March 4, 2011 – by Phyllis Bennis, Institute for Policy Studies (IPS)

Photo: A member of the opposition prayed for safety as he stood guard near the Mediterranean Sea in Benghazi. He held a surface-to-air missile launcher to protect the rebels from incoming planes.

What would a no-fly zone in Libya mean? A bit of history may provide some perspective.

Today in Libya, civilians are being killed by a besieged and isolated dictator. Libyan warplanes have been used to attack civilians, although the vast majority of the violence has come from ground attacks. The Libyan opposition’s provisional national council, meeting in Benghazi, is debating whether they should request military support from the international community, maybe the UN or NATO, starting with a no-fly zone. The Arab League announced that it was also considering establishing a no-fly zone, perhaps with the African Union.

(…اكثر)

25 February 2011 | Popular Committee Against the Wall

Photo: ActiveStills Palestinian activist Mohammed Khatib at protest in Bil’in, Palestine.

Dozens were injured in the weekly demonstration against the Occupation and settlements. The demonstration was held against the United State’s veto of a UN resolution which condemned Israel’s illegal settlements. The demonstration was attacked with tear gas by Israeli soldiers who wanted to crush the nonviolent demonstration. Hundreds from Palestine, Israel and the international community attended the demonstration. The demonstration was also in solidarity with the Libyan people.

(…اكثر)

press release Montreal, March 3, 2011

Photo Palestinian girl plays under Palestinian flag in protest against Israeli occupation.

Montreal will join over 50 other cities around the world in kicking off the 7th annual Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW), which runs from March 8th until March 15th, 2011. Events will be taking place at UQAM, Concordia, and McGill universities, as well as other locations. This year, organizers of this international week of events are celebrating the inspiring revolutions happening throughout the Arab world as a sign that justice may be within reach, even for the Palestinians.

(…اكثر)

Demonstration: Solidarity with Palestinian Women!

Tuesday March 8th, 6pm
Cabot Square
corner of Atwater & Ste-Catherine
metro Atwater

Look for the contingent with Palestinian flags and the BDS banner.
Bring your own flags, signs, and noisemakers!

(…اكثر)

Spotlight on Filmmaker John Greyson brings together sex, penguins & Elton John

Monday, February 28th, 2011
Screening begins 19h00
Concordia University
Room H-110
1455 de Maisonneuve West
Montreal Quebec
facebook event page

(…اكثر)

Boycott National Committee (BNC) Occupied Palestine, 17 Feb. 2011

Photo ActiveStills Palestinian youth in Sheikh Jarrah against colonies in Jerusalem.

The recent public exposure of a large number of documents related to the U.S.-sponsored “peace process” between Israel and Palestinian officials provides hard evidence, if any was needed, not only of readiness on the part of unrepresentative Palestinian “negotiators” to concede basic Palestinian rights, but also of Israel’s rejectionism and unwillingness to negotiate even an unjust and unsustainable peace. The leaked documents also reveal the arm-twisting employed by international “peace brokers” to compel – unelected — Palestinian officials to serve Israel’s expansionist and colonial agenda through the surrender of UN-sanctioned rights of the Palestinian people. It is now clearer than ever that the so-called negotiations were never based on principles of international law and human rights and never promoted just peace.

(…اكثر)

by Hossam el-Hamalawy, Arabawy Feb. 2011.

Photo Protest at headquarters of state-backed Egyptian Federation of Trade Unions.

Since yesterday, and actually earlier, middle-class activists have been urging Egyptians to suspend the protests and return to work, in the name of patriotism, singing some of the most ridiculous lullabies about “let’s build new Egypt,” “let’s work harder than even before,” etc. In case you didn’t know, actually Egyptians are among the hardest working people in the globe already.

Those activists want us to trust Mubarak’s generals with the transition to democracy — the same junta that has provided the backbone of his dictatorship over the past 30 years. And while I believe the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, who receive $1.3 billion annually from the US, will eventually engineer the transition to a “civilian” government, I have no doubt it will be a government that will guarantee the continuation of a system that will never touch the army’s privileges, keep the armed forces as the institution that will have the final say in politics (as for example in Turkey), guarantee Egypt will continue to follow the US foreign policy, whether it’s the undesired peace with the Apartheid State of Israel, safe passage for the US Navy in the Suez Canal, the continuation of the Gaza siege, or exports of natural gas to Israel at subsidized rates. A civilian government is not about cabinet members who do not wear military uniforms. A civilian government means a government that fully represents the Egyptian people’s demands and desires without any intervention from the brass. And I see this as hard to be allowed, let alone accomplished, by the junta.

(…اكثر)

final declaration via Social Movements Assembly of the World Social Forum in Dakar.

Photo Philippe Revelli Opening march at the World Social Forum in Dakar, Senegal.

As the Social Movements Assembly of the World Social Forum of Dakar, 2011, we are gathered here to affirm the fundamental contribution of Africa and its peoples in the construction of human civilization. Together, the peoples of all the continents are struggling mightily to oppose the domination of capital, hidden behind illusory promises of economic progress and political stability. Complete decolonization for oppressed peoples remains for us, the social movements of the world, a challenge of the greatest importance.

We affirm our support for and our active solidarity with the people of Tunisia, Egypt and the Arab world who have risen up to demand a true democracy and build the people´s power. Their struggles are lighting the path to another world, free from oppression and exploitation.

(…اكثر)

7th annual Israeli Apartheid Week | March 8-15th, 2011

A week of conferences, workshops, film screenings, demonstrations, and cultural events to raise awareness around the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israeli apartheid.

(…اكثر)

Palestinian Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel PACBI Feb. 2011.

Photo ActiveStills Israeli military wire on Palestinian lands in Bil’in, West Bank.

The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) views with great dismay your upcoming performance in Tel Aviv, despite your acknowledgment that “what the Israeli government is doing to the Palestinians is disgusting” [1]. Furthermore, PACBI has learned that you intend to go one step further in your support of the Israeli state by meeting with members of the Israeli Knesset (parliament) on this trip. In doing so, you would be electing to serve directly the interests of the campaign to Brand Israel [2].

This is a campaign that has been launched by the Israeli government and promoted by institutions throughout the country and abroad in order to whitewash Israel’s violations of international law and project a false image of normalcy. To be sure, you have served this near-ambassadorial position for Israel several times in the past: playing at the opening of the Israeli consulate in Los Angeles in 2008 [3], and most recently visiting the consulate on request of its diplomats and releasing a statement declaring your support for Israel [4].

(…اكثر)