"But I suspect the type of behavior which got Aby and the others in her group in trouble is
stuff like this:
Revolution & Socialism in Latin America
Wednesday, 10/4 @ 7pm @ May Day Bookstore, 301 Cedar Ave – 1 block west of the Carlson School of Mgmt, on the West Bank of the U of M, Mpls
Every week in the news the topics of revolution & socialism are raised in discussion of the Caribbean, Central & South America. Come hear from Meredith Aby, Jessica Sundin, & Erika Zurawski, who have recently returned from meeting with revolutionaries in Colombia, Ecuador, & Venezuela, on the prospects for revolutionary socialism in Latin America. www.frso.org
And then there’s this,
written by Aby last November:
In August, a delegation of North American students, trade unionists, and anti-war activists traveled to Colombia to meet with leaders in the struggle for peace and justice. In meetings with Colombian campesinos, workers, and students, we discussed the role of the School of the Americas (SOA) in training dozens of Colombian Military officers who ordered the executions of 1300 poor workers and then dressed them in FARC uniforms to claim combat kills against the revolutionaries. The US war in Colombia is a disaster!
Our solidarity delegation made plans to build the movement to close the SOA, stop Plan Colombia, and oppose the seven new US Military bases being planned. The panel discussion will lead to organizing against U.S. Military bases and the escalating U.S. intervention in Colombia.
You know if you are a U.S. citizen participating in trips to Latin America where you are actively organize against the U.S. military, I think you should count on getting a little scrutiny from the FBI. And incidentally, it’s probably not very advisable to post about such activity on the internet.
The mainstream left in America has a very important choice to make soon – I’ll have more to say on this later. But if there any readers from the Minneapolis area: were Aby’s political affiliations and activities already known? Has there been any previous effort to have her removed or suspended? While I think it’s generally assumed that a majority of teachers at the high school and college level lean at least a little to the left, this is just ridiculous.
Update: a
copy of the subpoena issued to one of those being investigated – Mick Kelly – is available here. Apparently the FBI has targeted the activities and members of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization for their support of designated terrorist organizations in Palestine and Latin America (e.g. Hezbollah and FARC). The first amendment does not grant the right of anyone to provide material support to criminal organizations."
It’s nteresting these searches come on the heals of the only notable attack on the FARC in recent history:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2595196/posts
September 23, 2010 | Investors Business Daily staff
Excerpt:
“Colombia’s army blew away the field marshal of FARC’s narco-terror war Wednesday, showing with a jolt that to win, it’s terrorists who must “absorb” attacks, not innocents. Mexico and the U.S. have much to learn.”
“Seems the adage that Colombia is the only country where guerrillas die of old age isn’t true anymore.”
(…)
“The Colombian army suffered no deaths and left at least 20 guerrillas dead on the jungle floor. Briceno’s demise marks the fourth knockout of FARC’s seven-man “Politburo”since 2008.”