Month: January 2012

Among the many virtues of Robin Blackburn’s The American Crucible is its demonstration that slavery must be at the center of any account of Western ascendancy. Without the colonization of the New World, Blackburn notes at the outset, the West as we know it would not exist, and without slavery there could have been no colonization. Between 1500 and 1820, African slaves constituted about 80 percent of those who crossed the Atlantic from east to west. More than any other institution, the slave plantation underpinned the extraordinary expansion of Western power and the region’s prosperity in relation to the rest of the world. More here.

The obvious distinction between Martin and Malcolm almost does not need to be made. However, the nonviolence/violence dichotomy does not accurately depict the actual schools of thought in the struggle to achieve black subjectivity, nor does it allow for the type of evolution that we have already seen among the two thinker-activists. First, nonviolence does not imply that demonstrators are non-confrontational, or even the absence of violence. On the contrary, nonviolence is an aggressive passivity intended to incite a disproportionately violent response, exposing the morally bankrupt structure. This tactic – and many, including Martin, referred to it as a tactic – required an aggressive, courageous resistance. This method did not exclude the possibility of violence. As King himself wrote in 1958, “nonviolent resistance is not a method for cowards; it does resist…This is why Gandhi often said that if cowardice is the only alternative to violence, it is better to fight.”
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Malcolm’s Islam was a symbolic and spiritual orientation to an Afro-Asiatic anti-colonial internationalism that struck a claim on politics outside the state’s monopoly of legitimate power. His transgressions, mental, criminal, and spiritual, are widely understood. But against Martin’s easy incorporation, we should remember that he, too, transgressed. It is true that the familiar and domestic language of Christianity of Martin made him acceptable to many Americans. However, couched in that language was the vernacular of a long tradition manifested in black liberation theology that signified on the master’s religion, developing a sometimes dormant, sometimes active opposition to white power. It is a lineage emerging from people like Richard Allen, who started the African Methodist Episcopalian Church in 1816 to create autonomy for black congregations. There are the likes of Henry McNeal Turner, an early “back to Africa” advocate and missionary who once said that “Hell is an improvement upon the United States where the Negro is concerned.” Turner’s own theology understood the symbolic power of the state’s gods:

“Every race of people who have attempted to describe their God by words, or by paintings, or by carvings, or any other form or figure, have conveyed the idea that the God who made them and shaped their destinies was symbolized in themselves, and why should not the Negro believe that he resembles God as much as other people?”
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More here.

In a move that could prove as momentous—and dangerous—as President Truman’s 1947 decision to initiate a cold war with the Soviet Union, President Obama has chosen to commence a military buildup in the Asia Pacific region aimed at reasserting US primacy and constraining China. Announced in Canberra, Australia, on November 17, the buildup will include deploying 2,500 US marines at Darwin, on Australia’s north coast, and an expanded naval presence in the South China Sea. Along with this shift is a fresh US drive to bolster alliances with countries on China’s periphery, including Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand. None of this is explicitly aimed at China—indeed, Obama insists he still seeks good relations with Beijing—but it is impossible to avoid the conclusion that the White House has decided to counter China’s spectacular economic growth with a military riposte.
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Ultimately, what is most worrisome about the Obama administration’s strategic shift—which no doubt is dictated as much by domestic as foreign policy considerations, including the need to counter jingoistic appeals from GOP presidential candidates and to preserve high rates of military spending—is that it will trigger a similar realignment within Chinese policy circles, where military leaders are pushing for a more explicitly anti-American stance and a larger share of government funds. The most likely result, then, will be antagonistic moves on both sides, leading to greater suspicion, increased military spending, periodic naval incidents, a poisoned international atmosphere, economic disarray and, over time, a greater risk of war.
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More here.

After having successfully organized the “First Asian Convoy to Gaza” – we are now embarking on the first “Global March to Jerusalem”. The Asian Convoy to Gaza, which was the first collective Asian effort, whereby 160 delegates from 17 Asian nations, marched across 8 countries over a period of 38 days. Remarkably, there were more than 60 delegates from India itself & this was really welcomed by our Palestinian & Arab friends, who all have great respect for India’s contribution to the anti-colonial struggles & Third World solidarity. As we passed from city to city across the various nations, public meetings, press conferences & various interactions were organized by the host nations & the media was extremely supportive of this effort. It was indeed a historic venture that has now established a unified pan-Asian movement for Palestine.

The international land convoys & flotillas have all contributed to gradually ending the siege of Gaza & the isolation & delegitimisation of Apartheid Israel . After the Asian Convoy to Gaza, we Indians & Asians, reassessed our strategy in the aftermath of the Arab Spring & over a period of 10 months, in a series of consultative meetings with the Palestinians, the key Arab & international allies, it was decided that it was now time to counter the Judaisation of Jerusalem & stand in solidarity with the Palestinian masses.

It is out of that endeavour that was born the idea of the Global March to Jerusalem, scheduled for the 30th of March 2012 .

The Palestinians cannot & will never accept a Palestinian state without Jerusalem, which lies at the very heart of the historical & cultural consciousness & which Israel has unilaterally declared as its eternal capital, in violation of UN Resolutions & International Law.

Thus We now need to draw the international focus onto Jerusalem, which is the core issue & lies at the centre of the conflict.

The objective of the GMJ is to raise the global consciousness& awareness on the threat to Jerusalem, posed by the incessant Judaisation & the Settlement Blocks , as well as the monstrous Apartheid Wall , which have cut-off Jerusalem from the West Bank.

Our convoys will converge from across the three continents of Asia, Africa & Europe & will amass on the borders of Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon& Syria, with delegations that will join us from the rest of the continents & the majority of the nations of the world.

The Asian convoy will once again commence from New Delhi in early March & across a period of 20-25 days, we will traverse across Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Syria & Jordan. The African convoy will start from Morocco & travel to Egypt, whilst the European convoy will commence from London. The delegates from North & South America, Australia-Oceania will join the convoys, or fly directly to the bordering nations.

Thus in order to discuss & plan the Indian & the Asian convoy for the GMJ, we need to form & establish a GMJ-India National Committee that will undertake the responsibility to organize the convoys & the various related programmes in India & even seek to widen the participation in the international process.

We thus call upon all the leaders & representatives of the various social movements, across all the ideologies committed to the universal ideals of equality, social justice & democracy, to attend & participate in the meeting, so that we can create a vibrant & active Palestine solidarity movement in India, of which the GMJ is an integral part.

In Solidarity,

Feroze Mithiborwala & Sandeep Pandey

+91 9820897517 / +91 522 2347365

feroze.moses777@gmail.com / ashaashram@yahoo.com

National Alliance of People’s Movements – International Affairs Committee &

The Palestine Foundation (India)