Download the PDF of the last issue of Che-Leila magazine here.
Thanks to the Black Panther Alumni for putting the PDF up on their site.
What follows is a very brief account of Che-Leila.
Che-Leila started off by anti-imperialist students at
Che-Leila was named after Che Guevara and Palestinian revolutionary Leila Khaled. Che-Leila was a federation of student societies which brought together the Cuba Solidarity Society (formed that year), Marxist-Leninist Study Society (also formed that year) and the Palestine Solidarity Society (formed the previous year).
The activities of the Che-Leila societies and the joint activities under the Che-Leila umbrella conducted some of the most successful student political work that
In late March 2002 Che-Leila sent six students to
The Che-Leila students conducted mainly medical work in distributing food and medicine in ambulances in the city.
Recognising the great media exposure that the situation was under in the British press, and the widespread reporting of our delegation in the media, three of the students (the students were living in different parts of the city and communication between them was not easy) decided to formulate a press release declaring the founding of the Che-Leila Youth Brigade (CLYB) whose founding statement can be read below.
CLYB was intended to be a nation-wide movement bringing together youth in the anti-war movement around a program of anti-imperialist internationalism and grassroots strategies.
At the time the ISM was getting most of the coverage in respect to solidarity work with the Palestinians. The CLYB respected the ISM and maintained an attitude of friendship and cooperation with them, but differed from them as we sought to learn from the resistance of people across the world, and respect the ideologies and organisations of people’s resistance movements.
On their return the delegation was welcomed back by around 300 supporters at Heathrow airport after being questioned by Special Branch officers under the Terrorism Act. The police had no control over the situation at the airport, and we held an open air rally just outside the terminal.
CLYB was honoured to have held its first public rally with Leila Khaled as the main speaker in
CLYB sent another five delegations to
The CLYB also organised the only speaking tour in
The CLYB were speaking at campuses across
Leading members of the CLYB were harassed by the state, especially by the Special Branch police under the Terrorism Act, although the organisation was a purely non-violent movement which sought to directly and practically support civil anti-imperialist resistance. We were attacked in the right-wing and Zionist press, and also attacked by an MP in the House of Commons for being a ‘the youth movement of the PFLP in
There were several reasons why the CLYB was targeted by the state for relatively low-level harassment. It was partly due to the politics of resistance the organisation was espousing. At that time there were very few effective organisations doing this. CLYB were one of the first political organisations to call on the anti-war movement to have a deeper understanding and respect towards movements like Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hamas and Lebanese Hizbullah as well as leftist and left-nationalist resistance movements, and to link the politics abroad with politics in Britain, especially the issues of Islamophobia and repression under the guise of the ‘war on terror’. CLYB also embarked on several strategic projects to go to the grassroots and break out of the ivory towers of the student milieu.
CLYB ceased to be an organisation by 2005, in which year the third and last issue of the Che-Leila magazine was printed.
CLYB became defunct for a number of reasons. One reason being the nature of students and student activism. Another factor was that too much focus was given by some leaders of CLYB on political disagreements internal to another organisation that they belonged to at the time and therefore diverging from the more important tasks of building the movement.
However, the CLYB remains an important experience in the recent history of the anti-imperialist movement in
One often hears people asking why the organisations doesn’t re-launch itself. To date there are no plans of this happening.
Sukant Chandan
Sons of Malcolm / co-founder of Che-Leila and Che-Leila Youth Brigades
6 Dec 08,
'Che-Leila' Youth Brigades Launched in Occupied Ramallah
========================================
"Love the people, serve them and become a part of them"
(Leila Khaled's Autobiography 'My People Shall Live')
Founded in Ramallah, Palestine, April 5th 2002
Why the launch of Che-Leila?
Che-Leila is a non party-affiliated organisation in Britain
that will provide support to the international movements
who are fighting imperialism, which is the source of
poverty, hunger, destitution and humiliation in oppressed
peoples' countries. It is unlike any other organisation in
Britain as it seeks to concretely support those civil mass
organisations of people who are seeing to the peoples basic
human needs under imperialist exploitation and oppression.
It has been too long in Britain that people have not been
supported because a section of British people have been
corrupted by the same system that they claim to fight. In
Ramallah, we are meeting many peoples organisations who are
arrogantly dismissed by these people in Britain. They are
doing revolutionary work, and we as revolutionaries in the
heartland of British Imperialism are duty bound to do our
utmost to support them.
Inspired by the unity in Palestine and the Arab world
In Ramallah we are following the tremendous international
support that the people of occupied Palestine are
receiving, especially the Arab youth. We were very much
inspired by the youth of Jordan and Egypt (Cairo University
students are heroically facing batons, water cannons and
armoured trucks on their campus while striking against US
and Zionist presence in their country).
Living through the events in the Northern towns and cities
last summer in Britain, we watched with mixed feelings our
Asian youth fighting police and fascist provocation, a
provocation which is always encouraged by the racist press
and the racist Labour government. While seeing the defence
of the Asian community as just, we were pained to see the
division amongst the youth of our two communities - white
and black. In Ramallah we are profoundly inspired by the
unity of the 'National and Islamic Forces', where Islamic,
Communist and Secular organisations are all united against
a common enemy - the dark Zionist forces. This has to serve
as an example to us in Britain. This unity, which is being
steeled with every martyr and action of resistance in
Palestine and South Lebanon, this is the most potent force
against oppression.
Repression increases, lets increase our resistance!
Che-Leila Youth will never be intimidated!
Youth who have founded Che-Leila have been supporting
peoples movements for several years. Che-Leila activists
have been to Cuba, Ireland, Libya, Algeria, Palestine,
Colombia to see and help our people there. Under the
Terrorism Act 2000 we are being criminalised for supporting
these movements. We have no rights under this law. We can
be imprisoned and/or fined upto £2,500 for simply refusing
to answer questions. This is unjust and we must resist
unjust laws. This law is also an attack on our own movement
for our rights in this country. Any physical attack on the
British infrastructure is seen as a terrorist action. This
means a strike could be seen as a terrorist action. The
brutal attack on leading trade unionist Bob Crow of the
Rail and Maritime Transport Union is a signal from the
powers that be that we will be repressed in defending our
rights at work. Che-Leila activists have been detained and
arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000, we are all targets
and must prepare ourselves for the inevitable repressive
actions that the British state will conduct against our
peoples in Britain. We must support people who are against
the Terrorism Act and the 'emergency terrorist laws' that
treat foreign nationals even worse than under the Terrorism
Act 2000.
Ideological and organisational discipline! Lets Learn!
Withincreased repression and exploitation the only weapons
we have, are first, understanding, (knowing what you are
fighting against and fighting for), and then organisation
so that we can be ready not only for defensive actions but
also positive actions. The unity of these two will make us
unstoppable. We must learn from movements who are showing,
IN PRACTICE these strengths.
Why the name 'Che -Leila'?
The names comes from Che Guevara and Leila Khaled. Two
names which are on the lips of revolutionary youth around
the world. These names we have seen everywhere in Ramallah
and occupied Palestine, on flags, on streets and in peoples
names themselves. Che Guevara is the legendary
revolutionary who fought with Castro in Cuba for freedom
and also a great internationalist who also fought in other
parts of Latin America and in Africa against imperialism.
Leila Khaled, living in Jordan today, is probably the most
famous Palestinian revolutionary woman whose 'Che Guevara
Unit' conducted many historic and world shaking actions for
the Arab and Palestinian masses. Che-Leila represents the
unity of young men and women against imperialist oppression
and exploitation.
Why 'Youth Brigades'? Activities:
Che-Leila Youth Brigades are interested in the practice of
understanding, not in understanding alone. And this is what
we have done by coming to Palestine. We are honoured to
stand with the Palestinian people and help them to
defiantly survive the Zionist occupation. We have faced
detentions, arrests, tanks and machine guns from the
Zionist army in our efforts to distribute medicine and food
to families who desperately need these supplies. The
Palestinians face torture under arrest, bullets from the
guns, shelling from the tanks, rockets from the Apache
helicopters and missiles from F-16 fighter jets. We think
it is true humanitarianism to remove these obstacles by
whatever means the Palestinians see fit, so as to ensure a
decent life for their people.
The Che-Leila Youth Brigades will continue to stand by
oppressed people in practice. We are organising another
delegation Palestine right now. We are also sending
delegations to Vietnam in July this year and Zimbabwe after
that, two countries that have shown that racist and
imperialist occupations can be overthrown.
Activities include raising money to send people, but
especially raising money for those people we are visiting.
For Palestine over £1000 was raised in a few weeks and
given to mass organisations that see to peoples medical and
nutritional needs.
Between delegations the activity is a process of applying
the understanding we have learnt internationally to our
specific circumstances in Britain. This means study groups,
seminars, conferences, cultural events, leafleting and
producing newsletters and magazines, demonstrations and
mobilisation of our people against the imperialist system,
and, as we live in Britain, British Imperialism in
particular.
"Love the people, serve them and become a part of them"
(Leila Khaled's Autobiography 'My People Shall Live')
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