3rd Day Hunger-Striking Twitter’s Support for Sewa International

Hi, this is Pieter Friedrich, and it is now over 48 hours since I have eaten anything, and I am entering my third day of hunger-strike to protest Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s $2.5 million donation to Sewa International USA, a nonprofit linked to the RSS, which is a violent Hindu nationalist paramilitary in India.

The RSS is, essentially, a fascist organization. Its founders were directly inspired by the European fascist movements of the 20th century such as in Mussolini’s Italy and Hitler’s Germany. Its ideology closely mirrors that of those fascists.

The RSS’s founders declared their goal of subjugating and/or eliminating all non-Hindus from India. They wanted to establish India as a Hindu State of Hindu people, for Hindu people, and ONLY for Hindu people.

The RSS has been implicated in countless acts of violence over the past nine decades of its existence, including assassinations, bombings, and pogroms against Muslims and Christians.

The RSS is and should be recognized as a terrorist organization.

For several decades, the RSS has been heavily dependent on international support for funding, propaganda, and even for mobilization of foreign citizens to help get RSS members — like Prime Minister Narendra Modi — elected in India.

Past reports about Sewa International affiliates have exposed how they are “dedicated to building a Hindu nation based on Hindu extremist ideas, glorifying the RSS, recruiting for the RSS and expanding RSS physical and ideological training cells in India.” Donations made in the name of charity to Sewa International have reportedly been used for exactly these purposes — “to penetrate communities through service activities in order to promote RSS ideology and organization.”

I remain resolute.

I am hunger-striking to say, “Take It Back, Jack.” I hope to send a message that this is not an issue to be taken lightly. It’s an issue of life and death for the persecuted minorities of India who are increasingly suffering as the RSS rams through its agenda.

Please stand with me.