Update on the 4 alleged Iraqi resistance supporters arrested in Swedenby Lars Akerhaug, Norway, April 22, 2004The news reports are really confusing, but it is clear that there is one 25-year old, one 24-year old, one 35-year old and one 29-year old. The 29-year old is identified in Aftonbladet as Iraqi. The 24-year old is Kurdish. Two have requested Kurdish translators, one Arabic and one has not yet requested translation.All the four seem to have ordinary jobs. The 24-year old is reportedly a falafel seller and Aftonbladet`s sources have claimed him as negative towards suicide bombs in Iraq, religious but not especially so.The charges against the four are kept secret, their identities also. The author Jan Guilou today called the case "worse than the witch processes".From the reports, I … [read more]

20-23 May 2004POLITICAL PRISONERS IN THE XXI CENTURYINTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY CONFERENCEMIRAMAR PALACEDONOSTIA - BASQUE COUNTRY20 - 23 MAY 2004 Following our note of February 28, here is the document explaining the main ideas around the "INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON POLITICAL PRISONERS"These are the main aims of the conference:1.- To renew the concepts we use when referring to the conflict, which are rather outdated.2.- to inform society about the prisoners´ situation and to create solidarity mechanisms.3.- to adequately place the nature and living conditions of political prisoners in an international framework.4.- To find out about political conflicts in other countries and their consequences and to spread this knowledge in the Basque Country.The International Conference on Political … [read more]

Letter of Moreno Pasquinelli, spokesman of the Anti-imperialist Camp, from prisonTo the presiding council of the Free Iraq CommitteesTo all the Free Iraq CommitteesDear friends and comrades,You know that in connection with our arrest, the judicial authorities imposed the sequestration of the web site www.iraqlibero.net because it is supposed to have "spread the activity of the terrorist organisation DHKC-P" as the order reads.This sensational falsehood (the site never spread anything related with the DHKC-P) does, however, show the real aims of this repressive attack we fell victim to.This is also, if not foremost, a strike against the movement in solidarity with the Iraqi anti-imperialist resistance which the Free Iraq Committees paved the way for and which they have been advocates … [read more]

Italian MPs and dignitaries demand the liberation of the arrested anti-imperialistsMost prominent advocates for the liberation of the arrested anti-imperialists are the archbishop of Umbria and the internationally renown film director Michelangelo Antonioni. Archbishop Giuseppe Chiaretti, who used to know Moreno since his childhood when he was priest in Pigge di Trevi, publicly declared that he is opposed to the political demonisation of Moreno. Michelangelo Antonioni on his part has stated that "Moreno is not the sinister accomplice of terrorists like the press is painting him, but in dealing with us he was always a person of high human values, caring about the problems of the world, inspired by the ethics of solidarity with the humiliated, the needy and the persecuted. Therefore we want … [read more]

Activists from all over Europe in hunger strikeAs the review of remand in custody for the arrested anti-imperialists is coming closer, the support committee "Free them now" has stepped up public protests.On one of the main squares of Perugia a Guantanamo cell has been built hosting inmates with red jackets and hoods. About a dozen activists from several European countries and Turkey have joined the hunger strike.Beside there is a tent informing about the human, social and national rights situation in Turkey. Passer-bys are invited to watch videos and an exhibition on the political prisoners and torture being commonly applied in Turkey. While the indictment sustains that the accused tried to subvert a "democratic and pluralistic state", evidence is being provided about the genocide … [read more]

Four apprehended rather political than criminal casePolice raids on Monday night, 19 April, 2004, in the Swedish capital Stockholm and in the southern city of Malmo resulted in four people being apprehended as suspected "terrorists". They were indicted Tuesday, accused of "assisting the Iraqi resistance in carrying out terror attacks against US troops".The Swedish police was acting on information given to them by U.S. authorities. Exactly what kind of assistance the four have supposedly given, is not publicly know at present.Swedish press reports claim that the four detainees are of "foreign origin". One of them seems to be Swedish citizen, a 35-year old pizza baker, resident in Sweden from 1991 and known as not very pious and therefore probably not Islamist, as well as two Arab Iraqis, … [read more]

Statement of solidarity from the Iraqi Patriotic Alliance, April 20, 2004The Iraqi Patriotic Alliance (IPA) sharply condemns the arrests of the three comrades of the Anti-imperialist Camp (the international spokesman Moreno Pasquinelli, Alessia Monteverdi and Maria Grazia Ardizzone) and two Turkish exiles, supposedly members of the DHKP-C (Avni Er and Zeynep Kilic).These arrests have nothing to do with fighting real terrorism. Their sole purpose is to silence the criticism from anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist organizations.Through their work the anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist organizations have been revealing the political gap between the established political parties in Italy and the Italian people, who clearly support the just struggle of the Iraqi people as shown by the big … [read more]

تونسإحتجاجا على إغتيال الدكتور عبد العزيز الرنتيسي قائد حركة حماس الÙ?لسطينية ودعما لصمود الشعبين الÙ?لسطيني والعراقي Ù?ÙŠ وجه العدوان الأمريكي والصهيوني تدعوك أحزاب المعارضة الوطنية والهيئات والجمعيات المستقلة إلى … [read more]

Israeli historian Benny Morris crossed a new line of shame when he put his academic credentials and respectability in the service of outlining the "moral" justification for a future genocide against Palestinians.Benny Morris is the Israeli historian most responsible for the vindication of the Palestinian narrative of 1948. The lives of about 700,000 people were shattered as they were driven from their homes by the Jewish militia (and, later, the Israeli army) between December 1947 and early 1950. Morris went through Israeli archives and wrote the day by day account of this expulsion, documenting every "ethnically cleansed" village and every recorded act of violence, and placing each in the context of the military goals and perceptions of the cleansers.Israel`s apologists tried in vain to … [read more]

April 10: demonstration in Perugia to liberate the five imprisoned anti-imperialistsLiberate the truthOn Saturday April 10, several hundred people gathered at the Partisan´s Square in Perugia (Italy) to protest against the arrest of three activists of the Anti-Imperialist Camp and two of the Turkish-Kurdish DHKC. Carrying banners reading "Liberate the truth" and "Free Moreno, Maria Grazia, Alessia, Zeynep, Avni", several political organisations and activists denounced the severe restrictions of the democratic liberties namely the right to free expression and association.With the Iraqi resistance. Freedom for the arrested comradesThe first speaker was Eros Francescangeli of the Anti-Imperialist Camp who denounced the monstrosity of the accusations which led to the police operation of … [read more]

by James PetrasApril 7, 2004 "ICH" -- Falluja, Baghdad, Ramadi, Nasiriya--an entire people has risen to confront the colonial occupation army, its mercenaries, clients, and collaborators. First in massive peaceful protests, they were massacred by US, British, Spanish and Polish troops: Bare hands against tanks and machineguns. The armed resistance, in the beginning a minority, now indisputably the most popular force, backed by millions. The colonial armies, fearful of every Iraqi, shoot wildly into crowds and retreat; they encircle whole cities, fire missiles into crowded working- class neighborhoods, helicopters pour machinegun fire into homes, factories, mosques. In the eyes of the colonial soldiers, the enemy is everywhere. For once they are right. The resistance resists--every block, … [read more]

United Muslim Front, Prajasanghala Ikya Vedika from Andhra PradeshDear Friends,Prajasanghala Ikya Vedika is forum of more than 22 peoples´ organisations and many intellectuals belong to Andhra Pradesh with a call "Resist the imperialist and fascist BJP-TDP alliance and question the political leaders coming to ask votes on peoples´ issue". The forum has already taken up various campaign programmes in the state.United Muslim Front is a forum of Muslim and Christian Minority, Dalit and Progressive organisations and with a similar call and taken up state-wide programmes.We have formed a joint coordination of these two forums to effectively expose the anti-people nature of TDP-BJP alliance in Andhra Pradesh.The people of India are witnessing …‘early polls´ for the Parliament ahead of … [read more]

InvitationLoksabha elections have been scheduled and hectic activities like candidature fixing, campaigns, etc are on in J&K also. While the election commission and the administration are busy preparing for the security aspects of elections, the political parties are busy wooing voters, elaborating the virtues of their candidates and their past work. In the midst of all this, the stark reality of flawed elections of the past scares the Kashmiri people. They are haunted by the violence, coercion and rigging they have witnessed in Assembly elections and in Parliament elections in the past 54 years. The fact that polling ratios of all elections held in J&K has been taken in far too many senses, add to their worries.While voting in elections and thus taking part in the "democratic" process of … [read more]

Mexico; Vienna (Austria); Brussels (Belgium); Perugia (Italy) Sit-in in front of the Italian Embassy in MexicoOn April 5 some 75 people gathered in av. Las Palmas #1994 col. Lomas de Chapultepec to protest against the arrest of the anti-imperialists in Europe and especially in Italy. They chanted following slogans:The criminalization of the resistance against the war will only create more resistance! Freedom for the political prisoners! No to isolation confinement! Down with the war!The protest was supported by following groups:Colectivo Libertad, Izquierda Democrática Popular, colectivos otomà­es de San Pablo Autopan, Red de Defensa de la Humanidad, seccià³n 22 del SNTE, Comità© Cerezo DF, Puebla y Guadalajara; Jà³venes en Resistencia Alternativa, Colectivo Polà­tico La gota … [read more]

Prevent an American bloodbath!From the very first day of occupation the Iraqi people have been mounting resistance against the foreign invaders. Never the American occupants have been welcomed as liberators like they tried to present themselves to the world.The resistance has been assuming different forms and paces according to the different circumstances and traditions. It ranged from street demonstrations for the withdrawal of the foreign troops, passing by social protests against the inability und unwillingness of the occupants to provide elementary social services let alone employment, until outright guerrilla warfare. Despite the overwhelming technical superiority the partisan movement has been proving to be able to inflict steady losses to the occupation forces. Thus the American … [read more]

Update on the April 1st arrests in ItalyThe operation ordered by the Magistracy of Perugia on April 1st led to the arrest of three comrades of the Anti-imperialist Camp (the international spokesman Moreno Pasquinelli, Alessia Monteverdi and Maria Grazia Ardizzone) and two Turkish exiles, supposedly members of the DHKP-C (Avni Er and Zeynep Kilic). This operation is a an attack on the most basic democratic liberties.The political attack against both organizations is accompanied by legally unsubstantial charges against the comrades.At present, we are only able to report the specific points of accusation against the militants of the Anti-imperialist Camp contained in the arrest warrant.First, a truly amusing piece of news: the three comrades are accused of belonging to the "Turkish … [read more]

Mexico; Perugia, Italy; Vienna, AustriaSit-in in front of the Italian Embassy in MexicoOn April 5 some 75 people gathered in av. Las Palmas #1994 col. Lomas de Chapultepec to protest against the arrest of the anti-imperialists in Europe and especially in Italy. They chanted following slogans:The criminalization of the resistance against the war will only create more resistance! Freedom for the political prisoners! No to isolation confinement! Down with the war!The protest was supported by following groups:Colectivo Libertad, Izquierda Democrática Popular, colectivos otomà­es de San Pablo Autopan, Red de Defensa de la Humanidad, seccià³n 22 del SNTE, Comità© Cerezo DF, Puebla y Guadalajara; Jà³venes en Resistencia Alternativa, Colectivo Polà­tico La gota de Chihuahua, Chih.; … [read more]

Updated List of May 13International solidarity messages to free the arrested anti-imperialistsUpdated List of April 13organizationsAskapena (Basque County)Arab Cause Solidarity Committee (Spain)Workers Revolutionary Party (EEK, Greece)Communist Party of Greece /ML (KKE/ML)Workers´ Communist Party of Denmark (APK)Freedom Socialist Party (USA)United Peoples (USA)Workers´ Action (USA)Socialist Choice (Ukraine)Poetas Antiimperialista de America (Canada)Socialist Thought Forum, JordanAnti-Repression Campaign, Brittany Communist Youth of PolandVoie Dà©mocratique, MoroccoInternational League of People´s Struggle – Turkey sectionIn Defence of Marxism (Spain)Popular Democratic Left (IDP, Mexico)Construction Committee of the Revolutionary Worker´s Party (Argentine)Communist Organization for … [read more]

Declaration of the Anti-imperialist Camp to free the arrested anti-imperialistsResistance is not terrorismDefy 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 … [read more]

report on the arrests of the Perugia 5Very early on Friday morning, April 1st, three comrades of the Antiimperialist Camp were arrested on orders from the Magistracy of Perugia: the international spokesman, Moreno Pasquinelli, Alessia Monteverdi and Maria Grazia Ardizzone.During the same operation, two members of the DHKC, Avni Er and Zeynep Kilic, were arrested.The arrests were ordered on the basis of Art. 270 bis (being party to an international terrorist association). The militants of the Camp are accused of helping two Turks in their needs as political exiles.The Turkish comrades appear to be accused of having claimed responsibility for bombings in Turkey, from Italy.The lawyers think the evidence gathered by the magistrates is entirely insufficient to motivate the arrests. It is … [read more]