Dear Friend,
Today is Nakba day—- the day that Palestinians throughout the world remember as the great catastrophe. For it was on the 14th of May 1948 that the illegitimate entity called Israel was formally established on Palestinian land. It was the beginning of the dispossession of the Palestinian people. It has continued for the last 74 years.
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In Solidarity
Binu Mathew
Editor
Countercurrents.org
Nakba-To strive for justice till liberation
by Dr Chandra Muzaffar
Today is Nakba day—- the day that Palestinians throughout the world remember as the great catastrophe. For it was on the 14th of May 1948 that the illegitimate entity called Israel was formally established on Palestinian land. It was the beginning of the dispossession of the Palestinian people. It has continued for the last 74 years.
Palestinians continue to be expelled from their homes, to be evicted from their land. They continue to be oppressed, to be deprived of their basic rights and dignity as human beings. They continue to be tortured and massacred. They continue to be treated as trash in an apartheid system which bears the marks of colonial rule.
The International Movement for a Just World (JUST) will continue to struggle for justice for the Palestinians with all justice loving people throughout the world. This is the greatest moral struggle of our age. There are few parallels in history to the suffering and humiliation of the Palestinian people.
All human beings who cherish justice should remain steadfast in their commitment to the Palestinian cause — until liberation is achieved.
Let this be our pledge on Nakba day.
Dr Chandra Muzaffar
President
International Movement for a Just World (JUST)
To be strong and effective, peace movement must be a continuing process among people
by Bharat Dogra
The fact that we are sad does not mean that we are not active, in fact several people in the peace movement are extremely busy doing what they can, but realistically they realize, or must realize, that what they can do just now is not strong and effective enough to check the more powerful forces driving the drift towards militarization.
Decriminalized Marijuana Reinvents Racism and Poisoning
by Don Fitz and Susan Armstrong
The change in
marijuana laws across the US raises issues far beyond, “Hey, dude, we can blow a joint now without getting busted.” The racism that permeated the age of criminalization now lurks throughout the phase of decriminalization. The burgeoning business of growing pot raises the specter of corporate agriculture with its threats to human health and natural ecosystems. Are there ways to enjoy weed while challenging racism and corporate domination over the environment?
Indian Secularism Can’t Be Bulldozed!
by Nilofar Suhrawardy
At this stage, attempts by people to display their “secularism” through peace-marches and other moves together with certain leaders trying to bring bulldozing to a halt only suggest that Indian secularism still lives. Chances of bulldozers or other means spelling defeat of Indian secularism by communalism may be viewed as extremely limited.
Making India unitary or Hindu
Nation-state
by Nagesh Chaudhari
There has been a lot of discussion in the Constituent Assembly on whether the country is to be unitary state or federation of states. The result of that discussion is the state of affairs that we see today. Which of the two views is in vogue in the country today is to be seen.
Tracking Sedition – From 1857 to the present
by S G Vombatkere
The Court’s Interim Order of 11 May 2022 concludes with: # Continuing the interim stay granted on 31.5.2021 in two Petitions; # Directions restraining State and Central Governments from registering fresh FIRs, continuing investigations or taking coercive measures under Sec.124A; # Requesting Courts to take the present order into account while examining reliefs sought by affected parties in fresh cases; # All pending trials, appeals and proceedings
concerning Sec.124A be “kept in abeyance”; and # UoI may issue Directive to State Governments/Union Territories to prevent misuse of Sec.124A. All these to apply until further orders are passed. The Court ordered listing the Petitions in the third week of July 2022.
Abortion Rights Activists Nationwide Solidarity Protest
by Phil Pasquini
Today in over 450 towns and cities across the USA, abortion rights activists rallied under the theme of “Rise up 4 Abortion Rights.” This follows a week of nationwide abortion rights demonstrations, die-ins, banner drops, walkouts, art installations and chalking to bring their message in a show of support for this vital right of personal choice.
Farmers’ Struggle Not Over – Corporate Takeover of Indian Agriculture Still Looms
by Colin Todhunter
The government’s apparent reluctance to implement the demands of farmers might indicate that the global corporations and financial institutions behind the legislation remain steadfast in seeking to secure what the laws aimed to bring about – the full-scale neoliberal marketisation of India’s agrifood sector, including the displacement of peasant farmers and independent, indigenous enterprises.
Zameen Prapt Sangharsh Commitee relentlessly confronts Administration in Sangrur to win rights for reserved Panchayat land for dalits
by Harsh Thakor
The saga continues of the betrayal of the administration to fulfill promise of distributing Reserved panchayat land in Punjab for dalit community. In
no uncertain terms leaders of the Zameen Prapt Sangharsh commitee challenged the rulers that they would under no conditions accept land auctioning till the panchayat land reserved for dalits is distributed.
