Interview with Norman Paech, international spokesman of the parliamentary fraction of the German party "Die Linke" (The Left) and professor emeritus for law in Hamburg. Q: You and your party oppose the NATO mission in Afghanistan and the German participation. Why?We do not believe that peace can be brought to Afghanistan by military means. The German involvement is highly problematic as it follows the US objective of a Greater Middle East. The invasion and occupation of Afghanistan constitutes a violation international law.Q: What does the German public opinion think?The German population is not convinced at all, and as a matter of fact a significant majority is opposed to the presence of German troops in Afghanistan. The situation in the country has deteriorated over the last six … [read more]

Initial Report By Yoav Bar (*)Sort of ApologyFriday and Saturday, 20-21 of June, 2008 - after a year of dreaming and working for it to happen - the Haifa conference was such a great success that we hardly believed it was real… But on Saturday night, as we made the 5 minutes drive from elMidan back home to Hallisa, a poor, mostly Arab, neighborhood in east Haifa, the racist and un-democratic state of Israel was clearly and vigorously there - the streets were filled with police and special "anti riot" units, stopping people and beating them at random. We spent the next week collecting evidence and organizing a demonstration against police violence…All of you who tried to follow the preparations to the conference, or who are concerned to see the results, might have been frustrated with … [read more]

بيان صحفي من حركة أبناء البلد، 26 حزيران (يونيو) 2008بيان للصحافةاستدعت شرطة مسجاف (التابعة لجهاز الشرطة القمعي) الرفيق محمد أسعد كناعنة - أبو أسعد أمين عام حركة أبناء البلد.. لما يسمى بالاستيضاح وهو تحقيق بطريقة غير مباشرة، … [read more]

Press Communique The Anti-imperialist Camp wished the best success to the ILPS which we regard as a fraternal anti-imperialist organization. Since the foundation of the ILPS we have been proposing common activities and campaign especially in support of the Iraqi resistance and we will continue to do so. For the time being we encountered two main problems which the ILPS: a) an unclear position on the role of those Islamic forces fighting imperialism with whom the Anti-imperialist Camp calls for a co-operation; b) a tendency to tag common activities with other forces with the label of the ILPS displaying the difficulty to deal with the fact that there are plenty of anti-imperialist forces neither sharing the political base of the ILPS nor willing to join it. A future anti-imperialist front … [read more]

لجنة "غزة يجب ان تعيش" التضامنية تنظم تظاهرة احتجاج قرب القصر الرئاسي النمساوي في فييناتظاهر يوم الإثنين 23 حزيران (يونيه) العديد من الناشطين النمساويين والعرب في فيينا في ميدان ميخائيلا بلاتز بالقرب من القصر الرئاسي، … [read more]

فلسطين: لا وحدة وطنية على حساب القضيةافتتاحية العدد السابع من مجلة نادي فلسطين العربي "قلم رصاص" http://apc-vienna.org/APC/bleistift/Kalam7.pdf رغم اتضاح معالم الدور الذي تلعبه سلطة رام الله والشريحة التي تديرها إلى حد الصفاقة والابتذال، يتواصل … [read more]

Di nome Manganelli, di fatto pure Non c'ਠalcun bisogno di insistere su fino a che punto le autorità  italiane (quale che sia il governo in carica) si considerino ascare degli Stati Uniti. Tuttavia ci pare doveroso fornire un avviso ai naviganti, segnalando una notiziola (subito fatta sparire) del 5 dicembre scorso, ovvero quando i "comunisti" erano al governo. La pubblichiamo cosଠcome venne diffusa. Antiterrorismo: un database comune tra Italia e Stati Uniti Il capo della Polizia italiana con la responsabile della sicurezza interna dell'amministrazione Bush. "Un database comune a disposizione delle forze di polizia italiane e americane con le informazioni riguardanti persone ricercate, condannate e indagate per vicende di terrorismo internazionale. E' la novità  … [read more]

Friday and Saturday, June 20-21, 2008Haifa, Al Midan Theatre, Khouri St 2Friday June 20th, 2008 17:00 - 19:00 Young People's EncounterYouth Struggle, Manifesting Return, Democracy and SecularismWorkshop Facilitator : George Ghantous Young members and activists of various organizations of 48 Palestinians - Discussion of youth activity in the struggle for a free, enlightened, democratic and secular society… Memory of the Nakba and dreams for the future, return of the refugees, preserving ties amongst various parts of the Palestinian people, and message to Israeli society…17:00 - 19:00 Youth MeetingYouth Struggle, Manifesting Return, Democracy and SecularismWorkshop facilitator: Lana KhaskiaThe workshop aims to explore the meaning of the expression "right of return and democratic secular … [read more]

مؤتمر حيفا لأجل حق العودة والدولة العلمانية الديمقراطية في فلسطينفي خطوة سياسية معبّرة، دعت عدة قوى سياسية فلسطينية في الداخل الفلسطيني المحتل إلى مؤتمر في قاعو مسرح الميدان في مدينة حيفا يتناول حق العودة ومطلب … [read more]

Ellen Brun and Jacques Hersh In trying to comprehend the virus of Islamophobia now infecting Europe, the small country of Denmark offers powerful insights. Shakespeare's phrase that "something is rotten in the state of Denmark" seems appropriate to describe the transformation taking place in this former bastion of tolerance and conviviality.In the course of one generation, beginning in the 1980s, a process has altered the ideal picture that many informed people throughout the world had of Danish society. The transition has been dramatic and the end point of the process difficult to fathom. Even politically aware Danes are somewhat at a loss to explain what exactly has been happening to the Danish political culture. The Danish body politic has of course never been an undifferentiated … [read more]

Oder: Danke Irland! Man konnte die Uhr danach stellen, und pünktlich brach es aus: Das Klagen und Wehgeschrei über die Iren, dank deren Votum der ominöse "Vertrag von Lissabon" Makulatur wurde. "Europa ist in der Krise", barmt "Der Spiegel", und will glauben machen, dass die EU Europa sei. Dabei geht es Europa nach dem irischen Votum wieder entschieden besser, nur das Bündnis der EU-Imperialisten hat Grund, Trauer zu tragen.Alle Drohungen haben nichts genutzt. Selbst der Kosovo-Kolonialgouverneur und jetzige französischen Außenminister Bernard Kouchner (in Fachkreisen "Vater aller Menschenrechtskriege" genannt) konnte mit seiner unverschämten Einschüchterung nichts ausrichten: "Sie haben mehr profitiert als andere. Es wäre sehr störend, wenn wir uns nicht auf die Iren … [read more]

On the anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba, Mai 17th, 2008, the solidarity conference "Gaza Must Live" took place in the hall of Regina Hotel in Vienna, attended by the Palestinian MP Gamal Elkouday (independent, Gaza Strip), the European MP Karin Resetarits, the president of the Islamic Community of Vienna, Dr. Anas El-Shakfeh, and other representatives of the Austrian civil society and the Arab community of Vienna.The conference is a part of a campaign having the same name, which was launched by a committee of persons, among them independents and members of Austrian and Arab organisations, such as Leo Gabriel, Wilhelm Langthaler, Paula Abrahms-Hourani, Peter Melvin and Fritz Edlinger. In the frame of the European network of the campaign already two delegations were dispatched to … [read more]

Preliminary Programme, June 20-21 This conference is a special convergence of academic discussion, open assessment of political strategies between political leaders and coming together of grass root activists from different political movements and civil society.In order to enhance the role of the youth in the conference, we now added a special youth plenum, before the general opening ceremony. So the program will start on Friday afternoon, June 20, 2008, 17:00, at el-Midan theatre in Haifa, with a gathering of Palestinian youth, from different political and local movements, to discuss the role of the youth in regards to the right of return and the building of a democratic and multi-cultural society.The opening ceremony will start at 19:00, and we invited key political speakers from … [read more]

أمسية فيلم ونقاش (باللغى العربية فقط) بحضور المخرجة اللبنانية عرب لطفي يقدم المركز الثقافي العربي النمساوي عملها الوثائقي الجديد حول المجزرة التي ارتكبها الصهاينة في قرية الـ"طنطورة" الفلسطينية عام 1948ØŒ تلك المجزرة … [read more]

Another Jewish voice for one single democratic and secular state in Palestine A change needs to comeby Avigail AbarbanelEarlier this month I had the privilege of hearing Ali Abunimah speak at a dinner organized by an Australian pro-Palestinian activist group. Abunimah, an author and a co-founder of The Electronic Intifada, is a supporter of the one-state solution in Palestine/Israel, and so am I. One democratic and secular state for both peoples with a right of return for the Palestinian refugees is the only just solution to the long conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Abunimah is optimistic about what is possible. I would like to be as optimistic but am not so sure I can.Growing up as an Israeli provided me with an intimate understanding of Israeli-Jewish psychology. Ever … [read more]

We fought apartheid; we see no reason to celebrate it in Israel now! 17 May 2008We, South Africans who faced the might of unjust and brutal apartheid machinery in South Africa and fought against it with all our strength, with the objective to live in a just, democratic society, refuse today to celebrate the existence of an Apartheid state in the Middle East. While Israel and its apologists around the world will, with pomp and ceremony, loudly proclaim the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the state of Israel this month, we who have lived with and struggled against oppression and colonialism will, instead, remember 6 decades of catastrophe for the Palestinian people. 60 years ago, 750,000 Palestinians were brutally expelled from their homeland, suffering persecution, massacres, … [read more]

احتفاءً بإطلاق سراح المناضل الرفيق محمد كناعنة (أبو أسعد)ØŒ الأمين العام لحركة أبناء البلد بعد اعتقال دام أربع سنوات ونصفمهرجان الحرية لأسرى الحرية الكوادر واللجنة المركزية والمكتب السياسي لحركة أبناء البلد، … [read more]

العرض الأول في النمساإحكي يا عصفورة: فيلم قصصي عن المناضلات الفلسطينيات بطلات العمليات الأولى أمسية فيلم ونقاش مع المخرجة اللبنانية عرب لطفيالسابعة من مساء الأحد 1 حزيران (يونيو) 2008،المركز الثقافي العربي النمساوي … [read more]

Today the independent member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Gamal el Khoudary, is scheduled to address a conference in Vienna organised by the Austrian Committee "Gaza shall live". Among the panellists are Karin Resetarits, independent European MP, Fritz Edlinger, General Secretary of the Society for Austrian-Arab Relations, Peter Melvyn, European Jews for a Just Peace, Paula Abrams-Hourani, Women in Black, Anas Schakfeh, President of the Islamic Community (which in Austria is a governmental charge), Franz Sieder, Catholic priest, Zuheir Elwazer, Palestinian ambassador.The campaign "Gaza shall live" collected up to now about 750 signatures for a petition to the Austrian government to desist from further supporting the Israeli, American and European stranglehold against the … [read more]

May 17th, 2008, 19.00Schwarzspanierstr.15, 1090 Vienna60 years after the massive expulsion of the Palestinians from their home country a murderous embargo makes 1.5 million people in Gaza struggle for survival.The campaign "Gaza shall live" calls on the Austrian government and the European Union to lift the embargo on the Gaza Strip in order to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe. Panellists:Gamal ElkoudaryIndependent Representative of the Palestinian Legislative Council, GazaKarin ResetaritsMember of the European ParliamentFritz EdlingerGeneral Secretary of the Society for Austrian-Arab RelationsFranz Sieder Catholic priest / AmstettenViola RahebConsultant, Vienna - PalestinePeter MelvynEuropean Jews for a Just Peace - AustriaPaula Abrams-HouraniWomen in Black - ViennaAnas … [read more]