By Nahia Sanzo
The event is organized by the Rubén Ruiz Ibárruri Brigade, the section of the Caravan established in Spain, which takes its name from the famous Basque communist, son of La Pasionaria. Ruiz Ibárruri died at just 22 years old in the Battle of Stalingrad.
The aim of the concert is to raise funds for the Antifascist Caravan to Donbass, promoted by the Italian band. The organizers explain in detail on their website:
THE ANTIFASCIST CARAVAN 2015 is a political and humanitarian act in which people from around the world will travel to the Donbass region to show solidarity with the people suffering the consequences of a cruel imperialist war that has wiped out thousands of lives and curtailed the destiny of the people of Novorossiya, now fighting for their dignity.
This caravan, which comes at the initiative of the Italian group Banda Bassotti, like its predecessor in 2014, is an act of international solidarity that aims to draw attention to the real situation of this conflict. Women and men committed to anti-fascism and freedom will converge to reach out to the Novorossiyan people, and use their voices and their eyes to counter the lies of the Western media that silences the magnitude of this genocide and the nature of their makers.
As summarized by spokesperson Joan Cantarero, the aim is to “launch a people’s movement, to raise funds for the caravan, shoot a documentary on the current situation in the region, and where possible fund solidarity projects with the victims the Donbass region.”
Activists from around the world will participate in the caravan to Donbass. After converging in Russia near Donbass, the caravan will go to Lugansk. An invitation was extended to Banda Bassotti last October by the authorities of the Lugansk People’s Republic, after an earlier concert the Italian group gave in Donetsk. The Roman band’s performance in Lugansk, along with other groups who join the Caravan, will be May 9. It will be part of the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the Soviet victory against Nazi troops.
The major concern of the organization is that the Madrid City Council and Government delegation will intervene, acting as they did last March, when they banned a performance by the band Soziedad Alkoholica.
As usual, the Ukrainian far-right in Spain seems to be mobilizing to prevent the concert. As Cantarero points out, “The organizers have received threats to the concert through social networks by Ukrainian neo-Nazi groups based in Spain. I have heard that the Ukrainian embassy has expressed uneasiness to the Spanish government over allowing this concert on behalf of Donbass rebels.”
It would be unfortunate if the interests of foreign extremists were used as a justification to repress freedom of expression in our country. But fear is spreading. In this context, more like the old Franco dictatorship or current authoritarian regime in Kiev than democracy, event promoters have issued a “Manifesto of Solidarity with the Banda Bassotti Concert in Madrid Supporting the Antifascist Caravan 2015.”
We reproduce this manifesto in full below, in hopes that those responsible politicians of the Madrid City Council and the Delegation of the Government of Spain in Madrid are capable of putting democratic principles before the pressures of Banderist fanaticism, guaranteeing the rights of citizens, particularly the right to freedom of expression. The banning of an act of solidarity and humanitarian effort which poses no serious risk to anyone could only be interpreted as a throwback to the Franco regime, in which officials authorized or prohibited any act at will.
Manifesto of Solidarity with the Banda Bassotti Concert in Madrid Supporting the Antifascist Caravan 2015
The People’s Party pursues us, muzzles us, censors us without reason or explanation, just for being in solidarity, for caring about a humanitarian crisis.
We are members of the Antifascist Caravan of Banda Bassotti, women and men, activists, independent journalists, members of various social movements, traveling in May to eastern Ukraine in an antifascist caravan with a clear mission:
– Providing humanitarian aid to the civilian population in the Donbass region, victims of an unjust war that has claimed thousands of lives and threatens to become entrenched in Europe, an imperialist and cruel war, like all wars, in which the interests of capital have been imposed on the will of a people who want to live in peace.
– Showing our solidarity by conducting information campaigns in different towns in the region, with the aim of making a documentary giving an alternative view of the conflict, and to be the voice of the voiceless.
This idea has developed thanks to the Italian band Banda Bassotti, widely recognized in Europe, a group of musicians and antifascist activists who have shown a commitment to Donbass and against the genocidal war.
To fund the material aid that we bring the people of Donbass, we organized a concert in Madrid with several bands including Banda Bassotti; a concert completely self-managed by hundreds of volunteers that want to create a space for meeting and discussion, leisure and critical culture, that gives voice to our project.
Our goal was to celebrate in a public space, but we have received threats from the People’s Party and Government delegation: they are clear that they will not allow us to give our opinion and are willing to take measures to achieve it.
What do we want?
– We want to end censorship in Madrid: political censorship that has been striking groups like Soziedad Alcoholika, DefconDos, Fermín Muguruza and Band Bassotti, who give concerts all around the world, except in Madrid. Stop the censorship of cultural activities on the street and social centers: we want an inclusive city where freedom of expression and the right to popular culture is a reality, not just a desire.
– We want to be able to carry out our concert, a supportive, transparent and open event, to which all are invited a few days from now, without dread of repression and police assaults, without fear.
– We want to defend the social centers of all peoples of the Spanish State, as spaces of freedom, popular expression and solidarity. Centers such as Traba, Patio Maravillas, La Casika, La Atalaya, Can Vies, Kukutxa and Casa de la Muntanya are constantly threatened, evicted, despised, but daily reemerge with the work of neighbors and residents.
What do we need?
We need the support of all the people in this movement against censorship, against repression and the police state that the People’s Party and Government delegation have established in Madrid.
Therefore, on the day of the concert, April 10, at 17:00, at the gates of Atalaya Social Center Vallecas, we call on our neighbors, activists, unions and community groups to make it clear that we are not willing to be gagged again.
Red Star News + Translations 