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Freiheit für alle politischen
Gefangenen weltweit!
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{Libertad_projekte}
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 Solidarity Against State Repression!
5th NATIONWIDE DAY of ACTION - MARCH 18, 2000
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5th Nationwide Day Of Action - March 18, 2000
Solidarity Against State Repression!
Break The Silence!
Take The Initiative For The Freedom Of Political Prisoners!
We are calling on all leftist initiatives and solidarity groups to unite in the struggle against state oppression! Take part in the various actions on March 18th! Let's organize solidarity jointly for political prisoners and those facing repression!
Onto The Streets On March 18th!
As in past years, this day will be marked by protest actions in the form of street theater, prison rallies, demonstrations, and so on. We want to reach out to everyone affected by the destructive social conditions and everyone working for change. But a nationwide day of action alone won't gain us much. We know that. We also realize that
the unity of the left is not so broadly developed. But still, we think March 18th can become a Day of Solidarity and a political identification point for the left in Germany. The date of March 18th represents a conscious association with the history of class struggle in
Europe.
"Only Soldiers Can Stop The Democrats" was a popular slogan of the reactionaries forces in the past in Germany. On March 18, 1848, masses of workers, homeless people, starving citizens, and rebellious women were able to erect street barricades and push the Prussian army out of Berlin after a fierce struggle. What happened in the end is well known. Nothing came of this attempted revolution, and the army
and king eventually got the upper hand once again.
On March 18, 1871, it was the turn of the proletariat in Paris. By arming themselves, they chased the French government out of the city and began to organize their lives themselves. The first councilist republic in the world was born. But it lasted only a short time, however. The French government united with Prussian forces and attacked and defeated the Paris Commune. This bourgeois counter-revolutionary push resulted in 25,000 deaths.
In respect to the tradition of the Paris Commune of March 18th, the 4th World Congress of the Communist International decided on that date for an annual international day in honor of political prisoners.
The date was first marked on March 18, 1923, and the tradition continued until the fascists brought the practice to an end.
March 18th Is A Day Of Solidarity
One goal of this action is to fill this idea with life and create some joint activity. Solidarity is an answer to the increasingly perfected social system, in its various forms, such as:
- globalization, which seeks to guarantee a free flood of capital throughout the world, and which continually declassifies people into products and consumer objects;
- the inhumane and illegal war of aggression waged by NATO against Yugoslavia, which made an entire population fall victim to the interests of capital and hegemony; and the formation of the New Europe, which seeks benefits only for the ruling powers;
- "Fortress Europe", which has made it possible to repress people without borders by means of a European-wide repression apparatus.
"There Are No Political Prisoners" Says The State
The Cold War, the German Model, Reunification - in all phases of its development, there have been political prisoners in Germany. Members of the communist party KPD, imprisoned guerrillas and militants, Turkish, Kurdish, Tamil, or Palestinian leftists, draft dodgers, and
functionaries from the former DDR. The state's answer to organization and struggle for fundamental social change was and still is criminalization, repression, and imprisonment. At the same time, the state says: There are no political prisoners, only terrorists and criminals. Everything functions according to law and order, and if there's no applicable law on the books, then we'll make one: Lex
RAF, Lex PKK, and so on. The state sets the standards. Every act against the political and social order is transformed into a criminal deed. Depoliticization and criminalization, divide and conquer, the state's tactics of the past are still its tactics today. People who flee to the Western metropoles to escape hunger, torture, and war are
held in inhumane conditions before they are deported. They are not granted a right to a humane life. Instead, they fall victim to the effectiveness criteria of the Western European deportation machinery.
Society 2000: Preventive Counter-Revolution
There's no more RAF, and there's no more revolt on the streets: But the instruments of repression still form the basis of the expanding security and repression apparatus in the society, which is designed to halt any development of social and revolutionary struggles.
Stammheim no longer represents isolation and the death of political prisoners in Germany alone; the Stammheim model is today being exported to other countries. The recent prison uprisings in Turkey were aimed against the destruction of their prison collectives and the introduction of isolation detention. No charges were ever filed against prison staff involved in the murder of 12 prisoners in the summer of 1999 at Ulucanlar Prison in Ankara. Instead, plans are moving forward to introduce "Type F" prisons and "Europe Cells" in
the prisons. Here is a quotation from one Turkish Justice Ministry official: "Clean, bright, efficient. With a library, just like in Europe." The same goes in Chile or Peru: "Breaking The Silence!" was the motto of the guerrillas of the Peruvian MRTA who occupied the
Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima in attempt to win the liberation of their imprisoned comrades.
Starting Point
"Solidarity and compulsion are exclusive, and can't be cancelled like credit" said the hungersrikers from the RAF in February 1981, and the silence concerning the prisoners in the society is not just the result of 19 years having passed. Everything is different now: the conditions, internationally and in the society, the left, the state.
Things have become quiet around the RAF prisoners: A lack of speaking has characterized things both inside and out for the past few years.
Ideological positions, individualist decisions, and the helplessness of the left have resulted in Germany's political prisoners being out of the public eye and well above people's heads. There are still 6 prisoners from the RAF in prison in Germany, and 2 from the
Anti-Imperialist Cells. And recently, Andrea Klump was handed over to Germany from Austria and is now in Stammheim. Another 4 people are in prison due to treason, and they are being charged with membership in the Revolutionary Cells (RZ). There are still 32 anti-fascists in the
city of Passau facing charges under Paragraph 129a (forming a terrorist association). And 10 people have been charged under Paragraph 129a since last summer for anti-nuclear actions. And then there are the refugees in prison who are being deported every day, often to their deaths. This is Germany's back-door death penalty. Of course the largest group of political prisoners in Germany are the
hundreds of Kurdish and Turkish political prisoners. They are often put into isolation detention. Dozens of Turkish and Kurdish leftists are facing charges under Paragraph 129a for "membership in or supporting a terrorist/criminal organization".
Not Just March 18th - Taking The Movement Out Of Its Vacuum
"Resistance Is Futile, All Are Criminals" - that seems to be the social norm. Behind this is the desire to destroy all political connectedness: The denial of the possibility of emancipatory changes, as well as erasing from memory all of the struggles of the past decades. The one is inseparable from the other, and this makes the weakness of leftist politics in this country clear. But both make struggling for the freedom of the political prisoners a necessary starting point.
"Break The Silence - Take The Initiative!"
The usual leftist activity will not bring about any change with respect to the question of political prisoners. The past few years have proven that. By saying that, we don't mean to imply that comrades haven't been struggling to change the state of affairs. The international campaign to save the life of Mumia Abu-Jamal is proof that people all over can be mobilized for political prisoners. Mumia
Abu-Jamal, a journalist and former Black Panther member, has been on Death Row for over 18 years and is threatened with execution in the USA. Up until now, the international solidarity movement has been able to prevent his execution. But we need to raise the intensity of our protest - also to save Abdullah Ocalan, who was kidnapped by an international intelligence agency joint venture and taken to Turkey
where he is threatened with execution.
We must struggle for political space, not just on March 18th, to make as broad an opening as possible to inform people about the reality of political prisoners and their conditions in German prisons. Every initiative counts! This also requires long-term organizing, the building of means of communication within the left, in the society, and internationally, in order to struggle together with the political prisoners to win their freedom.
One criteria for this is that solidarity is indivisible and is a two-sided relationship! Of course, that doesn't mean we should not be critical. But we should seek to be united, instead of sorting through the ideologies to find our own political preferences. If we become divided on this point, we will lack any basis to become a relevant resistance. In the future, let us remember: In the face of state repression, we mustn't act as individuals, we must act together!
Solidarity Is Indivisible - Every Initiative Counts!
Solidarity With The Anti-Fascist And Anti-Nuclear Resistance!
The Prisoners From The RAF Must Finally Be Released!
Against The Ban And Criminalization Of The PKK And The DHKP-C, As Well As Other Exile Organizations! Stop The Criminalization Of "Alleged" Members And Supporters!
Abolish The Death Penalty - Freedom For Mumia Abu-Jamal And Abdullah Ocalan!
Onto The Streets!
Contact address:
Libertad!
Falkstrasse 74
60487 Frankfurt
Germany
(Translated by Arm The Spirit)
Suchwörter: 18.Maerz :
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Dokument veröffentlicht am 18.03.2000 um 13:46 Uhr durch admin
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