Argentina - December 14, 2024

International Event of Support for the Second Syrian Revolution

Speech by Comrade Claudia Pafundi
from the International Network for the Freedom of Political Prisoners and member of the Commission of Convicted Workers, Relatives and Friends of Las Heras (Argentina)

Greetings to all the comrades from all over the world who are here on this very important day. We have all been moved by the Syrian revolution and by the revolution of the whole Maghreb and the Middle East, we have suffered for each one of those who have been massacred, imprisoned or disappeared, for each one of those who have died trying to cross the Mediterranean. We have denounced throughout the world the genocide in Syria by the fascist al-Assad and his partner Putin, who did the dirty work for USA to drown this revolution in blood.

These are very special days for us and we proudly say that we feel a lot of peace and confidence, because in Syria prisoners are being released and justice is being done against the Assadist torturers and murderers. Even the wives and mothers of the prisoners in Idlib in the HTS prisons are also taking to the streets demanding their freedom. That is the way!

The bourgeoisie is used to taking us prisoner, repressing us, killing us and disappearing us when we rise up to demand our demands. That is why our comrades in Syria are a great example.

From the International Network we fight for the Syrian and Palestinian prisoners, for the prisoners of Iran who are sentenced to death for fighting, for the young anarchists imprisoned in Greece, for the Basque independence prisoners. We demand the freedom of Mumia Abu Jamal, leader of the Black Panthers and imprisoned for decades in USA and for Georges Abdallah, fighter for the Palestinian cause imprisoned for 40 years in France. We fight alongside the families of the 34 mine workers massacred in Marikana (South Africa) in 2012, we join the parents of the 43 students who disappeared in Ayotzinapa (Mexico) in 2014. Because we are convinced that no worker can be left alone fighting anywhere in the world.

That is why we demand that the organizations that call themselves working class organizations, explain why they remained silent about the martyrs and tortured or why they directly supported al-Assad, Putin and their pact with the Kurdish bourgeoisie that turned the country into a huge fascist prison.

Because we do not want to see what happened in Syria to happen again. We cannot allow the silence that covered up al-Assad who imposed a dark night on all of Syria to kill indiscriminately.

It was not enough with 600,000 people killed and 15 million refugees. They had to punish. In these 13 years, every worker and poor peasant in Damascus, Homs or Daraa had their land stolen, entire neighborhoods left under rubble and, if you stood up to them, you were imprisoned and tortured to death.

That is why we salute the Syrian revolution, because it shows the way to free the prisoners and to do justice for the martyrs, with the methods of the revolution. In this way we will confront the starve-causing and repressive governments commanded by USA to have justice in Latin America as in Colombia, Senkata and Sacaba in Bolivia, those massacred in Juliaca and the regions of Peru, those mutilated and murdered in Chile. The workers of Argentina have their best ally in Syria and Palestine to confront the Milei government that serves the US and is a partner of Zionism. In this way we will end the martyrdom of the oppressed in Africa. The black movement in USA and the migrants who go looking for work and the youth who take to the streets for Palestine also have an enormous ally in Syria today.

We call on the Gaza resistance, which is risking its life to free the prisoners and expel the Zionist occupier, to set up a permanent committee to support the Syrian masses, because it is the same struggle. We are at their complete disposal.

We call on the Palestinian resistance to distinguish who their allies are. They are not the millionaire clerics of Iran who endured military attacks instead of responding to Israel and handed over Lebanon when Zionism was being defeated in the south and they made a pact and left Gaza to fight alone. Our allies are the workers of Iran and we call on their organizations, those of Gaza and of the rebelling Syria to unite. We call on the workers of the central countries to stand up alongside the oppressed of bloodied Syria, because it is from those countries that the bloodiest actions against the exploited of the world are commanded. Let us together confront imperialism that steals the black gold. They are the real terrorists, those who make wars, massacres and genocides and it is them that we have to defeat.

Let us strengthen an International Network all together beyond borders, beyond dirty prisons. Long live the Syrian revolution!

Slaves' rebellion is not a crime, IT IS JUSTICE!