Declaration of the Anti-imperialist Camp to free the arrested anti-imperialists
Resistance is not terrorism
Defy the attack on the movement to end the occupation of Iraq!
Free the arrested anti-imperialists!
The recent European-wide so-called anti-terrorist operation of April 1 carried out simultaneously in Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Greece and Germany as well as in Turkey comes amidst an outright terror hysteria. This frenzy is being created by the ruling oligarchy to deflect from its support and participation in the illegitimate and criminal American war on and occupation of Iraq.
Everybody knows that there is only one single way to avert attacks by the Islamist resistance carried out in retaliation for the oppression of the Arab and Islamic people by the West and its ally Israel: the immediate withdrawal of the occupation troops from Iraq and Palestine and the granting of the full right to self-determination.
The Spanish people have chased away Aznar for having played the servant of Bush in his aggression. They have correctly blamed the full political responsibility of the horrible massacre of Madrid on his policy.
Now it is the turn of Berlusconi. The recent million-strong mass demonstration in Rome on March 20 on the anniversary of the war impressively displayed to the world that the Italian population is of the very same opinion. A demonstration “against terror” actually meaning “for war and occupation” organised by the government some days earlier draw only a reactionary paid mob of a few hundreds.
But the sentiment of the Italian masses goes much further than the Spanish election results would imply. They do not want to vote into power the centre left which bears responsibility for the war of aggression on Yugoslavia and which, in its servility to the US, did not even dare to announce the withdrawal of the Italian troops from Iraq. Therefore the demonstrators denied the centre left leaders access to their demonstration calling them murderers. Militants of the Anti-imperialist Camp were involved in this action.
Within the demonstration, thousands of banners expressed the legitimacy of the Iraqi resistance. The open support to the Iraqi resistance, a position which the Anti-imperialist Camp is the spearhead of, decisively gained acceptance within the vast anti-war and anti-occupation movement. This is a clear change as only some months ago our campaign “10 euro for the Iraqi resistance” could be marginalized. The first European demonstration in support of the Iraqi resistance on December 13 in Rome was a modest sign of this trend. Though a heavy media campaign from all side including the historic left sought to destroy it, we could draw some vanguard elements thus defying the attempted isolation.
Since then the Italian Committee Free Iraq formed as a result of the mobilisation continued to be under heavy fire. The vicious media campaign led by the main Italian daily “Corriere della Sera” and orchestrated by other press, TV and radio outlets accused the committee of supporting terrorism. Magdi Allam, one of its vice directors, wrote a series of half a dozen articles dedicated to prove the implication of the Anti-imperialist Camp into the Madrid attacks. Even after Aznar´s ETA theorem imploded, which Magdi Allam rendered himself the Italian spokesman of, he continued with his blatant lies.
The arrest of the leaders of the Anti-imperialist Camp including its international spokesman Moreno Pasquinelli who were also central activists of the Committee Free Iraq is an attempt to decapitate the vanguard of the movement against the occupation of Iraq.
It is clearly politically motivated and thus violates the elementary democratic right to free expression, speech and coalition. It is not by accident that the website of the Committee was sequestrated and turned off (www.iraqlibero.net).
In his congratulation to the police forces who carried out the raids, the minister of interior Pisanu openly stated who is to be targeted: all the forces fighting the American Empire.
The EU´s black list and the Turkish oligarchy
However, in the police operation against democracy of April 1 several interests coincided.
After September 11, 2001, the European bourgeoisies followed the US in creating a black list of liberation organisations to be demonised and criminalized as terrorists. Enlisted were not only the entire range of Palestinian resistance organisations – in blatant violation of the UN charter and international law both stipulating the right to resistance against foreign occupation including to resort to armed means –, but also movements against imperialist puppet regimes like that in Colombia, on the Philippines and also in Turkey, namely the Revolutionary People´s liberation Front (DHKC).
After the Madrid bombings of March 11, 2004, the European bourgeoisies shifted to the next higher gear in the logic of suspension of democratic right. Instead of following the explicit will of the European population to end the support to the American war and occupation and thus to avert Islamic retaliation strikes in this asymmetric war, they pledged to intensify the repression, dubbed European-wide coordinated anti-terror measures.
They happened to choose the DHKC as their scapegoat.
The DHKC has been fighting ever since the beginning against the regime of the military junta installed in Turkey by means of a bloody military coup in 1980 backed by the US and Europe. While thousands and thousands of democratic and leftist people were killed or thrown into the prisons, the predecessors of the DHKC took up arms.
Despite cosmetic changes, the military regime in Ankara is essentially still in place. Despite the EU´s attempts to whitewash the regime, everybody knows that the generals still pull the strings. The Kurds are still denied the elementary right to national self-determination coinciding with geo-strategic imperialist interests. While the changing governments subserviently implement the ultra-liberalist recites of the American Empire, an ever growing portion of the popular masses are condemned to poverty and misery.
Antagonist opposition is still oppressed by iron fist. There are still thousands of political prisoners who are tortured, as regularly reported by Amnesty International.
The struggle of the political prisoners against isolation which has so far claimed the lives of 110 people starved to death in hunger strikes testifies for this. Despite a vast movement in support of the political prisoners, the severe repression of the regime against all who dare to touch the problem in public proves the character of Turkey as a military oligarchy. As a part of the recent operation some 30 activists of democratic media facilities or associations such as Tayad, a coalition of the family members of the political prisoners, were arrested.
The struggle of the DHKC is thus directed towards a new, democratic constitution based on the will and the power of the majority of the popular masses including the right of self-determination of the Kurdish people.
As thousands of supporters of DHKC escaped to Europe in search of political refuge, the party always strictly limited its actions in Europe to purely political activities.
Despite countless trials in Germany, Belgium and England no accusation of being implicated in armed activities let alone terrorism could ever be proved. Nevertheless the repression continued leading to the banning of the DHKP-C (not the DHKC) in Germany.
The recent anti-democratic police operation took place while the mobilisation against the forthcoming NATO summit in Istanbul scheduled for end of June is in full swing. Also in Turkey the vast majority of the population refused any support to the American aggression on Iraq while the regime is the closest ally of the US and Israel throughout the region despite the Islamic varnishing. The DHKC plays a decisive role within the mass mobilisation against war and occupation.
Regarding repression, the EU und Turkey have been always fully co-operating despite the cheap words on democracy and human rights.
A pre-fabricated amalgam
Most of the police raids all over Europe seem to have served to intimidate and display the ability to strike in midst of terror hysteria. All except one of the detained (Kaya Saz in the Netherlands) has already been set free without any charges. While the Greek authorities apparently refused to participate in the operation, they detained Sinan Boskurt executing a seemingly separate German arrest warrant. After the smoke screens of Rambo-like operations have faded, they leave broken doors, destroyed offices and confiscated materials which are all publicly available.
Meanwhile the charges reproached to the comrades arrested in Italy are more serious. It seems as if the intention is to apply notorious anti-terrorist legislation of paragraph 270, which could lead to years of imprisonment. Avni Er and Zeynep Kilic are accused of having led an alleged terrorist cell while Moreno Pasquinelli, Maria Grazia Ardizzone and Alessia Monteverdi are accused of having helped them.
Everybody knows that the Anti-imperialist Camp has nothing to do with terrorism. All of our activities were completely public and directed towards the broad masses.
The annual Anti-imperialist Camps in Assisi were, are and will be completely open to everybody including the media and the press who intensively covered the gathering.
Since the very beginning the DHKC has openly taken part in these meetings and has co-operated politically with the Camp.
Also the DHKC has nothing to do with terrorism. In Europe they limit themselves to political means while in Turkey they defend their right to employ all means of struggle against the military regime.
According to the detainee´s lawyers the accusations of armed or terrorist activities are unfounded and pre-fabricated amalgams for which the prosecution will not be able to produce any proof. They are even more ridiculous considering the American and Israeli state terror to which the world and especially the Arab and Islamic people are submitted to.
By the mere attempt to criminalize and stigmatise our leading militants as terrorists they hope to politically isolate us and to paralyse us.
But they will not be able to destroy us and their attempts will eventually backfire as the European population is increasingly opposing the American war and occupation.
Free the arrested anti-imperialists!
End the occupation and support the resistance!
Down with the American war and empire!
Anti-imperialist Camp
April 5, 2004
