Separation – A global solution to injustice

By Starla Muhammad -Assistant Editor- | Last updated: Sep 30, 2014 - 10:43:50 PM

Ferguson residents and supporters from all over the country march in a rally protesting the killing of unnarmed 18-year-old Mike Brown. Photo: Cartan X Mosley

We, in the Nation of Islam, must be free to teach our people that kind of freedom that we must have to go for self! And you, America, should help us: By affording us time to reach our people, and the means to reach our people, to give them “The Time and What Must Be Done”—and the reason for “separation”; and then, the circumstances. And then let our people have a vote as to whether they wish to form a nation of their own. – Minister Louis Farrakhan, 12/ 14/13

Demands and movements for independence and self-rule in response to systematic injustice or oppression are basic and timeless actions. Separation from unjust laws, unfair treatment and disputes in the way governments treat its citizens is the very catalyst that propelled a group of descendants of outcasts and criminals from England to fight for freedom which eventually birthed the United States of America.

A man and a girl with their face painted with the “estelada” flags, that symbolizes Catalonia’s independence, during a demonstration calling for the independence of Catalonia in Barcelona, Spain, Sept 11. A week before Scotland voted on whether to break away from the United Kingdom, separatists in northeastern Spain were trying to convince hundreds of thousands to protest across Catalonia to demand a secession sentiment vote that the central government in Madrid insists would be illegal.

Throughout history, differences in culture, language, religion, political ideologies and social mores have led people to unite due to their similar circumstances or separate from nations, countries, tribes, territories and neighborhoods. The breakups have occurred through violence, non-violence, bloodshed and ballots. An essential part of the Nation of Islam’s Program and Position is the call to separate from America because of centuries of slavery and ongoing racial oppression.

Scotland’s recent national referendum seeking independence from the United Kingdom shined a light on separatist and secessionist movements. The referendum was defeated Sept. 18 with 55.3 percent of Scots voting to remain a part of the UK to 44.7 percent (1.6 million) voting for independence.

The effect of the Scottish independence movement bolstered and re-energized other independence campaigns, most notably in Europe, note analysts. In an interview on Bloomberg Businessweek, George Friedman, head of Stratfor, a geopolitical intelligence company said since 1914 there has been constant splits of nations in Europe forming into independent states, the last big wave occurring in the early 1990s with the breakup of the Soviet Union.

“What you have going on is the devolution of Europe. It’s all over the world but it’s really a European phenomenon. The Europeans believe fundamentally in the enlightenment idea of the right to national self-determination,” said Mr. Friedman.

Protesters display placards outside the Chinese Consulate at the financial district of Makati city east of Manila June 12, for a rally against recent reclamation and construction at Mabini Reef in the disputed Spratlys group of islands in the South China Sea. The protesters, who are allied with Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, marked the country’s Independence Day June 12, with a protest rally against China’s aggressive moves to reclaim land in the South China Sea where the two countries are locked in an escalating territorial dispute.

A 2012 article on voiceofrussia.com titled, “Europe in grip of separatist movement,” attributed various campaigns seeking autonomy to economic issues and financial instability gripping much of Europe rather than on religious or ethnic issues and conflicts.

Analysts argue separation movements in Europe could potentially weaken the entire region.

There are active campaigns in Catalonia located in northeastern Spain as well as parts of Belgium, Romania, Azerbaijan and Italy. In the Philippines, legislation presented by President Benigno S. Aquino III would give Muslims in that country an autonomous region in an effort to bring a halt to four decades of fighting. Independence and secessionist movements in Asia, Africa, South America and North America are also active. Some campaigns are calling for separate sovereign states while others call for greater autonomy and self-rule within existing countries.

The Nation of Islam, sometimes maligned for its call for a separate state or territory for Blacks in America, has held the same stance since its founding in the 1930s.

For decades Elijah Muhammad, the movement’s patriarch and his National Representative, Louis Farrakhan, have implored Blacks in America to unite, pool their financial resources, buy land and support their own businesses as other groups have successfully done in the U.S. and abroad.

“Today, the international conception of honor, pride and dignity is not concerned with individuals within a country but is rather concerned with your work and value as a part of an established nation,” Mr. Muhammad wrote in his seminal book, “Message to the Black Man in America.”

In this March 15, 2014 file photo, a demonstrator carries a sign during a proindependence march in Edinburgh, Scotland. A Sept. 18, 2014 referendum to determine if Scotland would become independent of the United Kingdom, did not garner enough votes.

To be recognized, representing your nation and understanding the importance of land ownership in establishing a nation is a critical component, Mr. Muhammad continued.

Blacks in America cannot demand recognition until they have a land they can call their own he taught.

“The first and most important reason that the individual countries of Europe, Africa and Asia are recognized as nations is because they occupy a specific area of the earth,” noted Mr. Muhammad.

Methodology of separation

Separation is not a one size fits all strategy and in some instances, it could potentially create more problems but Blacks in the U.S. have a valid reason and need to separate, said A. Akbar Muhammad, international representative of the Nation of Islam and Min. Farrakhan.

“Separation is different; different circumstances and you have to look at it based on the circumstances and why the people are asking for separation,” Mr. Akbar Muhammad told The Final Call pointing out several global examples.

In Ukraine, which used to be a part of the Soviet Union, there are Russian speaking citizens in the Crimea who want to break away and become part of Russia again, he explained.

A crowd of men scream in celebration during the independence ceremony of the Republic of South Sudan in Juba, South Sudan, on July 9, 2011. South Sudan officially became the 193rd country in the world after voting to secede from Sudan in January, 2011. Photo: AP Wide World Photos

The Soviet Union was once the only other formidable “super power” along with the U.S. The two nations locked horns frequently during the Cold War era. The Soviets tried keeping their region together under a centralized political, ideological and economic system but non-Russian ethnic groups were over 50 percent of the total population and resisted forced assimilation into a foreign way of life. Also, economic reforms failed to improve the life of the masses of the people. Eventually, non-Russian provinces began uprising in dissent and dissatisfaction first starting in the Baltic region and quickly spreading.

Fifteen new nations emerged after the breakup of the Soviet Union in December 1991. They were Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Mr. Akbar Muhammad also pointed out the breakup of Sudan in Africa.

“The Southern Sudanese felt that they were mishandled by the Northerners who ruled the country and they wanted separation to build their own nation,” he continued. There was a vote and in July 2011 the North Sudan and South Sudan separated, but the new country went into complete decline and a bloody civil war broke out along tribal lines, said Mr. Akbar Muhammad.

“In hindsight those who lobbied for this separation there were reasons: the rich oil, gold and mineral wealth. And there are outside entities that may appear that they’re looking out for the best interest of the Southern Sudanese but they were not. They wanted it separated so that they could control the tremendous oil wealth, coal and other mineral riches that have not even been tapped yet in the Southern Sudan,” he explained.

On the African continent where you are trying to build an African Union and United States of Africa as promoted by the late Gamel Nasser of Egypt and Muammar Gadhafi of Libya and others, outside entities promote and push for “regional unity” instead. “There are those that don’t want to see (a united Africa) become a reality,” said Mr. Akbar Muhammad.

Zoilo Torres is a self-described life-long Puerto Rican community, labor and political organizer who firmly believes Puerto Rico should be an independent nation. The Caribbean island was conquered and claimed by Spain in 1493. The inhabitants, the Aboriginal Taino Indians were enslaved by the Spaniards and died off from infectious diseases. Puerto Ricans are descendants of a mixture of enslaved Africans and Spanish conquistadors.

The island became a U.S. territory in 1898 after the Spanish-American War. Puerto Rico has its own governor, constitution and its people are U.S. citizens, but are not eligible to vote in U.S. elections. They are eligible for U.S. military service. There are 4.9 million Latinos of Puerto Rican descent in the U.S. compared to 3.6 million who live on the island. The country is considered a “Commonwealth,” a term that Mr. Torres argues is a misnomer.

Debates on whether Puerto Rico should remain a commonwealth, become a 51st state or be independent have gone on for decades.

“What really exists in the relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States is really a state of colonialism. Puerto Rico does not have the sovereign rights to do a number of things for its own benefit. Things that would be economically beneficial like international trade,” said Mr. Torres.

A woman casts her ballot at a polling station during the Crimean referendum, in Sevastopol, Ukraine, March 16, 2014. Residents of Ukraine’s Crimea region are voting in a contentious referendum on whether to split off and seek annexation by Russia. Photo: AP Wide World Photos

There have been at least four referendums in which Puerto Ricans voted on country status, the last vote occurring in 2012. The vote for independence usually receives a small number of votes, said Mr. Torres.

“The U.S. cultural dominance of the island has so politically and culturally disoriented the entire people. Now when you give them a choice to make whether it’s between statehood and independence they’d rather keep the status quo because that’s what they feel more secure with up to this point,” said Mr. Torres.

There is a fear of independence based on self-doubt, questions about possible infighting and vulnerability leading to possible invasion from another country, added Mr. Torres.

“We’re restricted to trading only with the United States and that’s created a situation in which Puerto Ricans do not produce what they consume and consume what they do not produce. They fear in breaking that relationship they will starve. These are the fears that prevent people from really looking at a sovereign nation as an alternative.”

Today, there are reports of up to 31 active separatist movements in Africa, 23 in Asia and Middle East, 28 in Europe, 6 in the U.S. and its territories, and 7 in South America.

The Basque region near the border of Spain and France is still waging its battle for independence in the region.

“The separatist group ETA, which conducted a wave of bombings and shootings, killing more than 800 people in 40 years, has led the demand for the establishment of an independent Basque country based on their unique cultural identity and distinct language,” noted dnaindia.com.

A map of separatist movements around the world on the website of The National World showed movements in Assam, India where the United Liberation Front of Assam representing the Bodo-speaking people seek an independent state. In Xinjiang, China the Muslim Uighur region has been marred with conflict, a reaction to allegations of mistreatment of the Uighur’s by the majority Han Chinese.

French-speaking citizens of the Parti Quebecois in Quebec also seek independence from Canada. In the U.S., in June, residents of a county in Northern California voted in favor of a measure that will force local officials to consider a plan to secede from the state and form a new region called Jefferson. Two other similar efforts in northern California were defeated. There are also secessionist campaigns in Texas.

“Texas is a nation and all nations strive for the right of self-determination even in the context of a political union. They want their sovereignty. Just as most Americans bristle at the United Nations when it encroaches on their sovereignty, so does Texas when the Federal Government threatens ours,” states the website for the Texas Nationalist Movement.

The centuries old fight for full equality, justice and recognition for full citizenship is still elusive for the majority of Blacks in America, despite the number of Black millionaires, politicians and professionals.

According to the Pew Research Center, a poll conducted six years after the enactment of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, found 64 percent of Blacks “found signs of perceived improvement” in their lives. In 2009, the year President Obama took office, the number was 39 percent. In a similar question posed by Pew in 2013, prior to the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington the number was down to 26 percent of Black respondents stating things had improved.

In the same 2013 poll, about 79 percent of Blacks said “a lot” more needed to be done to achieve racial equality, compared with 44 percent of Whites. About 32 percent of Blacks and 48 percent of Whites said “a lot” of progress had been made toward racial equality over the past 50 years.

Lessons for Black America

Min. Farrakhan has pointed out that separation is a familiar concept America supports in cases that suit its purpose. It is not a foreign concept and is one that must now be applied to the Black nation, the Minister said in his 2013 Saviours’ Day address, “Muhammad’s Economic Blueprint: Ending Poverty and Want.” The Minister presented examples of various separation movements worldwide and defined, healthy ethnic enclaves in U.S. cities.

“The Polish have their part of town, they own it, they rule it; the Germans have their part, the Jews have theirs; the Mexicans have theirs. And Black people, you have yours, but you don’t ‘own’ it; you don’t control anything in your community,” he said.

There is a natural inclination for people to form clans and tribes for general security and well-being and people desire to be on their own now, added Min. Farrakhan.

In cities around America, like Ferguson, Mo., Blacks have been subjected to White-minority rule and unjust rulership while their tax dollars are paid to the same entities that continue to fail and disappoint them time again in the continued fight for equality and justice. Blacks collectively have over $1 trillion in spending power that can be harnessed to begin making a real change in their collective condition.

A group of Orthodox Jews in Memphis, Tenn., recently initiated a three-year campaign inviting 100 new Jewish families to relocate to the city.

“The first big event will be their ‘A Taste of Jewish Memphis’ weekend, where the Memphis ReJEWvenation Committee is preparing for dozens of families from around the country to spend a weekend learning about and enjoying the attractive lifestyle package that the city has to offer,” reads the group’s press release.

Organizers of event, scheduled for Oct. 31- Nov. 1 have reported they are already well on their way to meeting their goal of “one hundred families” joining the Memphis Jewish community. The weekend will give families the opportunity to interact with local Orthodox Jewish families and speak with employment and real estate experts. They are even offering subsidies for travel to Memphis for the weekend and relocation costs.

Under the leadership of Min. Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam has reintroduced Muhammad’s Economic Blueprint to End Poverty and Want for Blacks to begin to do something for themselves.

The Blueprint calls for 16 million Black wage earners to donate a mere 35 cents a week for a year that would be a savings of $291 million to buy land and businesses, an investment for Black survival.

Scottish citizens were not being mistreated, arrested, shot down in the streets or thrown in jail in the UK simply for being “Scottish,” unlike Blacks in America, observed Mr. Akbar Muhammad.

“Our position from the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad about separation is because there’s been proof that after 400 years, regardless of what we have done and they have done we cannot get along in peace. So we want the opportunity to build our own nation where we can get freedom justice and equality and use our God-given ability to run a society,” he said.

“It’s not easy to run a society but with the help of God and a desire to free ourselves from the yoke of this oppression we lobby for independence and separation. Give us a chance to go for ourselves.”

The Final Call