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PALESTINIANS FOR LIFE - REFUGEES UNTIL RETURN!
Al-Awda-Chicago, a chapter of the international Palestine Right to Return Coalition, hosted a national rally for the Right of Return on September 29, 2002 in Chicago, Illinois. This day-long mobilization commemorated the start of the current Intifada (uprising) on September 29th, 2000, and demonstrated solidarity with the Palestinian people's inalienable human right to return to all of Palestine, from which they were, and continue to be, forcibly expelled by colonial Israel and its allies.
The continued deterioration of conditions in Palestine; the escalation of military strikes, home demolitions, expulsion, slaughter and other age-old tactics of ethnic cleansing against the indigenous Palestinians demand that we speak out! The intransigence of Israeli Apartheid and the various regimes that profit from its actions must be confronted!
Below is a statement of principles drafted by Al-Awda-Chicago for the rally.
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Al-Awda Chicago Statement of Principles for the Right of Return Rally Sept 29th, 2002
1) We demand the Right Of Return and restitution for all Palestinian refugees and their descendants.
2) We reject any negotiations and/or settlements that would compromise the Right Of Return, as outlined in UN Resolution 194 and article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
3) We demand the dismantling of the system of Israeli apartheid, and we demand the recognition and implementation of the full democratic rights of all peoples displaced from and currently inhabiting the geographical borders of historic Palestine.
4) We demand a pluralistic, democratic society where people of all religions, ideologies and ethnic groups can live together free of racism and discrimination.
5) We demand that the United States withdraw all military and financial assistance to Israel. We call upon all concerned citizens to join and support the various campaigns calling for divestment from Israel and the boycott of Israeli goods.
6) We recognize the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to popular resistance against occupation, apartheid and all forms of racism and oppression, towards true self-determination.
7) We recognize the internally displaced Palestinians' right to return to their original homes and villages.
8) We demand that Israel and all parties responsible for gross violations of human rights be held accountable to the people displaced from and currently inhabiting the geographical borders of historic Palestine.
9) We recognize the fundamental legitimacy of the voices of the Palestinian people, including the refugees, and the need for their voices to be heard in the solidarity movement.
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