the RESPECT party

These stunning scenes of thousands of Egyptians braving police forces on Qasr al-Nil Bridge (which connects Cairo’s Tahrir Square with Gezirah’s Opera Square) are from January 28.

On Sunday, more than 120 people attended a vigil in solidarity with the Egyptian people. It was decided that we call another vigil for Tuesday evening at 5pm at the same location. It was also decided that we will launch a solidarity group to support the Egyptian people.

Solidarity Vigil

President Obama last night called for 'concrete steps' to advance democratic rights in Egypt. Here is one concrete step he could make. He could cut the American aid that is propping up the rotting Mubarak dictatorship the Egyptian people are so heroically striving to rid themselves of.

If Obama were to do so, Mubarak would be running for his plane with the same speed that the Tunisian dictator Ben Ali ran for his.

The Mubarak regime is the second largest recipient of US aid in the world. And as the democracy protestors on the streets are directly experiencing, that money is buying the tear-gas they are choking on (see picture). Without American support Mubarak's days would be numbered.

The self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi in a moment of despair on December 17 in the Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid has touched off a chain of events that is still unfolding, but has already rocked the Arab world.

It can't be said for sure that President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali--who fled Tunisia on January 14, toppled after 23 years of iron-fisted rule--is just the first head of state to be driven from power in an area where U.S. imperial interests are keen. But already it's certain that the political terrain of the Middle East is being refashioned in the wake of a series of popular revolts.

For his part, Barack Obama is seeking to portray his administration as "welcoming" the protests and sympathetic to the struggle for democracy. But the U.S. government has a long record of support for dictators like Ben Ali--and other strongmen, like Egypt's Hosni Mubarak, whose fate is far from certain.

Kevin Ovenden, Respect National Council member and organiser of the Viva Palestina missions to break the Israeli siege of Gaza, spoke to Eric Ruder about the implications of the Tunisian uprising--for the U.S. and for the Arab regimes--and the lessons it holds for all those dedicated to the struggle for a better world.

It's a tragedy for the Palestinian people that at a time when their cause is the focus of greater global popular support than ever in their history, their own political movements to win their rights are in such debilitating disarray. That has been one of the clearest messages from the cache ofleaked documents al-Jazeera and the Guardian have published over the past few days. It's not just the scale of one-sided concessions – from refugees to illegal settlements – offered by Palestinian negotiators and banked for free by their Israeli counterparts. The constant refrain of ingratiating desperation is in some ways more shocking. While Israel'sTzipi Livni rejects the offer to hand over vast chunks of Jerusalem as insufficient – adding "but I really appreciate it" – and Condi Rice muses over resettling Palestinian refugees in South America, the chief PLO negotiator, Saeb Erekat, is reduced to begging for a "figleaf".

Saturday 29th January – Demonstrate in London and Manchester

London National demo
No Fees, No Cuts! Defend Education and the Public Sector! 12pm-3pm, central London

Gideon Osborne, full blooded aristocrat Chancellor, daftly claimed that the figures were merely the result of bad weather. However, even without the snow in December that depressed the Christmas shopping rush, the Office of National Statistics stated that there would have been no growth. The service sector (shops, banks, etc.) that accounts for three quarters of the British economy shrank and the construction sector suffered 3.3% contraction. The sector that registered a minimal amount of growth was the tiny manufacturing sector with 0.8%.

Israel has now released a report into its actions on the Mavi Marmara last year, when the ship - carrying aid as part of a flotilla to Gaza - was attacked by Israel, leading to the deaths of 9 Turks and the injuring of dozens more.

Viva Palestina’s Kevin Ovenden, who was on board the Mavi Marmara when it was attacked by Israeli forces in May last year, said, “The claim by Israel’s Turkel Commission that Israeli forces acted legally when they killed nine people aboard the Mavi Marmara, and left another brain dead, will be laughed out of court by all but the Israeli government and its most fanatical supporters.

by George Galloway

YESTERDAY, in central Glasgow, I officially launched my campaign to be elected to the Scottish parliament in May. It felt good to be back home. I never wanted to leave Glasgow. Mr Blair expelled me from the party and the Boundary Commission abolished my constituency, merging it with my friend Mohammed Sarwar's.

As I'd helped Sarwar become first a councillor and then Britain's first Muslim MP and then stood virtually alone in defending him when he got into trouble, I was never going to stand against my friend and he knew that.

Blood is thicker than water. That's why during his recent High Court trial for perjury, I sent an emissary to Tommy Sheridan to assure him that should he be acquitted and want to stand for the Holyrood elections in Glasgow, I would not stand against him.

Former councillor and parliamentary candidate Abjol Miah was elected national chair by the Respect Party’s National Council at a meeting on Saturday. He replaces Dr Kay Phillips who has stepped down for health reasons. The National Council expressed its sincere thanks to Kay for all her hard work as national chair over the previous three years.

Abjol Miah was the unanimous choice of the National Council and joins the party leader Salma Yaqoob and former MP George Galloway as one of the three most prominent Respect Party members.

Mr Miah declared his surprise and delight at his election. “I did not expect this but I am very pleased at the confidence shown in me by my colleagues on the party’s National Council. This is a big responsibility and challenge which I am looking forward to carrying out.”