Wednesday, May 29, 2024

 

State repression of Greece’s student protests for Palestine

“By standing in solidarity with those targeted, we can expose the state’s oppressive mechanisms and continue the struggle for true liberation – for Palestinians and those incarcerated.”

By Migrants Solidarity, Athens

On May 13, students in Athens joined the global movement of the student intifada in solidarity with Palestine and occupied the Athens Law School. They demanded that Greek universities stop all cooperation in the form of research projects or exchange and funding programmes with the Israeli state. The next morning, police raided the occupied space and arrested 28 people. They confiscated a number of items from the grounds of the university, with no existing evidence to relate these items to any of the arrested individuals.

After the finalisation of the law enabling Greek police presence within the university campuses last year, there were unleashed waves of violence against students on their own campuses, while this year has seen a fast-tracked path to the privatisation of universities. Increased police presence and intimidation tactics in once free and autonomous spaces extend beyond the university walls. Events, activities and collective gatherings in public spaces – whether political or not – are targeted by police repression and violence. The state’s aggressive stance is an attempt to quash any form of anti-capitalist solidarity with migrants in support of free movement.

The 28 arrested in the Athens Law School were immediately transferred to the central police station (the Gada). Lawyers were only allowed access to them eight hours after their detainment, with the police attempting to force detainees to provide fingerprints prior to the arrival of their lawyers. In the meanwhile, hundreds of solidarians gathered in front of the Gada, demanding the immediate release of those arrested, while affirming their support for a free Palestine.

The following day, solidarians were present at the court to show their support for those arrested, with chants for a free Palestine and an end to the intimidation tactics. Finally, the 28 were released and the hearing postponed until May 28 of those accused of vandalism, disruption of the public order, refusal to cooperate with police procedures and possession of “weapons”. In spite of the decision to release all detainees, the state security department registered the nine non-Greek international comrades as “unwanted” and decided to continue their detention. Their lawyers were then informed that a deportation order would be issued – an unprecedented development for European citizens.

Administrative detention and deportations are part of the strategy that the Greek state practises as one of the deeply racist components of the murderous Fortress Europe. The state’s blatant racism is evident in the massive number of arrests, detentions, torture and deportations that happen on a daily basis – and mostly go unnoticed by society.

The brazenness with which the Greek state acts is also explained by years of enacting a deadly border policy against refugees, migrants and undocumented people. There are four grounds for administrative deportation, which give the police complete freedom to judge whether a person is a threat to public order, and people can be detained without trial and deported. The detention and threatened deportation of the nine detainees – from Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Britain – is a new application of these repressive orders targeting the solidarity movement with Palestine.

The technology used by the Greek state in its violent and deadly pushbacks of asylum-seekers rely on research and technologies of containment, surveillance and control that the Israeli state tests on Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Opposition to the Israeli state, its military occupation of Palestine and the wars it wages in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, is a ‘threat’ to the EU and to Greece’s military border security complex.

The rightwing media released information about the detention and deportation of the nine individuals before any of them or their lawyers were informed – a move that underscores the state’s use of the media as a tool for psychological warfare.

Migrants and those without papers who exercise their right to free speech by being politically active, are now under increased risk of deportation and other legal action. This is exemplified in the case of our Egyptian comrade who, having attended pro-Palestine demonstrations, has been threatened with deportation by the Egyptian embassy. Governments and media outlets collaborate to criminalise and delegitimise efforts to support the Palestinian struggle, portraying individuals as a threat to national security.

These actions reveal the state’s desperation to maintain control and suppress resistance. It underscores the need for alternative media and solidarity networks to counteract these intimidation tactics. By standing in solidarity with those targeted, we can expose the state’s oppressive mechanisms and continue the struggle for true liberation – for Palestinians and those incarcerated. There is a need to escalate our solidarity, to say clearly and loudly that neither intimidation nor imprisonment and deportation will stop the struggle. Resistance will never die, Palestine will never die!

We demand:

  • The immediate release of the nine international detainees.
  • No to their deportation.
  • The abolition of administrative detention for all migrants and asylum-seekers.

  • This article was originally published by Migrants Solidarity, Athens.

Students from across Europe join wave of Gaza demonstrations and protest action

“The spread of campus protests to Europe follows a wave of occupations and encampments across the US. Some of these have been highly successful, with some universities agreeing to divest from companies with links to Israel”

By Labour Hub

Student protests against Israel’s genocidal bombardment and starvation of Gaza are spreading across Europe.

In Germany, thousands of students have mobilised in support of Palestine, leading demonstrations, organising lectures and sit-ins occupying university buildings and campus lawns. They have faced hostile media coverage, repressive legal measures taken by universities and politicians, and police violence.

Students who occupied the department of social sciences at Berlin’s Humboldt University were evicted by police, with 25 charged with suspicion of committing criminal acts. The occupation followed the dismantling of an encampment at Berlin’s Free University earlier this month, with officers punching, choking and kicking peaceful protesters without provocation, while they made 79 arrests.

After more than 300 lecturers from Berlin universities signed an open letter that accused the Free University of violating its duty its students, the signatories were publicly condemned by the Minister of Education and pilloried in the right-wing tabloid, Bild, as “Tater”, the German word for “perpetrator”, which often carries an implied comparison with the Nazis. The SPD-led Coalition government is now proposing a new law to facilitate the expulsion of students on disciplinary grounds.

The spread of campus protests to Europe follows a wave of occupations and encampments across the USSome of these have been highly successful, with some universities agreeing to divest from companies with links to Israel, or agreeing to take up student demands with bodies in charge of overseeing their investments.

In France, pro-Palestinian protests at the Sciences Po university and the Sorbonne last month were broken up by riot police. Police also broke up an encampment at Paris’s School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences after just 48 hours.

In the Netherlands, police broke up a pro-Palestinian camp at the University of Amsterdam, beating some of the protesters and pulling down tents. Campuses in Austria, Finland and Denmark have also seen protests.

Major universities in Italy have been affected. In Rome, Florence and several other cities, students are demanding a halt to the genocide in Gaza, that their universities publicly call for a ceasefire and oppose Israel’s invasion of Rafah and “disinvest and cut ties with any organization complicit in genocide.”

In Belgium, students have joined the growing European wave of protests, calling for an academic boycott at the Free University of Brussels, with similar initiatives in Ghent, Liège and Brussels francophone university.

In Spain, student protests in Barcelona, Valencia, the Basque Country and Madrid have won the support of over 2,000 academics. Spain recognises the state of Palestine and the protests have been wholly peaceful and partly an expression of solidarity with US students, whose camps have been violently attacked.

Poland is the latest country to join the European wave of protests. On May 24th, students,  academics and workers at the University of Warsaw began an occupational strike in the University’s Autonomy Park to highlight the university’s silence on the ongoing genocide in Gaza committed by Israel.

The activists are calling on the university to condemn Israel’s attack on Gaza and its occupation of Palestine. They are demanding the university break off all partnership agreements with Israeli universities, research centres, and other academic institutions, divest from Israeli companies profiting from the Gaza genocide and the occupation of Palestine, and make information about the university’s investments in Israeli companies publicly available.

Their statement says: “On the day we began our strike, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to immediately halt its offensive on Rafah, in a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide, citing ‘immense risk’ to the Palestinian population.

“To end Israel’s violations of international law, Palestinian civil society has called for an academic boycott of Israeli academic institutions. To protect the value of academic freedom, the boycott is not directed at individuals but at institutions in Israel that enable the violation of the rights of Palestinians.

All universities and 80% of schools have been destroyed by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip. Since October 7th, more than 5,479 students, 261 teachers and 95 university professors have been killed, and more than 7,819 students and 756 teachers have been injured. On April 18th, UN experts warned that these acts amount to “scholasticide” which aims to destroy the foundations of Palestinian society…

“We believe that today, the University is not living up to its values. With our demands, we call on the University to prove its commitment to being on the right side of history.

“Like the rest of the global student movement, our actions are strongly rooted in humanitarian values and empathy. We condemn all armed offenses against civilians, and we oppose and condemn all forms of racism and discrimination, including anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, all manifestations of violence and discrimination against LGBTQ+ and neurodiverse people.

“In particular, we see the need to create a space in Polish society for Jews, Arabs, non-Jews and non-Arabs, to learn from each other and heal together. Both Jews and Arabs have shared and still share the experience of racism in Poland. We feel it is therefore important that these communities feel safe and heard in the conversation about Palestine and Israel in this country. We aim to nurture this empathy, to invite all communities to come together in solidarity with Palestine, and find common footing in their oppression today.”


  • This article was originally published by Labour Hub on May 26th, 2024.

Damning chart sums up devastating impact on household incomes under Tories

Shocking chart shows just how badly incomes have been hit in the last five years under the Tories


Hannah Davenport 
Yesterday
Left Foot Forward


A shocking chart has laid out just how badly household incomes have been hit in the last five years under the Tories.

Since the 2019 general election, real household disposable income has actually fallen by 1% during this time, a chart by the think tank Resolution Foundation, using ONS data, has shown.

Comparing the figure for each Government since 1955, the last five years represent the only recorded drop in household income per person over this period.

Resolution Foundation believes this will make up one of the key economic arguments for Labour throughout the general election campaign, with a focus on the decline in disposable income as a measure of just how bad the Conservative economic record has been
.

The second slowest growth period recorded in the last 68 years was between 2015-2017, with the graph a devastating reminder of just how hard households have been hit in the last decade.

Of significance will be the next ONS figures for family income in early 2024, set to be announced on Friday 28 June. The Resolution Foundation predicts this will matter politically ahead of the election, although, “the substance won’t change: our incomes have stagnated over five long years.”

UK

Diane Abbott claims she’s been banned from standing as a Labour candidate in the general election

The veteran MP won't be a Labour candidate in the election




Chris Jarvis 
Today


UPDATE: This article was updated at 12:35 on 29 May 2024 to reflect Keir Starmer saying no decision had been taken to bar Diane Abbott from standing in the general election.

Veteran Labour MP Diane Abbott has confirmed to the BBC that she has been banned from standing as a Labour candidate in the 2024 general election.

Abbott has been sitting as an independent MP since April 2023 after she had the whip removed following a letter published under her name in the Observer which implied that Jews, Irish people and Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people do not experience racism.

On Tuesday 28 May, Abbott had the Labour whip restored, but has now said that she won’t be allowed to stand for Labour in the general election on July 4.

Abbott told the BBC’s Today programme: “Although the whip has been restored, I am banned from standing as a Labour candidate.”

The news follows days of speculation about Abbott’s future in the Labour Party. Revelations from BBC Newsnight showed that the investigation into Abbott’s comments had concluded in December 2023, but she did not have the whip restored until yesterday.

The letter that led to Abbott’s suspension said of Jews, Irish people and Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people: “They undoubtedly experience prejudice. This is similar to racism and the two words are often used as if they are interchangeable.

“It is true that many types of white people with points of difference, such as redheads, can experience this prejudice. But they are not all their lives subject to racism.”

Abbott immediately apologised following the publication of the letter, saying: “I wish to wholly and unreservedly withdraw my remarks and disassociated myself from them.

“The errors arose in an initial draft being sent. But there is no excuse and I wish to apologise for any anguish caused.

“Racism takes many forms, and it is completely undeniable that Jewish people have suffered its monstrous effects, as have Irish people, Travellers and many others.”

It is not yet clear whether Abbott will now contest the election in her constituency of Hackney North and Stoke Newington as an independent. The former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn – one of Abbott’s political allies in the Labour Party – will be standing as an independent in Islington North after he too was blocked from standing as a Labour candidate.

However, she has since tweeted to say that she will be ‘campaigning for a Labour victory’ in the general election. She said: “Naturally I am delighted to have the Labour Whip restored and to be a member of the PLP. Thank you to all those who supported me along the way. I will be campaigning for a Labour victory. But I am very dismayed that numerous reports suggest I have been barred as a candidate.”

The Labour leader Keir Starmer has denied that Abbott has been prevented from standing for Labour at the next election. He told reporters today that “no decision has been taken” to block Abbott’s candidacy.

Abbott was the first black woman elected to the House of Commons and is the UK’s longest standing black MP. She was shadow home secretary during Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party.

Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward


Diane Abbott: Selection ‘farce’ as Starmer says decision not made on blocking her

© UK Parliament/Roger Harris

Diane Abbott has said she is “delighted” to have had the Labour whip restored but is “very dismayed” about reports suggesting she has been barred from standing as a Labour candidate at the next general election.

But Sky News reports that Keir Starmer said this afternoon that “no decision has been taken to bar [Abbott] going forward”, and shadow minister Darren Jones even suggested at a press conference she could speak to the party about re-standing.

Labour faces heavy pressure to allow the first Black woman elected to parliament to re-stand however in her Hackney North and Stoke Newington constituency, with a rally due to be held at Hackney Town Hall on Wednesday night.

The veteran MP said in a statement on X this morning: “Naturally I am delighted to have the Labour whip restored and to be a member of the [Parliamentary Labour Party]. Thank you to all those who supported me along the way.

“I will be campaigning for a Labour victory. But I am very dismayed that numerous reports suggest I have been barred as a candidate.”

The news comes after a long suspension and on the eve of the general election.

The party declined to respond when asked if she would be allowed to stand for Labour. The Times reported party sources suggesting Labour will bar her from standing, prompting a wave of fresh criticism over the party’s handling of the case.

It follows another claim yesterday morning that the investigation that prompted her suspension had been wrapped up months ago, though Labour has also not responded to that allegation.

Train drivers’ union ASLEF today published a joint letter to Starmer from its general secretary Mick Whelan and the general secretaries of five other unions affiliated to Labour calling for Abbott to be confirmed as the candidate for Hackney North and Stoke Newington.

The letter is dated May 25th, prior to confirmation that the Labour whip had been restored to Abbott. Alongside Whelan, it has been signed by the TSSA’s Maryam Eslamdoust, Unite’s Sharon Graham, NUM’s Chris Kitchen, CWU’s Dave Ward and the FBU’s Matt Wrack.

VOTE HERE: Should Diane Abbott be allowed to stand again for Labour?

John McTernan, a former adviser to Tony Blair often supportive of Keir Starmer, said the briefing suggesting the first black female MP would not be able to restand was “disgraceful”.

Jess Barnard, a national executive committee member on the left of the party, called the situation a “farce”. Mirror associate editor Kevin Maguire said he hoped she could stand again.

Neal Lawson, director of cross-party campaign group Compass, said of reports she could be barred: “Even for those who don’t share her politics, it’s sad to see that the Labour’s so-called broad church is now so narrow it no longer has space for a figure like Diane Abbott.

“Meanwhile, it appears to have no qualms about welcoming in former Tories like Natalie Elphicke who clearly don’t share its values.”

Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting faced questions about whether the party had “stitched her up” on the BBC’s Today programme.

He said it was a decision for Labour’s national executive committee, and declined to say if he wanted her to remain as an MP.

But he added: “Keir Starmer when he talked about improving standards in the Labour party, he really meant it. I don’t know the specific factors that apply in Diane Abbott’s case. I was pleased actually that her suspension was lifted and the whip was restored.”

Pressed on the suggestion the investigation wrapped up months ago and why Labour figures had not disclosed this in recent broadcast interviews, he said he would not rely on “hearsay”.

What did Diane Abbott do to be suspended?

Abbott had the party whip suspended in April last year for suggesting in a letter to The Observer that Irish people, Jewish people and Travellers “are not all their lives subject to racism” as Black people are.

Abbott apologised and said she wished to “wholly and unreservedly withdraw” her remarks, which caused a significant backlash. A party spokesperson called the remarks “deeply offensive”.

But Abbott previously told LabourList that she suspected the party of using the disciplinary process to “bar me from standing at the next election”, despite her being selected by local members. “I wrote in September that my suspension was a factional manoeuvre aimed at silencing a Black woman on the left, a critic of the line of the current leadership. Nothing has substantially changed since.”


Diane Abbott at Stand Up To Racism event in London.

Backlash over threat to block Diane Abbott candidacy

‘Whoever is responsible for this should hang their head in shame’ – John McTernan

By the Labour Outlook team

News on Tuesday night that Diane Abbott MP had had the Labour Whip restored by the party leadership was soured as party sources briefed journalists she would be blocked from standing as the candidate in Hackney North and Stoke Newington – the seat she has represented since 1987.

Attempts by party spokespersons on Wednesday’s media, including an interview with leader Keir Starmer and a media round by Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting to distance themselves from any such decision held little water.

Starmer reportedly told journalists, “No decision has been taken to bar Diane Abbott. The process that we were going through ended with the restoration of the whip. No decision has been made in terms of barring her.”

Yet senior sources told The Times within minutes of her having the whip restored, that she would not be a candidate.

Labour’s candidates are formally signed off at an NEC meeting on Tuesday 4th June.

It is this meeting that could choose not to endorse individual candidates such as Diane Abbott with the majority of NEC members prepared to act in accordance with the views of the Leader’s Office.

The threat of Diane Abbott not being selected has caused a backlash within the party and from key figures outside it which threaten to cause political splits during an election campaign, if not resolved.

As covered already on Labour Outlook, six trade unions affiliated to the party, including largest union Unite, have urged Keir Starmer to confirm Diane will be the candidate at the General Election.

Leading legal figure Martin Forde KC, who authored the Forde Report on behalf of Keir Starmer, said the way Diane Abbott’s situation has been handled is “utterly shambolic” and “deeply disturbing”

Shabna Begum, CEO of the Runnymede Trust, said, ‘The double standards in the treatment of Diane Abbott is abhorrent. Racism and misogynoir against Black women in the workplace is rife across society; our political class is no exception.’

Tony Blair’s former adviser, John McTernan, said the Diane Abbott investigation ‘designed to humiliate’ her and that, ‘Whoever is responsible for this should hang their head in shame.’

Independent journalist and race correspondent, Nadine White, wrote, “Labour’s poor treatment of Diane Abbott, Britain’s first Black woman MP, has further damaged the party’s relationship with Black voters.”

Guardian journalist Rachel Shabi said, ‘Labour’s treatment of Diane Abbott is an absolute disgrace. Rotten, bullying factionalism that shows us the party views racism purely as a game, a thing to be weaponised when politically convenient’

Sitting NEC member, Jess Barnard, said ‘for 5 months, Starmer has been sitting on Diane’s resolved case, running the clock down apparently with one aim – to push her out. Another case of political interference. What happened to that independent processes called for by the EHRC?’

Fellow NEC member, Mish Rahman, said,
‘Keir Starmer doesn’t care about Black and Muslim people.

He has one rule for white MPs like Steve Reed, Barry Sheerman and Neil Coyle and another for Black and Brown MPs – especially women as we see with treatment of
@HackneyAbbott’

Liverpool MP Kim Johnson and chair of the BAME caucus in the PLP said, “Solidarity with Diane, undeniably a trailblazer & a hero of our movement. At a time when all our energy should be focussed on throwing the Tories out, this process looks nakedly factional. Diane should have the whip restored now so she can stand as Labour’s candidate in the GE.”

Outgoing Labour MP Beth Winter said, ‘I am glad Diane Abbott has finally had the Labour Whip restored. The way she has been treated is vindictive, factional and cruel. She should be allowed to decide whether she will re-stand as a candidate.’

Left members organisation Momentum said in a statment, ‘Keir Starmer’s treatment of Diane Abbott has been appalling, vindictive & cruel. It is a slap in the face not just to Diane, but to the millions inspired by her as Britain’s first Black woman MP.’


  • Supporters of Diane Abbott have called a community rally in support of Diane outside Hackney Town Hall in East London at 6.30pm, Wednesday 29th May. More info here.

Can Diane Abbott run for Labour? It really is up to Starmer

“This situation is insulting to both Diane Abbott and the membership of Hackney North CLP.  The disciplinary procedures should not be used in a factional way.”

Labour Women Leading


By Labour Hub

Will Diane Abbott have the Labour whip restored to her to enable her to run as a Labour candidate in the Hackney seat she has held for the last 37 years? Keir Starmer has always insisted it is not a matter for him – she is subject to a wholly independent disciplinary process.

But today Newsnight presenter Victoria Derbyshire made a mockery of that claim. She tweeted: “I can reveal Labour’s investigation into suspended MP Diane Abbott’s racism comments finished five months ago.”

According to Derbyshire’s, source, the MP was given a “formal warning” in December 2023. She was required to do an online “antisemitism course” – which she did in February this year.

Yet the source says she still hasn’t been told if she can stand as a Labour candidate at the upcoming election. Derbyshire says she understands Diane Abbott is “angry, depressed and worn out” by the way she feels she’s been treated by Labour. Who can blame her?

This new revelation is of the highest significance. If the internal disciplinary process concluded with Diane Abbott meeting the conditions she was set and thus remaining a Labour member,  responsibility would then be passed back to the Chief Whip who is appointed by and reports directly to Starmer.

If the Chief Whip has then dragged his heels, that is a breach of the requirement under the Parliamentary Labour Party standing orders that investigations must be completed within three months.

If the matter is therefore in the hands of the Chief Whip and Keir Starmer, then the latter has arguably not been entirely honest when he maintained it’s an independent process – the NEC investigation finished five months ago, and it has been in the leadership’s hands ever since.

Worse, while Diane Abbott was facing racist and sexist abuse from Frank Hester, Starmer made a show of support – yet all the while, the leadership was conspiring against her.

A Momentum spokesperson said:  “This is outrageous news which confirms that the Starmer leadership is trying to force Britain’s first Black woman MP out of Parliament. For months we have been told by Keir Starmer that the process is independent and it’s nothing to do with him. Today’s revelation confirms this is another brazen lie from Keir Starmer – the investigation was concluded months ago, Diane remains a Labour member and the whip should already have been restored as a result. Starmer’s conduct has already been insulting and demeaning to a woman he rightly called a ‘trailblazer’. The first step to making amends is to restore the whip and let Diane run as the Labour candidate, as local members wish.”

Labour Women Leading said: “This situation is insulting to both Diane Abbott and the membership of Hackney North CLP.  The disciplinary procedures should not be used in a factional way.”

Labour’s Former Executive Director of Policy and Research Andrew Fisher said: “The treatment of Diane Abbott – Britain’s first black woman MP – has been nothing short of disgraceful.”

A grassroots petition calling on Keir Starmer to restore the Parliamentary Labour Party whip to Diane Abbott has been signed by over 15,000 people. The petition can be signed here.

Before her suspension, all Hackney North and Stoke Newington Labour Party branches had voted overwhelmingly for Diane Abbott to remain their candidate. She won re-election on eight occasions since she first stood for office since becoming the first Black woman MPs in British history in 1987.