[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9hvzWPGxPo&w=560&h=315]
Unlike most of the Occupiers Red Alert Politics has interviewed who are driven by a justified opposition to crony capitalism, Tuesday’s Occupy the Justice Dept. protest was controlled by individuals of a decidedly more radical flavor.
Hardcore communist groups such as the New Black Panthers, the Stalinist North Korean-aligned Workers World Party and its offshoots, namely the International Action Center and the ANSWER Coalition, were prominently featured at the rally outside the Justice Department – both in the crowd and onstage. It drew approximately 1,000 people demanding freedom for convicted Philadelphia cop killer Mumia abu Jamal, a former Black Panther, and others they called “political prisoners.”
Chants of “Free Mumia” were repeatedly greeted with the clenched-fist communist salute, and one young female protester even sported a red T-shirt emblazoned with the flag of the former Soviet Union.
The Workers World Party greeted Barack Obama’s election in 2009 by posting messages from foreign communist parties on its website stating that “the imperialist character of the US state cannot be fundamentally changed through electoral processes” and that their ultimate objective should be that of “overthrowing the capitalist state machinery and establishing in its place a socialist state.”
The group had a long history during the Cold War of supporting every act of Soviet aggression from the 1956 invasion of Hungary to the 1979 invasion of Afghanistan. It even backed the 1989 Chinese slaughter of pro-democracy protesters in Tianamen Square and the Soviet coup plotters in 1991 when they briefly overthrew Mikhail Gorbachev.
The group’s posters were everywhere during the demonstration calling for “Jobs not Jails” among other things.
The protest’s website features comments from veteran communist agitator Angela Davis, winner of the 1977-78 Lenin Peace Prize from the Soviet Brezhnev regime, among others. Davis broke with the Communist Party USA in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The radical tone of the protest’s moderators permeated many of the speeches, especially one by abu Jamal’s book agent, Frances Goldin, who said the convicted cop killer was being held prisoner because he was like Paul Robeson, winner of the 1952 Stalin Peace Prize.
Robeson lamented the Soviet dictator’s death by penning a piece titled “To You Beloved Comrade”, which praised Stalin, the murderer of 20 million, as being dedicated to peace and a guidance to the world: “Through his deep humanity, by his wise understanding, he leaves us a rich and monumental heritage.”
Other speakers included Mirielle Fanon-Mendes, daughter of Marxist anti-colonialist activist Frantz Fanon, who Barack Obama describes as being among his earliest influences.
While Ramona Africa, a member of the radical Philadelphia group MOVE, whose teachings abu Jamal adheres to, called for revolution and excused the use of political violence during her speech to the protesters. MOVE’s use of violence prompted two violent clashes with police in 1978 and 1985, the latter of which resulted in the police dropping a bomb on the group’s compound. Africa was one of two survivors.
The demonstration also spurred numerous arrests.
