by CPUSA International Department, 07/09/2009 18:33
Dear Friends, The ultra-right on Capitol Hill,
hand-in-hand with members of the Honduran oligarchy and military, have
been besieging Congress with demands that the U.S. back off its stated
support for the restoration of Manuel Zelaya to the presidency of
Honduras. This needs to be aggressively countered.
Congressmen Bill DeLaHunt (D-MA) and
James McGovern (D-MA) have taken the initiative with a resolution
described below in a message from the Alliance for Global Justice.
Please follow up the
DeLaHunt-McGovern initiative with your letters, faxes, phone calls,
e-mails and visits to your own congressperson.
Also contact your senators to ask
them to pass a similar resolution. Finally, ask your union, church or
community organization to mobilize support for this effort.
Below is an action alert from the
Alliance for Global Justice with the text of the resolution and other
details:
___________________________
Support House
Resolution on Honduras!
Urge your Representative to become an
original co-sponsor of House Resolution demanding reinstatement of
President Manuel Zelaya in Honduras!
[This action alert comes to you from
the Alliance for Global Justice and its member projects, the Nicaragua
Network, the Campaign for Labor Rights, the Venezuela Solidarity
Campaign, and the Respect for Democracy Campaign.]
Representatives James McGovern (D-MA) and Bill Delahunt (D-MA) have
sent out a Dear Colleague letter to the other members of the House of
Representatives asking them to sign on as original co- sponsors to a
House resolution calling for the reinstatement of Manuel Zelaya as
president of Honduras. See text of the letter and of the House
resolution below.
Call your Representative and ask him or her to sign on! The Capitol
Switchboard number is: 202-224- 3121. All original co-sponsors need to
be added before 5pm today. Here is some suggested language for your
call:
"Please tell Representative _________________ that I urge him to be an
original co-sponsor of the McGovern/Delahunt resolution to oppose the
military led coup in Honduras. The resolution calls for the
reinstatement of democracy in that country. Please contact Cliff
Stammerman or Ben Dailey in Delahunt's office before close of business
today as that will be the closing of original cosponsors."
******************
Become an original co-sponsor of a
resolution opposing the coup d'état in Honduras
Deadline is close of business Thursday, July 9, 2009
Dear Colleague:
We ask you to join us in co-sponsoring the resolution below condemning
the coup d'état in Honduras, demanding that Honduran President
Manuel Zelaya be returned to office, and welcoming the mediation
efforts of Costa Rican President Oscar Arias.
As you are no doubt aware, an internal political dispute in Honduras
degenerated into a coup d'état on June 28, 2009, in which the
democratically-elected President of Honduras was seized by the Honduran
military and sent into exile. This move was swiftly condemned by the
United States, the Organization of American States, the European Union,
and the United Nations, all of whom have demanded that President Zelaya
be reinstated to office.
It is critical that Congress be crystal clear that coups are
unacceptable. This is particularly important in Latin America, a region
which has suffered greatly in the past from military interference in
politics but over the last 30 years has generally moved towards
democracy. To accept the overthrow of a democratically-elected
government is to wipe away the progress that has been made - progress
that has been supported by both Democratic and Republican Presidents
and Congresses.
To sign on, please contact Cliff Stammerman or Ben Dailey in
Congressman Delahunt's office at (202) 226- 6434 or at
cliff.stammerman@mail.house.gov or ben.dailey@mail.house.gov.
Sincerely,
Bill Delahunt
James P. McGovern
The Resolution:
Condemning the June 28, 2009 coup d'état in Honduras, calling
for the reinstatement of President Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales, and for
other purposes.
Whereas Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales was elected President of Honduras in
November 2005 in elections that were deemed free and fair by
international observers;
Whereas President Zelaya and other political actors in Honduras became
embroiled in a political dispute over whether to hold a non-binding
referendum asking Honduran voters whether they wanted a constituent
assembly to be established to amend the Constitution;
Whereas on June 28, 2009, the day that the non- binding referendum was
to take place, Honduran military forces stormed President Zelaya's
residence, apprehended him, sent him out of the country, and seized the
materials for the referendum;
Whereas the Honduran Congress named Roberto Micheletti, the head of the
Congress, as President and subsequently suspended a number of
constitutional rights, including the freedom of association and of
movement;
Whereas the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has expressed its
concerns regarding human rights abuses by the de facto Micheletti
government, including the arbitrary detention of Zelaya supporters;
Whereas the Organization of American States, the United Nations, and
the European Union - representing governments from across the political
spectrum - have condemned the coup d'état, refused to recognize
the de facto Micheletti government, and demanded the unconditional
return of President Zelaya to office;
Whereas on July 1, 2009, the Organization of American States voted
unanimously to suspend Honduras from participation in the OAS unless
President Zelaya was returned to office within three days;
Whereas, on July 4, 2009, the OAS unanimously voted to suspend Honduras;
Whereas the Administration of President Barack Obama has condemned
President Zelaya's removal, supported the OAS resolutions regarding
Honduras, and demanded that he be returned to office;
Whereas the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank have
suspended aid and loans to Honduras;
Whereas national elections are scheduled in Honduras for November 29,
2009;
Whereas President Zelaya has said that he will only serve until his
term ends in January 2010;
Whereas it is critical for the stability of Honduras that the November
2009 elections be free, fair, and transparent; and
Whereas U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced on
July 7, 2009, that Costa Rican President Oscar Arias would seek to
negotiate a solution to the crisis, and President Zelaya and the de
facto Micheletti government have agreed to the mediation of President
Arias.
Therefore, the House of Representatives:
1) Condemns the June 28, 2009 coup d'état in Honduras and
refuses to recognize the de facto Micheletti government installed by
that coup d'état;
2) Calls on the Obama Administration to continue to refuse to recognize
the de facto Micheletti government;
3) Calls for the reinstatement of President Zelaya as President of
Honduras;
4) Urges the Obama Administration to suspend non-humanitarian
assistance to the de facto Micheletti government as required by U.S.
law and as it deems necessary to compel the return of President Zelaya
to office;
5) Calls for extensive international observation of the November 2009
elections once President Zelaya is returned to office to ensure that
his successor is elected freely, fairly, and transparently; and
6) Welcomes the mediation of Costa Rican President Oscar Arias and
encourages the Obama Administration to provide any assistance President
Arias requests in his efforts.
The Communist Party USA (CPUSA) joins with the world in denouncing the coup d’etat this morning against the legally elected president of the Republic of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, by the Honduran military, in which, according to a statement by the president’s wife, Mr. Zelaya was threatened and beaten before being sent into exile in Costa Rica.
• The CPUSA denounces alarming reports of physical attacks by troops against the ambassadors of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua in Tegucigalpa, and calls for protection of all diplomatic personal; and, if the reports of the attacks are confirmed, punishment of all the responsible parties for this gross violation of Honduran and international law.
The CPUSA further:
• Demands that president Zelaya and other members of his government be returned to power immediately, and that the troops return to their barracks.
• Demands the immediate release of all labor, community and student leaders who have reportedly been rounded up by the army, and the restoration of freedom of the press.
• Recognizes that the Obama administration has repudiated the coup, and insists that President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton hold firm to this position, refusing diplomatic recognition and any military aid to Honduras until President Zelaya is restored to power.
• Calls upon unions and other people’s organizations in the United States to actively support our brothers and sisters in Honduras in resisting this brutal military coup d’etat.
El Partido Comunista de los Estados Unidos (CPUSA) se une con el mundo entero en denunciar al golpe de estado militar que se llevó a cabo esta mañana en contra del presidente legitimo de la Republica de Honduras, Manuel Zelaya por militares hondureños, en que, según dice la Sra. de Zelaya, el presidente fue golpeado y amenazado físicamente, antes de ser exiliado a Costa Rica.
• El Partido Comunista de los Estados expresa su coraje e indignación por las versiones según las cuales tropas hondureñas agredieron a los embajadores de Cuba, Venezuela y Nicaragua en Tegucigalpa, e insiste que, al confirmarse tales reportes, los agresores sean castigados por esta grave infracción de las leyes internacionales y de la Republica de Honduras.
Además, el Partido Comunista de los Estados Unidos:
• Exige de que el presidente Zelaya y otros integrantes de su gobierno sean devuelto a poder en forma inmediatamente, y que todas las tropas regresen a sus cuarteles.
• Exige que todos los dirigentes laborales, comunales y estudiantiles que, según reportes, han sido detenidos por las fuerzas armadas sean puestos en libertad, y que la libertad de la prensa sea restaurada en forma inmediata.
• Reconoce que la administración del presidente estadounidense Barack Obama ha repudiado el golpe de estado, y exige que tanto Obama como la secretaria de asuntos exteriores Hillary Clinton se mantengan firmes en esta actitud, negando el reconocimiento diplomático y cualquier ayuda material hasta que se restaure al Presidente Zelaya a su puesto.
• Hace un llamado a los sindicatos y otras organizaciones populares en nuestro país, a que apoyen en forma activa a nuestras hermanas y hermanos en Honduras que ya están organizando una valiente resistencia en contra del golpe.
Beyond War: A New Economy is
Possible, Yes We Can! March April 4 on Wall Street!
“A
nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military
defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual
death.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., April 4, 1967
Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his courageous (and still urgent)
“Beyond Vietnam” speech on April 4, 1967 at Riverside Church in New
York. Exactly one year later he was assassinated.
This year, in commemoration of Dr. King’s legacy, peace, civil rights
and labor organizations are calling for a massive national march on
Wall Street to highlight the connections between the wars abroad and
the deepening economic crisis in our communities. United for Peace
& Justice is organizing the march and demonstration for Saturday
April 4, 2009 on Wall Street in Manhattan.
With the historic election of President Obama, the new administration
and Congress needs a strong grassroots movement, built on the tenets of
racial and economic justice and an end to U.S. militarism, to struggle
for a new set of national priorities rooted in the Dr. King’s vision of
a world without poverty, racism, or war.
Now is the time to
mobilize the peace majority to support a call to dramatically cut
military spending! The march will give voice to the urgency to refocus
our government’s spending priorities.
The struggle to pass the Employee Free Choice Act is another struggle
that the peace movement must and will mobilize for in the same way that
we have mobilized to end the war in Iraq. Justice, as Dr. King defined
it, included the basic right to form unions and bargain collectively
for a better life. April 4 will be a day that connects the rights of
working families with the need for a more peaceful world.
An economy based on corporate greed and lawlessness and a foreign
policy based on war and aggression must end. Help fulfill King’s
legacy, join us.
Yes we can build a
new world of justice, equality and peace!
On the 50th anniversary of Cuba's socialist revolution, the CPUSA recognizes the heroism and revolutionary example of five Cuban men unjustly imprisoned in U.S. federal prisons for over ten years.
Arriving in Florida in the 1990's, Gerardo Hernández, Antonio Guerrero, Ramón Labañino, Fernando González, and René González joined private paramilitary groups in order to monitor and report on preparations for attacks against Cuba. For decades, right wing terrorists based in Florida had carried out murderous assaults which have cost the lives of many innocent people...
The Communist Party of the USA expresses its outrage at Israel’s invasion of Gaza, carried out in defiance of world public opinion.
The entry of ground troops into Gaza at a time when the United Nations and many others were working toward a cease-fire and a return to negotiations is arrogant and irresponsible. It will cause many more deaths and injuries and untold destruction of the essential infrastructure of a community already devastated by economic blockade. It is an illegal action and a major threat to regional and world peace, and carries a grave danger of setting off a wider war.
The Israeli government justifies the invasion as necessary to stop Hamas rocket attacks. Although we condemn those attacks, we believe that by its actions Israel is pursuing more far-reaching aims in the region than stated by its representatives. The attacks by Hamas could be quickly ended in the context of a cease-fire.
Launching a ground offensive into Gaza is also designed to box in the Obama administration and new Congress and prevent them from changing US policy vis-à-vis this conflict.
We repudiate the outrageous speech made by President Bush yesterday, which gave a green light to a new Israeli escalation of the conflict. With this act, Bush leaves an even uglier legacy to our country and the world.
We also strongly condemn the attempt by the US delegation to the UN to block the Security Council from taking action to stop the invasion.
We repeat our call for an immediate cease-fire to be strictly monitored by the UN and other international organizations. It should include the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops as well as an end to the bombing of Gaza and a cessation of the rocket attacks into Israel.
It is urgent that Gaza be open immediately to receive food, medicine and other humanitarian aid, and that Israel end its economic blockade.
There is no military solution to the Palestine-Israel conflict. We call for an immediate return to negotiations for a peaceful solution based on the two-state concept, which will address the national aspirations of the Palestinian people as well as the security interests of both the Palestinian and Israeli peoples.
We hope that as soon as President Obama takes office, he will pursue a new policy in the Middle East that contributes to peace, justice and stability in that region.
Finally, we urge the American people to add their voices to the millions worldwide protesting the invasion and calling for a cease-fire on both sides and for a just peace.
The tiny Gaza Strip, with its 1.5 million people crowded into 139 square miles, has been a tinderbox since Israel’s unilateral pullout in 2005.
Israel has maintained a punitive military and economic grip on Gaza, keeping the population in what is internationally condemned as a deepening humanitarian crisis. Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement) seized power there in 2007, and began its “resistance” policy of firing rockets into southern Israel. A tenuous six-month ceasefire ended in early December despite reported behind-the-scenes initiatives to extend it, and now we have the horrible spectacle of a massive aerial bombardment of this densely populated strip by Israel, with the civilian toll mounting daily (currently nearly 500 Gazans dead and approaching 2,000 wounded, including children). Hamas has continued rocket attacks on Israel, killing 4 Israelis as of this week, and is threatening suicide bombings and other attacks in Israel.
Israel says its assault is a defensive operation, yet also says it intends to physically wipe out the Hamas leadership. Other objectives appear to be to intimidate the Palestinian people, further weaken Palestinian civil society and promote disunity, and reassert Israeli power.
There is growing international condemnation of Israel’s disproportionate use of force and collective punishment of Gaza’s civilian population, both violations of the Geneva Conventions.
It’s possible a temporary truce may emerge in the next few days, but, more than ever, the underlying issues will at long last have to be resolved. And the incoming Obama administration will have the challenge, and the opportunity, to lead the way to peace...
The Communist Party of the USA (CPUSA) adds its voice to the growing international call by the United Nations Security Council, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and many others for an immediate cease-fire by both the Israeli government and Hamas, and a return to honest negotiations based on the two-state model.
The Bush administration bears a heavy responsibility for this crisis because of its failure to exert any pressure on Israel to resolve the situation by negotiations, and because of its continued enabling of the Israeli military assault by diplomatic, financial and military means. The massive use of force by the Israeli military has absolutely no justification morally, legally or politically. It has already caused enormous civilian casualties and will cause many more if continued. Nor is there any justification for Hamas' rocket attacks on civilian targets within Israel. They too are irresponsible, provocative, and deadly.
Any incursion of Israeli ground forces into Gaza will also cause massive civilian casualties, as well as qualitatively escalating and perhaps widening the conflict.
There is no military solution for the Israel-Palestine conflict.
We urge the incoming Congress and the Obama administration to break with the failed Bush policies, and take decisive action for a just diplomatic solution that supports the national aspirations of the Palestinian people as well as the true security interest of the Israeli people. Our government should play a leading role in convening an international conference, to include all the countries in the region and without preconditions, to work towards a lasting cease-fire and peace agreement for the region.
We also support calls for allowing the immediate entry of humanitarian aid, as well as an end to the blockade, which causes untold suffering among the people of Gaza.
El Partido Comunista de los Estados Unidos añade su voz al creciente llamado internacional, por parte del Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU, del Secretario General Ban Ki Moon y muchos otros a favor de un cese fuego inmediato de parte del gobierno israelí y Hamás, y un regreso a negociaciones honestas basadas en el modelo de dos estados....
El Partido Comunista de los Estados Unidos (CPUSA) condena en una forma enfática los ataques aéreas por las fuerzas armadas de Israel a la Franja de Gaza, que han dejado un saldo de cientos de personas muertas y mas de mis personas heridas. Los cientos de ataques aéreos israelíes se han llevado a cabo con una indiferencia a su impacto en la población civil y las instituciones, y representan la última fase en una campaña de bloquear al pueblo de Gaza, y negarle al pueblo acceso a las necesidades básicas. La respuesta desequilibrada de Israel a los nuevos ataques de cohetes efectuados por Jamas a Israel después de un cese-fuego de 6 meses, subraya dramáticamente la negativa de parte de la administración de George Bush de seguir con las negociaciones diplomáticas. De hecho, la administración de Bush ha hecho posible la acción Israelí con su suministro continuo de ayuda militar y material.
El Partido Comunista de Israel ha sugerido que los actuales ataques constituyen una movida demagógica relacionada con las campañas electorales en aquel país, tal vez también con fin de presentarle a la nueva administración de Barack Obama en Washington con un “hecho consumado” que hará mas difícil que el nuevo gobierno norteamericano adopte un planteamiento nuevo al problema Israel-Palestina.
El Partido Comunista de los Estados Unidos denuncia la administración de George Bush por el respaldo material y verbal que está prestando a la agresión israelí. Condenamos a todo ataque en contra la población civil sin importar la causa o la meta. Exigimos un fin inmediato a los bombardeos y la amenaza de enviar fuerzas a Gaza por tierra, y de los ataques de cohetes que Jamas ha estado lanzando a Israel. Exigimos que la nueva administración norteamericana de Barack Obama haga una gira radical en la política estadounidense en el tema de Israel-Palestina, y que presione al gobierno israelí a que regrese a negociaciones honestas a favor de una solución basada en el concepto de dos estados.
Tome acción:
1. Póngase en contacto con la casa blanca para protestar en contra del ataque y exigir negociaciones de emergencia para un cese-fuego inmediato. Marque 202-456-111 o envíe un mensaje por correo electrónico a comments@whitehouse.gov.
2. Póngase en contacto con su congresista y senadores, marcando 202-224-3121
3. Exija al presidente electo Barack Obama a que plantee una política nueva hacia Israel y Palestina y envíe un mensaje a www.change.gov.
4. Participe en uno de los actos locales para protestar el ataque a Gaza: http://www.endtheoccupation.org/article.php?id=1773.
The Communist Party USA (CPUSA) emphatically condemns the continuing Israeli air strikes in Gaza, which have left hundreds dead and over a thousand wounded. The hundreds of Israeli air strikes have been carried out with a total disregard for the safety of civilians and institutions and are the latest phase in a campaign to blockade the economy of Gaza and deny the people access to basic necessities. Israel's disproportionate response to the resumption of the Hamas rocket firings into Israel after the six-month ceasefire agreement expired, dramatically underscored the Bush Administration's sidetracking of diplomatic efforts and negotiations. In fact, the US government has provided the basis for Israel's military action with continued military aid and supplies.
The Communist Party of Israel has suggested that the current Israeli attacks are a demagogic move related to the current electoral campaign in that country, as well as perhaps being intended to present the incoming Obama administration with a fait accompli, making it more difficult for Obama to adopt a new approach to the Israel-Palestine issue.
The CPUSA denounces the Bush administration for the verbal and material support it is now rendering to the Israeli aggression. We condemn all attacks on civilians whatever the cause or intention. We call on all peace-minded people in the U.S. to demand an end to the Israeli airstrikes, end threats of a ground assault into Palestine, along with an end to Hamas rocket attacks, and to call on the incoming Obama administration to make a radical change in US policy on the Israel-Palestine issue, and to pressure the Israeli government to return to honest negotiations toward a two-state solution.
TAKE ACTION:
1. Contact the White House to protest the attack and demand emergency negotiations for an immediate cease-fire. Call 202-456-1111 or send an email to comments@whitehouse.gov.
2. Contact your Representative and Senators in Congress at 202-224-3121.
3. Call upon President-Elect Obama to pursue a new U.S. policy toward Israel/Palestine and send a message at www.change.gov
4. Join one of the many local actions protesting the assault on Gaza.
Elena Mora, Organizing Director of the Communist Party USA, went on CNBC to defend the "nationalization" of the Venezuelan oil industry by Hugo Chavez. This originally aired January 31st, 2007.
by CPUSA Natl Peace and Solidarity Commission, 11/06/2006 20:00
The following statement by the National Peace and Solidarity Commission of the Communist Party USA was released on Oct. 30.
In the aftermath of the Oct. 9 nuclear test by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), many in the region and around the world now worry about the acceleration of nuclear proliferation and the threat to peaceful coexistence in Northeast Asia. The greatest threat is a nuclear showdown with the United States.
As I write, Israeli troops are invading Lebanon on its southern border. No doubt this escalation will heighten the danger of a wider war, one that could involve other state and non-state actors in that region and draw millions of people into the fighting.
The Communist Party USA strongly condemns the Israeli assault on Lebanon which has killed almost 300 mostly civilian Lebanese in its first eight days. Infrastructure has been smashed, thousands of people have been driven from their homes, tens of thousands more have fled the country, and a cloud of fear hangs over the region.
With no regard for the possibility of igniting an even greater conflict in the region, the Israeli government threatens Syria and Iran over their alleged role in the crisis...
The Communist Party, USA strongly condemns the latest acts of aggression by the Israeli government against the Palestinian people. In the past days, the Israeli Army has launched a series of attacks on civilian infrastructure including bridges, water supply facilities and Gaza’s only power station. Coupled with the ongoing withholding of humanitarian aid, Palestine faces a humanitarian crisis...
WASHINGTON — The Communist Party USA played an important role in the Sept. 24 demonstration against Bush’s Iraq war, bringing its own members and mobilizing others to come, as well as forming a large contingent in the march.
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