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The Black Alliance for Peace stands in Solidarity with the Peoples and Nations of “Our Americas” Against the U.S. Gangster State

The Black Alliance for Peace stands in Solidarity with the Peoples and Nations of “Our Americas” Against the U.S. Gangster State

The Black Alliance for Peace stands in Solidarity with the Peoples and Nations of “Our Americas” Against the U.S. Gangster State

The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) stands in solidarity with the peoples and nations of “Our Americas” against U.S gangster actions – especially the new regime’s public bullying tactics towards sovereign states. The colonial/imperialist, white supremacists that make policy for both capitalist parties in the U.S. are united in their support for U.S. aggression, destabilization and militarism in our “Americas.” This latest U.S. regime intends to  continue its violation of the sovereignty of nations and peoples, from the ongoing illegal and immoral embargo against Cuba, the neocolonial military intervention and undemocratic transition process in Haiti, and subversion in Venezuela to the latest outrage in Trump’s attempt to bully the leadership and people of Colombia.

The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) is clear. The U.S. settler colonial state is the enemy of peace and human rights. Its actions in our region are responsible for the massive migration from the Global South. The parasitic exploitation  by U.S. capitalists of  the peoples and nations of our region have created the conditions that have forced millions to desperately attempt to get to the North just to live. Like asylum seekers, migrants also have human rights that are codified in law, and respectful relations between states with equal sovereignty should be the basis for communications. But historically, U.S. administrations have rejected the idea that the U.S. is equal to any other state. “Make America Great Again" and liberal claims of U.S. “exceptionalism,” are two sides of the same white supremacist coin. That is why the doctrine of “full spectrum dominance” is proudly embraced by the duopoly and foreign policy community, and reminds us of the guiding bipartisan strategic objective of U.S. foreign policies no matter who resides in the “white house.”

This is why peoples and states in our region must fight against U.S. imperialism through a collective collective “people(s)-centered” human rights. BAP supports the efforts to protect national sovereignty and the dignity and democratic  rights of the people. We are encouraged by the call by President of Honduras Xiomara Castro to convene an urgent meeting of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) this week to discuss migration, the environment, and regional unity. Building anti-imperialist power based on true solidarity is critical, particularly to combat the expansive militarization (e.g. U.S. military bases and U.S. Southern Command exercises) and political-economic coercion of the region (e.g. sanctions, currency manipulation, regime change)  – the bipartisan agenda from Washington.

The anti-colonial struggle is real. As President Petro declared “Colombia no longer looks to the North, it looks to the world.” That must be the call for peoples and nations of the Global South. We understand that there can be no guarantee of dignity, human rights, sovereignty –and no “peace”– under the U.S./EU/NATO axis of domination. This is why we assert that the hemisphere must become a Zone of Peace, freed from the structures and interests that generate war and state violence: colonialism, patriarchy, capitalism and the manifold tactics of U.S. imperialism.  

History has already issued its declaration that “for the world to live, the power of the U.S. and Europe must be broken.” This is our task to fulfill.

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*En español 

La Alianza Negra por la Paz se solidariza con los pueblos y naciones de “Nuestra América” contra el Estado mafioso de EE.UU. 

La Alianza Negra por la Paz (BAP) se solidariza con los pueblos y naciones de “Nuestra América” contra las acciones mafiosas de EE.UU., especialmente las tácticas de intimidación pública del nuevo régimen hacia los estados soberanos. Los supremacistas blancos coloniales/imperialistas que hacen política para ambos partidos capitalistas en EE.UU. están unidos en su apoyo a la agresión, desestabilización y militarismo de EE.UU. en “Nuestra América.” Este actual régimen estadounidense pretende continuar su violación de la soberanía de las naciones y los pueblos, desde el embargo ilegal e inmoral contra Cuba, la intervención militar neocolonial y el proceso de transición antidemocrático en Haití, y la subversión en Venezuela hasta el último escándalo en el intento de Trump de intimidar al liderazgo y al pueblo de Colombia. 

La Alianza Negra por la Paz (BAP) es clara: el Estado colonial estadounidense es enemigo de la paz y los derechos humanos. Sus acciones en nuestra región son responsables de la migración masiva desde el Sur Global. La explotación parasitaria de los pueblos y las naciones de nuestra región por parte de los capitalistas estadounidenses ha creado las condiciones que han obligado a millones de personas a intentar desesperadamente llegar al Norte solo para vivir. Al igual que los solicitantes de asilo, los migrantes también tienen derechos humanos codificados en la ley, y las relaciones respetuosas entre estados con igual soberanía deberían ser la base de las comunicaciones. Pero históricamente, las administraciones estadounidenses han rechazado la idea de que Estados Unidos sea igual a cualquier otro estado. “Make America Great Again” y las afirmaciones liberales del “excepcionalismo” estadounidense son dos caras de la misma moneda supremacista blanca. Es por eso que la doctrina de la “dominación de espectro completo” es adoptada con orgullo por el duopolio y la comunidad de política exterior, y nos recuerda el objetivo estratégico bipartidista rector de las políticas exteriores estadounidenses sin importar quién resida en la “Casa Blanca”.

Por eso, los pueblos y los estados de nuestra región deben luchar contra el imperialismo estadounidense a través de una lucha colectiva de derechos humanos “centrados en los pueblos”. BAP apoya los esfuerzos para proteger la soberanía nacional, la dignidad y los derechos democráticos de los pueblos. Nos alienta el llamado de la Presidenta de Honduras, Xiomara Castro, a convocar una reunión urgente de la Comunidad de Estados Latinoamericanos y Caribeños (CELAC) esta semana para discutir la migración, el medio ambiente y la unidad regional. Construir un poder anti imperialista basado en una verdadera solidaridad es fundamental, en particular para combatir la militarización expansiva (por ejemplo, las bases militares estadounidenses y los ejercicios del Comando Sur de EE.UU.) y la coerción político-económica de la región (por ejemplo, las sanciones, la manipulación de la moneda, el cambio de régimen) — la agenda bipartidista de Washington.

La lucha anticolonial es real. Como declaró el Presidente Petro, “Colombia ya no mira al Norte, mira al mundo”. Ese debe ser el llamado a los pueblos y las naciones del Sur Global. Entendemos que no puede haber garantía de dignidad, derechos humanos, soberanía –y tampoco “paz”– bajo el eje de dominación de EE.UU./UE/OTAN. Por eso afirmamos que el hemisferio debe convertirse en una Zona de Paz, libre de las estructuras e intereses que generan la guerra y la violencia estatal: el colonialismo, el patriarcado, el capitalismo y las múltiples tácticas del imperialismo estadounidense.


La historia ya ha declarado que “para que el mundo pueda vivir, el poder de los Estados Unidos y Europa debe ser destruido”. Esa es nuestra tarea.

Banner image: A 1901 political cartoon depicts an Uncle Sam rooster with European roosters in the Monroe Doctrine coop (left) and South American countries running around free as smaller roosters. Courtesy FOTOSEARCH/GETTY IMAGES

International Letter Demands Freedom for Afro-Colombian Activists Imprisoned on False Charges

International Letter Demands Freedom for Afro-Colombian Activists Imprisoned on False Charges

CONTACT:

Charo Mina Rojas

Human Rights and International Coordinator, PCN

Tel: +57-314-370-8931

E-Mail: charominarojas@gmail.com

 

April 26, 2018

International Letter Demands Freedom for Sara Quiñonez and Tulia Maris Valencia

Afro-Colombian Social Movement Leaders Detained on False Charges

For Immediate Release

 

Individuals and organizations from around the world sent a letter today to Colombian Attorney General Nestor Humberto Martinez demanding that the government drop its baseless charges against social movement leaders Sara Quiñonez and her mother Tulia Maris Valencia. Both women are human rights defenders from the Afro-Colombian Community Council of Alto Mira and Frontera and members of the Black Communities Process (Proceso de Comunidades Negras, PCN).

The human rights advocates face politically motivated accusations as a result of their work on behalf of the collective and human rights of Afro-descendant communities. At their arraignment hearing on April 25, a judge refused to release them pending trial. On April 24, Ms. Quiñonez and Ms. Valencia sent the following message from the courtroom in Cali: “We are women who defend the rights of Afro-Colombian peoples. We are innocent!”

Social movement leaders are particularly alarmed that the government is targeting advocates for arrest while failing to address the dramatic spike in threats and killings against human rights defenders in Colombia since the signing of the Peace Accords. Ms. Quiñonez and Ms. Valencia were forcibly displaced as a result of the threats against them. Following the murders of Genaro Garcia (2016) and Jair Cortes (2017), fellow members of the Community Council of Alto Mira and Frontera, Ms. Quiñonez was forcibly displaced with her family to another part of the country where she received protection measures from both Colombia’s own National Protection Unit and from the Inter-American Human Rights Commission.

Advocates are concerned the April 20 arrests signal that the government is criminalizing efforts to defend the constitutionally recognized collective and territorial rights of Afro-Colombian people. “We are concerned that these arrests are a dangerous harbinger of a possible return to the pre-Peace Accords period where human rights activists – and especially Afro-Colombian activists – were prime targets of the Colombian state,” said Jaribu Hill, Mississippi Workers Center for Human Rights and Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) Coordinating Committee.

The Afro-Colombian Community Council of Alto Mira and Frontera has been subjected to violence and dispossession at the hands of paramilitary groups, guerrilla groups, narcotics traffickers, soldiers, and multinational corporation over the course of decades. Ms. Quiñonez served as the President and later as the Vice-President of the Community Council, and Ms. Tulia Maris Valencia is also a well-known leader of the women’s group and serves on local committees in the Community Council. Thanks to their crucial work in defense of the community’s rights, the Community Council of Alto Mira and Frontera is one of the few cases prioritized in the Ethnic Chapter of the Peace Accords between the FARC and the Colombian government.

“Afro-Colombian women human rights defenders like Ms. Quiñonez and Ms. Valencia are at the forefront of the type of social justice movements that will lead to meaningful peace, and their work must be permitted to continue. We join with Colombian social movements calling for the authorities to drop the baseless charges against Ms. Quiñonez and Ms. Valencia, and immediately release them,” said Yifat Susskind, Executive Director of MADRE.