San Jose, CA – Dozens of San Jose community members attended San Jose Against War’s educational mini-series for Black August, honoring Black resistance and liberation struggles around the world. The series consisted of two educational programs, one focusing on Haiti and the other focusing on the Confederation of Sahel States.

The educational event about Haiti was on August 24. Guest speakers from Haiti Action Committee gave a presentation covering an extensive history of Haiti from its colonial exploitation by Spain and France, to the current role that the U.S. has played in toppling progressive governments.

“[Haiti] is poor, but like many countries, it’s been made poor,” said Judith Mirkinson from Haiti Action Committee. “At the time when they overthrew the French, it was France’s richest colony in itself. It generated more wealth than all the other colonies. It’s estimated that like 20% of the French economy came from Haiti.”

“When we look at the situation in Haiti today, it has its genesis in the long history of colonialism, but specifically it has its genesis in the 2004 coup,” said Mirkinson, referring to the coup against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

“This was the most progressive government that Haiti ever had,” Mirkinson stated about Aristide’s time in office. “More schools were built in Haiti than in its entire history. He did literacy campaigns; he introduced hospitals and clinics.”

“Aristide was overthrown and a U.S.-UN occupation came in,” said Mirkinson. “The U.S., Britain, France, and Canada have bankrolled paramilitary death squads. This is a strategy to destroy society. They want the gold, they want minerals. They just want people to leave or die or whatever.”

On August 27, over two dozen community members gathered for the educational event about the Confederation of Sahel States, an anti-imperialist alliance between Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. The event featured guest speakers Inem Richardson of the All-African Women’s Revolutionary Union and the Thomas Sankara Center, and Akubundu Amazu Lott of the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party.

“The first coup that led to the Alliance of Sahel States happened in Mali in 2021,” said Richardson. “For several years before the coup happened there was this emerging budding anti-imperialist movement that kept growing. The people first called for the alliance. In July of last year, the three countries became the Confederation of the Alliance of Sahel States.”

“For the first time in a long time Burkina Faso is nationalizing its gold reserves,” stated Richardson. “Niger is nationalizing its uranium deposits. Africa’s largest solar power field is being built right now in Mali. It’s this massive transformation.”

“These countries ended a lot of different forms of collaboration with countries in the NATO bloc and started to move towards collaborating more with countries like Russia, Iran, China, Venezuela and Cuba,” Richardson continued. “Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger share a lot in common with these countries in terms of how they’ve been targeted by imperialists.”

“There are U.S. sanctions on Mali right now. The European Union is sanctioning Mali and Niger,” Richardson said. “The propaganda war is enormous, adding that Western media “has come down really hard against these three countries.”

“There’s been reports stating that AFRICOM, the U.S. military, now that it’s been chased out of Niger, is working to create a drone base in the Ivory Coast. The U.S. is trying to move to the border of the Alliance of Sahel States,” stated Richardson. “In this moment, we really need to focus on protecting and defending these revolutions.”

#SanJoseCA #CA #International #Haiti #Sahel #Africa #OppressedNationalities #HAC #AAWRU #AAPRP

St. Paul, MN – On February 8, in honor of Black History Month, the Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC) presented an educational panel titled “Black Against Empire: Perspectives On Liberation In Haiti, Congo, Sudan, and the U.S.A.”

The panel was held at Macalester College in Saint Paul. Experts, activists and community leaders spoke about the timelines, struggles and victories of African people throughout history against imperialist oppression.

The panelists included Frank Chapman, head of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NAARPR); Nick Tolliver, member of the AWC; Mohammed Farah, member of Healthcare Workers For Palestine, along with a written statement submitted by Ruben Joanem of the Haiti Justice Committee. Facilitating the event were Liz Bolsoni from the AWC and Trahern Crews from Black Lives Matter Minnesota.

“The bottom line is, we have to fight our way out of this. We can’t analyze our way out of it. We can’t pray our way out of it. We’ve got to fight our way out of it,” Chapman said. “We’re building a mass movement, and we’ve got to build even greater.” Chapman is the Executive Director of NAARPR, field organizer of its Chicago chapter, the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, and sits on the Central Committee of Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

“The exploitation of the Congo is the beating heart of the global capitalist system and our collective liberation from imperialism and capitalism is bound together with the liberation of the Congo,” said Tolliver, who provided a history of liberation struggles in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Tolliver is an anti-war activist and self-proclaimed “Black history nerd” who is passionate about Congo solidarity and African liberation.

Farah was born and raised in Khartoum, Sudan, and works as a hospital pharmacist in Minnesota while pursuing a graduate degree in public health. Farah expanded on the cultural foundation of Sudan found in art and poetry. He said, “Poets are the embodiment of the soul of a nation. It creates the spirit of Sudanese nationalism.”

As presentations and speeches concluded, a dialogue was opened between the panelists and the audience to further discuss issues that Black people have historically faced and how they tie in with modern struggles connected with capitalism and imperialism.

The final question asked was about the future of community organizing around Black liberation, to which Chapman closed with the statement, “Well, the future is always now. And the future belongs to those who are willing to fight for it.”

#StPaulMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #OppressedNationalities #AfricanAmerican #BlackHistoryMonth #International #Africa #Sudan #Congo #StudentMovement #NAARPR #MNAWC #BLM

Chicago, IL – “We are busy building a new nation out of the embers of apartheid, and if we had sanctions and American companies withdrawing from South Africa it would devastate our country and create a total disaster,” said Naledi Pandor, South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation.

Pandor is visiting the United States and speaking out against the U.S.-South Africa Bilateral Relations Review Bill, which passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee by a vote of 36-13. The bill accuses South Africa of having a “history of siding with malign actors,” namely Hamas, Russia and China. It further says South Africa’s international relations policies “undermine United States national security and foreign policy interests.”

Pandor spoke during a meeting on Sunday with representatives of the US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) and the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NAARPR).

“We have become a target because we have been so prominent in our steadfast support of the just cause of the Palestinian people,” Pandor explained. The bill is being pushed through the U.S. Congress in retaliation for South Africa charging Israel with genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Israel has killed over 36,000 Palestinians in the six months since October 7, 2023, with the help of billions of U.S. tax dollars sent by President Joe Biden and the U.S. government

“For decades South Africa has been one of the strongest supporters of Palestinian liberation,” Hatem Abudayyeh, National Chair of USPCN elaborated after the meeting. “We condemn the U.S. government’s attempt to punish South Africa for opposing the ongoing genocide in Gaza,” and noted “the millions who have stood for a free Palestine will also defend South Africa.”

The bill was introduced by Republican John James from Michigan and Democrat Jared Moskowitz from Florida. It will now face a vote in the House of Representatives. If it passes, South Africa could face the kind of sanctions that attempt to destroy economies and starve millions in countries like Venezuela, Iraq, Syria and Zimbabwe.

“This bill is an attack on a sovereign nation for exercising its right to self-determination,” commented Frank Chapman, NAARPR executive director. Chapman and other members of NAARPR and USPCN discussed the importance of Black and Palestinian solidarity in ensuring the success of both liberation struggles.

“Those of us who've been in the movement for a long time have seen plenty of attacks like this. We've never been confused about supporting Palestine, South Africa or anyone who's fighting against imperialism,” Chapman said.

The next night Pandor spoke at a reception dinner at the DuSable Museum of African American History alongside Reverend Otis Moss of Trinity United Church of Christ and Illinois State Senator Mattie Hunter. She saluted veterans of the anti-apartheid solidarity movement and uplifted the history of solidarity between oppressed people.

“Black people in South Africa and the U.S. share a common history and stand united against apartheid wherever it might be,” Pandor declared.

“South Africa is very near and dear to our hearts, so I will be on the phone tonight calling my congressman,” Senator Hunter said.

#ChicagoIL #IL #International #Africa #SouthAfrica #USPCN #CAARPR

Orlando, FL – On Saturday, September 16, around 45 community members gathered at Knowledge for Living in the Parramore district for an educational forum on U.S. and Western intervention in Haiti and West Africa. The event was hosted by the Revolutionary Education and Action League (REAL) and the Florida chapter of the All-African People's Revolutionary Party (A-APRP).

The presentation began by highlighting the connection between imperialism abroad and political repression and police violence domestically. For example, the Department of Defense’s 1033 Program allows state and local police forces to acquire surplus military equipment including weapons, tanks, drones, and more for next to no cost. These highly militarized police agencies then serve as occupying forces in working-class and oppressed nationality communities. The police also utilize that same military-grade equipment to suppress popular movements, as seen most recently with the George Floyd uprisings in 2020 and in the current efforts to build Cop City in Atlanta.

On the other hand, the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) operates 46 military bases across the African continent, with tens of thousands of troops currently stationed on African soil. In many cases, the police and militaries in these African countries receive training from U.S. and NATO military forces, and are taught the same tactics of oppression used here in the U.S.

“We cannot understand our struggle for justice, our struggle against police brutality as isolated from what's happening in Nigeria, what’s happening in Burkina Faso, what’s happening in Haiti or what’s happening in any part of the world resisting imperialism. We have to understand that we have more in common with the poor and working-class masses, with those youth fighting back against police violence than we do with the people in power here,” said Onyesonwu Chatoyer of the A-APRP. 

Chatoyer then laid out the historical and political context through which imperialism and neocolonialism arose. This gave the audience the background necessary to understand the recent anti-colonial military take overs springing up throughout West Africa and the Western imperialist meddling in Haiti. 

The main goal of these military takeovers, spearheaded by military leaders like Ibrahim Traoré in Burkina Faso and Abdourahamane Tchiani in Niger, is to secure their country’s natural resources and sever the extractive and exploitative relationship with Western imperial powers, namely France and the U.S. For example, one in three lightbulbs in France are powered using electricity generated by nuclear power using uranium ore extracted from Niger. At the same time however, 80% of Nigeriens do not have access to electricity in their own homes. Shutting down foreign military bases and kicking out foreign – namely French and U.S. – troops occupying the land is part and parcel with this goal.

One of the main ways we can support revolutionary movements – not just in Africa but around the world – is to staunchly oppose U.S. economic sanctions against these progressive governments, sanctions which only serve to crush and starve the everyday people of these countries. Chatoyer added, “The same that we show up for Cuba, that we show up for Nicaragua, that we show up for Venezuela, we have to show up for Niger, for Zimbabwe, for Azania, for Algeria.”

REAL and A-APRP hope to host more educational forums for the community, especially in the Pine Hills and Parramore district, one of Orlando’s historically Black neighborhoods. Their next event will be on Saturday, September 30 at the Hiawassee Branch Library. See @aaprpflorida on Instagram for more information.

#OrlandoFL #Africa #Haiti #Imperialism

Milwaukee, WI – On August 26, organizers with the Milwaukee Anti-war Committee (MAC) and their supporters, numbering around 20 in total, gathered in downtown Milwaukee to protest the threats of the U.S. government at intervening in the internal politics of the west African country of Niger.

Remi Schueler, the emcee of the event, began by explaining the situation in Niger to the crowd that had gathered. A month before, a military government took power in Niger, led by the commander general of the presidential guard, Abdourahamane Tchiani. Tchiani quickly proclaimed that Niger would no longer be welcoming to former colonial powers and that the wealth of the country would no longer be freely accessible to them. Further, Tchiani moved to align with other recently established governments in neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso.

These decisions did not sit well with the U.S government and their European allies. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is a Western-aligned organization that threatened combined military intervention if Tchiani and his new government do not step aside. Mass protests have occurred in Niger demonstrating support for the Tchiani leadership and their new anti-colonial outlook.

The crowd in Milwaukee stood in solidarity with the mass protests in Niger, chanting, “From Niger to the Philippines, end the U.S. war machine!” “Hands off Niger!” and “Got money for war? Feed the poor!”

The spirited group marched from their initial meet-up location of Red Arrow Park to City Hall, where they stopped to hear speeches from Milwaukee Anti-war Committee, the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (MAARPR), Students for a Democratic Society chapter at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (SDS-UWM), and Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

Farzad Ghodsi, speaking for MAC, brought up the real reason that the U.S. is so interested in intervening in Niger, stating, “Democracy is clearly not under threat in Niger, so what possible reason do the U.S. and France have for this intervention? Perhaps what’s more important for the U.S. are the three, formerly four, active drone bases that give them the power to unilaterally kill anyone they see fit in the region in coordination with their AFRICOM bases.”

Offering perspectives from other areas of organizing, Alan Chavoya of MAARPR and Patricia Fish of SDS-UWM connected the events in Niger to the struggles of Black and brown people in the U.S. and the student movement respectively. They both stressed the Nigerien people’s right to self-determination and related it to the denial of rights at home. Fish said, “the U.S. doesn’t care about the people of other countries – they don’t even care about their own people. All that matters to the American government and military is resources, money, and power.”

Sam Charnon from FRSO followed them up by naming that the exploitation of Niger and other countries in Africa did not simply “happen.” He said, “When the billionaires and corporations find that their own countries are overripe from exploitation, their insatiable pursuit of profit turns them towards other parts of the world.”

After four rousing speeches, the group marched back to Red Arrow Park, with chants of “Hands off Niger! Hands off Africa!” filling the air.

#MilwaukeeWI #AntiwarMovement #Africa #Niger

New Orleans, LA- On August 12, New Orleans students and their supporters demonstrated during a 120-degree heat index against the potential U.S. intervention in the West African country of Niger. They gathered on the University of New Orleans campus with the group Students United UNO and chanted under a Nigerien flag and a banner reading “US: Hands off Africa.” Demonstrators passed information handouts to students as they returned to campus on move-in day.

The demonstration comes days after Nigerien leaders refused to meet with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and pro-West military forces taking positions around Nigerien borders. Nuland had visited the country to threaten the new government with economic warfare such as sanctions and an end to humanitarian aid.

“Having troops on the border and saying that you want to talk peace is like putting a loaded gun on the table before starting a conversation,” said Loyola Young Democratic Socialists of America member Carson Cruse

Since the military overthrew the former Nigerien president in late July, it has moved to end French control over resources in the country. It has also demanded that France remove all troops from the territory of Niger, which France has refused. France exploited Niger as a colony until 1960 and has retained enormous economic power in the country until the recent coup.

“This is an issue that has more to do with dictating who has rights over the economic policies of a nation. Not some kind of farce about what America thinks that democracy should look like,” said Antonia Mar of New Orleans for Community Oversight of the Police.

#NewOrleansLA #International #AntiwarMovement #Africa #Protest #Niger

The events were the result of decades-long discontent with the Bazoum government; poor conditions and societal breakdown in Niger resulting from economic stagnancy, high cost of living, periodic drought and desertification leading to poor agricultural yield, and the rise of religious extremism.

These conditions in Niger, however, did not arise out of the blue. Niger, despite having high percentages of uranium ore, gold and coal, remains one of the poorest countries in the world. The poverty and generally terrible conditions of Niger were the result of the country being for many decades compliant with Western countries, such as France and the United States.

France had a direct role in the arm twisting and manipulation of Niger's political system. Through the deployment of troops, in their so called “anti-jihadist” campaign, France was able to secure its material and resource interests from Niger. Despite independence from France in 1960, Niger and the larger Sahel region has seen resource exploitation by France.

About 48 to 51% of the uranium ore extracted from Niger is utilized in the nuclear power plants in France for electricity, while at the same time, 80% of the Nigeriens do not have access to electricity in their homes.

On July 29,  people came in large numbers outside of the French embassy in Niamey to defend the military takeover, calling out the decades long exploitation by France. After taking power, Abdourahamane Tchiani openly said Niger would immediately stop the export of uranium and gold to France.

The result of the curtailment on uranium exports resulted in the Biden administration putting out a statement saying they would halt financial aid to Niger. Abdourahamane Tchiani replied to this statement in a video saying that “Charity should begin at home,” and suggested the United States utilize this aid to feed the millions of homeless inside of the U.S.

The pro-Western allies of the African Union and a section of the ECOWAS group – Nigeria, Liberia, Benin and Guinea Bissau – condemned the coup. This prompted a threat of military invasion from these countries.

On July 30, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Twitter, “I strongly welcome and support ECOWAS Heads of State and Governments to defend constitutional order in Niger” thereby urging intervention in Niger. Soon after, France decided to pull out French nationals from Niger.

However, during the Russia-Africa summit, Ibrahim Traore of the new government of Burkina Faso provided support to Niger. At the conference he said, “A slave that does not rebel does not deserve pity. The African Union must stop condemning Africans who decide to fight against their own puppet regimes of the West.”  Traore came to power in 2022 and immediately banned the export of uranium to France as well.

On July 31, Leaders of Mali, Burkina Faso put out a statement saying that they would declare war on the ECOWAS countries in the event that the new goverment was overturned in Niger. Algeria and later Guinea also provided support militarily to Niger.

The results of the coup are worth following and the next days will show the results and fallout of the event.

#Niger #Africa

New York, NY – A crowd of over 50 people gathered in front of the United Nations on Saturday, September 24 to rally in solidarity with Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who spoke at the UN a couple days before. The group was also protesting the U.S. sanctions against Zimbabwe, which they stated are illegal. Despite the sanctions, President Mnangagwa has started making progress toward ending poverty and hunger, as well as implementing various infrastructure projects to help build Zimbabwe and maintain independence from U.S. influence.

The action was called for by the December 12th Movement and included speakers from Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front, as well as other anti-imperialist movements standing up against the United States. All speakers emphasized the importance of independence for Zimbabwe and all African countries that have been colonized by Britain and subjected to U.S. imperialism. A small group of counter-protesters tried to disrupt the rally, but the crowd maintained focus and out-chanted the detractors.

After the rally, the crowd marched down the streets of New York, demanding U.S. hands off Zimbabwe.

#NewYorkCityNY #AntiwarMovement #InternationalSolidarity #antiimperialism #Zimbabwe #Africa

New York, NY – A crowd of over 50 people gathered in front of the United Nations on Saturday, September 24 to rally in solidarity with Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who spoke at the UN a couple days before. The group was also protesting the U.S. sanctions against Zimbabwe, which they stated are illegal. Despite the sanctions, President Mnangagwa has started making progress toward ending poverty and hunger, as well as implementing various infrastructure projects to help build Zimbabwe and maintain independence from U.S. influence.

The action was called for by the December 12th Movement and included speakers from Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front, as well as other anti-imperialist movements standing up against the United States. All speakers emphasized the importance of independence for Zimbabwe and all African countries that have been colonized by Britain and subjected to U.S. imperialism. A small group of counter-protesters tried to disrupt the rally, but the crowd maintained focus and out-chanted the detractors.

After the rally, the crowd marched down the streets of New York, demanding U.S. hands off Zimbabwe.

#AntiwarMovement #InternationalSolidarity #antiimperialism #Zimbabwe #NewYorkCity #Africa</