ILC International Newsletter
Number 21
April 7, 2003
Weekly information dossier published by the International Liaison
Committee -ILC,
Please contact:
International Liaison Committee -ILC, c/o Parti des travailleurs - 87,
rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis, 7510 Paris France
phone : (33 1) 48 01 88 28 fax : (33 1) 48 01 88 36
e-mail - eit.ilc@wanadoo.fr
Contents:
- Introduction
- No to war in Iraq
- International conference in defence of public education. First
signatories in USA and France.
- Tribune Ouvrière, Monthly paper in Burundi
- Europe news
- International Liaison Committee Calendar
- Subscriptions
********************
Introduction
In Iraq a whole people is now undergoing pure hell. A true policy of
mass terror has been unleashed by the leaders of American imperialism.
Baghdad, Mosul, Basra, Umm Qasr, Najaf, Karbala, all those cities,
especially the popular districts, have been bombed into rubble.
The main casualties are women, children, old peopleŠ "A horrendous
sight" such were the words used by the representative of the Red
Cross (Red Cross International Committee) to depict what he witnessed in
Al-Hilah hospital, South of Baghdad.
Beyond even the very existence of the Iraqi nation, what is at stake is
the sovereignty of every nation, of every people.
According to the American paper, "The Washington Post", in the
framework of a "post-war plan, supervised by Douglas J. Feith
Defence Junior Secretary, the American army would maintain its control
over Iraq for an unlimited time, till new institutions are built (.) The
plan grants the UN a role of humanitarian assistance under American
supervision."
On April 12th, across the world, we shall respond to the appeal of those
coalitions who, on that day, will stage demonstrations in the United
States to say:
"Stop the war on Iraq! Bring the soldiers home now! Not a single
dollar more for war!"
During those tragic moments, no condition whatever can be put in the way
of the widest unity to make all those who refuse this horrible war come
together.
Any excuse, any wavering would be pathetic and unconscionable.
Stop the slaughter!
More than ever, down with war, down with exploitation!
Workers united will make peace in the world.
*************************
News about war and plundering in Iraq
"Traders are following in the footsteps of the soldiers of the
coalition"
The Paris stock exchange afforded a fine show. The CAC 40 has
unwaveringly soared during the whole session. It ends with a flourish on
a 4.13% rise. In Wall Street, the index is also quite bullish. "Traders
are following in the footsteps of the soldiers of the coalition",
those are the very words of the monstrous press release gloating over
victory of a financial paper ("La Tribune" France April 2nd).
While the blood of Iraqi women and children is still being spilt,
multinationals are already squabbling over the country's resources.
Despite this, French capitalists hope to grab a share of the booty as
"sub-contractors of some parts of the huge projects that will be
allotted to American or British firms" adds the newspaper. And, as
guarantees are requested, Prime Minister Raffarin has just stated (April
2nd): "The utmost vigilance is necessary concerning the show of
anti-Americanism that is not acceptable (.) Our being against the war is
no reason why we should wish for the victory of dictatorship over
democracy"
Such is the "democracy" that M. Bush and his lackeys wish to
keep in store for the Iraqi people: to quote one of the major American
dailies ("Washington Post" April 1st) "The Pentagon keeps
track of all the aspects of reconstruction in Iraq and the formation of
a new administration". The American defence department "has
set aside a major part for former CIA manager R. James Wolsey in the
administration of post-war Iraq". A further quote of the newspaper:
"Walter Slocum, who served as Defence Junior secretary in the
Clinton administration was put on the ranks as Iraqi Defence Secretary
of State". Actually "According to post-war plan, supervised by
Douglas J. Feith Defence Junior Secretary, the American army would
maintain its control over Iraq for an unlimited time, till new
institutions are built (.) The plan grants the UN a role of humanitarian
assistance under American supervision."
The ministers of the future Iraqi administration should therefore be,
according to the American plan and "during an unlimited time"
former CIA or Pentagon head officers, with the UN's humanitarian help!
As for oil, "Washington Post" April 4th writes that "a
former Shell corporation manager should be appointed at the top of the
Iraqi state company". As a further detail: authorities are
discussing on the opportunity of cancelling the former Iraqi oil
agreements contracted with nations such as France or Russia.
********************
Stands and initiatives against the war in Iraq
Portugal: NO to war! Cancel the reform of the Labour Code!
On Friday April 4th, the Assembly of the Portuguese Republic was
beginning to vote on the reform of the Labour Code in which a sizeable
part of the gains acquired during the 1974 revolution are enshrined.
We have just received from our "O'Militante Socialista"
correspondents an appeal that is being countersigned by labour leaders
and rank and file which requests the unity of the trade unions and of
those political parties claiming to speak on behalf of workers'
interests to demand an end to the war and the repeal of the reform of
the Labour Code.
"Throughout the country, by the hundred of thousands, workers and
young people have constantly voiced their deep-seated demand for peace,
during these weeks. They voiced their indignation over the fact that the
Durgovernment gives the American government its support during this war
on the Iraqi people.
They fought the dismemberment of the Portuguese nation, they fought the
policy of the Durmultinationals and of the European Union that works for
them.
On March 13th, a delegation handed out to the government a letter
endorsed by 800 workers and young people saying: "Mr Prime Minister,
you are supporting the war but not in our name". The answer was:
the Portuguese government's "solidarity" with the American
government is "guided by the national interest". Is it the
national interest to slaughter a people, to occupy a nation?
We consider that the national interest implies to develop production, to
have public firms, to defend jobs (protected by collective bargaining
agreements and statuses, all that was gained on April 25th), to defend
social security, nation-wide systems of education, of healthcare, to
defend the responsibility of the State and the sovereignty of the
Portuguese nation, all those are incompatible with our being part in the
invasion of Iraq.
In those tragic moments for the Iraqi people's lives, and so troubled
for the Portuguese people, everyone must take up their responsibilities
and contribute their share to building peace, to halting the course of
the government's measures that lead to the downfall of the country.
We activists, workers and young people from different political and
union horizons, we feel that ending the support to war and engaging in a
positive change for the Portuguese nation require that the CGTP and the
UGT leaders get together and come to an agreement on how best to
organise a nation-wide demonstration in front of the Assembly of the
Republic to demand:
- an end to any sort of support of the war on Iraq, a ban on any use of
the nation's skies by war aircrafts
-
- the repeal of the bill for a new Labour Code.
********************
Sweden
Dear comrades
The regional congress of the Services and Communications union of the
Stockholm region voted a resolution in support of the USLAW struggle.
The yearly convention of the union of the Stockholm underground-train
workshop workers also gives its support.
Sixto Iturra
Chairman of the union of the Stockholm underground-train and tramways
workshop workers.
********************
Morocco: 90 000 marched against war in Tetwan
On Saturday March 29th, at 4 p.m., we staged a huge demonstration
against war; over 90 000 people of the Tetwan town marched; during this
demonstration we protested against the stand taken by Arab leaders and
also against all the governments that take part in this war against Iraq
(United States, Great Britain, Spain Š)
Those who demonstrated massively protested against Bush, Blair and Aznar;
they said: "NO to war! Those chiefs of states are scum!"
The letter we gave to the Spanish Consulate was published in March 25th
"El Païs", but what the journalist writes is untrue, for he
writes that this letter was written by Islamist parties, actually this
letter was written by trade unions and parties; it has been endorsed by
over 25 unions and political parties.
****************************
International Conference in Defense of Public Education
Paris - 13-15 June 2003
No to War!
For the Defense of Public Education!
American and French Education militants met in San Francisco on March
22nd and 23th. They agreed on the proposal of holding an International
Conference Against War and in defense of Public Education, on June 14th
and 15th in Paris. This proposal follows the decision adopted at the
moment of the International Conference Against Deregulation and for
Workers' Rights (Berlin, February 22-24 2002).
INTERNATIONAL APPEAL
We, the undersigned unionists and activists in the public education
sector in France and the United States, are issuing this appeal to
promote and expand the building of the International Conference in
Defense of Public Education, which will be held in Paris, France, on
June 13-14, 2003.
On March 20, bombs began to rain down on the people of Baghdad in what
is nothing but a war for oil and empire.
A recent document produced by the United Nations for the planning of
humanitarian relief announces the expected outcomes of a U.S. campaign
of bombing and invasion. These include:
500,000 civilian casualties; 2,000,000 people homeless; 10,000,000
people without enough to eat; 18,000,000 without access to clean water;
and more than 1,000,000 children under the age of 5, at risk of death
from malnutrition.
Iraq, once a prosperous country, has been decimated and bled dry by a
U.S.-led military invasion in 1991 and by 12 years of sanctions imposed
by the United Nations that have resulted in the deaths of 1.6 million
people, including more than 500,000 children. Now the situation will
turn even bleaker, George W. Bush's promises of a rosy future under a
U.S. protectorate notwithstanding.
Bush's "shock and awe" invasion is aimed at terrorizing the
Iraqi people and carving up the Iraqi nation into three or more
different "ethnically-based territories," all under foreign
military occupation, the better to take over the country's rich oil
resources.
We, who are teachers and public education activists, have demonstrated
in the streets along with millions of people the world over to shout out
in one voice: "Stop this unjust and immoral war against the people
of Iraq!"
We have supported the campaigns and initiatives of U.S. Labor Against
the War , which has taken the lead in mobilizing opposition to this war
within the global trade union movement.
Expressing the overwhelming will of the majority of the world's
population, we call for military action to cease and desist immediately
so that American and British troops can be removed from harm's way and
brought safely home -- and to spare the Iraqi people more death,
destruction and suffering.
We pledge to redouble our efforts to bring this heinous war to an end by
demonstrating in mass, peaceful protests. We know that it is not just
the Iraqi people who are targeted by the U.S. government.
If we don't stop this mad military machine, other peoples in the region
-- and beyond -- will be subjected to this same fate. We also know that
the war abroad -- Bush's "endless war" -- will be used to
justify stepping up the war on workers' rights and living standards in
our own countries.
Take a look at what is happening in France:
On March 17, 2003, the French Constitution was modified. Basic
principles rooted in the French Revolution and the Declaration of
Universal Human Rights, according to which all laws and rights must
apply equally to all who live in French territory, have been attacked.
These are laws that working people mobilized around to win its major
social conquests.
With this new "regionalization" offensive now enshrined in the
modified Constitution, the unity of the French Republic is being
dismantled. The goal is to break up the unity of the nation to better
implement the destructive, anti-worker plans of the European Union.
In the past, French workers had the same rights wherever they lived.
They had the same rights to the same public services: quality and free
universal healthcare, postal service, transportation, electricity, etc.
-- and the same access to quality public education. Through the aegis of
this "regionalization" offensive, all sorts of "deregulation"
measures will be permitted, thereby establishing different rights for
citizens based on their regions.
This is a deadly machine aimed at dismantling all the social conquests
wrested through struggle by French working people immediately after
World War II.
The first consequence will be that 150,000 civil service workers --
110,000 of whom are custodians, cafeteria workers, counselors and nurses
in the public schools -- will lose their civil-service status. This
heralds the planned termination of the national character of public
education, the regression of education as such, and the end of national
diplomas and qualifications recognized in collective-bargaining
agreements and statutes.
It is also the green light to the privatization of entire sectors of
public education.
While funding for the military increases exponentially, major cuts in
funding for public services are being announced. Public servants in all
sectors are told to expect massive layoffs. All positions lost to
retirement, moreover, will not be replaced. The French Ministry of
Education has announced that to accommodate the fewer teachers and
education workers, the number of class hours per year will be reduced.
This means that the right to an education is under intensified assault.
The future of our youth is being sacrificed on the altar of financial
markets, themselves in deep crisis.
All these plans are being implemented via the specific directives of the
European Union, which, in the name of reducing the budget deficits, is
spearheading the privatization of public services. The EU is promoting
the so-called "informal and non-formal" education systems --
that is, workplace training sessions in factories and offices, and other
forms of "real-life" education. All devalue the right to
instruction and the acquisition of knowledge and skills for critical
thought.
It is the European Union which, in the name of promoting the "flexibility
of the labor force" and seeking a "competitive edge," is
pushing to dismantle the national systems of universal healthcare,
social security and retirement. It is the EU that is pushing to
dismantle the nations and to create a Europe of regions -- which will
only sow divisions among peoples along ethnic or religious lines, such
as occurred in the Balkans.
It is within this EU framework that the French government, like all the
governments of Europe, is proceeding to implement these destructive
policies. It is also in this framework that they seek to coopt the trade
unions into functioning as their agents in the application of this
brutal assault on workers' rights and working conditions.
Take a look at what is happening in the United States:
The powers-that-be in Washington have no problem finding and spending
well over $200 billion for a criminal war in Iraq. Money can be found
for war, but not for education and other vitally necessary social
services.
Already under the pretext of "homeland security," Bush and
Ridge have withdrawn collective-bargaining rights for tens of thousands
of federal workers organized in unions and have declared airport
security workers ineligible for unionization.
The roundup and deportation of immigrant workers certainly has a
chilling effect on their ability to organize. And now that the war has
begun, "patriotic" pressure is being brought to bear on any
"selfish" union workers trying to protect their jobs and
living standards during war.
Across the country, states are facing major budget crises. In fact,
state budgets are facing the worst crisis since World War II. Massive
budget deficits now threaten both public employees and the quality
government services that they provide -- like education and healthcare.
This year alone, state budget deficits are expected to reach a
nationwide total of some $76 billion, according to a recent estimate
made by the American Federation of Teachers. California's deficit alone
is almost half of this nationwide total.
One example from California and its community college system will
illustrate the extent of the new and deepening attacks on teachers and
students.
Because of the estimated $35 billion budget deficit in California,
Governor Gray Davis proposed on January 10, 2003, to cut the California
community college system budget for 2003-04 by around 10.5%, that is, by
around $530 million.
At the same time, he proposed raising tuition from $11 to $25 a unit.
This would mean that more than 206,000 mainly working class students in
California would be denied access to a community college.
What is happening in France and the United States is, of course,
happening with even greater force around the world.
We, the undersigned, reaffirm our support for the Call for the
International Conference in Defense of Public Education that was issued
by teacher unionists from 13 countries.
This initiative is not in competition with any existing union federation
or campaign. The goal is not to build a new education organization, but
rather to exchange information and experience and to help better
organize the fight back in defence of workers' rights and conditions.
The goal is to promote effective action by teacher unionists and
education activists against the war.
The goal is to draw up a comprehensive Act of Accusation against all who
seek to destroy public education.
The goal is to promote a wide-ranging discussion, respecting the
diversity of our different points of view, to oppose deregulation and
privatization.
The goal is to defend the existence of independent trade union
organizations, which are threatened by all the plans of integration and
assimilation into NGOs, with the aim of making them the relays for the
implementation of the policies of the WTO, IMF, World Bank, EU, and all
the international financial institutions -- all in the name of forging a
consensus, through an allegedly democratic participatory process, of all
"civil society."
No to Privatization! No to Deregulation! Defense of
Collective-Bargaining Agreements and Civil Service Statutes! Defense of
the Systems of Social Protection! Defense of Public Services, Beginning
with the Defense of Public Education! No to War! No Blood for Oil! Money
for Schools, Healthcare and Public Services!
The unity of working people the world over will forge the road to peace!
We invite you to join with us in organizing this International
Conference Against War and in Defense of Public Education and sending
your delegates to this gathering.
I ENDORSE THIS APPEAL
NAME :
UNION:
CITY/STATE :
TEL.
EMAIL :
(Please fill out this form and return it to <eit.ilc@wanadoo.fr>
by April 26.)
[ ] Please add my name to the list of endorsers of this appeal.
[ ] I pledge ___ to the Conference Fund Drive. I will write out my
check to "CMO" and mail it to eit.ilc@wanadoo.fr,
C/° Workers Party, 87 rue du Faubourg-St-Denis, 75010 Paris (France).
INITIAL SIGNATORIES FROM THE UNITED STATES (unions listed for id. only)
Andy Griggs, UTLA 1021 (Los Angeles, Calif.) - Terry Allan Elverum, CFT
(Oakland, Calif.) - Alexandra Teague, AFT 2121 (San Francisco, Calif.) -
James McKinney, AFT 2121 (San Francisco, Calif.) - Allan Fisher, AFT
2121 (San Francisco, Calif.) - Ardena Sprinkle, AFT 1931 (San Diego,
Calif.) - Sam Frankel, BFT 1078 (Berkeley, Calif.) - Fred Glass, AFT
2121 (San Francisco, Calif.) - Alisa Messer, AFT 2121 (San Francisco,
Calif.) - Bob Mandel, AFT 771 (Oakland, Calif.) - Bessie Citrin, BFT
1078 (Berkeley, Calif.) - Marc Rich, UTLA 1021 (Los Angeles, Calif.) -
Steven Shapiro, UESF (San Francisco, Calif.) - Susan Archulette, BFT
1078 (Berkeley, Calif.) - Donald Brown, AFT 1388 - Thomas W. Edminster,
UESF (San Francisco, Calif.) - Alicia Moldstad, ABC AFT Local 2317 -
Greg Eddy, AFT (Sacramento, Calif.) - Forrest Nixon, AFT 957 (San Jose,
Calif.) - Sonia Gill, BFT 1078 (Berkeley, Calif.) - Rodger Scott, AFT
2121 (San Francisco, Calif.) - Zev Kvitky, SEIU Local 715 Stanford
University (Stanford, Calif.) - Karen MacLeod, American Federation of
Teachers (San Francisco, Calif.) - Laura Kennell, SSD (Special School
Dist.), NEA (St-Louis, Missouri) - Diana Bohn, Peralta Federation of
Teachers (Berkeley, Calif.) - Marc Wutschke, AFT Local 1021, United
Teachers of Los Angeles (Los Angeles, Calif.) - Elisabeth Davis,
Washington Teachers Union Local 6 (Mitchellville, Maryland) - Claude
Piller, AFSCME, local 1336, Portland State University (Portland, Oregon)
- Electra Arenal, CUNY/Graduate Center (New York, New York) - Ken Tray,
United Educators of San Francisco (San Francisco, Calif.) - Frank Emspak,
Wisconsin Federation of Teachers/AFT (Madison, Wisconsin) - Lita Blanc,
United Educators of San Francisco (San Francisco, Calif.) - Renate
Bridenthal, Chair, International Committee Professional Staff Congress,
AFT (East Bay, Calif.) - Katharine Harer, AFT, local 1493 (San Mateo,
Calif.) - Judy Wishnia, SUNY Stony Brooks Univ. Workers (Stony Brook,
New York) - Bill Taxerman, United Teachers of Los Angeles, UTLA (Los
Angeles, Calif.) - Jonathan Garfield, AFT 279 (Cleveland, Ohio) - James
Hamilton, AFT 420 (Saint-Louis, Missouri).
INITIAL SIGNATORIES FROM FRANCE
Paul Barbier, education unionist (Maine-et-Loire) - Joël Josselin,
education unionist (Ille-et-Vilaine) - Jacky Bara, education unionist (Deux-Sèvres)
- Denis Gomez, education unionist (Alpes-Maritimes) - Laurent Segalant,
education unionist (Gers) - Delarue Jean (Yvelines) - N'Diaye Jean, LP
Villeneuve-Saint-Georges (Val-de-Marne) - Jean-Pierre Barrois, education
unionist, Université de Paris XII - Hubert Raguin, education unionist (Maine-et-Loire)
- Jean-Marc Bouchet, AFPA (Indre-et-Loire) - Marie-Edmonde Brunet,
education unionist (Paris) - Jean-Louis Hobel, education unionist,
Université de Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin) - Michel Tauvry, education unionist
(Pas-de-Calais) - François Chaintron, education unionist (Haut-de-Seine)
- Jack Lefèvre, education unionist (Yvelines) - Michel Lefebvre,
education unionist (Seine-Saint-Denis) - Edith Danry, education unionist
(Côte-d'Or) - Jean-Jacques Belliah, education unionist (Rhône) -
Pierre Belloir, education unionist - Jacques Paris, education unionist (Loire-Atlantique)
- Cécile Muffragi, education unionist (Corse) - Christophe Benoît,
education unionist (Gard) - Fabrice Monnot, education unionist (Haut-Rhin)
- Thierry Montanus (Martinique) - Jean-Claude Lamarche (Isère) - Franck
Dartiailh (Martinique) - Hubert Whitechurch, university professor (Bas-Rhin)
- Bernard Chevreau, university professor (Gironde) - Patrick Hamard,
education unionist (Maine-et-Loire) - Donna Kesselman, education
unionist, Université Paris X - Jean Dubessis, research director, CNRS (Meurthe-et-Moselle)
- Daniel Lescaudron, teacher (Paris) - Patrick Le Tuhaut, educator
(Paris) - Nicole Letourneur (Haut-de-Seine) - Laurence Laffont,
education unionist (Haut-de-Seine) - Françoise Enet, (Charente maritime)
- Fabienne Van Rompaey, school director (Seine-et-Marne) - Patrick
Coustard, education unionist (Indre-et-Loire) - Jean-Paul Crouzet,
instituteur (Rhône) - Stéphane Julien (Calvados).
Organization
Inscription to the Conference Fee 150 _
(including hall location, technical devices, dossiers)
Accommodation costs:
One day 45 _
Two days 90 _
Order: check to "CMO"
The delegates will be received from Wednesday 13th of June in the
afternoon at the Conference's place:
JAL Mutatis, 25, rue du 8 mai 1945 - 78260 - Achères - Tel.: 01 39 11
14 97 - Fax: 01 39 11 75 19.
To can get in contact with the organising committee of the Conference,
mail to: confint.eg@wanadoo.fr
********************
Burundi
Tribune Ouvrière (Workers' Tribune), Monthly magazine of opinions and
information.
Editorial : THE ROAD TO PEACE
At the same time as Bush intensifies the US offensive against the Iraqi
people, Kofi Annan, UNO Secretary General, speaking during the
France-Africa Conference on the 19th and 20th February in Paris,
declared that the peace process in Burundi was on the right road . For
Chirac, the French President, permission was given to continue
unhindered ;
In Burundi, as elsewhere, under the regime of the « new economy », war
is the result of the application of destructive privatization plans, of
the attacks on public services, and of the national debt. And it is
those who cause the war who afterwards present themselves, without
impunity, as peace fighters.
The European Union, through Aldo Ajelo, it's representative in the
regions of the Great Lakes in Africa, has let it be known that it will
take full responsibility for the financing of the billeting of
government troops and also of the troops of the « rebellion » as a
phase leading to the constitution of a new « national » army.
For the same Aldo Ajelo, at the end of his recent trip to the Great
Lakes and after his visit to Bujumbura, the institutions at the summit
of the state should only change after the « reform » of the army.
Hence, for those supporting privatization and the payment of the debt,
the road to peace follows it's gentle path, while the population is
submitted to total war.
The bands of killers of the Palipehutu-frd and of the Cndd-fdd,
signatories to the « cease fire » agreement, and who have just
withdrawn from « negotiations », have doubled their murderous attacks
and pillaging against the civil populations across the country, and
especially in the centre and in the border provinces with the «
Democratic » Congo and Tanzania.
Continuing rumours report the distribution of machetes across the
country.
The workers, youth and people, living in severe poverty are confronted
with new price increases in petrol, water, electricity and customs
duties for cross-border movements.
So, what have the « observers » of the African Union come to do here
with their so-called supervising of the application of the « cease fire
» ?
Who will the much publicized pan-African « peace-keeping » force
actually be keeping apart ?All of these facts show that a new
level has been reached in the preparation of a genocide on the largest
scale.
The people of Burundi need institutions which will stop the genocide,
install peace, and which will guarantee them a dignifed life. The policy
actually in place is not compatible with peace.
No to the
murderous fragmentation of the country !
Foreign troops
out !
Cancellation of
the debt !
Social : NO TO PRICE INCREASES AND SPECULATION !
On the 17th February 2003 the price of petrol increased by 100 F Bu the
litre, ( following on from the last increase in September 2002) and
combined with price increases on water, electricity and customs rates
for cross-border movement.
The prices of super, diesel, and petrol which were at 780, 730, and 710
F Bu respectively have seen increases of 12,82%, 13,7% and 14,08%. These
price increases were decided, according to the government newspaper Le
Renouveau, after a consultation between the Director General for Trade,
the representative of the Burundi Chambre of Trade and Industry),the
representative of the Transport Minister, and transport representatives..
At the dawn of the introduction of these measures, a shortage of petrol
products was reported and acknowledged by the government which had even
introduced rationing at the pumps and at the Warehousing Services for
petroleum products.
After the signing of the text revising the official pricing structure of
petroleum products ( ie, increasing prices), people were surprised by
the immediate availability of all those products which had been in short
supply the day before the price increases !
The workers, already confronted with extreme poverty, are obliged to go
to work on foot because the price of bus tickets has become too
expensive, while these price increases have also caused other
increases on all essential items of consummation.
The workers, youth and people yearn for a decent life instead of war,
privatizations and price increases.
It is now very urgent to introduce a policy of state control on external
trade, and on
general increases in wages indexed to the cost of living.
*********************
European Information.
Document on the project for a European Constitution
At the same time asŠ British and American bombs are falling on Iraq,
terrorising and massacring the population, with the aim to install an
American protectorate, based on the splitting-up of the Iraqi nation,
and risking to spread chaos to all countries of the region ;
At the time asŠ in France, a revision of the constitution is
underway, designed to break up the Republic into a thousand pieces,
along with national statutes, public services and administrations, so as
to privatise and destroy them more easily ;
At the same time asŠ the Brussels Commission has produced a report
against France, a first stage in the so-called «excessive deficits»
procedure denouncing «a public spending out of control, notably within
the public sector and the social security sectors»,
Šduring all of this time, within the buildings of the European Union in
Strasbourg and Brussels, a project for a «European Constitution» has
been under discussion for more than a year.
Did you know that on the 30th June this year, a project will already be
presented at an extraordinary meeting of the European Council? Did you
know that 34 points have already been determined by a «convention»
managed by the ex-president of the French Republic, Mr Giscard d'Estaing?
The government and the parties sitting at the so-called European «parliament»
know all of this. But they are not saying very much..
However, it is not just a matter of combining within one text all of the
old European treaties (of Rome, Maastricht, Amsterdam and Nice), but
also, and especially, of making a decisive step toward the dismantling
of the nations and national legislations within Europe at the time of
the opening up of the European Union to ten new countries.
This activity to provide the European Union with a «Constitution» to
be imposed on all of the States, on all citizens, is only a pretext to
remove any remaining sovereignty from member nations. Is not sovereignty
inseparable from democracy ?
Judge for yourself.
The project article n° 24 of this so-called «Constitution», which
defines the «laws», «regulations» and «decisions» of the European
Union, decrees that these legal acts will be «obligatory in all of
their elements and applicable directly in each member State». There
will no longer be a need for national parliaments!
There is no domain which will escape the grip of the supranational
guidance of Brussels. There will be «exclusive jurisdictions» (1) on
which «only the Union can legislate» (article10), and then «shared
jurisdictions» (2) on which «member states can exercise their
jurisdiction only in cases where the Union chooses not to do so»;
Article 25 dictates that not one «European law» can be submitted
without first having been drafted on «proposition of the Commission».Worse
still, it is even foreseen that the Central European Bank, emanation of
the financial markets ( of which the most powerful are: Wall Street and
the American Federal Reserve), can promulgate «delegated regulations»
( articles 26,27,& 28) which we repeat, would be «obligatory in all
of their elements, and directly applicable in each member State».
They are counting upon the so-called European « Parliament » to give
an appearance of democracy to these totalitarian institutions. And they
are counting on the misnamed European Confederation of Trades-Unions to
ensure the collaboration of trade union organizations with this
surrender.(3).
The European Commission insists that, within this framework, « it
must have the power to take decisions noting any violation of the rights
of the Union » (4). Until now, these sanctions against a member State
have been determined by an agreement between the majority of other
member States. « This innovation, according to the top civil servants
in Brussels, which reinforces the Commission's capacity to ensure it's
function of guardian of the treaties, will also allow a more efficient
control of the respect by member States of their obligations ».
This control should also involve the designation , within all the
ministries of each State, of veritable direct agents of the European
Commission. The latter has indeed made it known it's intention to
create « within the member States where this does not already exist,
appropriate « coordination proceedings » (..) by installing a single
contact person with the Commission for questions of transposition, of
subjects linked to the application of community rights, as well as for
coordination with the ministries, and local and regional authorities.
These « horizontal » contacts will have the task of forming the
network of correspondents required by the Commission » (5).
It is a matter of «breaking down the barriers at community and national
levels», and this «network of correspondents» should allow «a
permanent evaluation of the concrete application of directives and
regulations» (6).
«Implementation: 2003» the Commission writes curtly.
********************
International Liaison Committee calendar:
International rail workers' Conference: April 26th and 27th, 2003
Education International Conference: June 14th and 15th 2003
Workers' conference at the moment of the International Labour Conference
(ILO): June 15th 2003
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