Vol. 71/No. 42      November 12, 2007

BY BEN O’SHAUGHNESSY  
NEW YORK—“The Young Socialists joined thousands across the country today to demand, ‘Bring the troops home now!’” said Jenny Johnson-Blanchard, a Young Socialist from New York.

She was speaking at a Militant Labor Forum following a regional demonstration against the Iraq war here October 27. She shared the platform with Militant correspondent Sam Manuel at a forum on “Africa, Oil, and Imperialism.”

“The U.S.-led war against Iraq and the imperialist drive against countries such as Iran are a necessity of the capitalist system,” said Johnson-Blanchard. “They are rooted in the deepening financial crisis, with the declining profit rates of the bosses and sharpening imperialist competition, which drives the rulers toward war and further assaults on workers, farmers, and youth around the world.”

She reported on the spirited participation by young socialists from half a dozen cities in the YS-Socialist Workers Party contingent at the antiwar action in New York City. The contingent included students from upstate New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

The Young Socialists met youth at the march who were interested in a revolutionary socialist youth organization. In doing so, they and the socialist workers sold 33 subscriptions to the Militant and got a number of books and pamphlets on revolutionary politics into the hands of demonstrators.

“It is important to be a part of these antiwar protests to point out the root cause of war, which is imperialism,” said Chris Batchelder, a student at Hamilton College in upstate New York who joined the demonstration and attended the forum. “War is a sign of the system in crisis.”

Johnson-Blanchard reported on other recent activities of the Young Socialists around the country. This includes supporting meat packers who are fighting a union decertification drive by the bosses in Minnesota, actions to demand justice for the Jena Six, and participating in a team of socialists to exhibit Pathfinder books at the upcoming Venezuela International Book Fair.

“I’d like to invite any young person interested in fighting to build a revolutionary movement of workers and farmers in this country, against the rulers’ war, racism, and system of exploitation, to join the Young Socialists,” said Johnson-Blanchard.

Young Socialists around the country also participated in simultaneous local actions against the Iraq war in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Orlando, and New Orleans.

Emily Paul from New York contributed to this article.
 

The Socialist Club at the university sponsored the event. Speaking was Chauncey Robinson, a member of the Young Socialists from San Francisco.

Gerardo Hernández, René González, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, and Fernando González—the Cuban Five, as they are known—were arrested in 1998 on frame-up charges of “conspiracy to commit espionage” and other accusations. In 2001 they were convicted in an unfair trial in a Miami federal court.

The five men were on an internationalist mission to gather information on Cuban-American ultrarightist groups, operating from South Florida with the complicity of Washington, that have a history of violent actions against Cuba.

Robinson presented the facts surrounding the frame-up of the five Cubans and noted it is an example of the nearly 50 years of aggression carried out against Cuba by Washington.

“The U.S. rulers are hostile to the Cuban Revolution because of what it represents,” said Robinson. “Cuba represents an outstanding example of what working people can do when they realize their self-worth, take power out of the hands of the exploiters, and organize society based on human solidarity and not profit and exploitation.”

After the presentation, clips of the documentary film Mission Against Terror were shown and students participated in an hour of discussion. Robinson encouraged participants to attend an upcoming solidarity conference on the Cuban Five November 9-10 in Toronto.

Lynsie Clott is a member of the Socialist Club at the University of Idaho at Moscow.
 
 
Related articles:
Turkish gov’t pounds Kurd rebel bases on Iraqi border
Regional actions demand an end to war in Iraq  
 
 
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