[van-announce] Appeal to support the reinstatement of Malalai Joya

[Derrick O'Keefe]

November 28, 2007International appeal to support the reinstatement of Malalai Joya
										The
case of Malalai Joya, the 29 year-old elected representative unjustly
suspended from the Afghan parliament in May 2007, requires the urgent
attention of the international community.
										As activists
and writers living in countries whose governments are at war in
Afghanistan and back the regime of Hamid Karzai, we wish to express
our support for Malalai Joya.
										Ms. Joya has been an
outspoken critic of the heavy presence of warlords and other
anti-democratic forces in the Afghan parliament, and for this she has
won widespread support. In 2005, she was elected to parliament as a
representative of Farah province. Such is her popularity that when she
as suspended from parliament, spontaneous demonstrations took place
throughout Afghanistan to show support for her reinstatement.
										Contrary
to the claims of the NATO governments, Malalai Joya says that the
West’s occupation of Afghanistan has pushed her country “from the
frying pan into the fire,” empowering assorted warlords and criminals.
Joya has also explained that six years of war have not encouraged the
spread of women’s rights: “We want liberation, not occupation.”
										We
believe that the governments of the NATO countries bear a great deal of
responsibility for Malalai Joya’s security, as they created and prop up
the government that has allowed her to be expelled from parliament.
Because she has spoken truth to power, she has been the victim of four
assassination attempts, and must travel clandestinely and under tight
security.
										We pledge our ongoing support for Malalai
Joya’s reinstatement and call on the governments of the NATO alliance
and other countries with troops on the ground to pressure the Afghan
government to reinstate her to parliament.
										The world
is watching the case of Malalai Joya, and she has great support amongst
all those working towards genuine democracy and women’s rights in
Afghanistan.


									
								
								
									
								
								
									
										Original Signatories
										Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK (United States)
										Cristina Cattafesta, President, Coordinamento Italiano Sostegno Donne Afghane (Italy)Noam Chomsky (United States)
										Libby Davies, Member of Parliament, Deputy Leader, New Democratic Party (Canada)
										Dr. Lynette Dumble, Director, Global Sisterhood Network (Australia)
										Kim Elliott, Publisher, rabble.ca (Canada)
										Mable Elmore, Coordinator, Friends of Malalai Joya – Canada, Co-chair, StopWar.ca (Canada)
										Joan Felip, activist (Catalonia)
										Susan George, Senior Fellow, Transnational Institute (France)
										Heike Hänsel, Member of Parliament, Left Party (Germany)
										James Ingalls, Co-director, Afghan Women’s Mission (United States)
										Christine Jones, Co-chair, Canadian Peace Alliance (Canada)
										Jef Keighley, Chair, World Peace Forum Society (Canada)
										Naomi Klein, journalist (Canada)
										Sonali Kolhatkar, Co-director, Afghan Women’s Mission (United States)
										Jack Layton, Member of Parliament, Leader, New Democratic Party (Canada)
										Collette Lemieux, Co-chair, Canadian Peace Alliance (Canada)
										Heather Mallick, writer (Canada)
										Hakeem Naim, Co-director, Malalai Joya Defense Committee (United States)
										Derrick O’Keefe, Editor, rabble.ca and Co-chair, StopWar.ca (Canada)
										Hamid Osman, President, York Federation of Students (Canada)
										Silvana Pisa, Member of Senate (Italy)
Laura Quagliuolo, Vice-president, Coordinamento Italiano Sostegno Donne Afghane (Italy)
										Gina Whitfield, Friends of Malalai Joya - Canada
Onnie Wilson, Network Coordinator, RAWA Supporters Melbourne (Australia)
									
								
								
									
								
								
									
										
To add your signature as an individual, or to add the endorsement of your organization, please email malalai.joya at yahoo.ca. 
A complete list of signatures and a pdf of the letter will be available at: http://stopwar.ca/supportmalalaijoya.html 

										For more information on Malalai Joya and the campaign to have her reinstated, please visit http://malalaijoya.com. This letter was initiated by Friends of Malalai Joya - Canada, with the help of supporters in a number of countries. 





 

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