Declaration the Coordinating Assembly of High School Students - ACES – face the events on Tuesday 07 31, 2012 in the premises of SITECO in Rancagua

Through this Declaration, students grouped in the ACES declare our total condemnation and rejection of the attitude of the trade union leader Jorge Peña, who expelled two of our companions from the premises of the contract (outsourced) workers Union, SITECO, comprising mainly mineworkers from Rancagua.

Tuesday, July 31^st, 2012 two members of the Committee in support of the Syrian masses and the Commission for the worker-student unity of the ACES went to the Union premises to set a motion for a campaign to set up an International Committee in support to the Syrian masses, a campaign that the ACES has officially adhered to. Against this, Jorge Peña, using the worst bureaucratic methods drove out our companions who promoted the campaign, saying that the masses in Syria were not really a people up in arms fighting against a brutal regime, but "terrorist groups of Al-Qaeda, sent by the US imperialists". Not content with this, Peña justified the expulsion saying, with total audacity, he expelled the companions because "I am the bureaucrat here, I am in command! Get out of here, since I will not let you bring this to my workers".

From the ACES, we declare that we strongly condemn this attitude byJorge Peña, since it conforms an horrible precedent in two ways.

First, we affirm that his policy is nothing more than the continuity of the policy of many organizations claiming internationally that the revolutionary struggle of the Syrian masses is actually "commanded by US imperialism against the comrade Al-Assad", which is part of the international siege that has been mounted on that heroic revolutionary struggle against Al Assad and against imperialism, his master.

In addition, Jorge Peña attitude demonstrates, unfortunately, his bein an open enemy of democracy to the interior of the labor organizations, since he self-attributes the right to decide what the workers can or should listen to.
As ACES, and being an integral part of the campaign by setting up an International Committee in support to the Syrian masses, we call on all labor and student organizations in the world to reject this bureaucratic attitude of Jorge Peña, which destroys democracy to the interior of the combative SITECO Union, and which shows a cold shoulder to the heroic revolutionary struggle that today are fighting our class brothers and sisters in Syria and across North Africa and the Middle East; a fight that has proved to be an example for all the exploited in the world.

 Santiago, 03 August 2012

Coordinating Assembly of High School Students (ACES)

** Motion adopted by a majority in the Assembly of the ACES on Friday, August 03, carried out at the headquarters of the FECH (Federation of Chilean Students).