Caracas, Venezuela – “A PSUV victory is the most important present for Commander Hugo Chavez. Today, July 28, is the anniversary of his birthday, the same day as the popular triumph of the people,” says international observer Diakaridia Diakita, the president of the youth of the Yelema party in the Republic of Mali. PSUV stands for the United Socialist Party of Venezuela.

Over 800 international observers from around the world are in Venezuela to observe the historic elections between the Chavista PSUV leader Nicolás Maduro and the opposition pro-imperialism parties.

The main opposition candidate is Edmundo Gonzalez, who supports the privatization of the oil companies, schools, healthcare, and the removal of social programs that former President Chavez started.

These international observers come from unions, left parties, newspapers, and organizations from around the world. The grandson of Nelson Mandela, Nkosi Zwelivelile, is also observing this important election. Observers talk about the importance of this election for Venezuela, Latin America and the world.

Observers from Africa, Latin America, Europe, North America, Asia, Australia, and all over the world will be monitoring today’s election.

“Venezuela has been strangled by sanctions for over a decade. This election will show us if Maduro has been able to lead his country to persevere, or if smear campaigns and national betrayal of the opposition will bring the country back down into vassal status. The fate of Venezuela rests on July 28,” says Ahmed Eltouny, the former cochair of the Green Party in the U.S.

Booker Omole, the vice president of the Communist Party of Kenya, says, “I am here in Caracas to attend this very important event of the revolutionary history of Venezuela. Particularly, the Communist Party of Kenya is an internationalist organization, and we support the Bolivarian Revolution. Also, there are certain commonalities between the Venezuelan revolution and the ongoing processes in Kenya, which is still a neocolonial entity.”

Omole continued, “In 1989, in Caracas and major cities in Venezuela, there was a social explosion in the streets, where the IMF and World Bank had imposed austerity measures, the anti-people policies. In Kenya today, the masses and the working class are also resisting. We have seen millions of people pouring into the streets to resist the puppet regime that is sponsored by the USA imperialism. This reminds of similarities where the IMF has designed policies, particularly here in Venezuela, that took ten years after the social explosion for the Bolivarian revolution to materialize. Hugo Chavez still lives among us, not only here in Caracas, but also in Kenya.”

#CaracasVZ #Venezuela #Caracas #Venezuela #Maduro #NicolasMaduro #Elections #VZElection #HugoChavez #PSUV #Chavista #EdmundoGonzalez #Mali #DiakaridiaDiakita #GreenParty #Kenya #IMF #WorldBank #Kenya #BookerOmole #HastaLaVictoriaSiempre

Iosbaker, who is helping to organize a campaign against U.S. drone warfare, stated “A U.S. drone base in Niger is a terrible development. President Obama says the base will provide intelligence to support Western intervention in the war in Mali. The base is part of U.S. and French plans for recolonizing Africa.”

The government of Niger, a former French colony, is dominated by U.S. and France.

In a Feb. 22 letter to congress, Obama stated, “This deployment will provide support for intelligence collection and will also facilitate intelligence sharing with French forces conducting operations in Mali and with other partners in the region. The total number of U.S. military personnel deployed to Niger is approximately 100.”

In January, 2013, France began a large scale military intervention in mineral-rich Mali, in an effort to defeat an anti-Western rebellion. The U.S., which had long been planning to use troops from western African counties for its own invasion of Mali, is currently providing military assistance to France.

#ChicagoIL #AntiwarMovement #JoeIosbaker #USImperialism #colonialism #drones #Mali #France #Niger

St. Paul, MN – With the wind chill at 15 degrees below zero, about 30 peace and justice activists gathered here, Jan. 23. Their slogan, “No U.S. Drones in Mali, No U.S. intervention in Mali” was the week’s theme of the Peace Vigil that happens every Wednesday on the Lake Street/Marshall Avenue Bridge across the Mississippi River between Minneapolis and Saint Paul.

“U.S. and western intervention, including drone strikes, will not lead to peace In Mali,” said Sarah Martin of Women Against Military Madness.

Marie Braun, an activist with Women Against Military Madness and the Twin Cities Peace Campaign, explained the reason for the protest in her speech at the bridge: “We are focusing on Mali today because of our government’s decision to support the French military action in Mali by providing them with surveillance and other intelligence, transport troops and military equipment, and possibly aerial refueling and drones.”

Drones are a growing part of U.S. intervention around the world. The U.S. has carried out extensive drone attacks in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen, leading to many civilian deaths.

Braun went on to explain, “And again as usual, this intervention on the part of the French and the U.S. is about resources. North Africa and West Africa and its valuable resources are going to be the focus of the U.S. government for many years to come. U.S. Africa Command, AFRICOM – set up in 2007 – has already turned Africa into a web of U.S. bases and other operations with approximately 5000 U.S. military and Department of Defense personnel working across the continent at any one time. It is important to also understand the situations in both Mali and Algeria are about blowback – at least in part, the consequences of the U.S. bombing and policy of regime change in Libya. Military attacks and military interventions always lead to terrible consequences…death, destruction, hundreds of thousands of refugees and extreme suffering on the part of the people. Military action was not the answer in Iraq or Afghanistan, and it is not the answer in Mali or any other country.”

The event was organized by Women Against Military Madness and the Twin Cities Peace Campaign. The Anti-War Committee, Minnesota Peace Action Coalition, Occupy the Hood, Veterans for Peace and others co-sponsored the action.

#StPaulMN #AntiwarMovement #WomenAgainstMilitaryMadness #USImperialism #TwinCitiesAntiWarCommittee #Mali #France

The statement addresses what is behind U.S. intervention in Mali saying, “It has long been suspected that the northeastern region of Mali that borders Algeria potentially holds vast oil and gas reserves. The recent confirmation of oil reserves near Tessalit, a small Malian oasis town about 40 miles from the Algerian border, has fed Western hunger for control of that area.”

The statement also notes, “The second reason for the intensifying U.S. interest is that Mali borders no less than seven West and North African countries, including Algeria, Niger, Senegal and Mauritania. Controlling Mali would give the U.S. an important hub from which to influence regional developments. This has been Washington's strategy for the Continent as a whole: to use economic aid and military training to develop close relationships with key governments and their militaries – such as Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda – so the U.S. can use them as a network of regional proxies to control all of Africa. This was the strategy that England and France used to control the Middle East after World War I, as well as the one England used with such success in India during that country's colonial period.”

The statement concludes by saying, “The U.S. anti-war movement, which has fought so hard to oppose U.S. intervention in the Middle East and other regions of the world, must take up the long-overdue struggle to oppose U.S. intervention in Africa. We must demand the dismantling of AFRICOM. We must oppose any U.S. or European-led intervention in Mali. We must call for the withdrawal of all Western troops from the Continent. We must demand Western reparations for the unimaginable damage wrought on Africa and Africans by centuries of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, colonialism and neocolonialism.”

The entire statement can be read here: http://nepajac.org/unac_africa.html

#Mali #AntiwarMovement #Africa #USImperialism #UnitedNationalAntiwarCoalition

The Belgian government has decided to participate in the military intervention of France in Mali, contributing two C-130 transport planes, two helicopters and 75 soldiers. The Western military force is avowedly aimed at stopping the advance of Islamist rebel groups in the North of the country, at the demand of Mali's government and with the support, provided only after the start of the intervention, of the UN Security Council.

With the military intervention of France, French President François Hollande plays 'cavalier seul'. By his act of war, he undermines a peace initiative the UN elaborated with several African countries. The fact that Mali has recently become a hornets' nest is largely due to the consequences of the NATO war in Lybia and of decades of Western political meddling in the country's affairs. In Mali's complex situation, the only chance for peace, stability and development to succeed is by extremely cautious initiatives that have a large base of support and are principally African.

France's intervention is of course not devoid of self-interest. As the former colonial power, France continues to have huge economic interests in the region. Mali possesses gold mines and petroleum, while also uranium is extracted in the region, which is used for part of the French nuclear industry.

Just like with the deadly NATO bombing on Lybia two years ago, Belgium has been very quick to offer its participation to the French military intervention. And this without any democratic debate about its objectives, consequences or cost. In a period of painful austerity measures and cuts in the social budgets, any increase in the Defense budget is simply cynical.

The Belgian government is not clear about the duration of its military intervention in Mali. Defense Minister Pieter De Crem only informed the Belgian taxpayers that it could be of a « very short, short, or medium » duration. As a first evaluation will be made only at the end of February, the mission will take at least six weeks. That is, as a starter, because this period may be prolonged several times yet, as was the case with the Belgian military mission in Afghanistan. In the meantime, for how many deads, wounded and refugees in Mali the Belgian government of Di Rupo (PS) will be responsible ?

The Workers' Party of Belgium (PTB) is opposed to any imperialist intervention in Mali, as elsewhere.

#Mali #AntiwarMovement #Belgium #WorkersPartyOfBelgium #antiimperialism #France #FrancoisHollande #Africa

The World Federation of Trade Unions strongly denounces the military intervention of the French “socialist” government of Francois Hollande in Mali with the support of other imperialist forces, using as pretext the intensification of the conflicts between the Malian army and the militant organizations that are appearing to be fighting for the independence of Northern Mali in Azawad.

The military intervention was presented as a response to the request of the Malian President, Dioncounda Traore; the President who was appointed in his position after the military coup of last March.

This French-led military operation in its former colony has been joint by Britain, Germany and the European Union, as well as USA, Canada and ECOWAS, all of whom have already been sending troops and airforce to Mali and have been providing their support according to the December resolution of the United Nations Security Council.

After the genocide in Rwanda and the demolition of Libya, France continues to use the military bases it maintains in Africa in order to strengthen its role in the inter-imperialist competition and to serve the interests of its monopoly groups who are plundering the wealth-producing resources (gold, uranium etc.).

This orchestrated conflict between all the belligerents is another bloody show in the wounded African Continent, with the African people paying a heavy toll, aiming for the protection of the French interests in the uranium mines found in Tuareg areas of the West-African Region, the inter-imperialist competition for the control of the wealth-producing resources of Mali and the placement of puppet-governments in the African countries serving the leading imperialist forces.

The World Federation of Trade Unions in solidarity with the working people and the poor people of Mali and the West-African countries is strongly denouncing the intensifying aggressiveness of the imperialist forces in the region that are further deteriorating the already difficult living conditions of the people in the region and are aiming for the maintaining and enhancing of the plundering of the wealth-producing resources which belong and should be used for the people’s needs.

Finally we call upon the trade union federations, first and foremost, of the belligerent countries to denounce and act against the participation of their governments to this warfare. The position of each trade union on the issue of imperialist wars is crucial and constitutes a criterion of what type of trade union organization it is. The workers of the imperialist countries must express their international solidarity with their brothers in other countries.

THE SECRETARIAT

#Mali #AntiwarMovement #WorldFederationOfTradeUnions #antiimperialism #France #FrancoisHollande #Africa

Iosbaker stated, “France has intervened in two African countries – Mali and Somalia – in three days, competing with the U.S. to show who is the fastest to shed African blood. The U.S. says that they are sending surveillance drones over Mali, which will identify targets for more attacks. We condemn the French attacks and the assistance it is getting from the U.S.”

Iosbaker is member of the Chicago’s Anti-War Committee, which has organized a campaign opposing the use of drones.

The U.S. had long planned for military intervention in Mali, making use of its puppets in neighboring countries. Due to rapid advances by anti-Western rebels, France sent in troops and began a bombing campaign Jan. 11. Both the U.S. and French governments indicate they intend to escalate the war.

#ChicagoIL #AntiwarMovement #drones #Mali

Many people first heard about plans for U.S. intervention in the African country of Mali during the third Presidential debate in October. Republican candidate Mitt Romney clumsily tried to speak about Mali’s recent turmoil.

On Dec. 20, 2012, those plans continued to move forward. The UN Security Council unanimously approved a resolution calling for military invention in Mali. The resolution comes after nearly nine months of unrest in the landlocked West African country following a military coup d'état in Bamako, the capital.

For months, international human rights organizations warned about the human cost of military intervention in Mali. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in West Africa estimates that intervention will displace more than 300,000 Malians. Additionally, the 500,000 people living in northern Mali will face food insecurity, starvation and disease because of reduced access to aid.

While the UN resolution calls for an African-led military intervention under the guise of combating Islamist militants in the north, the actual architects of the intervention are the U.S. and France. The plan is meant to further U.S. plans for re-colonizing Africa. The U.S. is expanding AFRICOM, a U.S. regional command and military force. In 2001 the U.S. Central Command took over a large French military base located in Djibouti, and this became AFRICOM military headquarters in 2009. Djibouti is a small and very poor African state and former French colony, where a demi-brigade of the French Foreign Legion is still stationed today. As part of AFRICOM expansion, the U.S., with French help, is pressuring Algeria for military “basing rights”. This Algerian base will be used to launch attacks in Mali.

Mali is facing an internal rebellion in the north that began in January 2012. The roots of the rebellion in Mali lie in NATO's military assault on Libya in 2011. Under Qaddafi's government, Libya's tribes and ethnic minorities enjoyed relative autonomy and freedom. When NATO began its offensive against Libya, many of these ethnic minorities fought against the reactionary forces supported by the U.S., France and Britain.

One of the groups affected by NATO's assault in Libya was the Taureg people, who are a nomadic ethnic group located in Libya, Mali and other West African countries. Many Taureg militants fought to keep Libya independent of U.S. control, but left Libya once Gaddafi was brutalized and executed. After crossing through Niger and into Mali, they began fighting to demand greater power for their people and a Mali independent of U.S. or French dominance.

Shortly after the rebellion in Mali broke out, the Malian military overthrew President Amadou Toumani Touré in a coup d'état on March 21, 2012. Claiming that Touré was mismanaging the government response to the Taureg rebellion in the north, the military junta suspended the constitution and took control of the state.

Since that time, Islamist forces joined the conflict against the military junta. The most significant of these groups is Ansar Dine, an Islamist group based in northern Mali, and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

The U.S. claims that military intervention is necessary to combat radical Islamist groups from taking control of Mali. In reality, the Malian government met directly with the two most significant rebel groups in the north on Dec. 4 to start a dialogue for resolving the crisis. Government officials met with Ansar Dine and the Taureg-led National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and formally agreed “on the respect for Mali's national unity and territorial integrity,” and “on the rejection of any form of extremism and terrorism,” according to the AFP. Delegates from the Malian government and the most important players are attempting to resolve the crisis internally, without U.S. and French-directed military intervention.

The U.S., France and Britain will train, supply and direct troops from Mali and neighboring African countries. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will spearhead the intervention. ECOWAS is chaired by Côte d'Ivoire President Alassane Ouattara, a puppet of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In March 2011, the French military launched an offensive against Côte d'Ivoire to remove then-President Laurent Gbagbo and install Ouattara as a puppet. The military intervention by ECOWAS will include significant forces from both Côte d'Ivoire and Libya, both with governments installed by France and the U.S.

The U.S., France and Britain increasingly intervene in Côte d'Ivoire, Libya, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and South Sudan. Meanwhile, the U.S. looks to erect new military bases for their military forces of AFRICOM. Having lost some their foothold on the continent due to the national liberation movements of the 20th century, the U.S., France and Britain are deliberately working to recolonize Africa.

Military intervention in Mali does not receive the same coverage by the corporate media in the U.S. as aggression towards Iran and Syria. However, anti-war and international solidarity activists should stand resolutely against U.S. intervention in Mali's affairs, whether through AFRICOM or neighboring puppet governments.

U.S. Hands Off Mali!

#Mali #AntiwarMovement #Africa #USIntervention #AFRICOM