Paris, February 23, 2009 — Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyane, Réunion and soon Kanaky — the colonies that extend the surface of France from 550,000 km2 to 10,26,000 km2 — are engaged in an extended general strike to get the rich colons (Békés) and the monopolies of metropolitan finance capital to pay for the crisis.

The workers of the second-class peoples in what remains of the French colonial empire in this early 21^st century united all of their organisations and associations around a platform of 131 demands that was signed by Yves Jégo, the overseas colonies secretary of state, before the French government reneged on its word after his recall to Paris.

Parallel to this, the Élysée sent thousands of repressive forces to put an end to the exemplary mobilisation of the Guadeloupian people. There are disturbing reports of provocative remarks that the sans-papiers unfortunately often hear when foreigners are being hunted down in metropolitan France: casser des sales nègres, des bamboulas, des bougnoules, des fourmies [“break the dirty niggers, the monkeys, the wogs, the narcos”].

And it was after more than a month of mobilisation, the success of the 2.5 million strikers and demonstrators on January 29 in France, and the murder of a Guadeloupian trade-unionist, Jacques Bino, that the Sarkozy regime deigned to emerge from its scornful silence and to suddenly discover that the peoples of the overseas departments and territories are “French”.

This significant silence has also been shared to a large degree by the metropolitan media, which are now engaging in their favourite sport: disinformation and lies.

Who remembers today that the abolition of slavery was a deal that consisted in the Republic’s indemnifying the slaveholder ancestors of the white Béké colons, who thereby appropriated all of the wealth produced by the descendants of the emancipated blacks?!

The CNSP bows before the mortal remains of the murdered trade-unionist, presents its condolences to the family and comrades of this martyr of the cause of equality of the peoples.

The CNSP appeals to the unions, associations and political parties of France to
– Organise a work stoppage in every workplace and a minute of silence to the memory of Jacques Bino; and
– To demand that the French government satisfy the legitimate demands of the colonies.

The CNSP recalls that the Constitution of France recognises that “humans are born free and equal in law” and that the United Nations Charter recognises the right of every people to self-determination.

The CNSP calls on the French trade-union, democratic and progressive movement to assume its full responsibility in the face of the present serious crisis of finance capital, which forces us to create the necessary relationship of forces to make the bosses pay for their crisis so that the workers are not divided by the poisonous racism of the French State and have to pay for the crisis in place of the CAC40 [the Paris stock exchange index].

The CNSP urges all the undocumented to fight and demonstrate with all documented workers as an antidote to the anti-social and colonialist strategy of the bosses and the French government.