That the British army authorized the killing of unarmed civilians in Iraq comes as no surprise. That’s the very nature of war. What is unspeakable is that so many today who call themselves progressive & antiwar justify & support US, European, Russian, Iranian, & other foreign intervention in Syria. The moment you support the bombing & killing of civilians & justify it by vilifying them as terrorists—or as some kind of humanitarian venture—you have crossed the line of human solidarity & joined the side of the oppressors. Take your place alongside the US, UK, Russian, Syrian, & Iranian special forces. And don’t forget to hang your head in shame.
Monthly Archives: February 2019
Mumbai Man Plans To Sue Parents For Giving Birth To Him Without His Consent
“I’m leaving to another galaxy. That’s it.”
—Zachriah Sulayman
I’m right behind you, Zachariah.
—Mary Scully
“Waiting for the door to open outside the Maharaja’s palace, I was deeply engrossed in the enchanting view around me, when suddenly the thought of the Maharaja, with whom the malignancy of this beautiful valley took birth facilitated by a chain of collaborators till date sent a chill down my spine. This entire white drape seemed to be sprinkled with red stains of blood ,some old clots as old as seventy years and some fresh as fresh as the snow itself. Though it was just a perception, but the thought was based on the prevailing truth. Per day at least two young buds fall prey to the bullets of oppression , but the thirst for blood seems far from being quenched. I stood up and looked at the clear sky with a question in my eyes, how much blood does my homeland require to be liberated? A quick reply came from my heart, When Allah says, Be! It happens.”
Shajarat U Durr
(Photo is of Shajarat sitting in front of the palace of Maharaja Hari Singh, the last king of independent Kashmir.)
A reality check for those who call for US humanitarian bombing in Syria. Even though, in my experience, reality has no powers against the siren song of militarism for those who have no belief in the power of popular uprisings.
https://www.facebook.com/1625357681040688/videos/380372369414254/?hc_ref=ARSgrBBmZB7-
Just thinking about the impact of a worldwide boycott of Burmese products because of the Rohingya genocide (which will be launched this weekend in NYC): that would put China, Japan, the US, Canada, India, Israel, Russia, & several European countries on the hot seat because of their arm sales or massive investments in Burma’s neoliberal gold rush. If we think it out, an economic boycott as part of building solidarity with the Rohingya people would have deep reverberations on struggles against persecution all over the world. It would really show that solidarity is not noblesse-oblige or a one-way street but a political reciprocity. No one’s saving anybody. We’re building a future for all our children together.
This photo is Rohingya kids playing soccer.
(Photo by Zarni Myo Win was third place winner of 2018 iPhone photography award)
Not to boss anybody around, but since this is Kashmir Solidarity Day, it would be excellent if everyone could post something about the Kashmiri 70-year struggle against occupation. Of course, every day is solidarity day for those sustaining war, occupation, genocide but this is a special call to build understanding & solidarity with this monumentally important freedom struggle–not just for Kashmiris but for all of suffering humanity.
Pellet guns are one of the most vicious weapons used flagrantly against unarmed protesters in Kashmir. It is common for young children to be struck, disfigured, blinded, disabled by pellet guns–usually intentionally. Because so many protesters are working class, the victims are not always able to get the medical, surgical, & rehabilitation services they require since India controls Kashmir. An international campaign is needed demanding the end of using pellet munitions in Kashmir & everywhere else in the world.
End the occupation. Self-determination for Kashmir.
(Photo is young Kashmiri boy hit in the face & eyes with pellet guns)
This coming Friday & Saturday, February 8th & 9th, the Free Rohingya Coalition, an international solidarity group led by & for the Rohingya people, is holding an educational & activist conference in NYC at Colombia University which will call for an end to Burma’s genocide & war crimes. In a video-taped address to the conference, Angela Davis will call for a worldwide boycott of Burma which brings the struggle against genocide to a whole new level of combativeness & effectiveness.
Those living in the NYC region or the East Coast should grab this opportunity to meet the leading Rohingya activists internationally, learn what Rohingya refugees are doing on their own behalf & what we can do to build the solidarity movement in this country for one of the most important struggles in the world today.
For more info contact: Maung Zarni +44 771 047 3322 ; Nay San Lwin +49 176 62139138
Email ColumbiaBurmaConference@gmail.com & Tweet @FreeRoCoalition
Angelina Jolie is spending three days at Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh as a special envoy for UNHCR, the UN refugee agency so remiss in its mission toward all refugees, including the Rohingya. So glad to see Maung Zarni call her out for playing a white savior role so patronizing & contemptible to the oppressed. Maung pointed out that while media makes a big deal of her occasional junkets of white messiah-ism, the extraordinary, unrelenting work of refugees & their advocacy organizations for refugee rights & an end of genocide is completely ignored. Too many, schooled in the gestalt of white supremacy, swoon over her grandstanding junkets. Mostly she serves to give cover for UNHCR’s negligence & earns herself a halo; the refugees’ fate isn’t altered an iota & refugees are treated as helpless & hopeless halfwits when they, with the help of their supporters, are the agency of their own emancipation from genocide.
(Photo of Jolie at Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh from Sky News)
According to a White House whistleblower who produced documentation, Trump spends 60-percent of his time watching TV & tweeting. That suggests that others are orchestrating the rightward shift in US politics using Trump as the figurehead. That doesn’t make him a scapegoat so much as a flunky.
February 5th commemorates Kashmir Solidarity Day. This video is a few years old but the images powerfully portray the character of the brutal military occupation, the constant loss of loved ones that Kashmiris sustain through disappearances, incarceration, extrajudicial executions, pellet guns, & the strength of political resistance to the occupation.
Stand with Kashmiris today in public solidarity. End the occupation. Self-determination for Kashmir.
https://www.facebook.com/AbidJilaniPTI/videos/11940027273850