PEACE 4 THE PEOPLE NEWSLETTER OF ILPS COMMISSION 4

Issue 13, Feb. 2021

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GLOBAL ACTION AGAINST WAR ON YEMEN

ILPS Commission 4 endorsed and partook in an international protest to object to the Saudi Arabia, UAE-led MENA coalition war on Yemen that is backed by the US and its allies. Thousands of participants joined a online rally on various internet platforms to protest the war on Yemen on January 25. This event was also broadcast on a public TV channel in the UK during prime time, which has an audience of millions. 320 organizational signatories supported this global day of action. Many demonstrations were happening simultaneously, such as one in -14C weather in Montreal, one in San Francisco and another in Chile.

The Quebec Movement for Peace (QMP-MQP) joined anti-imperialist, progressive and peace-loving forces around the world in saying No to the War on Yemen by holding a rally at the US Consulate in Montreal on January 24. This action drew attention to the role of Washington and Ottawa (with the largest arms export contract in Canadian history involving Saudi Arabia) in supporting the deadly war on Yemen. Another Québecois group, Échec à la Guerre, met online on the 25th.

During the virtual international rally on the 25th, there were twelve presenters with various perspectives including five Yemeni nationals in UK and US and five parliamentarians in Greece (former), Ireland, the US, France and UK. The participants rallied around-humanitarian concern and the desperate need for real aid to the suffering Yemen population. Speakers cited the breaches of International Humanitarian Law, and therefore war crimes, in which many states are directly or indirectly involved. They condemned the sales of arms by the UK, Canada and other states worth $90billion to Saudi Arabia and UAE to bomb Yemeni people, from which many corporations are profiting Most speakers rallied around call for immediate ceasefire, immediate end to the embargo, aid (water, nutrition, health care) and support for a democratic process in Yemen by which the people in Yemen can decide their own course. They urged continued, united action against the war on Yemen and all the governments involved and implicit.

SPEECHES Note: a full list of the names of speakers was lacking

A young, Yemeni, socialist woman in the UK lead the speaking by condemning the violations of International Law amounting to war crimes in which the UK is involved. The UK military is training pilots while the government and corporations sell arms to the aggressors. The raids on Yemen is a case of the fight for imperialist domination, said the woman. They are not possible without the support of the UK and US. A former activist in the campaigns to stop the war on Iraq said that the media is hiding this conflict. Also, the UN's call for an immediate ceasefire during the pandemic last year has been ignored. She added that the Empire mindset endures in the West, in that European powers and the US still think they have the right to control other peoples' and decide their way of life and fate. The former finance minister for Greece was next to take the microphone. He reported that a Greece, which can barely support itself, sent a frigate to Saudi Arabia to help S. Arabia commit mass murder. Many other states are responsible for this global act of genocide. The peoples of the world must unite against those who aim guns at the people or remain mum about the many unjust and murderous military interventions around the world. Next, the audience heard a young conscientious objector who quit the UK army in protest against the war on Yemen. He is a Yemeni national. He asserted that the UK should be fighting FOR the people in Yemen and protecting them. Describing himself as having been single-mindedly careerist before, he has since turned to Islamic teachings and learned to make personal sacrifices so as to relieve suffering and help others. The haves must give up some of their comforts and privilege for the victims of war and the have-nots. After starting up a non-profit group, he found that a protest group was more fitting. In the course of his activism, he has learned that unity is crucial. Opposing the military aggression against Yemen does not require taking sides in the war, he insisted. Call for ceasefires, negotiations and accountability. If not Yemen, there would be some other vulnerable population targeted. We must end this war and other wars of aggression. A leader of the Democratic Socialists of America, an author/academic/activists born in Jamaica but a US citizen, spoke strongly against "institutionalized greed and hatred." All those who find themselves under domination and oppression must unite to raise their "moral and spiritual" voices and put their bodies on the line, he urged. They must, together, say that humanity matters. He stated that the US is the biggest conveyor of violence and it leads the biggest empire. Look and you can connect police brutality, Wall Street crime and aggressive military interventions. Put humanity at the center without any prejudice. Oppose the predators of the world, the imperialists, racists, patriarchs, etc. After a brief performance of spoken word, a young man born in Yemen but living in the US addressed future post-war conditions in Yemen, saying that Yemen will need international solidarity in recovering and supporting its autonomous nation-building. He said that Yemen's poverty is a result of global neo-liberalism combined with a lack of appropriate, domestic, political leadership. The General-Secretary for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in the UK said "we stand with the people in Yemen" and affirmed concern about the man-made disaster in Yemen, in which the US and UK have played central roles in creating. We should call for the end to the sanctions and oppose the weapons sales that are falsely based on claims of terrorism in Yemen. A US Congressman reported his work with Bernie Sanders to put forward the War Powers Act, which would pull the US out of Yemen. He called for an end to the sale of arms to Yemen and the delivery of real aid, right away. He added that Pres. Biden wants to end the Yemen war and resolve the humanitarian crisis. A Sinn Fein MP in Northern Ireland declared that "a robust response is required." Eighty per cent of the Yemen population needs humanitarian aid and disease management. A recent UNICEF report states that 2.4 million kids in Yemen are malnourished. Clean drinking water is lacking. The UAE-led coalition must be held accountable and the illegal and unjust Saudi Arabia campaign must end. By sending military aid to these aggressors, Ireland is also breaching international law. The economic measures against Yemen must terminate. There must be an immediate ceasefire and arms embargo to allow the people of Yemen to engage in a peaceful political process without interference. A French National Assembly member of Caribbean origin described and decried France's support for the war on Yemen. Then a young woman who is a migrant from Yemen reported from a street action in the US. A Yemen-born professor in the US also appealed for an end to war and for aid for the Yemeni people. A prominent Labour Party MP (UK) was the last to speak. While welcoming end of arms trade from the UK which civilian action brought about, he urged for a permanent solution for Yemen. He is part of an effort to propose a parliamentary motion that was to be discussed on January 26. Commenting on the US War Powers Act, he adamantly recommended further efforts to start a ceasefire, end all arms sales to the aggressors, aid for the people in Yemen and support a people's democratic process in Yemen. He added that all concerned groups and individuals should "have confidence in achieving unity and a common vision of a more civilized world." The hosts concluded the virtual rally by announcing it as "a big breakthrough in the people's Yemen campaign" against war. They pledged that more events would be coordinated. They urged that the unity for this common cause be maintained, kept engaged and extended to broaden the participation and continue action to stop the war on Yemen. [Stop the War Coalition website and Newsletter of Jan. 29/21 has the video of the above event and a petition to stop the UK’s sales of arms to Saudi Arabia.] ###

NO TO WAR ON YEMEN! STATEMENT OF COMMISSION 4 OF THE INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE OF PEOPLES’ STRUGGLE The International League of Peoples’ Struggles (ILPS), Commission 4, endorses and supports the call for a global

day of protest against the slaughter and neglect of the Yemeni people. There will be actions on the ground in Canada, Sweden, UK, Germany, Italy and the US, as well as a main online forum on January 25. The situation is in acute crisis and utterly deplorable. Anyone with a basic support for human rights and holding a humanitarian view must condemn the attacks on Yemen. The people of Yemen, coming from one of the poorest countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are suffering from air raids, death and injury, loss of infrastructure and basic supplies and mass displacement for six years. According to refugee agencies, in a population of 29 million, 13.5 million people are at risk of starvation.

Yemeni Union of Agricultural Cooperatives reports that coalition airstrikes have systematically destroyed local food systems by targeting agricultural land, poultry farms, food processing plants, rural markets, fishing boats, and ports. The recounting of cruelties and atrocities faced by the Yemeni people is beyond count. In short, URGENT ACTION is needed to stop this imperialist, unjust war! According to one of the action day organizers, Stopwar UK: Since 2015, the Saudi-led bombing and blockade of Yemen have killed tens of thousands of people and devastated the country. The U.N. calls this the largest humanitarian crisis on Earth. Half the country's people

are on the brink of famine, the country has the world's worst cholera outbreak in modern history, and now Yemen has one of the very worst COVID death rates in the world: it kills 1 in 4 people who test positive. The pandemic, along with withdrawal of aid, is pushing more people into acute hunger (communiqué of Dec. 30, 2020). It is ironic that almost two years ago, the calls put forward by ILPS in 2019, are still being echoed at the call for united action on January 25, 2021. We affirm and add to the demands put forward: • Stop foreign aggression on Yemen, especially targeting of essential food and agriculture infrastructure, including fishing vessels and markets; • Stop weapons and war support for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates; • Lift the blockade on Yemen and open all land and seaports free from attack; • Restore and expand humanitarian aid for the people of Yemen; • Resume payment of salaries to government employees suspended for the last two years and support for the Yemeni Riyal through a professionally managed central bank; • Mobilize funds for humanitarian assistance and recovery programmes to help Yemenis to rebuild their millennial systems of food production; • Support efforts to build national dialogue and to formulate peace agreement that respects Yemeni sovereignty; • Call upon members of the international community, particularly the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Australia, Spain, Brazil, and Finland, to halt forthwith all arms sales to parties in this conflict; • Countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Morocco, Egypt, and Sudan must terminate their military engagement and to contribute to a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

The Yemen conflict has been time and again shown as a war maintained by the ‘Houthi rebels.’ The truth is that Saudi Arabia brutally invaded Yemen and was provided intelligence, fuel, and military support from USA, Israel among other allies including NATO and other reactionary states such as Turkey. Human Rights Watch had even as early as 2015 warned that the US might be liable for laws-of-war violations in Yemen due to its continued sales of weapons to Saudi Arabia. Saudi-backed Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi took over Yemen after Ali Abdallah resigned in 2014. Intended as an interim government, it overstayed its welcome. The Houthis, who comprise 80% of Yemeni population, did not accept this change as a move towards democracy and forced Hadi’s resignation. Hadi accepted this and moved to Saudi Arabia in 2015 where he was convinced by the Saudis to rescind his resignation, and moved to Aden, calling it Yemen’s temporary capital. Hadi has been backed by a Saudi-led coalition marked by aggressive military intervention in Yemen against the people’s movement struggling for a legitimate representation and democracy. The US Imperialism has enacted coercive economic measures against Yemen. Saudi-led coalition imposes restrictions on trade and controls the ports in Yemen, putting sanctions on fuel, food, and medicine and other basic essentials. It is a shameful façade that countries such as the US, UK, Germany, Saudi Arabia, and UAE have provided the vast majority of humanitarian assistance to this man-made crisis, yet these are the same countries that are directly or indirectly responsible for the coercive war by supplying arms and military equipment. The coalition-backed government selectively withholds salaries from civil servants, exacerbating Yemen's liquidity and devaluation crisis. What was to be a seven-day siege has turned into six long years of nightmare for the Yemeni people. It is no secret that the war provides a steady stream of customers for the arms trade of profit-seeking imperialist nations. The role of Israel and Turkey can be also be understood in context to their political and hegemonic aims and geopolitical strategy that entails militarization from West Asia to Africa and Central Asia. They have been

establishing bases and engaging directly with neighbors such as Greece, Tigray in northern Ethiopia, and Azerbaijan. Israel is a major arms trader doing business with the worst reactionary regimes, even the fascist Modi government of India. The US is still the leading aggressor and one extending a multi-faceted strategy to defend and sustain the global

system of exploitation, domination and plunder. Its ideology and approach has developed since the Cold War to target independent states and independence or democracy movements and nationalization and democratization policies and projects. It has been expanding the territories and waters beyond the North Atlantic by building bases and plowing the waters of all the seas. It has been forming new alliances and cooperative relations with reactionary

and terrorist states on all continents and allowing some of them, such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Israel, to act as proxy aggressors. While its economy cannot keep up the financial demands of continued, multiple aggressions, the US has been relying on reactionary states to do its dirty work as long as independence, nationalization and democracy projects are kept in check and it maintains its regional market share and influence. It is always the people who pay the cost of war. The humanitarian crisis in Yemen is extreme and merits a concentrated international campaign to rally concerned and compassionate people together to demand an end to the war. For information on the global action, go to www.stopwar.org.uk/world-says-no-to-war-on-yemen-25-jan-2021/. Stop the War on Yemen! Humanitarian aid now! End the economic coercive measures now! Unite the people against aggression and weapons of mass destruction! Build the people’s movement for just peace! Oppose militarism and fascism!

NATIONAL ELECTIONS UPDATES

Support the people’s democratic struggle in Nepal

-from the office of the General Secretary of the ILPS

The International League of Peoples' Struggle - Asia Pacific condemns the dissolution of the House of Representatives by President Bidhya Devi Bhandari at the behest of Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli. Bhandari has also announced that the general elections will be on April 30 and May 10, more than a year ahead of schedule.

The move is being challenged by Nepalis as unconstitutional and undemocratic, as the prime minister has no authority to dissolve the parliament under the constitution. Oli is prioritizing the dissolution of parliament over the Coronavirus crisis as the country's Covid-19 cases have reached more than 264,000, and 81% of Nepali's workers in the informal sector face job insecurity.

The undemocratic move of Oli serves imperialist interests well as he has also been advancing US interests in Nepal, such as signing the Nepal Compact with US-backed Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), an economic pillar of the US Indo-Pacific strategy. The Nepal compact is a $500 million investment in infrastructure with onerous clauses, such as the provisions of the compact superseding Nepal's existing laws in case of conflict, and thus tramples on the sovereignty of Nepal. The Indo-Pacific Strategy ispart of the United States' attempt to curb Chinese influence over the Asia-Pacific in order to maintain US hegemony.

The ILPS decries this attack on democracy and supports the Nepali people's call for democratic representation. The ILPS is in solidarity with the people of Nepal against the despotism of Oli and US intervention. Down with imperialism! Resist fascism and authoritarianism!

The ILPS is the International League of Peoples’ Struggles, an anti-imperialist alliance. www.ilps.info Commission 4 is concerned with wars of aggression and counter-revolution and nuclear weapons and all weapons of mass destruction. https://peace450.wixsite.org/website [email protected]

REINVIGORATE AND EXPAND THE BUILDING A UNITED ANTI- IMPERIALIST MOVEMENT!

ILPS GLOBAL SOLIDARITY MONTH: INDIA in FEBRUARY Support the Fight of the Indian Peoples for Democracy and Liberation! Commission 10 on Citizenship Amendment and National Registration Acts: Feb. 19 Social media protest: February 25 Commission 10 on the Caste System: February 26 Cultural program: February 28

For the global India campaign, the League will be highlighting the following issues:

1. The farmers’ protests against the three farm laws 2. Workers’ protests on the three labor codes 3. Political repression and Modi’s amendments to the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act 4. The Citizenship Amendment Act 5. The question of Kashmir and Northeast India

Major calls for the solidarity month for India will be as follows:

6. Stop the attacks on people’s democratic rights! 7. Scrap the UAPA! Release all political prisoners! 8. Repeal the 3 farm laws! 9. Scrap the CAA! Respect the right to self-determination of indigenous peoples and national minorities!

Jan. 29 was a global day of action against the Tumandok massacre in the Philippines.

Joint Statement of South Korean Civil Society on the Massacre Targeting Indigenous People of the Philippines #JusticeforTumandokMassacre! #StoptheKillingsinthePhilippines!

On December 30th, during a joint police and military operation at Capiz, Panay Island and in Iloilo province 9 leaders of the indigenous Tumandok were killed, and 17 residents were arrested. Prior to the massacre, the Philippine police and military authorities had been issued 28 search warrants against supporters and party members of the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army (NPA) rebels suspected of illegally possessing firearms and explosives. Based on this, the police and military broke into the residence of the Tumandok, killed 9 Tumandok leaders who were sleeping and threatened the residents. According to local activists, the wife of one of those killed refuted that her husband was neither a member of the communist party or NPA, nor carried a weapon. For whatever reason, such extrajudicial killing by government authorities of sleeping and unarmed residents should never be allowed to occur. This is not the first time civilians were made victims of extrajudicial killings by authorities. The Duterte government has been known for committing extrajudicial killings of people that oppose the government throughout the Philippines.

The international community has been calling on the Duterte government to put an end to extrajudicial killings defining them as a serious violation of human rights. Nevertheless, the extrajudicial killings have been ongoing, leading to this massacre of indigenous people of the Philippines. Korean civil society has also denounced the Philippine government’s extrajudicial murders and the anti-terrorism legislation that encourages such actions.

The reason why Korean civil society is paying attention to the massacre of Tumandok indigenous people is because Tumandok residents have been opposing the “Jalaur Mega Dam project (Phase 2)”. The “Jalaur Mega Dam project (Phase 2)” began in 2012, when the Export-Import Bank of Korea's Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) decided to provide concessional loans in the amount 250 billion Korean won. Local residents who suffered both direct and indirect damage from the dam project have been opposing the construction, citing the risk of earthquakes, forced evictions, damage to ancestral graves, and violations of Philippine domestic and international laws.

Activists and local residents of the "People's Action for the Jalaur River", formed by Tumandok indigenous people and Filipino activists who have long opposed and resisted the Jalaur Dam project, visited Korea in April and December 2018 to provide information on the problems of the Jalaur dam and the damage done to the indigenous people. In particular, they explained that the activists and indigenous people opposed to the dam project are suffering human rights violations due to the Duterte government's "Red-Tagging", and that there were even incidents of extrajudicial killings. They also stated that human rights violations pertaining to the project were serious and called on the South Korean government to address the issues.

The South Korean government and companies involved in the project should be aware of and take seriously the present situation in which severe human rights violations by the Philippine police and military, including extrajudicial killings, are taking place. Under the pretext of protecting the dam project armed troops have been stationed in the indigenous people’s residential areas, and the leaders of the indigenous people who opposed the project are being killed, causing the residents to leave their villages out of fear.

In 2017, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has expressed its concern at the documented cases of human rights violations resulting from operations of Korean companies at home and abroad, and recommended that public financial institutions link the provision of loans and grants to companies and projects to human rights requirements. The Export-Import Bank of Korea's International Economic Cooperation Fund (EDCF) established a "safeguard" to prevent adverse impacts of large-scale development aid projects and protect the rights of local residents, and applied it to the project, but the EDCF safeguards failed to prevent such tragedy from occurring.

South Korean civil society deeply mourns the murdered residents and extends its most sincere condolences to the residents who had to start the New Year in fear. Above all, we are seriously concerned about the current situation in which the indigenous people who opposed the massive dam development project in Panay, including the Jalaur Dam project, are being killed and threatened by Philippine authorities. It is an established human rights principle of the international community to seek prior consent from the residents for a development project and respect the tradition and culture of the indigenous people. We strongly condemn the Duterte government's continued enforcement of anti-human rights, policies, and urge the Korean government to implement fundamental measures such as conducting human rights impact assessments on Official Development Assistance (ODA) projects.

We demand as follows.

• The Philippine government should immediately cease extrajudicial killings in violation of human rights. • The Philippine government should immediately stop military operations on Panay Island and release the arrested residents. • The South Korean government, the Export-Import Bank of Korea’s Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF), and construction company Daewoo E&C should suspend the construction of the Jalaur Dam. The governments, companies and institutions involved should immediately take steps to assess the human rights impacts of the project and address them.

Jan 6 2020 (www.peoplepower21.org)

Signatories (Total 45 Organizations) Acheon-dong Church APWSL-K Asian Dignity Initiative Association of Korea Minjung Theologians Catholic Human Rights Committee Church and Society Committee of the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK) Damlwol Durebang Ecumenian Ecumenical Youth Council in Korea Freedom, Dignity and Asia Goyang YMCA Korea Human Rights Center of the National Council of Churches in Korea Human Rights Education Center 'Deul' Human Rights Movement Space 'Hwal' Imagination For International Solidarity Incheon Human Rights Film Festival Incorporated Organization Silcheon Bulgyo International Migrants Cultural Institute JCMK Joint Committee on Freedom of Expressions and Press Suppression Korea Alliance For Progressive Movement Korea Christian Action Organization Korea Civil Society Forum on International Development Cooperation(KoFID) Korea Philippines's Human Rights Network Korean House for International Solidarity Korean Transnational Corporations Watch Life & Safety Network Media Christian Solidarity Migrants Trade Union (MTU) MINBYUN - Lawyers for a Democratic Society International Solidarity Committee National Clergy Conference For Justice and Peace OSAN DASOM CHURCH OSAN MIGRENT CENTER Pax Christi Korea People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy(PSPD) People’s Initiative for Development Alternatives(PIDA) Presbysterian Church in the Republic of Korea Refugee Rights Center, NANCEN Supporters group for migrant workers movement The fellowship with sufferers The National Youth Association of The Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROKY) Ulsan Solidarity for Human Rights Won Buddhism Human Rights Committee

INVESTIGATE PH LAUNCH

The global “Investigate PH” project was successfully launched with two events, one for North America and Europe on January 26 and one for the Asia-Pacific region on January 28. Many legal, educational, church and other experts are the Commissioners and sub-Commissioners who will investigate and report on the escalating human rights abuses in the Philippines in time for a UN convention in September 2021.

US, South Korean and International Civil Society Organizations Call for the Suspension of US-ROK Combined Military Exercises

COMMISSION 4 HAS SIGNED THIS STATEMENT AND JOINED IN THIS CALL

January 26, 2021

We, the undersigned (380) civil society organizations in the United States, , and around the world, call on President Biden to suspend the annual US-South Korea (ROK) combined military exercises. Suspending these costly and highly provocative war exercises will be a crucial step toward re-starting genuine diplomacy with North Korea (DPRK). It will remove a formidable obstacle to a peaceful resolution of the ongoing 70- year-old Korean War and allow all parties to focus on other intractable global issues facing our nations today, such as creating a nuclear weapons- free world and resolving the current COVID-19 pandemic.

In the mid-1950s, just after the Korean War, the US and ROK began combined military exercises in South Korea that prepare for war with North Korea. In the 1970s the drills developed into large-scale exercises that mobilize considerable weapons, equipment and the deployment of US troops stationed in both South Korea as well as US bases outside the Korean Peninsula. Since the 2000s they have been based on operation plans that reportedly include pre-emptive strikes and “decapitation measures” against the North Korean leadership. Due to their scale and provocative nature, the annual US-ROK combined exercises have long been a trigger point for heightened military and political tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

For years these combined military exercises have involved the use of B-2 bombers (which are designed to drop nuclear bombs), nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines, as well as the firing of long-range artillery and other weapons. They not only increased tensions on the Korean Peninsula, they have cost US taxpayers billions of dollars and have caused irreparable harm to local residents and the environment in South Korea.

At a time when the world is facing urgent humanitarian, environmental, and economic crises, these military exercises divert critically needed resources away from our capacity to provide true human security such as healthcare, a sustainable environment, and other priorities. Furthermore, they heighten geopolitical tensions and risk re-igniting a hot war on the Korean Peninsula, which would have catastrophic consequences for millions of people.

We want peace talks, not war drills and military confrontation. We urge the Biden Administration to resolve the root cause of the conflict between the United States and North Korea -- the unresolved Korean War -- which has driven a dangerous arms race, harmed the most vulnerable people through punishing sanctions, and enforced the tragic separation of hundreds of thousands of Korean families. Continuing to rely on isolation, pressure, and threats to force North Korea’s unilateral denuclearization is a recipe for failure.

Suspending the combined military exercises will be a major confidence-building measure toward renewing diplomacy to resolve the longstanding 70-year-old conflict with North Korea and, ultimately, achieve permanent peace and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Signed:

[Korean Version >> https://forms.gle/E4RBtzeUqkG5Fjo3A]

Hobart

ILPS Australia Statement on Invasion Day 2021

The Australian Chapter of the International League of Peoples' Struggle marks Invasion Day 2021 with a forthright call for respect for the First Nations Peoples of Australia, for their lands and waters, for their Elders Past, Present and Emerging. January 26 as the national holiday called “Australia Day” is a great affront to First Nations Peoples and degrades the entire Australian community for its wilful celebration of invasion and colonisation, ideas that the majority of Australian people reject.

So on this day, ILPS Australia calls for the date of the national day to be changed, we can suggest May 27, the day of the 1967 Referendum which did show overwhelming respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, but the date should be the outcome of a respectful discussion with First Nations Peoples. On this day we call on all Australians to actively reach out to First Nations People in their communities to show solidarity.

This is a day to call out 24 years of repression of First Nations aspirations since the Howard government in 1996 rejected self-determination for Indigenous communities, savagely cut funding to Indigenous services, decided to undermine the newly established Native Title Act, refused to accept the report on the Stolen Generations, worked to destroy the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, and then launched the military into the Northern Territory in the shameful 2007 “Intervention”. Labor in its six years of government did make the Apology to the Stolen Generations but did not turn around the new paternalism created under the Howard government, and the incoming Abbott government continued where Howard had left off in 2007.

ILPS Australia calls on the Australian people to affirm the historic sovereign rights of Australia’s First Nations, and calls on the Morrison government to embrace rather than resist the modest calls in the 2017 Statement from the Heart for Voice, Treaty, Truth. A referendum on the Voice is what the Convention at Uluru called for, and it should be blocked no longer.

And this should only be the first step. The ongoing “intervention” in the Northern Territory has to stop now, along with the humiliation of the BASICS Card and the more recent Cashless Welfare Card. These repressive welfare measures are a blatant return to the paternalism of the “mission” and the “reserve” when people had to get permission to spend their own money, to travel, to marry.

Just as repressive is the Community Development Program work-for-the-dole system in remote communities, which is notorious for penalising participants for very minor “breaches”. Penalties often mean no income for most of the year for most participants. We support the call of the First Nations Workers Association for the abolition of CDP and its replacement with real jobs, paying real wages as part of regional economic development plans.

The Morrison government has recently negotiated a new deal for the Closing The Gap program, which has been a phoney fiasco since the Abbott government dismantled its structures and funds in 2014. This new plan was negotiated with the peak Aboriginal and Torres Strait Services and must be honestly and fully implemented.

So let 2021 be a year that Australia made another turn away from its savage colonial origins and showed genuine respect for First Nations Peoples as part of the diverse, democratic, multicultural society that we must become if we are to endure the pandemic, address climate change and create a peaceful prosperous world which all can share.

- ILPS Australia National Coordinating Committee #alwayswasalwayswillbe #treatynow #changethedate

Melbourne

PALESTINIAN PRISONER SOLIDARITY

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network organized a week of solidarity from January 15 to 23. Demanding the release of all political prisoners, they highlighted the case of Ahmad Sa’adat. January 17 marks the anniversary of his detention. After a launch online on January 16, there was a rally in Gaza City the same day. There were many subsequent street and symbolic actions in several western European countries. As well, activities transpired in Canada, the US and Tunisia.