Following is a response to Yoav Bar’s criticism “How to support the Syrian Revolution?” on the article “Democratic revolution against Assad AND the Gulf-backed forces”. 1) Popular democratic aspect dominant Starting point of any position-taking on Syria is to refuse the purely geo-political thinking which is ravaging the left. They are employing a method ranging between imperial statecraft and reading history as a permanent conspiracy. The popular masses are per se excluded from playing a role. Actually we are faced with two sides of the same medal. The ruling elites always tend to exclude the masses while the pessimist subaltern intellectuals denounce these elites ruling out any historic intervention form below as well. The Syrian rebellion has been a genuine … [read more]

First of all, everything is in flux. Nothing is secure: nor the political preferences of society, neither the relationship of forces between the people and the special regime imposed by the troika despite the relieve they got from the electoral outcome. Then there is the acceleration of the political schedules. One event precipitates the next. The privatisation of the Agricultural Bank – which mortgaged 50% of the arable land – within only one day bears witness of this pace. Furthermore there is the total insufficiency of the new government and the entire political system in administering the crisis. To survive Samaras concentrates on attacking Syriza. Within this frame we have to put also the manifold increase of deadly attacks on migrants by the Nazi-fascists of Hrisi Avgi … [read more]

We strongly condemn this act of banning and criminalisation of our organisation and demand the immediate withdrawal of this authoritarian ban. The Government Order brands RDF as “unlawful” and bans it “with immediate effect”. The GO links RDF with the banned CPI(Maoist) by calling it a “frontal organisation” of the Maoist party. Falsely implicating RDF as “part of Tactical United Front”, it dubiously enlists the following as “unlawful activities” of the organisation: (1) Sub serving the interest and objectives of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) whose avowed objective is to overthrow the lawfully established Government by means of force and violence through terrorist activities involving the use of firearms and explosives; (2) Urging people to fight … [read more]

The government parties contested the elections under the slogan of "renegotiation of the memorandum". After the elections the prime minister - leader of Nea Dimokratia - stated that Greece will abide by its signature and they stopped speaking about renegotiation. Now they spend their efforts to collect 11.5 billions more from the people according to the troika instructions. In the left, SYRIZA failed to win but gained about 26%, the highest score for a left party since 1958. But its program was very conservative: they reject the idea of an independent development outside of the EU and the eurozone. They avoid to clear what and how they want to change. The communist party and the coalition of the extreme left lost in the 17/6 elections more than the half of the votes they gained at … [read more]

Acute crisis of capital flight The current stage of the crisis of the EU/Euro is marked by capital fleeing the European south. The symbol for this are the increasing interest spreads over German bonds. But also banks and the corporate sector are in acute shortage of capital while private consumption is plunging. Together with the severe austerity imposed by the EU centre the European south is suffering deep recession of which the worst is still to come. Large sections of the population including the middle classes are being impoverished to an extent and in a pace unprecedented since decades. For any peripheral country this would mean immediate default and devastating social crisis as countries like Mexico, Indonesia, Argentina and many other countries did suffer from. Only being … [read more]

The blast The bomb blast of July 18 inside a governmental building killing four top leaders of the security apparatus was a very heavy blow for the regime. Regardless whether the perpetrators were part of the opposition or opponents within the regime it shows an acute stage of weakness, destabilisation and insecurity. Everybody was looking to the reactions of the top echelon of the apparatus. At the same time news from the massive loss of territorial control in the countryside, oer border crossings and an almost complete withdrawal from the Kurdish area enhanced the picture of the possibility of a quick end of the regime. Then there were the armed insurgency in Damascus reaching close to the centres of power in the quarters which had been centres of civil rebellion before. From … [read more]

Session of the Anti-imperialist Camp Assisi, Italy, August 23-26, 2012 Saturday, August 25, 9pm Cinema: Forbidden (67min, Arabic with English captions) Subsequently debate with the director Amal Ramsis Egypt between military, Islamists and Tahrir “Forbidden” (2011) is the fourth film of Amal Ramsis, after “In Beirut there is still the sea” (1999), “Only dreams” (2005), “One life” (2008). The film is a historic document about the months right before the uprising of January 25 in Egypt. It shows the bans suffered by the citizens under the Mubarak regime as well as the accumulating anger which eventually led to the popular eruption. The protagonists of the film are political activists like Arab Lotfi (film director), Salma Shokralla (journalist) or Mohamed … [read more]

The raging violence in Assam’s Bodo Territorial Autonomous Districts, Khokrajhar and Chirang (July 2012) has shaken the conscience of the nation. The Prime Minister has rushed to the area and called it as a Kalank, a shame for the nation. He also reprimanded the Chief Minister from his own party for the violence. There was some inexcusable delay in deploying the army in the area, which resulted in worsening of the issue. In this case of violence while on one side there is a great loss to the lives of people, still the larger tragedy is that lakhs of people have been displaced from their areas, home and hearth, just around the sowing season. The refugee camps housing them are grossly inadequate and not having enough facilities so far. Still at another level this violence has been … [read more]

Gathered in Rome at the Community of Sant’Egidio, we who belong to various groups of the Syrian democratic opposition, active both inside and outside the country, address this appeal to the Syrian people, to all sides involved and to the international community. We have different opinions and experiences. We have struggled and continue to struggle for freedom, dignity, democracy, human rights and to construct a Syria that is democratic, civil and safe for all, without fear and without oppression. We love Syria. We know that Syria, a place where different religions and peoples have coexisted peacefully, today runs a deadly risk that threatens the unity of its people, their rights and the sovereignty of the state. We are not neutral. We are part of the Syrian people, which is … [read more]

The Assad regime used Kaileh’s Palestinian decent as an excuse to legitimise the deportation. His tendency has been fully immersed in the popular revolt from the very beginning. Salameh Kailah was invited to Vienna by the Arab Austrian Cultural Center (OKAZ) and the Union of Syrians Abroad to deliver a speech on the civil disobedience movement in Damascus. The Anti-imperialist Camp participated in the organisation of the event and in the discussion.. Kaileh’s intervention came in the aftermath of the bomb attack in Damascus which killed four high ranking officials of the security apparatus. The political situation on the ground hints that the final battle is coming closer. For Kaileh it is of utmost importance that the victory of the popular uprising is possible without … [read more]

Speech and public debate with Haytham Manna Thursday, August 23rd, 9pm The NBC is a coalition of democratic forces which are taking part in the popular rebellion under the well-known slogan of the three NOs: No to foreign intervention! No to militarization and civil war! No sectarianism! In difference to the “Syrian National Council” (SNC) it is based within the country and includes representatives of all religious communities as well as the Kurds. It has come into sharp conflict with the SNC which way accuse of committing exactly what the SBC is opposing with the three NOs. The NBC reproaches to the SNC in substance to follow foreign agendas. While fully supporting the popular movement and the democratic demands, it is until now favouring a negotiated transition to avert … [read more]

The people now is waging one of the most important battles of the revolution. We should not misjudge what happens and reduce it to a decisive military battle with this regime. It’s an open Damascene popular uprising in which the revolution mobilizes all its forces and capabilities and all possible forms of struggle, military and popular. What gives the Damascene events all this importance that it is not confined to military action. We experience the participation of the people with all his revolutionary capabilities and energies in the "Damascus uprising". (This has been true since the beginning of the revolution but is especially important in the present moment.) We witness in addition to the armed clashes in the districts of the capital, road blockades, strikes, and social support … [read more]

Editorials in Europe celebrate the victory of someone who does not belong to the WASP elite as the restoration and confirmation of the American Dream—a Black man as elected monarch. The nightmare of the Bush years was supposedly just an aberration that failed, a deviation that is behind us now; the true, liberal America of opportunities is back, bright eyes, bushy tail. The lower and middle class had enough of the anti-social and war-mongering course of that coalition of protestant fundamentalists and neo-conservatives, and voted accordingly. The majority of white America, however, still voted for the zany duo McCain&Palin. One element that makes the United States so attractive is the apparent absence of formal exclusion for social advancement, and Obama seems to be the epitome of … [read more]

Palestine: the impact of the Arab revolt, the one democratic state solution and the solidarity movement • Zaher Birawi, leading Islamic Palestine activist, London • Attia Rajab, Palestine Committee Stuttgart • Yoav Bar, promoter of the Haifa conference for One Democratic State in Palestine • Leo Gabriel, member of the international council of the World Social Forum (WSF) Anti-imperialist Camp, Assisi, Italy, Friday 24 August, morning session The last years have seen a decisive shift in the global solidarity movement acknowledging the both the protagonism of the popular resistance and the impossibility of a compromise with Zionism. Back in the 90s the mainstream of the Palestine solidarity set all its hopes on the Oslo accords operated by Fatah. It was the time of … [read more]

Yet another massacre on dalit people in Andhra Pradesh shows that the landowning castes still turn violent when dalits assert themselves to take over land. Four dalit people were hacked to death, and about 30 dalit men and women were critically injured in a well-orchestrated attack by Turpu Kapu backward caste brahmanical forces in Lakshimpeta village of Vangara block in Srikakulam District on 12 June 2012. The brahmanical forces targeted 60 dalit families in the village with crude and brutal weapons like bombs, sickles, hatchets and axes supported and patronised by the ruling Congress Party leaders of the region. Burada Sundara Rao (45), Chitri Appadu (35), Nivarti Venkati (65) and Nivarti Sangameshu (40) died in the bloodbath. Bodduru Papaiah died in King George Hospital, … [read more]

Leftist candidate shooting star The surprise of the first round of the presidential elections was the result scored by the leftist Nasserist Hamdeen Sabbahi. He became third with 20.7% and some 4.8m votes. In most of the urban centres Sabbahi won, in the two largest cities, the capital Cairo and in Alexandria, even with about one third of the votes leaving his contenders far behind. Emblematic is the case of the Cairo slum quarter Imbaba which used to be a Salafi Jihadi stronghold in the 90s and later was taken over by the MB. Following the results: Sabbahi in the first place (32.2%) followed by Shafiq (23.2%); Mursi (18.3%); Abul-Fotouh (14.7%). Abul-Fotouh, the more liberal pro-Tahrir Islamist, who had been expelled from the MB, scored 17.1% which equates with roughly 4.1m … [read more]

Unlike Khader Adnan, who was transferred to the Safad Hospital, Mahmoud and Akram Rikhawi, who is on his 52nd day of strike, are intentionally denied proper medical care. On May 30, the Israeli court gave the prison authorities a long period, till June 10, until they should even allow the two striking prisoners access to independent doctors, in spite of the immediate danger to their lives! The mass hunger strike achieved a promise to release most Palestinian prisoners that are held without charge under administrative detention and to tighten the criteria for such detention. But Mahmoud Sarsak is held under another clause, “Illegal Enemy Combatant”, without charge and without trial and with even less legal supervision. After almost three years in detention all that we know about … [read more]

          Tent €8 per tent and day in addition to following fee   in € per person   per day   tent   6   tent half board   19   tent full board   32   Shared room   in € per person   per day   bed shared room   27   bed half board   40   bed full board   53   Breakfast not included in any configuration. 1 single meal €13 For half board lunch or dinner can be chosen.   To book pls write to campo2012@antimperialista.it with copy to … [read more]

Q: The Syriza coalition is being transformed into a party. Isn’t there a danger that the left wing of Syriza in this way will be suppressed and marginalised? The electoral rules render this move virtually obligatory. The first gets a bonus of 50 seats – under the pre-condition that it is a party. So it is also a message to the people that we really intend to become the first and form a popular government if we sustain the enormous pressure put on us. We consider the transformation into a party nevertheless as a purely technical step without further political implications. Synaspismos [Euro communist right wing split from the Communist Party] anyway got the majority and there remains a kind of proportionate representation in the leadership also with the transformation into a … [read more]

To the questions whether the Houla massacre spells the end of the Annan plan, Kilo answers with a resolute no. “We must fight for the implementation of the plan as the consequences of its end are dire.” According to Kilo there are many forces who want the end of the UN presence to start and all out war which would further harm the popular democratic movement. Asked on the recent general strike in Damascus, the capital which remained so far relatively quiet in comparison with the centers of the revolt, he pointed to an unprecedented development. “The fact that the chamber of commerce, the representative of the commercial bourgeoisie, for the first time voiced significant dissent to the regime makes them tremble. It is a very promising … [read more]