We are secular Muslims, and secular persons of Muslim societies. We are believers, doubters, and unbelievers, brought together by a great struggle, not between the West and Islam, but between the free and the unfree.

New issue of Le COUAC out on the news stands

Malalai Joya, elected by the people of Farah, and banned from parliament for denouncing criminals of war (though her democratic mandate was to last till the current elections), spoke to an audience of 300 at Conway Hall in central London (July 2009). She has survived five assassination attempts, had her passport taken away by Karzaï, and must constantly take various precautions in Afghanistan. We invite you to hear what a woman fighting for human rights and justice has to say...

The following is an official message from a grassroots movement in Israel named New Profile, which is part of a larger coalition of Israeli groups opposed to the occupation and repression of Palestinians and to the militarization of Israeli culture. Currently, the Israeli government is using methods that are becoming more and more repressive, which is why we feel it is important to share this with you. Below their summary of the situation, you will find links to related articles and a call to action.

Excerpts :

We would like to reiterate that police harassment of New Profile and the interrogation of eleven of our members are not isolated events. They are part of a virulent drive of state McCarthyism, a stepped-up systematic persecution of left-wing activists and voices. This drive arguably obviates the remnants of Israel's claim to democracy and parodies its ludicrous boast to representing a single democratic beacon in the Middle East. // Among human rights organizations in Israel, Adalah for instance is still preparing a report on the recent, sharp escalation in combined state and university repression of student activists and [...] will soon be publicizing their comprehensive report on state violence against activists, left-wing groups and individuals, as well as their international supporters.

For more than a week, Iran has been convulsed by mass demonstrations denouncing election fraud. Hundreds of thousands have repeatedly taken to the streets to denounce the government, which is now threatening, and beginning to carry out, a bloody crackdown. This time around, imperialist intervention is veiled: the White House feigns neutrality, the Western media go all out for the opposition, while in the background various agencies provide vital technical aid. In reality, all candidates in the presidential vote swear allegiance to the Islamic Republic, and the supposed moderate reformers are no less butchers and enemies of poor and working people than the conservative "populist" government. The situation cries out for revolutionary leadership independent of all factions of the theocracy, to wage a struggle for workers revolution against imperialism and clerical reaction.

On March 17th, two American journalists - Euna Lee and Laura Ling - were taken into custody by the North Korean military. The two women were reporting on the trafficking of women along the border with China.
The women were charged with "hostile acts" and illegally entering the country, then sentenced to 12 years of "reform through hard labor."

:: included here: quick links to know more, video, and cyberactions !

“This massacre offers the world a glimpse at horrors faced by our people”

As an elected representative for Farah, Afghanistan, I add my voice to those condemning the NATO bombing that claimed over 150 civilian lives in my province earlier this month. This latest massacre offers the world a glimpse of the horrors faced by our people.

However, as I explained at a May 11 press conference in Kabul, the U.S. military authorities do not want you to see this reality. As usual, they have tried to downplay the number of civilian casualties, but I have information that as many as 164 civilians were killed in the bombings. One grief stricken man from the village of Geranai explained at the press conference that he had lost 20 members of his family in the massacre.

:: Read the rest on Malalai Joya official site »»

An invitation from the Fédération des femmes du Québec, the Committee for Human Rights in Latin America  (CDHAL) and the Comité de solidarité avec les femmes de Ciudad Juarez

BARRIO TERRAZAS PERSONA NON GRATA

Friday, April 3, 2009 from 12h to 13 h

In Montréal :
Mexican Consulate in Montreal
2055, Peel, between Maisonneuve and Sherbrooke (Peel Metro).

:: Read the rest of this announcement (French) »»
:: Féminicides au Mexique, par le CDHAL

Amidst a deepening economic crisis engendered by the global financial meltdown, thousands of women workers belonging to the Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL) poured out into the streets of key Manila, Cebu, Davao, General Santos and Cotabato, on the occasion of the International Women’s Day to demand full employment and equality between women and men.

Last Sunday Moroccan police in the occupied Western Sahara detained a young Saharawi girl and raped her for standing up against the Moroccan occupation. First they interrogated her, then they molested her and finally the policemen sodomize her with their truncheons. All in the presence of higher ranking officers. They even threatened to kill her if she made her story public.

‘SEVER TIES WITH WAR CRIMINALS’ SAYS GROUP

13 January 2008: Carrying a giant eviction order and a mock padlock, the broad anti-war group, Stop the War Coalition-Philippines, went to the Israeli embassy today to symbolically order its closure.

MANILA, Philippines – The country should not take pride in being the model in terms of labor migration, according to women’s groups who are engaging the Second Global Forum on Migration on Development (GFMD).

MANILA, Philippines – A day before several lawmakers deliver their respective sponsorship speeches on the controversial bill promoting the use of both artificial and natural means of family planning, among others, a network of more than 50 non-government and people's organizations advocating women's and people's rights today urged other members of the House of Representatives to affirm women’s right to reproductive self-determination, and to support the immediate passage of the Reproductive Health Bill.

The cause of women’s liberation and the rights of women against sexual discrimination, exploitation and violence

In solidarity and with utmost joy, the International League of People's Struggle joins today the celebration of women in general and their revolutionary struggle for emancipation and liberation from imperialism, feudalism and patriarchalism. We remember and honor millions of women who trailblazed and paved the path for women's liberation movement.