Tagged: Democratic rights
Abolish All Anti-Migrant Laws – Defeat Xenophobia!
The last week or so has seen a sudden change in the political atmosphere in Europe (including the UK) on migrants and refugees. A progressive shift seems to have happened, originating in part from below.
The bloody dead end of the Syrian Civil War, with both main forces, that of Assad and of Islamic State, engaging in atrocities and scaring the hell out of much of the civilian population, has augmented the already large numbers fleeing from Libya, bloody local dictatorships such as Eritrea, as well as other conflict zones derived from imperialism’s wars such as Afghanistan and Iraq and the Palestine/Israel conflict. Other major refugee flows around the world include the flight of Rohingya Muslims from racist/religious persecution in Theravada Buddhist Myanmar; though this is perhaps somewhat remote from immediate mass interest in Europe.
Support for Alison Weir
Introduction
This petition statement, defending Alison Weir against poisonous attacks by Jewish chauvinists on the left, has gained quite broad support. I am reblogging this from Louis Proyect’s Unrepentant Marxist blog.
To his great credit comrade Proyect, a socialist of more than 40 years standing, has publicised this case. Despite numerous differences with comrade Proyect on many questions, his courage in standing up for Alison Weir against the particularly virulent strain of ‘left’ imperialist chauvinism put forward by the gatekeepers of the Jewish-Zionist bourgeois caste within the imperialist bourgeoisies, is to be applauded.
It is a sign that the techniques of these psuedo-left ranting bigots, of purges, threats and abuse resembling Healyism are backfiring. These are directed against those who seek to analyse and discuss the peculiar AIPAC (and similar) phenomenon in the imperialist countries. It is good to see them coming unstuck on a broader level.
End the Smears against Steve Kaczynski
The item below was originally published as a letter in the Weekly Worker (11 June).
It is not entirely clear at this point what Steve Kaczynski is accused of, if anything at all. He does not seem to have been charged, but is rather being held without charge by the Turkish government, which has put about claims that he is either an agent of British, or German, intelligence, or perhaps both.
There is much about this case that it is not possible to take a position on. It is not possible at this point to know what, if any, involvement he may or may not have had with any adventurist or guerillaist actions that may have been taken by the Turkish Guevarist group, the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (or DHKP-C). However, the fact that the Turkish state (which is not actually ‘fascist’, notwithstanding the statement below) has not charged him, suggests they have no evidence of any such participation.
Blindness to Oppression, Taking a Dive on Democracy
The following leaflet was distributed at a London dayschool of HOPI this afternoon. A fuller report of some of the discussions at this meeting will be posted when time allows. But this content of the leaflet speaks for itself in terms of the politics of HOPI’s initators, the Communist Party of Great Britain/Weekly Worker.
This day-school of Hands off the People of Iran (HOPI) epitomises the politics of its initiators, the CPGB/Weekly Worker. A body dedicated to solidarity with the working class in Iran is in principle a good, if narrow, project.
The working class of the entire Middle East needs solidarity in many ways, against imperialist aggression and despotic and dictatorial regimes, pro-Western and ‘radical’. That Iran, not even its working class, but its ‘people’ is singled out as more deserving than elsewhere, reflects the CPGB’s ‘third camp’ ideology that treats ‘radical’ bourgeois regimes targeted by imperialism as co-equal with the imperialists themselves.
Support Rabina Khan for Tower Hamlets Mayor
The following statement was issued by Left Unity in support of the candidacy of Rabina Khan for the position of elected mayor of Tower Hamlets in the upcoming mayoral election, which takes place in less-than-democratic conditions in the context of what amounts to a racist coup against the elected Mayor and council of Tower Hamlets, led by the Tory/Zionist minister Eric Pickles.
Some political background on this anti-democratic coup can be found in the recent Communist Explorations leaflet on this, and further useful material is to be found in this article by the Trotskyist group Socialist Fight on the same events.
Defend democracy in Tower Hamlets
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Solidarity With Tower Hamlets Against Neocon/Zionist Coup!
The following leaflet was distributed at the ‘Reclaim Brixton’ event on 25 April
Ten years ago, the working class and oppressed of Tower Hamlets, including many of Muslim/South Asian migrant descent or background, struck an important political blow at imperialism and the Iraq War. They did this by electing George Galloway as MP for Bethnal Green and Bow in the 2005 General Election, for the left-wing anti-war RESPECT party.
That was very alarming to the rulers of this country, because Galloway had been expelled from Labour for taking a heroic position on the Iraq War, effectively calling for the Arab world to resist the Bush/Blair-led imperialist invasion by force.
Weekly Worker still refuses to condemn Galloway assault: bans criticism
The following letter was sent to the Weekly Worker on 29th March, in reply to a rather stunted and pathetic letter from CPGB member Phil Kent, published on 19 March. Weekly Worker editor Peter Manson initially promised to publish it, despite his attempt to ridicule its contents, but supposedly having ‘slept on it’ changed his mind and announced that it contained ‘nonsense’ that could not be published. See the whole exchange that follows the letter, which casts light on their motivation in refusing to print the letter, which is published below the letter itself in the interests of the ‘openness’ that the CPGB/WW falsely lay claim to. Continue reading
Zionist Hope Not Hate attacks Theresa May for being ‘soft’ on Muslim ‘radicals’
Reprinted below is a circular from the Zionist-dominated ‘Anti-Racist’ campaigning organisation Hope not Hate, to its contacts and supporters. The circular effectively attacks Theresa May’s Home Office for being too soft on ‘Muslim terrorism’, in failing to jail Anjem Choudary, the former leader of the now banned Islamist radical group Al Mujaharoun, who, though the organisation has been made illegal, makes no secret that he still shares and expounds the kind of views that he used to advocate before the ban.
The problem is that Choudary has not been convicted of any crime, even though he has been routinely arrested whenever there is any kind of panic over likely acts of terrorism. He has never been shown to have been actively involved in any illegal acts. Hope not Hate does not seem to care about this; it is a thinly-veiled call for an individual to be jailed simply for his political views.
Beyond Satire: Tory racists, French neo-connard bigots fake ‘anti-racism’ to crush free speech
Note: Hat-tip to The Electronic Intifada for some of the factual material included here
The British government’s blatant attempts to exploit the murder in France of the Charlie Hebdo staff and the other killings associated with it are both sinister in their implications, staggeringly hypocritical, and virulently racist in their own right. While Theresa May talks about the need to ‘wipe out anti-semitism’, David Cameron condemns the liberal Pope Francis as being too soft on Muslims who are outraged by pornographic depictions of Mohammad in Charlie Hebdo, and issues his own Downing Street encyclical on the ‘right to be offensive’ to Muslims (but not to Jews, obviously).
This reflects official practice: Muslim-baiting in this country has state-sanction, but not just bigotry against people of Jewish origin per se (which is reprehensible, but very marginal today), but also meaningful criticism of Jewish/Israeli racism against Arabs and Muslim people, or expressing appropriate, even though non-violent, anger against Israel and those who support it’s crimes against Arabs, is to be stigmatised and persecuted.
Communist Explorations 