Stop deportation hearing with Nigerian Embassy in Munich!

17th – 19th of June: Stop the deportation hearing with the Nigerian Embassy in Munich!

Protest action in front of the refugee camp at Tischlerstraße 30:
17th – 19th of June, each day from 8 am till 3 pm

Public transport connection:
Metro line U3, metro station Fürstenried West
Bus 166, bus stop Tischlerstraße

>>From 17th to 19th of June 2008, Nigerian Embassy officials will be coming to Munich again on the invitation of the Southern Bavaria Central Deportation Agency (Zentrale Rückführungsstelle Süd) to identify Nigerian Asylum seekers
for the purpose of issuing travel documents to deport them. Nigerians from different cities have been summoned to show up for this embassy deportation hearing, taking place inside a refugee camp at Tischlerstraße 30.

In order to facilitate the quick deportation of Nigerian refugees living in Germany, the German authorities are conniving with Nigerian embassy officials by bringing these officials all the way from Berlin to different places all over Germany, where Nigerians are forced to attend so-called identification hearings with these officials for the purpose of issuing travel documents for their deportation, against their will. The invited refugees are not informed about the purpose of these invitations and are even forced through various repressive means, including imprisonment. The aim of the German authorities is clear: Accelerating massive deportation of Nigerian citizens! And not only of Nigerian citizens: Even people from other African countries, like Liberia, Togo or Sudan, are forced to attend these hearings, with the aim to deport them to Nigeria as well.

For every refugee that is issued a travel document thereby paving the way for his eventual forceful deportation, the embassy is paid a certain sum of money by the German authorities, 250 Euro for every interview and 250 Euro more for every travel document! This means a total of 500 Euros for every refugee that is invited and finally issued a travel document. So, the embassy officials receive money to facilitate the denial of fundamental human rights by a foreign country to Nigerian and other African citizens living in this foreign country.

The practice of embassy identification hearings with the Nigerian embassy has come to an extent that they are taking place every month, each time in another region and another city of Germany. The Nigerian embassy officials were in Munich in August 2007, in January 2008 they were in Halberstadt, in February they were in Dortmund in March they were in Ludwigsburg and in April they were in Leipzig. The Nigerian embassy has now become a central agency for the deportation of African migrants and refugees!

But experience with previous embassy deportation hearings has also shown: Many refugees have successfully stopped their own deportation by refusing to attend these hearings. Boycott and protest actions against deportation hearings can be an efficient strategy to stop deportations!

Therefore, the Munich group of the Caravan for the Rights of Refugees and Migrants calls for massive protest and pressure against the Nigerian embassy to stop them from carrying out their shameful deportation business.

Stop embassy deportation hearings!
Stop the corrupt business with traveling certificates for deportations!
Stop deportations to Nigeria, stop all deportations!

Boycott-Information:

To all who got an invitation to the embassy interview with the Nigerian Embassy from 17th till 19th of June in Munich / Tischlerstraße refugee camp:

Dear brothers and sisters,
>>From 17th to 19th of June 2008, Nigerian Embassy officials will be coming to Munich to identify Nigerian Asylum seekers for the purpose of issuing travel documents to deport them. Nigerians from different cities have been summoned to show up for this embassy deportation interview, taking place inside a refugee camp at Tischlerstraße 30.

Warning: Attending the embassy interview with the Nigerian embassy is only for your own deportation! Boycott the embassy interview, don't support your own deportation!!
Don’t talk any word with Nigerian embassy officials unless a lawyer is with you!!

First: You should NOT sign any document proving your identity or your country of origin! Such a paper can be used to issue travelling documents for deportation without any other evidences or documents.

What is the problem with the embassy interview? What is happening there?
It is clear that the only purpose of an embassy interview is issuing travelling documents for deportation! Usually, authorities send out letters through which people are asked to come to an embassy hearing for reasons that are not clearly specified. Sometimes, the authorities threaten to revoke the "Duldung" if the refugees don’t attend the embassy interview. This is partly wrong because the authorities HAVE TO prolong the Duldung, if they cannot deport a person.
During the embassy interview, refugees will be questioned by Nigerian embassy officials in order to confirm their Nigerian origin based on their language, their accents or specific words they use. It has also been reported that not only Nigerians, but also asylum seekers from Togo, Liberia or Sudan have been invited to embassy hearings with the Nigerian embassy to deport them to Nigeria as well. It has to be clear: Don’t trust the Nigerian embassy officials, even if they offer to help you! You should also know that the embassy officials receive 500 Euro from the German authorities for every refugee that is invited and finally issued a travel document. That means, they make money by supporting the deportation of fellow Nigerians and other Africans!

Which consequences might happen to you if you go to an embassy interview?
Those attending an embassy interview are being issued papers of identification and, shortly afterwards, they receive a note of deportation.

Why it makes sense to boycott an embassy interview :
Many refugees who refused attending an embassy interview were able to stop their own deportation successfully and to win time to find alternative solutions for their own situation!

Possibility of penalties for refusing to to take part in an embassy interview or if you don’t talk with the embassy officials:
It’s a matter of fact that if you refuse to attend an embassy interview and/or to talk with the embassy officials, you can get penalties such as cuts of your social welfare money. The authorities could also take away your working permission or you could get a restriction of your "Residenzpflicht".

However, many people still don’t receive any penalty and often, these penalties are given only for a limited period of time. There are also possibilities to avoid troubles for not going to an embassy hearing, e.g. if you can present a medical certificate that proves that you are suffering from an illness which is so severe that you cannot participate in an interview.

Concerning the question of penalties, we ask you to contact us and/or your lawyer!

Also important to know: If you have already refused to take part in a hearing, police might try to arrest you at your place and might try to bring you directly to the hearing. Be careful, call your lawyer and/or contact us!

Therefore, our advice is: Do not to take part in an embassy interviews and refuse any cooperation. Boycott embassy interviews and try to get in touch with people and groups that support you! Don’t talk any word with Nigerian embassy officials unless a lawyer is with you!

Get in touch with us to get to know more about embassy interviews, tell us about your experiences. Let’s come together and protest against embassy deportation interviews!

Contact us:
Caravan for the Rights of Refugees and Migrants, c/o Eine Welt Haus,
Schwanthalerstraße 80, 80336 München
e-mail: caravane-munich@zeromail.org
website: www.carava.net
meeting: every Thursday, 8.30 pm, at Eine Welt Haus, Schwanthalerstraße 80,
Munich (near metro station U4/U5 Schwanthaler Höhe)

V.i.S.d.P.: Chimanda Adichie, c/o Karawane, Eine Welt Haus, Schwanthalerstr. 80,
80336 München

Boycott British Airways from May 15th

PRESS STATEMENT BY RESPECT NIGERIANS COALITION (RNC) ON THE EXPIRATION OF ULTIMATUM GIVEN TO BRITISH AIRWAYS

Click here to download a flyer and pass on to others


Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press, we are issuing this Statement on behalf of Respect Nigerians Coalition (RNC), a coalition of organizations and persons championing the campaign against British Airways’ discriminatory and indecorous treatment of its Nigerian customers. You all know that on Thursday, 27 March 2008, British Airways officials and the police subjected Mr Ayodeji Omotade to degrading treatment and went further to eject the other 135 passengers (overwhelmingly Nigerians) from BA075 flight bound for Lagos Nigeria from London Heathrow Airport. Of course, we are acutely aware that without your unstinting support, this story would have been swept under the carpet. That is why today, we are once again calling on you to help deepen international consciousness about the campaign.

On Tuesday, April 15 2008, we made five specific demands on British Airways over this issue and asked that they address these before Wednesday, April 30, 2008. We asked British Airways to:

• tender a clear and well-worded apology to all passengers affected by their discriminatory and intimidatory conduct aboard flight BA075 on 27 March, 2008 in a Nigerian national newspaper;
• tender a clear and well-worded written apology and appropriate compensation to Mr Ayodeji Omotade for financial and emotional losses suffered as a result of the conduct of British Airways and its agents on the day;
• withdraw all adverse statements made to the police about Mr. Ayodeji Omotade over this incident;
• lift the ban imposed on Mr Ayodeji Omotade, even as he would still retain his right to decide whether or not to fly British Airways in the future, and
• issue an undertaking that British Airways shall improve its customer care culture and desist from such practices that give the impression that the airline is arrogant, uncaring and discriminatory.

So far, British Airways has failed to do any of the above or give any indication of its intention to do any of the above. The terrible statements its faceless officials have been making in the press over this issue, both in the United Kingdom and Nigeria, attest to the unwillingness of those who run the airline to see reason. In the face of British Airways’ stonewalling, it is therefore our intention to now inform you of our next line of action.

We members of the Respect Nigeria Coalition (RNC) have resolved to officially commence the worldwide boycott of British Airways goods and services as from Thursday, 15 May, 2008. We are calling on every Nigerian and friends of Nigeria, every person who loves justice and fairness and every person who has a social conscience to vote against British Airways with the power of their purse. We are calling on people to educate British Airways on the virtues of good corporate citizenship. Nigerians and friends of Nigeria all over the world will continue to sign the Petition/Protest Letter posted on our two websites – www.nigeriavillagesquare and www.respectnigerians.com as long as the protest continues.

We recognize the concern showed by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and the Nigerian Federal Government over this issue. We are aware that discussions are ongoing between agents of the Federal Government and British Airways, the details of which are unknown to us at this time. But we are not waiting for the Federal Government to teach British Airways that the customer is king. They will find that out as they continue to test our resolve, because we are absolutely determined to prove that it’s possible for people’s power to trounce corporate tyranny.

Finally, you, members of the press, are the most important pillars of support we have throughout this struggle. It is you that put our issue on the front-burner of national and international discourse. Your reports have roused the consciousness of the British and international public and we know that the endless stream of messages of support we are receiving and the thousands of signatories supporting our protest have been largely due to the publicity and support you have given our campaign from the beginning.

Please, stand solidly with us, for the man dies in him who keeps silent in the face of tyranny of any sort.

Thank you for your support, care and attention.

Signed:

Kennedy Emetulu
Michael Egbejumi-David
Tosin Awotesu.

(For and on behalf of Respect Nigerians Coalition)

Extradite the terrorist Posada!

Extradite or prosecute the terrorist Posada,
Free the Cuban Five anti-terrorists!

How long will the Bush administration continue to harbor terrorist Luis Posada Carriles?

We are writing to urge you to join the campaign to demand the extradition and prosecution of anti-Cuban terrorist Luis Posada Carriles. We are asking you to send a letter today in support of the demand that Posada be extradited to Venezuela, or prosecuted in the United States for the bombing in a civilian Cuban airliner in mid-flight, and other terrorist acts. Right now Posada is being treated as a guest of honor by the Bush administration, which is planning new aggressions against the people of Cuba.

Take a moment to send a letter today by clicking this link. People all over the country and the world are mobilizing. It will only take a minute, but your action can help make a difference.

If you can make an urgently needed donation to help this campaign, please do so now.

Background

Should a man who is responsible for killing 73 people in a plane bombing, be honored with a dinner and an art gallery exhibit of his paintings?

That is precisely what has happened in the city that knows best how to protect and honor terrorists—Miami. The terrorist is Luis Posada Carriles, and the Miami dinner held in his “honor” on May 2nd, is just the beginning.

Take Action Now! Write to Congress We urge you to send a letter to your representatives in Congress, to demand that the U.S. government act immediately to extradite or prosecute Posada, and allow the Cuban Five to return home to Cuba.

Posada made a brazen statement at the May 2 Miami dinner, evoking a call to terrorism once again. “We must not wait for Fidel Castro to die… for Raul to make mistakes.”

Misappropriating the words of Cuban independence fighter Antonio Maceo, Posada then said, “‘liberty is not something we must beg for. It is conquered with the sharp edge of the machete.' We ask God to sharpen our machetes because difficult times are arriving.”

Posada and the CIA

These are not idle words.

For over 40 years as a CIA operative, he has used explosives to carry out brutal attacks on unsuspecting victims, in the name of bringing “democracy” to Cuba. An Italian tourist, Fabio Di Celmo, was killed when one of the bombs that Posada made himself, exploded in a Havana hotel in 1997.

Although he bragged about Di Celmo’s murder in 1998 to The New York Times, he has never been charged. A New Jersey grand jury investigation on Posada's terrorist bombing in Cuba is still underway, but it is three years, and there is still no indictment.

Posada is not alone in his terrorist objectives. There is a network of Miami terrorists with whom he continues to work.

As late as 2000, Posada planned, along with three other Miami terrorists Pedro Remón Rodríguez, Guillermo Novo Sampol and Guillermo Jiménez Escobedo, to bomb an auditorium in Panama City, in order to assassinate Fidel Castro. That attempt would have killed hundreds of people. Fortunately that terrorist attack was thwarted, but now those four terrorists are living in Miami, after they were pardoned by the outgoing Panamanian pro-Bush president, Mireya Moscoso.

Remember George Bush's own words

It is an absolute outrage for Posada Carriles to be free in the streets, free to organize more terrorist attacks against the people of Cuba, or anyone else he deems an enemy.

George W. Bush’s own words, “If you harbor a terrorist...you are as guilty as a terrorist” brings into focus the question: Why has Bush not acted against Posada?

The Bush administration has guided Posada out of jail through a series of deliberate steps since he entered the United States in 2005.

When Posada sneaked illegally into Miami’s harbor in late March 2005, it took two months for Homeland Security to detain him, despite worldwide cries for his arrest and prosecution. Now he has been released, allowing him to openly organize new terrorist attacks.

George W. Bush and his father -- shielding anti-Cuban terrorists

After three years, the Bush government still refuses to honor Venezuela’s request to extradite Posada for the 1976 Cuban airliner bombing in Caracas. Bush’s father was CIA director at the time.

George W. is following in his father’s footsteps. Orlando Bosch—Posada’s accomplice in the plane bombing—was about to be deported from the United States in 1990 when president George H.W. Bush overrode the deportation order. Thus, the two architects of the Cubana plane bombing both live free in Miami.

Even if the U.S. government refuses to extradite with some nefarious pretext that it can’t trust Venezuela to respect Posada’s human rights, Washington is bound by international law to prosecute him in the United States, according to the Montreal 1971 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Civil Aviation, “without exception whatsoever and whether or not the offense was committed in its territory…”

Cuban Five imprisoned, while Posada walks free

But even more outrageous is the continued U.S. imprisonment of the five Cuban men who were stopping the Miami terrorists’ plots.

The “Cuban Five” are Cuban nationals who came into Miami in the early1990s, to infiltrate, keep a vigilant eye on the Miami terrorists, and stop their attacks. The Cuban Five were doing what the U.S. government has refused to do, act against the Miami extremists. More than 3,400 Cubans have died by terrorist attacks of the Miami ultra-right.

Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando González and René González, whose mission was to save lives, are serving 15 years to double life, falsely convicted on federal conspiracy charges. Hernández and Fernando González had the specific mission of keeping an eye on Bosch.

The Cuban Five won the right to a new trial in 2005 when a federal court ruled that they were improperly tried in Miami, due to 'pervasive prejudice' towards defendants related to Cuba. Then the Bush administration appealed the decision. The five remain in prison.

The story doesn’t end there. Alexander Acosta—the U.S. Attorney in Miami who represented the government in arguing against a new trial for the Cuban Five—is the same prosecutor who requested a sentence reduction for the two terrorists who illegally sneaked Posada into the United States in March 2005.

Despite illegally possessing massive weapons caches and refusing to testify before an El Paso grand jury about Posada’s illegal entry, Santiago Alvarez and Osvaldo Mitat won a reduction in their already-short prison sentences, thanks to Miami prosecutors.

Only pressure from the people of the United States on the U.S. government will bring Posada to justice.

---

Take action -- Send a letter today!

1) We urge you to send a letter to your representatives in Congress, to demand that the U.S. government act immediately to extradite or prosecute Posada, and allow the Cuban Five to return home to Cuba

NYPD go to hell, we are all Sean Bell

n New York, a coalition of civil rights advocates are calling for a permanent state-level special prosecutor to handle police brutality cases following the acquittal of three NYPD detectives in the killing of Sean Bell. The twenty-three-year-old Bell died in a hail of fifty police bullets on the morning of what would have been his wedding day in November 2006. Two of his friends were also injured in the shooting. All three men were unarmed.

Brief summary of Friday April 25th

* Peoples Justice Rally for Justice for Sean Bell & All Victims of Police Brutality
* 2 arrests following formal march


Following yesterday morning's announcement of Judge Cooperman's "not guilty on all counts" acquittal verdict of 3 of the 5 NYPD officers involved in the murder of Sean Bell, hundreds gathered in Queens to express their outrage. Disgusted by the trial process (determined by 1 judge rather than a jury), and the unjust outcome, the Peoples Justice rally began at 5:30pm by the Queens DA's office, with family members speaking of having lost loved ones to police brutality, and others speaking of personal experiences being victimized by law enforcement violence, including: Nicholas Heyward, Sr. spoke of his son - Nicholas Heyward, Jr. - murdered by the NYPD; members of Jayson Tirado's family; Juanita Young, mother of Malcolm Ferguson and founder of Parents Against Police Brutality; representatives of the Bushwick 32 case; Desis Rising Up & Moving, linking the struggle against police brutality to the struggle against the criminalization of immigrants. In addition to justice for Sean Bell and other specific cases, Peoples Justice is calling for an end to racist & militarized policing of our communities; the creation of a permanent independent prosecutor for all cases of police brutality in NYC; and increased efforts for community control of our safety through creation of community Cop Watch patrols and Know Your Rights work.



Peoples Justice moved the rally from the Queens DA's office with a march to Liverpool, the site of the 50-shot murder of Sean Bell and injuries to his friends Trent Benefield & Joseph Guzman. The unpermitted march, growing to 1,500 on Queens Boulevard, stopped traffic and was greeted by enormous support from community members along the way -- many joined the march; others honked their support from their cars, not seeming bothered to be stopped in traffic; others cheered from rooftops, apartments, stores, and buses.

At the closing rally on Liverpool (site of the shooting), about 500 vowed to continue the struggle for justice for Sean Bell & all victims of police brutality. Co-MC's Jessica Sanclemente (from the Justice Committee) and Thenjiwe McHarris (Malcolm X Grassroots Movement) reminded community members of the need to demand accountability of the police while also taking steps towards community control through Know Your Rights education and Cop Watch patrols. Those interested in developing their own Cop Watch patrols can contact the Justice Committee or Malcolm X Grassroots Movement for more information, and Peoples Justice can be contacted for more information about Know Your Rights training.

Following the close of the formal Peoples Justice march & rally, some continued with an impromptu march through parts of Jamaica, Queens. According to updates Peoples Justice received, at about 11:30pm, following the dispersal of one group at the 103rd Precinct, a protester was arrested as he was leaving, and a legal observer who tried to get badge information of the arresting officers was also arrested. After getting the news last night, Peoples Justice organizers secured an attorney to work with the 2 who were arrested, and also had several Peoples Justice organizers go to the 107th precinct where they were being held before being transported to Central Booking. The attorney attempted to have them released with DAT's (desk appearance tickets), which is often protocol in such cases. The NYPD refused. We expect that the 2 will be released today, and will post additional updates if community mobilization is required.

Murdered by the NYPD

The Families

The People's Verdict

Taking It to the Streets

By Any Means Necessary

NYPD + ICE = Racists

Roses for Sean Bell

Killer Cops

Stolen Lives

The Fire From Below

"We Are All Sean Bell": Images of the People's Justice march that took the streets of Queens on Friday, April 25, 2008. The spark: The acquittal of the three cops who fired 50 shots into an unarmed Black man on his wedding day in 2007.
The demand: Justice for Sean Bell and All Victims of Police Brutality. Community Control of the Police.

The Conspiracy to Divide Bolivia Must Be Denounced

The process of changes in favor of the Bolivian majority is at risk of being brutally restrained. The rise to power of an Indigenous president with unprecedented support in that country and his programs of popular benefits and recovery of the natural resources have had to face the conspiracies of the oligarchy and United States interference from the very beginning.

In recent days the increase in conspiracy has reached its climax. The subversive and unconstitutional actions of the oligarchic groups to try to divide the Bolivian nation reflect the racist and elitist minds of these sectors and constitute a very dangerous precedent not only for the country’s integrity, but for other countries in our region.

History shows with ample eloquence, the terrible consequences that the divisionary and separatist processes supported and induced by foreign interests have had for humanity.

Faced with this situation the signers below would like to express their support for the government of Evo Morales Ayma, for his policies for change and for the sovereign constituent process of the Bolivian people. At the same time we reject the so-called Santa Cruz Autonomy Statute due to its unconstitutionality and the attempt against the unity of a nation of our America.




Please sign the petition in support of the Bolivian government HERE

Tibet – the background: from brutal theocracy to socialist liberation to capitalist nightmare

7 April 2008. A World to Win News Service. The following abridged article is from the 6 April, 2008 issue of Revolution, voice of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA.

The communist revolution led by Mao Tsetung liberated China in 1949. Before this, Tibet (located in the remote, far western part of China) was ruled by a feudal Buddhist theocracy – headed by the Dalai Lama – that brutally exploited and suppressed the people. Most land suitable for farming was owned by high-ranking lamas (Buddhist clerics) and non-Lamaist aristocracy. Fewer than 700 of these top monks and other secular feudal lords controlled 93 percent of the land and wealth.

Most of the people in Tibet’s rural areas were serfs who were bonded [made servants] for life to the top monks and secular aristocracy. The feudal owners dictated what crops the serfs could grow, and then took most of the harvested grain while driving the peasants ever deeper into debt. They demanded unpaid forced labour from the serfs and subjected them to onerous taxes, like taxes on newborn children. Girls were often taken from serf families to serve as servants for the aristocrats, and many boys were forced into monasteries to be trained as monks. (Accounts of pre-1949 Tibet can be found, among other works, in A. Tom Grunfeld, The Making of Modern Tibet, M.E. Sharpe, 1996; Anna Louise Strong, Tibetan Interviews, Peking New World Press, 1929; Michael Parenti, “Friendly Feudalism: The Tibet Myth,” July 7, 2003, swans.com)

About five percent of Tibetans were outright slaves (mainly domestic servants) who had no right to grow anything for themselves and who were often worked or beaten to death. The lower-level monks (about a tenth of the population) were also basically slaves, bound to the monasteries and forced to serve the high-ranking lamas.

The feudal lords enforced the social order with their small professional army and armed gangs. Any non-compliance, let alone open resistance, was met with sadistic punishment that included torture and mutilation, such as gouging out of eyes.

The reactionary ideology of Lamaism, the form of Buddhism in Tibet, was key in this whole set-up. Central to Lamaism is the belief that humans have a soul that is born and reborn many times (reincarnation), and that a person’s position in the world has been predetermined by what he/she did in a previous life (karma). Being born a woman, for example, was considered punishment for sinful behaviour in the past life. Such religious untrue myths and superstitions were used by the rulers to justify extreme oppression and to keep the masses of people resigned to their situation.

The victory of the revolution led by Mao in 1949 brought a new day to China. The U.S. and other imperialists quickly moved to try to crush this revolution. By 1950, for example, U.S. invasion forces had landed in Korea and were moving toward the Chinese border.

The Maoists aimed to bring Tibet (and other remote regions of China) into the revolutionary process – to transform the oppressive relations there, and to prevent imperialist intrigue and intervention on China’s borders. In 1951, China’s revolutionary state signed a treaty with Tibet’s rulers, and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) marched peacefully into Lhasa, the Tibetan capital. Under the agreement, there was self-government for Tibet under the Dalai Lama, while the central government controlled military and foreign affairs (like in other national minority autonomous areas) and could promote social reforms. The monastic properties remained intact and the feudal lords continued to dominate the peasants. But usury was abolished, roads and hospitals were built, and a secular school system began to take root. (Felix Greene, A Curtain of Ignorance, Doubleday, 1961; Pradyumna P. Karan, The Changing Face of Tibet: The Impact of Chinese Communist Ideology on the Landscape, University Press of Kentucky, 1976)

In 1956-57, feudal landowners – backed by the CIA – organized armed revolts. This was part of the intensifying imperialist encirclement of and pressures on the People’s Republic of China. In 1959 armed monks and Tibetan soldiers launched a full-scale counter-revolutionary uprising, which had little support among the people and crumbled fairly quickly. The Dalai Lama escaped to India in a CIA covert operation, taking with him enormous wealth that represented the blood of oppressed people. Large sections of the top clergy and feudal aristocracy followed him into exile. (Kenneth Conboy and James Morrison, The CIA’s Secret War in Tibet, University of Kansas Press, 2002; Richard M. Bennett, “Tibet, the ‘great game’ and the CIA,” Asia Times, 25 March, 2008)

A new phase of radical and sweeping changes followed. There were mass meetings and mobilizations of peasants, with women taking an active role. Slavery and unpaid serf labour were abolished. Large tracts of land controlled by the feudal owners were distributed to former serfs and landless peasants. Roads, schools, the medical system, and other infrastructure were further built up. There was new freedom to not believe in mind-enslaving religious dogma. (Felix Greene, A Curtain of Ignorance, Doubleday, 1961; Grunfeld, The Making of Modern Tibet)

Beginning in the mid-1960s, momentous upheavals rocked all of China – the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. Revisionist (phoney “communist”) forces right within the Communist Party had seized key positions of power and were threatening to bring capitalism back to China. Mao’s answer was a revolution within the revolution – he called on the masses in the hundreds of millions to seize power back from the capitalist-roaders and in the process further revolutionize society.

The Cultural Revolution brought profound changes to Tibet. Agricultural communes were organized, irrigation projects were undertaken, and food production was expanded. “Barefoot doctors” – medical workers trained from among the masses – brought regular health care to many rural areas for the first time. Half the barefoot doctors were women, previously forbidden under Buddhist doctrine to practise medicine. Literacy and basic scientific knowledge were spread among the people, and ideological struggle was waged against feudal customs and values.

There is much distortion spread by various forces about “cultural genocide” in Tibet during the Cultural Revolution. One charge levelled against the Cultural Revolution is that Mao ordered the large-scale desecration and destruction by Han Chinese Red Guards. But the truth of the matter is different. While there was destruction of monasteries and shrines, this was largely carried out by native Tibetan activists and Red Guard youth, not (as often alleged) by “invading” non-Tibetan Red Guards. (Mobo Gao, The Battle for China’s Past, Pluto, 2008) While there were excesses, it is important to understand this in the context of the larger struggle against the past and continuing influence of the reactionary Lamaist superstitions and their symbols, as well as the remaining wealth of the feudal masters in the form of monastic holdings. And there were attempts to rein in some of these kinds of excesses by the Maoist forces.

The revolutionary forces were confronted with a complex contradiction. On the one hand there was the right of minority nationalities, like the Tibetans, to their national culture. But in Tibet, this culture was very closely intertwined with the Lamaist religion, which was a heavy chain on the people. There is much more to be learned about how the Maoists handled this contradiction, and there is need to further synthesize what was done right and what mistakes were made in order to do better with contradictions like this in future socialist societies. What can be said is that the Maoist forces waged struggle against Han (the majority nationality in China) chauvinism and for equality among the various nationalities and cultures. At the same time, they led the struggle against the “four olds” – the old ideas, customs, culture, and habits of the reactionary feudal society. There was a blossoming of Tibetan culture during the Cultural Revolution: a single Tibetan dialect was promoted; Tibetan typewriters were developed; traditional Tibetan medicine was studied; there was research into Tibetan history. By 1975, half the top leaders in Tibet were native Tibetans.

The standard claim spread from “Free Tibet” organizations is that 1.2 million Tibetans have been killed since 1950, and especially during the Cultural Revolution. Writing in a New York Times Op-ed, Patrick French, former head of the pro-Dalai Lama group Free Tibet Campaign, said that after extensive research, he “found that there was no evidence to support that figure.” And contrary to claims about forced sterilization in Tibet during the Mao years, the actual policy was that there was education about family planning and that birth control was made available on a voluntary basis. There was recognition of the particular situation of minority nationality areas, which had suffered much greater infant mortality rates and epidemic diseases than Han areas. Tibet’s population – which had been markedly declining before liberation – seems to have increased during the Mao years. (Han Suyin, Lhasa, the Open City – A Journey to Tibet, Putnam, 1977; China Reconstructs, “Tibet – From Serfdom to Socialism,” March 1976; Peking Review, “Tibet’s Big Leap – No Return to the Old System,” July 4, 1975)

The death of Mao in 1976 brought another big change in China – this time, a giant reactionary leap backward. The revisionists seized power through a coup and restored capitalism to China – even as they continued to call themselves “communist” and claimed that China was still “socialist.” In Tibet, as throughout China, the capitalist rulers have dismantled collective farming and other socialist relations and institutions. Polarization has intensified throughout society – between rich and poor, between urban and rural areas, between men and women, and so on. Semi-feudal agriculture has re-emerged along with capitalism linked to international capital. Development of mining and timber industries has led to devastating ecological consequences. And there has been an uncorking of Han chauvinism, as the capitalist rulers and their government have moved to step up domination of Tibet and other minority areas.

The protests in Tibet and the discontent below

7 April 2008. A World to Win News Service.
Protests in London and Paris and expected actions in San Francisco against China’s treatment of Tibet have kept attention focused on this issue. In reaction, in a BBC interview international law professor and upcoming UN Human Rights Commission investigator Richard Falk pointed out that criticism of China in regard to Tibet and Darfur is considered acceptable, while criticism of Israel for its collective punishment of the population of Gaza is not. It is probably more than coincidence that at the same moment when France’s president Nicholas Sarkozy stepped into the lead in lashing out at China, he announced that he would send more troops to help the U.S occupy Afghanistan. And where is the clamour from most officially-recognized guardians of human rights for Western streets to shake with protests against what is undoubtedly the world’s biggest human rights violation today, the occupation of Iraq? Yet despite this pro-imperialist selectivity, China’s actions in Tibet do demand protest. The Chinese government’s unjust and oppressive policies reflect the criminal and capitalist nature of those who overthrew socialism and sold that country to the global imperialist system, a subject that demands clarity.

The following is abridged from an article signed by Li Onesto in the 6 April 2008 issue of Revolution, voice of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA. (revcom.us). Also see the accompanying background article.

Starting 14 March, days of protests and rebellion broke out in Tibet against the reactionary Chinese government. It is difficult to get reliable news about these developments because most reports are from the Chinese government or unverified individual accounts. But this appears to be the biggest outbreak of anti-government protests in Tibet in 20 years.

This conflict in Tibet is very complex, involving different class forces and interests and different political forces, including religious reactionary groups tied to U.S. imperialism.

On the one hand this struggle is about the national oppression of the Tibetan people by a regime that calls itself “socialist” and “communist” – which it is not. The Chinese government is reactionary and capitalist. On the other hand, this struggle is taking place against a bigger international backdrop. The United States is aggressively setting out to extend and tighten the global dominance of U.S. imperialism. And Tibet is in a geostrategically important region of the world where there are big stakes for the U.S. in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. The U.S. has a long history of backing reactionary forces in Tibet – the CIA has worked with and directly supported the Dalai Lama. And today, sections of the U.S. ruling class are championing the Dalai Lama and using his movement to try and pressure, destabilize, and even tear China apart because they consider it a long-term strategic, economic, political, and military rival to U.S. global power. Attempts by U.S. imperialism to interfere in Tibet must be opposed.

The Tibetan people are an ethnic minority in China that is oppressed by the capitalist system in China – and this oppression has greatly intensified in recent years. To understand this, it is first of all important to understand that the history of Tibet (officially designated as the Tibetan Autonomous Region) is not, as most mainstream news reports would have us believe, one unbroken history where the Tibetan people have faced the same government since 1949.

There are basically three distinct stages in the modern history of Tibet. Before 1949 Tibet was not, as is sometimes portrayed, a Shangri-la of harmony and peace. It was a brutal theocracy where Buddhist doctrine reinforced class order and social oppression. From 1951-1976, with the victory of the Chinese communist revolution, Tibet became part of the revolutionary process of building socialism with sweeping and liberating economic and social changes. Then since 1976, with the restoration of capitalism in China, the Tibetan people have been subjected to exploitation, subjugation as a people, and suppression of their culture and fast-paced capitalist development that threatens the environment. While the Chinese government is repressing Buddhist religious forces (including reactionary theocratic supporters of the Dalai Lama who are tied to U.S. imperialism), this is part of and in the context of the larger, overall national oppression and suppression the Tibetan people face.

A lot of what people in the United States know and think about Tibet comes from what they have read in the news about the Dalai Lama. And a lot of people see the Dalai Lama as a symbol of “peace and non-violence”. But in reality, the Dalai Lama and his family were feudal owners and oppressors in Tibet. And since he fled Tibet in 1959 he has been the religious leader of a pro-U.S., pro-imperialist movement among exiled Tibetans. His vision for Tibet today is one that straddles the fence between accommodation with the Chinese regime (and its programme of capitalist development); and more direct integration of Tibet into the designs of western, particularly U.S., imperialism.

The main character and contours of these protests are hard to determine at this point because of the difficulty in getting reliable reports. But some things can be said at this point about the different class forces that are a part of this upsurge.

Support for the Dalai Lama and the issue of religious freedom is only one factor in the current upheaval in Tibet. There is real repression of those who support the Dalai Lama and call for independence. For example, Tibetan government employees are reportedly pressured (or even required) to denounce the Dalai Lama, and it is illegal to fly the Tibetan flag. As a part of the overall oppression of the Tibetan people, there is certainly suppression of Tibetan Buddhist religion and Tibetan culture. And the different religious and independence forces, which include those who support the Dalai Lama, have clearly been a big part of those who have been protesting. But what is not mainly covered in the mainstream press, and what is not so immediately apparent, is that there are bigger and deeper economic and political issues that are giving rise to the massive, widespread discontent in Tibet, now erupting into violent confrontations with the Chinese government forces.

The crowds of angry Tibetans, which included unemployed youth, attacked and burned symbols of capitalist development, like a branch of the Bank of China. They targeted hotels and other facilities that cater to tourists. And they also targeted Han and Hui Chinese shopkeepers, which can seem like the most visible and immediate reflection of the discrimination Tibetans face. The Han Chinese are the majority people in China, and the Hui are Muslim Chinese who also play a prominent role in Tibetan commercial life. And over the last two decades, and especially in the last few years, Han and Hui Chinese have been coming into Tibet as a key part of building up a capitalist economic infrastructure and social structure in which the Tibetan people are highly discriminated against. And the more than a million tourists a year who come to Tibet are mainly Han Chinese.

In Tibet and the neighbouring provinces of Qinghai, Gansu, and Sichuan, the Tibetan people intersect with and live near the thousands of Han people who have been moving in, enticed by a wave of state-driven investment and state subsidies for capitalist ventures. But there are two separate and unequal worlds – where many Han have blatant disdain and distrust for Tibetans, who they consider inferior. And among the Tibetan people there are deep feelings of resentment and anger against the oppression and subjugation they face. Privilege and power in Tibet is overwhelmingly the preserve of the Han, and a lot of businesses are owned by Han and Hui Chinese. Meanwhile the masses of Tibetans are subjected to discrimination, treated as inferior, and largely confined to poor districts in the cities and impoverished villages in the rural areas.

Capitalist China, even as it is dependent upon and subordinate to imperialism, has regional and larger world ambitions. And the program of the Chinese government for Tibet is in line with the economic and social programme being implemented throughout the whole country – fast-paced capitalist “modernization.”

For the masses of Tibetan people, as with the masses of people throughout China, this means increased exploitation and misery. And it means a widening gap between rich and poor, haves and have-nots. The restoration of capitalism has been and continues to be a nightmare for the masses of people living in China, including and especially for oppressed nationalities like the Tibetan people. It will take nothing less than another revolution and the establishment of a genuine socialist society to liberate all the people living in China.

There are many dimensions to how capitalist exploitation and oppression, along with national oppression, is taking place in Tibet. But one thing that illustrates this very sharply is the much-celebrated railroad that now links Tibet to the rest of China. This railway, completed in 2006 at a cost of $4.1 billion, was touted as vital to developing the Tibetan economy. There were hopes among the Tibetan people that this would bring jobs, lower prices for consumer goods, and a higher standard of living. But in fact, unemployment among Tibetans remains very high – as is generally the case, most new jobs (or at least the good ones) went to Han Chinese. There has been little improvement for the majority of the Tibetan people who mainly live in the rural areas. Reckless economic development in the area is also intensifying threats to the environment. As a number of analysts have pointed out, along with all this has come the usual and unbridled corruption among government officials and businessmen.

A big part of the reason for building the railway is that the central government, with an eye towards developing cheap sources of raw materials for a profit-driven development, wants to create a more efficient transport system to be able to extract and transport the rich deposits of copper, iron, lead and other minerals in the large unspoiled Tibetan highlands.

In the past, mining in Tibet was largely carried out on a small scale by world standards. But Chinese metal and processing industries are now operating according to competitive world scale standards and are looking to world markets and importing vast quantities of minerals. Gabriel Laffitte is a development consultant who works with reactionary Tibetan exiles around the Dalai Lama who support capitalist development. But an article he wrote about the mining industry in Tibet is revealing. He says: “Chinese steel mills and copper smelters, in deciding whether to locate a mine and perhaps a smelter as well, in Tibet, will make their choice by comparing costs of extraction from Tibet with the costs of a similar plant in Brazil or Canada or Australia or Orissa... Tibetan mineral deposits that until now seemed too distant, expensive and complicated for China’s largely coastal metal manufacturers, may now be profitable, due to the worldwide price rises and shortages of energy and minerals.” (“China’s 100 billion spending spree in Tibet,” Tibetan Bulletin, January-April 2007, available at tibet.net)

The development of mining is only one snapshot of the kinds of interests and demands that globalized capitalism are imposing and that are setting the terms for investment in Tibet – and driving and shaping economic development. In addition, the central government is pushing tourism as a major component of profit-based development in Tibet. And here too, the results are harmful to the Tibetan people, with industry that caters to non-Tibetans and a lot of development focused in the city. All of this contributes to greater inequalities, like between city and countryside and between those working in the cities and peasants in the poor countryside.

For the Tibetan people, all this has meant a deepening of super-exploitation, inequality, and discrimination. And this is giving rise to profound discontent and anger that has erupted in the streets.