Josh Sykes Interview about Facebook Suppression: Reinstate “Free Palmera” Group!
Posted by Mike E on July 8, 2010
Ricardo Palmera
Kasama urges its readers and supporters to support the fight to reverse this Facebook censorship. Help spread word of what happened. Join the efforts to protest.
- it is itself an injustice and an outrage.
- However it is also a classic case of “who’s next?” — where will the line be drawn?
- Clearly, if they succeed here, they can remove and suppress many righteous and much needed political efforts.
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Quick background:
Last week Facebook has deleted the “Free Ricardo Palmera” group (a fb group dedicated to supporting freedom for FARC political prisoner Ricardo Palmera).
Then on July 8, Facebook entirely deleted the accounts of the administrators of the group – Tom Burke, Josh Sykes and Angela Denio. Tom Burke and Josh Sykes are both national leaders of Freedom Road Socialist Organization (the Fight
Back/ML one). Here’s the link to join the facebook group to demand they be reinstated.
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The following interview appeared in Fight Back.
Facebook Censors Ricardo Palmera Group
Interview published July 7
Fight Back!: Josh, can you tell us about the “Free Ricardo Palmera” group?
Josh Sykes: The “Free Ricardo Palmera” group was a facebook group administered by three activists with the National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera.
Professor Palmera is a political prisoner in the United States. He was a leading peace negotiator with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army (FARC-EP). Since he was first arrested on a mission to meet with a United Nations representative in Ecuador and then extradited to the U.S., the National Committee has worked for his freedom. The extradition and imprisonment of Palmera, a true freedom fighter, goes against Colombian sovereignty and is a slap in the face to the Colombian people. Palmera is a good man who was railroaded in an attempt by the U.S. to criminalize the national liberation struggle in Colombia. The facebook group was one of many ways the National Committee got out information about the struggle to free Ricardo Palmera. When facebook shut it down it had more than 700 members from around the world, with many from the U.S. and Latin America. It was a good resource for us and we are working to get it back.
Fight Back!: Why was the group shut down?
Sykes: Facebook’s reason was that it violated the `terms of use’ so they shut it down on June 30. They said that it was obscene, that it attacked people, or was hateful. Nothing could be further from the truth. They also threatened the administrators of the group with having their profiles disabled if we continued to “abuse” facebook features – which we never did. Of course it wasn’t really about any of those things. We are a group advocating justice. Ricardo Palmera’s human rights are being violated. He is in solitary confinement [at the SuperMax prison in Colorado] with no human contact. He is held under `special administrative measures’ where the U.S. government says journalists cannot interview him, we are not allowed to visit him and when American supporters write letters they are returned saying Palmera is not permitted to read them.
Palmera is currently on `trial by video’ in Colombia and he is shackled from head to ankle and threatened with electric shock if he moves too quickly. He cannot possibly get a fair trial this way. We continue to demand, “Free Ricardo Palmera!”
One possibility is that facebook is censoring views they don’t like. They’ve shut down a number of groups operating in solidarity with the Palestinian people, for instance. Another possibility is that the U.S. State Department put pressure on the bosses at facebook to shut us down, just like they put pressure on the U.S. judges during the trials and sentencing of Professor Palmera. In any case, facebook is acting like the Colombian government’s death squads trying to shut people up for speaking out against the rich and powerful.
Fight Back!: What are the latest developments?
Sykes: There is what facebook calls an appeals process, which is nothing more than a run-around. Today facebook disabled the accounts of myself and the two other administrators of the Free Ricardo Palmera group, Angela Denio and Tom Burke, with no warning and no reason given. We are appealing that too.
Meanwhile, we are asking that people stand up and oppose this blatant censorship on the part of facebook.
Call facebook CEO Mark Zukerberg at (650) 543-4800.
Demand that the Free Ricardo Palmera group, and the accounts of the three administrators, be reinstated.
Join the protest group, here:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=136562699701718 Demand an end to Facebook’s censorship. Stop the attacks on progressive causes and activists.
Gopal Balakrishnan said
This is simply outrageous.
celticfire said
Others have pointed out that there exist a number of neo-nazi groups that are ignored and never removed even after concerted effort to draw FB’s attention to them, so I find it interesting that this particular group got singled out as “violating” FBs policies.
This is unacceptable.
comradezero said
Thanks for your support, comrades!
Free Ricardo Palmera!
Stop Facebook’s Censorship of Progressive Causes!
An injury to one is an injury to all!
LongLiveLenin said
Good interview with Comrade Josh of FRSO, Fight Back!
Free Ricardo Palmero!
Defend FARC and all revolutionary organizations!!!
SMavrodi said
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Тут ты найдешь много полезной и красочной ннформации о кредитах, экономическом кризисе и биржевой торговле. Ты можете так же ознакомиться поучительные видео ролики, которые облегчат тебе изучение статей в таких понятиях как торговая система и торговая система.
Одной из причин рассматриваемого информативного ресурса является необычная способ подачи информации для незнакомых с этим материалов людей, которая заключается в постепенном ознакомлению с теоретической частью лекции. С комментариями относительн нашего ресурса вы сможете познакомиться на форуме. Освоенные навыки помогут осваиваться с настоящими экономическими ситуациями ситуациями в мире. Похожие обсужденияОблигации: понятие и виды