[Dissent-fr-info] Urgent Call for International Solidarity!

Fri Jun 25 14:28:29 UTC 2010

-------- Message original --------
Objet : [Noborder] FW: Urgent Call for International Solidarity!
De : claire boulanger <claireboulanger at hotmail.fr>
À : noborder at lists.aktivix.org
Cc : 

Reçu sur : mobilisationNBC at vluchteling.be

Urgent Appeal for
International Solidarity! Stand up against police shooting of Maxwell Itoya in Poland and the general criminalization of
immigrants in Europe on Wednesday, July 1st,
2010

We send out this appeal to ask for your solidarity,
and more specifically, for action and reaction in international solidarity to
the act of state violence that has recently taken place in Poland, but which is
of great relevance to all those living within Fortress Europe.

We are a collective of Warsaw residents- immigrants and non, alike-
currently engaged in struggle against state organs of repression- the police in
particular- responsible for brutally murdering Maxwell Itoya, a Pole of
Nigerian origin on May 23, 2010. This fight is manifesting itself on many
fronts, from the legal to the subversive; we are agitating in the courts, the
media and the streets. Our aim is to bring to justice the guilty police
criminal, as well as the perverted racist system that has not only been
shielding this bastard under a veil of “objective” lies, but that has also been
using the same bogus arguments to justify its atrocious criminalization and
downright slaughter of the thousands of immigrants who try to traverse the
barbed gates of Europe.

International pressure is crucial. The Polish police
is exerting all of its efforts to assure itself the undoubting faith of public
opinion in the media while it carefully covers up the “accident,” sweeping the
evidence under the rug of last week’s news. We refuse to allow this matter to
disappear just the way that countless other acts of state and police brutality
are regularly effaced from public consciousness. We will continue to act and we
need your help!We call for international direct action and
demonstrations on Wednesday, July 1st, 2010 in the aim of placing
pressure on the Polish government to guarantee a just and transparent trial in
the case of Maxwell Itoya! We call for international solidarity in the struggle
against exclusive citizenship regimes based on capitalist intents at exploitation
and their armed bullies in the form of police, border guards and Frontex!

What happened on May 23?

On May 23, around 10:00 am, during a routine control of shoe and clothing
dealers- deemed "business criminals" by the authorities- at Warsaw's main market,
non-uniformed police officers brutally arrested one of the sellers. Witnesses
of the arrest, surprised by the unusual level of police violence, began calling
on officers to regain calm. In reaction, one of the officers fired at 36
year-old Maxwell Itoya, a Pole of Nigerian origin, killing him on the spot. The
police officer did not fire a warning shot in the air and the killing occurred
in breach of legal procedure. All evidence reveals that Max did not provoke
this radical act; he was not aggressive, rather, he called for peace and calm.
The solidarity that Max showed towards his friends was answered by a lethal
shot fired by a member of the police in his direction.

Max's murder caused outrage in the crowd. 32 citizens of African countries were
arrested and later charged with aggravated assault of police officers and
destruction of property (stones were thrown at police cars). Currently, there
is one- Agu Chidi- still being held under arrest and facing deportation. Agu
Chidi has been held since May 23 without release and without any information as
to his whereabouts.

Like many low-wage workers, Max sold goods at the
market on the weekends in order to support his family. His legal status in Poland had been
fully regulated for years. He left behind a wife and three children.

We call on all those who want to help in bringing about a just trial to
uphold the following demands in their own solidarity initiatives:

·Fundamental to a just and
transparent legal process is the authorities’ assurance that no witnesses to
the crime shall be subject to deportation. The parties in this case are
representatives of the Polish government and immigrants. As the latter party’s
well-being in Poland is evidently under the direct discretion of the former,
fear of repercussions such as deportation or the denial to renew temporary
residency permits so as to wield pressure on the witnesses is entirely
plausible. The only solution is thus to convey full legal status to the
witnesses:
                        -Amnesty for
Displaced Foreign Workers without legal status (“illegals”)
                        -Permanent
legal stay for witnesses in possession of  temporary residency permits
·We appeal for help and support for the family of the victim of this brutal
police action.
·We demand explanation of the arrest of the 32 citizens of African
countries, their scandalous treatment, as well as of the attempts at
intimidation that have been directed towards them and their families by police
officers.
For more info: www.max-solidarity.pl 		 	   		  
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