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

The protests were largely led by the National Consensus Forces (NCF), an alliance consisting of political parties including the Sudanese Communist Party, the Sudanese Baath Party, the National Umma Party, and the Sudanese Congress Party, amongst others, with the Sudanese Communist Party being the largest and most active party.

The NCF, along with the Sudanese Professionals Association, an association of 17 different trade unions, and the Sudan Revolutionary Front, a rebel group against Omar Al-Bashir, came together and formed the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC), a wide coalition against the rule of Omar al-Bashir.

A military junta created after the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir held on to power, promising a “transition” to democracy sometime in the future. That military council leader, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, commander of the ground forces of the army under Omar Al-Bashir, faced strong opposition from groups who participated in the Sudanese revolution, most notably the Sudanese Communist Party, and protests continued after the formation of the military junta.

On June 3, 2019, the Sudanese military, along with a pro-government paramilitary known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), composed of former Janjaweed members, an ultranationalist paramilitary that fought on the Sudanese government's side in the Darfur War, opened fire on protesters against military rule in Khartoum, killing over 100 demonstrators.

In response to these protests, the military agreed to the formation of the Sovereignty Council of Sudan, a ruling body composed of five representatives of the FFC and five representatives of the military to theoretically share power equally amongst the two groups. In reality however, the military exercised greater control of the Sovereignty Council than the FFC, with Abdel Fattah al-Burhan serving as its chairman. The Sovereignty Council's deputy chairman was Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, nicknamed Hemetti, the commander of the Rapid Defense Forces, and richest man in Sudan after he used the RSF to seize control of Darfur's gold mines and establish the Al-Junaid Gold Mining Company.

The Sudanese military junta enjoys strong support from the United States, who pretend to care about “democracy” in Sudan while at the same time, offering training to the military, as well as offering a military partnership to Sudan through the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM). The military junta is also supported by the Zionist entity of Israel, which the military junta normalized relations with in exchange for a military partnership with the United States, and a lifting of Sudan from the U.S. “List of State Sponsors of Terrorism”, a list made to attempt to delegitimize governments which don't align with U.S. imperialist foreign policy.

The military junta of Sudan discarded Sudan's historical support to the Palestinian struggle in order to ally closer with the United States. On January 25, 2021, senior AFRICOM leaders met in Khartoum for two days with members of the Sudanese military to discuss details of a new military partnership between the United States and Sudan, all while the Sudanese military was participating in bloody repression against protesters for democracy in the country.

The Sovereignty Council appointed Abdalla Hamdok, a liberal politician as prime minister of Sudan. Hamdok held relatively nominal power in comparison to the military, which still retained control of most state institutions in the country. Hamdok used his position as prime minister to pass a series of reforms relating to agriculture and women's rights. On October 25, 2021, Hamdok, his cabinet, and many of his supporters were detained by the military, and the Sovereignty Council disbanded. The coup by the military resulted in mass protests, led largely by the Sudanese Communist Party and the Sudanese Professionals Association, who also encouraged workers to go on strike across the country against the military's attempt at gaining complete control of the country.

On November 21, 2021, Hamdok was reinstated as prime minister and his cabinet freed from prison after a political agreement with the military formulated by the United States to attempt to internationally legitimize the military junta.

The agreement reinstated Hamdok as the prime minister in name only while the military still remained in control of the country. The agreement was lauded by the U.S. as well as other Western imperialist nations such as the United Kingdom, Australia and the European Union as a triumph of “democracy” while groups opposed to the military junta in Sudan, such as the Sudanese Communist Party saw through the agreement, and condemned Abdalla Hamdok's capitulation to the military junta in exchange for being released from prison while bloody repression continues against protesters.

The Sudanese Communist Party and the Sudanese Professionals Association have called for a continuation of mass demonstrations and strikes to demand an end to the military government. “It was clear to the masses from the beginning of the December Revolution in 2018 that our struggle does not have the sympathy of international agencies, the media and governments of Western or other African countries. But the people and people’s movements across the world are standing in solidarity with the Sudanese people who will continue to fight on,” stated Osama Saeed, a protester who is also a member of the Sudanese Communist Party.

#DallasTX #Sudan #PeoplesStruggles #Africa

The MN Anti-War Committee organized multiple protests, including one of 15,000 people in downtown Minneapolis in January 2017, to protest the Trump’s Muslim ban.

The MN Anti-War Committee has initiated a call-in day for January 27 and are asking their supporters to call their members of Congress to tell them to take action to stop the president from targeting more immigrant communities

The MN Anti-War Committee also announced they will call an emergency response protest if the president expands the travel ban. The protest will take place at the Federal Building at 4th Avenue and 4th Street in downtown Minneapolis at 5 p.m. within 24 hours of the announcement. Supporters can go to AntiwarMN on Facebook or Twitter or to antiwarcommittee.org for details for up-to-date information about our emergency response protest.

Wyatt Miller, an organizer with the Anti-War Committee explained the importance of this potential ban to Fight Back!, “Regardless which countries make the final list, the underlying message of Trump’s expanded travel ban will be the same: no independent or non-aligned nation in the world is safe from U.S. pressure. Travel bans are a form of coercive sanctions and Trump has shown he’s willing to exploit racism and xenophobia to build support for them. As an issue at the intersection of immigrant rights, anti-imperialism and anti-racism, all progressive people in the U.S. have a duty to oppose this.”

#MinneapolisMN #International #AntiwarMovement #Sudan #US #Africa #Asia #Europe #PeoplesStruggles #AntiWarCommittee #DonaldTrump #TravelBan

#MinneapolisMN #News #Afghanistan #Sudan #Africa

While Iraq fades from headlines, its people suffer the effects of sanctions. These sanctions, the harshest ever imposed on any country, restrict even food and medicine imports. Despite Iraqi cooperation with United Nations inspections, the United States refuses to consider lifting sanctions. US officials admit they aim for sanctions to topple Saddam Hussein's government. Meanwhile, Iraqis blame the US government for growing misery. UN agencies report that the sanctions have already killed over 1.7 million people.

In June, the US bombed a water reservoir, claiming that nearby Iraqi radar had been tracking American jets. This strike worsened a critical shortage of drinking water. Because chlorine and machinery for water treatment are barred by sanctions, much of Iraq's drinking water is unsafe. While US officials denounced the “cowardice” of embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, US policies punish Iraqis for the actions of their government.

August bombings of Afghanistan and Sudan, and the new “war on terrorism,” continue the US government's racist attack on Arab people as violent fanatics. These actions attack the Middle East, an effort to assert military control in a region important to maintaining US global economic power.

While the attacks failed to distract Americans from presidential scandals at home, they served as another excuse to punish Iraqi people with sanctions. Reportedly, Iraq bought medications from the medicine factory destroyed in Sudan.

Last month, the UN announced it will not review the sanctions this October as planned; the Iraqi parliament ended cooperation with UN weapons inspectors until a timeline is set for review of the sanctions regime. Tensions raised after the US reported VX nerve gas on junked missile fragments found in Iraq. In late September, European scientists found that there was no nerve gas on missile parts from the same site, confirming Iraq's response to the allegations.

Sanctions against Iraq isolate the US more every day. For Western allies, sanctions limit economic opportunities; the US is alone in defending inhumane sanctions. Pressure at home and around the world takes a toll on US policy makers.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #News #Afghanistan #Iraq #Sudan #sanctions #UN

Sudan Workers Trade Unions Federation Statement

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Comrades, Honest workers of the world,

Free citizens of the world,

Today, the Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for the arrest of H. E Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir, President of the republic of Sudan. This precedent, which is the first of its kind, violates the sovereignty and independence of the states.

Sudan Workers Trade Unions Federation knows very well that this decision has nothing to do with the law, the justice and the humanity; rather, it is a political decision aiming at targeting a country saying No to the oppression powers. It is a conspiracy against a country paved its course of development, independence and glory, far away from the imperial domination and its aggression.

Honest workers of the world,

Free citizens of the world,

Justice seekers in the world,

This decision of the (ICC) over passes the personal dimension of H. E Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir, President of the republic of Sudan as well as the country dimension of Sudan. It is a plot planned by the oppressing powers, world imperialism and Zionist movement to be used as a precedent against the third world to subdue to their direct wills and dictations. Hence, these powers become super dominant powers using the International Criminal Court (ICC) as a tool for indictment and convection of whatsoever standing against them. Accordingly, confronting the International Criminal Court (ICC) must be an issue of liberation that will give back to the people the right to elect their leaders who will be accountable before them, maintain their sovereignty and independence.

Sudan Workers Trade Unions Federation absolutely rejects this decision and strongly condemns the lack of justice measures in the world. Moreover, SWTUF will confront this decision by all means, affirming to the friendly and sisterly countries and movements that development process, progress and production wheel shall continue to move in a regular manner, with more force and effort. Sudan Workers Trade Unions Federation appeals to the honest workers, Free citizens and Justice seekers in the world for the following:

• To reject this decision completely.
• To express their stances by all means and ways (demonstrations, rallies, boycotting…etc.)
• To form a broad coalition to attain justice and denounce injustice.
• Exert pressure on governments and states parties to Rome Statute to withdraw ratifying the statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
• Exert pressure on the United Nations, its institutions and agencies to dissociate from the hegemony of the USA and its allies.
• To continue uprising to reform the political system and the international law.

The revolution process shall continue to attain victory, and to ensure sustainable peace, equity, justice and stability.

Executive Bureau,

Sudan Workers Trade Unions Federation

4 March 2009

#Sudan #News #Imperialism #PresidentBashir #InternationalCriminalCourt #Africa