Defence rallies for French pro-Palestine activists

BT comrades attended rallies in London and New York on Tuesday 17th June, in defence of French comrades targeted for their pro-Palestine positions.

BT speech at London rally:

Hello,

My name is H, speaking on behalf of the Bolshevik Tendency. First of all, I would like to thank the organizers for initiating this protest.

The comrades of the French Trotskyist Fraction group (Révolution Permanente) and the NPA-R (Le Nouveau Parti Anticapitaliste – Révolutionnaires) among others in France are in prison, or are facing prison time, because they oppose the terrorism of the Israeli state. The imperialist powers of the so-called “Free World” share responsibility for Israel’s genocide in Gaza and brutal attacks on surrounding countries. They want to use Israel as a tool to reinforce western hegemony over West Asia and beyond. They provide weaponry, finance and propaganda, while seeking to suppress domestic opposition to Israel’s murderous actions.

Israel is not only engaging in genocide of the Palestinians but has now started a war against Iran, bombing its nuclear facilities and other targets. The French imperialists like their American/British/German and various other allies support these actions and criminalize those, like the TF/NPA-R comrades in France, who oppose the state-sanctioned genocide in Gaza.

We salute the courage of these French comrades and all others who endure state repression for defending the oppressed, despite our political differences. Appeals to politicians who are silent in the face of, or who actively enable these crimes, are ineffective and tend to reinforce illusions. We need mass protests against Zionist terror, but this is not enough. The Zionist war machine can be stopped by class conscious actions of the international proletariat.

Workers in the transportation industries have blocked arms shipments to Israel in the last few years. Port workers in Italy, Spain, South Africa, Greece and Sweden have taken action to stop the transportation of weapons and ammunition to Israel. This month French port workers refused to load a ship with military cargo bound for Israel. An earlier action by Swedish dock workers lasted for six days! These examples show the way forward!

For workers’ action to stop military shipments to Israel!

Drop the charges against the NPA-R/TF comrades in France and all victims of pro-Zionist repression internationally!

Resistance to genocide and imperialist-backed aggression is no crime!