Left parties and unions in India, together with the Pakistan Trade Union Defence Campaign, are appealing for an International Day of Action on September 18th 2001 for the release of the popular Indian left wing editor Satish Kumar. (details of his case can be found at: http://www.marxist.com/Asia/india_satish_arrest901.html )

In Defence of Marxism is asking all its sympathisers to take up this appeal in their respective countries.

This Day of Action is being launched to give a clearer focus to the growth of the campaign around the world. Therefore we are asking left journalists, workers' papers, labour and union activists, socialist and communist party members to endorse this appeal.

During the Day of Action we want to organise pickets in front of the Indian embassies or consulates to protest against the arbitrary arrest of Satish Kumar.

National and international pressure on the Indian government is rising. This explains the desperate attempts not to give any publicity to this case and why the government is constantly censoring all electronic and print media through the Federal Information and Broadcasting ministry. For instance the Minister intervened personally to stop the broadcasting of an interview with the parents of Satish Kumar. The same happened with a story written for the Indian Express.

That is why we are also calling for the end of all government censorship against the free and independent press in India.

Among the first signatories of this campaign are the following:

Britain: 

Jeremy Dear, national newspaper organiser of National Union of Journalists

Kenny Brown
Glasgow Branch 40 G.M.B.

Nigel Pearce,(Member of the National Executive Committee of the National Union of Miners)

Phil Waker (National Executive Committee of the Communication Workers Union)
(all the above in personal capacity)

Sweden:

Martin Oscarsson, delegate to the Social Democratic Party in Gothenburg and Editor of Socialisten

Belgium:

Editorial Board of Vonk-Unite, Marxist voice of the workers movement

Spain:

Sindicato de Estudiantes
El Militante, Marxist voice for workers and youth

Mexico:

Editorial Board of Militante newspaper
Central Committee of the Students' Committee to Defend State Education, CEDEP,
Struggle Committee of the High School of Mechanical and ElectricalEngineering, CLESIME,
Rosalba Ramos, Rank and File Insurgent Movement, Party of the Democratic Revolution, PRD
Francisco Lara, Tenants Organisation, UVVAC
Carlo del Angel, Committee for the Socialist Youth, Party of the Democratic Revolution, PRD
Federico Cortes Corona, member of the Mexican Electricians Union, SME
Jose' Luis Ruiz, member of the PRD, Neza
Jose' Luis Aguilar, Tenants Organisation Colonia La Estrella, Ecatepec
Ricardo Nataren Delgado, PRD Committee, Pijijiapan, Chiapas
Amauri Solis, PRD Committee Las Margaritas, Pijijiapan, Chiapas
Ramon Campos, member of the trade union of the Mexican Postal Service

Italy:

Editorial Board of FalceMartello,
Claudio Bellotti (member of the National Executive Committee of the Partito della Rifondazione Comunista)
Gabriele Donato, Alessandro Giardiello, Jacopo Renda, Giuseppe Letizia (members of the Comitato Politico Nazionale - Central Committee - of the PRC)
Antonio Forlano (member of the Provincial Committee of the Filt-Cgil - Transport Workers' Union - of Milan)
Dario Salvetti (National Coordinating Committee of the Italian Young Communists)
Sara Parlavecchia (Committees in Defence of State Education)

France:

Editorial Board of La Riposte

Russia:

Editorial Board of Workers Democracy

Germany:

Editorial Board of Der Funke

Austria:

Gernot Trausmuth, (Editorial board of "Der Funke"),
Eva Nesensohn, (chairwoman of the Young Socialists Vorarlberg), 
Tanja Kreinbucher and Manuel Kaufmann, (Executive Committee members of the Young Socialists, Austria)

Greece:

Tzolis Hristos: Member of PASOK YOUTH Central Committee
Kanelopoulou Asimina: Member of PASOK YOUTH Central Committee
Dafnis Stelios: Member PASOK YOUTH Central Committee
Tsitonis Takis: Member PASOK YOUTH Central Committee
Karagianopoulos Stamatis: Member of Athens PASOK YOUTH Committee
Kanelopoulou Christina: Member of Athens PASOK YOUTH Committee

Denmark:

The Editorial Board of the Danish Social-Democratic paper
SOCIALISTISK STANDPUNKT.

Pakistan:

Saqib Nawaz (PTUDC organizer Taxila)
Mushtaq Quereshi (Journalist & PPP leader)
Shahid Ahmed (Organizer Class Struggle, Taxila)
Malik Najeeb-ur-Rehman Arshad (PPP President Tehsil
Taxila)
Raja Khusrou (PPP President, Wah)
Dr. Sikandar Hayat Khan (Nazim, Hassanabdal)
Professor Fazal Hussain Samim (Intellectual and
Columnist)
Raza Abbas Advocate (Member Bar Council, Punjab High
Court)
Sheikh M. Anwar Advocate (Former MPA)
Aslam Mir (Journalist)
Rizwan Ali (Trade Unionist)
Maqsood Jaffery (Paramedical Association)
M. Rafiq (PTUDC Organizer Peshawar)
Fazal-e-Qadir (Railway Workers Union)
Faisal Nauman (Paramedical Association)
M. Waseem (Youth Leader, Jand)
Kashif Nawaz (Youth Leader)
M. Ijaz (OGDC Union Leader)
Malik Zafar Iqbal (President Workers Union, HMC
Taxila)
Manzoor Ahmed (President, Workers Union TIP Hurripur),
Ghulam Rasool (Journalist)
Zahoor Hussain Shah (NOPE Union, Wah/Taxila).
Khalid Mahmood (Journalist)
Asad Patafi
Muhammad Yousaf Bhatti
Ilyas Khan Advocate
Asif Kareem Advocate
Abid Malik Advocate
Iqbal Shad (Railway Worker Union)
Riaz Ghalib (PTUDC)
Ishaq (Sui Gas Union)
Javed Iqbal (PTCL Union)
Farooq Ahmed Bhatti
Nadeem Pasha PSF
Rizwan (Student Leader at BZU)
Safder Abbas Khakhi (PPP)
Ahad Shah (Youth Leader)
Rauf Lund (Distt. Gen. Sec. PPP Rajan Pur)
Sultan Mehmood (SBP Leader)
Raja Yasir (PSF)
Sajjad Malik
Nazar Baluch (Journalist)
Khurshid Bukhari (Journalist)
Aftab Nawaz (Journalist)

Canada:

Alex Grant
(President - Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 2278.
Federal Councillor - New Democratic Party of Canada.)

Protests should be sent to:
Mr. L. K. Advani,
Minister of Faridabad,
Faridabad,
Nr. Delhi, India.
advanilk@sansad.nic.in