Spokesman Books

The Russell Tribunal on Palestine mourns the passing of Stéphane Hessel Brussels - 27 February 2013 For Immediate Release Stéphane Hessel, author of the bestseller Time for outrage , French ambassador, human rights’ advocate and great philosopher, died last night at the age of 95. The Russell Tribunal on palestine (RToP) mourns the passing of its honorary president and huge supporter. Pierre Galand, RToP general coordinator says : The Tribunal has always ben his project, and he was its soul as he has always inspired us with his ideas and supported us with concrete gestures. He would have participated in the last session of the Tribunal, in Brussels on 16 and 17 March, but now that he’s passed away we will pay him the tribute he deserves. With his death, we loss a last eye-witness of the drafting of the Human Rights’ declaration. If the World loses a great personality and a distinguished intellectual and activist, at a personal level, I will miss him as a comrade and a friend ...

PEACE IN KURDISTAN CAMPAIGN Statement 22 February 2012 It is with dismay and outrage that once again we learn of yet another round of mass arrests in Turkey. This time the victims of this repressive police action, which has become all too commonplace in the country in recent months, are trade union activists and union officials. Read in full

The Spokesman 119 Edited by Tony Simpson Ayse Berktay has been locked up in a Turkish prison since October 2011. She and some 200 others are, periodically, before Turkey’s Tribunal with Special Powers as part of the ‘KCK trials’. KCK stands for Kurdish Communities Union, which the Turkish government has labelled a ‘terrorist’ organisation, although the actual basis for this draconian claim is not at all clear. In December 2012, many Kurds, some Turks and various others gathered at the European Parliament in Brussels to consider ‘The Kurdish Question in Turkey’. The conference was sponsored by the United European Left/Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) political group, with support from Greens and Socialists. It had the sub-title, ‘time to renew the dialogue and resume direct negotiations’. Notwithstanding attempts by the Turkish authorities to restrict Kurdish participation, the conference heard from many speakers of diverse backgrounds and nationalities. They included two prominent K...

Thanks to Deep Dish TV , we now have a great HD quality 2 hours film about the New York session of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine available online. Watch it, share it, use it! http://youtu.be/HLgzUuuq21g All the best Frank Barat Coordinator Russell Tribunal on Palestine . Follow us on Facebook . Corporate Complicity in Israel's Occupation book about the London session of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine is out now. Gaza in Crisis: Reflections on Israel's War Against the Palestinians my book with Noam Chomsky and Ilan Pappe, is out now. Read my blog here .

PEN Turkey under investigation for ‘insulting the state’ English PEN is concerned that our sister organisation PEN Turkey is facing a preliminary criminal investigation as a result of critical comments about the ongoing prosecution of pianist and composer Fazıl Say . Six members of the PEN Turkey board ( President Tarık Günersel , Vice-President Halil İbrahim Özcan , General Secretary Sabri Kuşkonmaz , Treasurer Tülin Dursun , and board members Zeynep Oral and Mario Levi ) and poet and critic Nihat Ateş (who uploaded the content to the PEN Turkey website) were called in for questioning today by the Istanbul Public Prosecutor’s Office. In June 2012, PEN Turkey’s website carried a statement condemning the prosecution of the musician Fazil Say for religious defamation, in which the centre stated that ‘the international community has been put on alert in the face of fascist developments in Turkey’. Depending on the outcome of the investigation, PEN Turkey board members may face ...

Dear RToP Community, This message is to inform you that the Russell Tribunal on Palestine NY Session will be broadcasted on FSTV. FSTV will broadcast four 2-hour segments that were produced by Deep Dish TV. Each broadcast will be repeated several times, starting in January. Also, the FSTV broadcasts will be carried on as many as 200 public access stations, including MNN in New York. The schedule is below. We hope you can tune in! Russell Tribunal on Palestine - New York Session Broadcast Schedule on Free Speech TV Dish Network Channel 9415 (satellite) DirecTV Channel 348 (satellite) The Tribunal will be broadcast in four 2-hour blocs Russell Tribunal on Palestine - New York - Program #1 Premiere Monday January 28, 10pm ET Repeats Tue Jan 29 at 1pm ET, Wed Jan 30 at 10am ET, Thursday Jan 31 at 3am ET, Saturday Feb 2 at 4pm ET, Monday Feb 4 at 4am ET Russell Tribunal on Palestine - New York - Program #2 Premiere Monday February 4, 10pm ET Repeats Tue Feb 5 at 1pm...

WAIHOPAI SPYBASE PROTEST January 18-20, 2013 The Kim Dotcom saga has certainly put the NZ Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) and its Waihopai spy base smack bang into the glare of the spotlight. Not coincidentally this is happening in the same year that the Government has got New Zealand back into ANZUS in all but name. NZ has hosted its first visit from a US Defense Secretary for 30 years and he offered to base US marines here. For the first time since the 1980s, American troops have trained here; NZ troops have trained in the US; and NZ warships have taken part in US-led naval exercises. How ironic that all this was happening at the same time as the country was celebrating the 25th anniversary of our nuclear free law. The public face of New Zealand’s role as an American ally is the NZ military presence in Afghanistan. But New Zealand’s most significant contribution to the global American warfighting machine is, and has been for more than 20 years, the Waihopai e...