| Year 2009 No. 16, March 3, 2009 | ARCHIVE | HOME | JBBOOKS | SUBSCRIBE |
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Workers' Daily Internet Edition: Article Index :
Support Gaza - Support the Student Occupations
Some Messages of Support for the ManUni Occupation
Say No to the Extradition to the US of Seán Garland
No to the Extradition from Ireland to the US of Seán Garland!
Message of Support from International Communist Workers Parties
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A national student protest
is taking place in Manchester on Wednesday, 4th March, at 2pm, assembling at
the University of Manchester Students Union in Oxford Road.
The national
demonstration has been called in support of the student occupations at colleges
and universities through the country which are expressing support for the
Palestinian people and their right to be. The demonstration will have
representation from many different Universities, Colleges and Schools.
Students in Manchester, the biggest university in Britain, have been in occupation for almost four weeks now, yet the University has so far refused to negotiate with them. The University still invests in the arms trade, leading to some students taking action to disrupt a DSTL stall (DSTL is an agency of the Ministry of Defence) at an official graduate recruitment fair.
The Vice Chancellor Alan Gilbert has threatened expulsion for students who are involved.
The Manchester students' demands are in line with current Union policy having received an overwhelming majority at an Emergency General Meeting, attended by over 1,100 students. The students are pointing out that all eyes are on Manchester, and that the success of the occupation here is critical to the success of the national movement.
The students'
demands are just and must be met. A full list of the demands can be found at
here,
http://manunioccupation.wordpress.com/list-of-demands/
We call on all students to join
the national demonstration!
Message of Solidarity from An-Najah University
Dear fellow students of Manchester University,
The Student Council of An-Najah National University extends its sincerest thanks and appreciation for the courageous and principled action you have taken in solidarity with our people in Gaza. This non-violent action to pressure the administration of your university to take a more proactive stance to condemn Israeli aggression on Gaza reminds us, as an oppressed people, that we are not alone in our fight for freedom and justice. The demands that you have articulated for the ‘occupation’ you have staged express a new level of practical solidarity with the Palestinian people in their fight against Israeli oppression. Your move demonstrates great awareness, an awareness that arose despite of media biases and unjust portrayal of the conflict. You have proven to everyone that those who seek the truth shall find the truth, no matter how misleading propaganda is, or how unjust governments are.
We are indeed inspired and comforted to know that there are such extraordinary young men and women, who believe and strive for justice, and are willing to stand in the frontlines to defend it. We highly appreciate what you are doing, and your efforts shall certainly be remembered. You have our utmost respect, and ‘inshAllah’ all of your demands will be met!
In solidarity and with a great sense of appreciation we salute you from An-Najah National University in the besieged city of Nablus.
The Student Council of An-Najah National University
A message of support from The Islamic University of Gaza
Dear fellow students of Manchester University,
We would like to express our sincere thanks and deep appreciation for all your conscious efforts, endeavours and demands to support the right to education, justice and freedom in Palestine.
We wholeheartedly support your peaceful protests against the blanket bombing of Gaza in general and the Islamic University of Gaza (IUG) in particular which suffered extensive destruction and damage to all its buildings, academic facilities. Additionally more than 20,000 students, whose families have been agonizing from the suffocating siege of Gaza, have lost some members of their families and many others have lost their houses.
With great respect and admiration, we have been following all activities taking place in 19 British universities. Your brave campaign has strengthened both our hope and will that we are not alone in this just battle against unprecedented blatant injustices and flagrant violation of human rights in Palestine.
We are absolutely proud of you all and proud of your solidarity and support campaign for the right to education in Palestine which gives us bright light in the heart of the military occupation darkness.
We wish you full success in your supportive campaign and in achieving all your sensible demands which show a high level of awareness and commitment to defend basic human rights in Gaza at a time of obvious media bias and hypocrisy of many governments.
We hope to cooperate with you soon to establish mutual academic cooperation between our academic institutions. In this regard, we confirm our high interest and strong willingness to provide you with any information, facts, plans, courses, etc related to your practical demands.
In solidarity with Manchester university students in Occupation
Dr Kamalain Sha’ath
President, The Islamic University of Gaza
Tel: 970 8 282 3310
Fax: 970 8 286 3552
Website: http://www.iugaza.edu.ps/en/
Lecturers support Gaza and occupying students
Statement of support for student occupations over Gaza from members of the UCU union NEC
As members of the University and College Union National Executive Committee, we would like to send solidarity greetings to the students in the 17 universities who have occupied their universities in protest over the Gaza crisis. This is the largest wave of occupations for over a quarter of a century. Too often, the media seek to portray this generation of students as ones who do not share the aspirations of the 1968 generation - and deride you as, -Generation Apathy-. Your actions have decisively dispelled this myth.
Your demands to secure disinvestment by universities from companies involved in selling arms to Israel and free scholarships for students from Gaza show your humanity. You speak for the millions of young people throughout the world who are sick and tired of war and injustice, who simply desire a world in which the young grow up not knowing what it is like to kill and maim.
You are an inspiration to us all and we wish you every success and call upon all those who want a more peaceful world to support your action.
Message of support from Goldsmiths SU
To all our fellow students in occupation,
From South East London, we give are whole and unconditional support to your inspiring occupation in support of Gaza. The action you are taking at present is not just important for your university, but also to ours as well. Since the beginning of last year we have been campaigning to get scholarships for our twin university in Palestine, Al Quds Open University. For so long our Warden (Vice-Chancellor) has ignored or patronised us over this issue, but now he has called senior mangement talks over the scholarships and circulated emails to staff on how to deal with occupations! So when we do finally win these scholarships (and we will) it is as much through the efforts of your solidarity work (and the dozens of other solidarity occupations) as it has been ours. So, on behalf of us all, best luck and you have our full support and will be ready to act in any way we can to support your occupation.
Long Live Palestine!
From, Goldsmiths' Students' Union
Support from Queen Mary's occupation
Greetings from Queen Mary's
Well done on your Occupation. We've just finised ours today (http://www.queenmaryoccupation.blogspot.com). On behalf of QM, I would like to give you are full support. Keep it up!
Contact us if you need any further support, and keep us updated so we can add it on our blog.
Wish you all the good luck
Tahmeena
Queen Mary Occupation
Support from Nottingham University occupation
Best of luck in your occupation and acheiving your demands! I hope that it yields a more constructive response from the university authorities to address the crisis in Gaza. I also hope that as a national student body we can maintain this momentum to achieve great things for those suffering in Palestine.
Tom.
Solidarity from Strathclyde University occupation
Congratulations on your ongoing occupation, the will of the people is on your side.
I hope our sucess at Strathclyde will drive you on and convince others that direct action can and will work..
Good luck, and be strong. Don't take that crap from the police or the university - they are the ones who should be scared!
Ben Braidwood
Strathclyde University
Seán Garland, former President of the Workers' Party of Ireland, was arrested outside the party's Head Office in Dublin on January 30, 2009, on foot of an extradition warrant from the United States. The extradition demand was personally signed by the outgoing US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during the dying days of the Bush / Cheney regime in November 2008, three years after the first failed attempt to seize Seán Garland in 2005.
The website of the campaign to defend Seán Garland was originally established in 2005 following a previous extradition attempt through Northern Ireland. The site has now been reactivated and its url is http://www.seangarland.org/
The campaign welcomes messages of solidarity / support which can be sent to the Defend Sean Garland campaign, 12, Mountjoy Square, Dublin 1, Tel: (01) 856 1879 or by-email to defendseangarland@gmail.com
An article on the background to the issues involved in the arrest and attempted extradition can be found at http://japanfocus.org/_John_McGlynn-North_Korean_Criminality_Examined__the_US_Case__Part_I
Resolution, Friends of Korea, February 14, 2009, London, UK
We friends of Korea in Britain, gathered at the meeting “Unreserved Solidarity with the DPRK” on Saturday, February 14 in London, condemn the fabrications concocted against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea regarding the counterfeiting of US dollars. In particular, we condemn the threatened extradition of Seán Garland to the US in this connection, and call on the Irish government not to allow such extradition.
We regard these manoeuvres as an attempt to blacken relations between the DPRK and all justice-loving countries and people.
We express our solidarity in this matter with the Workers’ Party of Ireland, of whom Seán Garland is the former President. We reiterate our position as friends of Korea in Britain that we stand as one with all friends of Korea throughout the world, and are outraged at the injustice perpetrated on Seán Garland, and on the attempts to blacken the name of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The arrest on January 30, sensationally staged outside the Workers’ Party HQ in Dublin, and the threatened extradition of Seán Garland are nothing but a crude pretext used by the outgoing US regime to attack the DPRK, as it has done throughout its years in office.
Such activities are the height of uncivilised and brutal conduct, and are rejected by all democratic forces.
Hands off the DPRK!
Stop the Extradition of Seán Garland!
We, the undersigned Communist and Workers parties attending the 18th Congress of the Communist Party of Greece, Athens on 18/22 February 2009, condemn the arrest of Comrade Sean Garland, former President of the Workers’ Party of Ireland and current member of the Central Executive committee. He was arrested outside the Party offices in Dublin on Friday January 30, 2009, at the request of the US authorities who are seeking his extradition to the US. The request for the extradition was signed by Condoleezza Rice in the final days of the Bush Administration.
Comrade Garland was first arrested in October 2005 while attending the Party congress in Belfast. This was a blatant attempt by the US authorities to take advantage of the unjust and controversial extradition treaty between the US and British governments which would have afforded him little or no legal protection. After having been granted permission to return to Dublin for urgent medical attention, after much consideration Sean Garland decided not to return to Northern Ireland.
Sean Garland has lived openly and has conducted his political activities and engagements in public for the last 3 years. He made his address known to the Irish authorities. He is 75 years old and is in serious ill health, suffering from a number of medical conditions.
Sean Garland has consistently denied any wrongdoing. He has received strong support from a wide spectrum of political, trade union and public figures concerned at the manner in which he was treated. Sean Garland is being subjected to a relentless and vindictive campaign of persecution by the US government.
We condemn this blatant attack on a leading member of The Workers’ Party of Ireland who has pursued a struggle against imperialism for almost 60 years. We express our solidarity with the Workers’ Party of Ireland and with Comrade Sean Garland in the fight against extradition to the US.
We demand the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of these extradition proceedings on political, legal and humanitarian grounds and call on all communist, workers parties and progressive organisation to send messages of support to the Workers’ Party at wpi@indigo.ie and the Campaign to Defend Sean Garland at defendseangarland@gmail.com
Communist Party of
Albania
Algerian Party for Democracy and Socialism
(PADS)
Communist Party of
Armenia
Workers Party of
Belgium
Brazilian Communist
Party
New Communist Party of
Britain
Communist Party of
Canada
Colombian Communist
Party
Communist Party of Cuba
Socialist Workers Party of
Croatia
Progressive Party of the Working People
– AKEL Cyprus
Communist Party of
Denmark
Communist Party in
Denmark
Communist Party of
Estonia
French Communist Party
Communist Party of Greece
(KKE)
Communist Party of India
(Marxist)
Communist Party of
India
Tudeh Party of Iran
Communist Refoundation Party,
Italy
Party of the Italian
Communists
Workers Party of Korea
Socialist Party of
Latvia
Communist Party of
Malta
Party of the Communists
Mexico
New Communist Party of the
Netherlands
Communist Party of
Pakistan
Palestinian Communist
Party
Party of the People,
Panama
Peruvian Communist
Party
Communist Party of
Poland
Communist Refoundation, Puerto
Rico
Romanian Communist
Party
New Communist Party of
Serbia
Party of the Communists of
Serbia
Communist Party of
Spain
Communist Party of the Peoples of
Spain
Party of the Communists,
Catalonia
Communist Party of the Soviet
Union
Communist Workers Party of Russia
(RKRP)
Party of the Communists of Russia
(RPC)
Syrian Communist Party
Communist Party of
Sweden
Communist Party of South
Africa
Communist Party of
Turkey
Union of Communists of
Ukraine
Communist Party of
Venezuela
World Peace Council
World Federation of Trade
Unions
Communist Party of Portugal
To confirm:-
Communist Party of Ireland
Communist Party of Britain
Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine