Come hear national and local speakers address current attacks on our civil liberties.  We will also discuss what we can do to fight for our rights.  The townhall will be followed by a dinner.  The CSFR will be asking for donations to cover the food.

Speakers include:

• Mel Underbakke – Activist and educator from the National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms who is active in Sami Al-Arian campaign in Florida
• Kathy Manley – Attorney with Project Salam (support and legal advocates for Muslims ) in New York
• Clyde Bellecourt – National Director of American Indian Movement
• Faruq Kaase – Outreach director of Minnesota Dawah Institute
• Coleen Rowley-  FBI whistleblower and Time Woman of the Year, member of Women Against Military Madness

Sponsored by the MN Committee to Stop FBI Repression, the National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms, and WAMM.  Endorsed by the Anti-War Committee.  https://www.facebook.com/events/401329643239563/

Download the Flyer

Posted on May 16, 2012 by The Star Tribune

About 100 antiwar protesters wiil be climbing on buses in Minneapolis on Saturday night and heading to Chicago to participate in a large march on Sunday to express opposition to NATO which is holding a summit meeting there next week. Chicago authorities say the demonstrations in the coming week could be massive and police are girding up for what they say could be major confrontations.

Local protesters say they plan to participate in a peaceful, legal march, for which parade permits have been obtained, Thousands of demonstratiors are expected to descend on Chicago from the midwest and the east coast. “Chicago police, who have a reputation for dealing toughly with protesters, will be prepared for the worst,” Reuters reports.

Representatives from 50 countries and many world leaders are expected to attend the NATO summit.

Sarah Martin, a member of the board of Women Against Military Madness in Minneapolis, said the local buses are sponsored by her group and the locally based Anti-War Committee. “Many other people are driving themselves,” said Coleen Rowley, the former FBI agent and whistleblower, who became active in the antiwar movement after her retirement. Rowley will be one of the speakers at a Friday news conference to talk about about the participation of Twin Cities activists in the Chicago protest.

There is some talk among law enforcement authorities that demonstrations in Chicago could become a repeat of the1999 protest in Seattle in which there were major confrontations during demonstrations over an international meeting of the World Trade Organization.

Martin, however, said local protesters going by bus are not intending to get arrested. They will climb aboard buses at 10 p.m. on Saturday at St. Joan of Arc Church in Minneapolis and then get back on the buses for their return trip at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, she said.

Martin said the purpose of the demonstration is “to voice our opposition to NATO, the war in Afghanistan, the bombing in Libya and talk of the missile shield” in Europe. Asked about President Obama’s announced plans to withdraw from Afghanistan, Martin said, “We want to make sure they get out sooner rather than later.” Rowley said NATO should been disbanded when the Cold War ended. She contends it went from “a defensive alliance to wars of aggression,” such as the NATO intervention in Libya.
Not everyone is pleased by the protesters’ plans. ”Protesters, anarchists, rogues, and dunces will descend on Chicago from all over the globe this week,” writes Peter Bella, a retired Chicago police officer, in the Washington Times. “They will create mayhem, consternation and enormous inconvenience in celebration of the NATO summit that will be held here this weekend.”

For release: Friday, May 18, 2012 

Minnesotans going to protest at NATO summit in Chicago to hold news conference:

Friday, May 18 at 3:00 pm

Posted on May 13, 2012 by FightBack! News

Minneapolis, MN – This coming weekend, Minnesotans will fill two buses headed for Chicago to participate in an anti-war march and rally outside the NATO summit meeting on Sunday, May 20.

The NATO summit is set for May 20-21 in Chicago.

The Chicago anti-war protest will greet the NATO summit meeting with a call to end the U.S./NATO war in Afghanistan and to call for funds for human needs, not war.

A main topic of the meetings of the NATO summit will be the war in Afghanistan.

A statement issued by organizers of the Minnesotan delegation to the Chicago protest says in part, “While the NATO leaders look for ways to continue the war and occupation of Afghanistan, thousands of people will be in the streets of Chicago to say ‘get out of Afghanistan now.’”

The buses from Minneapolis will leave at 10:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 19 from the parking lot of Saint Joan of Arc Church, 4537 3rd Avenue S in Minneapolis. The buses will drive through the night to arrive in Chicago in time for the protest.

Meredith Aby of the Anti-War Committee said, “Going on the buses from Minneapolis will be a cross section of Minnesotans, students, working people, low-income families, long time activists and people attending their first major anti-war protest.”

In addition to the people riding the buses, organizers understand that many Minnesotans are planning their own transportation to the Chicago event. “The people on the bus are only a portion of the people from Minnesota who intend on bringing an anti-war message to the door of the NATO summit. People need jobs, education, housing and health care, not billions for war and occupation,” said Steph Taylor of Students for a Democratic Society at the University of Minnesota.

The recent agreement signed by President Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, “Is not about ending the war, the agreement actually lays the basis for thousands of U.S. and other foreign troops to remain in Afghanistan until 2024. Despite what the politicians are telling us, U.S. troops are not leaving Afghanistan any time soon unless people demand an end to the war,” said Sarah Martin of Women Against Military Madness.

Martin continued, “Many of the people going to Chicago have been part of the Occupy movement. We understand that NATO is really the armed force of the 1%. NATO conducts wars and interventions, not in the interests of the 99%, but in support of corporate economic and political interests.”

In order to have the march and rally at the NATO summit, anti-war organizers in Chicago and around the country carried out an ongoing campaign of letters, statements and other public pressure to defend the right to protest, including a months-long effort to secure a permit for the May 20 march and rally.

“The Sunday protest is an opportunity for all people to come together and exercise our civil liberties and call for an end to the war and occupation,” said Aby.

In addition to opposing the war in Afghanistan, the protest will speak out against the threat of a new war against Iran.

A wide range of organizations from across the U.S. have endorsed the May 20 anti-war event in Chicago, including peace, anti-war, student, labor as well as many groups started as part of the Occupy movement.

The MayDay Parade & Festival has been postponed until Sunday, May 13

According to the the event organizer’s website: “Unfortunately, due to standing water in Powderhorn park and poor weather, we have decided to postpone the MayDay Parade & festival until the rain date, Sunday, May 13. The parade will kick off at 1 pm and all other details will remain the same. Please help us spread the word – share this with your networks. See you next Sunday!”

View the Event

March with the Anti-War Committee, the Committee to Stop FBI Repression and other peace groups.  Help us publicize the upcoming protest in Chicago at the NATO Summit meeting.  This is one of our biggest outreach efforts of the year and we can use your help!

Posted on May 3, 2012  by FightBack! News

By Staff

Speaker at May 1 immigrant rights protest (Fight Back! News/Staff)

Minneapolis, MN – More than 1500 people marched on Lake Street for immigrant and workers rights here on May 1, International Workers Day. Organized by the May 1st Coalition and initiated by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAc), the march focused on legalization for undocumented immigrants, ending deportations and support for workers and their unions. The march had the support of the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation (AFL-CIO), most immigrant rights groups in the city and many Latino student groups from nearby colleges and high schools.

The march started at 3:30 p.m. at Lake Street and Nicollet Avenue. Cleaning workers from the Center for Workers United in Struggle (CTUL) spoke across the street from the local K Mart to denounce the exploitation of immigrant workers that clean their stores. Rafael Morataya of SEIU Local 26 spoke when the march passed by Wells Fargo bank, to denounce the bank’s support for corporations that exploit immigrants, like Corrections Corporation of America, which builds private prisons and immigrant detention facilities while lobbying for harsher anti-immigrant laws to fill those jails.

A member of Mujeres en Liderazgo (Women in Leadership) spoke out for their campaign for a Minneapolis municipal ID that would be accessible for immigrants, as well as for their campaign for the right of immigrants to get a driver’s license.

Rap artist Maria Isa did two songs at the rally at Powderhorn Park at the end of the march, energizing the crowd and expressing her support for the immigrant rights and anti-racist struggle. Rodrigo Sanchez-Chavarria read a poem about the immigrant struggle. Emilia Avalos and other immigrant youth spoke about their struggle for access to education.

There were also speakers from other immigrant communities in Minnesota, like Sadik Warfa who spoke from the Somali immigrant community and Azannia Tripp of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum. Christian Ucles of Minnesotans United for All Families spoke in support of marriage equality and of the importance to unite against the right-wing attacks against LGBTQ people and against immigrants.

Thistle Parker Hartog from the Committee to Stop FBI Repression spoke about Carlos Montes, whose trial starts May 15 in Los Angeles on trumped up charges and about the case of Joe Callahan, an anti-war and immigrant rights activist in Minnesota accused of ‘human trafficking’ for supposedly helping two Salvadoran immigrants cross into Canada to seek asylum.

Pangea World Theater did a brief performance and Carlos Lombi played music.

Mel Reeves of Occupy the Hood spoke, as did Alejandra Cruz, a well-known immigrant youth leader in Minnesota. She spoke about her struggle fighting against her home’s foreclosure. Her family is in danger of imminent eviction and they are seeking support to defend their home from the bank.

Javier Morillio, President of SEIU Local 26, spoke about current union struggles and representatives of the unions that endorsed the march took the stage together to be recognized by the crowd for supporting the International Workers Day march. Cecilia Martinez of CEED spoke about the struggle for climate justice.

Ana of MIRAc spoke about the need for immigrant workers and their supporters to continue the struggle for legalization for all, an end to deportations and an end to all racist anti-immigrant laws.

A speech given by Thistle Parker-Hartog representing the Minnesota Committee to Stop FBI Repression at the Immigrant Rights rally on May 1, 2012 at Powderhorn Park. Thistle, who is also a member of the Anti-War Committee, drew attention to the connections between the government attacks on activists like herself and the everyday repression of immigrant communities in the U.S. Her speech is below in English first and then in Spanish.

The Committee to Stop FBI Repression stands in solidarity with our immigrant sisters and brothers. One of our number, Carlos Montes, has been a leader in the Chicano movement for decades. And in retribution for his dedication to fighting for immigrant rights, he was raided and arrested on false charges at his home in L.A. one year ago. His trial starts May 15, and it is urgent that each one of us contact the prosecutor to demand he drop the charges against Carlos. You should also know about Joe Callahan, who for years has done solidarity work around Central America and Cuba. In a ludicrous turn of events he was arrested in Canada for trafficking immigrants. He also needs your support before his next court date in Canada. Fliers are being distributed about both Joe and Carlos’ case, along with the phone number for the prosecutor.

Those of us who have been subpoenaed and intimidated by the U.S. government were singled out because of our work in solidarity with people our government has oppressed in other countries and here in the United States. We understand how U.S. policies of war and free trade abroad create the need for immigrants to come here seeking a better life. And we understand the hypocrisy of the United States then criminalizing and rejecting those very people fleeing the devastation created by the US in their home countries. Those of us under investigation are receiving a small taste of the apprehension and foreboding immigrants live with every day, that the next knock on the door might be the police coming to take us away, that at any point a court order might descend to tear our families apart. But we will not lay down the struggle to defend our right to dissent. And we will continue to stand with our immigrant sisters and brothers in support of the struggle for immigrant justice.

La Comité para Parar la Represión del FBI está en solidaridad con nuestras hermanas y nuestros hermanos inmigrantes. Uno de nosotros, Carlos Montes, ha sido un líder en el movimiento Chicano por décadas. Como castigo por su dedicación a luchar por los derechos de inmigrantes y otros, hace un año se hizo una redada de su hogar en Los Ángeles y se le arrestó a Carlos, poniéndole cargos falsos. Su juicio empieza el 15 de mayo, y es urgente que cada uno comuniquemos con el fiscal para exigirle retirar los cargos. También deben saber de Joe Callahan, quien ha trabajado en solidaridad con los centroamericanos y cubanos por años. Por ridículo, se le arrestó a él en Canadá por traficar a inmigrantes. Él también necesita su apoyo antes de su próxima corte en Canadá. Se distribuyen hojas informativas sobre los casos de Joe y de Carlos, junto con el número telefónico del fiscal.

Los que hemos sido citados e intimidados por el gobierno de los Estados,– estamos señalados por el trabajo que hemos hecho en solidaridad con los pueblos oprimidos por nuestro gobierno en otros países, y aquí en los Estados. Entendemos como las políticas norteamericanas de guerra y de comercio libre crean la necesidad para que inmigrantes vengan a buscar una vida mejor. Y entendemos la hipocresía de los Estados en criminalizar y rechazar a las meras personas huyéndose del lio hecho por los Estados en sus países. Y los que estamos bajo investigación ahora vivimos una pequeña parte de la aprehensión y miedo con los cuales viven inmigrantes cada día, que la próxima persona que toque la puerta será la policía aquí para llevarnos, que en cualquier momento una orden judicial pueda aparecerse para destruir a nuestras familias. Pero no renunciamos a la lucha para defender a nuestros derechos a disensión. Y seguimos al lado de nuestras hermanas y nuestros hermanos inmigrantes en la lucha para la justica. La lucha sigue!

Joe Callahan is a long time Minnesota antiwar and union activist who is accused of helping bring 2 Salvadoran immigrants into Canada where they were seeking asylum.  Joe now faces several serious charges and the Anti-War Committee asks you to support Joe and his legal defense.

Support

On July 31, 2011, after two Salvadoran immigrants went to Canada to apply for asylum, long-time Twin Cities activist Joe Callahan was arrested by Canadian police at the Pigeon River border station. At the time Joe was alone in his car. The Canadian police used a backpack, maps and other items found in Joe s car as the grounds for his arrest.

Joe was charged with aiding and abetting an immigration without a visa, and providing false and misleading information. As a result of these charges, Joe was locked up in the Thunder Bay District Jail in cramped, crowded conditions where inmates are frequently forced to sleep on the floor, as Joe did for the first several days he was there. While Joe was in custody, the authorities added the charge of smuggling or human trafficking. This charge is much more serious and carries a maximum sentence of ten years.

After one month Joe was released on bail and was allowed to return to the Minneapolis area, pending trial. He is restricted to the Twin Cities area as a condition of his release. Meanwhile, the prosecuting attorney, or Crown Attorney, as they are called in Canada, informed Joe s defense attorneys that he is seeking a sentence of three or four years. The trial will be held in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The date has not yet been set. Joe is being represented by Mary Bird and Francis Thatcher, a prominent attorney in the Aboriginal rights struggle.

Over the last thirty years Joe has been active in solidarity work for Central America and Cuba. He has been an active defender of immigration rights. He was also active against an attempt to reinstate the death penalty in Minnesota. His record in the fight for justice goes back to his youth. As a student he was active in the anti-Vietnam war movement.

For four and a half years Joe worked for the Metro Transit System as a bus driver, and was a member of the Amalgamated Transit Union. He has spent his working life in blue collar, unionized jobs. Now, because of his legal difficulties, he has been forced to take a lower-paying position as a driver for a small bus company.

Joe Callahan is NOT a human trafficker! Joe is NOT a smuggler! These charges against him are unfounded and they should be dropped. Joe is a political activist concerned about the rights of immigrants. He needs the help of all supporters of democratic rights.

You can aid in Joe s defense:

§ Circulate this letter and urge others to sign. New signers can sign via email to:  joecallahansupport@hotmail.com

§ Attend Joe’s trial in Thunder Bay, Ontario. For more information contact:  supportjoe.wordpress.com or joecallahansupport@hotmail.com