Statement of Solidarity | October 16, 2020

Indonesian trade union FSEBUMI supports Denver activists: “Racism must be fought with the power of solidarity”

Federasi Serikat Buruh Militan (FSEBUMI) is a trade union who firmly believe in the working class struggle and the power of solidarity. We also believe in internationalism and we are against racism.

And therefore we respond to the call for solidarity with six anti-racist activists in Colorado who were arrested after leading mass mobilizations against the racist police murder of Elijah McClain. We would like to express our utmost solidarity with all those arrested and salute their work in building this movement.

The trumped-up charges — including kidnapping, inciting a riot, theft and “attempt to influence a public servant” – are completely unfounded and outrageous and must be dropped immediately.

We condemn the coordinated state repression and in particular the murder of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old unarmed massage therapist and violinist whose only crime was walking while Black.

This repression in Colorado is part of the alarmingly expanding state repression being carried out against anti-racist movements. And it also happens in many other places around the world.

The ruling class is getting increasingly desperate in its attempts to crush the Black Lives Matter uprising. The use of chemical weapons, police kidnappings of activists, neofascist paramilitary attacks, criminalizing “Antifa,” and requiring massive bail bonds to release incarcerated activists all show that the state is at war with our movements. The growth of revolutionary, multinational socialist organizations threatens every aspect of the U.S. empire and its billionaire ruling class.

We saw the need to protect and defend each and every revolutionary organization from state repression. FSEBUMI believes that an injury to one organization is an injury to our entire class and racism must be fought with the power of solidarity.