¡Defiende a los jóvenes trans! 12 Personas LGBTQ2S+ y prisiones 12

Workers and oppressed peoples of the world unite! workers.org Vol. 63, No. 22 June 3, 2021 $1

U.S. behind detention of Venezuelan diplomat Release Alex Saab!

By Sara Flounders country, they are considered not susceptible to lawsuit or prosecution under any country’s laws. Sara Flounders is part of a humanitarian delega- U.S. sanctions on Venezuela, Iran and 37 other coun- tion to Cabo Verde, led by Bishop Filipe Teixeira of the tries are illegal, violating international law and the U.N. Diocese of Saint Francis of Assisi, Catholic Church of the Charter. Aimed at destabilizing a country through eco- Americas. The delegation has tasked itself with expos- nomic sabotage, sanctions create famines and shortages ing the U.S. role in the kidnapping, torture and deten- in essential supplies in order to target civilians. tion of Alex Saab. The extradition request is entirely illegal, because there is no extradition treaty between the United States Nearly a year ago, on June 12, 2020, Alex Saab was and Cabo Verde. Cabo Verde is an underdeveloped coun- pulled off a plane after the U.S. demanded his arrest, try whose population of 561,000 is spread over 10 volca- during a refueling stop in the Republic of Cabo Verde, nic islands and which imports 90% of its food. a small and very poor island archipelago nation off the West Coast of Africa. U.S. targets Venezuela Saab, a Venezuelan diplomat to the African Union, The U.S. has attempted to stop shipment of any sup- was on a humanitarian mission to Iran at the time of his plies to Venezuela for years and has especially targeted a seizure to arrange emergency shipments of food, medi- direct, house-to-house, food delivery program, called the cines and essential supplies for Venezuela. Held in Cabo CLAP Program. This U.S. economic terrorism deprives Verde since then, Saab was held for months in prison in Venezuelans of food. total isolation and darkness and has been tortured. The U.S. has long-standing charges against Alex Saab Alex Saab’s case has received international coverage, If the U.S. government can win its demand to extradite for his continuing diplomatic role of purchasing essential especially African news media and a great deal of attention Alex Saab to the U.S., Washington could be emboldened supplies for Venezuela, calling his work “money launder- in Venezuela, but in the U.S. corporate media, there has to seize, charge and extradite anybody anywhere. This ing.” In March, however, after three years of investiga- been almost no coverage. (See Venezuela’s orinocotribune. kidnapping is a chilling reminder of the notorious U.S. tions, Swiss prosecutors found insufficient evidence to com, May 21) Plans for a large international campaign to program launched in 2001 of secret rendition and disap- prosecute Saab. defend Saab are being urgently prepared. pearances of hundreds of people worldwide, some held The bogus charge against Alex Saab, as well as sim- Saab never worked in the U.S., never lived in the U.S. for years without trial. ilar cases against North Korea’s Mun Chol Myong and and was involved in no transaction that included the U.S. That Saab is a credentialed diplomat makes this viola- China’s Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, involve indi- Every aspect of Saab’s seizure and abusive treatment vio- tion of internationally guaranteed diplomatic immunity viduals engaged in perfectly legal international trade, not lates international law. ominous. Although diplomats may be expelled from a Continued on page 10

From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free! 6-7

▶ March on Washington ▶ Global class impact ▶ Being an ally ▶ Israeli occupation, disability Washington, D.C., May 29.

A year after George Floyd, fight police terror! Ama-zen? 4 Cleveland 2 Seattle 4 Alabama mine strike 4 Oakland 9 Editorial Victory for ICE detainees Reparations NOW for Black Tulsans! 10 LGBTQ2S+ incarcerated workers Right to human connection 8-9

Syria 3 China 3 South America 5 Pakistan 5 France 10 Belarus 11 Greece 11 Page 2 June 3, 2021 workers.org

Another police murder protested ‘We’re here for Vincent’ this week By Martha Grevatt ◆ In the U.S. East Cleveland, Ohio Another police murder protested ...... 2 Alabama miners’ strike continues ...... 4 A cross section of Cleveland area community activists turned out May 31 to express solidarity with the family Tacoma, Wa. killer cops arrested after protests . 4 of 18-year-old Vincent Belmonte, killed Jan. 5 by East Amazon’s ‘despair closets’ ...... 4 Cleveland cops. Police stopped him while he was driving Palestinians, allies bring struggle to D.C. . . . . 6 his partner to work, chased him and shot him in the back On supporting the Palestinian struggle . . . . .7 of the head. They then smeared Belmonte’s character, por- traying him as a carjacker although he was driving a bor- ‘Good riddance’ to Ohio ICE detention center . . 8 rowed car. LGBTQ2S+ people overrepresented in prisons . . 8 Belmonte’s killer Larry McDonald, whose nickname is End privatization of prison mail! ...... 9 PacMan, is known as a “dirty cop” with a violent reputation. Oakland’s struggle against police brutality . . . 9 The action opened with a land acknowledgment by Chrissy Stonebraker-Martinez of the InterReligious ◆ Around the world Task Force on Central America and Colombia. Speakers included Kareem Henton of Black Lives Matter Cleveland, U.S. behind detention of Venezuelan diplomat . .1 WW PHOTO: SUSAN SCHNUR Mariah Crenshaw of Chasing Justice, Brenda Bickerstaff East Cleveland, Ohio, May 31. Syria’s elections: statement from observers . . .3 New Cold War against China and the ‘lab leak’ . .3 of Safer CLE and Antoine Tolbert of New Era CLE. “We’re here for Vincent,” said Henton. South American masses battle rightist regimes . 5 Members of the Belmonte family and their attorney — and Pakistanis’ resistance to state violence . . . . . 5 members of other families whose loved ones were murdered Palestine’s impact on class struggle worldwide . .6 by Cleveland and local suburban police — all gave powerful Israeli occupation and disability justice . . . . .7 statements at the rally and along the route of the march that followed. Some plugged Safer CLE’s ballot initiative effort to French unions respond to housing crisis . . . .10 create an independent body to monitor police misconduct. U.S., EU threaten Belarus, defend neo-Nazis . .11 The rally site was chosen for its proximity to the place Greek workers respond to defend 8-hour day . 11 where unarmed Malissa Williams and Timothy Russell were chased by 62 patrol cars from Cleveland and five ◆ Editorial other local police departments Nov. 29, 2012. In the infa- mous “137 shots” incident, they were murdered in a hail of Reparations NOW for Black Tulsans! . . . . . 10 bullets fired into their vehicle. Witnesses to the May 30, 2020, violent Cleveland police ◆ Noticias en Español attack on a demonstration demanding justice for George ¡Defiende a los jóvenes trans! ...... 12 Floyd spoke about their experiences one year ago. Personas LGBTQ2S+ y prisiones ...... 12 WW PHOTO: SUSAN SCHNUR The crowd stayed engaged, in part thanks to local Black Members of Vincent Belmonte’s family demonstrate for Lives Matter activist and candidate for Cleveland City justice, East Cleveland, Ohio, May 31. Council Aisia Jones, who chaired the rally. ☐

Workers World 147 W. 24th St., 2nd Fl. Join us in the fight New York, NY 10011 Phone: 212.627.2994 for socialism! E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.workers.org Workers World Party is a revolutionary Marxist-Leninist and trans people are gunned down by cops and bigots on Vol. 63, No. 22 • June 3, 2021 party inside the belly of the imperialist beast. We are a mul- a regular basis. Closing date: June 2, 2021 tinational, multigenerational and multigendered organiza- The ruthless ruling class today seeks to wipe out tion that not only aims to abolish capitalism, but to build a decades of gains and benefits won by hard-fought strug- Editors: John Catalinotto, Martha Grevatt, Deirdre socialist society because it’s the only way forward! gles by people’s movements. The super-rich and their Griswold, Monica Moorehead, Betsey Piette, Minnie Capitalism and imperialism threaten the peoples of the political representatives have intensified their attacks on Bruce Pratt world and the planet itself in the neverending quest for the multinational, multigender and multigenerational Web Editors: ABear, Harvey Markowitz, Janet Mayes ever-greater profits. working class. It is time to point the blame at—and​ chal- Prisoners Page Editors: Mirinda Crissman, Ted Kelly Capitalism means war and austerity, racism and repres- lenge—the​ capitalist system. sion, attacks on im/migrants, misogyny, LGBTQ2S+ WWP fights for socialism because the working class Production & Design Editors: Gery Armsby, Mirinda oppression and mistreatment of people with disabili- produces all wealth in society, and this wealth should Crissman, Ted Kelly, Sasha Mazumder, Scott Williams ties. It means joblessness, increasing homelessness and remain in their hands, not be stolen in the form of capi- Copyediting and Proofreading: Paddy Colligan, impoverishment and lack of hope for the future. No social talist profits. The wealth workers create should be socially S. Hedgecoke problems can be solved under capitalism. owned and its distribution planned to satisfy and guaran- Contributing Editors: LeiLani Dowell, G. Dunkel, The U.S. is the richest country in the world, yet no one tee basic human needs. K. Durkin, Sara Flounders, Teresa Gutierrez, Joshua has a guaranteed right to shelter, food, water, health care, Since 1959, Workers World Party has been out in the Hanks, Makasi Motema, Gloria Rubac education or anything else—​unless they can pay for it. streets defending the workers and oppressed here and Wages are lower than ever, and youth are saddled with worldwide. If you’re interested in Marxism, socialism Mundo Obero: Teresa Gutierrez, Carlos Vargas seemingly insurmountable student debt, if they even and fighting for a socialist future, please contact a WWP Copyright © 2021 Workers World. Verbatim copying make it to college. Black, Brown and Indigenous youth branch near you. ☐ and distribution of articles is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved. Workers World (ISSN-1070-4205) is published If you are interested in joining Workers World Party contact: 212.627.2994 monthly by WW Publishers, 147 W. 24th St. 2nd Fl., New York, NY 10011. Phone: 212.627.2994. Subscrip- National Office Bay Area Central Gulf Coast Philadelphia tions: One year: $36; institutions: $50. Letters to the 147 W. 24th St., 2nd floor P.O. Box 22947 (Alabama, Florida, Mississippi) P.O. Box 34249 editor may be condensed and edited. Articles can be New York, NY 10011 Oakland, CA 94609 [email protected] Philadelphia, PA 19101 freely reprinted, with credit to Workers World, 147 212.627.2994 510.394.2207 610.931.2615 W. 24th St. 2nd Fl., New York, NY 10011. Back issues Cleveland [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] and individual articles are available on microfilm and/ [email protected] or photocopy from NA Publishing, Inc, P.O. Box 998, Atlanta Boston Portland, Ore. Durham, N.C. Ann Arbor, MI 48106-0998. PO Box 18123 284 Amory St. [email protected] 804 Old Fayetteville St. Atlanta, GA 30316 Boston, MA 02130 A searchable archive is available on the Web at Durham, NC 27701 Salt Lake City 404.627.0185 617.522.6626 www.workers.org. 919.322.9 970 801.750.0248 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] A headline digest is available via e-mail subscription. Austin Buffalo, N.Y. Subscription information is at workers.org. Houston San Antonio [email protected] 335 Richmond Ave. P.O. Box 3454 [email protected] Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y. Buffalo, NY 14222 Houston, TX 77253-3454 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to 716.883.2534 West Virginia 713.503.2633 Workers World, 147 W. 24th St. 2nd Fl. [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] New York, N.Y. 10011. workers.org June 3, 2021 Page 3

Syria’s elections ‘The legitimate, democratic expression of the Syrian people’ Statement from the International witnessed Syrians cast secret ballots in poll- interference. For them, Delegation to the 2021 Syrian ing places where monitors from opposition the presidential elec- Presidential Election parties were present alongside election offi- tion was a referendum cials, in accordance with the Constitution of on the right of the This independent delegation was the Syrian Arab Republic. We saw nothing Syrian people to deter- assembled to witness the May 26, 2021, to indicate unfairness or coercion in the mine their own future. presidential election in Syria and to inves- casting of ballots. It is the unani- PHOTO: JOHNNY ACHI, ARAB AMERICANS FOR SYRIA tigate on-the-ground conditions of Syrian We also conducted extensive interviews mous conclusion of Members of the International Delegation to the 2021 Syrian life in the current period. Activists and with members of the Syrian general pub- the undersigned rep- Presidential Election, Damascus, May 24. journalists from Palestine, Syria, South lic. We were not inhibited in any way from resentatives of the Africa, France, Canada and the United conducting these interviews and could International Delegation to the 2021 Syrian Movement, Ramallah, Palestine States joined this delegation at the invita- freely do so outside the presence of gov- Presidential Election that the reelection Mpho Masemola, Secretary General, tion of the Syria Solidarity Movement and ernment officials. of President Bashar al-Assad, of the Arab Ex-Political Prisoners Association Arab Americans 4 Syria. This joint state- We overwhelmingly found that Syrian Socialist Ba’ath Party and the National of South Africa (EPPA), Member, ment summarizes our findings on the elec- people place tremendous significance on Progressive Front, is the legitimate, demo- Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), African tion and what it means for Syrians. this election. During and after the election, cratic expression of the Syrian people. National Congress military wing we observed huge enthusiasm. It appeared Johnny Achi, E.E., Co-founder, Arab On election day, our delegation trav- genuine and widespread. For many Ted Kelly, International Action Center, Americans for Syria eled to neighborhoods that had been out- Syrians, the election represents the immi- Co-editor, “Tear Down the Walls” Daniel Kovalik, Adjunct Professor side of government control when the last nent ending of the war, the defeat of foreign Wyatt Miller, Minnesota Anti-War of International Human Rights, presidential elections took place in 2014. plots and hope for the future. For young Committee, U.S. University of Pittsburgh School of Law Notably, we visited polling places in the people, it encapsulates the first period of Kobi Guillory, Co-chair, Chicago Alain Corvez, Adviser in international towns of Arbeen and Douma in the hard- relative stability they have experienced Alliance Against Racist and Political strategy, France hit Eastern Ghouta region southeast of in their living memory. Many expressed Repression Rick Sterling, Journalist, U.S. Damascus, where residents are returning that they were not simply casting votes for Amal Wahdan, Coordinator, Paul Larudee, Retired Academic and and beginning to rebuild their homes, some their preferred candidate, but for a sover- One Democratic State Assembly Unretired NGO Administrator and after years of seeking refuge elsewhere. We eign, unified Syria, free from imperialist Steering Committee, Syria Solidarity Piano Technician ☐

‘Lab leak’ conspiracy signals New Cold War against China By Joshua Hanks the virus could take a long time. The ori- So the current wave of inter- gins of most Ebola virus outbreaks remain est in the conspiracy theory is Shortly after the Dec. 30, 2019, unknown, and it took scientists 14 years to not due to any new evidence. An announcement by the Wuhan Municipal discover the route SARS took from bats to undisclosed document from an Health Authority that a dangerous new civets to humans. (nature.com, May 27) anonymous former Trump admin- Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan in China’s respiratory infection had been detected The exact origin of the COVID-19 virus istration official is hardly a bomb- central Hubei province. in the Chinese city, conspiracy theories remains unknown, a year and a half after shell, and the accusation that began to spread faster than the novel it was first described—​but that doesn’t Wuhan Institute of Virology research- it later escaped or was deliberately released. coronavirus itself. make the lab-leak conspiracy theory any ers were sick in November 2019 was When the novel coronavirus’ spread One which is receiving renewed atten- more likely. addressed months ago by a World Health became known in Wuhan in late tion claims the virus was created at the Now, over a year since the conspiracy Organization investigative team that trav- December 2020, Shi and her team imme- Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) and was theory began to gain traction among far- eled to China earlier this year. diately began testing patient samples either leaked or deliberately released. This right politicians and media outlets, it’s Dr. Marion Koopmans, a virologist and found that five of seven patients had conspiracy theory, supported only by wild still spreading—​and not just in right- with the WHO team, told NBC News on genetic material common to all corona- speculation with no hard facts, represents wing tabloids. The Biden administration March 11 that “there were occasional ill- viruses. Tests were repeated, and sam- one part of a broader offensive by the U.S. and liberal-leaning corporate media are nesses, because that’s normal. There was ples were sent off for a full genomic government against China, one which looks lending it credence. nothing that stood out.” She added that sequence, which was completed in just more and more like a new Cold War. It is On May 25, the Jeff Bezos-owned the number of researchers who reported 40 hours—​this process generally takes supported by both U.S. capitalist parties, Washington Post (a regular critic of the cold-like symptoms was “maybe one or weeks—and​ immediately uploaded to the which aim to indefinitely preserve Western Trump administration) ran a headline: two. It’s certainly not a big, big thing.” A U.S. National Center for Biotechnology imperialism’s grip on the global order. “Fact check: How the Wuhan lab-leak the- few researchers reporting cold-like symp- Information database Jan. 5. The first tweet mentioning the lab- ory for pandemic origin suddenly became toms in late autumn is not a smoking gun Meanwhile, Shi reviewed her lab’s leak conspiracy came Jan. 5, 2020, from credible.” On May 30, CBS News inter- for the virus’ source. records to check for any mishandling of @GarboHK, a self-described “British- viewed Scott Gottlieb, introducing him as Several other members of the WHO team materials, especially during disposal, and HongKonger” who regularly retweets a former Food and Drug Administration disputed the reportage from papers such whether any of the samples her team had figures like Trump’s former secretary commissioner “who sits on the board of as the New York Times, which has accused brought from mines or caves matched those of state, Mike Pompeo. “Today the evil Pfizer,” without noting that he was a former China of obstructing the team and lacking of the new coronavirus. Everything came regime strikes again with a new virus,” Trump administration official taking full transparency. Peter Daszak, a British zool- back normal, and no samples matched. his tweet read in part. It also blamed the advantage of the “revolving door” between ogist on the team, said on twitter: “[t]his “That really took a load off my mind. I had 2002 SARS outbreak on China. Washington and the corporate world. was NOT my experience on @WHO mis- not slept a wink for days,” she said. So far, A few weeks later, on Jan. 23 the Daily Gottlieb claimed in the interview that sion. As lead of animal/environment work- no lab in China has found samples of the Mail chimed in. This British tabloid, with despite “an exhaustive search” for an animal ing group I found trust & openness w/ my novel coronavirus in its inventory. a notable right-wing bias and of dubious that could have spread the virus to humans, China counterparts. We DID get access Yet these facts do not deter those com- credibility, nevertheless enjoys Britain’s “We have not found such an animal.” to critical new data throughout. We DID mitted to attacking China. A change in highest circulation. It is a textbook exam- Much of the renewed interest in the increase our understanding of likely spill- leadership in Washington has only given ple of how privately owned media operate “lab leak conspiracy” revolves around over pathways.” new life to the lab-leak conspiracy, while under capitalism. two articles recently published in the Wall Nearly a year ago, the magazine Scientific the Biden administration keeps in place a Far-right politicians in the U.S., includ- Street Journal. One referred to an undis- American published an extensive article “coronavirus fact sheet” hastily issued by ing Sen. Tom Cotton and former Trump closed document from an anonymous offi- on June 1, 2020, detailing the work of Shi the State Department during the Trump officials Mike Pompeo, Steve Bannon and cial, who allegedly served in former U.S. Zhengli, a leading researcher at the WIV. In administration’s last days. At the time this Peter Navarro, quickly jumped on the con- President Donald Trump’s administra- 2016 she was part of a team investigating a “fact sheet” was released in late January, spiracy theory bandwagon. Navarro once tion; this nebulous source claimed three mine where six miners had come down with Secretary of State Pompeo was busy telling faked a source in an anti-China book he WIV researchers were sick in November a respiratory illness and two died. While reporters that Trump would be the next authored. (New York Times, Oct. 16, 2019) 2019. The second article alleged Chinese researchers identified coronaviruses in six president, despite having lost the election. Many scientists and health experts authorities had stopped a journalist from bat species inhabiting the mine, a fungus However, while Democrats attack con- around the world roundly rejected the entering an abandoned mine, where WIV was identified as the source of the miners’ servatives for supporting the “Big Lie” lab-leak conspiracy theory when it first researchers had recovered coronaviruses illness. Conspiracy theorists assert, without that Trump won the 2020 election, they appeared, noting that a natural origin is from bats in 2012. The researchers have evidence, that they actually had the novel seemingly embrace the false accusations far more likely. If previous epidemics are long maintained that none of the viruses coronavirus, which the researchers sam- made against China. ☐ any indication, finding the exact origin of were SARS-CoV-2.” (nature.com, May 27) pled and brought back to the lab, and that Page 4 June 3, 2021 workers.org

Alabama miners’ strike ‘We are Union!’ By Minnie Bruce Pratt strikers on bullhorns called out by name and Liz Schuler, sec- Centreville, Ala. the scabs who were crossing the picket retary-treasurer of the line: “Get out from behind the truck, D__! AFL-CIO. May 31—In​ Brookwood, Ala., the 1,100 Come back where we can see you!” Mine In 2016 the min- miners of United Mine Workers (UMWA) worker unionization in Central Alabama ers accepted a drastic Local 2245 are entering the ninth week of has a tradition of Black and white worker $6-an-hour pay cut and a strike begun April 1 against Warrior Met organizing that goes back 100 years, in sacrificed health ben-

Coal. The company has refused to meet defiance of state segregationist law and efits to bring the com- PHOTO: KIM KELLY the miners’ just demands, and the bosses policy. pany out of bankruptcy. Striking miners in Brookwood, Ala., sit in to block scabs at brought in nonunion workers to replace A group of miners sat down in the road Management prom- Warrior Met Coal Mine #7. the strikers. Business Wire describes to block the entrance; eleven were even- ised the cuts would be Warrior as “the leading dedicated U.S.- tually arrested. One miner said, “We don’t restored once the business was solvent. But when the miners demanded res- based producer and exporter of high qual- feel like we’re breaking the law, when this In a 2020 end-of-year statement toration of their pay and benefits, the ity metallurgical (‘met’) coal for the global company is trying to destroy our people.” Warrior CEO Walt Scheller said: “Despite company offered a contract with only a steel industry.” (Feb. 24) (perfectunion.us) the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on met $1.50-an-hour increase and kept in place Three hundred striking workers When those arrested were released coal demand and pricing worldwide, we brutal discipline and firing policies. The marched to Mine #7 on May 25 to con- later in the day, they joined a union rally were pleased to be cash flow positive company contract offered nothing to front the strikebreakers, chanting, “We in progress, where speakers included Cecil again in the fourth quarter and nearly improve unsafe working conditions. After are Union! UM doesn’t break!” Black Roberts, UMWA international president, break even for the year.” walking out, the miners voted 1,006 to 45 to reject the company offer. The miners labor in one of the world’s most life-threatening workplaces. The Brookwood mines are 1,400 to 2,100 feet Killer cops arrested after protests underground—​some of the deepest ver- tical-shaft coal mines in North America. By Jim McMahan the scene, in the same In 2001, methane gas explosions and a Seattle manner as George cave-in at one of the mines killed 13 work- Floyd. Paramedics ers, including a former high school class- After more than a year of protests, insisted that the cops mate of this writer. Coal is extracted in the on May 27 Washington State Attorney get off him, but Ellis Warrior Met mines with highly mechanized General Bob Ferguson announced fel- died at the scene. “longwall” machines. Dire physical risk is ony charges against three Tacoma cops His last words were, omnipresent, including methane gas explo- for the brutal murder of Black resident “I can’t breathe, sir.” sions, strata failure that shears limbs, dust Manuel Ellis. The murder of Ellis that permanently damages lungs, longwall The cops—Mathew​ Collins, Christopher by Tacoma cops took mechanisms causing head and neck inju- Burbank and Timothy Rankine—​were place on the Tacoma ries, and deafening machine noise. taken to Pierce County Jail. Collins and city line late at night The company’s hard line, which is keep- Burbank face second-degree murder March 3, 2020, two ing experienced miners out of work, is and first-degree manslaughter charges. months before the also having a damaging impact on the sur- Rankine is charged with first-degree murder of George Tacoma, Wash., July 10, 2020. rounding environment, as inexperienced manslaughter. Floyd. It took 450 days picket-line crossers are expected to run The arrests very much reflect national and several bogus police investigations for Ellis’ mother, Marcia Carter-Patterson, complicated machinery. Nelson Brooke year-long protests against the police the cops to be arrested. The whole case expressed disappointment that more cops with Black Warrior Riverkeepers says a murders of George Floyd, Breonna might have been shelved by lying cops on the scene weren’t criminally charged. polluted wastewater discharge smelling of Taylor and many others, as well as the and civilian officials had it not been for The community is watching to see if the chemicals is now flowing into local creeks demands of the Ellis family and the the earthshaking movement for George charges against the cops are followed up from Warrior Met. These are creeks where anti-racist movement of the Seattle- Floyd and so many other people of color. by prosecution. children of the workers swim in the sum- Tacoma region for justice. More and more, families and loved ones of Tacoma Action Collective, a Black mer. Brooke says the Alabama Department Ellis, after temporarily stopping traffic those murdered by cops are emboldened community organization, has called for of Environmental Management should while walking across the street, had been to come forward and fight back. “Justice for Manuel Ellis” throughout immediately shut down Mine #7 and issue quickly assaulted by cops, led by Burbank When she participated in Black Lives the last year. A huge portrait of Ellis has a cease-and-desist order to the company. and Collins, who knocked him to the Matter protests, Manuel Ellis’ sister, been painted on a building in Tacoma’s (abc3340.com, May 3) ground. They then “choke-holded” him, Monet Carter-Mixon, came across three historic Black community, and a com- Weekly solidarity rallies are being held shot him several times with taser darts people who had taken video of her broth- munity garden in his name has been at Tannehill State Park. Community sup- and hogtied him with his wrists shackled er’s murder. The videos showed Ellis built and maintained at the intersection port, including fundraisers and a food to his ankles. He was forcibly held face “wasn’t even resisting,” according to one where he was killed. ☐ pantry, is helping the striking miners and down under pressure, with 20 cops on videographer. their families keep going. ☐ Workers need unions–Amazon offers ‘despair closets’

By Betsey Piette now have a place just pause and task” system, where workers are constantly where they can piss regroup.” surveilled and penalized with docked pay, Just when it seemed impossible for in a bottle in peace” “Working Well” for every second taken away from produc- Jeff Bezos and other Amazon bosses to be (a reference to the is supposed to pro- tion time. Workers unable to maintain the any more clueless and insensitive toward company’s suggested vide workers with inhumane, robotic pace risk termination. their workforce, the company introduced “option” for delivery “physical and men- The union drive raised the lack of ade- “Ama-Zen,” a wellness-isolation box for workers denied time tal activities, well- quate time for warehouse workers to employees. to use bathrooms). ness exercises and leave workstations to get water or to go While the company touts these tiny Overall, the thou- healthy eating sup- to the bathrooms—​which are often the cubicles as “self-care” spaces for ware- sands of comments port.” However, the length of football fields away from their house employees to “focus on their mental denounced this company’s hype workstations. As for Amazon’s videos, and emotional well-being,” thousands of union-busting com- Ama-Zen — designed “to recharge the fails to mention many voiced concerns that they will just Amazon workers, responding to a video on pany’s latest action internal battery.” how overworked be more company propaganda trying to Amazon’s boxes released on Twitter May as dystopian—and workers, on their badger workers to go against union drives. 26, mocked them as “despair closets” and another example of how workers are feet for 10-plus-hour shifts and constantly By offering coffin-size boxes for use compared them to prison solitary confine- treated like robots. The company actu- in motion, would ever have time or energy during nonexistent breaks, management ment cells. (youtu.be/LUX2bLZ3acg) ally refers to these boxes as a way “to help for this program. only exposes their contempt for workers. One major problem with the $300 workers recharge their internal batteries.” While it may sound good, nothing in One comment suggested “Amazon has million “Working Well” program is that In a press release introducing their Amazon’s statement addresses the on-the- introduced the ‘Ama-Zen’...to distract Amazon’s overworked warehouse employ- “interactive kiosks” May 17, the company ground reality raised by workers during from the fact that they busted a union- ees are not given enough time to even states: “During shifts, employees can the Bessemer, Ala., Amazon union drive ization effort in Alabama.” Amazon CEOs “momentarily escape” from their jobs. visit Ama-Zen stations and watch short earlier this year, including the lack of ade- know that unionized Amazon workers One Twitter feed comment described these videos featuring easy-to-follow well-be- quate break times and the dehumanization with collective bargaining power would chambers as “Mental health porta potties.” ing activities, including guided medi- of workers’ labor. Key issues included the fight for and win genuine workplace Another suggested: “At least the employees tations, positive affirmations... [and] unrelenting pace set by Amazon’s “time off improvements. ☐ workers.org June 3, 2021 Page 5

Colombia, Brazil, Chile Masses battle rightist regimes By John Catalinotto of workers who—​​allied with the youth, the Indigenous Minga, the middle classes Ongoing struggles in three South and the peasant masses—​​have focused American countries show the general the current movement on the terrain of uprising that began in 2019 is still chal- the dispute for power to dislodge from the lenging right-wing ruling groups that had vital points in the regime of domination, resumed control of governments. the oligarchic clique that appropriates the A look at events in Colombia, Brazil and national wealth.” Chile demonstrate that the struggle contin- This heroic struggle has awakened sup- ues. Up to this point, the axis of the mass port among organizations worldwide that movement has been to remove the right- speak in the name of the working-class wing ruling groups controlling the govern- revolution. Some 28 such organizations, ments. It has not yet reached the level of an including Workers World Party and the open attempt to smash state power—​​t h e Party of Liberation in Argentina, recently army, courts and police that the ruling oli- signed a statement expressing “sympathy garchy in each country controls. toward the Colombian people, with special “Bolsonaro out!” Ten thousand demonstrated in Rio de Janeiro, May 29. respect and value for the mass of youth Colombia − repression and resistance who are on the first line of street fighting. de Janeiro alone—​showed signs calling voters are ready for. A general political strike that began And our greetings in solidarity with com- Bolsonaro’s actions “genocide.” The May 16 elections, however, reflected April 28 has put ruling circles in bative social and political organizations, The leftist organizations and student the changes in consciousness brought Colombia in turmoil for over a month, who are committed to the uprising before movements calling the protests distrib- about by more than a year and a half of as it has drawn more and more sectors of talking with Duque, looking for parliamen- uted protective masks and disinfectant street actions. Argentine analyst Atilio Colombian society into activity. News and tary or electoral advantages. gel and called on the demonstrators to Boron wrote in his May 19 article in analysis from progressive media in the “As well as condemning Duque’s cur- keep their distance. lahaine.org, “Finally on Sunday [May 16] South American region oscillate between rent repression, we also repudiate the Bolsonaro’s approval ratings are cur- the result was a categorical triumph for the reporting President Iván Duque’s brutal repression against social leaders and for- rently the worst since he took office on left and a crushing defeat for the right.” military repression and documenting the mer demobilized guerrillas, as this totally Jan. 1, 2019, and recent polls show that Fewer than a third of the seats went courage of Colombia’s mass movement in broke the 2016 Peace Accords signed former President Luis Ignacio “Lula” da to right-wing parties, which means these continuing to defy this repression. with the FARC-EP—​​the regime never Silva would outpoll him by about 55% to parties will be unable to veto changes to According to a report in resumen- signed an accord with the ELN.” [Both 34% in a 2022 election. Bolsonaro won the fascist-era Constitution. Boron called latinoamericano.org May 29, during the FARC-EP and the ELN were organi- the 2018 election only because a conspir- it “the worst election of the right wing the month of strike actions, Colombia’s zations engaged in guerrilla war against acy involving the Brazilian judiciary put since 1965.” police—​​especially the fascist ESMAD the rightist regime.] Lula in prison and disqualified him from “There were other equally emblematic or anti-riot cops—​​and right-wing death This is only one of many such state- running for president or even campaign- defeats,” wrote Boron, “such as the one squads killed at least 69 people, wounded ments condemning the Colombian ing for the Workers Party (PT) candi- experienced in a traditional (and strate- many more and disappeared between 89 regime, its position as lackey to U.S. date. Lula has since been vindicated and gic) bastion such as the Mayor’s Office and 346 people. imperialism and defending human rights released from prison. of Santiago, no less, which elected Irací Along with this repression, as the in Colombia. Hassler, a young communist who defeated writer Fernando Rubio in lahaine.org Chile − constitutional elections the incumbent Felipe Alessandri, grand- acknowledges in his recent article: “For Brazil − Bolsonaro out! In Chile, popular street actions have son of the conservative former president the first time in the history of the nation, a In more than 200 cities of Brazil, thou- been taking place since October 2019, Jorge Alessandri, who had run for reelec- general political strike focuses on paralyz- sands of demonstrators demanded the and in mid-May these led to surprising tion. Or the overwhelming victory of Daniel ing the economy and ceases to be a mar- impeachment of President Jair Bolsonaro, electoral results throughout the country. Jadue, communist mayor of the commune ginal protest phenomenon, to challenge whom they accuse of criminally mismanag- Often in revolutionary street actions—​ of Recoleta, north of Santiago, who won and strike at the central core of oligarchic ing the Corona pandemic crisis, which has which in Chile, as in Colombia, the state with 65% of the votes and is emerging as domination. already killed at least 460,000 of Brazil’s has met with brutal repression—​the one of the best positioned pre-candidates “This process puts in a strategic place 211 million people. Photos of protests—​​ more active sectors of society, often the for the presidential election to be held in the working class and the rest of the mass which reached over 10,000 people in Rio youth, go far ahead of what the masses of November of this year.” ☐

Pakistan Resistance to state violence continues By Tania Siddiqi Mutasireen Committee. On KBT members arrived, KMC employees May 18, affectees were able told them that KMC was at Gujjar Nala On the Muslim holiday Eid to secure a stay order until to clean the drains. However, demolition Al-Fitr, Gujjar Nala and Orangi June 1. While this was a vic- workers hired by KMC informed KBT that Nala residents, known as tory for the people, the state they were there to demolish homes. affectees, established a protest responded with horrific acts After blatantly lying to KBT and violat- camp outside of the Karachi of violence. ing the court order, KMC began aggres- Press Club to draw attention KBT reported that during sively yelling at KBT members, shouting to the ongoing demolitions of court proceedings, at least that KMC members—​government offi- poor peoples’ housing taking three homes were being cials—were​ not answerable to the people. place in Karachi, Pakistan. At demolished near Moosa The state then threatened to arrest a KBT the demonstration, protesters Colony, Gujjar Nala. (KBT’s member for filming the state’s intimida- connected their struggle with Instagram, May 18) That tion tactics. Other KBT organizers formed struggles against state-sanc- PHOTO: KARACHI BACHAO TEHREEK night KBT reported that a human chain around him and fought for tioned terror taking place else- May 17, protest outside of Supreme Court, Karachi. Younis, a 32-year-old man, his safety. where in the world. was barbarically murdered After the May 26 events, the KBT One affectee, holding a Palestinian the Orangi Nala and Gujjar Nala, the by Sindh police during a drug raid near issued a statement that they expected an flag, stated that Israel’s occupation state continues its attempt to dispossess Gujjar Nala. The police operation included escalation in KMC’s brutality targeting of Palestinian land, the demolition of the people, while the people continue to a baton charge, which led to a stampede. In affectees, activists and KBT’s legal team. Palestinian homes and systemic attacks resist this state violence. order to protect himself, Younis attempted They called for solidarity and support to against the Palestinian people are similar Orangi Nala and Gujjar Nala affect- to run away, but fell into the Nala. “The ensure that workers’ homes remain pro- to the government and corporate entities’ ees, along with progressive organizations police then crushed his skull by throwing a tected. (KBT Instagram, May 28) acts of terror targeting Karachi’s poor including the Awami Workers Party- [large] rock at him.” (KBT Twitter, May 19) For those of us in the Global North, workers. He explained how Israel’s bar- Karachi and Karachi Bachao Tehreek Abid Asghar, President of Gujjar Nala who reside at the center of the imperial- barity against Palestinians is like Bahria (KBT), protested outside of the Supreme Mutasireen Committee, was brutally ist empire, now more than ever we must Town and the Sindhi government’s dis- Court Karachi Registry during a hear- attacked May 24 for his involvement in engage in international acts of solidar- placement of Orangi and Gujjar Nala res- ing May 17. They sought to maintain a resisting demolitions along the Organi ity and generate strategies and tactics to idents—​oppressors inflicting violence court-ordered stay that would suspend and Gujjar Nala (streams). Days before strengthen our alliances with worker-led against the oppressed for the sake of the government’s demolition of affectees’ Asghar’s attack, the home of Shakeel, grassroots organizations around the world. occupying and controlling land. (Fawad homes. another member of the Mutasireen Solidarity with Orangi Nala and Gujjar Hazan’s Tweet, May 13) That same day, Pakistan Peoples Party, Committee, was set on fire. Nala affectees, Gujjar Nala Mutasireen Since Workers World last reported the dominating political party in Sindh, Amid growing state violence against Committee, Awami Workers Party- on Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s ransacked Awami Workers Party-Karachi’s resisters, KBT members went to Gujjar Karachi, Karachi Bachao Tehreek and (KMC) “anti-encroachment” (gentrifica- office, used by KBT for meetings and orga- Nala May 26 to document the state’s vio- all who dare to struggle against state vio- tion) drive against people residing near nizational work and by the Gujjar Nala lations of the court’s stay order. When lence! Let’s build a workers’ world! ☐ Page 6 June 3, 2021 workers.org Palestinians, allies bring struggle to D.C. By Minnie Bruce Pratt were killed, including 66 children and 39 women, and 1,910 were wounded, accord- Many thousands of people demon- ing to the Health Ministry in Gaza. strated for Palestine May 29 in Rockets of the Israeli forces—​fired Washington, D.C., calling for an end to from the protection of the “Iron Dome” U.S. aid to Israel and a global grassroots funded by the U.S.—​wreaked massive campaign to #SanctionIsrael for its unre- destruction on the already devastated lenting violation of Palestinian rights and infrastructure of Gaza. The Biden admin- occupation of Palestinian lands. The pro- istration is currently proceeding to license test was called by American Muslims for $735 million in weapons sales to Israel, Palestine and the U.S. Council of Muslim despite public outcry as well as unprec- Organizations, and it was endorsed by edented opposition from some members more than 100 organizations of diverse of Congress. constituencies. Jinan Shbat, national organizer for As people converged on the Lincoln the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Memorial, speakers demanded the U.S. Committee (ADC), noted the significance A massive crowd rallied for Palestine at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, government sanction Israel for its deadly of pro-Palestine actions in the U.S. in D.C., May 29. attacks on Palestinians, including the war terms of the size and diversity of a crowd crimes committed during its latest attack that included Jewish, African-American the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian administration that we as Americans will on Gaza. During the Israeli May 9-20 and other ethnic and religious groups. people,” she said. “We came today so no longer be complicit in funding these military assault, at least 254 Palestinians “For so long, our tax dollars have funded we can say it loud and clear to this atrocities.” (Arab News, May 30). ☐ Palestine’s relationship to class struggle worldwide By Larry Holmes statements but to turn those statements we used to call working-class internation- into actions. And the U.S. workers have a alism, where the goals of the imperialists The excerpted remarks are from special role in this. mean nothing. We are against them [the a May 27 webinar: “From Palestine The Israeli apartheid state is more than imperialists]. The objectives and goals of to Alabama—​The Revolutionary the racist oppressor of Palestinians and a global working-class movement include Transformation of the Working Class—​ Arabs; it’s a bulwark of U.S. imperialism. all the oppressed people, have no bound- A Conversation with Larry Holmes,” Its tanks, its weapons, its bombs are paid aries, no geographical boundaries, no sponsored by Workers World Party. for by the U.S. And so we in the U.S. have language boundaries, not even cultural Holmes is WWP’s First Secretary. Go to an extra responsibility. And the U.S. labor boundaries. As important as culture is, tinyurl.com/23u6b5he to see the entire movement must now feel the hot global that has to be the direction. program. pressure to reverse its longtime, sad That’s what the Palestinian response Larry Holmes WW PHOTO: LIZA GREEN unfortunate position of supporting the to this latest aggression has reminded This is such an auspicious occasion reactionary racist state of Israel. me of, what this new Intifada is showing with the tremendous developments in not only in large numbers but thousands us, whether it’s supporting the uprising Palestine. It had felt like the repression of protests all over the globe—​Europe, Self-determination means or the Black Lives Matter struggle, which of the U.S.-backed racist Israeli state had Asia, Latin America, Africa, South Africa, breaking with imperialism is so important. paralyzed the movement and even had an the Middle East, the United States—but​ It is not up to the oppressor, to the Remember what was happening a year impact on the solidarity movement. also the size of these demonstrations in imperialists, to the colonial colonizer to ago; it was a global rebellion by the millions But what we’ve seen in the month of the tens of thousands if not hundreds of determine who negotiates or who rep- happening in Seattle; Portland, [Oregon]; May is nothing short of a revolutionary thousands of people. resents the national liberation struggle of as well as Minneapolis and all over the revival of the Palestinian Liberation strug- a people—​it’s up to the people. And this country, in London and other places. gle, in a way that on many levels is unprec- Palestine electrifies the world tremendous powerful unity amongst the Workers’ assemblies on Palestine edented. Because, in addition to the brave This revival of the struggle of the Palestinian people, manifested through a resistance of Hamas soldiers fighting with Palestinian people in such a strong united general strike, shows that they’re united. It’s our job to fight, to strategize, to plan inferior weapons against the tanks and the way, demanding an end to the apartheid The Israelis want to be recognized as the to work with others to see that this strug- planes and the bombs that the Israelis are Israeli state, may be the struggle that official representatives of the Palestinian gle has an anti-capitalist character and also supplied with by the U.S., Palestinians had wakes up the workers people. The unity on has a class character, which means calling a general strike [on May 18]. and the oppressed of But what we’ve seen the ground is so over- on unions, on the labor movement, to This is the first of its kind, not only in the world—because​ it whelming that the hold work stoppages in solidarity with the the occupied territories of Gaza and the appears to have elec- in the month of May Palestinian people are struggle against racism, so that it is known West Bank, but even in the Arab commu- trified the workers and is nothing short of a even thinking about that this is a class struggle. nities inside Israel. the oppressed every- that. They’ve demon- If we don’t do this, then we know what It’s the first general strike joined by where. And the anal- revolutionary revival of strated where the will happen one way or another, even millions, supported by the Palestinian ogy with the struggle the Palestinian Liberation power lies. after tremendous uprisings with millions General Labor Federation, by other of the people of the As for the workers, of people militantly taking the streets and unions and by community organizations. United States, par- struggle, in a way the workers’ move- shutting shit down. As that unravels and And this brought into this resistance ticularly Black and that on many levels is ment, the U.S. labor slows down, the message will be usurped struggle—against​ this new violent Israeli Brown people against movement and for by the Democrats. The only way that you attack on the Palestinian people—​differ- racist police terror, is unprecedented. Because, the left, we’re improv- can stop that is if the struggle, more and ent social forces and gave the liberation obvious. in addition to the brave ing based on some more, takes on an anti-capitalist and struggle a class character. That’s what a It is the obligation, of the statements in class character. general strike does: ratchet the struggle the revolutionary duty resistance of Hamas solidarity with the We’re going to have to come up with up a couple of notches. of communists, and all soldiers fighting with Palestinians coming a strategy for labor in relationship to The world on both sides of the class those who are in the from various unions, showing maximum solidarity with the barriers is paying a lot of attention to class struggle, to help inferior weapons against various radical trade Palestinian people and their just libera- it. Maybe we are being a little equivocal lead ultimately toward the tanks and the planes unions. They’re a good tion struggle. because we have to see what happens worldwide socialist start, but they can only I’ve raised the wisdom of having a now. This very well may be the beginning revolution. In order and the bombs that the be viewed as a start. workers’ assembly in solidarity with of the third Intifada of the Palestinian to make that real, we Israelis are supplied with Ultimately, every Palestine. Maybe because of COVID, it people, on top of what happened 20 have to support the struggle is a continua- still needs to be a virtual event. But peo- years ago when then-Gen. Ariel Sharon national liberation by the U.S., Palestinians tion of a struggle that ple can strategize and see if it’s safe for offended the Palestinians by going to the struggles. And none is had a general strike must move to a higher something on a local or regional level, to Al-Aqsa Mosque, and then what hap- more important than and higher level. The be face to face. pened approximately 13 years earlier the struggle of the [on May 18]. aim of our struggle But wrapping our heads around the with the first Intifada. Palestinian masses, with respect to the prospects and the timing for a national And this could be the biggest Intifada. their liberation forces labor movement, how- workers’ assembly in solidarity with It seems there is more unity and more against the racist, apartheid Zionist state ever you define that in this country, is to Palestine, as a planning session with solidarity by millions of Palestinians and and its occupation. break with U.S. imperialism—​period! trade unionists and workers, to map out a Arabs in the occupied areas and around The workers have to support that—​just Break with being associated with or sup- strategy that pushes the labor movement the Middle East. And to my recollection, like they need to support the uprising porting U.S. imperialist policy in relation in the right direction—​maybe that’s there’s never been more international against the police here in this country. And to Palestine, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, not the most important thing. But until solidarity. it’s our job as revolutionary communists Latin America and all over the world. someone can think of something better, One has never seen so many protests, to do whatever we can, not only to make That’s the only solution, and it’s what I think it should be on the table. ☐ workers.org June 3, 2021 Page 7 On supporting the Palestinian struggle By Olujimi Alade and Sabra is that they spent the past year The Associated Press, in Gaza City exploiting righteous outrage at the uptick May 15. Being a recovering liberal, May 2021 of state-sanctioned violence against Black With all this violent repression, might have possibly been the most and Brown people in the U.S.—​while Palestinians are fighting an uphill important month in my entire life. Seeing aiding state-sanctioned violence in the battle to get their voices heard. revolutionary theory put into practice Gaza strip. They were doing business What you can do as leftists in the by attending a rally on May Day and with companies that are bankrolling the U.S., or in the West in general, is the #SaveSheikhJarrah rally May 15 has Israeli army, creating a biometric ID sys- feature the reporting and work of really inspired me to invest more deeply tem that Israel uses to restrict Palestinian Palestinian journalists as much into political organizing. movement, or they were just looking the as possible. And it is extremely The May 1 events enabled me to get a other way while Palestinians are being important to find Palestinian first-hand view of how the capitalist sys- oppressed daily. (tinyurl.com/7xdxxwkc) content creators and boost their tem affects the lives of the working class, We can’t allow these charlatans to get visibility as well by giving them young and old. Witnessing speakers from away with continuing their exploitation a shout-out whenever you can. all walks of life talk about how the U.S. of people outside U.S. borders by down- With more respresentation in the economic system has wrecked their lives playing their exploitation within U.S. bor- mainstream, Palestinian authors, really hit home to this recent college grad- ders. Now that the younger generation is journalists, creators, etc. will be uate, who has to pay the bills by working starting to realize the realities of systemic afforded the ability to showcase WW PHOTO: TONI ARENSTEIN in the service industry. oppression, it can send a real message to themselves and their humanity and Protest for Palestine in Brooklyn, N.Y., May 15. As great as the May 1 event was, it seemed the capitalist class by hitting them where with this visibility win more people to be missing something. The problem was it hurts the most: their pocket books. over to their vital struggles. is equivalent to $236 billion in 2018 dol- that I didn’t know what, until I attended the Another way to be an ally is by boost- lars, making Israel the largest cumulative #SaveSheikhJarrah rally two weeks later. ing the voices of Palestinian people. As Fight Zionist propaganda recipient of U.S. assistance since World While hearing stories from the U.S. a major backer of the Israeli state, the In addition to amplifying Palestinian War II. (tinyurl.com/c9vcud9b) proletariat was necessary for my political U.S. and its media outlets have a vested voices, it is important for us as Western In contrast, Palestine is coming off development, I needed to hear the class interest in painting Israel in the best light leftists to fight back against bad-faith debilitating sanctions that have left it with struggle from beyond the borders of the possible while demonizing the Palestine propagandists anywhere and in any way an unemployment rate of 52% and a pov- wealthiest country in history. I needed to Liberation Organization, Hamas and we can. With the future of Palestinian erty rate of around 53%. (nbcnews.com, witness the fervor and passion of activists other Palestinian leaders. communities like Sheikh Jarrah hang- May 1, 2019) With such dire circumstances resisting the clutches of U.S. imperialist A study conducted by the Canadian ing in the balance, we can’t afford to have facing Gaza residents, it is necessary for hegemony. I found this at the rally for Research organization 416Labs uncov- irrelevant squabbles over political ideol- workers in the imperialist countries, who Palestine on May 15. ered just how slanted in Israel’s favor U.S. ogies. What is important is making sure are better off by comparison, to contribute Marching from Rittenhouse Square all media coverage has been. The five major the fallacious fearmongering of the Ben financially to the Palestinian cause to the the way to the Philadelphia Art museum, U.S. newspapers—​​​Chicago Tribune, Shapiros, Richard Spencers and Michael best of our ability. along with thousands of other people, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Knowles of the world isn’t affecting popu- Even if we don’t have the discretionary inspired me to be the best ally I could possi- Washington Post and Wall Street Journal—​​​ lar opinion and discourse about the strug- income to donate, we can certainly boost bly be for the oppressed and marginalized, have cited Israeli sources over 2.5 times gle for Palestinian liberation. Palestinian organizations that are in need not just in the United States but all over the more than Palestinian sources and have We must be intrepid in our stances of assistance. It is important, however, world. Starting with #SaveSheikhJarrah published stories centering Israeli peo- and bold in our dismantling of spurious that we donate exclusively to commu- and Palestine liberation as a whole, I will ple four times more than those centering assertions about Israel’s alleged victim- nities and organizations led and run by use my privilege as a Western leftist living Palestinians. (The Intercept, Jan. 12, 2019) hood. This present moment is an oppor- Palestinians themselves. Just like with the in the imperial core to extend my solidarity With that kind of biased reporting, tune time for leftists and revolutionaries Black Lives Matter movement that picked to all people seeking self determination. I myself once bought into the lie that of various persuasions to unite and rally up steam last year, there will be compa- Palestinans were a dangerous threat to behind a noble and just cause. nies, corporations and other like-minded Concrete solidarity Israel’s peaceful settlement. Palestinian Lastly, we need to contribute mate- actors who will exploit the Palestinian By reading articles and listening to voices are not only being silenced through rially to the survival of Palestine and its cause for their own fame and wealth. videos by Palestinian activists, I learned the press, they’re being silenced on the people. In addition to spotlighting Israeli Always make sure you know exactly whom several ways to be a great ally to the ground: Since 2000, the state of Israel voices, the U.S. has been contributing to you’re donating to and which charities Palestinian cause. The first one is to boy- has been responsible for the murder of the settler-colonial project known as Israel and organizations you’re boosting. cott corporations and companies that 46 Palestinian journalists. With the whole for a long time. As of 2020, the U.S. has If we all do our due diligence, we can do are complicit in Israel’s oppression of world watching, Israel bombed a building provided Israel with over $146 billion in our part in giving Palestinians the sup- Palestinians. The sad part about com- housing at least 17 local and international military, economic and missile “defense” port they need in order to continue their panies like Ben and Jerry’s, HP, Puma media outlets, including Al-Jazeera and funding. Adjusted for inflation, this amount valiant fight. ☐

Abolition and Disability Justice Collective Solidarity with Palestine statement

From Workers World Party’s Disability Justice and Israeli settler colonization is a disability justice issue Rights Caucus: that underscores the urgency of abolition and its inter- The Abolition and Disability Justice Coalition nationalist dimensions. Israel routinely maims and (abolitionanddisabilityjustice.com), which issued the traumatizes Palestinians, using money, weapons and (following excerpted) wonderful statement of solidarity policing tactics from the U.S. and Canada, among other with Palestine, describes itself as “abolitionist psychiat- settler-colonial states. ric survivors, people with disabilities and their accom- Israel has systematically targeted and killed disabled plices. We believe in and work toward the liberation and nondisabled Palestinians, and Israel’s ongoing vio- of all.” It subscribes to the 10 principles of a leading lence is uniquely disabling for children and Palestinians disability justice organization, Sins Invalid, the first of all ages. Disability is spatially concentrated in the of which, Intersectionality, quotes Audre Lorde: “We refugee camps and in Gaza because of the violence of do not lead single issue lives,” and adds “Ableism, cou- the occupation, and there is a “layering” of disablement, pled with white supremacy, supported by capitalism, especially in Gaza, as the numbers of disabled people underscored by heteropatriarchy, has rendered the vast increase with every act of warfare on an already overbur- majority of the world ‘invalid.’” (The complete state- dened infrastructure…. (icph.birzeit.edu) PHOTO: MUSTAFA HASSONA ment is online at workers.org.) Israeli police have brutalized and killed countless dis- A Palestinian disabled man throws a stone with a slingshot The Disability Justice and Rights Caucus of Workers abled people with impunity. Police also cause injuries towards Israeli forces during a “Great March of Return” World Party changed our name last year from the and trauma with these technologies, resulting in the demonstration at the Israel-Gaza border, Sept. 6, 2019. Disability Rights Caucus because of the vanguard role disablement of negatively racialized people. Within the of the Disability Justice Movement. We join with the 1948 lines we have seen an intensification of racialized Palestinians with disabilities are less likely to be able ADJC, Sins Invalid and the Autistic People of Color police violence against Palestinian citizens of Israel…. to escape the buildings that Israel bombs in time to save Collective in their solidarity with the Palestinian people. Israeli restrictions on the movement of people and their lives. Palestinians with disabilities are less likely to goods...prevent disabled Palestinians from gaining be able to stand in long lines to get through checkpoints The Abolition and Disability Justice Collective con- access to aids like wheelchairs, prosthetics, hearing aids, to access a hospital, school or loved ones…. demns Israel’s most recent massacres of Palestinians medications and more…. Due to chronic power outages We bear witness to the latest wave of atrocities as they and its ongoing occupation and settler colonization of in occupied Palestine, people often lack light to com- continue to unfold, and we say ‘No more!’ Disability jus- Palestine. Disability justice cannot exist under settler municate using sign language, cannot use equipment tice requires solidarity with Palestine. [A list of 10 spe- colonialism, military occupation, imprisonment and powered by electricity to move or breathe and cannot cific demands is given here.] Abolition and apartheid apartheid. We write this in support of the Palestinian dependably keep life-sustained medications at required cannot coexist. There is no disability justice under mili- struggle for freedom, dignity and self-determination. temperatures. … tary occupation. Palestine must be free. ☐ Page 8 June 3, 2021 workers.org Ohio ‘Good riddance’ to ICE detention in Butler County By Martha Grevatt spouses are legal residents, and collaborating with state abolition groups their children were born here. “My to fight intolerable county jail conditions, Ohio immigrant rights daughter cries every single day,” which people incarcerated by the criminal organizations and attorneys said Diawara. injustice system also face. Justice will not held a virtual press confer- Speakers credited the “bravery be served if people without documents ence May 28 to announce and courage of the people who are are merely transferred to other horrible a win: Immigrants will inside,” like Lam and Diawara, for facilities — or if they are deported. no longer be subjected to sending out letters about jail condi- “Ohio is not a place where we want the deplorable conditions tions, which led to a lawsuit. Rather to detain immigrants,” said Danya of detention at the Butler than refraining from subjecting Contractor, with the mutual aid group County Jail, in Hamilton. detainees to an inhumane situation, Ohio Immigrant Visibility. The two Organizers are demanding notoriously racist Butler County remaining county jails in Ohio that con- Immigration and Customs PHOTO: OHIO IMMIGRANT ALLIANCE Sheriff Richard K. Jones ended the tract with ICE are Geauga County in Enforcement release every- Third International Human Rights Day protest outside Butler county’s contract with ICE. Chardon and Seneca County in Tiffin. County Jail, Dec. 10, 2020. one detained in the jail. Lynn Tramonte, representing Technically, anyone who has been in Abdoulaye Lam and the Ohio Immigrant Alliance, said, the U.S. since at least November 2020, Demba Diawara, who were later deported complained of stomach pain, they were “We say good riddance.” Previously ICE and is not deemed to pose a risk to the to Mauritania, gave prerecorded testi- not allowed to see a nurse. ended its arrangement with the Morrow community, is legally eligible for release. mony about the abusive treatment they “This is something I will never, ever County Jail, where 100% of those incar- However, immigration attorney Brian were subjected to in the jail. Prison forget,” Lam said. Diawara demanded: cerated had contracted COVID-19 after Hoffman pointed out that this is nearly guards beat them and called them racial “Shut down this jail!” being denied face masks, soap and imple- impossible to prove before a judge with- slurs. The food served was “horrible.” Lam and Diawara had spent many mentation of social-distancing measures. out an attorney. Only 14% of migrants in They were not given clean clothes. There years in the U.S. and had small busi- Similar victories have been achieved in ICE detention have attorneys, and the were no hot showers, and the building nesses in the community before being Georgia and Massachusetts. percentage is even lower in some states. was unheated in the winter. When they arrested and ultimately deported. Their Immigrant rights activists are Abolish ICE! Free them all! ☐

LGBTQ2S+ people Overrepresented in prisons By Mirinda Crissman of color, and many have disabilities. used to confine, isolate and punish There are no data on Two-Spirit many LGBTQ2S+ folks. Because At every stage in the criminal injustice Natives incarcerated. However, accord- of the material conditions faced system, LGBTQ2S+ people are overrep- ing to the Appeal, South Dakota leads by LGBTQ2S+ individuals, many resented, including within the juvenile the country on jail admissions based on find themselves with high rates of justice system. arrests for nonviolent crimes, and Native depression, anxiety and suicidal According to the Prison Policy people account for the majority of all ideation. In this context, someone Initiative, this is true from arrest to sen- arrests in that state. needing mental health care can end tencing to incarceration to probation to “In South Dakota, the people who are up confined for an indefinite stint parole: “In 2019, gay, lesbian and bisexual arrested and admitted to jail are dispro- in a hospital under strict surveil- individuals (with an arrest rate of 3,620 portionately Native. Although Natives lance—​experiencing something per 100,000) were 2.25 times as likely make up 8.7% of South Dakota’s popula- more like punishment than help. to be arrested than straight individuals tion, they are roughly half of those booked (with an arrest rate of 1,610 per 100,000). into jails in the state. Racial disparities in Shared struggles, This disparity is driven by lesbian and incarceration rates exist nationwide—​ abolition, liberation bisexual women, who are 4 times as likely Black people are jailed at more than 4 Liberation for those oppressed to be arrested than straight women (with times the rate of white people—but​ dis- based on their gender or sexual an arrest rate of 3,860 per 100,000 com- parities in South Dakota are far greater: orientation means envisioning and pared to 860 per 100,000). Meanwhile, According to data from the Vera Institute building a world without prisons, “We reject hate crimes legislation, ‘gender- gay and bisexual men are 1.35 times as of Justice, Natives between the ages of 15 jails and migrant detention centers. responsive’ prisons, and all other measures that likely to be arrested than straight men and 64 are incarcerated at 10 times the These structures do not keep people use gay rights rhetoric to expand the systems (with a rate of 3,210 arrested per 100,000 rate of white people in South Dakota.” safe from violence, but perpetuate that murder and imprison us. We are in solidarity compared to 2,380 per 100,000).” (The Appeal, Sept. 18, 2019) violence rooted in the origins of against a prison industrial complex that targets people of color, immigrants, queer and trans (tinyurl.com/LGBTQbehindbars) these institutions on this continent. Roots of oppression people, sex workers, and poor people. We believe Incarceration rates reflect the discrim- Prisons, jails and detention in queer imagination and transformative justice inatory trends of the arrest rates, with Gender-based oppression and oppres- centers in the U.S. evolved from to build a new world based on liberation and queer women facing the brunt of dis- sion based on sexual orientation have enslavement of African people. interdependence.” proportionality. They, along with trans their roots in the rise of private property Enslavement legally codified Black — Art and Caption by T. Boucher women—​whose sexual orientation may and capitalism. These oppressions have people as property. During the shift overlap with queer identity or not—tend​ similar roots as other class-based oppres- from slavery to the system of con- to have the least amount of data to show sions like race and disability. vict leasing to today’s mass incarcera- capitalism—​is not simply a negation. It what is happening to them. Oppression based on gender and sexual tion, there have been continuously shared is a generative project that requires col- “Once behind bars, trans people face orientation is maintained through various struggles to abolish these institutions that lective building. extremely high rates of harassment and social enforcements such as, but not lim- are based on profiting on people. This means building up social sup- physical and sexual assault, are fre- ited to, criminalization and the structure Now the fight has turned to ending the port for LGBTQ2S+ youth within fam- quently denied routine health care and of the nuclear family. These tactics rely profit-making prison-industrial complex ilies, schools, communities and other are at high risk of being sent to solitary on the punishing power of imposed iso- and abolishing the legal status of capital- institutions; eliminating discrimination confinement. Black and Pink found that lation, confinement and imprisonment. ist private property. Abolition also means against LGBTQ2S+ people in housing, 44% of transgender, nonbinary gender Overrepresentation of LGBTQ2S+ peo- the end to borders and criminalization of employment, and other realms; elim- and [Indigenous] Two Spirit [people] in ple in the criminal legal system is largely migrants, who are simply workers and inating homelessness, for housing is a their sample were denied access to hor- due to obstacles LGBTQ2S+ youth face oppressed people seeking to find a place human right; ending criminalization of mones they requested.” (Prison Policy after fleeing abuse and lack of acceptance they can survive. sex work; and providing free, gender-af- Initiative) at home. In order to survive, many are Societal organization based around firming health care for all. This high percentage of LGBTQ2S+ pushed toward drug sales, theft and sex meeting human needs can and must LGBTQ2S+ people’s liberation is people persists in prisons, jails and work—​which dramatically increase the be built in the wake of the afterlife of bound to the struggle for Black liberation, migrant detention centers and interlocks risk of arrest and confinement. enslavement. just as it is bound up with the struggle for with other oppressions based on race, dis- Up until 1973, the American Many of the reasons LGBTQ2S+ peo- disability justice. Our liberation is bound ability and income. Data demonstrates Psychiatric Association listed homosex- ple end up being held in prisons, jails to the struggle against settler colonialism that Black, Latinx and Indigenous people uality in its Diagnostic and Statistical and detention centers could be alleviated and capitalism at home and around the are locked up in numbers incredibly dis- Manual (DSM). That medical defini- first and foremost by abolishing capital- world. proportionate to their share of the popula- tion—​and the assumptions that contin- ism. This project of abolition—​whether No cages! No borders! We will accept tion. Many LGBTQ2S+ people are people ued even after it was delisted—has​ been it be prison abolition or the abolition of nothing less.☐ workers.org June 3, 2021 Page 9 End privatization of prison mail! By mYia X and Phebe Eckheldt primarily about expanding profit opportunities for pri- communicate with their incarcerated loved Boston vate companies while simultaneously placing undue one.” (whopaysreport.org, September 2015) burdens on the incarcerated, their families and support Families must put money into email accounts, or Banning paper letters for the incarcerated: Would networks. sometimes incarcerated people must buy “stamps” to you consider this torture? Would you consider this sen- use email. There is an increase in “stamp” costs when sory deprivation? Would you consider this a violation of Prison profiteers character counts increase or there are attachments. human rights? We do! A Tufts University report says, “there are thousands Mail through MailGuard can be delayed two days, which Imagine not having seen your family, children, loved of companies and a wide range of contracts in both pri- means families often must use email and pay more. ones for years, and now you are unable to receive paper vate and public prisons.” A staggeringly high number of In most cases, the incarcerated person was the major mail from them. This means no birthday, anniversary or corporations are involved in the prison industrial com- earner in a family. And 54% were the main sources graduation cards. No love letters or picture postcards. plex—a​ whole network of parties with vested interests. of income according to the article, “Prison Industrial No crayon drawings from your 4-year-old or photos of (tufts.eduprisondivestment, 2021) Complex Nickel and Diming Inmates for their Mail.” the new baby in the family. Nothing to hang on the wall “The Prison Industry: Mapping Private Sector (Business Insider, March 14) in your cell to look at daily and cheer you up. A letter Players,” a report released by Worth Rises in May 2020, Companies like SC are making millions off the most is tactile, something you can hold in your hand, smell identifies and “exposes over 4,100 corporations that vulnerable and the poorest. Single mothers and women perfume on, read over and over. It is a lifeline to those profit from the devastating mass incarceration of our on welfare must decide between paying for food and behind bars. nation’s marginalized children’s essentials or communities.” Billions emails and phone calls. Ban on paper mail is ‘punishment’ of dollars are stolen It is exceedingly diffi- Susan M.’s disabled brother has been in prison in from families—​loved cult to sustain connec- Massachusetts for 27 years. She explained to Workers ones and children—​ tions with loved ones World: “This is gratuitous punishment. The Department who are supporting their and to foster meaning- of Correction weaponizes COVID-19 to further isolate incarcerated loved ones. ful relationships with prisoners. There have been no visits since last March, There is a lot of money children. only adding to the previously escalating restrictions to be made through pri- This “profit-driven affecting contact between inside and outside. vatization of services in incarceration,” as “Months prior to COVID-19, the DOC curtailed written prison: on food, phone prisoners’ rights correspondence by banning prisoners’ receipt of original calls and books. If Smart group Just Detention hard-copy mail. Cards and letters are now sloppily pho- Communications (SC) is International calls it, tocopied by disgruntled guards. Nothing from loved ones contracted to a prison, they get MailGuard as an add-on, continues to be emotionally and financially stressful to is ever held by the incarcerated. Such constraints cut off which includes tablets and kiosks. MailGuard, which the families and loved ones and potentially alienates or the family and surveil us at the same time. Everything started in 2020, is a pilot program with the Federal drives them apart. that is written between us is seen by staff and stored.” Bureau of Prisons. For disabled people with traumatic brain injury or Susan explained further: “This practice has a chilling Tablets are sometimes free, but incarcerated people visual impairment, tablets and kiosks are not accessible. effect. Correspondence is a lifeline inside. Some people use them to send emails and photos and buy books, For those in solitary confinement, tablets are either for- get only one or two letters a year. Communication is an music and games. This means big profits for companies bidden or restricted. JDI stresses it “undermines crucial intimate connection that makes them feel human again. like SC. It means lots of expenses for the poorest and confidential communications, including between incar- They can also tell us what is happening, give advice and most vulnerable—​the incarcerated and their families. cerated survivors of sexual abuse and outside advocates.” help us. This reciprocal This communications In January, there was a hearing on the privatization contact restores their company got a contract of paper mail organized by the Massachusetts DOC. The humanness. It keeps with Pennsylvania DOC number of people attempting to join the virtual meet- them connected to the in 2018 for $4 million ing overwhelmed the capabilities of Zoom, thus limiting larger world.” per year. SC wants to overall public engagement. In Massachusetts, introduce MailGuard guards are photo- to Massachusetts pris- Solidarity matters! copying all letters ons. This means that Solidarity is potent in the fightback against the poli- that come into the physical mail would be cies and exploitation facing the incarcerated and their Souza-Baranowski sent to SC in Florida, to families. Correctional Center be inspected, scanned, In an interview conducted last year with an incarcer- and six other prisons. digitally forwarded and ated mother currently at the Bedford Hills Correctional Guards resent having to loaded into a database. Facility, Tami Eldridge stated: “My children and I have do this, and copies are often illegible or missing pages. Originals are destroyed. The scanned letter/mail is sent irreplaceable memories of moments and events that we State prison administrators and correctional officers back to the prison for viewing in a public kiosk (with no can look back on and share, that would not have been claim this process is needed to deter contraband from privacy) or via tablet or mailed back as photocopies for possible through any of these new forms of communica- being sent in. staff to print and distribute. tion. I have what some of us long-termers call ‘an archive There is “not publicly robust data suggesting mail of love letters’ from my children that I am able to revisit. is the primary culprit” for introducing drugs into pris- Families pay the price Eldridge stressed: “Moments like my children’s first ons, wrote Ella Fassler. (Truthout, Feb. 25) Attorney Most services for those in prison are privatized by sub- time writing in scripted letters, their first picture they Sara Rose, with American Civil Liberties Union of contractors, and they exploit the incarcerated and their drew of me, their first song they wrote, them learning Pennsylvania, says evidence shows “the vast majority, at family members. What they provide is often low quality how to write poetry, their first crush and my most prized least of the drugs they discuss coming in, were coming in and violates inmates’ civil rights. treasure: simply writing a few lines to show that, even through staff or visitors.” (Prison Legal News, February A report entitled “Who Pays? The True Cost when they were busy, they thought to say something 2020) of Incarceration on Families,” states: “One in to me and send it with a stamp.” (The Brennan Center, The exponential push for ending physical mail is three families go into debt just to be able to Sept. 29, 2020) ☐ On George Floyd lynching anniversary, the struggle goes on

By Dave Welsh killer Derek Chauvin was going on, 64 Oakland, Calif. more people were killed by police in the United States. Minister Cherri Murphy Oakland’s social justice community said Oakland spends more on police than came together May 25 at the downtown on programs that benefit the people and mural of George Floyd, on the one- is now cooking up plans for an “unneces- year anniversary of Floyd’s lynching at sary” new police headquarters at a cost of the hands of Minneapolis police. Cat $473 million. Brooks, co-founder of the Anti Police- Barbara Doss said not only police but Terror Project, denounced “militarized prison guards are involved in the continu- and out-of-control police departments” ing pattern of killings of Black community in Oakland and across the country members by agents of the state. Doss lost that target Black and Brown people in her son Dujuan Armstrong, a 23-year- particular. old father, when he was asphyxiated by George Galvis, executive director of guards in 2018 at nearby Santa Rita Jail, Communities United for Restorative which houses 4,000 inmates. “I’m not let-

Youth Justice, pointed out that during ting it die down,” she said. “I’m here to WW PHOTO: DAVE WELSH the several weeks the trial of Floyd’s stand up for justice for my son.” ☐ Barbara Doss, mother of Dujuan Armstrong, at May 25 press conference and rally. Page 10 June 3, 2021 workers.org editorial Reparations NOW for Black Tulsans! People of African descent inside the U.S. have been Black Osage Avenue destroying 60 homes in an attack fighting for the right to reparations, beginning when 4 on the MOVE family. million people were freed as chattel following the Civil Lessie Benningfield “Mother” Randle, a 105-year- War. The first call for reparations was for 40 acres and a old survivor of the Tulsa massacre, filed a 2020 law- mule—​40 acres of land for a free farmer and a mule to suit saying that $100 million worth of property was pull the plow. destroyed in 1921, with no compensation from the For over 150 years, every atrocity and crime suffered mainly white ruling-class oil barons. The lawsuit goes by Black people—​from police terror to disproportionate on to say, “Greenwood and North Tulsa Community res- poverty to lack of political representation—has​ cried out idents continue to face racially disparate treatment and for some form of reparations or justice. The long-term City-created barriers to basic human needs, including solution will only come about when all class relations, jobs, financial security, education, housing, justice and including white supremacy, are uprooted by a revolution- District were obliterated. For decades this massacre was health.” (CNN, Sept. 2, 2020) ary transformation of society to bring about socialism. hidden from the history books. The lawsuit calls for establishing “a victim compensa- One of the most egregious atrocities that cries out What sparked the “Tulsa Race Massacre” was the May tion fund, mental health and education programs for res- for immediate reparations took place 100 years ago 30, 1921, arrest of a young Black man, Dick Rowland, who idents of Greenwood and North Tulsa and a college fund in Tulsa, Okla. For two days, May 31 and June 1, rac- was accused of assaulting a white elevator operator, Sarah for descendants of massacre victims. It seeks construc- ist vigilante whites went on a rampage in the African Page. When a white mob of 1,500, with backing of city offi- tion of a hospital in the community and asks that Black American Greenwood District, known as “Black Wall cials, tried to lynch a jailed Rowland, an armed group of residents from the Greenwood and North Tulsa commu- Street,” destroying homes, churches, schools and busi- 75 Black brave men, many of them World War I veterans, nities have priority consideration for city contracts.” nesses owned by Black people. Greenwood had become confronted them but were forced to retreat to segregated The Black people of Tulsa are long overdue for these economically prosperous due to the oil boom. But the Ku Greenwood. Rowland was eventually exonerated. reparations on behalf of the pain and suffering endured Klux Klan had gained strength in numbers throughout According to the 2001 Oklahoma Commission to by their ancestors in 1921—​passed down as the pres- the country, and Tulsa was no exception. Study the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921, “Tulsa was likely ent-day racist inequities they face. Original reports claimed the death count of Black the first city to be bombed from the air” in the U.S., In general, the U.S. descendants of enslaved African people to be 36, but according to some historians, the with kerosene bombs dropped by white men from air- people, forced to work unwaged labor for hundreds of death count could have been as high as 300. Ten thou- planes. Sixty-four years later on May 13, 1985, the City years under unspeakably inhumane conditions, deserve sand Black people became homeless, and 40 blocks of the of Philadelphia dropped a bomb on the predominantly reparations—now!​ ☐

French unions respond to housing crisis By G. Dunkel an NGO focused on welcoming exiles, formed a coali- tion in March and called major demonstrations in 31 According to the French housing alliance Right to French cities under the slogan: “A roof is a right.” These Housing (DAL—Droit​ au Logement), cops are prepared demonstrations were coordinated with actions in other to evict 30,000 families starting June 1. Some 130,000 European countries and endorsed by many progressive families have been notified that they need to leave their unions, associations and political parties, including the homes immediately, while tens of thousands could have Greens and the Communist Party of French Workers. their electricity shut off any time after June 1. France The CGT is the second-largest and oldest union in has more than 300,000 homeless people out of a total France, with a militant history of defending workers’ population of around 67.4 million. retirement rights and unemployment insurance, on the June 1 is when the winter’s suspension of evictions job, in the streets and in the political arena. and shut-offs expires. The program of this coalition is simple: decrease The General Confederation of Labor (CGT), along rents, increase investment in public housing and end The banner of French housing advocates reads ‘Enforce the with Right to Housing, the feminist collective Fasti, evictions and removals. They point out that state assis- DALO law! A roof is a right!’ formed to defend immigrant rights, and Paris d’Exil, tance for lower-income individuals needs to increase and that officials who carry out an eviction are responsible Even France’s far-right party, the National Rally (RN, for finding new housing for those evicted. In some cities Rassemblement National), has declared the housing cri- they have set up large numbers of tents for the homeless. sis a major problem for France. Its proposed solution The way the French government has responded to takes up nearly nine pages and contains a lot of tweaks—​ the COVID-19 pandemic sharply increased the profits of such as making the purchase of real estate cheaper and landlords and real estate investors. providing low-cost loans to young people, encourag- The DAL and the CGT, through posts on their web ing them to buy public housing—​which would give the pages and Facebook, managed to organize a number public housing authorities the capital to produce more of small but significant demonstrations May 29 and 30 public housing. The RN proposals exclude non-French in Paris, as well as in Lille, Bordeaux, Lyon, Toulouse, residents. Marseilles and other cities. The RN and some voices in the corporate English- While French politics places a great deal of empha- language media elsewhere, like the New York Times and sis on protests, demonstrations and marches, the elec- BBC, are predicting that the RN could win in next year’s tions—​especially for president—​are also important. election, that it could break through the barrier erected The next French presidential election is still 11 months by France’s two rounds of voting. But to get to the second Beside an anti-racist mural in France, a sign exhorts ‘No away, tentatively scheduled for April 23, 2022, and the round, this far-right party would have to do better than evictions without resheltering!’ housing crisis is going to be a major issue. the French left. ☐

U.S. behind detention of Venezuelan diplomat: Release Alex Saab!

Continued from page 1 Saab’s release. countries in Latin America, Africa and Ambassador Saab sent a letter to the A campaign for release of Alex Saab of West Asia with simultaneous translation African Union, as Venezuela’s Deputy U.S. trade. (thegrayzone.com, April 27) half a million Twitter posts led to Twitter into English, Portuguese and Spanish. Permanent Representative to the African Cabo Verde is a member of the censoring and suspending over 1,500 (tinyurl.com/78ubp35j) Union, on May 25, a day celebrated across Economic Community of West African accounts. Despite aggressive efforts to Organized by the Alliance for Global the continent as Africa Day, commemo- States (ECOWAS). This body ordered silence support, an international cam- Justice and co-sponsored by the Alberto rating the founding of the Organization Saab’s immediate release in March. But paign is growing, Lovera Bolivarian Circle of New York, of African Unity on May 25, 1963. Alex under U.S. pressure, Cabo Verde has yet Saab’s defenders presented the facts Chicago ALBA Solidarity, Frente Hugo Saab’s statement connected the celebra- to respond to ECOWAS and is preparing of his case in a May 19 panel, which Chávez para la Defensa de los Pueblos tion of “liberation from foreign control an extradition trial. featured two of Saab’s lawyers, Cabo Vancouver, Task Force on the Americas, and oppression” to his imprisonment and Saab’s case has made waves on the Verde’s Geraldo da Cruz Almeida Orinoco Tribune, Council on Hemispheric “the importance for the continent of Africa African continent where 15 African coun- and Nigeria’s Femi Falana, in addi- Affairs, International Action Center and to rise to fight elements of foreign dom- tries are already under U.S. sanctions. It tion to activists William Camacaro, CODEPINK, the panel drew a wide inter- inance and imperialist domination.” The resonates in U.S.-sanctioned Iran and in John Philpot, Stanfield Smith and Sara national audience. The Orinoco Tribune letter was published in CitiNewsRoom, in Venezuela, where social media campaigns Flounders (this article’s author). It was has published a report of the panel, which Accra, Ghana and in other African news and demonstrations have demanded streamed not only in the U.S. but to can be read at tinyurl.com/5cssayh9. publications. (tinyurl.com/f6xfar8e) ☐ workers.org June 3, 2021 Page 11

Defending pro-Nazi forces U.S., E.U. threaten Belarus By Otis Grotewohl Pravda.ru points out that “Svetlana been quick to point out that at that age Tikhanovskaya, whom the West recog- he was expelled from school for post- Western imperialists and their media nizes as the President of Belarus, was fly- ing YouTube videos that were hostile pundits are once again crying “foul” ing over the territory of Belarus too, but toward the Belarusian government. against the sovereign government of nothing happened to her.” Tikhanovskaya They omit reporting that Protasevich Belarus and its duly elected president, is considered the “leader” of the anti-com- was a leader of a neo-Nazi organization Alexander Lukashenko. On May 23, a munist and neoliberal opposition to in Belarus known as the “Youth Front.” Neo-Nazi Roman Protasevich taking part Ryanair passenger plane, scheduled to Lukashenko. According to various social media in destruction of a statue of Bolshevik fly from Greece to Lithuania, was forced The corporate media is ignoring many posts, Protasevich was active in the Revolution leader V.I. Lenin in Ukraine, 2014. to land in Minsk, Belarus. simple facts, and it is painting Protasevich Maidan movement that led to the vio- On the plane was 26-year-old Roman out to be some kind of “victim.” lent coup in Ukraine in 2014. In one Protasevich, whom the imperialists iden- image, Protasevich can be seen partic- the anti-Putin candidate, Alexei Navalny, tify as a journalist. Protasevich has a Who is Roman Protasevich? ipating in the destruction of one of the a few months ago. Like Protasevich, history of encouraging violence against Even though the Western bourgeois last V.I. Lenin statues left in Ukraine. He Navalny is another free-market propo- President Lukashenko and his support- press is fawning over Protasevich, calling was wrapped in the Belarusian National nent with strong Nazi connections. ers. He and a few other passengers, him a “human rights” advocate, they offer Republic flag, which was used when the The U.S. has taken steps to over- apparently close to Protasevich, were little information about him. Protasevich German Imperial Army occupied Belarus throw Lukashenko ever since he was first detained by Belarusian authorities. is co-founder of the infamous Belarusian during World War I and later by Nazi col- elected in 1994, when he won on a cam- According to a May 24 article in Pravda. opposition channel known as Nexta, and laborators during World War II. (FOIA paign against corporate privatization and ru, “It was a Ryanair pilot who made the he now works for another opposition Research, May 25) neoliberal policies. decision to land the plane with Protasevich channel known as Belamova. A leader of the Azov Battalion—an As a former member of the Communist on board in Minsk after he received a mes- Nexta is widely known for encourag- openly neo-Nazi militia that was one of Party of the Soviet Union, Lukashenko sage about a possible bomb on board.” ing violent attacks against the Belarusian many white-supremacist groups contrib- has consistently rejected neoliberalism, The Western corporate media is omitting state and is popular among supporters of uting to the Ukrainian coup—publicly maintained pro-socialist imagery and this part of the report. Instead they charge the EU. Nexta is often discredited, even claimed Protasevich fought alongside has restored some socialist programs the Lukashenko government with “hijack- by major media outlets such as BBC, for Azov in 2014 and worked for their press. from the Soviet-era. As a result of many ing,” claiming the landing was somehow promoting false information about Russia (Grayzone, May 26) fulfilled promises, Lukashenko has been politically motivated. U.S. and European and Belarus. (BBC News, May 24) re-elected five times since 1994. Union operatives blame Lukashenko for Protasevich got his start in the U.S., EU want to overthrow Lukashenko Protasevich admitted on camera forcing the plane down, without providing anti-communist, oppositionist movement The treatment of Protasevich by the to taking part in the organization of a shred of evidence that his administration against Lukashenko in 2011 at the age of Western media, particularly in the U.S., “mass unrest” in Belarus in August and did anything wrong. 16. Some corporate media analysts have is strikingly identical to their coverage of September, 2020. (New York Times, May 25) This past summer, U.S. and EU offi- cials thought they had an opportunity to finally oust Lukashenko. Oppositionists Massive response of Greek workers carried out massive rallies, many of which turned violent. Imperialist officials falsely declared opposition leader Svetlana to attack on the 8-hour day Tikhanovskaya as the “official” president of Belarus—similar to the unsuccess- By G. Dunkel The Greek Communist ful attempt by the U.S. to proclaim Juan Party (KKE) and the Guaidó as president of Venezuela. For the past month, Greek work- All Workers Militant In terms of the false charge against ers have been protesting the right-wing Front (PAME) organized Belarus for hijacking, it should, be noted New Democracy government’s attempt the rally in Athens at instead that the U.S. government was to enshrine a 10-hour work day into Syntagma Square. It drew involved in the forced landing of a plane law—as well as serious restrictions on the tens of thousands of work- for political reasons in 2013—a flight right to strike and other rights workers ers, including “self-em- carrying Bolivian President Evo Morales. have won over decades of struggle. New ployed” and unemployed (Grayzone, May 26) Democracy has justified these attacks as people, students and pen- The U.S. and European imperialist being the only possible response to cred- sioners, to protest this bill. governments and media have demonized itors’ demands for more austerity, based KKE General Secretary PHOTO: GREEK COMMUNIST PARTY Lukashenko and are calling for sanctions on Greece’s external debt being 205% of Dimitris Koutsoumbas Athens, May 27. against the Belarusian people. White House its GDP. ended with the message: Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Washington The government proposal, reflecting “We refuse to become slaves in the 21st the unwavering class struggle, their righ- is working with NATO and the EU about what is current workplace practice in century! The monstrous antilabor law must teous demands, the overthrow of this dark “potential next steps.” (The Hill, May 24) Greece, would allow employers to force not be submitted!” Earlier he pointed out, situation.” (tinyurl.com/rrkayzum) These are the forces that bankrolled and workers to accept comp time (paid time “The working class, the people, have no Besides Athens, there were major coordinated the 2014 coup in Ukraine, in off equal to the hours of overtime worked, other choice but to respond to the war with demonstrations in Greece’s second largest which Protasevich proudly participated. ☐ avoiding premium pay for overtime) in war—with their own weapons: the broad city Thessaloníki, Patras, Ioannina, Volos, lieu of overtime pay. information campaign, the organization, Trikala, Katerini and Livadia. ☐

Representación excesiva en las prisiones: Las personas LGBTQ2S+ Continúa de la página 12 de migrantes. Estas estructuras no man- La abolición también significa el fin de para los jóvenes LGBTQ2S+ dentro de las tienen a las personas a salvo de la vio- las fronteras y la criminalización de los familias, las escuelas, las comunidades y lista—se​ ha utilizado para confinar, aislar lencia, sino que perpetúan la violencia migrantes, que no son más que traba- otras instituciones; eliminar la discrim- y castigar a muchas personas LGBTQ2S+. arraigada en los orígenes de estas insti- jadores y personas oprimidas que buscan inación contra las personas LGBTQ2S+ Debido a las condiciones materiales a las tuciones en este continente. un lugar donde puedan sobrevivir. en la vivienda, el empleo y otros ámbi- que se enfrentan las personas LGBTQ2S+, Las prisiones, las cárceles y los cen- La organización de la sociedad en tos; eliminar la falta de vivienda, ya que muchas se encuentran con altos índices de tros de detención de Estados Unidos evo- torno a la satisfacción de las necesi- la vivienda es un derecho humano; poner depresión, ansiedad e ideación suicida. En lucionaron a partir de la esclavización dades humanas puede y debe construirse fin a la criminalización del trabajo sexual; este contexto, alguien que necesita atención de los africanos. La esclavitud codificó después de la esclavitud. y proporcionar atención médica gratuita y de salud mental puede acabar recluido legalmente a los negros como propie- Muchas de las razones por las que las que afirme el género para todos. durante una temporada indefinida en un dad. Durante el paso de la esclavitud al personas LGBTQ2S+ acaban recluidas en La liberación de las personas hospital bajo estricta vigilancia, experi- sistema de arrendamiento de convictos prisiones, cárceles y centros de detención LGBTQ2S+ está ligada a la lucha por la mentando algo más parecido a un castigo hasta el encarcelamiento masivo de hoy, podrían aliviarse, en primer lugar, con la liberación de los negros, al igual que está que a una ayuda. se han compartido continuamente las abolición del capitalismo. Este proyecto ligada a la lucha por la justicia para los luchas para abolir estas instituciones que de abolición—​ya sea la abolición de las discapacitados. Nuestra liberación está Luchas compartidas, abolición, liberación se basan en el beneficio de las personas. prisiones o la abolición del capitalismo—​ ligada a la lucha contra el colonialismo y La liberación de los oprimidos por Ahora la lucha se ha centrado en aca- no es simplemente una negación. Es un el capitalismo de los colonos en nuestro su género u orientación sexual significa bar con el complejo industrial peniten- proyecto generativo que requiere una con- país y en todo el mundo. imaginar y construir un mundo sin pri- ciario que se lucra y en abolir el estatus strucción colectiva. ¡No a las jaulas! ¡No a las fronteras! No siones, cárceles y centros de detención legal de la propiedad privada capitalista. Esto significa construir el apoyo social aceptaremos nada menos. ☐ Correspondencia sobre artículos en Workers World/Mundo Obrero pueden ser enviadas a: [email protected]

¡Proletarios y oprimidos de todos los paises unios! workers.org Vol. 63 Núm. 22 3 de junio 2021 $1 Bogotá, Colombia, 5 de mayo. Un llamado de acción del Orgullo: Del 14 al 21 de junio ¡Defiende a los jóvenes trans! Por Martha Grevatt interina de GLSEN, una organización que han impedido a la mitad de los jóvenes su origen en el estigma y la discriminación de defensa de los jóvenes LGBTQ+. “No trans utilizar el baño correspondiente a su contra las personas trans y su intersección 1 de junio comienza el mes del Orgullo. hay un dominio categórico de los atletas identidad de género. con el racismo y el sexismo. El expresidente Donald Trump lleva más trans, pero sí entendemos los beneficios Todo esto sucede a pesar de la orden eje- La discriminación en muchos ámbi- de 130 días fuera el cargo. Pero los impla- cutiva de Biden del 8 de marzo, tos de la vida está bien documentada. La cables ataques a la comunidad trans, que establece que “todos los mayoría de las personas trans informan especialmente a los jóvenes trans y a las estudiantes deben tener garan- de comentarios intolerantes por parte de mujeres trans de color, no muestran sig- tizado un entorno educativo sus familiares. Más de 1 de cada 10 han nos de ceder. libre de discriminación por sido aconsejadas por profesionales de la En 33 legislaturas estatales, se han razón de sexo, incluida la dis- salud mental para que dejen de ser trans- aprobado o presentado 117 proyectos de criminación en forma de acoso género. Los medios de comunicación sue- ley que niegan los derechos civiles básicos sexual, que abarca la violencia len utilizar nombres erróneos y nombres a las personas trans. Esto hace que 2021 sexual, e incluye la discrimina- falsos, incluso en la información sobre sea un año récord para este tipo de legis- ción por orientación sexual o víctimas mortales. lación intolerante, según la Campaña de identidad de género”. El desempleo de los transexuales tri- Derechos Humanos. La mayoría de estos categóricos para los jóvenes que practican Hay que poner fin a estos proyectos plica el promedio nacional, y es aún proyectos de ley se dirigen a los jóvenes deportes”. (CNN, 15 de abril) Las niñas y de ley perjudiciales, pero sólo la lucha mayor cuando se suma a la discrimina- trans, que ya tienen una tasa de suicidio las mujeres se enfrentan a muchos obstá- masiva puede detenerlos. ción racista y sexista. desproporcionadamente alta. culos en el deporte, ninguno de los cuales La policía no protege a la comuni- Todos los estados, excepto dos, tie- tiene que ver con la participación de los ¡Las vidas trans negras y dad trans de la violencia intolerante. De nen proyectos de ley que prohíben a los atletas trans, y todos ellos provienen de morenas importan! hecho, se encuentran entre los asesinos deportistas trans participar en deportes la discriminación patriarcal. Cuando aún no ha transcurrido la de las personas trans, incluyendo a Tony que no se corresponden con el sexo que se Veinte estados tienen proyectos de ley mitad del año, en 2021 se han produ- McDade, un hombre trans negro al que les asignó al nacer, especialmente en los para negar a los adolescentes trans la tera- cido al menos 26 asesinatos violentos de la policía de Tallahassee, Florida, disparó deportes femeninos. Los proyectos de ley pia que les salva la vida, incluyendo el ase- personas trans, la gran mayoría de ellas fatalmente el 27 de mayo de 2020. perpetúan el mito de que las mujeres trans soramiento trans y la terapia de reemplazo mujeres trans negras, indígenas y lati- Se necesita urgentemente una res- representan un peligro para otras mujeres hormonal. La mal llamada “Ley para sal- nas. Si la tendencia continúa, 2021 será puesta militante de la clase trabajadora y niñas—que en realidad son hombres que var a los adolescentes de la experimenta- el año más violento para las personas para defender a la comunidad trans. Los se visten de mujer porque son depredado- ción (SAFE)” de Arkansas se convirtió en trans desde que HRC comenzó a hacer movimientos LGBTQ2S+, progresistas y res sexuales que buscan acceso—o que ley después de que la legislatura anulara el un seguimiento de sus muertes en 2013. laborales deben demostrar unidad y soli- tienen algún tipo de ventaja competitiva veto del gobernador Asa Hutchinson. El año pasado fue el más violento, con 44 daridad contra la intolerancia. injusta. Los gobernadores de tres estados Otros proyectos de ley bloquearían los asesinatos; desde 2013 ha habido 200. El Caucus LGBTQ+ de Workers World han firmado proyectos de ley de este tipo, planes de estudio transpositivos, prohibi- Los factores que contribuyen al alto nivel Party/Partido Mundo Obrero ha iniciado con nombres que suenan inocuos como rían a los profesores referirse a los alumnos de ataques viciosos contra las mujeres trans una convocatoria para una semana de “Ley de Equidad en el Deporte Femenino”. por su identidad de género e impedirían de color incluyen la pobreza y la falta de acción del 14 al 21 de junio. Ni la ciencia ni las estadísticas respal- que los documentos de identidad estatales, vivienda, las relaciones íntimas abusivas, la Nosotros decimos: ¡Defiende a la juven- dan estos estereotipos retrógrados. “Creo como los permisos de conducir, reflejaran falta de atención de salud física y mental, tud trans! ¡Detener los ataques antitrans! que estas respuestas excluyentes son una la identidad de género de una persona. la no aceptación de las familias biológicas ¡Las vidas trans negras, morenas e indíge- solución en busca de un problema”, dijo Estos ataques legislativos se suman a las y la dependencia del trabajo sexual para nas importan! Organiza una acción donde Melanie Willingham-Jaggers, directora “leyes de baño” aprobadas anteriormente, sobrevivir. Todas estas condiciones tienen vives. ☐ Representación excesiva en las prisiones: Las personas LGBTQ2S+

Por Mirinda Crissman trans—cuya​ orientación sexual puede coin- nativos representan la mayoría de todas otras opresiones basadas en la clase como cidir con la identidad queer o no—también​ las detenciones en ese estado. la raza y la discapacidad. En todas las etapas del sistema de suelen ser las que menos datos tienen para “En Dakota del Sur, las personas que La opresión basada en el género y la injusticia penal, las personas LGBTQ2S+ demostrar lo que les ocurre. son arrestadas e ingresadas en la cárcel orientación sexual se mantiene a través están sobrerrepresentadas, incluso den- “Una vez entre rejas, las personas son desproporcionadamente nativas. de diversas medidas sociales como, por tro del sistema de justicia juvenil. trans se enfrentan a índices extremada- Aunque los nativos representan el 8,7% ejemplo, la criminalización y la estruc- Según la Iniciativa de Política mente altos de acoso y agresiones físicas de la población de Dakota del Sur, son tura de la familia nuclear. Estas tácti- Penitenciaria, esto es así desde el arresto y sexuales, se les niega con frecuencia la aproximadamente la mitad de los que cas se basan en el poder punitivo del hasta la sentencia, pasando por el encar- atención sanitaria rutinaria y corren un ingresan en las cárce- aislamiento, el con- celamiento, la libertad condicional y la alto riesgo de ser enviadas a régimen de les del estado. Las La sobrerrepresentación finamiento y el encar- libertad vigilada: “En 2019, las personas aislamiento. Black and Pink descubrió disparidades raciales de las personas LGBTQ2S+ celamiento impuestos. gays, lesbianas y bisexuales (con una tasa que al 44% de las personas transgénero, en las tasas de encar- La sobrerrepre- de arresto de 3.620 por cada 100.000) de género no binario e [indígenas] de celamiento existen en el sistema jurídico penal sentación de las per- tenían 2,25 veces más probabilidades de dos espíritus de su muestra se les negó en todo el país—​los se debe en gran medida sonas LGBTQ2S+ en ser arrestadas que las personas hetero- el acceso a las hormonas que solicitaron”. negros son encarce- el sistema jurídico sexuales (con una tasa de arresto de 1.610 (Prison Policy Initiative) lados a un ritmo más a los obstáculos a los que penal se debe en por cada 100.000). Esta disparidad está Este alto porcentaje de personas de 4 veces superior se enfrentan los jóvenes gran medida a los impulsada por las mujeres lesbianas y LGBTQ2S+ persiste en las prisiones, las al de los blancos—​ obstáculos a los que se bisexuales, que tienen 4 veces más proba- cárceles y los centros de detención de pero las dispari- LGBTQ2S+ después de huir enfrentan los jóvenes bilidades de ser detenidas que las hetero- inmigrantes y se entrelaza con otras opre- dades en Dakota del de los abusos y la falta de LGBTQ2S+ después sexuales (con una tasa de detenciones de siones basadas en la raza, la discapacidad Sur son mucho may- de huir de los abusos 3.860 por cada 100.000 frente a 860 por y los ingresos. Los datos demuestran que ores: Según datos del aceptación en sus hogares. y la falta de acepta- cada 100.000). Mientras tanto, los hom- las personas negras, latinas e indígenas Instituto de Justicia ción en sus hogares. bres homosexuales y bisexuales tienen están encerradas en cantidades increíble- Vera, los nativos de entre 15 y 64 años son Para sobrevivir, muchos se ven empuja- 1,35 veces más probabilidades de ser mente desproporcionadas con respecto a encarcelados a un ritmo 10 veces superior dos hacia la venta de drogas, el robo y el detenidos que los heterosexuales (con una su porcentaje de población. Muchas per- al de los blancos en Dakota del Sur”. (The trabajo sexual, lo que aumenta drástica- tasa de 3.210 detenidos por cada 100.000 sonas LGBTQ2S+ son personas de color Appeal, 18 de septiembre de 2019) mente el riesgo de detención y reclusión. frente a 2.380 por cada 100.000)”. y muchas tienen discapacidades. Hasta 1973, la Asociación Americana (tinyurl.com/LGBTQbehindbars) No hay datos sobre los nativos de dos Raíces de la opresión de Psiquiatría incluía la homosexualidad Las tasas de encarcelamiento también espíritus encarcelados. Sin embargo, La opresión basada en el género y la en su Manual de Diagnóstico y Estadística reflejan las tendencias discriminatorias según el Llamamiento, Dakota del Sur opresión basada en la orientación sexual (DSM). Esa definición médica—​y las de las tasas de detención, y las mujeres está a la cabeza del país en cuanto a tienen sus raíces en el auge de la propie- suposiciones que continuaron incluso homosexuales son las más afectadas por la ingresos en prisión basados en deten- dad privada y el capitalismo. Estas opre- después de que fuera retirada de la desproporción. Ellas, junto con las mujeres ciones por delitos no violentos, y los siones tienen raíces similares a las de Continúa en la página 11