OWO Official Statement Against September 24th FBI Raids of Activist Homes

Background info & updates here.

Opposition to War and Occupation wholeheartedly condemns the recent FBI house raids of social justice activists in Minneapolis and Chicago on Friday, September 24th, 2010. These raids are a part of the long history of coordinated government repression against those who fight against imperialism and exploitation and those working in solidarity with them. Just this past year, we have seen violent attacks on aid workers aboard the Gaza Freedom flotilla and on those en route to the autonomous municipality of San Juan Copala, Oaxaca. Here in Minnesota, we saw the arrest of Scott Demuth on trumped up charges and the subsequent incarceration of of Carrie Feldman for her refusal to testify before a federal grand jury in connection to his case. While it is clear that activists are continuing to be systematically harassed, targeted, and even murdered in an attempt to undermine struggles for justice, it is equally clear that we must continue to meet such efforts at isolation and intimidation with steadfast resistance to war and occupation, and all forms of state violence.

Solidarity,
Opposition to War & Occupation (OWO)
www.oppositiontowarandoccupation.info

AZ: Dozens of Arrests, I-19 and Jail Blockaded in Day of Action Against SB1070

On the morning that SB1070 was scheduled to take effect in the state of Arizona and three days before Obama deploys 1,200 National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, a group of concerned community members blocked traffic on I-19 south of Ajo Rd. in Tucson, AZ. A blockade of tires covered in tar and broken glass were placed across both southbound lanes along with a banner reading “Stop All Militarization! The Border is Illegal!” This blockade is a temporary shutdown of the very road that is used to deport people deemed “illegal” as well as a direct disruption of the flow of capital. By blocking I-19, activists effectively halted the transportation of migrants and the profits Whack-n-hut and Corrections Corporation of America make off of inhumane acts of separating families, communities and loved ones…(Read more at Arizona Indymedia)

Oakland Activists Prevent Unloading of Israeli Cargo Ship

Hundreds of demonstrators, gathering at the Port of Oakland before dawn, prevented the unloading of an Israeli cargo ship. The demonstrators, demanding an end to Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip, picketed at Berth 58, where a ship from Israel’s Zim shipping line is scheduled to dock later today. The day shift of longshoremen agreed not to cross the picket line. International pressure to end the Gaza closure has increased since Israeli commandos stormed a flotilla of ships attempting to run the blockade on May 31, killing nine people. Last week, Israeli officials announced that they would loosen but not lift the blockade, allowing more goods to enter the impoverished area. “Our view is that the state of Israel can not engage in acts of piracy and kill people on the high seas and still think their cargo can go anywhere in the world,” said Richard Becker, an organizer with ANSWER, one of many peace and labor groups involved in Sunday’s action. Becker estimated that 600 to 700 people joined the demonstration, many of them arriving at 5:30 a.m. Oakland police, who estimated the crowd at 500 people, reported no arrests.

–The San Francisco Chronicle

Friday June 4th: Twin Cities March to End the Siege of Gaza, Solidarity with Flotilla Activists

When: Friday, June 4th at 3:15pm
Where: Leaving from the State Capitol steps in Saint Paul and marching to the Minnesota Trade Office (32 Minnesota Street, St. Paul)

March announcement:
Early Monday morning, The Gaza Freedom Flotilla was raided by Israeli military commandos in international waters who fired live ammunition on the civilian passengers, killing at least 9 people and wounding scores more. The flotilla was a humanitarian aid convoy of 6 ships en route to the Gaza strip carrying 10,000 tons of humanitarian aid, including food, medical supplies, construction materials. On board were more than 600 passengers from over 40 countries including activists, parliamentarians, journalists, and doctors. The flotilla’s stated purpose was to break the inhumane Israeli blockade of Gaza’s borders which has deprived its population of more than 1.5 million of mobility and access to basic needs since 2007. While the violent raid of the Freedom Flotilla in international waters is itself a horrific assault on human life and a repressive act of state violence by Israel, it is but one expression of Israel’s ongoing apartheid program in Palestine.

On Tuesday, Minnesotans entered Senator Amy Klobuchar’s office to demand a political response to both the killings on the flotilla and the inhumane blockade of Gaza. This Friday, we will go to the MN trade office to demand an end to local economic relations between Minnesota and the State of Israel as part of a larger project of ending all US financial sponsorship of the Israeli war economy. The Minnesota Trade Office facilitates the relationship between Minnesota-based corporations and the State of Israel. In 2008, Minnesota companies made over $10 million on goods exported to Israel. The blockade of Gaza and the occupation of Palestine cannot be sustained without the military and financial support of the United States. This year alone the US will give a total of $2.8 billion to the state of Israel. The US also supports the occupation of Palestine through military aid in the form of technology, training, and weapons. In Minnesota, companies with Israeli contracts directly profit from the systematic violent assault on Palestinian life in the occupied territories.

More information at www.daswo.wordpress.com

Israeli Navy Massacres Activists in International Waters Aboard Gaza Freedom Flotilla: At least 10 Dead and 30 Wounded

Video from Al-Jazeera reported on board the flotilla: .
Early Monday morning Israeli warships and Apache helicopters surrounded the Aid flotilla organized by the Turkish humanitarian organization Insani Yardim Vakafi (IHH) and the Free Gaza Movement. Israeli forces boarded one of the Turkish ships leading the convoy, the Mavi Marmara, and killed at least 10 people (Israeli Army Radio reported up to 19 killed). Activists report 15 killed and over 50 wounded as the military opened fire once on the boat. Al Jazeera news network, which has a camera team on the Mavi Marmara, broadcast footage of several people wearing blood-covered life vests. The ships, which included cargo ships carrying 10,000 tons of aid and over 700 activists from 50 countries, were approached by Israeli war vessels in international waters, 65 km off the coast of Gaza. The flotilla reportedly slowed and turned further west, attempting to avoid a confrontation at night. The boats are now reportedly being towed to Haifa, rather than Ashdod where Israel announced it would take activists and detain them, presumably to avoid the media waiting. Israeli activists have announced an emergency demonstration in Haifa against the unlawful killing of these civilians. Protests also broke out in Turkey when news of the attack spread, hundreds of supporters attempted to storm the Israeli consulate in Istanbul but were stopped by Turkish riot police.

Check here for further updates.

Text from OWO Solidarity Statement from the March on Fort Snelling and National Day of Action Against SB1070

“The multi-million dollar public financing of Fort Snelling is an affront to all people whose basic needs are marginalized by the system. The Fort stands as a shameful monument to the history of genocide and forced removal of Dakota people that delivered this land to the US government. And today we continue to see strategies of government-sponsored racist violence being waged against both Native peoples and immigrants alike—all in the name of nationhood. The recent implementation of SB1070 in Arizona is just one example of the undue persecution of immigrants that has divided communities for decades. But today marks an important moment of unity between Dakota people and immigrants against state-sanctioned policies of brutality and discrimination. As allies, we are here to support these struggles, and to say that we are with you.

While it is a historical symbol, the Fort is also a very material part of the ongoing occupation of the Native lands of North America as its very existence deprives Dakota people of access to sacred ground. It functions socially, as we are seeing in the re-enactments here today, to mis-educate new generations about the bloody history of conquest in the state of Minnesota, and the role of settlers as largely complicit in that process.

As non-Natives we must realize that unless we actively stand with indigenous people still struggling against dispossession and cultural genocide, we remain on the side of the occupiers and are only part of the problem. And it is clear that, just like land theft in North America, the struggle for immigrant rights involves us all. There is no justification for racial profiling, for imprisoning children and families, or for forced removal and deportation, and it is up to all of us to challenge any government that uses such forms of collective punishment as policy. We must act in solidarity in the service of truth-telling and justice because we have a responsibility to directly support Native and immigrant led movements for self-determination. While we cannot change the facts of the past, we can try to play a different role today.

No more racist laws, take down the fort.”

-Opposition to War & Occupation (OWO)

March on Fort Snelling and Rally Against SB1070 this Saturday

WHEN: 12pm, May 29th, 2010 (Immigrants and Allies)
11:30am (Dakota and Native People)

WHERE: Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building–1 Federal Drive Fort Snelling, MN (Immigrants & Allies)
Saint Peters Church, Mendota — 1405 Sibley Memorial Highway (Dakota and Native)

May 29th is the opening day celebration of Historic Fort Snelling, a former concentration camp that was used to imprison Dakota people following the Dakota Uprising of 1862. Primarily women and children were held there over the winter of 1862-1863, before being force marched into exile and the institution of governor Ramsey’s genocidal extermination law. The opening day’s events include a host of family-friendly historical re-enactments that glorify the history of land theft and military occupation of Dakota land.

May 29th is the National Day of Action Against SB1070 in response to Arizona’s newly adopted anti-immigration legislation that promotes racial profiling and collective punishment by mandating law enforcement officers to check the citizenship of anyone who looks “suspicious”. A bill nearly identical to SB1070 was recently introduced in Minnesota by a Republican Representative and co-signed by five members of the House.

Dakota, latinos, and allies will unite to rally against ongoing racism and exploitation at the Bishop Henry Whipple (BHW) Federal Building, which houses ICE and the Department of Homeland Security and then march on Fort Snelling against the ongoing occupation of Dakota homelands.

For more information go to www.may29resistance.wordpress.com