Sunday, September 28, 2014

Stand up for Free Speech

Dear friends, 
Socialist Alternative, which I am also a member off, has been one of the most active groups on university campuses supporting the struggle for a free Palestine and opposing Israel's human rights abuses in Gaza and Palestine.  

Due to Socialist Alternative's uncompromising support for Palestine, Zionists recently launched a digital attack on Red Flag, the paper put out by Socialist Alternative - which I regularly write for - disabling its website for a week. 

Socialist Alternative are also battling against rightwing and Zionist attacks on campus which have seenthe refusal to pass solidarity motions in support of Gaza and attempts to disaffiliate,
attempts to stop the affiliation of Student for Palestine clubs, as well as attempts to censor and punish Socialist Alternative clubs for supporting Palestine and opposing Israel's human rights abuses. 

In an blatant attack on free speech and concerted attempt to censor Pro-Palestine students, the University of Western Australia Student Guild has recently suspended the Socialist Alternative club on that campus for putting up posters about a meeting critical of Israel, for allegedly swearing at someone with the alleged complaint of this being made 1.5 years after the alleged incident supposedly took place and because a student took offense at t-shirts opposing Australia's Prime Minister, Tony Abbott.

As the petition opposing this attack on Socialist Alternative have noted, "such allegations would be thrown out by anything resembling a court, yet the UWA Socialist Alternative club has been judged guilty before a hearing has taken place." 

This is clearly an attempt to censor pro-Palestine students who are active in speaking out against not only injustice in Palestine but also in Australia and elsewhere.  Socialist Alternative are asking people to stand in solidarity with their students members on the University of WA by signing on to the following petition (click here)

You can also support them by emailing the UWA Student Guild directly (please keep any emails polite, while stating your opposition to this blatant attack on free speech and attempt to censor students for their political stance):

president@guild.uwa.edu.au
vp@guild.uwa.edu.au
treasurer@guild.uwa.edu.au
secretary@guild.uwa.edu.au

If you are in Australia you can also ring the Guild at:

(08) 6488 2295

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