Days of Rage 2025 – 666 days of the war – and other upcoming anti-war events

Others upcoming, mostly local events are listed at:  durhamspark.blogspot.com/2025/07/deep-river-riverkeeper-founded-upcoming.html

Watch some of the just concluded People’s Summit for Korea in New York City:  www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPi-nrtdbyM  On July 28th a march in Manhattan included the demands “US Out of Korea,” “U.S. Out of the Philippines,” and “US Out of Everywhere.”

There will be a webinar – "Who Really Won the US-Israeli War on Iran?" – Sunday, August 3rd at 11am ET, organized by the International Manifesto Group:  www.eventbrite.ca/e/who-really-won-the-us-israeli-war-on-iran-tickets-1496736171179?aff=oddtdtcreator

On the NEA and the ADL:  icssmarx.org/drop-the-adl-why-rank-file-nea-teachers-got-it-right-and-why-their-leadership-got-it-wrong-marcy-winograd-august-3-2025-1030-am-pacific-time/

There will be a Canadian webinar – "How to Start a Divestment Campaign" – August 6th at 7pm ET ?; organzed by Just Peace Advocates, Retired Teachers Divest, Queers for Palestine Toronto, Toronto Writers Against the War on Gaza, and the Coalition du Québec URGENCE Palestine:   tinyurl.com/how-to-divest

[From JPA:

"Summary of UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese’s recent report

“From Economy of Occupation to Economy of Genocide”: A Damning Indictment of the Corporate Machinery

Analysis of 7 major public sector pension plans shows over $16 billion USD invested in war crimes and genocide  

Our Pensions Are Funding Genocide

Canadian charitable sector evidence of financial complicity in Israeli war crimes and genocide  

Academic article by Dr. Miles Howe: Tracking Financial Complicity in Israeli War Crimes and Genocide: Instances of Aiding and Abetting in the Canadian Charitable Sector

Analysis of CPPIB’s 2024 investments shows more than $27 billion invested in complicit companies

CPPIB Investments in War Crimes, Genocide, and Apartheid Increase to Over $27 Billion in 2025

Analysis of BMO, TD, Scotiabank, RBC, and CIBC shows more than $132 billion invested in complicit companies       

The “Big 5” Canadian Banks Have Over $132 Billion USD Invested in Companies Complicit in Israel’s Occupation, Apartheid, and Genocide

Analysis of CDPQ investments show over $27.4 billion invested in complicit companies 

CDPQ 2024 Report Analysis: $27.4 billion invested in 76 companies

Summary of 12 submissions to the UN Special Rapporteurs call for input on complicit companies     

Business and Human Rights, Canadian institutions and Sectors complicity, Submissions to the UN "

Note the Electronic Intifada news discussion ever week on YouTube, etc., news often omitted in the mainstream media.

August 2nd the BBC reported that the Israeli government is claiming that the prisoners or detainees being held in Gaza are being deprived of food, though the BBC didn't seem to give the claim more time than the segement  about the starvation in Gaza as a whole.

diario-octubre.com/2025/07/29/asesinos-natos-564-258/

sonar21.com/complicity-in-the-genocide-in-palestine-the-day-of-reckoning-will-come/

diario-octubre.com/2025/08/01/declaracion-conjunta-de-las-facciones-de-la-resistencia-palestina/

samidoun.net/2025/07/british-repression-against-the-palestine-movement-continues-airport-detentions-under-the-terrorism-act/

samidoun.net/2025/07/the-zionist-prisoners-and-the-families-of-our-prisoners-in-the-enemys-jails-khaled-barakat/

samidoun.net/2025/07/georges-abdallah-will-be-free-palestine-will-be-free/

samidoun.net/2025/07/georges-abdallah-returns-to-lebanon-free-and-resisting/

tariqeltahrir.org/2025/07/17/george-abdallah-wins-his-freedom/

[ www.palestinechronicle.com/georges-abdallahs-message-to-gaza-palestine-chronicle-exclusive/ ]

samidoun.net/2025/07/what-the-2025-imposed-famine-in-the-gaza-strip-leaves-for-history/

samidoun.net/2025/07/a-call-from-the-students-of-gaza-take-revolutionary-action-to-end-the-genocide-and-forced-starvation-now/

samidoun.net/2025/07/hagana-group-israeli-security-bases-in-brazil-by-rawa-alsagheer/

samidoun.net/2025/07/what-to-do-when-you-too-become-a-terrorist-new-zine-launch/  

www.palestinechronicle.com/targeting-chris-smalls-how-racism-zionism-and-the-freedom-flotilla-collide/

"On the First Anniversary of the Martyrdom of the Great National Leader Ismail Haniyeh" – masarbadil.org/en/2025/07/6439/

[On the annual week of action for the Palestinian prisoners and detainees held by Israel, the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, etc.:  cpcml.ca/Tmlm2025/TS5521.HTM#1 ]  

Originally posted August 2nd at:  samidoun.net/2025/08/on-august-3-and-the-days-of-rage-act-mobilize-and-escalate-for-gaza-and-the-prisoners-break-the-siege-and-end-the-genocide/

On August 3 and the Days of Rage: Act, mobilize and escalate for Gaza and the prisoners; break the siege and end the genocide

[Image]

“We call for active and massive participation on this national and global day in defense of our prisoners and our people in the Gaza Strip, to expose the brutal crimes of the occupation against them, and to support their rights and just cause….We look forward to making the 3 of August a pivotal day in all parts of Palestine, in the refugee camps and the diaspora, in our Arab and Islamic world, & among all the free people of the world, to support our people in Gaza and our free prisoners in the occupation’s prisons.” – Ismail Haniyeh, 29 July 2024

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network joins in the collective call for action on 3 August and throughout the first week of August, for days of rage and action in solidarity with Gaza, the prisoners, and the Palestinian people and their liberation, from the river to the sea. As the ongoing Zionist-imperialist genocide enters its 666th day of escalation — after over 77 years of a genocidal project being implanted in the region at the behest of imperialist powers — it is more urgent than ever for people around the world, especially in the heart of the imperial core, to organize, escalate, and answer the calls of the workers and students of Gaza, and of the heroic Palestinian resistance, for action to break the siege, liberate the prisoners and end the genocide.

The ongoing escalated genocide in Gaza is being carried out not only through bunker-buster bombs and artillery shells, but also through the massive use of the weapon of starvation against the Palestinian people. While the Zionist regime, with the full participation and complicity of the imperialist powers, has besieged Gaza for over 18 years, since 2 March 2025 it has almost entirely cut off entry of basic supplies and food, blocking access to the United Nations and internationally recognized food distribution projects like UNRWA and the World Food Program, initiating the US-Zionist death traps of the so-called “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation” (actually a CIA-private military contractor joint project), and funding and arming collaborator gangs to attack and steal aid trucks whenever they do enter, particularly to UN facilities.

As a result of the Zionist siege, Gaza is currently facing a level 5 famine, entirely created by the Zionist military machine and its imperialist backers in the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Canada, and fellow European Union powers. Over 1,000 Palestinians have been massacred at GHF “aid sites” — a mechanism to concentrate, surveil, abduct and ethnically cleanse Palestinians — while over 160 Palestinians, including 92 children, have been martyred due to starvation and malnutrition. Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor reported that over 1,200 elder Palestinians have been martyred in the past 2 months due to the effects of starvation and lack of health care, due to the all-out assault and destruction of the Palestinian health system by the Zionist war machine. While U.S. “mediator” Steve Witkoff, who appeared on stage alongside lead Trump donor and far-right Zionist advocate Miriam Adelson to pledge his support for the genocidal entity, appears at the GHF “aid” site in Rafah for a photo opportunity, Palestinian journalist Anas al-Sharif revealed that occupation forces were using suppressors (silencers) to shoot aid seekers in order to reduce the visibility of the crime amid the media attention.

Far from an “honest broker,” Witkoff and the United States — which claims to be a mediator while directing and arming the genocide — have repeatedly used ceasefire negotiations to instead slander the Palestinian resistance while presenting a false image to the public of the world, which is increasingly outraged by the widely shared images and testimonies of genocide and engineered starvation. While repeatedly claiming that an agreement is “near,” these parties have instead repeatedly rejected any kind of dignified ceasefire and instead plotted more war crimes and crimes against humanity, including ongoing aggression targeting Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iran, not to mention the massive outbreak of settler violence and military attacks throughout the West Bank of occupied Palestine.

At the same time, over 10,800 Palestinian prisoners — in addition to Lebanese and Syrian prisoners — are living the experience of engineered starvation and slow assassination inside the occupation prisons. Just days ago, Palestinian prisoners’ associations announced the martyrdom of Sayed Jamal Abu Rajab, the 75th identified Palestinian prisoner martyred inside the occupation prisons since 7 October 2023. The Palestinian prisoners are being subjected to extreme torture and abuse alongside malnutrition and denial of medical care, while the leadership of the prisoners’ movement have been held in complete isolation — and repeatedly beaten — for 22 months. In the prison camps like Sde Teiman and Anatot, Palestinians — especially from Gaza — are routinely subjected to sexual assault, physical violence and mass starvation. Palestinian prisoners are women and men, children and elders, from all political backgrounds — targeted as part of the ongoing assault on Palestinian existence and resistance.

Throughout the genocide, the heroic resistance, particularly the armed resistance, continue to confront the occupation and impose a cost upon the genocidaires with unparalleled bravery and commitment to the struggle. In every area of Gaza where the occupation claims that the resistance has been eliminated or defeated, a new operation emerges to prove that the opposite is true. In fact, the occupation has utterly failed to achieve its stated military objectives of freeing its prisoners or eradicating the resistance. It is instead seeking to rely on political and diplomatic power to achieve these goals, as the resistance in Gaza has blocked them on every occasion. Let us be clear — demands for a “demilitarized Palestinian ‘state'” or the “disarmament of the resistance,” whether in Palestine or Lebanon, are demands to continue the genocide without repercussions and achieve what they have failed to do on the battlefield. In fact, it is the weapons of the Resistance that are currently standing as the foremost shield of humanity in the face of a vicious death machine wielded by Zionism and imperialism.

August 3 and the first week of August take on an even more significant meaning when we recall that the call to action for August 3 in 2024 was the final public statement and call to action of the martyred Palestinian leader, Ismail Haniyeh, Abu al-Abed, the leader of Hamas and a national leader of the Palestinian people, who was assassinated by the occupation in Tehran, Iran, on 31 July, only two days later, alongside his companion, Waseem Abu Shaban. This assassination was, like the genocide itself, a coordinated attack with the participation of the U.S.; on the same day, the Zionists assassinated Lebanese resistance leader Fouad Shukr of Hezbollah, while the U.S. bombed Iraq, targeting four leaders of the Iraqi resistance.

He was renowned for his high level of principle and commitment to Palestinian liberation and national unity, and for his rejection of the unjust and unacceptable conditions placed upon the Palestinian people — indeed, the attempt to bargain Palestinian lives for basic rights and dignity. As he declared, “The fortresses will not fall, the strongholds will not be breached, they will not snatch our positions from us, and we will not recognize ‘Israel.'” Throughout generations of struggle, the Palestinian people have made clear that the martyrdom of their leaders will not hold back their struggle; as we mark 3 August one year later, we must also make that clear internationally, and make Haniyeh’s last call to the public one that resonates through the years, for action and solidarity.

Those principles are perhaps more urgent than ever, with the Palestinian cause facing multiple forms of attack: of course, the genocide and starvation regime imposed by the US-European-Zionist aggression on Gaza and throughout Palestine, the taking of nearly 100 martyrs daily, the horrific war crimes against the population. However, the proclamations of Britain, France, Canada and other directly complicit imperialist nations (as well as of Saudi Arabia and complicit Arab reactionary regimes) about “recognition of a Palestinian ‘state'” (without actual control over land, borders and trade; without sovereignty or self-determination; ‘demilitarized’ and serving as a security arm of the Zionist regime; without the right to return of Palestinian refugees; and with the elimination of the resistance) are not about recognizing Palestinian rights but instead about a new project to liquidate those rights. In fact, these statements come as a new report reveals ongoing and widespread Canadian arms trade with “Israel” and as Britain declares Palestine Action a “terrorist” organization for confronting Zionist arms factories.

If any of these states actually seek to support Palestinian rights, the first steps that they can and must take are to impose a two-way, full arms embargo on the Zionist regime; expel ‘Israeli’ ambassadors and close their own embassies; end the criminalization of Palestinian resistance and Palestine solidarity organizations as ‘terrorists’; immediately send trucks and observers, and accompany those trucks to demand the immediate entry of aid to Gaza through the Rafah crossing with no interference or role for the Zionist genocidaires — not to mention the moral obligation to actively support the Palestinian resistance. They are instead aiming to pacify the outrage among their populations about the ongoing genocide, cover up their own complicity and protect the future of the Zionist project rather than recognizing the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people — without conditions — to full self-determination and sovereignty, not to mention return and liberation, on their entire national soil.

This moment has also highlighted the complicity of reactionary Arab regimes that have engaged in normalization with the Zionist project, from Camp David to Wadi Araba to the “Abraham Accords,” in the continuing genocide. From Egypt refusing to open the Rafah crossing to enter goods and international journalists due to the dictates of the U.S. and the Zionist entity, to Jordan criminalizing support for the resistance and even protest while shooting down drones from Yemen and Iran, to the United Arab Emirates creating a “land bridge” to evade the Yemeni blockade of the port of “Eilat” (Umm al-Rashrash), these reactionary regimes are now facing real pressure about their active complicity in the siege, starvation and genocide of Gaza at the behest of the imperialist powers. Meanwhile, in Syria, despite the government’s repeated assurances of its interest in “peace” and normalization, the occupation continues to invade, take over territory and abduct Syrians.

In contrast, at the same time, every day, in Lebanon, resisters and people of the South are targeted for assassinations in rampant ceasefire violations while the U.S. demands the disarmament of the Resistance, while Yemen continues its massive popular mobilization for Palestine alongside and fully integrated with the actions of its armed forces to actively intervene to bring an end to the genocide and cut off its supply lines in an example that should serve as a challenge to all.

This 3 August — and every day from now — must be a time for action, but also a time for escalation. 22 months, 666 days of genocide, amid rampant engineered starvation, the deliberate promotion of disease, and the mass murder of Palestinian children, adults and elders, men and women, in schools, mosques, churches, refugee camps and residential buildings. 

We join the call of the Masar Badil, the Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path Movement: 

Let the first week of August become Days of Rage everywhere—especially in North America and Europe.

We call upon the masses of our Palestinian people, the allies and supporters of the resistance, and all anti-colonial forces around the world to raise their voices loud and clear, take to the streets, besiege Zionist embassies, and turn every public square and city into a point of direct confrontation, until the siege is broken and the aggression is ended.

We must stand up for the martyrs, and for the imprisoned martyrs that the occupation continues to jail after death, and witness for them. Stand up for the wounded, for the health care workers fighting to save lives under the bombs. Stand up for the heroic resistance fighting every day for a free Palestine. Stand up for the prisoners, confronting the occupier daily behind bars, holding fast to freedom.

• Confront the arms factories that trade with the occupation or are owned directly by occupation companies — like Elbit Systems — with blockades and direct action. Shut down the economy of genocide.
• Besiege the embassies of the occupation and its complicit imperialist partners. Shut them down and make it impossible for them to carry out their genocidal business. 
• Shut down streets, government buildings and institutions of the imperial core. The genocide is an emergency. Every day, Palestinians are being massacred and it is clear that the imperialist states will not exert pressure for the genocide to end unless their own interests are on the line directly. 
• Continue the escalations at the embassies of complicit Arab reactionary regimes. These regimes must be concerned about their own futures in order to create counter-pressure to the Zionists and imperialists. 

Wherever you are, organize, escalate and act. Ramp up our organizing and our mobilization, be louder, more visible, and create a greater obstruction for the business of the war machine. It is clear that the genocide will not end so long as its perpetrators enjoy impunity; if we cannot rely or wait for the courts, we must impose popular accountability through action. 

The Palestinian resistance is today on the front lines defending Gaza, Palestine, the Arab nation, the Islamic world, and all of humanity. Our actions must live up to the example they set every day, to end the human-made famine, end the starvation, end the genocide — and fight for a free Palestine, from the river to the sea.

[Flyer]

UNAC: Statement of solidarity with Iran and Yemen against escalating US and Israeli aggression

Originally sent out on the afternoon of April 21st and first posted at:  nepajac.org/Iranyemen.htm  

Note – the leader of Yemen's Ansar Allah was apparently born May 22, 1979 in the Saada Governorate, at the northwest corner of country, at the time the Yemen Arab Republic or North Yemen:  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdul-Malik_al-Houthi

Statement of Solidarity with Iran and Yemen Against Escalating U.S. and Israeli Aggression

[Photo:  Protest in Yemen for Palestine]

The United Anti War Coalition, which was founded 15 years ago to gather forces to oppose all U.S. wars, called at that time for an end to all U.S. aid to Israel.  We see the real threat to regional and global peace comes not from the sovereign actions of Iran and Yemen, but from the genocidal, murderous imperatives of the United States and its Zionist ally, Israel. Iran pursues a peaceful nuclear program for energy security and economic progress under international law; yet U.S. and Israeli regimes distort its objectives with fabricated intelligence, extremist rhetoric, and aggressive military planning designed to force regime change and impose maximum-pressure sanctions. On Palm Sunday, Israel bombed the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza—crippling vital health services—while U.S. forces escalated their campaign in Yemen by targeting hospitals, factories, and water infrastructure near Sanaa. In Yemen, Ansar Allah demonstrated resolute self-defense by downing the 19th U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone, a powerful rebuke to imperial aggression.

Iran and Yemen stand as sovereign nations that exercise self-determination and valiantly support Palestinian resistance. Their independent resolve challenges U.S. and Israeli plans to transform regional actors into vassal states—just as they have subdued Gulf monarchies like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Bahrain. Iran and Yemen are the last robust bulwarks against complete U.S./Zionist domination in West Asia. U.S. provocations have forced these nations to build sophisticated underground defenses and hardened military capabilities that protect their people and counter imperial designs. Iran defends its right to maintain a nuclear deterrent—a cornerstone of its sovereignty—without any obligation to disarm until Israel first dismantles its illegal, unmonitored nuclear arsenal.

In Yemen, the United States remains unaware of where Ansar Allah and the Yemeni Armed Forces conceal their command centers and heavy weapons. As a result, U.S. forces target civilian infrastructure and murder innocents in a misguided attempt to weaken a determined people. Despite these brutal tactics, millions of Yemenis take to the streets every Friday to demonstrate their solidarity with Palestine, support Ansar Allah under Sayyed Malik Al Houthi, and reaffirm their unwavering determination to defeat U.S. and Israeli-led imperialism.

We must not repeat the tragic inaction that allowed Syria to collapse; our silence then emboldened brutal US-backed proxies and cost countless lives. Today, Iran and Yemen stand as vital resistances against an imperial system bent on subjugating sovereign nations. It is our moral and strategic duty to defend their sovereignty and right to self-defense as vigorously as we defend Palestine’s right to resist occupation.

Victory to Iran and Yemen! Down with imperialism and Zionism!

 

Three En Marcha articles: DR Congo in the grip of crisis, Ukraine War negotiations, and the party of the proletariat

Originally posted February 27th at:  www.pcmle.org/EM/spip.php?article13649  A rough machine translation from Google, checked against some translations I received:

Congo in the grip of crisis

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a 21st-century example of the fate of countries rich in natural resources in the midst of a savage capitalism that expropriates them and plunges their inhabitants into misery.

A prison where prisoners escape but first rape and burn female prisoners alive, in February 2025; Mbox, monkeypox, spreads in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) without a health system to deal with it, August 2024; the eruption of a volcano that leads to the disappearance of hundreds of children, in May 2021, are just some of the tragedies experienced by the population of the DRC in the midst of the world's largest reserves of coltan, more than 40%, the mineral from which tantalum is extracted, which is very rare and is used in the manufacture of cell phones and other technological equipment.

The Tutsis, an ethnic group that suffered the Rwandan genocide in 1994, formed a defense group, the M23, which questions the government but does not define its political position. It took over the city of Goma, with a population of one million people, controls part of the coltan production, earning about USD 800,000 a month, which it uses to equip its soldiers and which has the support of Rwanda. It is now the main military force that disputes the government for control of the country, which is headed by Félix Tshisekedi, who has the support of the PPRD, a party located on the right, which among its achievements shows the decision to execute bandits and the prosecution of Apple, the multinational cell phone company, who it accuses of benefiting from the natural resources of the DRC without sharing its profits.

The multinationals of Switzerland, Canada, the United Arab Emirates and above all China own the vast majority of mines in the DRC. China controls 70% of the world's copper and 50% of its cobalt. The DRC is the largest producer of coltan, and its largest exporter is neighbouring Rwanda.

In addition to the M23, which does not claim to be a political movement, there are several political parties, most of which define themselves as centre-left. It faces 120 other armed groups, including one identified with the Hutus, a declared enemy, and another with the Islamic State.

Some history

In 1884 and 1885, the Berlin Conference was held, where the European countries shared out Africa, and it was the personal property of King Leopold II of Belgium until 1908, when it became a Belgian colony.

In 1960, supposedly, Belgian influence culminated, Patrice Lumumba, a Congolese social activist with a Marxist tendency, was appointed Prime Minister, but his leadership was short-lived, the DRC army assassinated him and took power in a coup d'état, with the support of the Kingdom of Belgium, i.e. Belgian influence remained.

In 1965 Ernesto, El Che, Guevara tried to organize armed groups to take power, but his efforts were unsuccessful, deciding to leave RCD and go to neighboring Angola.

The population of the DRC lives in poverty, its more than 102 million inhabitants, of which seven million live as displaced persons, fleeing from areas of conflict between armed groups and ethnic massacres, 75% of Congolese do not have access to drinking water, great difficulties in obtaining food, one in 12 children dies before the age of 12, the DRC is one of the five poorest countries on the planet.

However, the DRC is a very rich country in minerals, apart from its natural beauty and its native species. Its current riches are the attraction of tantalum, tungsten, cobalt, copper, gold, diamonds and the list goes on. A wealth estimated at 24 billion dollars.

The tragedy of the millions of Congolese is that they are the owners of an extraordinary wealth that has been the attraction of the capitalists of the world who, with false offers, with gigantic corruption, have extracted these riches, leaving their owners in a serious situation of survival.

Originally posted February 27th at:  www.pcmle.org/EM/spip.php?article13647 and translated with Google:

Negotiations between imperialist powers 

The European elites received a hard political blow from the decision of American imperialism; the snub by the Americans shows the servile attitude of European imperialism. 

The talks between Trump and Putin, in which they agreed to start talks to end the war in Ukraine, are moving forward at an accelerated pace, without involving Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine, or the European Union. 

Donald Trump announced a new phase of negotiations for a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine between the American and Russian delegations. The talks would take place in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on February 25, a week after the first round that took place in the same city on Tuesday, February 18, 2025. 

How to understand this change in the position of the United States? The answer must be found in the sharpening of inter-imperialist contradictions. Apparently, the United States is seeking to get out of a conflict that did not develop as they wanted and that has cost them millions of dollars. 

On February 14, at the Security Conference in Munich, Germany, US Vice President JD Vance said that the main threat to Europe was not Russia or China, but “the threat from within, Europe’s retreat from some of its most fundamental values, values ​​shared with the United States of America.” The Europeans received a hard political blow from the decision of US imperialism, the snub of the Americans shows the lackey attitude of European imperialism, they will have no choice but to turn a blind eye and throw away the money and ink invested in escalating a confrontation with Moscow, which could have been resolved by other means. 

The European leaders led by Olaf Scholz (Germany), Emmanuel Macron (France) and Donald Tusk (Poland) refused to accept Ukraine’s defeat. The trio said they would do everything possible to prevent Russian imperialism from winning the war, when the Ukrainians could no longer bear it. The three leaders decided to acquire more weapons, expand the production of military equipment and advance in the manufacture of long-range rocket artillery. The decision to confront the Russians at any cost led the EU to commit economic suicide by renouncing the cheap energy supplied by Russia. 

Ukraine lost the opportunity to reach a peace agreement with Russia in Istanbul in March 2022, just a month after the military intervention began and which would have meant better conditions for it, since it had the initiative, after having stopped the lightning invasion. The pressure of imperialism from the United Kingdom, the United States and others, guaranteed the supply of weapons and safe entry into NATO, thus sealing its future. After three years of war, the economy in tatters, with millions of dollars in debt and thousands of young people dead, the powers are negotiating their future behind Ukraine's back. 

Russia is waiting calmly and, in the meantime, is moving forward with the conquest of Ukrainian territory in order to improve the positions on the border that will be fixed in the agreement with the United States. 

Originally posted February 27th at:  www.pcmle.org/EM/spip.php?article13651 (see for links to related articles from En Marcha); roughly translated through Google (with clear errors?); slightly edited:

The Communist Party, class party of the proletariat

"The stronger our Party organisations are, the more effective Social Democrats are, the less hesitation and instability there is within the Party, the broader and more multifaceted, the richer and more fruitful will be the influence of the Party on the elements of the working masses surrounding it and which it leads..."

Maintaining the class character of the party and its status as a revolutionary vanguard are fundamental elements of the Marxist-Leninist communist party. Only an organization that keeps these aspects in mind and works constantly to affirm and develop them is in a position to lead the struggle of workers, youth and peoples for revolution and socialism to victory.

Like many other aspects related to revolutionary theory and practice, the elements mentioned at the beginning of this article have also motivated deep and heated discussions since the beginning of the international communist movement. It is enough to note that, when the Second Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party (1903) debated how to understand the party of the working class and who can be considered its militants, it split between the supporters of V.I. Lenin and the followers of Yuli Martov, thus giving rise to the separation between Bolsheviks and Mensheviks.

Lenin wrote an entire book in which he analyses the events of that congress and, above all, argues his views on how to understand what the class Party of the proletariat is and who can be a member of it. The text in question is entitled One Step Forward, Two Steps Back, which was published in 1904.

The first point of disagreement at the Congress occurred when they were discussing point 1 of the statute. Lenin proposed an article that said: "Anyone who accepts its programme and supports the Party both with material resources and with personal participation in one of its organisations will be considered a member of the Party." Martov, for his part, presented the following text: "Anyone who accepts its programme, supports the Party with material resources and lends it personal collaboration on a regular basis under the direction of one of its organisations will be considered a member of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party."

If not given due attention, the difference between one proposal and the other would seem minor; However, there is a marked difference between the understanding of party militancy and what the revolutionary party of the working class is in itself. Lenin, in the cited work, says that disagreement "reveals nuances of a principled nature," but that "every small disagreement can acquire enormous importance, if it serves as a starting point for a turn towards erroneous concepts..." The fact is that Lenin's proposal subordinates the condition of party militant to someone who is part of one of its organizations, while Martov believed that it was sufficient to occasionally help from outside with material resources or grant personal collaboration.

We make a brief digression to present what the statute of our Party says on this subject: «Art. 1.- Any person who does not live off the exploitation of the labor of others, especially workers, agricultural wage earners, poor peasants, employees, revolutionary intellectuals who accept the Declaration of Principles, the Political Line, the Program and the Statute of the Party, who is part of one of its organizations and works actively in it, complies with the decisions of the Party, observes its discipline and pays dues according to the established norms, can be a member of the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party of Ecuador. As can be seen, our Party adheres to the Leninist conceptions of party organization.

Continuing with the reading of Lenin, we find a fundamental statement: «The Party must be a sum (and not a simple arithmetic sum, but a complex) of organizations. …[And] I make my wish, says Lenin, I demand that the Party, as the vanguard detachment of the class, be as organized as possible and that it should only include those elements that admit at least a minimum degree of organization. Here, it is necessary to make the same clarification that Lenin establishes when analyzing this subject. “The word “organization,” Lenin clarifies, is usually used in two senses: broad and narrow. In the narrow sense, it designates a cell of a human collectivity, as soon as it has acquired even the most minimal form. In the broad sense, it means a sum of these cells, united into a whole. […] a party is also an organization, it must be an organization (in the broad sense of the word); but, at the same time, a party must consist of a series of diverse organizations (in the strict sense of the word).

Lenin advocates that the working-class party militant be dedicated to revolutionary work, and this is possible only for those who develop particular qualities. Not every striker can be a member of the Party, says Lenin himself, not because he devalues ​​the quality of the fighter, but because to be a member of the vanguard detachment of the revolution it is not enough to go out and protest. “The stronger our Party organisations are, composed of effective Social-Democrats, the less hesitation and instability there is within the Party, the broader and more multifaceted, the richer and more fruitful will be the influence of the Party on the elements of the working masses that surround it and that it leads. For one cannot, in truth, confuse the Party as the vanguard detachment of the working class with the entire class.”

[This is the 901st post on DS.] 

BAP on the release of Leonard Peltier + the fighting in eastern DR Congo + a teach-in on "regime change" February 6th

From UNAC:

"What is regime change, and how has the US used it to target nations like Libya, Iraq, and Syria that resist Western dominance? This event will explore how sanctions, propaganda, and military intervention are wielded as tools of imperialism, plunging nations into chaos under the guise of "human rights" rhetoric.

Join us to analyze the devastating consequences of US-led interventions and corporate media propaganda.

Questions? Email us at thenewschoolsjp[at gmail]"

                                                      "The US’ Role in Regime Change

UNAC is a co-sponsor of this online and in-person event

Thursday, February 6, 7 PM

At the New School in New York City and online

Click here to register for the online event

                Click here to register for the in-person event "

Originally posted January 31st at:  blackallianceforpeace.com/bapstatements/imperialism-responsible-for-congo-turmoil  Slightly edited.

See also:  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_23_Movement  Last week the BBC interviewed both Rwandan and Congolese officials about the fighting, while I only heard an interview with the Congolese foreign minister (?) on NPR (on Morning Edition February 1st). The BBC clearly has preferences, but they still allowed both governments to air their views on the conflict.  But the BBC hardly ever admits that there are two sides in the wars in the Middle East or Ukraine.  Palestinian and other civilians are often interviewed, but the BBC hardly ever interviews an acknowledged member of a Resistance group, junior or senior, or an Iranian or Ba'athist Syrian government official.  Occasionally they interview an academic in Tehran who gives a strong showing against "Western" imperialism (thus they rarely have him on?).  I think he is sometimes interviewed on The Electronic Intifada's livestream.  The BBC frequently interviews "right" to "far right" Israeli politicians, who frequently make little effort to hide their desire to mistreat, starve, torture, and kill the Palestinian civilian population, until Israel can annex every bit of territory "from the River to the Sea" for "settlements."  The BBC hardly ever interviews Russian officials on the war in Eastern Europe.  I don't recall the BBC ever interviewing a Russian separatist militant or official in Ukraine or a civilian victim of western Ukraine, other than maybe Russian civilians from near Kursk, on pre-war Russian territory.  The BBC lets Israelis officials and politicians openly talk, for several minutes, like we're in the 1940's and they face no risk of being arrested for war crimes, while rarely or never interviewing officials from Hamas, Ansar Allah, Hezbollah, the Russian government, Belarusian government, the Venezuelan government, etc.  Surely they could find someone official to interview?  The BBC does sometimes play clips of Putin or have Steve Rosenberg shout questions at him at events, etc., but they hardly ever interview an official from an "adversary" government, though they must often talk to such officials, 'off camera.'  I think they did let a young Chinese influencer effusively praise China's "AI" (?) or social media recently.  

\

Even US officials usually try to avoid talking like a Likud official on an open mic.  [Maybe I was mainly thinking of "Jewish Power" (Otzma Yehudit); the BBC gives the Israeli right and "far right" 'precious' air time, though they use it to offend or outrage world public opinion:  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otzma_Yehudit  Described as "fascist."  The BBC rarely lets Hamas, the Russian government, the Nicaraguan government, etc. air their views and grievances in an extended interview.  I'm not even sure they let AMLO's government in Mexico explain its judicial reform plan, right or not.] [I think that parties such as the Religious Zionist Party and Jewish Home have also been given air time on the BBC recently:  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_Zionist_Party and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jewish_Home[I think that officials from parties such as the Religious Zionist Party and Jewish Home have also been given air time on the BBC recently:  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_Zionist_Party and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jewish_Home On Likud:  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Likud  Similar to how senior US officials spoke, publicly, under George W Bush and Dick Cheney?]

Despite the BAP's view below, I've wondered in general if events in the DRC or elsewhere could be related to a loss of US international power or focused attention, in the same way that conflict followed the destruction of the USSR and Yugoslavia, or an increase in the independence of smaller regional powers in a "multi-polar" world.  I'm not saying that Trump is an "isolationist."  Biden was what the mainstream media calls an "internationalist," yet events seemed to be out of US control during the Biden-Harris administration, assuming that the government wasn't just lying about its intentions.  Maybe Biden was too elderly to govern effectively.  Netanyahu made the Biden-Harris administration look weak if not humiliated, and he might be preparing the same treatment for Trump-Vance this year.  The US couldn't stop the civil war in Sudan, which also involves the UAE and other powers.  The US failed to overthrow the governments of Venezuela, Iran, or Cuba, and it failed to weaken Russia and drive it out of Ukraine.  Supposedly Turkey not the US was behind the "rebel" coup that achieved the elites' long-standing dream of toppling Syria.  They appeared unable to control mass migration caused in part by their "kinetic" and economic warfare waged around the world and a changed climate.  Maybe inflation in the USA also related to the government's wars; the EU's economy suffered because they were cut off from Russian resources.  The US also wants the EU and others to be 'on side' against China, perhaps again costing the EU economically.  Trump talks violently, but what if it achieves little, or other countries stand up to his threats?  People aren't willing to go to war for capitalist economic reasons again so soon after the "War on Terror," or there isn't enough money for a new war?  There is a limit to what the government can achieve through Bill Clinton-style aerial wars.

[From Nicaragua:  diario-octubre.com/2025/02/04/el-ku-klux-klan-esta-en-washington/

On the fighting in DR Congo:  diario-octubre.com/2025/02/04/ruanda-invade-el-este-de-congo-y-desancadena-una-guerra-civil/ ]

[ covertactionmagazine.com/2025/01/30/rwanda-invades-drc-on-behalf-of-the-corporate-critical-minerals-supply-chains/ ]

[ covertactionmagazine.com/2025/02/03/keith-harmon-snow-was-a-courageous-investigative-journalist-who-exposed-lies-regarding-the-rwandan-genocide/ ]

[ covertactionmagazine.com/2025/02/01/american-indian-movement-leader-leonard-peltier-finally-freed-from-prison-in-last-minute-move-by-biden-administration/ ]

U.S.-led Imperialism Is Directly Responsible for Turmoil in the Democratic Republic of Congo

The Black Alliance for Peace Africa Team (BAP) and U.S. Out of Africa Network (USOAN) stands in unwavering solidarity with the Congolese People as they endure yet another chapter of violence, exploitation, and masked imperialist aggression in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The ongoing conflict, fueled by Rwanda’s role as an imperialist foot soldier, is not merely a regional dispute but a manifestation of global capitalism’s insatiable desire for Africa’s resources. As the transnational capitalist class fight for dominance in the global clean energy, artificial intelligence, and technology markets, the Congo has been and stands to remain the battleground as a cornerstone of systemic plunder for over a century.

Rwanda, backed by Western powers such as the United States, the European Union (EU), Canada, Israel, etc, has consistently acted as a destabilizing force in the region, providing material support to proxy militias like the M23 to undermine Congolese sovereignty and facilitate the extraction of resources. Much like the sub-imperialist relationship between the United Arab Emirates and Sudan, Rwanda has no significant mineral reserves of its own yet has become one of the world’s leading exporters of critical minerals like coltan. The recent escalation in Goma, where Rwanda Defense Forces (RDF) and M23 have seized strategic areas, is a direct result of this imperialist agenda.

The Congolese People, however, continue to resist valiantly, with the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC) and Wazalendo self-defense groups reclaiming critical infrastructure like the Congolese National Radio and Television station (RTNC). The responsibility of those outside of the DRC is to heed the acts of the People reflecting the unheard, to unconditionally support their path toward self-determination and right to defend their land and sovereignty. This is the only way to sustainable peace in the Congo.

The conflict in the DRC is not an isolated event but a direct consequence of the global capitalist system in crisis. The so-called “Green Corridor” initiative, promoted by President Felix Tshisekedi at the World Economic Forum in Davos, is a stark example of how imperialist powers and their local compradors, seek to legitimize their pillaging under the guise of development. This initiative, funded primarily by the United States and EU, aims to secure access to the Congo’s cobalt, copper, and lithium — resources essential for the global transition to renewable energy and digital technologies. Yet, this so-called “development” comes at the direct expense of the Congolese People, who continue to suffer from violence, displacement, and poverty. 

The recent attacks on the embassies of Belgium, France, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and the United States, chanting “down with imperialism” and widespread protests across the DRC, from Goma to Kinshasa, make clear the frustration of the Congolese with a government that has failed to protect them, and a global system that exploits them. The uprising reflects a growing consciousness among the Congolese masses, who are demanding accountability, liberation, and an end to decades of suffering. The Black Alliance for Peace recognizes these protests as part of a broader struggle across the African continent. As Che Guevara said, “all free people of the world be prepared to avenge the crime of the Congo.” 

We understand that the liberation of the Congo is inseparable from the liberation of Africa as a whole. The Congo’s land, energy, and resources have fueled the wealth of imperialist powers for generations, while its people have been subjected to unimaginable violence and exploitation. The current crisis is a stark reminder that the struggle for African sovereignty is a struggle against the global capitalist system. We must reject the false narratives that frame this conflict as a regional or ethnic issue and instead recognize it as a fight against imperialism and for self-determination. 

The Black Alliance for Peace calls on all progressive forces, both within the African continent and around the world, to stand in solidarity with the Congolese People. Demand an immediate end to Rwanda’s aggression and the withdrawal of all foreign forces from the DRC. We call for Congo’s resources to be under the democratic control of its People. We call on all anti-imperialist forces across the world to expose the puppeteer role of the U.S.-EU-NATO Axis of Domination in fueling this crisis and to support the Congolese People’s right to life.

The struggle of the Congolese People is our struggle. Their victory is our victory . Let us unite in solidarity to end the centuries-long suffering in the Congo and to build a world free from imperialism, capitalism, and exploitation. The Congo is not for sale—it belongs to its People.

Free the Congo! 

Patrice Lumumba Lives!

Unite Africa under Socialism!

No Compromise!

No Retreat!

Originally posted January 28th at:  blackallianceforpeace.com/bapstatements/welcome-home-leonard-peltier  See also:  durhamspark.blogspot.com/2025/01/samidoun-free-ahmad-saadat-and-all.html

The Black Alliance for Peace Welcomes the Release of Leonard Peltier and Demands Unrestricted Release of all U.S. Political Prisoners

The immoral life sentence of American Indian Movement freedom fighter, political prisoner and prisoner of war, Leonard Peltier was commuted by the U.S. President Joe Biden, only moments before Biden’s term in office ended. Now 80 years old, Peltier languished for over 50 years in prison after being unjustly convicted of killing two FBI agents in 1975 during a terror raid of the Pine Ridge Reservation by agents of the U.S. government.

Biden’s clemency order for Peltier was a vulgar, narcissistic attempt to fabricate a benevolent legacy for himself. Falling far short of an exoneration, the Biden administration insinuated the act was one of compassion for a decidedly “guilty” FBI agent killer. The ailing elder Peltier won’t be released until February 18th, and will still have to remain confined to house arrest for the rest of his life under the jurisdiction of the Federal Bureau of Prisons that can rescind his release if they decide he has violated his parole. At least he will be surrounded and cared for by loved ones.

While the Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) welcomes the long overdue release of Leonard Peltier, we hold that he should never have been imprisoned and that his imprisonment reflects the ongoing institutional expression of settler-colonialism that defines the U.S. Even though all evidence in the case of Peltier points to his innocence, BAP’s commitment to an authentic process of decolonization in every sense of that term supports the right of American Indian, First Nation people to defend themselves and resist their colonialist domination by any means necessary.

Neither Biden nor the U.S. government deserves credit or gratitude for commuting Peltier's sentence. All credit belongs to the activists, international human rights leaders, and legal advocates led by the Indigenous people who fought for decades for Leonard Peltier’s release. Peltier’s case is but one in a long and decadent history of U.S. political imprisonment and repression, with a present record that includes the contemporary cases of the Uhuru 3, the nearly five dozen “Stop Cop City” activists indicted on RICO charges, and activists targeted in the Free Palestine movement.

BAP holds the U.S. setter state in contempt for continuing to hold political prisoners and we remain “committed to working against all forms of state and domestic repression, including the issues of political prisoners and prisoners of war in the United States.”

No Compromise!

No Retreat!

The Free Leonard Peltier Ad Hoc Committee is raising funds for expenses related to retaining independent medical experts, accommodations, travel, materials, and other expenditures related to Leonard's medical care. Please contribute what you can. You can also donate via Cash App to: $PeltierOfficialComm