美國明尼阿波尼斯的警察殺死非洲裔人George Floyd,掀起全國反對警察暴力的抗爭運動。在英國、德國、比利時以至香港都有聲援行動。國際社會主義前進在此表達國際團結!
美國警察種族歧視及極端暴力並不是第一天發生的事。早在2014年以來有多宗美國黑人被警察無辜謀殺,而凶手往往被司法制度包庇,被判無罪釋放,長期積累群眾怨憤至今爆發。至今官方的驗屍報告甚至強調George Floyd有心臟病、體內疑似有毒素等,企圖為凶殺案塗脂抹粉。
川普派出警察及軍隊,動用催淚彈、胡椒彈和橡膠子彈鎮壓示威者,連記者、長者及兒童都無辜受傷,其恐怖手段與中共獨裁治下的港警無異。
就像中共抹黑香港民主運動為「港獨勢力」所發動的一樣,川普也抹黑美國抗爭為「本土恐怖組織」ANTIA背後策劃。但ANTIFA根本沒有扮演任何角色!美國主流媒體就像中共官媒報導香港抗議一樣,無限放大示威者的「暴力」,卻為最大的國家恐怖暴力粉飾太平。所謂的民主國家與習近平獨裁政權一樣,只會以暴力及謊言壓制群眾的反抗聲音!
美國警察暴力與種族歧視問題,不是由於個別警察的失誤,而是由資本主義制度滋生的。無論是司法制度和執法機關都充斥美國白人至上主義,往往將黑人定性為「罪犯」。美國黑人男性一輩子中入獄服刑的可能性是白人的三倍。
全美新冠肺炎大流行揭露了川普政府的無能,起初為了經濟數字而淡化疫情,而醫療系統的私有化更令富人才可能負擔完善醫療,使美國成為全球疫情最嚴重的國家。由於居住條件惡劣和欠缺醫療保障,佔美國總人口13%的黑人死於新冠肺炎的比例卻佔到了疫情死亡總數的23%,部分州分的黑人死亡率高達7成。
現在美國經濟深陷危機,大量租戶被迫遷、社會服務經費被削減、失業人口高達4千萬。不論是白人還是黑人,工人和青年都忍夠了,唯一出路是團結在這場抗爭之中,對抗富人統治的經濟制度。
美國的兩大黨和台灣三大黨一樣,都是代表財團和權貴的利益,根本就是假民主。在美國,大部分爆發抗爭的城市都是由民主黨執政的,而民主黨選擇出動警察鎮壓示威者。民主黨總統候選人拜登呼籲警察不要槍擊示威者頭部,但槍擊手腳是可以的!因此,美國「社會主義替代」(國際社會主義前進在美國姊妹組織)在這場抗爭中主張建設挑戰美國財團兩大黨的工人階級政黨。
我們與明尼阿波利斯及紐約市的綜合交通工會(ATU )動員了司機拒載警察及被捕人士到拘留所。我們在西雅圖的市議會議員薩旺特(Kshama Sawant)在議會提出動議,禁止警察壓頸、禁止使用化學武器、橡膠子彈及聲波炮,並削減一半警隊預算。我們正在推動美國發動一天的大罷工。
美國政府在六四屠殺三十一週年當天,假惺惺地表示不要忘記北京屠城,自己卻派軍隊鎮壓抗議。而義正辭嚴地表示支持香港民主抗爭的蔡英文,也對美國反警暴抗爭隻字不題。這些領導人真正關心的不是民主權利,而只是為了利用反中辭措收割民意,並在地緣政治鬥爭中爭奪市場利益。捍衛民主權利不能依靠美國和台灣等假民主政府,而需要受壓迫群眾的團結鬥爭。我們呼籲中港台與美國的抗爭互相聲援,只有打倒中美台以至世界的資本主義制度,才可以結束種族歧視、暴力和剝削!
國際社會主義前進主張:
中美政府一丘之貉,打倒美國及香港警察暴力!
懲罰四名殺人警察,解散並重組警隊,由工會及社區委員會民主監督!
削減警隊預算一半,公帑用於建設公共住房和學校!
工人階級團結鬥爭,消滅製造種族歧視的資本主義制度!
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Black Lives Matter!
Workers of the World Unite!
Fight Police Brutality in US and HK!
The murder of George Floyd by the Minneapolis police in the United States set off a nationwide protest movement against police brutality. Solidarity protests also took place in the U.K., Germany, Belgium. We International Socialist Forward are here today in Taiwan to show our solidarity with the US masses!
It is not the first racist violence by the US police. Since 2014, many black Americans and people of colour have been murdered in cold blood by the police. Yet the murderers have often been acquitted by the judicial system. Now the public anger that have accumulated for years has erupted and bursted into mass protests. Until now, the police autopsy report even emphasizes that George Floyd has heart disease and drugs in his body, attempting to disatract public attention away from the murder.
Trump sent in police and troops which used tear gas, pepper and rubber bullets against protesters. Even journalists, elderly and children were targeted. These terrorist methods are the same as those of the Hong Kong police under the CCP dictatorship.
Similar to how the CCP put the blame of the Hong Kong democracy movement on “Hong Kong independence forces”, Trump also attacked the protests now in the US for being instigated by the “terrorist organization” ANTIA. But ANTIFA played no real role at all! Just like what the state media of CCP did to Hong Kong protests, the mainstream capitalist media in the US outrageously magnified the “violence” of the demonstrators, ignoring the the biggest terrorist violence now which is the state itself. The so-called democratic US is now doing the same thing as what Xi Jinping’s dictatorship did, attacking people’s resistance with violence and lies!
The issues of police brutality and racism in the US are not about actions by individual policemen, but the capitalist system as a whole. Both the judicial system and law enforcement agency in US are plagued by white supremacism, and often see blacks as “criminals.” Black people are three times more likely to end up in prison than whites.
The pandemic has exposed the impotence of Trump’s government. At first, the pandemic was downplayed for economic reasons, and after it became a full blown pandemic the privatization of the medical system made it only possible for rich people to afford complete medical care, making the United States the country with the worst-hit by the pandemic in the world. While black people account for 13% of the total population of the United States, due to poverty and lack of public medical services, blacks account for 23% of the total deaths from COVID-19. The death rate of black people in some states is as high as 70%.
the US economy is also in a deep crisis, many tenants face eviction, social service funding has been severely cut, and up to 40 million people are unemployed. Workers and youth, both black and white, have suffered enough. The only way out is to be united in this struggle against the economic system dominated by the rich.
The two major parties in the United States, like the three main parties in Taiwan, represent the interests of elites and big companies, none of them stand for democracy. In the United States, most of the cities where mass protests broke out had Democratic Party governments, and the Democratic Party chose to mobilize the police to attack the demonstrators. Democratic Party presidential candidate Biden called on the police not to shoot demonstrators in the heads and hearts, but instead shoot then in their hands and feet! Our sister organization in the US “Socialist Alternative” are participating n this struggle to build a party of working class that can challenge the two major parties of the American capitalism.
Together with Minneapolis and the New York City Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), we organised drivers to refuse carrying arrested protesters for the police. Our city council member Kshama Sawant in Seattle filed a motion in the City Council to ban the police from using chemical weapons, rubber bullets and sonic guns, and to cut the police budget by half. We are also fighting for a nationwide one-day strike in the United States.
On the 31st anniversary of the June 4th Tainanmen massacre, the US government hypocritically said that we would not forget the Massacre, but at the same time sent its own troops to attack the protest.ls. Tsai Ing-wen, who solemnly expressed her support for the democratic struggle in Hong Kong, said nothing about the US protests. What these leaders really care about is not democratic rights, they only use anti-China rhetoric to win public support in order to strengthen their position to compete for market interests in the geopolitical imperialist conflicts. We cannot rely on fake democratic governments such as the United States and Taiwan governments to defend democratic rights. What is required is united struggle by the oppressed people all over the world. We call on workers and masses in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the United States to stand in solidarity with each other. Only by overthrowing the capitalist system in China, the United States, Taiwan and the world can we end racist discrimination, violence and exploitation!
International Socialist Forward stand for:
• No support to both Chinese and American Governments. Fight police brutality in both the United States and Hong Kong.
• Indict all four police responsible for Gerge Floyd’s murder, restructure and reorganize the police force along democratic lines under the control of trade unions and community committees.
• Cut the police budget by half and use those public funds to build public housing and schools.
• Working class of the world unite! Fight to overthrow the capitalist system that creates racism.