Fabia Gutierrez Speaks One Year After Honduran Coup

           
Cleveland  
June 28th, 2010

Making her way back to her home in Honduras from the United States Social   Forum held in Detroit, Honduran trade unionist, Fabia Gutierrez stopped in a packed local Salvadoran restaurant in Cleveland to share her personal stories of struggle from the front lines of the  military coup that ousted the democratically elected government of Manuel Zelaya one year ago.  As the acting president of the Union Federation of Democratic Workers of Honduras, Fabia has been organizing textile workers in the neo-liberal free trade zones since the 1980’s. New draconian policies set in place by the right wing coup have not only banned collective bargaining from taking place, but have also threatened the lives of labor leaders like Fabia.  Despite the open threats against her life and her comrades lives, Fabia has no intention of leaving the struggle to fight for worker’s rights as she has been open in her commitment of resistance against the illegitimate Roberto Micheletti military government. Gutierrez participates in the National Popular Resistance Front, a wide alliance of popular movements opposed to the coup.  The Resistance Front is planning a general strike on the anniversary of the coup. 
            Fabia called upon United States citizens to resist in solidarity with her people as the United States government has been active in its military support for the authoritarian regime. President Barack Obama has made public statements condemning the coup that ousted democratically elected leader Manuel Zelaya, yet the actions of Obama’s administration do not support Obama’s condemnations. Nearly seventy million dollars in military aid have been given to support the military regime and it has been reported that a US military base in El Salvador was used in the staging of the coup.  Fabia suggested that comrades in the United States organize to spread consciousness of the horrific situation in Honduras to counter the nearly complete corporate media blackout of the coup since it took place last year. Fabia did not encourage boycotts as a method of resistance because she explained this tactic hurts the workers more than it makes a political statement. Rather, Fabia asked her comrades in the United States to write letters to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and to stage public protests in condemnation of the military government of Roberto Micheletti.

Cleveland District Wide

Schools Walk Out

Thursday, May 13, 2010 at 10.30am

until Friday, May 14, 2010 at 12.00am

Public Square, Downtown Cleveland

Click here for Facebook link

"This is a protest for every one who has ever been or will be in school. 773 teachers have been laid-off in the Cleveland metro school district , this is unacceptable and unfair not only to the teachers who have dedicated themselves to the schools but also to the students who must now be forced into over crowded, and overall unsafe classes. Within the next year the entire school district will collapse, there will be more drop-outs and failing test scores than ever, because of the crowding in the classes. many schools will close because of all the transfers to other schools in the district which will be having the same problem. The government and the school systems have completely failed our youth. The Cleveland school system is 52 million dollars in debt and the schools that need it the most or any school for that matter have not seen a dime of it. It may be to late to stop the teachers from getting laid-off or the corruption in every infrastructure in our country but it is never to late to stand up against our government that has so blatantly turned its back on its youth and the general interest of the people.

We must remind [the government] who we are and that we are still here and will always be here, but most of all we must remind them that we are more powerful than they not just by numbers but by spirit and integrity. On May 13, students, teachers, middle class, upper class, and lower class, black, white or purple, communist, democrat or republican, we must form a unifying voice against all of those in our government that have chose to see the problems in our country today and once again choose to do nothing about them.

It must start with our youth in our schools to show that teenagers are just as angry and willing to fight as everyone else. It will show a true need for change for the better of the people. We need to show that we want this and we will take it. It must always start with our youth and it will on May 13. We will walk out of our classes and into the streets and toward the center of our city and make them hear what they refuse to, with words and foremost actions. Actions have and will always speak louder than words, because talk is cheap after a certain point and actions are forever."

Seth Barlekamp is 16 years old and goes to Collinwood high school. He will lead his school out at 10:30 am and start the march toward publi c square downtown Cleveland. He asks "What will you do? I am old enough to see the disgusting nature of our government but the question is when will you?"
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Statement by Marfin Bank Employee, Athens

Wednesday, 5 May, 2010

Tonight’s tragic deaths in Athens leave little space for comments – we are all very shocked and deeply saddened by the events. To those (on the “Occupied London” blog even) who speculate that the deaths might have been caused purposefully by anarchists, we can only reply the following: we do not take to the streets, we do not risk our freedom and our lives confronting the greek police in order to kill other people. Anarchists are not murderers, and no brainwashing attempted by Greek PM Papandreou, the national or the international media should convince anyone otherwise.

That being said, and with developments still running frantically, we want to publish a rough translation of a statement by an employee of Marfin Bank – the bank whose branch was set alight in Athens today, where the three employees found a tragic death.

Read the letter, translate it, spread it around to your networks; grassroots counter-information has a crucial role to play at a moment when the greek state and corporate media are leashing out on the anarchist movement over here in Greece.

I feel an obligation toward my co-workers who have so unjustly died today to speak out and to say some objective truths. I am sending this message to all media outlets. Anyone who still bares some consciousness should publish it. The rest can continue to play the government’s game.

The fire brigade had never issued an operating license to the building in question. The agreement for it to operate was under the table, as it practically happens with all businesses and companies in Greece.

The building in question has no fire safety mechanisms in place, neither planned nor installed ones – that is, it has no ceiling sprinklers, fire exits or fire hoses. There are only some portable fire extinguishers which, of course, cannot help in dealing with extensive fire in a building that is built with long-outdated security standards.

No branch of Marfin bank has had any member of staff trained in dealing with fire, not even in the use of the few fire extinguishers. The management also uses the high costs of such training as a pretext and will not take even the most basic measures to protect its staff.

There has never been a single evacuation exercise in any building by staff members, nor have there been any training sessions by the fire-brigade, to give instructions for situations like this. The only training sessions that have taken place at Marfin Bank concern terrorist action scenarios and specifically planning the escape of the banks’ “big heads” from their offices in such a situation.

The building in question had no special accommodation for the case of fire, even though its construction is very sensitive under such circumstances and even though it was filled with materials from floor to ceiling. Materials which are very inflammable, such as paper, plastics, wires, furniture. The building is objectively unsuitable for use as a bank due to its construction.

No member of security has any knowledge of first aid or fire extinguishing, even though they are every time practically charged with securing the building. The bank employees have to turn into firemen or security staff according to the appetite of Mr Vgenopoulos [owner of Marfin Bank].

The management of the bank strictly bared the employees from leaving today, even though they had persistently asked so themselves from very early this morning – while they also forced the employees to lock up the doors and repeatedly confirmed that the building remained locked up throughout the day, over the phone. They even blocked off their internet access so as to prevent the employees from communicating with the outside world.

For many days now there has been some complete terrorisation of the bank’s employees in regard to the mobilisations of these days, with the verbal “offer”: you either work, or you get fired.

The two undercover police who are dispatched at the branch in question for robbery prevention did not show up today, even though the bank’s management had verbally promised to the employees that they would be there.

At last, gentlemen, make your self-criticism and stop wandering around pretending to be shocked. You are responsible for what happened today and in any rightful state (like the ones you like to use from time to time as leading examples on your TV shows) you would have already been arrested for the above actions. My co-workers lost their lives today by malice: the malice of Marfin Bank and Mr. Vgenopoulos personally who explicitly stated that whoever didin’t come to work today [May 5th, a day of a general strike!] should not bother showing up for work tomorrow [as they would get fired].

- An employee of Marfin Bank [greek original]

KKE/SYRISA:

1. In Parliament the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) has accused the government for the deaths, claiming it was a result of agents provocateur fascist groups. The claims of the Communist Party are based on the fact that 50 fascists tried to enter the PAME demo bearing the flags of the union earlier in the morning. The fascists were spotted, chased and sought refuge behind riot police lines.

2. Accusing the extreme-right as being behind the deaths, the Coalition of Radical Left (SYRISA) has declared in Parliament that the government cannot pretend to be in grief for the loss of life, as it has been attacking human life by all means possible.

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