Caracas, Venezuela – En su primer día en Venezuela, el 28 de abril, la delegación de la Organización Socialista del Camino a la Libertad (FRSO) sostuvo una reunión de dos horas con miembros del Comité Central del Partido Comunista de Venezuela (PCV) y líderes de la Juventud Comunista de Venezuela.

La delegación de FRSO está encabezada por el secretario de organización Tom Burke.

Los grupos compartieron sus puntos de vista sobre la lucha revolucionaria en ambos países y la importancia de la solidaridad internacional.

Pedro Eusse, un miembro del Politburó de PCV y líder sindical, dijo que “si hay algo positivo acerca de la agresión de los Estados Unidos que enfrentamos hoy, es que ha habido una explosión de solidaridad de parte de Estados Unidos y de todo el mundo”.

Ambos grupos acordaron avanzar hacia una relación de trabajo más cercana en el futuro.

#CaracasVenezuela #AntiwarMovement #OppressedNationalities #Venezuela #US #Americas #PeoplesStruggles #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganization #TomBurke #Socialism #DonaldTrump #CommunistPartyOfVenezuela

Caracas, Venezuela – On their first day in Venezuela, April 28, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) delegation held a two-hour meeting with members of Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV) Central Committee and leaders of the Communist Youth of Venezuela.

The FRSO delegation is headed by Organizational Secretary Tom Burke.

The groups shared their views on the revolutionary struggle in both of their countries, and the importance of international solidarity.

Pedro Eusse, a PCV Politburo member and trade union leader, said “If there is anything positive about the U.S. aggression we face today, it is that there has been an explosion of solidarity from the United States and around the world.”

Both groups agreed to move towards a closer working relationship in the future.

#CaracasVenezuela #Caracas #AntiwarMovement #OppressedNationalities #Venezuela #US #Americas #PeoplesStruggles #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganization #TomBurke #Socialism #DonaldTrump #CommunistPartyOfVenezuela

Cambridge, MA – Forty people, Harvard Law students and Boston anti-war activists, heard Tom Burke speak at Harvard Law School on April 20. Burke, a spokesperson for the Committee to Stop FBI Repression and a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, spoke on the topic of “Building the movement against Trump’s agenda and opposing political repression.”

Burke said, “We need to build our movements at a national level to stop Trump’s attacks. The airport protests opposing the Muslim ban are a good example of how we can win victories. The airport protests, like the one in Chicago, showed the people have a lot power. In NYC when the cab drivers acted in solidarity by not driving fares to JFK airport, it showed how labor can shut things down and make a difference.”

In another example Burke said, “The Milwaukee Coalition Against Trump, MCAT, forced Trump to cancel his visit to the Harley Davidson plant in Menomonee Falls. The Harley workers contacted MCAT leaders and the stage was set for thousands of people to protest Trump’s appearance. Trump was forced to cancel, just like during the primary when 10,000 shut Trump down at the University of Illinois at Chicago.”

In terms of political repression, Burke said, “Trump’s Muslim ban is political. It targets the Middle East countries the U.S. is at war with. The seven countries the U.S. bombs, drone attacks, or sends in Special Forces to kill people, like the 8-year-old girl in Yemen who was an American citizen. No arrest or trial for her.”

He continued, “This is also why Palestinian American activist Rasmea Odeh is being targeted for deportation. This is why Simon Trinidad, the Colombian revolutionary, is in solitary confinement in the Florence Colorado Supermax prison, a casualty of the Colombian peace process. The Jacksonville Five in Florida were beat up by police for holding an anti-war rally. We are seeing more of this under Trump.”

The lunchtime lecture was hosted by Unbound: Harvard Journal of the Legal Left and the Harvard Chapter of the National Lawyer’s Guild.

#CambridgeMA #TomBurke #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression #PoliticalRepression

Chicago, IL – Rasmea Odeh, the well-known activist in the Palestinian community of Chicago and target of persecution by the U.S. government, goes on trial Nov. 4.

Charged with immigration fraud, the case against her is based on the grounds that, in her application for citizenship ten years ago, she didn’t mention that she was arrested in Palestine 45 years ago. Her arrest was at the hands of the Israeli defense forces, which had illegally seized Palestinian territory. She was raped and tortured by her captors, and forced to sign a confession to stop the abuse. Then an Israeli military court found her guilty without due process and gave her a life sentence. She was released after ten years in a prisoner exchange.

Why does the Department of Justice uphold decisions made by Israel’s military court? The U.S. has a history of condemning military courts in other countries. And when President Obama recently spoke at the U.N., he lectured other world leaders that it was unacceptable today to occupy another nation’s land. Why doesn’t that apply to Israel’s occupation of Palestine?

U.S. backing of Israeli occupation

The U.S. government has always spoken out of both sides of its mouth. U.S. presidents tell the Palestinians they deserve their own state, but refuse to stop Israel’s thousands of illegal settlements in Palestinian areas. The Obama administration warns against countries that defy the ‘international community,’ but has vetoed almost every single United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine.

There’s no denying what is happening: Israel serves the interests of the U.S. elites in the Middle East. The Israeli regime couldn’t exist without the $3 billion a year in military aid it receives from the U.S. It serves the Pentagon as a landlocked aircraft carrier. The aid – and the unjust occupation of Palestine – are the price the U.S. is willing to pay to hold down the Arab and other peoples of the Middle East.

Standing with Israel is a constant refrain from every politician in Washington. For Rasmea Odeh, this means that U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade’s office accepts the stance of the kangaroo court in Israel that convicted her.

Defeat of Judge Borman

The first judge assigned to hear her case was Paul Borman. Borman had many ties to Israel, having helped raise millions to support the apartheid government there. A campaign by the Rasmea Defense Committee called for Borman to recuse himself. At first refusing, he gave in when it was exposed that his family had partial ownership of the grocery store that was the target of the bombing that Rasmea was forced to confess to. This was a huge embarrassment for the federal court, which always denies that decisions are affected one way or the other by politics.

Borman’s recusal was a victory which rallied the spirits of Rasmea and her many supporters. It proved to the movement for justice for Rasmea and for Palestine that if we fight, we can win. It shows us that a great legal defense is required, but so is a group of supporters packing the courtroom each time Rasmea is there.

Judge Gershwin Drain

On Oct. 2, Rasmea appeared before the new judge, Gershwin Drain, where attorneys presented numerous motions. The first decision by Drain was not good. Attorney Michael Deutsch argued that the charges against Rasmea should be dismissed, showing how the case against her began with the illegal investigation of the group of 23 anti-war and international solidarity activists who were subpoenaed to a federal grand jury in 2010. Drain agreed with the prosecution’s counter-argument, that the defense hadn’t proven its case.

Tom Burke of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression (CSFR) commented, “The U.S. government doesn’t want to admit its own crimes. It’s a fact that hundreds of Arabs and Muslims have been targeted by successive administrations only for being Arab or Muslim, or for loving their own people. The raids and subpoenas of the anti-war and international solidarity activists in 2010 were violations of our First Amendment rights.”

Although that decision went against Odeh, Hatem Abudayyeh of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) said, “Rasmea, her lawyers and her supporters sent a message to the court that there is a pattern of the Department of Justice abusing those involved in Palestine support work.”

Latest twist: Attack on our right to fight back

In early October, Prosecutor Jonathan Tukel launched an attack on the Rasmea Defense Committee and Hatem Abudayyeh. Tukel accused Rasmea’s supporters of jury tampering. He alleged that the rallies involving members of the Palestinian community and anti-war activists are “almost certainly criminal.” Tukel is asking for an “anonymous jury” – keeping the names of the jury secret from the public and from Rasmea’s defense attorneys. Tukel used an anonymous jury for the trial of the Underwear Bomber in 2009. The meaning of his motion could not be more clear: Odeh and her supporters are dangerous to the members of the jury.

This would be laughable if the impact wasn’t so terrible. In fact, this is an effort by the prosecution to tamper with the jury. Making jurors and prospective jurors operate in secret makes them think that they are in danger.

There is nothing violent in the efforts of her defense campaign. The only violence that impacts this trial is the inhumane brutality with which the Israeli military treated Odeh in 1969. With each passing day, more people and organizations that support civil liberties are adding their voices to oppose this latest move.

‘I believe that we will win’

This attack by the office of U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade points to one other thing: the movement that supports Rasmea is putting Israel on trial. Especially after the international outcry that responded to the massacres in Gaza this summer, Israel is seen worldwide as the brutal, apartheid regime that it is. Most people hear the ring of truth when they are told that Rasmea was viciously abused at the hands of Israel.

On Oct. 2, in front of the court house in Detroit, Muhammad Sankari of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network led Rasmea’s friends and neighbors in chanting, “I believe we will win.” One of the Palestinian women supporters raised her voice louder and said, “I believe we are winning.” It appears that McQuade and Tukel fear that to be true, and are acting to put an end to the trial in the court of public opinion, and are attempting to rig the outcome of the legal proceeding as well. The rising movement of support for Palestine – the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction (BDS) campaign, the efforts for an arms embargo to stop companies like Boeing that provide the killing tools to Israel, the campus movement to defend critics of Israel like Professor Steven Salaita at the University of Illinois and the massive marches like those in Chicago that mobilized to halt the slaughter in Gaza – is in fact winning.

All out for Detroit

A major mobilization Is underway to pack the courtroom during Odeh’s Nov. 4 trial. “People from around the country will be coming to Detroit to support Rasmea. We will stand with her at her trial and demand Justice,” stated Jess Sundin of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression.

#ChicagoIL #Chicago #JessSundin #TomBurke #politicalRepression #RasmeaOdeh #StevenSalaita

Grand Rapids, MI – Close to 100 people celebrated Nelson Mandela Day here over the weekend. Some gathered on July 18 to view posters from the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa and the work of local artists portraying Nelson Mandela and Maya Angelou. Local artist Paul Collins shared a large canvas of hands reaching across the world portraying King, Gandhi and Mandela. On July 19, the Institute for Global Education hosted a jazz band, church choir, African dance and the poetry of Maya Angelou.

During a panel discussion on the legacy of Mandela, the speakers and audience compared the struggle opposing white minority rule in South Africa, known as apartheid, and the struggle for Palestinian freedom today. Outside the event, local anti-war activists tabled for Rasmea Odeh, a Palestinian American leader and activist. The U.S. government is putting Odeh on trial in Detroit on Sept. 8 in a highly-charged political repression case.

Tom Burke with the Committee to Stop FBI Repression was gathering signatures and quoted Nelson Mandela, “We know too well our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of Palestinians.”

Burke continued, “Rasmea Odeh won the ‘Nelson Mandela Award: Opposing Israeli apartheid is not a crime!’ last year in Chicago. We know the worldwide solidarity movement helped defeat minority rule in South Africa. The same is true with ending Israeli apartheid. We need to get out and rally to show our solidarity with the Palestinians in their struggle. We need to encourage resistance to oppression. The U.S. needs to stop funding Israeli oppression and war.”

A protest in solidarity with Palestine is planned for July 21 at 4:00 p.m. at the Gerald R. Ford Federal Building in downtown Grand Rapids.

#GrandRapidsMI #PeoplesStruggles #TomBurke #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression #NelsonMandela #RasmeaOdeh #Michigan #MayaAngelou #PoliticalRepression

Salt Lake City, UT – Activists gathered at the Salt Lake City Public Library on June 4 to hear Tom Burke, of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression. Fifteen people listened intently as Burke recounted his experiences as a longtime political activist targeted for repression by the U.S. government. Burke is one of the Anti-war 23.

In 2010 and 2011, the FBI harassed, raided and subpoenaed to a grand jury 23 anti-war activists for their solidarity with international anti-war movements and union organizers overseas. Assistant U.S. Attorney Barry Jonas has stated there is an ongoing investigation.

Burke spoke on how to deal with the FBI, “Don’t answer any questions besides your name, your address, and your social if asked. Tell them ‘I am happy to not answer any more questions until I speak with my lawyer.’” He shared the website www.stopfbi.net and urged those attending to read both the FBI raid documents discovered in one activist’s home as well as the FBI affidavits used to raid anti-war activists’ homes.

The main focus of Burke’s talk, however, was Rasmea Odeh. Odeh is an international solidarity and women’s rights activist from Palestine doing tremendous work in the Arab American community in the U.S. She came to the U.S. in the 1990s and is a well-known public figure in Chicago for her activism in women’s rights and healthcare.

The Department of Homeland Security arrested her on Oct. 22, 2013 for allegedly falsifying her immigration documents upon entering the U.S. The government claims Odeh failed to report that the Israeli military tortured and imprisoned her for organizing for Palestinian liberation in her early life. She is now facing 10 years in jail and deportation.

“We must stand in solidarity with Rasmea Odeh. We have to get out, organize and fight to win against the U.S. government repression of a strong progressive woman who stands for all that is good in this world!” Burke said. “Our vision is a world where Palestinians and Jewish people can live together in a single united Palestine in peace.”

Burke finished his talk saying, “We support women, we support Palestine and we must stand in solidarity with Rasmea Odeh!”

#SaltLakeCityUT #TomBurke #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression #PoliticalRepression #RasmeaOdeh

Two speakers from FRSO addressed the crowd that filled the bookstore. The first speaker, an immigrant rights organizer, spoke about the importance of the national movements in building the struggle for socialism.

Tom Burke, also of Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) , discussed the resurrection of May Day brought about by the 2006 Day Without Latinos, which brought millions of immigrant workers into the streets of America’s cities in protest of the reactionary Sensenbrenner Bill. Burke then discussed how revolutionaries can build the struggle for socialism and revolution, referring to the “one-two punch” of the multinational working class and the national movements in building the revolutionary struggle in the U.S.

Looking to the future, Burke laid out the importance of communists continuing to organize: “We need to build the mass movements; we need to build the different struggles with practical slogans and themes. But at the core of it is the fact that we organize the working class. Workers have a lot of power – they just don’t know it yet. We need to take our politics to the people and engage them in struggle.”

Followed by a lively question and answer session, the celebration was considered a huge success by its organizers. A number of individuals sought more information about FRSO and organizers hope to put together more events about Freedom Road in the near future.

#MilwaukeeWI #Labor #MayDay #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganization #internationalWorkersDay #May1 #frso #TomBurke

Burke stated, “Bradley Manning's sentence of 35 years is harsh and unjustified. Manning exposed war crimes committed by U.S. soldiers and covered up by the top ranks of the Pentagon, State Department and White House. There are U.S. war criminals who belong on trial and in prison cells instead of those like Manning who expose the actual crimes. The U.S. government is becoming more and more repressive, spending money on war, prisons and repression, while the rich get away with ruining the lives of working people at home and abroad. “

Burke was one of the anti-war and international solidarity activists targeted in a Department of Justice investigation of “material support for terrorism.”

#GrandRapids #MI #PeoplesStruggles #CivilRights #BradleyManning #TomBurke #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression #PoliticalRepression #CSFR #FreeBradleyManning #Whistleblower

Albany, NY – Tom Burke, a leader of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression, toured upstate New York Nov. 29 through Dec. 1 to talk about FBI repression and the upcoming trial of Carlos Montes. Burke spoke to hundreds of people at events in Rochester, Albany and Buffalo. He also visited and spoke at Occupy Wall Street camps where dozens of tents are pitched and scores of people are holding their ground, protesting the wealthy 1% and the politicians that serve them.

Burke is one of 24 anti-war activists either raided by the FBI or subpoenaed to a grand jury. Speaking to a crowd of almost 100 at Emerson Hall, the Unitarian Church in Albany, Burke said, “For 23 of us, we are told that multiple indictments are still being prepared. For veteran Chicano and anti-war activist Carlos Montes in Los Angeles, I am here to ask you to protest in your city on the first day of Carlos’ trial. This is purely a political attack. Last May, the FBI broke down the door of Carlos home at 5 a.m., with automatic weapons drawn, and ransacked his home, taking away all his political documents and notes for a book on Chicano activism. Carlos, who helped organize the protest at the 2008 Republican National Convention in Saint Paul, Minnesota, refused to answer the FBI’s questions about his relationship to the other 23.”

The FBI attacks on the democratic rights of anti-war and international solidarity activists are clearly targeting leaders and groups, and attempting to disrupt their organizing. The FBI repression of anti-war activists is an expansion of the ongoing and unjust pre-emptive prosecutions of Arabs and Muslims – attempting to justify the illegal and unjust U.S. wars and occupations abroad.

At every New York event the audience discussed the U.S. government coordination of local police attacks upon the Occupy movement and the people’s right to use public space and protest the wealthy 1%. Progressives in every city are opposed to the militarization of local police forces.

Tom Burke told Fight Back!, “In the face of political repression, we have to build on the solidarity from hundreds of groups – anti-war, community, faith, student and labor – and grow stronger together. We are asking our friends and comrades at the Flying Squirrel Collective in Rochester, the Albany peace and justice movement, the supporters of Burning Books in Buffalo, to join us for the huge mass protests against the war-makers and big bankers at the NATO/G8 summit on May 15 and May 19 in Chicago. Rochester and Buffalo have promised us busloads of protesters and Albany is talking about a Peace Train. The U.S. government is hosting the 1% from the rich countries and making plans for more wars and domination of the rest of the world. We need to unite with the Arab Spring protesters and people in other countries to oppose the poverty and war agenda here in Chicago.”

#AlbanyNY #CarlosMontes #TomBurke #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression #PoliticalRepression

Detroit, MI – 60 people met at an African-American community center on July 16 to discuss the growing movement for the right to free speech, to organize and for civil liberties for all. The National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms (NCPCF) organized the event titled, “Resisting Profiling, Preemptive Prosecution, and Prisoners Abuse – a hearing to confront repression of human rights and civil liberties by the criminal justice system.”

Debbie Johnson, of Michigan Emergency Committee Against War and Injustice, framed the event by describing the reign of terror brought by the U.S. government upon peoples in other countries from the end of World War II through the wars in Korea, Vietnam and Central America, up to Iraq and Afghanistan. She explained how the U.S. wars for empire overseas lead to the repression of African-Americans, Arabs and Muslims, immigrants, anti-war activists and others here at home who oppose those wars.

Families Expose U.S. Government Repression

The first panel featured families directly affected by the U.S. government spying, infiltrating and staging crimes in attempts to rip friends, groups and communities apart. The U.S. government hopes to weaken opposition to U.S. wars and occupations. Tamer Mehanna spoke about his brother Dr. Tarek Mehanna’s devotion to educating children and building community. Tarek Mehanna is unjustly imprisoned in solitary confinement for two years now after refusing to be an FBI informant against his friends and community.

In the same situation, Sharmin Sadequee spoke about Shifa Sadequee, her younger brother. The family was terribly worried to find out that just days after his wedding, Shifa was beaten and disappeared by Bangladeshi intelligence police. After four miserable days, the family was informed Shifa was flown back home – blindfolded, stripped naked and chained – to be delivered into the hands of the FBI under the Bush administration. Shifa is in solitary confinement for many years now, a form of torture according to international law.

Tom Burke, of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression (The CSFR) spoke about FBI raids targeting anti-war and international solidarity activists’ homes and how the armed raids terrify children and shock whole communities. Burke received a subpoena to appear at U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald’s Grand Jury in Chicago. A round of applause filled the room when Burke said, “Each of the 23 activists is refusing to testify at the Grand Jury!” Burke described, “The overwhelming solidarity from hundreds of peace and international solidarity groups, faith based organizations, labor unions, community and immigrants’ rights groups. Now, following the Arab Spring uprisings, there is growing support from groups and political parties overseas too!”

Burke then made an appeal to the audience to support longtime Chicano anti-war and immigrant rights activist Carlos Montes. The Committee to Stop FBI Repression is organizing a National Call-in Day to Attorney General Holder and President Obama on Aug. 12, the day Carlos Montes is due in a Los Angeles court. Tom described how on May 17, heavily armed FBI agents busted down the door of Carlos Montes’ home and invaded it. Montes was arrested on bogus charges of illegally possessing weapons, but then the FBI attempted to question him about his political affiliations. The CSFR is sure the FBI is looking for any way to disrupt and criminalize leaders like Carlos Montes, whose name appeared on the subpoena for the Anti-War Committee office in Minneapolis along with many of the 23 Midwest anti-war activists raided last September.

Seeking Justice, Ending the Repression

The second panel of the conference focused on civil liberties, the right to free speech and to organize, the abuse of U.S. law, and the history of repression by the rich and powerful. Abayomi Azikiwe, with MECAWI, an expert on Africa and people’s struggles, spoke about the long history of repression by the U.S. government, especially against African-Americans. Dawud Walid of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) described the ongoing singling out of American-Muslims by the FBI as a form of religious persecution that goes against the ideas of our country. Attorney Steve Downs with the National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms detailed some of the more extreme and inhumane punishments used against prisoners. He called for ending solitary confinements over 60 days and the end of Control Management Units and Supermax prisons. Shahid Buttar of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee energized the audience with a rhyme and explained how we can take particular cases and organize around them to make broader changes to U.S. law. We can also force politicians and U.S. Attorney General Holder to end the repression of activists who oppose U.S. wars and occupation – whether they are Muslims, socialists, or whoever.

Before the event ended, U.S. Representative Hansen Clarke of Detroit arrived and gave a fiery speech from the podium expressing his support and that as a member of the Committee on Homeland Security he was with us in our fight for justice. Representative Clarke committed to writing a letter along the lines of the one Representative John Conyers of Detroit sent to U.S. Attorney General and President Obama concerning the FBI raids and Grand Jury repression of the anti-war and international solidarity activists.

Summing up the event, Sharmin Sadequee, sister of Shifa Sadequee, said, “I think we opened up avenues for many groups to build relationships with each other. We broadened and connected our movements to resist and combat preemptive prosecution and the persecution of our communities by the FBI and U.S. government. I think the panel discussions shed light on how the U.S. government is manufacturing these so-called 'home grown terrorism' cases and targeting Muslims for their beliefs and free speech. The U.S. 'war on terrorism' is racist!”

Asked, “Why is the U.S. government orchestrating this repression?” Sadequee stated, “Our judicial system, now under Attorney General Eric Holder, is part of this racist program, and is perpetuating racism by handing down verdicts and sentences on these cases. The U.S. government is persecuting Muslims, Arabs, South Asians and immigrant communities at home to justify its wars and violence across the world. Now the U.S. government is going after anti-war activists because these people want peace in the world. Perhaps, those Muslims that our government has put behind bars also wanted peace in the world, that's why they are being punished? We must connect the dots of what is going on!”

#DetroitMI #InJusticeSystem #TomBurke #NationalCoalitionToProtectCivilFreedoms #NCPCF #MichiganEmergencyCommitteeAgainstWarAndInjustice #SharminSadequee #ShifaSadequee

“The FBI's new rules simply turn their current violations and wrongdoing into standard procedure,” said Tom Burke, a spokesperson for the Committee to Stop FBI Repression, an organization that formed after over 80 FBI agents raided the homes of prominent anti-war, trade union and international solidarity activists in the Midwest in September 2010. “FBI agents and informers can now infiltrate and spy on political groups at will. Federal agents are unleashed to coax and provoke citizens to commit crimes, to set them up and entrap them. The U.S. government is step by step becoming more repressive and taking away the rights to free speech and association. It is all part of the decline of the U.S. empire.”

While the new FBI guidelines, known as the Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide, have not yet been published, the New York Times reported some of the changes to the rules, including:

• FBI agents already have the legal powers to investigate people or organizations “proactively,” without any evidence that they are connected to criminal or terrorist activity – this lowest category of investigation is an “assessment.” With the new rules, FBI agents can search commercial and law enforcement databases for information on people and organizations without even opening an assessment.
• To help pressure people into assisting the government in investigations of others, FBI agents will be able to administer lie-detector tests and search people's trash without opening a “preliminary investigation,” which is a category of investigation that requires some evidence or basis for suspecting criminal activity.
• Currently surveillance teams can only be used once during an “assessment.” Under the new rules, FBI agents will be able to conduct surveillance repeatedly without having any factual basis for suspecting someone of wrongdoing.
• The FBI maintains a set of secretive rules regarding participation of FBI agents or informants in an organization. Under the new rules, FBI agents or informants will be able to participate up to five meetings of a group without having to abide by any of the special rules regarding participation.

“Instead of tightening the guidelines and closing the loopholes enabling abuse, FBI agents are due to receive new unwarranted surveillance powers,” Azadeh Shahshahani, the executive vice president of the National Lawyers Guild, told Fight Back!. “This is a worrisome development in light of the documented history of FBI abuse of power, including spying on activists engaged in legitimate First Amendment activity as well as frequent misuse of 'national security letters' as shown by the Inspector General’s findings.”

The relaxed rules for the FBI are likely to increase the surveillance and spying on constitutionally protected First Amendment activities. According to the Washington Post's 2010 “Top Secret America” investigative series:

The F.B.I. has opened thousands of such low-level investigations each month, and a vast majority has not generated information that justified opening more intensive investigations.

As of December, there were 161,948 suspicious activity files in the classified Guardian database, mostly leads from FBI headquarters and state field offices. Two years ago, the bureau set up an unclassified section of the database so state and local agencies could send in suspicious incident reports and review those submitted by their counterparts in other states. Some 890 state and local agencies have sent in 7197 reports so far.

The relaxed rules for the FBI come as the Senate is considering extending current FBI director Robert Mueller's term by another two years.

In a press release issued June 13 by the Institute for Public Accuracy, Shahid Buttar, executive director of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, said “Over Director Mueller’s ten-year tenure, the FBI has repeatedly violated the rights of peaceful Americans, abused its powers, lied to Congress, and overlooked opportunities to better protect national security – yet the White House and Congress seem poised to support these failures by extending the director’s term. The executive branch is off the rails, and the legislature asleep at the switch.”

The Committee to Stop FBI Repression has also been organizing call-ins to Senators, urging them to vote against extending Mueller's term.

#UnitedStates #NationalLawyersGuild #TomBurke #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression #AzadehShahshahani #ShahidButtar #BillOfRightsDefenseCommitteeBORDC

Milwaukee – 150 people protested here, March 19, to demand an end to the wars and occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Two additional themes of the protest included a demand to stop Governor Scott Walker’s war on the people of Wisconsin and to stop FBI repression on anti-war and international solidarity activists.

Protesters marched throughout the city and chanted on behalf of workers and students who are facing unprecedented cuts and anti-union legislation.

Tom Burke, of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression, spoke at the protest. Burke urged people at the rally to sign the pledge to resist FBI and grand jury repression. The pledge is a commitment to take action when anti-war and international solidarity activists are called to the Chicago Grand Jury headed by Patrick Fitzgerald or are indicted.

Over 50 people signed the pledge during the course of the rally.

#MilwaukeeWI #AntiwarMovement #Afghanistan #Iraq #IraqWar #TomBurke #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression #AfghanistanWar #GovernorScottWalker #Wisconsin

Burke’s presentation dealt extensively with the U.S.-funded war against trade unionists and farmers that is being conducted in Colombia. He detailed atrocities such the mass murder of trade unionists and the use of chemical herbicides to decimate crop production in the countryside.

Having provided Utah Valley University students with a background in Colombian politics, Burke went on to explain the plight of Ricardo Palmera, a peace negotiator for the FARC, Colombia’s largest rebel group. Palmera was kidnapped and brought to the U.S., given an unfair trial and is currently being held in the Supermax prison in Colorado.

“Ricardo Palmera is a hero in every since of the word. He has devoted his entire life to the fight to free Colombia from exploitation and oppression,” said Burke.

Burke also spoke about the campaign of repression being carried out by the FBI against members of the Twin-Cities Anti-War Committee, the Colombia Action Network, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, the National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera, the Palestine Solidarity Group and Students for a Democratic Society.

Burke encouraged solidarity with these activists, who have been the subject of raids and grand jury subpoenas and spoke of the need for activists across the country to be vocal in denouncing the grand jury witch hunt.

Burke’s visit to Utah Valley University has helped raise awareness about these issues and encourage the students here to join in the struggle to free Ricardo Palmera and stop FBI repression.

#OremUT #InJusticeSystem #Colombia #RicardoPalmera #NationalCommitteeToFreeRicardoPalmera #PoliticalPrisoners #TomBurke #September24FBIRaids #Americas

Ricardo Palmera is a Colombian revolutionary dedicated to the struggle of his people and to ending the oppression and exploitation in his country by the small rich elite and their U.S. backers. Professor Palmera has fought all his life for peace. He began as an organizer for the Patriotic Union (UP), a peaceful, leftist electoral coalition. But when the UP made some gains, the Colombian military and their death squads assassinated 4000 of their activists and elected officials. With the electoral path to peace firmly closed, Palmera with no choice but to go to the mountains and join the FARC. It was in his capacity as a peace negotiator, meeting with a UN official in Ecuador, that he was arrested and extradited to the United States.

The Free Ricardo Palmera Facebook group grew to over 700 members from the U.S., Colombia and Latin America and the group was up for about three years with no problems. Facebook refuses to give any details or explanation behind their move, leaving activists to speculate that the State Department or some other government agency is behind the censorship.

In explaining their activism, Tom Burke said, “The National Committee’s goal is to free Professor Palmera, a member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army (FARC-EP), who is held in solitary confinement, under special administrative measures by the U.S. government. These ‘special measures’ mean the press cannot interview Professor Palmera and he is not allowed letters or visits from his American supporters. So Facebook is a good way for people to find out what is actually happening with Professor Palmera’s trials and imprisonment by the U.S. empire. You know, there is really only democracy and freedom of speech for rich people or those claptraps who serve their interests in this country.”

The actual “Free Ricardo Palmera!” group that was taken down by Facebook presented revealing information, none of it hateful or obscene, but possibly ‘threatening’ to U.S. war and intervention in Colombia.

Tom Burke said, “We would like to think our committee is a threat to the U.S. dirty war in Colombia. We want to end the U.S. intervention and bring home the U.S. advisors, troops, and mercenaries. For the U.S. to seize, deport, imprison and torture a Colombian revolutionary from his own country certainly seems like something the U.S. State Department would want to keep quiet. It is ugly work – not the image the White House wants to promote. The corporate press in our country refused to cover Palmera’s case, despite widespread coverage in Colombia and Latin America. The Obama administration certainly does not want to advertise its dirty war against revolutionaries fighting for the independence of their own country, especially not now that Obama’s seven U.S. bases are being built in Colombia. The U.S. invasion has begun, just as the FARC's founder Manuel Marulanda predicted more than ten years ago.”

The two other administrators of the “Free Ricardo Palmera!” group, Angela Denio and Josh Sykes, were reinstated last week by Facebook after a campaign of calling, emailing and inviting friends to the new anti-censorship group which has rapidly grown to nearly 700 members. They are leading the charge to get Facebook to reverse its censorship of the “Free Ricardo Palmera!” group and to reinstate Tom Burke’s account alongside theirs.

Tom Burke received the following message from Facebook on July 14, in response to his appeal:

Hi Tom,

After reviewing your situation, we have determined that you violated our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. One of Facebook's main priorities is the comfort and safety of our users. We do not tolerate hate speech. Targeting people based on their race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, or disease is a serious violation of our standards and has resulted in the permanent loss of your account. We will not be able to reactivate your account for any reason. This decision is final.

Thanks,

Kimmie

User Operations

Facebook

Josh Sykes sent out a denouncement of this letter and policy to the members of the protest group on Facebook saying, “This is outrageous! Tom Burke is a consistent fighter against every one of these things Facebook is charging him with!

“Is the U.S. State Department putting pressure on Facebook to silence the Ricardo Palmera activists and its spokesperson, Tom Burke, just like they put pressure on the judges during Ricardo Palmera's frame-up trials in their attempt to criminalize the national liberation struggle in Colombia?

“The National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera is asking people to take a few moments to demand that Facebook stop their censorship and reinstate the ‘Free Ricardo Palmera!’ group and Tom Burke’s account.

“Share this group http://www.Facebook.com/group.php?gid=136562699701718 and invite your friends. Write about this on blogs and in whatever other media is available to you. Continue to call and email Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg at (650) 543-4800 and email Facebook at info@Facebook.com

“Change your Facebook status to Reinstate the account of Tom Burke and reverse the censorship of the ‘Free Ricardo Palmera!’ group!”

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