17 July, 2014

We, cultural workers representing the majority of Palestinian performing art organizations, condemn the current Israeli attack and aggression on Gaza, and the indiscriminate killing and maiming of mainly civilians, among them many children and women.

As artists, the most powerful weapon we have is our ability to play, dream and imagine. The oppressive forces fear this weapon because as long as we are able to imagine another kind of reality, we have the power to pursue it – a free and just Palestine.

Israel is portraying the ongoing massacre in Gaza as a war between them and Hamas, as part of an obnoxious media campaign of turning the oppressed into the villains. This latest Israeli attack against Gaza is a crime that must be understood within the context of Israeli occupation and apartheid. For over six decades Palestinians have been systematically bereaved of their lands, their water and their freedom of movement. Settlements continue to be built, a wall is erected on occupied lands and Gaza has been under a suffocating blockade for over six years. These crimes must be condemned and acted upon immediately.

Among our companions are institutions that despite all the hardships continue to work in Gaza, using music, theatre and drama to comprehend, process, educate and mobilize. We stand with them and we ask you to do the same.

While governments are once again turning their backs, people around the world are raising their voices; taking to the streets and refusing to let the people of Gaza suffer in silence. We urge our colleagues, friends and partners not to stay silent and join us in our protest.

We call upon the world to put pressure on Israel to stop the blockade of Gaza.

We particularly call upon our fellow artists and cultural organizations to condemn the current aggressions against Gaza and the occupation of Palestine through petitions, protests and statements. Further to that, we urge you to act by supporting the Palestinian cultural and academic boycott of Israel (PACBI), thereby refusing to be complicit in the ongoing occupation and apartheid.

Together, we can turn hopelessness into determination and the forces of division into unity. It is within our power.
..

The undersigned, as founding members of the Palestinian Performing Art Programme (PPAN)

Al-Harah Theatre:www.alharah.org

– keep messages short with simple message wishing El Haqed well and that he will soon be free.
– no political or religious comment or images ( tourist cards are appreciated….)
– Give return address/email.

Send to:

 Mouad Belghouate

Prison local Oukacha 

Quartier Oukacha 

20 580 Casablanca, Morocco 

Víctor “Crack” Rodríguez is facing up to six years in prison for a performance piece.   After the general election in El Salvador that split the winning left party from the right by a margin of less than 1% percent, tensions in the country are high, especially amongst the nation’s community of artists, who are rallying to defend Rodríguez, one of San Salvador’s celebrated contemporary artists.

On March 9th, 2014 Rodriguez walked in to a ballot station and announced, “this is an artist action,” then proceeded to eat half of his ballot in front of polling station onlookers before casting the remaining half.  A video of the artist’s performance went viral.  But the situation quickly turned ugly as the Salvadoran legal system reacted, accusing the artist of electoral fraud — a criminal offence punishable by up to six years in prison.

Renowned Salvadoran artist Simon Vega is appalled by the charges:

The fact that many of us feel there is not one political party or candidate in which we can believe or respect yet having the authorities tell us that the vote is “the people’s most powerful weapon,” makes many of us identify with his action. According to the law, “Crack” could be facing from 2 to 6 years in prison for expressing himself in this way, how senseless! We won’t allow it. I think the action is one of the most important, consequent and effective works of contemporary art in Central America’s history, no doubt.

The artists’s collaborators Ernesto Bautista, Mauricio Kabistan, and Melissa Guevara, fellow members of the collective The Fire Theory, have created a petition in order for the art community at large to show their appreciation for the artist’s intention. The artists are hoping to use this petition as evidence to show that Rodríguez is a seasoned artist and that this “call to action” forms part of his practice and is not a crime.

see the whole article here: http://hyperallergic.com/116387/salvadoran-artist-faces-prison-after-eating-voting-ballot/

Statement from Malaysia political cartoonist, Zunar. Zunar vs the police and the Malaysian government (Unlawful Detention under The Sedition Act): An appeal at the Appellate Court on the 18th June 2013

The Appellate Court has set 18th of June to hear my appeal on the decision of the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s ruling regarding detention of me under the Sedition Act three years ago.

In his ruling on July last year, the Kuala Lumpur High Court Judge Justice Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera rules that the detention was lawful, even though in the other part of the judgment the court had instructed the police to return all my books and drawing and pay the damages.

On the 24th September 2010, I was arrested and jailed for two days over the publishing of my then new comic book, Cartoon-O-Phobia. I was investigated under the Sedition Act, which carries the maximum of three-year jail if found guilty.

The detention was made several hours prior to the launching of the comic book.

I then filed a suit to challenge the Malaysian government on the grounds that the arrest was made in bad faith, mala fide, and not according to the law. This is based on the fact that when the arrest was made, the books were not available in the market yet.

In my suit, I claimed general, aggravated and exemplary damages, losses from an art collage and the 66 books confiscated during the raid, and loss of earnings from the inability to sell books.

I am represented by R Sivarasa, N Surendran, Latheefa Koya and Fadiah Nadwa Fikri.

Zunar, Political cartoonist – 12 June 2013

The access to the park and other important areas is blocked without any legal basis. The riots have spread out to other major cities as Ankara and Izmir. In Ankara police is using pepper spray to attack civilians. Turkish media, directly controlled by the government or have business and political ties with it, refuse to cover the incidents. Press agencies also blocked the information flow. Since Saturday evening, social media such as Facebook and Twitter are not accessible to prevent information spreading among protestors.

Please share this message for the world to become aware of the police state created by AKP of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, which is often considered to be a model for other Middle Eastern countries. Nevertheless, the prime minister is being considered a dictator by the protestors that takes the democratic way of decision making little into account. Turkish democracy expects your help. Thank you!

Reposted from http://occupygezi.com/

This is the first of two campaigns we are planning for Kickstarter. This initial campaign will help us to make an initial 20 minute film, build a radio tower and get the station started. We plan our first trip in June, 2013. A small seed grant from National Geographic has provided initial support for this project.

Don’t forget your donations are tax deductible via IssueTV 501c3. Kickstarter will provide you with a tax-deductible receipt.

If you would like more information give us a call or check out our website:

Issue Television 501c3
8202 Alcorn Circle
Austin, TX 78748
505-699-8948
www.issuetv.org
info@issuetv.org

Building a radio station in Cameroon and making a film about it is going to be a major challenge! The area is remote, we will have to charge our cameras on solar power, keep our equipment dry and clean and get all the shots right. There will be bribes to pay, cultural faux pas to work around and malaria to avoid.

Just getting to Nditam, Issa’s tiny village, will be days of travel over rivers that have no bridges, in one of the most corrupt places in the world. Wish us luck!

fD Board members Martin Rosengaard and Todd Lester have partnered with the S17 Support Group to set up a hosting system in New York city for Occupy Wall Street’s one-year anniversary weekend: Host an Occupier.

The Anniversary of Occupy Wall Street is upon us. Organizing work is nearly complete as cities across the country and the world prepare to celebrate the progress of our first year in the fight for economic justice. A “Festival des Indignées” is being planned in Paris. An “Open Knowledge Festival” kicks off in Helsinki, Finland.

Solidarity actions will take place throughout the city and village assemblies of Spain. Germany is planning an action on the Central Bank of Europe in Frankfurt. Assemblies & debates will be held in Rome and Florence, in Italy. And in New York, we’re taking the fight to where it all began – Wall Street.

But we need your help! People can’t flock to New York for the birthday of the revolution without the help of hosts to welcome them to our city to stand with us in the fight. We want to be able to spread the call far & wide to flood the streets of New York on September 17th – but we want to make sure that we can provide food and shelter during the three-day convergence festival on the weekend leading up to S17. The volunteers at the OWS Kitchen is already hard at work getting ready to prepare thousands of healthy meals – but we still need help housing people who will travel long-distance to make it to New York to be with us as we celebrate the One-Year Anniversary of Occupy Wall Street.

If you were in a position to help someone out, would you open your home to someone who answered the calling to stand up for economic justice and made the journey to New York to make their voices heard? People need a safe, warm place to sleep during their stay here – so they can be well-rested enough to take to the streets with a message of unity and solidarity with the 99%.

Mutual Aid is revolutionary. If you think you can offer housing to an activist for the OWS anniversary convergence, get in touch with us. We will work with your individual needs and capabilities to find the right fit. We are happy to facilitate people helping people to build relationships and dream together to enact a better world today. Additionally, if you are coming to NYC to join us, please register here and let us know if you need housing.  This September 17th is just the beginning!!

⨳

Yours,

The S17 Support Group

Zubeidi, co-founder of The Freedom Theatre and former leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, has been imprisoned by the Palestinian Authority for close to four months. No charges have been made against him, no evidence presented and throughout his imprisonment his rights have been severely violated, as described by among others Human Rights Watch (http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/07/27/israelpalestinian-authority-theater-group-hit-both-sides).

Being one of the last survivors of Arna’s Children, Zakaria joined the armed resistance during the second Intifada and became one of its leading figures. After co-founding The Freedom Theatre in 2006 Zakaria decided to lay down his weapons in order to join a cultural resistance, which he deemed a more powerful tool against the Israeli occupation. Surviving numerous assassination attempts by the Israeli army and vowing to never again enter an Israeli prison, Zakaria is now instead facing death in a Palestinian prison unless immediate action is taken.

The Freedom Theatre urges all its friends and supporters to:

• Contact the local representative office of the Palestinian Authority(2) and demand Zakaria Zubeidi’s release. Since the situation is urgent we also ask you to take more direct actions such as organising protests at PA representative offices.
• Contact local or regional human rights offices and organisations such as Amnesty International and urge them to take action.
• Contact your local MP and MEP and urge them to take action.
• Contact your country’s representative office in the occupied Palestinian territory and urge them to take action(3).
• Call these numbers to demand Zakaria’s release: +972 (0)599000011 Abo Mohammad Shadeh, Head of the Palestinian Authority President’s Security Office, +972(0)2000011 Said Abualheja, Ministry of Interior, +972 (0)-597778887 Majd Faraj, Head of Palestinian Intelligence

The Freedom Theatre will continue to monitor Zakaria’s case closely and we will keep you updated.

Twitter: #Freezakaria

Facebook: www.facebook.com/thefreedomtheatre, www.facebook.com/FreedomForNabilAndZakaria

Website: www.thefreedomtheatre.org/news.php?id=280

Photo reposted from http://www.ujfp.org.

Nyrabia graduated from the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Damascus in 1999. He participated at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004 for his lead-role in the film “The Gate of the Sun” by Yousry Nasrallah which was based on the Lebanese Elias Khoury’s novel.

Nyrabia works as a film producer and is one of the founders of DOX BOX International Documentary Film Festival held in Syria. The festival was initially launched during “Damascus: Arab Capital of Culture” festivity in 2008 under the patronage of the National Film Organization up till 2011.

Nyrabia contributed in several Arab and International collaborations and networks to support the documentary film industry in his country and the rest of Arab Region. He was honored as a member of the jury at international film festivals including Ibn Rushd in Tehran and in Amsterdam, Leipzig and Copenhagen among others.

Photo reposted from NewYorker.com