Nazism

In 1979, Fidel called it “genocide”: Cuba’s legacy of solidarity with Palestine

Spread the love

Original article by Pablo Meriguet republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Cuban President Fidel Castro. Photo: Cuba Sí

On the 99th anniversary of Fidel Castro’s birth, we remember the revolutionary government’s support for Palestine, especially its condemnation of the genocide of the Palestinian people.

In a famous speech, Fidel Castro, the supreme leader of the Cuban Revolution, stated that medical, civil, and military support for the Angolan people was provided without expectation of any material reward. He pointed out that this way of thinking exposes an imperialist ideology, according to which one country supports another, always expecting to benefit materially in some way. “Revolutionaries expect nothing, which means that revolutionaries must devote themselves totally to a cause, to their ideas, to their noble goals, without expecting anything in return.”

This was the same principle that Fidel applied in supporting the Palestinian people’s struggle almost from the beginning of the revolutionary process he led since 1959. It is no coincidence that one of the most renowned Palestinian leaders, Yasser Arafat, visited the Caribbean Island eight times, on the personal invitation of Castro.

On October 12, 1979, at the United Nations Assembly, Fidel denounced before the world Israel’s process of territorial expansion, supported by the United States, at the expense of Palestinian territory. “The basis for a just peace in the region begins with Israel’s total and unconditional withdrawal from all occupied Arab territories and for the Palestinian people, the return of all their occupied territories and the restoration of their inalienable national rights, including the right of return to their homeland, self-determination, and the establishment of an independent state in Palestine, following General Assembly Resolution 3236,” Fidel said.

Castro acknowledged that this expansion was achieved through the killing of Palestinians, thus becoming one of the first world leaders to speak of “genocide” against the Palestinian people: “We repudiate with all our strength the ruthless persecution and genocide that Nazism unleashed against the Jewish people in its time. But I can think of nothing more similar in our contemporary history than the eviction, persecution, and genocide that imperialism and Zionism are carrying out today against the Palestinian people. Stripped of their lands, expelled from their homeland, scattered throughout the world, persecuted and murdered, the heroic Palestinians are an impressive example of self-sacrifice and patriotism, and they are the living symbol of the greatest crime of our time.”

Fidel also recognized that there are geopolitical interests that do not want peace to be established in the Middle East: “Can anyone be surprised that the Conference (of the Non-Aligned Movement) was forced, for reasons that do not stem from any political prejudice but from an objective analysis of the facts, to point out that US policy plays a fundamental role in preventing the establishment of a just and comprehensive peace in the region, by aligning itself with Israel, supporting it, and working to obtain partial solutions favorable to Zionist objectives and guaranteeing the fruits of Israeli aggression at the expense of the Arab people of Palestine and the entire Arab nation?”

“More than just rhetorical support, it was tangible support”

As historians point out, Fidel’s support for Palestine was not purely rhetorical, but also diplomatic. In 1974, Arafat arrived in Cuba and was received with the honors of a head of state, even though Palestine was not yet “officially” recognized as a state. Fidel’s message was clear: Palestine should be recognized by the international community as a state, and Arafat as its leader. In addition, Arafat was awarded the Playa Girón National Order, Cuba’s highest recognition for citizens “who have excelled in the struggle against imperialism, colonialism, and neo-colonialism, or who have done great deeds for peace and progress of mankind”.

The relationship between Cuban revolutionaries and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) dates to the beginning of the Cuban Revolution. In 1959, Raúl Castro and Ernesto “Che” Guevara traveled to the Gaza Strip, disobeying the doctrine of hemispheric alignment whereby all Latin American countries, except for Cuba, supported Israel.

Thus, in 1964, thanks to Che Guevara’s tremendous efforts, Cuba recognized the PLO as soon as it was founded, becoming one of the first countries to do so. But its support went beyond official documents, according to Mansour Tahboub, former acting director of the Arafat Foundation: “Cuba has always been a strong supporter of Palestinians in all realms: political, military, vocational training. The Cubans trained Palestinian cadres, and Fidel himself was a staunch advocate of the Palestinian quest for freedom and independence.”

The truth is that one of the core principles of Castro’s administration was to support anti-imperialist and anti-colonialist struggles, wherever they took place. In a 1977 interview with French Weekly, Fidel stated: “The Palestinian movements have shown their ability to resist imperialist … aggression … [The Palestinian cause] will prevail sooner or later despite the betrayal by Arab reactionaries, imperialist maneuvers and Israeli aggression.”

That is why Cuba, along with Nicaragua, were the only two Latin American countries to condemn Israel’s actions after the Six-Day War. In 1973, Cuba severed diplomatic relations with Israel following the Non-Aligned Movement meeting in Algeria.

According to Abdel Majeed Sweilim, professor of political science at Al Quds University, the PLO also benefited from the relationship between Cubans and Palestinians, thanks to the political training of Palestinians on Cuban soil.

Today, despite the economic blockade imposed by the United States, which causes a perpetual economic crisis on the Caribbean Island, the Cuban government has reserved funding in the form of academic scholarships so that each year, 150 Palestinians can study medicine, engineering, and other professions at Cuban universities.

In his final years, Fidel continued to support the Palestinian cause. Thus, after resigning from his political posts, Castro signed an international manifesto in support of Palestine in 2014, which demanded Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem, as well as respect for the resolutions passed by the United Nations regarding the conflict.

Arafat’s recognition of Cuban support

These and other measures have led countless Palestinians to see the revolutionary government of Cuba as an unwavering ally. Arafat himself acknowledged this when he stated: “I consider, Your Excellency President Fidel Castro, this demonstration of firmness and unwavering friendship that has taken place in Havana, as a strong and effective message from a beloved world leader who enjoys great international prestige among all the peoples and countries of the world, to mobilize them quickly to put an end to the suffering of the Palestinian people as a result of the Israeli occupation of their homeland, and the intensification of military, economic, and financial actions and blockades against our cities, villages, towns, farms, and water wells, and the closure of international border crossings by land, air, and water.”

In addition, the historic leader of the PLO said: “Every Palestinian today holds in their heart and conscience this glorious image of Your Excellency with the Palestinian hatta on your shoulders, which is irrefutable evidence of the justice of our cause and the magnitude of the injustice committed by the Israeli aggressors against our people. Have full confidence, Your Excellency President Castro, so beloved by our people and by all peoples, that our people, as resilient as the Palestinian mountains, take from your position and example, which makes us proud, more courage and determination to continue the struggle, the resistance, and the Intifada to remove the Israeli occupiers from our country, Palestine.”

In this way, Cuba continues to unreservedly support the demands for sovereignty, self-determination, and peace made by the Palestinian people in the face of the previous and most recent attacks by the Israeli government on their territory. This support, since 1959, is not given with the expectation of anything in return, but because of the anti-imperialist and anti-colonialist principles that guide the Cuban Revolution and that Fidel helped to establish as principles of the Cuban state itself.

Original article by Pablo Meriguet republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Experiencing issues with this image not appearing. I suspect because it's so critical of Zionist Keir Starmer's support of and complicity in Israel's genocides.
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpA
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza's hospitals and universities,mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities,mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Continue ReadingIn 1979, Fidel called it “genocide”: Cuba’s legacy of solidarity with Palestine

Eighty years on: Remembering the defeat of fascism – or witnessing its return?

Spread the love

Original article by Biljana Vankovska republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Entrance of the 7th Vojvodina Brigade of Yugoslav partisans in liberated Novi Sad, 23 October 1944. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Neo-fascism merely adapted, disguised, and reshaped itself according to the times. In some states, we now see historical revisionism – and even glorification of local fascist or Nazi collaborators.

As we approach a major anniversary – 80 years since the defeat of fascism – a strange silence hangs over my country, Macedonia, and the broader region we now call the territory of former Yugoslavia. National authorities have been under sustained external (Western) pressure for years: May 9 must no longer be associated with the victory over fascism. Year after year, in both public memory and the education system, May 9 has been rebranded as Europe Day.

Older generations still remember, but what do younger ones know about Yugoslavia’s enormous human sacrifice, second only to the USSR, in the struggle against Evil? Almost nothing. We, the older ones, might suffer from the absence of dementia – we stubbornly remember the times when our fathers and grandfathers gave their lives for ideals that today’s youth barely even hear about.

This imposed forgetfulness on younger generations, however, goes so far that TV segments show young people unable to answer the simple question: Who was Josip Broz Tito? In Macedonia, more and more students know nothing about October 11, 1941, the Day of the Macedonian Uprising against fascism. Yet they excel in competitions where they display near-perfect knowledge of Europe. The irony is painful: the roots of patriotism and links to the most glorious moments of our not-so-distant past are not only being severed but portrayed as harmful.

A mythical and quasi-religious connection is being nurtured toward a mirage called Europe – meaning, of course, the European Union – which is idealized as a promised land, waiting with open arms. But this is no coincidence. Through its entire state-building apparatus, the EU seeks to rewrite history and implant it in the minds of new generations. In that version of history, any connection to the brutal colonial past is erased. More importantly, a veil is drawn over the fact that Europe’s imperial ambitions led to two world wars. The Second World War, whose anniversary we now mark quietly – even clandestinely, behind the EU’s back – was the anticlimax of capitalism, its degeneration into Nazism and fascism. This was not merely the result of individuals like Hitler or Mussolini, but of structural conditions that emerged from the womb of the post-World War I capitalist crisis.

The EU, falsely presenting itself as the embodiment of “Europe”, has been busy remodeling its image – until the start of the special military operation in Ukraine, it even tried to portray itself as a normative power, winning hearts and minds through soft power. It was even awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for past deeds. Yet its present and future seem to signal the revival of the very seed of evil it once claimed to oppose. The latest deep cycle of capitalist crisis first resulted in a divorce from democratic principles, but now it does not hide its hyper-imperialist and militaristic aspirations – for the sake of “self-defense” from an imagined Russian threat. Colloquially, many of us use the new word “Rusophrenia”: a belief that Russia is about to collapse and to take over the world at the same time. This term describes well the irrational view of Russia that is now entrenched in Western public opinion. It helps legitimize the new wave of militarization, even at the expense of the social well-being of Western citizens.

The rehabilitation of fascism began with its erasure from memory. Then came the glorification of the Euromaidan in Ukraine – the so-called pro-European revolution of 2014. A strange amnesia is spreading through the so-called Western world. As said, May 9 was kidnapped, and with it, textbooks, symbolic acts, and commemorations were gradually stripped of any connection to the true military victors of World War II: the Red Army and the Soviet people, who sacrificed more than 27 million lives. (Yugoslavs sacrificed more than a million people.)

It was the Soviets who liberated Berlin – twice. The final time, it was done by Mikhail Gorbachev, at a cost that Russia continues to pay today. Even the UN Secretary-General now avoids naming the Red Army soldiers who freed prisoners from the most notorious concentration camps.

It is Moscow and its allies who now stand as the only ones acting in the spirit of Orwell’s assertion that “in a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act”. That truth will ring out loudly during the parade and major celebration on Red Square.

What is happening in what used to be Yugoslavia? In countries where generations were raised on narratives of brotherhood and unity, on the heroism of partisans who fought on the right side of history? First came the erosion of sovereignty and the right to self-determination. As the new religion – NATO and the EU are the only alternative and always right – was internalized, governments began distancing themselves from that part of our history. They turned instead to ancient glories or to painting a glowing future in union with the West.

To be red, to be a partisan, to be anti-fascist – gradually became suspicious, even dangerous. Our government now prides itself on alliances with the West (though it’s increasingly unclear – whose West? America’s or Europe’s?), and in distancing itself from those we once fought alongside. Former occupiers are now called “administrators”. Busts of partisans gather dust.

Anti-fascism has become uncomfortable to display – lest our Western allies recognize themselves in the mirror. So, silence prevails. Europe, the EU, is still celebrated – even as it re-militarizes, tramples basic values and human rights, and tacitly supports genocidal regimes. Confusion reigns over what to celebrate, what to remember, and why. Because, in an Orwellian world, war is peace, and peace is war.

Commemoration and historical memory matter. But just as vital is the ability to see, with eyes wide open, that the serpent’s egg still lives – and could hatch again into what millions across the world gave their lives to defeat eighty years ago. The bitter truth is that fascism was never fully defeated – except on the battlefield in 1945. Social scientists know well that the roots of fascism cannot be destroyed by arms alone. Neo-fascism merely adapted, disguised, and reshaped itself according to the times. In some states, we now see historical revisionism – and even glorification of local fascist or Nazi collaborators.

That is why the Russian initiative at the United Nations is significant. On 17 December 2024, during the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, the Russian Federation proposed a resolution: Combating glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fueling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. It was co-sponsored by 39 states from various regions. At last, it received 119 votes in favor, while 53 voted against. Regrettably, my country was among the latter – even though its very right to self-determination and statehood within Yugoslavia was born of the anti-fascist struggle. Perhaps for global politics, it is even more telling to examine who else voted against the resolution: Ukraine, the US, the UK, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Norway, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, Japan, Canada… Look at the new geopolitical map of the world, and it all becomes self-evident and telling.

According to some sources, Soviet Marshal Georgy Zhukov said, “We have liberated Europe from fascism, but they will never forgive us for it.”

They haven’t, as we now clearly see.

Biljana Vankovska is a professor of political science and international relations at Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, a member of the Transnational Foundation of Peace and Future Research (TFF) in Lund, Sweden, and the most influential public intellectual in Macedonia.

This text was originally published by the Valdai Club and reproduced by Globetrotter.

Original article by Biljana Vankovska republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Publication should be regarded as worthy of debate rather that endorsement of the views of the author by the https://onaquietday.org blog.

Continue ReadingEighty years on: Remembering the defeat of fascism – or witnessing its return?

Global South leaders join Victory Day events in Moscow as Europe stays away

Spread the love

Original article by Ana Vračar republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Marking the 80th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s defeat, Global South leaders are gathering in Moscow, while EU remains absent

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia/X

Early high-level events marking the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany are underway in Russia, where the traditional Victory Parade on Friday, May 9, will welcome a host of world leaders and other guests to commemorate the Red Army’s role in the liberation of Europe. According to Russian authorities, 29 countries have confirmed their leaders will attend the event, including Brazil, Burkina Faso, China, Cuba, Venezuela, and Vietnam.

Victory Day, falling on May 8 in most of Europe and on May 9 in Russia due to time zone differences, marks the official surrender of Nazi Germany in 1945. Although the date holds deep historical significance for Europe, its political leaders will be largely absent from this year’s events in Moscow. Slovakia is the only EU country to appear on the latest list of attendees, ignoring warnings from the bloc’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, who implied there would be ‘consequences’ for European officials participating in the event. Her threats mark the latest episode in a long-standing campaign of historical revisionism led by the EU, aimed at minimizing and obscuring the Soviet Union’s role in the liberation of Europe in World War II.

Honoring Red Army’s role in defeating Nazi Germany

In contrast to the EU, Global South leaders attending the events expressed their respect and acknowledged those who fought for liberation. At the beginning of his visit, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro stated simply: “It was the Red Army that liberated Europe.” Similarly, Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized the importance of maintaining an accurate historical perspective on World War II and applying its lessons to the present, particularly when it comes to resisting Western domination.

“Eighty years ago, the forces of justice around the world, including China and the Soviet Union, united in courageous battles against their common foes and defeated the overbearing fascist powers,” Xi wrote in an article for the Russian Gazette. “Eighty years later today, however, unilateralism, hegemonism, bullying, and coercive practices are severely undermining our world.”

Despite efforts by Western governments to demonize the Red Army, many around the world still remember the USSR’s decisive role in the antifascist struggle, the immense sacrifices it made during the war, and the international solidarity it championed. “The peoples of the world have not forgotten who, in 1945, liberated them from Nazi enslavement and destruction,” stated Gennady Zyuganov, leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, ahead of Victory Day.

“Celebrating the 80th anniversary of the great victory over fascism, we must remember the origins of Nazism,” he added. “Imperialism, which gave birth to that plague, is not a thing of the past. It is no coincidence that today our former allies in the anti-Hitler coalition are erasing us from the list of victorious countries.”

Left movements reclaim antifascist legacy for today’s struggles

Although communist groups across Europe circulated statements honoring the Red Army’s role in World War II, some also voiced concern about the context of this year’s central commemoration in Russia – just as much as the revisionism of core EU countries

Read more: Italy marks 80 years since liberation with calls against genocide and militarism

It is in the spirit of reclaiming the resistance, that left and progressive groups across the region are organizing their own events. In Belgium, for example, activists have rallied around long-standing demands to re-establish May 8 as a public holiday. In former Yugoslav countries, actions will affirm the relevance of antifascism today, particularly in connection with solidarity for Palestine and mobilizations against genocide. All these events are not limited to remembrance: they aim to resist efforts to rewrite history in service of the Global North’s current political agenda.

Original article by Ana Vračar republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Continue ReadingGlobal South leaders join Victory Day events in Moscow as Europe stays away

Venezuela demands the immediate repatriation of migrants detained in El Salvador

Spread the love

Original article by Pablo Meriguet republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Venezuelans rally against deportations. Photo: Francisco Trias

The Venezuelan government has promised that it will “fight until it frees all its compatriots” who have been imprisoned and deported without evidence thanks to an 18th-century US law.

Thousands of Venezuelans rallied in Caracas on Tuesday, March 18, to protest the deportation of Venezuelan migrants from the United States to a high security prison in El Salvador. Family members of the deported migrants addressed Venezuelan officials and fellow citizens to demand the immediate return of their loved ones, with many insisting that their relatives are not criminals or members of the infamous Tren de Aragua as Donald Trump claims.

The mobilization occurred days after the deportation of over 200 migrants to El Salvador in one of the most controversial acts by the administration of Donald Trump during his two months in office. In January, shortly after Trump’s swearing in, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele had offered up his country’s prisons to take in deported migrants or even the US’ national incarcerated population. It appears that this discussion advanced, and El Salvador, like several other countries in the region, will now provide detention centers for deported migrants, with no clarity of the criteria for who gets sent, how long they stay there, and under what jurisdiction they are. According to the US government, the Venezuelan migrants deported on Saturday all belong to the criminal group called Tren de Aragua (Aragua Train).

The Trump administration has yet to show evidence to back up its accusation.

“It is a massive violation of human rights,” says the Venezuelan government.

For its part, the Venezuelan government has condemned the US-Salvadoran decision as a violation of human rights. Jorge Rodríguez, president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, said in a press conference, “How do the Dantesque images we saw [of the deported Venezuelan migrants] differ from those of the Warsaw ghetto? How does Mr. Bukele’s barbarity when he said that he had bought slave labor differ from the memory of forced labor in the concentration camps of Auschwitz?”

In this sense, the Venezuelan government informed the families of the detainees that it would do everything possible to repatriate the migrants that were deported and now are being indefinitely held in a high security prison in El Salvador with no due process.

Read more: Trump defies courts and deports 250 Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador

In addition, the Secretary of the Interior, Diosdado Cabello questioned the Trump administration’s assertion that the Venezuelans who were deported were part of the “Tren de Aragua” criminal gang. In this regard, Cabello said, “It is a lie that those [deported] to El Salvador are from the Tren de Aragua.”

Maduro accuses Bukele of exercising fascist tactics against Venezuelan migrants

For his part, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro publicly rebuked Bukele for the treatment Venezuelans have received in El Salvador, and accused his government of fascist practices: “Are you going to protect this cruelty, this injustice, without [the detainees having] the right to any [judicial process], of creating concentration camps and putting noble working migrants in jails without a [due] trial, without having committed crimes in El Salvador, without having any sentence issued by a court in El Salvador? Is this legal, is this fair, Nayib Bukele?”

In addition, Maduro denounced the treatment suffered by the Venezuelan deportees: “They put them in handcuffs by hands and legs without telling them where they were going, and when they arrived in El Salvador, they made them get off the plane beating them with sticks and clubs; they humiliated them, threw them on the floor, shaved their hair. Is that called justice? Is that called international law? Is that called human rights? That is called fascism, Nazism, and Venezuela is ready and willing to denounce this massive violation of human rights against the hard-working and noble migrants in the United States!”

Migration is not a crime, sanctioning a people is. Photo: Francisco Trias

An 18th-century law to imprison migrants

According to the US Executive, its decision is based on an 18th-century law (1789) called the “Alien Enemies Act,” which states that the President of the nation has the power to order the detention and expulsion of foreign citizens from countries with which the United States is at war.

The bicentennial law was passed during the administration of John Adams, during a potential war with France, to prevent espionage and sabotage by foreigners in the United States. This law was applied again in 1812 during the war between the United States and the United Kingdom, and during the two world wars, during which US authorities imprisoned tens of thousands of foreigners in concentration camps for several years.

The law permits the imprisonment and deportation of foreign nationals without proper defense or normal judicial process, expediting the process under the pretext of national security.

Trump claimed that the law could be applied today because the Tren de Aragua is “perpetrating, attempting, and threatening a predatory invasion or incursion against US territory.” However, a judge in the District of Columbia named James Boasberg stated that there was no legal justification for enforcing the law, and asked that it be stayed. However, in another unprecedented move, Trump ignored the judge and did not reverse the action, allowing for the deportation of hundreds of Venezuelans to Salvadoran territory.

ALBA Movimientos rejects the deportation and imprisonment of Venezuelan migrants

In a statement, the Social Movements of ALBA, a platform of social movements in Latin America and the Caribbean, condemned Trump and Bukele’s decision as a violation of international law and human rights, and called it a kidnapping of migrants.

“This constitutes a barbaric action, demonstrative of the fascist, racist and defiant character of the basic human rights conventions, by the government of Donald Trump, who invoking a law of 1798 (three centuries ago) attributes to himself the power to kidnap, deport and imprison people only for being Venezuelans and the presumption of belonging to the ‘Tren de Aragua’, without any evidence and the right to defense,” states the communiqué.

In addition, the international organization that brings together people’s movements in the region, argues that Trump’s decision could bring dire consequences for Venezuelans in the United States:

“One of the most serious consequences of the application of this law is the criminalization of migration and in particular of Venezuelan migration, giving rise to the possibility that any Venezuelan migrant over the age of 14 could be qualified as an ‘invader’, ‘enemy of the US’ or ‘terrorist’ member of the so-called ‘Tren de Aragua’ and immediately could be deprived of his freedom, confiscating his goods, bank accounts and any kind of belongings.”

Finally, the communiqué demands the unity of the peoples of the world to stop this type of action that could have dangerous consequences for world peace, while supporting the actions of Maduro’s government in its crusade to repatriate the detained migrants:

“These dangerous expressions of neo-fascism that the global right wing under Trump’s leadership are wanting to naturalize and intensify, besieging countries, generating migration, promoting armed groups and then using those same groups to justify policies of criminalization against migrants and to top it off there are countries that commodify this imprisonment.”

“We therefore call for an international campaign to repudiate and denounce this dangerous escalation of criminalization of migration and the Venezuelan people. We accompany and support the actions of the Venezuelan Government before international organizations to rescue the kidnapped Venezuelan citizens and to take the necessary actions within the framework of public international law to prevent this neo-Nazi policy from continuing or spreading.”

Original article by Pablo Meriguet republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Donald Fuhrump says that Amerikkka doesn't bother with crimes or charges anymore, not being 100% Amerikkkan and opposing his real estate intentions is enough.
Donald Fuhrump says that Amerikkka doesn’t bother with crimes or charges anymore, not being 100% Amerikkkan and opposing his real estate intentions is enough.
Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
Continue ReadingVenezuela demands the immediate repatriation of migrants detained in El Salvador

Tesla Sales Plummet in Germany Amid Musk’s Support for AfD

Spread the love

Original article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

“Elon Musk is a Fascist—Stop Tesla” is written on a poster at a protest against the tech mogul in Berlin on January 27, 2025. (Photo: Annette Riedl/picture alliance via Getty Images)

“Nobody wants to be associated with it,” said one researcher in the automotive industry.

“Limiting yourself to AfD supporters as customers comes at a cost it seems,” said one Germany-based political scientist on Wednesday, referring to the far-right political party Alternative for Germany, as Tesla sales were shown to have plummeted in the country last month amid CEO Elon Musk’s show of support for the party.

In January, the company’s electric vehicle (EV) sales were down 59% in the Germany, the only European country where Tesla’s cars are manufactured.

EV makers saw sales fall in Germany over the past year as the country ended a subsidy program—but other companies in the sector experienced have experienced at least a partial rebound in sales, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

German buyers purchased electric cars from domestic and Chinese companies, which saw a 54% increase in sales last month.

The Daily Beast reported Thursday that Germans who already own Musk’s EVs have been overwhelming at least one business owner with orders for a bumper sticker that reads, “I bought this before Elon went crazy.”

Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, director of the Center Automotive Research Institute in Germany, told AFP that Tesla’s plunging sales numbers were almost certainly tied to Musk’s support for AfD, which has been classified as a suspected extremist group by the country’s domestic intelligence agency and multiple courts.

“Tesla and Musk are almost inextricably linked.”

Comments like those Musk made at a rally for AfD last month, where he said “there is too much focus on past guilt” in Germany over Nazism and the Holocaust, have been “extremely damaging,” said Dudenhoeffer.

“Nobody wants to be associated with it,” he said. “Tesla and Musk are almost inextricably linked.”

Earlier in January, Musk stood in front of the U.S. presidential seal on stage at an inaugural event for President Donald Trump and displayed what appeared to be the Sieg Heil salute that was used as a greeting among Nazis. The gesture has been outlawed in Germany since the end of World War II.

Nonpolitical factors, like the impending arrival of the Model Y Tesla, could be at play. But Schmidt Automotive Research wrote in a report that German customers “may well be reacting to Musk’s comments.”

Some segments of the German public expressed disgust with Musk before the EV sales numbers were released this week, with activists projecting an image of the CEO’s salute and the word “Heil” on the outside of a Tesla factory near Berlin after Trump’s inauguration.

In recent days, protests have cropped up across the U.S. as Musk, through his advisory body to the Trump administration, the Department of Government Efficiency, has attempted a takeover of numerous federal agencies and their data on millions of Americans, including a payment system at the Department of Treasury, the Office of Personnel Management, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Department of Education, and the National Institutes of Health.

Signs displayed at demonstrations on Wednesday took aim at the Tesla CEO as much as President Donald Trump, with some reading, “Arrest Elon Musk” and “De-MusKKK the U.S.”

Some have started directing their outrage at Tesla, as German activists have. On Tuesday, Tesla campus recruiters arrived at Michigan State University to talk to potential future employees, only to be greeted by protesters carrying signs that read, “Don’t be a Musk-Rat!!” and “SUPPORT STUDENTS NOT FASCISTS!!”

Journalist Robinson Meyer mused this week on the social media platform Bluesky that protests at Tesla dealerships across the U.S. could soon follow as Musk continues his efforts to dismantle federal agencies.

Other users shared images of small public actions at a dealership in Burbank, California and elsewhere, as well as graffiti that was recently scrawled on the outside of the company’s office in Seattle, saying, “Nazi Scum.”

Original article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.

Continue ReadingTesla Sales Plummet in Germany Amid Musk’s Support for AfD