DSA International Committee congratulates the people of Bahrain on the release of 1,584 prisoners from the government cages. This constitutes the largest release of political prisoners since the 2011 Arab Spring uprising in Bahrain, approximately 0.2% of the entire citizen population. We echo the calls of civil society in Bahrain for the further release of all political prisoners in Bahrain, including all opposition leaders, and a genuine start to the reconciliation process following the aftermath of the Arab Spring. 

We commend the people of Bahrain in their fight for the release of the political prisoners, particularly following the death of Hussain Khalil who suffered from torture by state security and was murdered by medical negligence. The escalating weekly protests in Bahrain in support of Gaza and rejection of the normalization deal played a large role in pressuring Bahrain and its primary sponsor, the US, to offer this concession. The normalization deal, struck during the so-called “Abraham Accords” in 2020, ended a long-standing policy of rejection of the Zionist settler-colonial project by Bahrain, UAE, Morocco, and Sudan under the sustained pressure of the US’s threat to suspend aid and arms sales to all non-compliant Arab countries. In the context of escalating regional geopolitical pressures and the risk of a broader regional war, we call on the US government, which has its Navy’s fifth fleet stationed on the Bahraini islands, to listen to calls from Bahrain’s streets and withdraw its military bases lest it further endangers the people of the region with its dangerous acts of political brinkmanship and its support of Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people.

.#الحق_يؤخذ

#RightsAreTakenNotGiven

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The DSA International Committee joins the international community in condemning Ecuador’s armed invasion of Mexico’s embassy and capture of former Vice-President Jorge Glas in Quito on April 5. We join governments across the world and the United Nations’ Secretary General in recognizing the raid as a violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. We support the Mexican government’s decision to suspend diplomatic relations and register a complaint against Ecuador at the International Court of Justice. 

Ecuador’s president, Daniel Noboa, remains defiant despite widespread condemnation, including from his own judiciary, for not following international law. Noboa and his government’s willingness to take illegal action and face strong condemnation for seizing Glas continues a longstanding campaign of lawfare against our comrades within Citizen’s Revolution. Ecuador’s political elite has carried out seven years of lawfare against Citizen’s Revolution including: politically motivated prosecutions (including against former President Rafael Correa); trials and convictions using false and manufactured evidence; the denial of defendants’ constitutional rights; legal maneuvers to prevent the left from running candidates; and unconstitutionally dismissing judges and stacking courts. We stand in solidarity with Citizen’s Revolution against government repression and in its struggle against neoliberalism.

Although the U.S. government condemned the embassy raid, it continues to provide Ecuador with millions of dollars worth of arms, equipment, and financing. The Noboa government has used these assets to target its political opponent. We urge the U.S. to cease its military aid to Ecuador.

DSA IC Condena al Asalto a la Embajada Mexicana en Quito

El comité internacional de DSA une la comunidad internacional en su condenación al asalto de la Embajada Mexicana por parte de gobierno de Ecuador y el secuestro del exvicepresidente Jorge Glas el 5 de abril. Unimos los gobiernos del mundo, el secretario general de la ONU en reconocimiento de la violación de la Convención de Viena sobre Relaciones Diplomáticas. Apoyamos la decisión del gobierno mexicano para suspender relaciones diplomáticas con Ecuador y la presentación de sus demandas en la Corte Internacional de Justicia.

El actual presidente de Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, mantiene su desafiante después de la condena generalizada que incluso los cortes ecuatorianos por no respetar el derecho internacional. La voluntad de Noboa y su gobierno de tomar medidas ilegales y enfrentar una fuerte condena por apoderarse de Glas continua una larga campana de ‘Lawfare’ en contra de nuestros camaradas dentro del partido Revolución Ciudadana. La elite política de Ecuador ha llevado esta campaña por más de siete años con tácticos incluyendo esos métodos: juicios y condenas utilizando pruebas falsas y fabricadas; la negación de los derechos constitucionales de los acusados; maniobras legales para impedir que la izquierda presente candidatos; y destituir inconstitucionalmente a jueces y apilar tribunales. Nos solidarizamos con la Revolución Ciudadana contra la represión gubernamental y en su lucha contra el neoliberalismo.

Aunque el gobierno del Estados Unidos condeno el asalto a la embajada mexicana, lo continúa proporcionando a Ecuador millones de dólares en armas, equipos, y en financiamiento. El gobierno de Noboa ha utilizado estos activos para atacar a sus oponentes políticos. Nosotros instamos al gobierno de los Estados Unidos a que cese su ayuda militar a Ecuador hasta que se resuelva de su ataque ilegal a la embajada de México.     

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On Tuesday, April 9th, the Board of El Paso County Commissioners unanimously voted to join Douglas County as co-plaintiffs in their lawsuit against the State of Colorado to repeal laws preventing state and local law enforcement from cooperating in federal immigration policing. This lawsuit is intended to strip immigrants of important protections that allow them to live lives of safety and dignity. 

The Colorado Springs Democratic Socialists of America strongly condemns this effort by the county to waste public resources in their ongoing attempts to scapegoat immigrants and create a local panic over non-existent crime. Such political posturing creates a dangerous local climate for immigrants as well as asylum seekers and distracts the public from the true sources of our economic distress: exploitative labor practices, unlivable wages, unaffordable housing and healthcare, and artificial inflation driven by corporate greed and political corruption. 

The El Paso County Board of Commissioners are also working closely with local law enforcement to further expand the police state through these efforts. If successful, this lawsuit will continue to siphon important public resources away from services and supports that enhance the quality of life for residents and into oppressive systems that punish poverty and breed injustice and inequality. As an abolitionist organization, DSA is committed to fighting all efforts to expand or reinforce the criminal injustice system and to uplifting life affirming institutions that center equity, human rights, and the dignity and worth of each person, regardless of where they come from. 

Colorado Springs DSA reaffirms our commitment to fighting state oppression in all its forms, and we stand in solidarity with immigrants and asylum seekers who come to this country fleeing the poverty and violence created by the United States’ history of economic, political, and military interference around the world. We believe that all people deserve lives of freedom, means, and leisure, and we continue to work towards a global movement built upon the principles of international working class solidarity. We welcome our migrant siblings and know that, when we work together, a better world is possible. 

The Colorado Springs Democratic Socialists of America strongly condemns the brutal attack on the National Garment Workers Federation by capitalist goons as the workers demanded Eid bonuses for workers  producing clothing for international brands. The goons attacked and injured leadership and many women who were out demanding fair compensation for the Eid holiday.

These workers create $30 billion in wealth for the country and yet struggle to live on 417 Taka per day (less than $4 a day, $113 a month). Garment workers protested for months demanding 22,000 Taka ($208) minimum wage, highlighting the wealth they create for the country, and yet the government refused to listen and settled on the lower minimum wage. Each year as workers celebrate the Eid holiday, garments workers rely on Eid bonuses to help with the costs of celebrations. This year as garment workers struggle to survive despite massive profits within the industry, the NGWF marched to demand that workers get their Eid bonuses. While they marched, they were brutally attacked. Despite this they have continued to demand they get their deserved Eid bonus and have marched in condemnation of the attacks. 

We send our support and solidarity and demand that workers get their Eid bonus and that the attackers are held accountable for their actions. We at the Democratic Socialists of America know that only a united global working class can take on the power of the global capitalists and we stand with workers whenever they struggle for higher wages, rights and dignity. 

Solidarity,

Colorado Springs DSA