Unconditional defense of arrested anti-corruption direct action protesters

Today, the anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law, Partido Sosyalista condemns police violence against individuals who engaged in direct action as part of today’s nation-wide protests against corruption.

We denounce their arrest, we call for their immediate release, and we call on all working-class organizations (trade unions, peasant or farmers associations, urban poor organizations, etc.), progressive parties, and socialist blocs to come to their aid. All allies must call for unconditional dropping of any and all charges, staunchly reject denouncing the direct action, organize or support a legal defense, and coordinate on legal funds. Make no mistake, this state violence on justified public anger will be used to intimidate our class and our organizing power.

Corruption is an act of aggression—an act of class war—against working people. Politicians and contractors embezzling public funds are effectively killing or harming thousands of ordinary people by exposing them to disasters or by taking money away from public hospitals or other essential social services. Engaging in civil disobedience, especially as direct action, is a form of protest that is an understandable and perfectly justifiable response to this act of public violence.

We in Partido Sosyalista reaffirm a socialist commitment to a diversity of tactics. We reject efforts to manage and direct people’s well-founded anger towards institutionally-approved avenues that lead nowhere. We stand in solidarity with all those seeking to break their chains without asking for permissions from the oligarchs and plunderers.