A tireless, towering voice for peace and justice has departed, leaving a hole in many hearts, his unexpected loss also rendering many eloquent fellow travellers lost for words in grief and shock.
Kevin Zeese died early on Sunday 6th September of a suspected heart attack.
One who spoke for many was former (US) Green Party Co-Chair Andrea Mérida Cuéllar:
“He was a giant among activists, a brilliant scholar and writer and a true lover of peace and justice. We remember his defence of the Venezuelan Embassy and subsequent victory on behalf of the Venezuelan people. He loved humanity so much that he never stopped fighting for it … He was a lion. He was amazing.”
Kevin, co-founder of Popular Resistance and a member of the Advisory Board of World Beyond War, crammed more into his sixty four years than many would believe possible, every action with impeccable research, commitment and devotion. He used his legal training to right wrongs, at home and abroad, undaunted. Hand-extending was often at considerable personal cost.
For instance, the reference to the Venezuelan Embassy, above, was in April-May 2019, when Kevin, his partner, Margaret Flowers, with Adrienne Pine, David Paul, and eighty others, moved in to the Embassy in Washington’s Georgetown to prevent the entirely illegitimate, Trump-designated “President” of Venezuela, Juan Gerardo Guaidó Márquez or fellow illegal aspirants, inhabiting the building in their effort to overthrow the legitimate President, Nicolás Maduro.
The US government laid siege to the Embassy, cutting of water, electricity and food supplies. To conserve food, all except the above four reluctantly left. The US government subsequently executed a SWAT-style raid on the Venezuelan government-backed, Embassy protectors.
The group faced a year in jail and $100,000 fine each. In February this year a Jury refused to convict the four. In June the charges were dropped.
Kevin Zeese, was tireless in denouncing:
“US illegal sanctions and covert operations that affect the progressive efforts of the peoples of Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Cuba, and beyond. His legal background only strengthened his conviction about the illegality of all these US unilateral sanctions that only increase the suffering of millions of Latin Americans”,
sums up Popular Resistance.Org
Last year, he and Margaret’s travels included Iran. Their article (1) with their ever joint bi-line should be read by every missile thumping, would-be Iran-invading Western politician, military planner and war-mongering General. And by all who want to know, understand and build bridges. It is a beautifully written, deep, shocking, shaming, indictment of (another) hideously painful, swathe of murderous US history.
They also reminded:
“The US also killed 289 Iranians when a US missile shot down a commercial Iranian airliner in July 1988. The US has never apologized for this mass killing of civilians. When we were in Iran, we visited the Tehran Peace Museum and our delegation did what our country should do, apologized.”
Written with knowledge, passion and understanding the concluding section believes that without sabre rattling and with will and desire: “Creating A Peaceful, Positive Relationship Between The US And Iran” is a realistic possibility.
Returning from Iran, they were greeted by the FBI. Peace making is clearly a threatening undertaking.
In tragic irony, Kevin died the day before the start of the trial of Julian Assange at London’s Central Criminal Court, attempting to extradite him to the US for publishing many truths, and shining lights on the lies which led to the illegal invasion of Iraq. He sat on the advisory board of Courage Foundation which defends Julian Assange, Edward Snowden, Jeremy Hammond, Chelsea Manning and other whistleblowers and where he stood in defence of dissidents and journalists.
Kevin Zeese was also Press Secretary to Howard Hawkins, a Co-Founder of the US Green Party and the party’s Presidential nominee in the 2020 Presidential election. He writes: “Kevin leaves an enormous hole in his wake. He would want his legacy to be that we filled it by multiplying our efforts to bring about a better world.”
Love, gratitude and thanks from across the globe embrace his memory and Margaret, and wish her every strength.
Today our thoughts are with Kevin Zeese, whose actions and writings together with Margaret Flowers reflect a far-reaching and lifelong commitment to people’s struggles.
Kevin Zeese’s Legacy lives.
Kevin has been contributing to Global Research since 2005. His incisive articles can be consulted below:
Archive of articles on Global Research
