DEMONSTRATION

Madrid, Spain, October 12, 2006
Rally for reparations to Africa and the black community
For a universal human nation
In Madrid: Departure from ATOCHA (Reina Sofía) - Arrival at Puerta del
Sol
Time: 12.00

CALL

Sisters and brothers:
On October 12, the black community, African immigrants, peoples of
African origin and the indigenous community in Spain and the Americas will
stage a world day of protest to request REPARATIONS for slavery
(defined as a crime against humanity by the United Nations at the
International Conference against Racism at Durban in 2001 and by the African Social
Forum at Bamako in 2006). This crime contributed radically to poverty
and led to the extermination of indigenous peoples and descendants of
Africans.

Europe and North America progressed by enslaving more than 200
million Blacks abducted from Africa and by exterminating indigenous
peoples. African wealth robbed by European colonialists led to capitalism
and the industrial revolution, which reinforced direct colonialism,
facilitating the expropriation of African and indigenous natural and human
resources, feeding European factories and fuelling an economic
development which allowed the European Union to become a world power.

The impact of slavery was devastating for Africa, destroying its
political economy and arresting its social development. Entire cities
and families were destroyed. Then as now, some African leaders - "Uncle
Toms" - thought they could save themselves by selling their own
brothers. This deprived Africa of craftsmen, rulers, soldiers, miners,
fishermen, doctors, engineers, musicians, philosophers, educators, businessmen
etc. As a consequence, 120 million descendants of Africans in Latin
America are experiencing the genocide of violence and poverty in Chocó,
Arica, Bahía, Esmeraldas, Chincha, suffering the highest levels of
poverty, isolation and exclusion as a result of this African holocaust.
In Europe, African emigrants and asylum seekers arriving in the
Canary Islands are denied their political rights (strike,
demonstration, association, trade unionism). Their criminalization was to be seen
during the most recent process of legalizing immigrants, when the
institutions helped all other groups by giving them information and
counselling except for Blacks, most of whom were excluded from the process. Like
in the times of slavery and direct colonialism, they are forced to
undergo identity checks in the streets in the presence of their children,
making it impossible for them to integrate, to move around freely or to
exercise their right to bring their families together.

Blacks and their associations are treated by the authorities as
if they were invisible, suffering an institutional racism that forces
them to sleep on the streets and subjects them to high levels of
unemployment and exclusion. Instead of receiving the legal treatment of asylum
seekers, Africans are regarded as dangerous invaders in a Fortress
Europe which is not worried about the presence of much larger numbers of
white immigrants. Despite the serious situation of the African community,
it is officially represented only by institutional forums for the
integration of immigrants, leaving it without proper representation and
defence in a society which pretends to be a democracy.

While the IMF and the World Bank strangle African peoples with
debt and neoliberal structural adjustment policies, European governments
step up political and mediatic pressure on Blacks so that their
governments - like under slavery - become docile accomplices of Europe's
inhuman immigration policy. While thousands of white citizens of Eastern
Europe or Latin America are moving to Europe, it is the black immigrants
who are targeted with the strictest visa requirements, new detention
camps, "repatriation programmes", deportations to the desert or killings
on both sides of the fences surrounding the enclaves of Ceuta and
Melilla.
We demand, like any other people would do in our situation,
legitimate reparations as well as a recognition of the fact that the
current situation of Africa, of descendants of Africans and black immigrants
in Spain is a direct consequence of the holocaust of slavery. This will
be the central theme of our demonstration on October 12, a date
symbolizing the Indian and black holocaust known as MAAFA.

We claim that demanding socio-economic reparations for Africa is fair
and necessary. Reparations are not a moral concept, but a political
movement for historical memory which advances from solidarity towards
justice. The legality of reparations is not based only on a correct
historical memory, but on international law.
We thus invite you to join this world march for memory and for justice
for Africa and descendants of Africans. We cannot remain indifferent to
this genocide and we must assume our responsibility.

JOIN US - TOGETHER WE ARE STRONG!
Long live united Africa!
Long live immigrants from all over the world!
Long live black and indigenous resistance in Latin America and Spain!

BACKGROUND

This initiative was launched in Madrid at Spain's 2nd Pan-Africanist
Congress under the motto Racism, democracy and reparations (December
2005). The demonstration will form part of activities preparing the
International Tribunal for Reparations for slavery and neo-colonialism, which
will be held in Berlin in June 2007.
The demonstration will be coordinated by Spain's Pan-Africanist
Federation and the grassroots social action organizations Cry of the Excluded
from Mesoamerica, Africa and Europe, with the support of groups the
names of which appear at the end of this document.

DEMANDS

We demand:
1. - That the Spanish state apologize for slavery
2. - The inclusion of the victims of Spanish slavery and colonialism in
the law for memory
3. - The recognition of the right of asylum and refuge for African
immigrants according to international humanitarian law
4. - That Spanish city councils seek immediate solutions for the
thousands of Blacks living on the streets in Spain
5. - That the Spanish government apply the law 62/2003 on the
establishment of an organ to guarantee equal treatment independently of racial
or ethnic origin
6. - That the Spanish government apply the agreements signed before the
United Nations at the International Conference against Racism in Durban
(South Africa, 2001)
7. - That the Spanish state give public recognition and equal treatment
to all the victims of racist, xenophobic or anti-Black terrorism
8. - The urgent homologation of policies for the social and economic
fund of black communities
9. - A redefinition of international cooperation programmes with black
African communities and peoples of African origin in the Americas and
the Caribbean
10. - Stop to the traffic of misery by using images of black
communities and peoples of African origin in profit campaigns staged by ONGs
11. - The urgent admission of the associative expression of black
communities into the Spanish Observatory of the Fight against Racism
12. - The non-exclusion of the associative expression of black
communities from international cooperation
13. - The urgent admission of the associative expression of black
communities into the national and regional forum for the integration of
immigrants
15. - Affirmative action by the authorities for the recognition of the
associative expression of Spain's black communities
16. - Affirmative action for the integration of the grassroots
organizations of black peoples of Africa and peoples of African origin in the
Americas and the Caribbean

INSTRUCTIONS

1) Every organization may organize a related event in their autonomous
community at their locality, neighbourhood or district.
2) The central act will take place in the autonomous community of
Madrid, with departure from the Puerta de Atocha.
3) The route will pass from Atocha (Reina Sofía) to the Puerta del Sol,
where grassroots leaders will give speeches, there will be music and a
manifesto will be read out.
4) The poster will be sent to different organizations, each of which
can make the copies they need.
5) Organizations interested in being part of the organizational
platform need to confirm their participation by September 30 the the following
e-mail address: panafricanos (at) gmail.es
www.panafricanos.org
8) Every organization should take pictures to publish after the related
event at their locality.

JOIN US!

federación panafricanista de españa -fundación vida grupo ecológico
verde - grito de los excluidos de mesoamerica- redafrovenezol ana -centro
p anafricano de estudios culturales- partido humanista- alto consejo de
los malienses en españa -asociación de senegaleses en españa- asociacion hispanoafricana para el desarrollo humano-
Asociación cultural Maleva- asociación afrodescendientes lumbanga de
chile-comrade- federación centro de las culturas- fundación para el desarrollo
integral de la población afrocolombi ana -asociación africana amilcar
cabral euskadi- asociación mujeres guineana s ewaiso- asociación de sierra
leona- Grupo Impulsor contra el Racismo y otras formas de
Discriminación - GIM PERÚ asociación libre de abogados Madrid -asociación de
nigerianos en españa- uhuru Movement London- partido socialista de los pueblos
africanos florida- Black women Association Berlín- asociación afromujer
de andalucía - feedbacktodaroots- black international cinema
berlin 2007-revista w anafrica-revista culturas afric ana s- pan-african
associations of america
movimiento cimarrón Colombia- instituto da mulher negra brasil- mundo
afro de rivera, uruguay- red nacional de jóvenes, organizaciones y
estudiantes afrocolombianos- corporacion identidad CULTURAL
"CORPIDENCU"-Organización Negra Centroamericana ONECA- ASCAB alcalá