International day of action: ‘Free Ehsan Ali! Hands off the AAC!’

Yesterday, on 2 April, hundreds of revolutionary communists assembled outside Pakistan’s diplomatic missions all over the world to demand the immediate release of Ehsan Ali and all other arrested members of the Awami Action Committee in Gilgit-Baltistan. We will not rest until we have justice! 

Our day of action was organised against a backdrop of real urgency. Over the weekend, a shocking account emerged from Gilgit-Baltistan. We learned that Amara Sattar, Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) of Danyor, Gilgit Circle, was informed about Ehsan Ali’s critical health condition. She was told that a court order had demanded he be taken to hospital. Her response was blunt and chilling:

“Leave it, there are orders from above [meaning military intelligence]... let him die.”

This outrageous admission demonstrates that our solidarity campaign is quite literally a matter of life or death. The judiciary and so-called ‘rule of law’ in Pakistan are a mockery, because the judges are puppeted by the generals and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) from behind the scenes. 

These gangsters are hoping that Ehsan Ali perishes in jail, which would be nothing short of state-sanctioned murder for the ‘crime’ of standing up for workers and the poor. This is the situation faced by the Awami Action Committee comrades, and all the people living at the mercy of Pakistan’s criminal regime. 

We will not allow our comrades to rot and die in jail! We freed them once, and we will do so again, following the communist traditions of solidarity and internationalism. An injury to one is an injury to all!

International solidarity

Our comrades turned up in force at over 20 embassies, high commissions and consulates in well over a dozen countries. Comrades of the RCP in Britain mobilised across five cities: London, Birmingham, Manchester, Bradford and Glasgow. The protest in the capital was the biggest we have ever held at the Pakistan High Commission, with 30 comrades taking part.

Comrades in Canada protested at all four consulates in the country, across Montreal, Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa. They also attempted to call into the embassy in Toronto, only to be told (rather haughtily) by the official on the phone that they were “wasting their breath” as “nothing [would] come” of the call. 

In Austria, 20 comrades gave speeches in German, English and Urdu and chanted internationalist slogans for the freedom of all political prisoners. We also had big protests in Copenhagen, Stockholm, Brussels and elsewhere. In the run up to 2 April, many comrades posted solidarity videos and photos from branches, schools and national meetings.

Our comrades in Parti Communiste Révolutionnaire had to be creative, because Pakistan has closed all their consulates in France except for the one in Paris, which is located in a very high security district. The comrades therefore focused their efforts on finding supporters for the campaign at street stalls and taking solidarity pictures in branches.

In some cases, comrades were able to deliver letters to diplomatic staff, so they could send our demands to Islamabad. The communists in Chicago and New York had meetings with the Pakistani Consul General. But many embassies simply closed their doors and refused to speak with us. In Los Angeles, they eventually caved and took our comrades’ letter after initially locking their doors and yelling at us to leave.

Others still called the police, with the besuited bureaucrats inside hiding behind armed bodies of men rather than face up to the crimes committed in their name. Our Irish comrades were even threatened with arrest after delivering their letter to the ambassador. In New York, the embassy called the police on our comrades no fewer than five times. Who knows why these officials are apparently so threatened by a letter?

Everywhere we assembled, we assured officials that they had not seen the last of us. We will keep coming back and raising our voices for the release of Ehsan Ali and other arrested leaders of the AAC until each and every one of them walks free. Videos and photographs of our protests from 2 April are listed at the bottom of this article.

Support from the labour movement 

In the run-up to our mobilisation, we have received the support of a number of politicians and leading figures in the labour movement. This includes British MP and former Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, John McDonnell; National President of the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers' Union (BFAWU), Ian Hodson; former Seattle City Council member and independent socialist candidate for US Congress, Kshama Sawant and Brazilian Federal Deputy for PSOL, Glauber Braga.

Braga sent a video message expressing solidarity with Ehsan Ali and the AAC, stating:

“Ehsan Ali [is] known locally and internationally because of his struggle… Here in Brazil we are… demanding the freedom of those who were unjustly imprisoned, because fighting for the rights of communities and furthermore confronting the actions of large corporations, related to US power, is not a crime. It is a historical necessity.”

We also received the following message of solidarity from the Toulouse branch of Secours Rouge, a radical aid organisation in France:

“The Toulouse Secours Rouge commits to:

• “Following developments in this case and taking all necessary measures;
• “Building relationships with international trade union organisations to coordinate our solidarity efforts;
• “Raising awareness of progress in the struggle against imperialism and for workers' rights in South Asia;
• “Supporting mobilisations against repression worldwide.

“An attack against one of us is an attack against all of us.”

Other prominent figures from Austria, Pakistan and the USA have already endorsed our demands for the AAC comrades’ release, and we are in dialogue with many more. Furthermore, our comrades are striving to pass motions through trade unions and student organisations around the world, to put the weight of our class behind our calls for justice!

The fight goes on!

We made a powerful statement on 2 April that will surely have been heard all the way in Islamabad, but the struggle is far from over! 

Ehsan Ali’s next hearing date is on 9 April. He has had his custody extended twice already, and under the outrageous provisions of Pakistan’s anti-terror laws, he can be held in custody for 90 days without a conviction.

Given Ehsan Ali’s delicate health and the openly murderous intentions of the regime, we cannot let up the pressure! Please visit the main article on our campaign where you can find background information about the situation in Gilgit-Baltistan, a model letter/email to send to Pakistan’s diplomatic officials, and a model motion that you can pass through trade and student unions.

Please also reach out to any prominent left-wing figures, activists or leading members of the labour movement and ask them to add their voices to ours. You can report any successes to our official campaign email: aacgb-solidarity@marxist.com. 

And finally, please help to boost our visibility on social media by sharing posts about our solidarity activities, and updates from official RCI accounts!

Free Ehsan Ali! Hands off the AAC!

Australia

Austria

Britain

London 

Birmingham

Bradford 

Glasgow

Belgium

Canada

Denmark

France

Germany

Italy

Ireland

Mexico

Poland

Spain

Sweden

USA

New York City

Los Angeles