Fight Back News Service is circulating the following Aug. 5 statement from the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU).

The World Federation of Trade Unions condemns the assassination attempt against Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro that took place in Caracas, Venezuela during his public speech at a military event.

The class oriented international trade union movement is on the side of the popular strata of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and, once again, clearly states that the only competent to determine the future of the country is its own people. The World Federation of Trade Unions, as the only trade union International that fights against imperialism and capitalist exploitation, will continue to show its active solidarity with the Venezuelan working class.

We call on the Venezuelan people to be vigilant in the face of events and to fight for the deepening of their social achievements, until the dawn of a new world, without the exploitation of man by man.

#athens #Venezuela #Assassination #WorldFederationOfTradeUnions #Socialism #NicolásMaduro #Americas

Washington, D.C – A leaked Justice Department white paper titled the “Lawfulness of a Lethal Operation Directed Against a U.S. Citizen who is a Senior Operational Leader of Al Qa’ida or An Associated Force,” was published Feb. 5 by NBC News. The once secret document gives the legal justification the White House is using for the assassination of U.S. citizens living in other countries.

The white paper is similar to the memos of the Bush administration justifying torture. In this case the document attempts to provide the legal basis for murder by the U.S. government and trampling on democratic rights.

“This is a profoundly disturbing document, and it’s hard to believe that it was produced in a democracy built on a system of checks and balances. It summarizes in cold legal terms a stunning overreach of executive authority – the claimed power to declare Americans a threat and kill them far from a recognized battlefield and without any judicial involvement before or after the fact,” said Hina Shamsi, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Security Project.

Center for Constitutional Rights Senior Attorney Pardiss Kebriaei states, “One of the most dangerous aspects of the white paper is the claim that ‘there exists no appropriate judicial forum to evaluate these constitutional considerations’ either before or after a killing.”

Tom Burke, of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression says, “This document says a lot about what is happening to our democratic rights. It justifies the government playing the role of judge, jury, and executioner with no due process whatsoever. This is the kind of thinking that leads to events like the 2010 raids on U.S. anti-war and international solidarity activists.”

#WashingtonDC #Assassination #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression #InjusticeSystem

On Aug. 27, the Israeli government assassinated Abu Ali Mustafa, the General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Memorial meetings were held in a number of cities around the country. We are reprinting a speech delivered by Stephanie Weiner, of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, at the memorial meeting held in Chicago.

It is with sadness and anger that we learned of the assassination of General Secretary Abu Ali Mustafa. Freedom Road Socialist Organization wishes to convey our condolences to the Palestinian movement in Chicago, to the leadership and members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and to the General Secretary's family and friends.

We realize that Abu Ali Mustafa was a hero in every sense of the word, and that he devoted his life to the complete emancipation of Palestine. He was among those who stood in the forefront of the struggle against Zionism, imperialism, and all reaction.

The actions of the Zionist state are criminal. Its policy of killing Palestinian children and the leaders of the resistance movement are the desperate acts of an entity that is living on stolen land and borrowed time. Freedom Road Socialist Organization wishes the Palestinian people every success in the difficult period ahead.

We know that it is the government of the United States that is the principal backer of Israel. We know that the U.S. uses Israel as a weapon to attack and to suppress the national democratic aspirations of the Arab people as a whole. Let no one feel alone on this point – the $4 billion of U.S. aid a year is an enormous number, but there are 6 billion people in the world, the majority of whom are opposed to U.S. global exploitation!

This memorial service gives us all a chance to proclaim publicly our love and political respect for the Palestinian people, and it gives us a chance to shout proudly our common future plans. So here, in this room where Abu Ali Mustafa's vision is so clearly present, we want to reaffirm, as a U.S. Marxist Leninist and revolutionary organization, that we will do all that we can to help stop U.S. aid to its Zionist puppet. We are proud to build support for and to be in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle to establish a truly democratic state in all of historic Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital. We'll join you in the battles for the right of return to be immediately granted to refugees and their descendants. We'll join you in the battles to make the Zionists release all political prisoners. We'll shout with you loud enough to be heard in Durbin, South Africa tonight, that Zionism is racism and that self-determination of the Palestinian people is still the only road to peace with justice.

In closing, a brilliant leader has been assassinated. We are reminded of the sadness we felt when Samir Odeh died, a comrade we worked closely with. We stand here tonight to add our voices to those in Ramallah; in the countryside in Colombia; on the Malecon in Havana, Cuba; and from Vieques, Puerto Rico; to Belfast, Ireland; and to Manila, in the Philippines; confidently saying that we'll all pick up his flag and fight more fiercely. As Chicagoans, we'll see you at the next consulate demonstration. We'll see you if there is a demonstration for Chicago to divest from Israel, we'll see you at the send off to the next delegation to Palestine, and of course...we'll see you at the victory celebration! Long Live the Palestinian Intifada!

#ChicagoIL #Palestine #Remembrances #Statement #AbuAliMustafa #Assassination #MiddleEast