2 Important solidarity requests...

Hi all,
No show this week, we're still a bit exhausted from election day. Matt Geary for Boston City Council At-Large did quite well (we think anyway). He recieved 3,000+ votes meaning that 6.5% of voters voted for him. The campaign turned out around 30 people to pass out day of info. We consider this a great step forward considering that he was running as an open socialist on a Marxist platform.

To the business at hand:

As we've reported, Nigerian students are still in Jail.
Corrupt State government makes up attempted murder charges against student activists
Urgent appeal: Free OAU students now!
Three Nigerian student activists from Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife, are now in jail on made up charges, including “conspiracy to murder” and “attempted murder”.
Saburi Akande Akinola, the OAU Students Union President, has been held since 31 31 July. Taiwo Hassan Soweto, Secretary, Democratic Socialist Movement’s OAU Branch and Coordinator, Education Rights Campaign (ERC), and Olatunde Dairo, a DSM member and the OAU Students Union Public Relations Officer were arrested on October 11.
The murder charges relate to protests in November 2004, nearly three years ago, during which a OAU student, Rasheed Laketu, was killed by the police. As the alleged victim, the then university Vice Chancellor, has up to now made no accusations against these three, it is clear that these are politically motivated charges attempted at wrecking the OAU Students Union. Indeed, the university unjustly expelled 7 students, in early 2005, over the November 2004 protest.

The DSM is demanding the immediate release of all these three OAU activists and asking for urgent protests and solidarity.
The DSM asks for protest letters be sent to:
Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) at registra@oauife.edu.ng
OAU Vice-Chancellor – mfaborode@yahoo.co.uk & mfaborod@oauife.edu.ng
Nigerian Federal Ministry of Education at enquiries@fme.gov.ng and te@fme.gov.ng

International supporters are asked to contact their local Nigerian Embassy or High Commission
(This is especially important, as some of these Nigerian email addresses may not accept protests).

Copies of all protest letters sent should be also sent to:
the DSM (CWI, Nigeria) at dsmcentre@hotmail.com

Clearly legal and other defence activities will cost money and the DSM asks for donations to be sent via its website

Last But Certainly not least:
Last week 70 students held a sit-in against the war inside thecafeteria at Morton West High School, a working class suburb outsideof Chicago. Despite being promised they wouldn't be punished beyondwhat they would get for cutting classes, many of them are nowthreatened with expulsion. We should send solidarity announcementsover the YAWR lists appealing for support for these students, as thisis an important free speech issue. I think it will also helppoliticize students in YAWR by emphasizing the lack of free speech inhigh schools and how this is something that has to be fought for - aswell as showing that students across the country are fighting for.

A link to the petition:http://cccsds.wordpress.com/2007/11/04/students-threatened-with-expulsion-after-morton-west-sit-in/
Chicago Indymedia article: http://chicago.indymedia.org/newswire/display/80059/index.php
New York Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/07/us/07protest.html