Thus the Assad regime is pushing the country into sectarian civil war. With its marauding Shabiha militia it is lending political ground to armed sectarian forces backed by the Gulf States which search to retaliate in the same way and are calling for a foreign military intervention. The only way to avoid the scenario of sectarian civil war, which will mainly help Israel, imperialism and its Gulf proxies, is an all out popular revolution involving the broad masses engulfing all confessions. Therefore the latest strike movement shaking Damascus shows the way forward potentially marginalising the foreign backed Taqfirist sectarian forces. We fully recognise the right to armed self-defence against the regime’s repression but we still believe that the military escalation is to the … [read more]

When the Arab popular revolt toppled the western-backed tyrants in Tunisia and Egypt, electrified the oppressed masses across the Arab world and eventually reached Syria, we all hoped for a quick victory of the democratic movement. But soon the Assad regime revealed itself to be unable and unwilling to positively respond to the legitimate demands of the Syrian people for freedom and social justice. All promises for more rights turned out to be empty. The only answer has been severe repression, drowning the democratic movement in blood. Thousands have been killed, and tens of thousands injured or arrested. Nevertheless, the movement in the streets continued to peacefully face the guns of the regime for many months despite the utmost imbalance of force. Sooner or later there came … [read more]

Following the list of the first signatories of the International Solidarity Initiative for the Syrian People. • Leo Gabriel, journalist, social anthropologist and member of the International Council of the World Social Forum, Vienna, Austria • Moreno Pasquinelli, Anti-imperialist Camp, Assisi, Italy • Carlos Varea González, university professor and leading member of the “Campaign against the Occupation and for the Sovereignty of Iraq” (CEOSI), Madrid, Spain • Santiago Alba Rico, Spanish writer, resident in Tunis, Tunisia • Franz Fischer, Palestine activist and CC member of the Labour Party of Switzerland, Basel • Thomas Zmrzly, spokesman of “Initiativ e.V.”, Duisburg, Germany • Mustafa Ilhan, journalist, Kurdish activist, Aachen, Germany • Wilhelm … [read more]

The NCB supports the peace plan by Kofi Annan, as for the time being there is no other solution in sight. “The main obstacle for democratic progress is the violence which has already pushed the country on the brink of civil war. We need to stop it. Only then the popular movement can develop enough power.” Haitham Manna reproached the Syrian National Council (SNC) and the armed groups and said that they wanted to foil the Annan plan in order to further militarize the situation and to provoke a foreign military intervention – something which is categorically refused by his own organisation, the SCB. Some people close to the SNC at the meeting in Vienna replied that the SBC in this way saves the regime which has proved to be unable and unwilling to execute democratic reforms. The … [read more]

We nevertheless publish the manifesto of the ILC as it gives a good impression of the stage of discussion and elabouration in the mid 1990s which in one way or another paved the way to the AIC. Spring 2012 Part One 1. History The fate of mankind depends on mankind’s history. So far, this history had neither a straightforward trend nor a purpose of its own. Until the Russian revolution, unceasing and frequently catastrophic changes have affected only the form of social systems, not their content. Ever since the time when private property superseded community life based on the collective ownership of the means of production — something which made possible an egalitarian enjoying of the consumer goods produced by labour — all social systems have had a common foundation: the … [read more]

Thursday, August 23 Tunisia: political Islam, the left and the future of the democratic revolution Presiding: Daniela Di Marco • Ajmi Lourimi, member of the political leadership if the Islamic movement Enahda The left in crisis over Libya: the NATO attack and the civil war Presiding: Massimo De Santi • Hamza Piccardo, former leading member of the Union of Islamic Communities in Italy (UCOII), former spokesperson of the European Muslim Network, Islam online • Moreno Pasquinelli, speaker of the Anti-imperialist Camp Syria: democratic transition or civil war? Presiding: Wilhelm Langthaler • Haitham Manna, speaker of the National Co-ordination Body for Democratic Change (NCB) Friday, August 24 Greece: elections or revolution? Presiding: … [read more]

Jerusalem has been a centre of the three monotheistic world religions for more than 1,000 years. This plurality has been threatened since the creation of the state of Israel and more so with the occupation of east Jerusalem and its annexation, in violation of international law. Jerusalem’s Palestinian inhabitants are subjected to a continuous process of expulsion from the city. 85% of its territory has been robbed by foreign settlers, while the Israeli state systematically destroys the livelihood of Palestinians. Every day, the Apartheid state of Israel demolishes Palestinian homes. Armed Israeli gangs, supported by the state, terrorise the old city’s inhabitants demanding, “Arabs out, Jerusalem is Jewish!” Jewish religious fanatics even attack Jewish women if they don’t … [read more]

previous Additionally, given the continued overwhelming supremacy of imperialism there cannot be any doubt for our geo-politicians that whatever regime comes into conflict with the imperial centre must be supported – regardless of its relation to the popular masses. Tertium non datur! During the last two decades this geo-political position did not differ much from the social revolutionary one. Imperial power has been at its highest, unfolding ruthlessly and attacking resisting regimes that represented old gains of long-gone popular struggles. Outstanding examples were Yugoslavia and Iraq, where the popular masses essentially remained passive while only politically advanced sections supported the regimes’ resistance against imperialism. Popular resistance movements like those … [read more]

previous The Arab ancien regime The Middle East has always been a neuralgic point of the imperialist world system. To simplify: there is Israel and petroleum. It is not by accident that the Palestinian resistance continued while after 1989/1991 nearly all other popular movements against the imperial capitalist elites ceded. Under these extremely unfavourable conditions this continued resistance, however, suffered deformations. In the absence of mass movements there was militarism. The other deformation was culturalism tending towards sectarianism. Its highest expression was al-Qaeda type Jihadism with its gesamtkunstwerk [all-embracing, holistic artwork] 9/11. It could deal some important symbolic blows to imperialism but without the masses it could not win. The old Middle … [read more]

previous First stage: peaceful and anti-interventionist When the democratic movement in Syria started, inspired by the advances in North Africa, there was the hope for quick victory as with its precedents. But the Assad regime refused to take the same road as his homologues in Tunisia and Egypt. The succession of Assad junior had evoked hopes for reform, but they have been frustrated since. All during the last decade the Baath apparatus did not allow them. Why then should they do so now? The only strong explanation for this total inability to respond at least partially to the democratic mass movement is the sectarian Allawi character of the Baath regime encapsulating itself. As in the other Arab countries the Islamist forces played no driving role in this first stage of the … [read more]

While direct military imperialist intervention remains unlikely, mainly Turkey is projecting power onto Syria. Also military means can no longer be excluded within a medium term range. Turkish intervention is, however, limited by the political constraint to appear in line with the Arab spring, for which Ankara wants to serve as a model and take the lead. The Arab revolt comes in the context and is an expression of the crisis of the US-centred imperialist system, which is both an economic and political crisis. The new and decisive factor is the popular mass movement, which scattered the imperialist ancien regime in the region. Thus the US needs to re-organise their order. They essentially try to do so by embracing sections of the movement and by co-opting these sections into the US … [read more]

Their hunger is ours. Thus, a solidarity strike has been initiated by a group of Palestinian youth from within the Palestinian occupied territories 1948, from all factions and political groups. We declare an open hunger strike and sit-ins in the city of Haifa that will commence on Saturday October the 8th, in solidarity with the demands of the Palestinian captive movement, and with the fierce struggle against the occupation and its prisons. The aim of this step is to declare full support for the demands of the captive movement. The most important among those demands is complete freedom from captivity. In addition, we wish to raise awareness and recruit public and institutional support and for the prisoners and their suffering, and to prepare the ground for a genuine popular protest … [read more]

The dummies in the Bernard Henry-Levi show in Paris Organised by Bernard-Henry Levi’s magazine ‘Règles de Jeu’ [Play Rules], a conference of the ‘Syrian opposition’ was held on July 4th in the St. Germain cinema in Paris. The organiser, the character of the prominent participants from the French Elite as well as the speech contents lead to many questions regarding some Syrian opposition parties and groups and their link to the Western and, finally Zionist interests. Sponsored by the same Syrian industrial Brothers Sonqur who had sponsored the Antalya conference, hundred of Syrian political activists met in the third meeting of the Syrian opposition after the parallel conferences of Brussels and Antalya. Opponents of the Assad regimes were divided on the Paris … [read more]

Long night at the Tahrir In the night of 28-29th of June, the Tahrir Square and the city center witnessed renewal of street fights between the Egyptian activists and the returning hated troops of the Central Security. Confrontations began as a group of relatives of the martyrs of the uprising had been attacked by civilian-dressed persons and prevented from attending a commemoration for the martyrs. During the ceremony, it had been demanded that those responsible for the murder of more than 800 demonstrators answer to the account. The relatives of the martyrs, and hundreds of activists moved towards the Ministry of Interior. After intense dispute in front of the ministry, the demonstrators decided to retreat to the Tahrir Square. The demonstration was attacked by thousands … [read more]

Q: Who promoted the Antalya conference and what is its outcome? There have been already several different conferences of the Syrian opposition or parts of it. For example some of the Muslim currents organised their own events. The idea was to stop following separate agendas but to try to reach the broadest possible unity for democracy in Syria. The main promoters were the left and liberal forces around the Damascus Declaration (DD) but the attempt of unification worked out. Out of 31 members of the consulting committee 4 members each are from the DD,  Muslim Brotherhood, the Kurds (who are predominantly leftist) and the tribes. The remaining 15 are independent personalities including also all confessions.   Q: Reports said that Adbul Halim Khaddam and Rifaat al Assad were … [read more]

What we experienced, roughly speaking, was a boiling situation and a society in turmoil. The obvious attempt of the old regime to just get rid of its head and leave things as they used to be, has failed. The popular movement is in full swing and still growing. The first new accents in foreign policy, namely to soften the embargo on Gaza and to resume ties with Tehran, indicate a clear direction.Right after the fall of the dictator we used to speak of a bloc of the old regime which at least was able to set up the constitutional referendum of March 19. But two months later, this bloc is showing severe weaknesses and signs of disintegration. There have been some trials of former high-ranking officials, and further trials are looming. All need to embrace the “revolution”, including the … [read more]

Michel Martelly is closely associated with the extreme right in Haiti that twice overthrew elected government (in 1991 and 2004). He has vowed to reconstitute the notorious Armed Forces of Haiti, disbanded in 1995 due to its record of massive human rights violations (elements of which are in training and waiting for the call). He says that Haiti's economic and social development depends on convincing more foreign investors to set up shop. He told CBC Radio's The Current on April 7 that Haiti has been "going in the wrong direction for the last 25 years," a reference to the long and difficult struggle by the Haitian people to move beyond the terrible legacy of the Duvalier tyranny. The two-round electoral exercise that landed him in power was foreign-funded and inspired. The United … [read more]

Stop War on People! Withdraw the Central Forces! Scrap the Planned Army Bases in Bastar! Invitation to Public Meeting STOP ARMY ENCROACHMENT IN BASTAR! OPPOSE INDIAN STATE’S WAR ON PEOPLE! 3.00pm – 8.00pm, 21 May 2011 (Saturday), Gandhi Peace Foundation, DDU Marg, Near ITO The Indian state’s war on the people in the name of Operation Green Hunt (OGH) is about to complete two years. These two years have left a bloody trail of state brutalities. Soon after the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) started its second term in 2009, it was hell bent in repressing the people’s movements for their land, water, forests, and mountains. Thus it declared war against the people in the name of OGH. In the leadership of the central government, the state governments of Chhattisgarh, … [read more]

This clearance is given on the basis of compliance report made by the Odisha government which is factually and legally incorrect and misleading. Mr. Jairam Ramesh and the state government of Odisha disrespected the resolution of Palli sabha (Village council ) that opposed any handover of land to the proposed project. As per section 6 of the Forest Rights Act 2006 villagers of Dhinkia and Govindpur organised Palli Sabhas on 21st and 23rd of February 2011 respectively. We had sent the copies of the resolutions to the Odisha government authorities and the Environment Ministry for their information. The government authorities deliberately suppressed facts and declared in the government’s submission to the MOEF that such resolutions were fake and said that ‘only 69 and 64 … [read more]

*Scotland's elections shattered political mould - SNP triumphant *The pro-war and pro-Israel Labour, Tory and Lib Dem parties punished *SNP Leader Alex Salmond tried to impeach Tony Blair for war crimes in Iraq *Scottish Government offered open access to Scottish hospitals for Palestinian victims of Operation Cast Lead *Nationalist government must be pressured to match deeds with words Scotland's elections have shattered the political mould, battered every political party other than the SNP (Scottish National Party) and given us a nationalist majority in the Edinburgh Parliament. The voting system was expressly designed to prevent such an outcome. Unlike Palestinians, though, we do not expect to be punished severely for voting in a way that London disapproves of. The Labour, … [read more]