THE SLAVES OF THE SLAVES RISE UP! -- International Women’s Day 2011 in Montréal

Celebrating our strength, advancing our struggles

The people of Egypt, Tunisia and elsewhere around the world are throwing off the shackles of fear and oppression and rising up against authoritarian rulers and oppressive regimes that themselves are controlled by imperialist and neo-liberal powers. Their living situations with rising prices and increasing lack of human dignity have reached boiling point and are spilling over.  Political and economic exploitative systems are being revealed in all their starkness.

In Québec, Canada, Haiti, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Mexico, Colombia, in indigenous lands near and far, women are on the front lines, always, a backbone of resistance to oppression, genocide, violence and exploitation. The women of Palestine, Tunisia and Egypt inspire us with their determination and courage fighting to gain the liberation of their people and themselves.  The March 8 Committee of Women of Diverse Origins celebrates these women  and sends out a call to all to join us as we mark INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY,  this year under the theme : The Slaves of the Slaves Rise Up !

As feminists, dedicated to a world of equality in all spheres, we oppose patriarchy in all its manifestations, within the home and outside the home, in political, economic and religious spheres .  Women workers, migrants, students, indigenous… women in all their diversity in Montreal and across Canada are playing a key role in transforming society. On the picket lines, standing on the barricades, marching, organizing, rising up against exploitation, discrimination and injustice while creating a new more just, and liberated world out of the old.

We celebrate the longevity of our local women’s groups that thrive despite cuts in funding or no funding at all - groups like PINAY, the Filipino women’s group celebrating its 20th anniversary, the South Asian Women’s Community Centre, celebrating its 30th anniversary, and the Mouvement contre le viol et l’inceste with its 35 years of continuing grassroots organizing and service to women. The Women of Diverse origins is also marking its first decade.

Collectively, we have contributed to  a new militancy and awareness in the women’s movement locally, across the country and even beyond. We have much to celebrate following the successful Montreal International Women’s Conference which we hosted in August, 2010  and in the formation at that time of a militant, anti-imperialist, anti-patriarchal and anti-racist International Women’s Alliance.
This year’s women’s day activities in Montreal will build on that momentum with a conference and rally. On Saturday March 5 from 10 am to 5pm our forum will feature speakers at the heart of local struggles, discussion groups, cultural presentations and literature tables.  It is open to everyone and childcare will be  provided.
Then on Tuesday March 8, which is International Women’s Day, we will join women all over the world by marking the day with a march starting at 6 pm starting from Atwater Square.  All are invited. Bring banners, slogans and noise makers as we take to the streets to announce that “the slaves of the slaves rise up!”

Info: email: wdofdo@gmail.com
http://wdofdo.wordpress.com/

LES ESCLAVES DES ESCLAVES SE LÈVENT ! -- Journée internationale des femmes 2011 à Montréal

Célébrer nos forces et faire avancer nos luttes
Les peuples d'Égypte, de Tunisie et ailleurs dans le monde se soulèvent, rejettent les chaînes de la peur et de l’oppression pour se dresser contre des dirigeants autoritaires et des régimes d’oppression qui sont eux-mêmes contrôlés par les puissances impérialistes et néolibérales. Des conditions de vie, marquées par la hausse continue des prix et la négation croissante de la dignité humaine, ont conduit à cet état d’ébullition et on assiste maintenant au débordement. Les systèmes politiques et économiques exploiteurs sont mis à jour dans toute leur brutalité.

Au Québec, au Canada, en Haïti, au Sri Lanka, aux Philippines, au Mexique, en Colombie, sur les terres indigènes proches ou lointaines, des femmes sont aux premiers rangs, elles sont toujours le pilier de la résistance à l’oppression, au génocide, à la violence et à l’exploitation.  Les femmes de Palestine, de Tunisie et d’Égypte nous inspirent par leur détermination et leur courage à se battre pour obtenir leur libération et celle de leurs peuples.  Le Comité du 8 mars des femmes de diverses origines rend hommage à ces femmes et lance un appel à toutes pour qu’elles nous rejoignent pour célébrer la Journée internationale des femmes, placée cette année sous le thème ‘Les esclaves des esclaves se lèvent!’

En tant que féministes qui œuvrent pour un monde d’égalité dans tous les domaines, nous sommes opposées au patriarcat sous toutes ses formes, à l’intérieur et à l’extérieur des foyers, dans les sphères politique, économique et religieuse.  Les travailleuses, les migrantes, les étudiantes, les femmes autochtones dans toute leur diversité, à Montréal et à travers le Canada, jouent un rôle-clé dans la transformation de la société.  Elles sont présentes sur les lignes de piquetage, les barricades, dans les défilés, les campagnes de syndicalisation, de lutte contre l’exploitation, la discrimination et l’injustice pour créer un monde nouveau, plus juste et libéré de l’ancien monde.

Nous célébrons la longévité de nos groupes de femmes qui continuent à se développer au niveau local en dépit des coupures dans leur financement, ou sans financement aucun – des groupes comme PINAY, l’organisation des femmes philippines du Québec qui fête son 20e anniversaire, le Centre communautaire des femmes sud-asiatiques qui fête ses 30 ans d’existence et le Mouvement contre le viol et l’inceste, des organisations de la base qui sont au service des femmes depuis 35 ans.  Le regroupement des Femmes de diverses origines célèbre aussi sa première décennie.

Ensemble, nous avons contribué à l’émergence d’un militantisme nouveau et d’une prise de conscience dans le mouvement féministe sur la scène locale, nationale et au-delà.  Nous pouvons célébrer le succès de la conférence internationale de Montréal qui s’est tenue en août dernier et qui a débouché sur la formation d’une Alliance internationale des femmes, militante, anti-impérialiste, anti-patriarcale et antiraciste.

Cette année, les activités qui entourent la Journée internationale des femmes à Montréal continueront sur cet élan pour proposer une conférence et un défilé.  Le samedi 5 mars, de 10 heures à 17 heures, notre forum présentera des conférencières qui sont au cœur de luttes locales, proposera des groupes de discussion, des exposés culturels et des tables de documentation.  Il est ouvert à toutes et un service de garde sera offert pour les jeunes enfants.

Ensuite, le mardi 8 mars, Journée internationale des femmes, nous nous joindrons aux femmes du monde entier pour souligner la journée par un défilé qui partira du square Atwater à Montréal à 18 heures.  Vous êtes toutes invitées.  Apportez des bannières, des slogans, des accessoires sonores alors que nous descendrons dans les rues pour proclamer ‘Les esclaves des esclaves se lèvent!’

Info : courriel : wdofdo@gmail.com
http://wdofdo.wordpress.com/

PERSPECTIVE ON THE PEOPLES' UPRISINGS AGAINST AUTOCRATIC REGIMES IN NORTH AFRICA & MIDDLE EAST

By Prof. Jose Maria Sison

Chairperson, International Coordinating Committee

International League of Peoples' Struggle

February 27, 2011

The International League of Peoples' Struggle (ILPS) steadfastly stands in solidarity with and supports the peoples of the North African and Middle East countries in their mass uprisings and revolutionary struggles for national liberation and democracy against the autocratic regimes long maintained by imperialist powers and local reactionary classes.

At the same time, the ILPS is keenly aware that the overthrow of a dictator by a rapid spontaneous surge of the masses does not necessarily result in the revolutionary overthrow of the ruling system. In the absence of a strong revolutionary party of the proletariat and revolutionary mass organizations, the imperialist powers and its puppets among the competing political and military factions of the local exploiting classes can arrange a new regime that pretends to be better than the previous one.

Are peoples perpetually and hopelessly trapped in ruling systems controlled and manipulated by the imperialists and their reactionary agents? No. The crisis of each ruling system and the mass uprisings can result not only in the overthrow of the autocratic regime but also in the further development of revolutionary parties, mass organizations and alliances for the continuous advance of the people's cause for national and social liberation.

The peoples' uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East are not the deliberate creation of the imperialists, their mass media and smart political agents. They are the people's resistance to the oppression and exploitation that they have long suffered. Their suffering has been made more than ever intolerable by the crisis of the world capitalist system and domestic ruling systems under the bankrupt US-imposed policy of neoliberal globalization and the US global war of terror characterized by state terrorism and aggression.

While the revolutionary strength of the people in a country is not yet sufficient to overthrow the ruling system, the US and its puppets deck themselves out as democrats by trying to forge new constitutions and instituting periodic elections and term limits for elective officials even as variable balances of political and military factions continue to make the ruling system apparently stable but really more unstable, remaining ripe for the next corrupt autocratic regime or servile to monarchies most favored by the US as in Saudi Arabia and the emirates.

The big prize for the US and its imperialist allies and its biggest local puppets in North Africa and the Middle East is the stepped-up superprofit-taking from the cheap labor of the working people, exploitation of oil and other natural resources, the huge sales of armaments to the oil producing countries and many other kinds of businesses.

The imperialist powers headed by the US are hell-bent on tightening their control over all the major sources of oil and gas and cannot tolerate the degree of national independence or anti-imperialism that Iraq and Libya exercised in extended periods in the past and that Iran is striving hard to maintain. The US is now flagrantly seeking to grab and tighten its control over the oil resources of Libya as in Iraq. It is taking the lead in applying sanctions and threatening to unleash the aggression and atrocities that it used to take over the oil resources of Iraq.

Once more, the irony of autocrats subservient or pliant to US imperialism but eventually junked by it is being demonstrated in North Africa and the Middle East. New sets of puppets are being arranged to further exploit and oppress the people. But through perseverance in revolutionary struggle in the long course of history, the people can develop their own strength to realize their national and social liberation.

On the scale of North Africa and the Middle East and particular countries, the course and outcomes of the peoples' uprisings follow the law of uneven development. Under any circumstances, the ILPS stands in solidarity with and supports the broad masses of the people and the anti-imperialist and democratic forces, and encourage them to be vigilant and militant against machinations to maintain and prolong imperialist domination and subservience by the local reactionary forces.

The International League of Peoples' Struggle looks forward to far greater revolutionary struggles now and in the future. Whatever are the temporary arrangements that can be made by the imperialists and their reactionary agents, the revolutionary energy and forces already released by the peoples' uprisings will find fertile ground to grow in strength and advance against the crisis-stricken world capitalist system and the local ruling systems.###