Fw: [ANSWER]: Fwd: Free Palestine Alliance on April 20

["Nello Margiotta" <animarg at tin.it>]

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From: "A.N.S.W.E.R." <answer.general at action-mail.org>
To: <answer.general at action-mail.org>
Sent: Wednesday, May 15, 2002 5:16 PM
Subject: [ANSWER]: Fwd: Free Palestine Alliance on April 20


 THE APRIL 20 MOBILIZATION: THE CONTEXT OF PALESTINE
 
 A Public Statement from the Free Palestine Alliance (FPA) 
 - USA
 
 May 2002
 
 On April 20, 2002, Palestine carved itself a permanent 
 imprint in the history of the Peace and Justice Movement 
 in the United States. The convergence of the heroic 
 struggle of the Palestinian people, best epitomized by the 
 steadfastness of the Jenin Camp, with the consistent 
 political and organizational efforts of principled 
 Palestinian allies in the Peace and Justice Movement 
 produced an unprecedented climate of solidarity with a 
 qualitative distinction.
 
 In short, the synthesis of the Palestinian people's 
 struggle with the indispensable role played by the 
 solidarity movement shouldered in no small part by 
 non-sectarian organizing of Palestinian, Arab and Islamic 
 communities, culminated into a critical mass that 
 mobilized more than 100,000 in Washington, D.C. and at 
 least 35,000 in San Francisco, simultaneously.
 
 But the sheer magnitude of numbers, overwhelming and 
 historic as they are, should not be the only recognized 
 qualitative characteristics of the April 20 Mobilization, 
 nor should it be seen as the most important factor 
 influencing future work on Palestine in the US.
 
 Many other characteristics and factors should be 
 considered:
 
 1. On April 20, Palestine occupied center stage for the 
 first time after many years of marginalization by many 
 currents and trends in the Peace and Justice Movement in 
 the US.  The positioning of Palestine in this manner 
 ushered in a new phase for all, and announced that the 
 anti-colonial nature of the Palestinian struggle was a 
 cornerstone of any emerging anti-war movement.  The FPA 
 considers the insistence that Palestine occupy center 
 stage helps the movement as a whole to propel forward.  In 
 this context, we take the opportunity to salute the 
 principled solidarity with the Palestinian people granted 
 over the years by the constituents of the International 
 ANSWER Coalition and many others.  We also salute all 
 organizations and coalitions who made the decision to 
 recognize the Palestinian people's right to 
 self-determination and their imperative centrality to the 
 struggle for justice.
 
 2. The type of participation of the Palestinian, Arab, and 
 Muslim political activists mirrored that in the 
 Palestinian national liberation movement, where all 
 sectors of the population in all of their political, 
 organizational, and ideological variations stand united as 
 they face the Israeli colonial onslaught.
 
 In D.C. and San Francisco, it was clear that our community 
 came out as a whole in the same populist manner. As some 
 commented, our living rooms marched in the streets of the 
 United States. Grandparents held the hands of their little 
 ones as they stood shoulder to shoulder with fathers and 
 mothers, in a fantastic mosaic never seen before in the 
 US, all demanding "Free . Free . Palestine!"
 
 Contrary to some in the Peace and Justice Movement who saw 
 in the Palestinian, Arab and Muslim participants as 
 welcomed guests, our communities clearly comprised the 
 majority of those present, as they assumed ownership of 
 their issues. Arabs and Muslims are, after all, primary 
 targets and victims of today's "war against terror." It is 
 time for the Peace and Justice Movement in the US to fully 
 recognize that we are full and equal partners in the 
 struggle for justice and against colonial control. We are 
 not guests in anyone's space. In fact, on April 20, we 
 announced our irremovable presence as we took the reins of 
 our movement and narrated our story rather than be the 
 object of narration.  On that day, as many others have 
 done before us, we challenged and defeated the false and 
 racist assumption that the agenda of peace and justice can 
 be set independently of its victims.
 
 3. The compelling and crowning presence of Palestine in 
 D.C. and San Francisco is a reflection of the manner with 
 which the Palestinians are regarded today worldwide. As a 
 people in totality, we remain steadfast in our opposition 
 to the US-funded Israeli war of liquidating Palestine and 
 its people. Through our struggle, our people became one of 
 the final custodians of the principle of 
 self-determination and anti-colonial struggles. Aware of 
 our role in Palestine, and that in exile, including the 
 US, the Palestinian people have also assumed a leadership 
 position in the struggle against the misappropriation of 
 political language and victories. It was for the purpose 
 of consciously safeguarding the totality of the 
 Palestinian narrative that the FPA articulated from the 
 helm of the movement a clear language and program of 
 unconditional liberation on behalf of all segments of our 
 people, in the West Bank and Gaza, within the 1948 
 borders, and in exile.
 
 The FPA recognizes the clear and imminent danger posed by 
 the rising discourse of obliterating Palestine as a single 
 unit of history, land, people, and cumulative struggle. We 
 regard the replacement of the national liberation of the 
 Palestinian people with the Bantustan Project as a 
 dangerous program of defeat. It is a program that invokes 
 the prevailing sense of urgency and expediency to empty 
 the Palestinian movement of its fundamentals.
 
 4. The sheer magnitude and popular character of 
 Palestinian, Arab and Muslim participation was a direct 
 result, among others, of 3 very important organizational 
 factors:
 
 a. The principled role played by the International ANSWER 
 Coalition in forging a partnership of solidarity with a 
 multiplicity of community organizations that transcended 
 religious, political, and national divides. This 
 partnership was manifested in the joint leadership, 
 participation, and preparation for the Mobilization. As a 
 result of this principled partnership, and recognition of 
 the primacy of Palestine in the anti-war movement, the 
 call to mobilize became a joint call effectively owned by 
 all.
 
 b. As the Palestinian constituency within the 
 International ANSWER Coalition, the FPA recognized that 
 for this mobilization to parallel and mirror the urgency 
 and historical seriousness of the struggle in Palestine, a 
 collective unified participation by all community and 
 solidarity organizations was a prerequisite. This emerged 
 as the guiding slogan for the majority who locked arms and 
 poured in their organizational resources to make history.
 
 c. Like all historical events, the April 20 Mobilization 
 and its phenomenal success should be seen in the context 
 of the historical continuity of the struggle, and the 
 accumulation of awareness and consciousness in the 
 solidarity movement. The organizational development of 
 many campaigns and programs from coast to coast had a 
 direct contribution in the making of the mobilization, 
 ranging from students to community centers, and from 
 political organizations to places of worship. The success 
 of the April 20 Mobilization and that of any future 
 programs, is directly linked to the cumulative synthesis 
 of the various programs and struggles, provided that the 
 total sum remains on a clear strategic course of 
 anti-colonial liberation.
 
 On April 20, 2002, the movement took a significant step in 
 the transformation of the dominant political lexicon on 
 Palestine. Zionism, in all of its variations, was 
 appropriately positioned for what it is, an abhorrent 
 ideology outside the construct of socio-economic justice.
 
 Long Live International Solidarity!
 Long Live Palestine!
 
 The Free Palestine Alliance - USA May 2002