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ILC INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER NO. 101
A dossier of weekly information published by the International
Liaison Committee of Workers and Peoples
October 19, 2004
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To contact us:
ILC International Newsletter
International Liaison Committee of Workers and Peoples
87, rue du Faubourg Saint Denis 75010 Paris, France
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PRESENTATION:
Featured in this issue are the strikes, demonstrations and an appeal
to widen the campaign for the release of trade unionist Michel ("Mada")
Madassamy in Guadeloupe.
We interviewed Alan Benjamin regarding the"Million Worker
March" in Washington which gathered 15,000 workers around an
independent workers' agenda, including the demand for the withdrawal of
U.S. troops from Iraq.
We have received a number of articles from our correspondents throughout
Europe:
- From France, where a national committee for the NO to the Constitution
was constituted on October 16, 2004. It calls for a demonstration on
January 22, 2005 in Paris to vote NO on the European Constitution.
- From Spain, there's an interview with an activist: at the navel
shipyards, 96,000 jobs are threatened by the decision of the European
Commission.
- From Germany we have a report on the conference in Cologne on October
6, 2004: "There is nothing more urgent than to get rid of Schröder."
- An activist from Sweden is interviewed. He is a member of the
"Peoples' Movement Against the European Union."
- Finally an article for the magazine Dialogue addresses the
preparation for an international conference on the right for return.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Page 1: Presentation.
Page 2: United States, October 17, 2004: national march for
workers' demands and for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq.
Page 3: Palestine: and article titled "Why not two people,
one state?" A contribution relative to the international conference
for the right of return.
Page 4: Spain: 96,000 jobs threatened at the naval shipyards.
European social forum, an article from our correspondent.
Page 5: France: an appeal for a demonstration on January 22, 2005
in Paris for the NO to the European Constitution.
Page 6: Germany: a national conference in Cologne: "There is
nothing more urgent than to get rid of Schröder."
Page 7: Sweden: NO to the European Union-an interview and a
document.
Page 8: Guadeloupe: widen the campaign for the release of Michel
Madassamy.
Subscriptions
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UNITED STATES
October 17: National march held in Washington for workers' rights and
for the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq
On Sunday, October 17 in Washington D.C., the capital of the
United States, around 15,000 workers came from various cities across the
country -- including New York, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco and Los
Angeles -- to demonstrate for labor rights, for the repeal of repressive
laws such as the "Patriot Act," and for the withdrawal of all
U.S. troops from Iraq.
We interviewed Alan Benjamin, editor of The Organizer, the
newspaper published by supporters of the International Liaison Committee
of Workers and Peoples (ILC) in the United States. From the time the
march was announced, The Organizer offered its total support.
Alan Benjamin was one of the members of the MWM Organizing Committee.
Q: Why did the organizers decide to hold this workers' march 15
days before the presidential election?
The reply is in the list of demands of this Million Worker March:
the right to universal healthcare -- that is, single-payer healthcare --
for all; jobs for all at a living wage; quality public education for
all; defense of democratic and trade union rights; repeal of "free
trade" treaties such as NAFTA and the FTAA; repeal of Taft-Hartley;
and peace, that is, the immediate withdrawal of the U.S. occupation
troops from Iraq and the drastic slashing of the military budget to fund
human needs.
Neither Bush nor Kerry has addressed or given even a modicum of support
for these demands in their election campaigns.
It was therefore necessary, as ILWU Local 10 leader and MWM co-chair
Clarence Thomas said, for workers to demonstrate in their own name and
in support of their own independent agenda, with their essential demands
placed front and center before the entire nation. That's why numerous
trade unions, antiwar coalitions and community organizations supported
the call for the march. MWM committees were formed across the country.
Buses and vans were rented to travel to Washington. A strong movement
began to develop in support of this independent workers' agenda.
Q: Were there obstacles?
As expected, the two main parties of the bosses -- and their
partisans inside the labor movement and the communities of the oppressed
-- opposed the march. All supporters of Democratic candidade John Kerry
said that nothing should be done to take attention and resources away
from the all-out effort to ensure Kerry's electoral victory on November
2nd.
These obstacles were particularly pronounced inside the labor movement.
The national leadership of the AFL-CIO, while stating they shared many
of the march's demands, sent a letter to all affiliates nationwide
urging them to boycott the march. They said such a march could not be
supported unless it was held after the November 2nd elections.
Q: What conclusions do you draw from the march?
First, it was a huge victory that the march took place at all --
especially considering all the formidable obstacles placed in its path,
from outright sabotage by the union officialdom, to the media boycott,
to police actions to prevent as many as 40 buses from New England from
reaching the march site.
The Million Worker March was not supposed to take place. Working people
across the country were not supposed to know that there is a current in
the labor movement -- a significant current at that, initiated and led
by Black trade unionists -- that is holding high the banner of the
workers' independent interests and demands and that is charting an
independent road forward to win those demands.
And yet the MWM organizers prevailed against all odds and delivered on
their pledge to hold this march in Washington, DC on the steps of the
Lincoln Memorial. Such was their perseverance that they even broke
through the media silence, with two important articles on the march
appearing in the Washington Post and more than two full hours of
nationwide TV coverage on C-Span.
The speakers who addressed the crowd of up to 15,000 people also attest
to the deep roots of this Million Worker March movement in the working
class. The speakers' list included Frank Romero, vice president of the
American Postal Workers Union; Brenda Stokely, leader of District
Council 1707 of AFSCME in New York; Donna Dewitt, president of the South
Carolina AFL-CIO; Chris Silvera, president of the Teamsters National
Black Caucus; Ken Riley, president of the Charleston, S.C., ILA
longshore workers; Clarence Thomas, Henry Graham, Jack Heyman and Trent
Willis of ILWU Local 10; Gene Bruskin, co-convenor of US Labor Against
the War; and Martin Luther King III, who stated that this demonstration
represented the continuity of the struggle waged by his father for civil
rights and to stop U.S. aggression around the world.
Without a doubt, this was an historic step in the affirmation of working
people's independent aspirations and interests -- in counterposition to
the twin parties of the bosses: the Democrats and Republicans. As one of
the trade union leaders said from the rally podium, "We are here
representing millions of workers of this country." And this is no
exaggeration. The endorsing unions and committees of the Million Worker
March represented more than 2.5 million working people.
The very high percentage of Black workers both in the crowd and among
the speakers was also a sign that the most oppressed sectors of the
working class are taking the lead in this new movement for an
independent workers' agenda.
I should also point out that an important contingent of international
trade unionists and political activists came to Washington on October 17
to address the gathering.
The Million Worker March organizers asked the International Liaison
Committee of Workers and Peoples (ILC), among others, to send
representatives to the march and to gather international labor
solidarity statements for the event. Comrade Lybon Mabasa, representing
the Socialist Party of Azania (SOPA), spoke at the march in the name of
the ILC and was received with loud applause. He underlined, in
particular, the unity between the struggles for basic labor and
democratic rights of the South African workers and those of Black
workers in the United States.
So, on November 2, no matter who is elected president, the attacks
against working people will not stop. The U.S. troops will still be in
Iraq. The workers will continue to bear the costs of this "endless
war."
And more than ever, it will be necessary to strengthen this pole of
class-struggle resistance that was formed around the Million Worker
March and to help direct it toward an independent political expression
of working people, without which it will not be possible to win the
powerful and heartfelt list of demands set forth by the march
organizers.
********************
Paris, October 16, international solidarity with the U.S. workers and
trade unionists
On Saturday, October 16, several hundred workers and youth responded
to the appeal of the Revolutionary Youth International (RYI) and the
Workers Party to demonstrate in Paris, as well as in various towns in
the provinces.
This demonstration was organized in the framework of the activity of an
international antiwar coalition that was created in conjunction with US
Labor Against War, in particular. At the start of this demonstration,
representatives of the RYI, the ILC and the Workers Party spoke.
They demanded the immediate withdrawal of the coalition troops from
Iraq, appealed for a fight against the European Constitution and
denounced the precarious situation in which government policies are
plunging the youth and appealed for resistance to defend labor
conquests, those of the Labor Code in the forefront, and the
independence of workers' organizations.
**********
IRAQ
Report published in Journal Liberté Algérie on October 18.
A large-scale operation launched in Fallujah the first day of Ramadan (AFP,
October 15)
The U.S. Army and the Iraqi security forces launched a large-scale
military operation on the rebel town of Fallujah when Ramadan, the month
of sacred fasting, started on Friday in most Muslim countries throughout
the world.
"Since October 14, the Iraqi security forces and the multinational
force launched several operations in Fallujah in order to prevent the
anti-Iraqi forces (rebels) from preparing terrorist attacks," a
military communiqué indicated.
"The operation commenced Š with air raids and continued with
aerial support by the marines; soldiers and Iraqi forces on the
ground," it added, noting that the army used "armored tanks,
artillery, helicopters and combat planes."
The last report furnished by hospital authorities on Thursday reported
five were killed and 16 wounded in the raids.
In Washington, the former head of the Iraqi diplomatic mission, Mrs.
Rend Rahim, estimated that Iraq was far from being ready for the
elections planned for January, for technical reasons rather than
security reasons.
"I am concerned about security but even more so that we can quickly
set up the technical mechanisms necessary for the elections,"
declared Rahim, who represented Iraq in the United States from November
2003 to October 2004.
Two U.S. helicopters crashed on Saturday evening in southwest
Baghdad, causing two dead among the soldiers on board, while three
people were killed in the new nighttime air raids on the rebel village
of Fallujah. "Two helicopters crashed south-west of Baghdad around
8.30 p.m on October 16," announced a U.S. Army communiqué, adding
that, "two soldiers were killed and two others were injured."
On Saturday, the U.S. Army had announced the death of a Marine, two
soldiers and a civilian interpreter killed during a suicide raid by a
car bomb that attacked a U.S.military convoy on Friday in western Iraq.
Another soldier was killed on Saturday after he was injured on Friday by
a car bomb attack in Mosul.
On Saturday night, three people were killed in U.S. air raids launched
on Fallujah, in western Baghdad, according to the hospital in the rebel
village. "We received three dead," declared Dr. Ali Hayad, in
the town's hospital to the AFP, on Thursday after the town was
surrounded by U.S. and Iraqi forces.
The raids destroyed the quarters of Joulan and Askari, according to the AFP
correspondentŠOver 1,000 U.S. soldiers and Iraqi forces surrounded
Fallujah on Thursday, accused of harboring the Al-Zarqawi network.
********************
PALESTINE
Israelis and Palestinians. Why Not Two Peoples, One State?
Jewish and Arab activists in Palestine are searching, through
dialogue, to find solutions in the best interests of all the peoples of
the region -- in opposition to the apartheid Zionist policies. These are
solutions which, in our opinion, begin with the recognition of the
unconditional right of return of all the Palestinian refugees.
One article titled "Two Peoples, One State" published in The
New York Times on October 4 and written by Michael Tarazi, one of the
main legal advisers to the PLO, is one of many such articles that probes
for a just solution in the region.
The Ta'ayush association [means "together"], which
regroups Jewish and Arab activists in Palestine, is one of the many
groups that comprise the small minority of organizations that do not
accept the devastating policies of the Sharon government. This is what
the Ta'ayush association wrote in a leaflet calling for a protest
meeting in Tel Aviv:
"The army just killed a 13-year old girl. She received 20 bullets
for fear that she was carrying explosives. She was only carrying her
schoolbooks. She had taken the wrong path. 86 Palestinian were murdered
during the eight days of the operation in Gaza. At least 13 were very
young, and 300 were wounded. ... Those who have cancer can no longer
continue their treatment.
"Those who were murdered became just numbers. No one who has
visited the occupied territories can forget the images of children
running from soldiers, bombed-out houses, the suffocating dust, the
noise of grenades exploding, the gas, the projectiles, and the pain of
all those detained murdered in their own homes.
"They are planning a 'Love Parade' in Tel Aviv, and there is a
festive air in the country. But just meters away, the flesh and the
blood become names without meaning. One cannot ignore what is going on a
few meters away; we will protest so that no one can say we don't
understand. Š"
The Israeli media report on the military intervention in Gaza, insisting
that it is above all about a self-defense operation!
In a situation of extreme violence against the Palestinian population,
the Jewish and Arab activists in Palestine are search to establish a
dialogue to define, against the apartheid policies of Zionism, the
solutions that would represent the interests of all the people in the
region, starting with the recognition of the uncondition right of return
of the Palestinian refugees.
The article, "Israelis and Palestinians. Two Peoples, One
State" (New York Times, October 4, 2004) by Michael Tarazi,
one of the main legal advisers to the PLO and a close friend to former
Palestinian Prime Minister Abu Mazen, is part of this necessary
dialogue. Tarazi writes, in part:
"Israel's untenable policy in the Middle East was more obvious than
usual last week, as the Israeli Army made repeated incursions into Gaza,
killing dozens of Palestinians in the deadliest attacks in more than two
years, even as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon reiterated his plans to
withdraw from the territory. Israel's overall strategy toward the
Palestinians is ultimately self-defeating: it wants Palestinian land but
not the Palestinians who live on that land. ...
"Many Palestinians are now convinced that Israeli support for a
Palestinian state is motivated not by a hope for reconciliation, but by
a desire to segregate non-Jews while taking as much of their land and
resources as possible. They are increasingly questioning the most
commonly accepted solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict --
"two states living side by side in peace and security," in the
words of President Bush -- and are being forced to consider a one-state
solution. ...
"Yet while Israelis try to allay a demographic threat, they are
creating a democratic threat. After years of negotiations, coupled with
incessant building of settlements and now the construction of the wall,
Palestinians finally understand that Israel is offering 'independence'
on a reservation stripped of water and arable soil, economically
dependent on Israel and even lacking the right to self-defense.
"As a result, many Palestinians are contemplating whether the quest
for equal statehood should now be superseded by a struggle for equal
citizenship. In other words, a one-state solution in which citizens of
all faiths and ethnicities live together as equals. Recent polls
indicate that a quarter of Palestinians favor the secular one-state
solution. ...
"Support for one state is hardly a radical idea; it is simply the
recognition of the uncomfortable reality that Israel and the occupied
Palestinian territories already function as a single state. They share
the same aquifers, the same highway network, the same electricity grid
and the same international borders. ...
"The only question is how long it will take, and how much all sides
will have to suffer, before Israeli Jews can view Palestinian Christians
and Muslims not as demographic threats but as fellow citizens."
*******************
A contribution to the dialogue preparatory to the International
Conference for the Right of Return
Can there be a solution in accordance with the interests of all
the peoples living on the historic territory of Palestine that excludes
the recognition of the right of return of all the Palestinian refugees
and their families displaced from their lands since 1948?
Doesn't the perspective of a single secular and democratic State on all
the historic Palestinian territory represent the only possible framework
for the full and complete realization of the right of return?
It is on the basis of these proposals that the International Conference
for the Right of Return is being prepared by the Editorial Committee of
Dialogue magazine.
We publish excerpts from an article dated September 30, 2004, by Jess
Ghannam (1), which has been submitted as a contribution to the
International Conference for the Right of Return.
I was recently in Gaza for almost 2 weeks and witnessed the many
faces of resistance, struggle, and freedom. I saw the faces of
Palestinian children coming home from school with back-packs filled with
books and homework--smiling, laughing, holding hands and saying,
"see you tomorrow, my friend".
I saw the families of these children welcoming them home with love in
their eyes, despite their fears and anxieties. I saw Palestinians going
to work, passing through hours of dehumanizing checkpoints trying to eek
out a living to support their families.
And life goes on. Our rooted-ness in Palestine goes on. Our history goes
on. Palestine goes on, and on, and on....
When we resist in Palestine, we are resisting for our brothers and
sisters in Iraq, Afghanistan, Haiti, and Venezuela and for all people
resisting imperial aims, globalization, and the ugly ravages of
structural adjustment programs. Israeli occupation of Palestine is a
kind of structural adjustment program. ...
Do you believe in justice and freedom? If you do, then you have to go
all the way. There is no partial justice. Without genuine justice and
freedom in Palestine, there cannot be freedom and justice anywhere in
the world.
Finally, I wish to speak to the inability of some people to go all the
way with justice, specifically to the so-called progressive movement,
the so-called left, and to all activists who cannot find it in
themselves to go all the way with justice in Palestine.
This is directed to the Noam Chomskys, the Michael Lerners, the Medea
Benjamins, and to the Leslie Cagans of the world. This is to the Tikkun
Community, UFPJ, JVP, Global Exchange and to all those individuals and
groups who can speak about justice and freedom in Iraq, but not in
Palestine; who can speak about justice and freedom in Haiti, Venezuela,
Sudan, and every where else in the world, but not in Palestine. ...
I invite you to come to Gaza with me and look into the beautiful brown
eyes of Reema, a 7 year-old Palestinian child living in the Jabaliya
refugee camp and tell her and her family that they are not entitled to
justice, freedom, and the right to return to their village that is only
5 km from where they now live. ...
Can you go all the way with justice? If not, remember one thing -- where
there is occupation and injustice there will always be resistance.
-----
(1) Jess Ghannam is a member of the council for mental health in the
Gaza community, a professor of clinical psychiatry and head of the
department of medical psychology at the University of San Francisco in
California.
********************
SPAIN
The consequence of the policy of the European Union and its Constitution
18,000 workers at the naval shipyards, over 96,000 jobs (INDUITS) are in
danger as a result of the decision of the European Commission
Interview with Jesus Bejar, trade unionist at the Madrid
steelworks.
The government of Zapatero -- which took office in the election of March
14, 2004, following the uprising of the masses against Aznar and his
support of the war in Iraq -- has placed all its prestige at the service
of the European Union. Zapatero decided to convoke the first referendum
in Europe, for next February 20. But the workers and peoples of Spain
who have lived through the ultra-reactionary policies of Aznar's
government are now, after a brief respite, again experiencing the
consequences of the policy of the European Union and its Constitution.
Can you explain the situation?
Jesus Bejar: 18,000 workers at the naval shipyards and over
96,000 jobs (INDUITS), are in danger following the the European
Commission's decision taken on May 12, 2004 to declare
"illegal" the public subsidies given to the naval shipyards in
order to ensure their survival.
Today, it is the shipyards that are threatened but the president of the
public company, the SEPI, said that after the naval shipyards, it is the
privatization of television and the closure of the Asturian mines that
is on the agenda.
On October 4, 2004, there was a meeting in Brussels of the European
commissioner on free trade, Mr. Monti, with representatives of the trade
unionists of the Spanish naval shipyards and the president of the SEPI,
Martinez Robles.
The trade union representatives, as they left the meeting, verified that
the dictates of Monti, who demands the restitution of 1,183 million
euros with interest of presumably illegal aid was not negotiable. The
only concession was a three-month delay.
Commissioner Monti sustained that the privatization and dismantling of
the shipyards, that directly threatens 50,000 workers (DIREC AND INDUITS),
must be applied.
Prime Minister Zapatero currently engaged in the European campaign for
the support of the 'Constitution' that should start in Barcelona on
October 30, declared that the naval shipyards will be saved without
traps or lies and appealed to the trade unions to make their best effort
to find a solution.
On the other hand, he supports the plan for privatization-dismantling of
the SEPI. In the ranks of the Socialist Party and the UGT trade union
federation, traditionally linked to the Socialist Party, an open letter
that is currently circulating says: "If we accept that the
Brussels' demands are applied as formulated in the SEPI plan, we will
consent, sooner or later, to the dismantling of the civilian sector of
the navy and with it, the disappearance of thousands of direct and
INDUITS jobs, dignified jobs with rights, throughout Spain. We would
consent to the destruction of a vital sector of national industry."
It is under these conditions that the fighting forces within the labor
movement, especially the trade unions, are attempting to free themselves
from the demands of the European Union and the ETUC in connection with
the European 'Constitution' and all its contents. The supporters of the
ILC in Spain are being asked to sign a letter addressed to Zapatero.
Here is an excerpt from it:
"The demands of the European Commission cannot be accepted. On
April 18, 2004 you ordered-respecting the demands of the majority-the
withdrawal of the troops from Iraq.
You defied Bush and the Council of minister of the European Union.
You received the immense support of the majority of the Spanish people,
of Europe and the world. No one dared to question this decisionŠ
The times are difficult. Any action of your government to maintain all
places of work and all jobs at Izar will have the support of all workers
and their organizations. The workers and the peoples of Spain support
the workers of Izar.
It is indispensable that your government act to save the naval shipyards
for the future of all the peoples of this country."
*******************
European Social Forum in London. Should we be surprised?
The European Social Forum (ESF) met this weekend in London.
According to press reports, "the issue of the European Union
obtained a modest place at the end of the ESF session." Should we
be surprised? The mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, one of the heroes of
"alter-globalization," has just launched a vibrant appeal in
England for the "yes" vote for the European 'Constitution.' He
also financed 40% of the total budget of the European Social Forum, with
public funds. It's not hard to understand, that under these conditions,
it was preferable to avoid annoying subjects.
There were debates: on "the environment, the rise of the extreme
right, water, the Islamic veil, fair tradeŠ" These are all
questions, readers will agree, around which there was not much heated
controversy.
Susan George, the vice president of ATTAC, declared: "When Chirac
is joined by a hundred countries willing to discuss an international
tax, it is a success for those of us who have struggled since 1997 for
the Tobin Tax." The multinational corporations are not likely to
lose any sleep over this Tobin Tax. On the other hand, the millions of
wage earners who have seen their retirement plans considerably amputated
and their social security systems attacked -- all programmed by the
European Union's directives -- will hardly appreciate the 'success'
claimed by the ATTAC representative.
The ETUC, the so-called Confederation of European Trade Unions, which
financed 20% of the expenses of the European Social Forum, was also very
much present. According to L'Humanité (France), its
representative declared in regard to the European 'Constitution':
"We must approve all steps towards the democratization of Europe.
The European Constitution has integrated the proposals of the ETUC in
the charter of fundamental rights."
L'Humanité concluded: "The debates that took place
throughout the social and trade union movements should not be a factor
of 'division', as a British trade unionist expressed, reflecting an
opinion shared by all when he said that the need has never been greater
for a European resistance of trade unions to the liberal
offensive." (October 18).
But how can one understand such a statement? Can there be a
"European trade union resistance" without taking a clear stand
against the European 'Constitution'? Is it possible for the partisans of
the "yes" and the "no" votes on the crucial question
of the European Constitution to be 'united' in the fight against the
'liberal offensive'? Hardly.
Such a statement can only mean that for L'Humanité, just as for
the European Social Forum, the fight against the European 'Constitution'
is not and should not be at the heart of the labor movement's fight to
defend its interests and to preserve the existence and independence of
its organizations. Of course, such a statement is terribly wrong.
-- from a correspondent
*******************
FRANCE
An appeal to demonstrate for the NO to the European Constitution
The national conference for the defense of 36,000 communes,
departments and public services, gathered on October 16 at Ivry at the
request of 385 elected officials from 58 departments, decided to
constitute a "National Committee for the NO to the European
Constitution."
The committee decided to:
- launch an appeal for a national demonstration in Paris on January 22,
at 2 p.m. at from the Place de la Republique to the Place de la Nation.
- hold a European meeting before the demonstration with worker activists
and elected officials from all over Europe on January 22 at 2 p.m. in
the Place de la Republique.
- address the national mayors' congress that will be held on November
16, 17 and 18 in Paris, to ask them to "make this congress the
voice for the revolt of the mayors and launch an appeal to the
population to say: "Stop the closure of public services. Re-open
those that were closed. Maintain the status of the public function of
the State." No one doubts that millions of citizens will mobilize
and thus save public services."
-appeal for each department and each locality to constitute committees to
prepare for the national mobilization on January 22.
---
COMMITTEE FOR THE NO TO THE EUROPEAN CONSTITUTION
Yes to the Republic, one, indivisible and secular
Yes to public services, no to privatizations
Yes to 36,000 communes, no to forced inter-communitarism
For the defense of public services, the communes, the statues, the
labor codes, collective bargaining, the Republic, one and indivisible
and secular. We call for a
National Mobilization in Paris
Saturday, January 22
Place de la Republique at 2 p.m.
We, the elected officials of the population, mayors, general
counselors, municipal counselors,
We, the trade unionists, defenders of the statutes and social conquests,
Meeting on October 16 and Ivry-sur-Seine at the National Conference in
defense of the communes and public services, mandated by 385 elected
officials of 58 departments, launch a cry of alarm:
The public services, the existence of the communes, the rights, the
collective guarantees, the labor codes, democracy, the statute of the
public function of the State guarantee, the unity of the Republic -- all
are threatened to disappear.
In all areas where the European directives are applied they result in an
assault on democracy.
The 36,000 communes and their prerogatives resulting from the French
revolution that guarantees equality in right of all citizens of the
republic, as well as the independence of trade union organizations that
are the two pillars on which stands democracy, are now threatened.
A letter from the Interior Ministry dated September 15 wants to force
the little communes to fuse, the agglomerated communes to regroup and
the 5,000 communes that have conserved their free administration also to
regroup in communities of communes.
- 26,000 out of 57,000 communal schools are threatened to disappear
- 6,000 post offices out of 13,000 now existing are threatened with
closure or being transformed into private "postal-points"
- hospitals and maternity centers will be closed!
- The offices that pay for the expenses and the receipts of our communesŠ
will be closed!
- The centers of social securityŠ will be closed
- The SCNF railroad stations, the EDF centers, the Equipment
subdivisionsŠ will be closed
This is an extreme challenge for society.
What had been built following the war, the great conquests, the great
gains, all will disappear, nothing can survive this destructive policy.
They would like to shackle the elected officials, representing the
population and trade union organizations, those representing the
employees, to this policy.
We are elected officials of our communes, we are trade union activists.
That is not our mandate
We, the elected officials, our mandate is to defend all public
services, in all the communes.
We the trade unionists, our mandate is to defend the collective rights,
the inseparable status of public services.
We cannot accomplish this mandate, if the project of the European
Constitution is imposed on us, in which the existence of public service
is not affirmed, a Constitution that imposes "free trade" and
interferes with all monopoly or subsidy of the State.
It is quite clear: there is no possible defense of public services, of
the communes, of the statutes and social conquests of democracy and the
Republic if we don't say:
NO TO THE EUROPEAN CONSTITUTION!
That is why, gathered on October 16 at Ivry-sur-Seine, at the
National Conference for the defense of the communes and public services
we decided to constitute:
A NATIONAL COMMITTEE FOR THE NO TO THE EUROPEAN CONSTITUTION
JOIN US!
All of us want to work for the largest unity to defeat this
constitution.
That is why we ask you to build in all the departments, in all the
communes at the places of work, committees to prepare for the
demonstration in Paris.
With the population, with the municipal councils, with the trade unions,
with all those who support the cause of public services and democracy,
We will demonstrate from the Republique to the Nation
On Saturday, January 22 at 2 p.m.
Elected officials, democrats, workers are faced throughout Europe
with the same problems and have the same reasons as we have to vote NO
to this constitution.
At the Place de la Republique on January 22, we will go en masse to
participate in a great European meeting, with worker activists, elected
officials from all Europe. We will repeat together:
No to the European Constitution!
Yes to the free and fraternal union of the peoples of Europe
Yes to public services, No to privatizations
Yes to the 36,000 communes, No to forced inter-communitarism
Yes to the Republic, one, indivisible and secular
I am signing this appeal publicly:
First public signatories:
Mirguet Roland conseiller municipal de Chavannes sur Surain (01) ;
Lovaty Sylvie, conseillère municipale Coulandon (03) ; Blin Hervé ,
les Mées (04) ; Senes Claude, maire de Thoard (05) ; Baudoin Gérard,
conseiller municipal de Bogny sur Meuse (08) ; Schivardi Gérard
conseiller général, maire de Mailhac (11); Sale René, hospitalier,
syndicaliste, Aix en Provence (13) ; Bazelle Jean, maire-adjoint de
Lascelles (15) ; Gibert Jean-Marc, maire-adjoint de Lascelles (15) ;
Goursaud Bernard, maire de Brie sous Matha (17) ; Plazanet Jean , Maire
de Tarnac (19) ; Lort Albert, maire adjoint de Douchapt (24) ; Pasadovic
Sébastien, conseiller municipal d'Ormes (27) ; Nicol José ,
syndicaliste PTT, Chartres (28) ; Mauger Denis, conseiller municipal de
Saint Loubes (33) ; Gonzales Yves conseiller municipal de Caux (34) ;
Seiler Guy, conseiller municipal de Villeneuve-les-Maguelone (34) ;
Annequin Jean, conseiller municipal de la Châtre (36) ; Rouet
Jean-Jacques, conseiller municipal de Fondettes ( 37) ; Trollé Daniel,
conseiller municipal de Montlouis (37) ; Ageron Claude, conseiller
municipal de Saint-Didier-de-Bizonnes (38) ; Lequay Bruno, maire à
Bossieu (38) ; Dumas Gérard, conseiller municipal Saint-André d'Apchon
(42) ; Marcuccilli Jacqueline, conseillère municipale de La Talaudière
(42) ; Barbier Dominique, conseillère municipale de Mûrs Erigné (49)
;Nogues Chantal, maire adjointe de Clefs (49) ; Renault Michel Maire de
Clefs (49) ; Corraze Thierry, conseiller municipal Langres (52) ;
Malgras Jacqueline, syndicaliste Langres (52) ; Minary Christian,
conseiller municipal de Jarny (54) ; Dal Pozzolo Albert, maire adjoint
de Rozérielles (67) ; Mirguet Odile, conseillère municipale de
Brignais (69) ; Fouché Didier, maire de Soulitré (72) ; Milon
Jean-Pierre, comité de défense des communes de la Sarthe (72) ;
Daldosso Yves, syndicaliste Aix les Bains (73) ; Laurent Renée,
Conseillère municipale de Cognin (73) ; Bevillard Roland, ancien maire
de Cran-Gevrier (74) ; Bernard Nicole, Paris (75); Cochain Patrick,
hospitalière syndicaliste CGT APHP (75) ; Delalondre Clarisse,
syndicaliste EDF, Paris (75) ; Fitoussi Jean-Pierre, syndicaliste CNRS,
Paris (75) ; Gluckstein Daniel, secrétaire national du Parti des
Travailleurs (75) ; Guilbert Frank, syndicaliste, Paris (75) ; Hayon
Samy, syndicaliste CGT Paris (75) ; Parisot Alain, syndicaliste CGT,
Paris (75) ; Schapira Daniel, Paris (75) ; Philippe Adam maire adjoint
de Calleville les deux églises (76) ;Philippe Etienne, maire de
Calleville les Deux Eglises (76) ;Chambard Patrick, conseiller municipal
de Congis sur Thérouanne (77) ;Muller Alain, syndicaliste (77) ;Delarue
Jean, conseiller municipal des Mureaux (78) ;Kaiser Véronique,
fonctionnaire Poissy (78) ; Langlet Denis, syndicaliste métallurgie
(78) ; Ménard Jean-Claude ,conseiller municipal de Fenioux (79) ;
Rocton Yves , maire adjoint de Fenioux (79) ; Arneodo Pierre, secrétaire
CGT PTTE, Trans-en-Provence (83) ; Luiggi Gérard, syndicaliste FO équipement,
Toulon (83) ; Massé Christophe, posier, syndicaliste, Migne-Auxance
(86) ; Aiguier Gérard, USR CGT, Epinal (88) ; Colas Maurice, ancien
premier adjoint Contrexeville (88) ;Niveau Denis, maire adjoint d'
Etaules (89) ; Bersat Guy, maire adjoint de Brières-les-scellés (91)
;L aporte patrice , militant associatif à Chalo-Saint-Mars (91) ;
Marquiset Jean-Charles, syndicaliste CGT (91); Vincent Didier,
conseiller municipal de Chalo Saint Mars (91) ; Bellebeau Gérard,
conseiller municipal de Livry-Gargan 93) ; Boughazi Rachida, conseillère
municipale de La Courneuve (93) ; Brochard Claude, CGT services publics
(93) ; Karman Jean-Jacques, vice président du Conseil Général, maire
adjoint d'Aubervilliers(93) ; Latour Patricia , maire adjointe
d'Aubervilliers (93) ; Millard Alain syndicaliste PTT, Bobigny (93) ;
Bour Patricia, conseillère municipale d'Alfortville (94) ; Chabernaud
Jean-Louis, pédiatre responsable du comité national pour la défense
des maternités(94) ; Charpiat Dominique , directeur d'école,
syndicaliste, Ivry sur Seine (94) ;Chiche Marie France enseignante,
syndicaliste(94) ; Denis Jean-Claude (94);Gioli Luc, syndicaliste poste,
Maisons Alfort (94) ;Lefebvre François, (94) ; Rougeau Jean-Claude
professeur de médecine(94) ; Savy Aimé, Maire adjoint d'Ivry sur Seine
(94) ; Sterge Rose Marie, conseillère municipale de Chevilly Larue (94)
; Martinez Roger, conseiller municipal de Bouffémont (95) ; Mennecier
Jean, syndicaliste CGT lié au patrimoine national (94) ; Quenton
Martine , Association de défense de la Démocratie Communale de Cergy
(95)
*******************
GERMANY
With "jobs for one euro" where is Germany headed?
A national conference was held on October 9 in Cologne and was convened
under this rallying cry:
"There is nothing more urgent than getting rid of Schröder"
by the initiators of the Cologne appeal, that gathered 3,500 signatures
of trade unionists and activists of the SPD.
Following is an interview with Klaus Schüller, member of the leadership
of DGB in Thuringia and the SPD. Schuller was a participant in this
conference.
Q: After the October 9 conference in Cologne, you exposed the
consequences of Schröder's policy, especially that of unemployment
insurance II, that is part of the Hartz IV law on the "reform of
the labor market." What can you tell us on this subject?
K.S: As of January 1, 2005 there will no longer be any unemployment
insurance or social assistance in Germany. They will be fused into the
"unemployment indemnity II". That is 331 euros in the east and
345 euros in the west. You must now fill out forms in which people must
under oath declare the number of persons in their family forming a unit
in need. We never had this problem. Of course we took into account the
wife of the unemployed, but everyone received an unemployment indemnity
far superior to the new indemnity II.
All long-time unemployed will receive a worse indemnity as of January 1,
2005. The amount of property will be taken into account, even for
unmarried couples. The protection of the assets of private life is no
longer assured, because the employer of a woman receiving unemployment
aid can see exactly what the situation of that family is. It is
inadmissible that the protection of the assets would be thus convoluted
and its inadmissible that the people concerned, who are not responsible
for those wo are unemployed, will be pressured to declare under oath
their assets.
Q.: What about rents?
K.S.: The allocation for lodging still exists, in relation to the
federal state. It will no longer exist under this form next year, but it
will now be handled by the communes. Therefore its amount will depend on
the finances of the commune. In Halle, for example, the allocation is
4,20 euros per square meter, however this could be an advantage in some
cases and in other communes it could be less. There is a base for the
calculation: a single person has a right to 45 square meters, which
entitles them to rent supplement. If they go over this limit, they must
leave their home or not receive this allocation.
Q: What can you tell us about "jobs for one euro?"
K.S.: The perversity of the federal government's policy consists in
presenting on the outside the "jobs for one euro" as a
supplementary gain. For these jobs for one euro, there is no work
contract. They are jobs created in the communes, the charity
organizations, etc. They could say that they are taking care of the
green areas in a town or that they are looking after certain aspects of
public works, or they are renewing schools by calling on jobs called
"of common benefit."
The unemployed are sent off on these jobs and they are remunerated by a
supplementary euro. It isn't a wage, but a supplementary gain added to
the 331 or the 345 euros of unemployment aid. What is perverse here, is
that those who supply these jobs gets 500 euros from the employment
agency per unemployed person, but in reverse the unemployed thus
recruited receives only 167 euros for 30 hours work. He has to pay for
his own health insurance, so that in the end the employer ends up with
250 euros. It's a monstrosity that the employers can pocket 250 euros
per unemployed. If an organization employs 30 unemployed, one can
imagine what that means.
For the time being, the jobs for one euro are still on a voluntary
basis, but after the January 1 people will be forced into the jobs. They
will have to work or receive nothing. At Eisenach for instance, in a
company that makes plastic components, the workers who were formerly
paid 4 euros are replaced by people sent by the diaconate or a charity
organization.
These workers have no labor rights because it's "occasional
work", they have no labor contract, and the only thing that is
fixed is the length of the nine months in which they must complete the
work. Schröder pretends that it is an improvement, but that isn't the
case. All the people forced to do this work at a dumping wage do not
acquire the right to social security. They can do this for nine months,
but they haven't a right to return to the system where they could get
unemployment insurance.
A bolt is shot,, they put in their nine months, and then they're out
again. There is only a process of rotation, but the queue will get long
and the dumping on wages will destroy well-paid jobs according to
collective conventions. They don't it, they fight it. The employers
always took what the federal government gave them. They did everything
to encourage profits. The wage structure in Germany is spiraling down
and it will be very difficult for the trade unions to find a way to stop
this.
Q: You took part from the start in the appeal "Schröder must
go-whether he wants to or not!" What were your reasons?
K.-S.: We have already launched many initiatives in the party to
effect another policy that Schröder promised before his first election
in 1998. We were amazed that he had none. Schröder promoted his policy,
starting with the Blair-Schröder document going up to the unemployment
indemnity II without deviating from his line. He bowed to capital. This
is so serious that he also destroyed the SPD.
He demolished the old social-democrat party that had fundamental values.
He ignores them. He imposes himself by threats, disciplining them via
the deputies at the Bundestag. All criticism was interrupted. If a
certain chancellor has ambitions to destroy the party, in order to
please capital, and if he declares that he has no other alternative,
then that chancellor cannot fill his role.
We must insist in our ranks to get rid of Schröder. He won't leave, we
must force him to. We must arouse the majorities; we must return the
fundamental values to the SPD. The problem is this policy divides
peoples, and the distance between east and west Germany widens.
Q: What did you think of yesterday's conference?
K.S..: I was very pleased with the conference. There was a
qualitative jump. In all the social-democrat interventions that gathered
signatures, that were discussed with the comrades, they agree that Schröder
must go. It was also clear that it's about all the German workers. That
came out yesterday. It was clear that there is a community that it's not
about east or west, but about all the workers in Germany. We adopted a
resolution that demands among others, an extraordinary congress of the
SPF. We must all discuss and stop federal government from presenting
defeats as victories.
********************
SWEDEN
No to the European Union!
Interview with Jan-Erik Gustaffson, member of the movement of the
people for the no to the European Union, signatory to the appeal for
united action for the no to the European constitution.
Q: What are the concrete consequences for Swedish workers of the
European directives of the European Union?
As in France the consequences of deregulation are considerable. In
just four years 90,000 industrial jobs were shipped out to countries
with lower wages, especially Eastern Europe.
The Electrolux vacuum cleaner factory in Västervik was relocated in
Hungary. The Autliv factory in Vargarda that manufactures safety belts
for the automobile industry was relocated in Estonia.
The management of General Motors applies blackmail and has threatened to
relocate their SAAB factory to Trollhattan that employs some 10,000
workers to the Opel factory in Russelheim. They also use the flexibility
directives to extend the length of the working day without remuneration.
After the process of expanding the European Union, a black market in the
construction industry developed. The bosses use the cheaper Polish
workers, hired on limited time contracts and without the protection of
collective conventions.
Q: Via a referendum Sweden said "no to the euro" and that
is a point of support for all the peoples of Europe. How goes the
question of the European Constitution?
The establishment and the social-democrat government (the Swedish
PS) know that they will lose a referendum on the European constitution.
A year after the historic victory of the NO to the euro, a recent poll
indicates that 60% of Swedes are against the euro, even more than the
result of the referendum.
Up to the present the government and the parties have avoided taking up
a discussion on the European Constitution. This week the government
announced that it only wants a ratification of the Parliament in
December 2005. That is totally illegitimate. The European policy has not
been discussed prior to the last elections. Also, the composition of the
Parliament is not representative in order to proceed with ratification.
Q: What fight are you currently involved in?
The "Swedish movement for the NO to the European Union" is
currently carrying on a campaign for a referendum. The Swedish PC party
and the Green party as well as the "social-democrat organization
for a referendum" are also taking part in this effort.
The transportation trade union is also involved in this campaign, but
the campaign among the trade unions is still weak. Historically the
Swedish trade unions are strongly linked to the Swedish PS party.
On a local level the committees for a referendum are under
construction in several places. When the debate on the constitution
commences, the government will find it difficult to avoid a referendum.
-----
The movement of the people for the no to the European Union waged a
campaign against the entry of Sweden in the European Union, and later
for the "No to the Euro" after the referendum of 2003.
We publish excerpts from the document adopted at the February 2004
congress.
The government of the people against the dictates of the
super-powers
Sweden out of the European Union!
The movement of the people for the NO to the European Union (PMNEU)
campaigned very actively so that Sweden would not become a member of the
European Union (UE). Even before the referendum in 1994, we were on
guard against the development of the EU towards a federal union. This
proposal of a new Constitution completes this form of State. The EU
would become a super power in the world arena as the United States. The
inauguration of a monetary and economic union (UEM) harmonized with the
economic policies and the economic strength of the European Union has
overtaken the member states. Consequently unemployment increased, living
conditions deteriorated, the environment and the security of the
consumerŠ
Nowadays, the adherence of Sweden to the EU implies something other than
what was indicated in the 1994 referendum. The new proposal of a
European Constitution clearly orients the development of the EU towards
a federal centralized State, bureaucratic and antidemocratic.
Taking into account these elements we consider that Sweden must leave
the European Union
What does it mean to vote for the European Constitution?
The proposal for a new constitution established by the pretended
future convention implies the most dramatic change that the EU has ever
known. The increase of power of supranational institutions of the
European Union to the detriment of the member states, occasioning a
supplementary deficit in democracy.
The proposal for the constitution formalizes the first judicial
decisions indicating that the EU legislation supersedes the legislation
of the member states including their constitutions.
According to this proposal a president, a foreign affairs minister, a
finance minister and an attorney general of the European Union will be
in place. The EU will have its own flag, a hymn, a common currency and a
common holiday.
The EU police force, the Europol, will become a federal institution,
will have the power to operate in member states. The military
collaboration of the EU will be developed to protect the conjoined
member states, as well as organize, if needed, large military
interventions in other countries.
The PMNEU declares that the Swedish government must oppose its veto
on the negotiations for the new constitution. If this is not the case
the Swedish people should have the right to express themselves through a
referendum.
NO to the European Union
The PMNEU took an active part in the campaign against the economic
and monetary union (UEM) in 2003. The result of the referendum was a
clear NO to Swedish participation.
Now our task is to watch that the Swedish choice is respected and that
Sweden doesn't enter the UEM through the vehicle of the new
constitution. That stipulates that the euro is the currency of the EU.
The referendum carried in the third stage of the economic and monetary
Union. Sweden participated in the first two rounds, that is to say on
the free circulation of capital and the independence of the central
bank, as well as a certain coordination of economic policies (the
criteria of convergence). The PNMEU considers that Sweden must not in
any case become part of the UEM, as it limits national sovereignty in
political and economic spheres.
The PNMEU declares that the Swedish parliament and government must
insist, as each member state, on the right to exercise internal and
legal affairs independently.
Defend Sweden's social security system
After our entrance into the European Union, privatizations and
deregulation were not well seen by the public in Sweden. This was
translated into the deterioration of public services and the
deterioration of working conditions. First, for the women, who were
particularly affected by the cuts in public spending.
The rules of competition of the EU and the application of directives
accelerated the privatization of the public sector and the abolition of
state monopolies, such as the public health services.
The member states were required by the European directives that fashion
economic policies, to reduce public spending, lower taxes and apply the
structural reforms of social security and the labor market. The
pretended stability pact place economic constraints that obliged the
member states to reduce public spending, inducing a social decline.
The proposed the new constitution doesn't mention the word "public
service". In its place the concept of "general interest
service" was launched. The object is to let private enterprise
gradually appropriate public services.
The PNMEU declares that the Swedish parliament and government should not
allow the EU to issue directives concerning social security.
Defend the rights of the trade unions
In various ways, adherence to the EU constitutes a threat for the
trade unions, for collective bargaining and the economic and social
existence of employees. The EU legislation has in our right to labor
system, substituted collective bargaining by legislation and collective
rights have been marginalized in favor of different private rights. This
process weakens the position of the trade unions.
Many European documents underline the need for a flexible labor market.
The legislation and the agreements on the hours of work, security of
employment and other working conditions must be suppressed or at least
modified. The free circulation of the private companies that offer
social services carry the risk of lowering wages and setting up a
practice on the Swedish labor market.
With the widening of the EU to poorer countries in Eastern and central
Europe, the risks will obviously increase. If the competition between
companies of lower revenue in the EU is freely exercised, without the
Swedish trade unions being able to ensure the Swedish collective labor
conventions, make them take strike measures the model of the Swedish
labor market will be destroyed in no time at all.
The PNMEU declares that the Swedish parliament and government must
vote in favor of the national right to decide the rules of the Swedish
labor market.
Reinforce the resistance against the European Union
The PMNEU organizes all those who oppose the EU whatever their
political affiliation as well as the peoples whose resistance to the EU
is different from ours. The most important task is to keep Sweden out of
the EU.
The PNMEU is an anti-racial, organization, independent of political
parties and led by its own members, with an independent platform. At the
same time, the PNMEU participates with the networks established by
independent organizations in order to coordinate resistance to the EU.
We demand the collaboration of other organizations and individuals, who
are opposed to some of the EU policies, for example the EUM, the
military cooperation for defense or other measures that imply a greater
integration of Sweden in the EU.
We will continue to develop our contacts with those that fight the EU in
other countries in order to exchange our experiences and to encourage
mutual support. We think it is especially important to develop
collaboration between opponents to the EU in the Nordic countries.
******************
GUADELOUPE
Strikes, meetings and demonstrations in Guadeloupe for the release of
Michel Madassamy
The mobilization has increased in all sectors of activity this last
week to demand the release of the UGTG leader, arbitrarily held in
prison since October 5. Michel Madassamy was originally sentenced to
three months in prison because he participated in a demonstration for
the recognition of the 10,000 anti-slavery victims that fell in 1802
after the war in Guadeloupe against the armies of Napoleon.
He was also sentenced to ten months in prison accused without proof of
breaking the windshield of a truck belonging to Texaco who had fired
three drivers after a strike.
Contrary to the dispositions of Article D-49-1 of the penal code that
foresees the appearance of an accused in order to lower the judgment,
Michel Madassamy has never appeared but was literally kidnapped by GIGN
men who came from France. He is on a hunger strike since October 5, the
day he was arrested.
Information from the "Travaye e payisan" organization in
Guadeloupe member of the International Liaison Committee of Workers and
Peoples
"On Monday October 11, the trade union council of the UGTG
presented a renewable strike warning of 24 hours for all sectors in
order to demand the immediate release of the trade union leader. The
trade union council appealed to all the trade unions and their sections
to deposit their list of demands on increase in wages, and other work
conditions such as hygiene and security.
As Madassamy was arrested for his trade union activity in defense of the
demands, in particular that of the workers in the oil companies, the
trade union council demanded that the immediate release of Michel
Madassamy be the first point in the list of demands that have been
deposited everywhere whether there are annual obligatory negotiations or
not.
The prefect replied in a letter to the trade union central that the
strikes in solidarity were illegal and without foundation and that the
MEDEF had thought it best to confirm this in writing.
Tuesday, 6 a.m. the trade unions and sectors of the central
mobilized 150 of their activists to distribute an information leaflet
throughout the principal streets and highways.
General assemblies of trade unionists were held at oil works,
construction sites, commercial, hotels and restaurants, banks and
insurance, at the autonomous port, at CHU and in local collectives.
Everywhere it was proosed to organize for a general strike in order to
completely paralyze Guadeloupe's economy and obtain the immediate
release of Michel Madassamy.
That is how the strike was decided immediately following the general
assemblies in most of the sectors cited above. According to a report in
the France Antilles newspaper, " a spider's web is being
spun" so that the strike will become generalized in all sectors.
Wednesday morning, after a press conference given by the UGTG,
the secretary general, Raymond Gauthieriot showed that through the
Madassamy case, it is the independence and the very existence of the
trade union organizations that were the cause. He appealed for unity and
the mobilization of all workers, from all organizations but also the
poublic, as the existence of social rights is tied to the existence of
independent trade unions.
Thursday, 7 p.m. over 2,000 people gathered at the UGTG headquarters
after an international meeting called for by the central. Among
dozens of participants were the representatives of various trade unions
from Guiana, Martinique and Guadeloupe who spoke and testified to their
active solidarity taking stands and messages fro the trade unions such
as those of the ANPE or the port, but also of cultural movements such as
the AKYYO. The lawyers charged with the defense of Madassamy explained,
from a judicial point of view, the total absence of a foundation for the
arrest of the UGTG leader an uncovered many violations of rights by the
gendarmerie, the attorney general Vogt and the prefect representing the
State.
A representative of the International Liaison Committee also
expressed the support of the French Workers Party, indicating that
the union for trade union freedoms and against repression has no
frontiers. Many messages of support came from Brazil, the Dominican
Republic, La Reunion, the United States, FranceŠand were read.
All the participants declared: "on sel chimen, ansanm nou ka lité,
ansanm nou ka gannyé!" (one route only, we must fight together,
since together we will win!) and to the chorus of Guadeloupe's national
anthem the meeting came to an end.
The following day, Friday, over 7,000 people marched in a
demonstration for over three hours in the streets of Point a Pitre
shouting:
"la jol, fisi, manblo, nou pa pe" (the prison, the guns, the
forcer of order, we don't fear them).
"pa manyé sindicalis, lagé MADA" (Don't touch the trade
unionists, release MADA.)
"nou ni dwa dé sindika osi en Gwadloup" (We have the right to
trade unionism in Guadeloupe.)
The week of mobilizations ended thus. Practically all the companies
observed work stoppages or went on strike after Monday, October 11;
other sectors were called to go on strike as of Monday, October 18 such
as teachers and the banks had decided.
Saturday un lewoz pou MADA (vigil with drums and chants) gathere a
thousand people at the Place de la Victoire.
On Sunday, our comrade is on his 13th day of a hunger strike, and we
are preparing a mobilization in the second week that will carry the
international support and solidarity for the relase of Michel Madassamy.
"jou nou ké mété a jounou poko vwé jou!"
(The day on which we capitulate is far from coming)
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