On March 11, 2006 Africans converged in London to work out a plan for the building of the African World tribunal to put white power on trial in Berlin, Germany.
Africans came from Holland, Germany, France, Belgium, Israel, Sierra Leone, U.S and Britain. There are Africans who send messages of their desire to attend the next meeting in Paris; and those who could not participate, sent suggestions to help build the conference, or proposals to be read at the conference itself.
Omali Yeshitela, the Chairman of the African People’s Socialist Party, explained that Berlin was the chosen location for the Tribunal because it is the scene of the crime, where Otto Von Bismarck, the German Chancellor host the Kongokonferenz, or Congo conference, where 14 European states: Austria–Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden–Norway (United until 1905 ) and Germany carved out Africa for themselves. This conference also served to save greedy European nations from fighting one another over Africa’s land and resources.
The basis of participation was unity with the proposal written by Omali Yeshitela as the Point Leading Person (PLP). This task to write this proposal was assigned to him at the Berlin conference held in October 2005. As usual, in order to bring the dispersed African nation together on an issue that unites us completely and profoundly — the return and repossession of our stolen resources for our own benefit and happiness — Chairman Omali went to task with dedication and love for African people. He completed his task on time, and circulated a draft as early as January 2006, for this March conference in London.
The leadership of the African People’s Socialist Party (APSP) did not save any effort as it reached out to all organizations that could participate in this unifying project to attend the conference. This was true for all contending forces within the Global Afrikan Congress (GAC) — an organization formed in the wake of the United Nations-sponsored World Conference Against Racism in 2001 that has been torn from internal struggle — as well as to other forces involved in reparations work throughout the world. We proposed the rules of participation, to secure an orderly and serious meeting.
The rules were as follows: participants must recognize the Chairman as leadership of this Tribunal; participation in this conference is based on unity with the Berlin proposal document; participants must respect and be respectful of each other; in cases of contention, a vote will be taken; and decisions are carried out based on a majority vote.
The objectives of the meeting were: to establish unity based on the political proposal; to establish a plan of action for moving forward; to unite with the structure and fill positions; to determine location for next meeting scheduled for June 3, 2006; to make a definite decision on the location of the venue for the Tribunal; and to establish a fundraising process.
Tribunal will quantify impact of slavery, colonialism and theft of resources
Chairman Omali stressed also the importance of having the Tribunal to present facts and figures to quantify the political, economic and psychological impact of slavery and colonialism on Africa. He said that it should also quantify the theft of African culture and intellectual property, historic and present, in all its various forms, including music, the arts, sciences, inventions and the massive appropriation of our historic arts and artifacts in museums throughout the western world, giving examples of Picasso, James Brown and African Mummies.
“We must have State power if we want to be able to apply the justice of the oppressed against the oppressors. Our people will have to control a State apparatus with our own courts and means of carrying the will of a sovereign people against imperialist oppressors.”
The conference broke up into two kinds of working groups. The first one was based on geographical regions: the African, Caribbean, European, and North America regions. After 35 minutes, each working group had to report on the vision, objective, mission, plan of action, time line, budget plan and PLP for their region.
The second set of working groups took on the task of working on the profiles of judges and observers; the venue, tribunal and event; information and outreach; and Berlin on site issues.
The conference ended with a social evening meal at an African restaurant owned by Sister Rebecca, a supporter of the Uhuru Movement.
The significance of this March 11 conference is profound. It was the launching point of an unstoppable process that will contribute to building the emerging African International Liberation Movement around the world. It is here where the leaders will be found who will be organizing for the decisive next round of the 500-year-old struggle between African people and imperialism.
It is part of the creation of a new world from the bottom up, and it is vision of the oppressed African people defining our reality in our own terms for our own benefit. It is an enlargement and deepening of the APSP-held first World Tribunal on Reparations of 1982 that put the U.S. government on trial within U.S. borders. This time, it is all of imperialist white power that is on trial.
World tribunal will serve as instrument of state power for African workers
This African world tribunal brings the legitimate and just struggle of the African people on the international arena where all oppressed nations are battling the oppressor nations. This African world tribunal intends to take cases of African political prisoners like Mumia, Sundiata Acoli and others, or the case of Belgian imperialism’s murder of Lumumba, the enslavement of African people. It would take these cases to our own court on world scale.
It is a project that will establish a nucleus of an international black power State, born in contention with white imperialist power and its black puppets allies. We need a State power in order to retake our stolen resources from the hands of imperialism.
We must have State power if we want to be able to apply the justice of the oppressed against the oppressors. Our people will have to control a State apparatus with our own courts and means of carrying the will of a sovereign people against imperialist oppressors.
In Berlin next year, we will show the world that Africa was better off until we met the European imperialist barbarian.
Join us to in this movement to bring the criminal white imperialism to court.
