GUADELOUPE Immediate End to the Repression Against Eli Domota!

Statement by the Independent Democratic Workers Party (POID)

The Independent Democratic Workers Party (POID) of France expresses its indignation over the colonial repression of Eli Domota, spokesperson of the LKP [1] and former general secretary of the General Workers Union of Guadeloupe (UGTG), on December 30, 2021.

Eli Domota was participating in a peaceful demonstration in Petit-Pérou, as part of the general strike that began on November 15, when the gendarmerie brutally dispersed the demonstrators, spraying them in the face with tear gas, tackling them to the ground, and handcuffing Eli Domota and other activists. Eli Domota was placed in police custody, before being released.

The Prosecutor’s Office of Pointe-à-Pitre then announced that Eli Domota was « summoned to appear before the criminal court on April 7, 2022 on charges of intentional violence against a person holding public authority and refusal to submit to compulsory directives. » It is however evident from the images broadcast by Canal 10 that Eli Domota offered no resistance during his brutal arrest, continuing to demand « the opening of negotiations ».

As for the « compulsory testing samples », they are in fact the DNA samples generally reserved for sex offenders, which they insist on imposing on union leaders and activists in Guadeloupe and which the latter rightly refuse.

The POID joins Maïté Hubert-M’Toumo, general secretary of the UGTG, in describing this arrest as a « provocation » and a « serious attack on a fundamental freedom: the right to strike ».

The POID recalls that the LKP, the coalition of organizations in struggle in Guadeloupe (of which Eli Domota is one of the spokespersons), presented on September 2 to the prefect of Guadeloupe, the representative of the Macron government, a list of 32 demands of workers and the population. For almost four months now, the French authorities have refused to negotiate with the 30 organizations of the coalition on these demands.

The only response of the Macron government to the legitimate demands of the workers and people of Guadeloupe and their organizations is colonial repression.

The POID considers that the labor movement in France has the responsibility to stand up against the repression that has targeted Eli Domota and the activists and organizations of Guadeloupe, and to demand the lifting of the legal proceedings against him and the immediate opening of negotiations with the Guadeloupean organizations. The POID is available to participate in any unitary initiatives on these demands.

The POID expresses its solidarity with Eli Domota, the LKP and the UGTG.

Signed/

Daniel Gluckstein,
national secretary of the POID,
Montreuil, December 31, 2021, 1pm

[1] Translator’s Note: The LKP – or Liyannaj Kont Pwofitasion – is a coalition of unions and community organizations spearheaded by the General Workers Union of Guadeloupe (UGTG). In March-April 2009, it organized a 44-day general strike in support of its immediate and national demands, in opposition to French colonial oppression. Eli Domota, the LKP’s main spokesperson, toured seven cities on the East Coast of the United States on July 5-15, 2009 to organize solidarity with the struggle in Guadeloupe. The tour was organized by the Guadeloupe-Haiti Solidarity Campaign with the support of Black Workers For Justice, International Concerned Friends and Family of Mumia Abu-Jamal, People’s Organization for Progress, AFSCME Local 1199C, and the National Black Lawyers Association, among other organizations.