, revolutionary organizing in America’s heartland, and the international student movement. These workshops are facilitated and led by SDS chapters, affiliate organizations and guests.

    Preston Gilmore, an Austin Peay SDSer and lead organizer on the SDS National Working Committee explains, “The SDS National Convention is of huge importance to the student movement. It allows all of us to learn from each other’s experiences and gain knowledge about how to synchronize our campaigns and build a national movement that unites students across the country. We are in a historical period where atrocities are being committed not only abroad, but also right here at home. From the murder of Trayvon Martin to the threat of U.S. war with Syria, students and young people are looking at the world they will be inheriting and are rising up to fight back. The convention provides an opportunity for us to meet each other. We will come together to build a more powerful movement together.”

    SDS is asking anyone interested in student organizing to register for the convention on the web at http://www.newsds.org/2013/6/3/all-out-2013-sds-national-convention-oct-11-13th. Some travel stipends are available, with housing, food and entertainment provided. A sliding scale registration fee is being asked, but no one will be turned away due to lack of funds.