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HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL AND BEST WISHES FOR THE NEW YEAR!
December 18, 2007
----- Introduction Algeria: The Algeria-European Union agreement began on September 1, 2005. More than two years after this agreement, the Fraternity newspaper gives the facts. Bolivia: Faced with the attempt of a separatist coup of the right-wing, supported by Washington, the Bolivian Workers Confederation (COB) calls for "the defense of the current democratic process and the integrity of the national territory" Belgium: On Saturday December 15, in the freezing cold, 25,000 demonstrators marched in Brussels, in response to the call of the trade unions around the demand, "Save purchasing power and solidarity." Russia: A Moscow newspaper, Vremia Novostei, reported on the spread of strikes in the Russian enterprises, which the newspaper called "a powerful rise in proletarian consciousness" through the construction of independent trade unions. China: Excerpts from the China Informational Newsletter, the editorial, and a document: "Concerning the toys built in China." Burundi: A country crushed by the genocide of 1993, the pillage of its natural resources, and the collapse of its standard of living and the IMF orders "the privatization of all sectors." Romania: The Romanian trade union leader, Miron Cozma, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for having organized a protest of thousands of mineworkers in 1999 was freed on December 2, 2007 Support the activities of the ILC! ------ Table of Contents p. 1 - Introduction ----- Contact Informations internationales ****************************
The agreement with the EU and the entrance into the WTO: The programmed death of Algerian industry and agriculture The Algeria-European Union agreement began on September 1, 2005. More than two years after this agreement, the Fraternity newspaper gives the facts. EDITORIAL Evaluating the balance sheet of the agreement with the European Union that began in September 2005, the Minister of Commerce dared to declare that no enterprise has been dissolved. Does this man live in this country? Does he even bother to read the press? Yet, this man was a member of the executive that sat with Temmar and decided in 2004 on the closure of 167 enterprises and which multiplies the decisions of dissolution. Let us recall that in April 2005, Mr. Djaaboub declared that there was no hurry to reach an agreement and we should guarantee the interests of the country, provoking the ire of Guerrato, the ambassador of the EU. This man gave the orders and concerning the losses that all this would mean for the public coffers, he suggested raising taxes on basic consumption goods! Then, in September 2006, the same minister of commerce declared that our country had gained nothing with the agreement. All the statistics have demonstrated that Algerian production not only has not gained ground in the European market, but it has lost ground in the national market. The cessation of activity has hit hard the private and public Algerian companies and, consequently, the market has been inundated with foreign products, particularly food, textile, and household products. Of course, agriculture was not spared. Two years later, the amount of Algerian exports is no more than 500 million Euros, while more and more goods are now being imported. Pharmaceutical production is threatened with cutting 12,000 jobs. The general director of the BCR, which lost between 20 and 40% of the national market due to the counterfeit (500 million DA per year), even appealed to customs to protect its products, because the counterfeit came from China. Despite all this, the tariff dismantling deepens with a frenzy and Djaaboub has not even felt it usefully to use the disposition in the agreement allowing for the protection of young industries. Even worse, he does everything to have our country join the WTO. It is not a coincidence that the U.S. government vehemently pushes for this entry. But one of the last demands of the WTO was the cutting of all support of the state for exports! This means that the few Algerian products in Europe would cease to be exported, while the EU and American governments would push for exports from their countries. Moreover, the EU just decided to prohibit Sonatrach from distributing gas in Europe. And Chakib Khelil notes that Algeria has respected the reciprocity clause by opening its market! But this is the problem. But the agreement means the governments is deprived of any power to intervene in commerce and is obliged to accept all the concessions. Moreover, at the origin of the potato disaster is the quality of the seeds imposed by the EU and which outlines the liquidation of Algerian production. And more generally, the massive introduction of food products and medical products - including counterfeits - has provoked illness for hundreds. Concerning the counterfeits, Mr. Djaaboub has presented himself as the victim of a conspiracy. But isn't it his sector that is mandated to control these things? In reality, even through creating national offices for strategic products, Mr. Djaaboub cannot combat these attacks on national production and public health because the agreement with the EU and the conditions to join to WTO put the national economy under foreign control and impose the destruction of industry and agriculture. The solution is the freeze on the agreement with EU and the entry into the WTO. Measures protecting national production, that is, tariffs on goods, must be reestablished. In doing so, the mission of the state can be re-established. Consequently, the measure in the 2008 financial law aiming to set a ceiling for imports goes in the opposite direction and should be abrogated. Off-shoring The off-shoring of our enterprises are done as quietly as possible to prevent any discussion around this theme. Thus, we learned by Algerian students that they were recruited by the French company Orange to work almost secretly as operators in France, obliged to obtain no matter three subscriptions a day. These students are only paid 20,000 DA a month, that is, less than 25% of the minimum wage in France; they are not given Social Security, a set work day, or union rights, and they must use their own personal car. These terrible conditions are both illegal in France and Algeria. They are similar to the practices in the special economic zones, in which no rights are provided. But that is not all. Orange imposes on its slave laborers French names so that nobody knows they are from abroad. Are these practices the exception? Of course no. Already, the workers of the Algiers international airport have reported similar practices in the ADP zone, where the private and religious practices of individuals are looked into. This out-sourcing by Orange is a means toward the pillage of the Algerian labor force. At the same time, it is an offensive against the workers in France, to force them to accept deregulation and wage cuts. Can we accept such regression, which only gets worse every day? Excerpts from Fraternity, newspaper of the Workers Party of Algeria (October 2007). ****************************
Faced with the threat of a separatist coup by the right-wing, supported by Washington, the Bolivian Workers Confederation (COB) calls for "the defense of the current democratic process and the integrity of the national territory" The parties of "the opposition," representatives of the oligarchy and imperialism, continue their policy in Bolivia to sabotage the Constituent Assembly. They aim by all means to push their four departments (the richest in oil, gas, and agriculture) to secede from the nation. In this situation, a turning point has taken place, with the decision of the Bolivian Workers Confederation (COB) to break with its previous policy of "neutrality" in the face of a coup from the right-wing. The COB has now declared "a state of emergency and the mobilization of the workers in defense of the current democratic process and the integrity of the national territory." Despite all the threats from the right-wing and the unleashing of violence against the Constituent Assembly, the Assembly was able to return to work in the mining region of Oruro, under the protection of mineworkers armed with sticks of dynamite. A Bolivian newspaper noted the declaration of the head of the Assembly, Silvia Lazarte, at the opening of the session: "I want to thank again our proletarian brothers, who are honoring us with their presence, for securing and guarding this session." La Razon (December 7) reports that thousands of demonstrators, in response to the call of the COD (the departmental structure of the COB) and other people's organizations in Cochabamba, took to the streets to support the Constituent Assembly and "call for a referendum against the prefects who oppose the democratic process." The same thing occurred in the department that is at the center of the separatist plot, Santa Cruz, where the COD called for the defense of the Constituent Assembly and the "renta dignidad," the government benefit given to every Bolivian from the gas and oil revenues (one of the measures hated by the oligarchy). On the appeal of the COB, massive demonstrations took place at the same time in La Paz and throughout the country to defend the measures taken by the government that go toward implementing the October Agenda (the demands raised in the October 2003 uprising, particularly the nationalization of the oil and gas, agrarian reform, etc.) and the unity of the Bolivian nation. In this context, Evo Morales announced his intention to submit his mandate to a referendum, which the current Constitution allows for, as well as to submit all the prefects to the same. We are printing below the resolution adopted by the plenary session of the COB. ----- Resolution adopted by the National Emergency General Assembly of the COB The trade union organizations that make up the National Emergency General Assembly, after a political analysis of the latest events in the country, have taken the following decisions: 1. We declare a state of emergency and call for the mobilization of all the Bolivian workers in defense of the current democratic process and the integrity of the territory of our nation. 2. We demand the government immediately adopt the General Law on Pensions elaborated with the workers - and that it abrogate law 1732. 3. We call for united demonstrations of the workers and the people, which requires first of all general departmental, regional, and national assemblies of the COB and its affiliates. 4. We call on all workers to participate in a huge national demonstration on December 6, organized by the regional and departmental workers' structures, in agreement with the traditions of each region. 5. We will send an open letter to the national government to analyze
and discuss the structural policies needed on a social, political, and
economic level in the current process of change. **************************
25,000 demonstrate in Brussels to defend the unity of Social Security and purchasing power in Belgium On Saturday December 15, in the freezing cold, 25,000 demonstrators marched in Brussels, in response to the call of the trade unions around the demand, "Save purchasing power and solidarity." What solidarity means is the defense of the federal social conquests, against any form of regionalization. As Le Soir wrote: "It is certain that the demonstrators would have been larger in number if the Independent Railway Union (SIC) had not been on strike, thus preventing many of the protestors from attending, especially from Flanders." (1) One demonstrator wrote on their sign: "Social policies, not apartheid!" A unionist from Namur explained: "I do not want to the see the workers of the north and south pitted against each other." A post office workers added, concerning the pensioners: "At the beginning of the month, they pay their bills, and only 200 Euros are left for the rest of the month. Imagine what would happen if they eliminated these pensions. There are more and more poor people in Belgium." In the march, there was a presence of a few leaders of the SP, including its president. The Libre Belgique noted: "The SP.A put more forces in the demonstration. Š Evidently, the Flemish socialists have decided to paint themselves more leftist." In the speeches of the union leaders, the theme of a rise in prices was at the center, particularly for basic goods and for energy rates. It is true that the recent "liberalization" of the energy sector in Belgium, imposed by the European Union, has had the immediate consequence of an immediate rise in prices. The General Secretary of the FGTB, Anne Demelenne, declared: "It has been six months since we have voted, and we still don't have a government, six months with a rise in energy prices. This crisis is testing more than our patience. It is very expensive. About 2.5 billion Euros have already been lost from the State budget. This is a hundred liters of fuel for each home in Belgium." The General Secretary of the CSC declared: "A wind of madness is blowing over the country." He added that harsher actions may come soon. The president of the FGTB, Rudy De Leeuw, declared: "We want to live together. Š We want a federal social security, which was built by you, the workers. This doesn't belong to the bosses and the parties. We do not want separatists." In the difficult circumstances mentioned earlier, the workers of all the country gathered on the appeal of their trade unions. They demonstrated with force that, in this country on the edge of the abyss, the real conflict is not "communitarian", but is a conflict between the workers and the bosses. They massively showed that while there a various peoples in Belgium, there is only one working class, organized into the trade unions uniting workers from Flanders, Walloons, and Brussels. This is possible because they have the same interests, interests that are totally contradictory with the capitalists and their parties, but also with institutions like the European Union, whose demands are at the root of this anti-social offensive. The demonstration of December 15 is a considerable point of leverage to continue the struggle. It demonstrates that the only way forward in the crisis, is the intervention of the organized working class. Philippe Larsimont ----- 1) The unions noted that they tried to persuade the SIC, a corporatist
union of train conductors, to not strike on that day, but they did not
succeed. A CSC leader explained: "We tried to rent extra cars,
but it was too late." Curiously, on December 15, the line from
Liege to Brussels was not affected by the strike, but the two main lines
linking Flanders to Brussels were. Many demonstrators had to get to
capital by car. These conditions reflect the political stakes of the
demonstration. Open Letter to the leaderships of the SP and the SP.A (1) With the announcement of the demonstration of December 15, the Committee for Unity-Eecheidscomite (2) launched an open letter to the SP and the SP.A. In a few days, over 100 activists, mostly from Flanders, signed it. Here are some excerpts. "You see the deep crisis afflicting Belgium today. This crisis is presented to us as a result of a 'communitarian' problem. In reality, it is incontestable that the main demands raised come from the camp of the bosses and correspond to a will to smash all obstacles to the profits of the companies - wages, Social Security, labor conditions, and taxes. We feel that the absolute duty of the SP and the SP.A is to publicly support all the demands of the FGTB and to raise these demands with one voice. If you don't immediately go against this destructive 'communitarianism' you are enabling the craziest schemes. Today, the GTB fights to open a solution for the workers. Your responsibility is to be the FGTB's political relay. In doing so, you will give the workers of the whole country and its three regions a hope, a solution, a means of resistance. Do not wait until it is too late. Do it." ----- Endnotes 1) The two Socialist parties of Belgium ****************************
Strikes spread through Russia A Moscow newspaper, Vremia Novostei, reported on the spread of strikes in the Russian enterprises, which the newspaper called "a powerful rise in proletarian consciousness" through the construction of independent trade unions. We are publishing excerpts of an article by Mikhail Mochki, which appeared in this newspaper. The huge wave of strikes that have struck Russia in November continue. In one enterprise after another, the work stoppages are followed by blockages, while certain companies are threatened with strikes by the trade unions. The Autumn of 2007 saw the political forces talk about stability and growth, but was marked by a powerful growth in "proletarian consciousness." This evidently doesn't please those in power. We are not in the 1990s, when the workers took over the Gorbaty bridge and blocked the main roads in the country. Š But the mobilization of the trade unions has not allowed "Russia United" and the government to rest on their laurels, as testified by the strikers in the Ford factory in Vsevolojsk, who demand a 35% wage increase. On November 22, they began a new strike after having voted on the return to work. The particularities of these actions is that these alternative workers movements, which don't belong to the Federation of Independent Workers of Russia (FNPR), the official, are shaking things up. Š The situation at Ford, in Vsevolojsk, is emblematic of the way which the unions were created: founded by the ranks only two years ago, the union committee, thanks to the work of its activists, it today considered by the workers as the organism that represents them. Š. For the union leaders, like the specialists on the question, it is logical that the center of the movement be a factory belonging to a multinational corporation. The Russian workers see clearly that there is a wage problem: in the West, wages represent 50 to 65% of the company expenses, but in Russia wages make up only 3 to 10%. Š "Through the Russian and international trade unions, we have established contact with workers in factories of the corporation, in France, Germany, and Finland," explains Boris Kravtchenko, president of the Russian Confederation of Labor (CRT), one of the alternative trade unions. "The CRT called on the international union of metal workers and we received a letter of support from the workers in the auto industry in the United States, Canada, Spain, and Germany." The solidarity of "the workers of the world" is beginning to bear fruit. The European management of Ford declared that its Russian clients that (due to the strike) it would use its German or Spanish factories to help the Russian management. But, according to Mr. Kravtchenko, the unions of these enterprises have notified the Russian unions that they are opposed to any such practice. M.M. ----- Endnotes 1) The Part of Vladimir Putin ----- Message from the union committee of the Avtovaz factory (Togliattigrad) to the ILC Thanks to you all and the ILC for the financial solidarity with the Avtovaz strikers and for your support. This is absolutely indispensable for the workers who, through the strike, look to defend their rights and are confronted with illegal sanctions. We have taken these illegal sanctions to court. The help from organizations in Russia and the world aids the workers to know they are not struggling in vain. Respectfully, Edinstvo trade union committee of the Avtovaz factory ***************************
Excerpts from the China Letter of Information published in France (Issue 277) Editorial A tragic Sunday. A fireworks plant exploded in Chongqing municipality, killing 16. The blast leveled several houses and left 15 injured and one missing, the official Xinhua News Agency said. The cause has not been determined. A fire at an unlicensed shoe factory killed 37 people and injured more than a dozen. The fire started Sunday night in a workshop making shoe uppers, in Putian, an export manufacturing town in southeastern Fujian province. The Feida Shoe Upper Manufacturing Workshop was located in a residential area of Putian, but the fire did not affect nearby homes, Zhou said. Zhou said the workshop was operating without a license. The license was revoked in 2004 after officials found it illegally combined work, storage and living areas, Zhou said. Xinhua, citing provincial information office director Zhu Qing, said the business was licensed, but had been warned in May and September to improve working conditions to meet safety standards. Is it an exaggeration to say that the market economy and reforms inevitably bring about these catastrophes, tragedies for mineworkers, fires, etc. in the drive to constantly lower labor costs? Nevertheless, the 17th Congress of the Communist Party of China adopted the continuation of these policies. The American partisans of the market economy in China have not hid their satisfaction: " There has been an attack on reform and openness for being un-Marxist, for being unfair, for being responsible for the inequities that are emerging in China's development model. And the party has strongly reinforced the desire, the intention, to remain on this current path of development," read a report of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, one of the big American foundations. The former American ambassador in Peking, J. Stapleton Roy declared: "This congress reflects the clear consciousness that the Party must confront problems more complicated than were present at the beginning of the reforms. The 17th Party Congress had something of the spirit of a halftime break in a close, hard-fought soccer game. The party formalized its game plan for the next phase; it took a brief pause to reflect on its accomplishments so far." What is this "next phase"? In the conference, Albert Keidel, former head economist of the World Bank in Peking, indicated: "Financial liberalization: How quickly should China sell its banks and its financial institutions to private interests in particular, also to foreign interests? There is a strong view that this would jeopardize the success they've had in funding public investments because a repressed financial system allows them to siphon off funds from the banks into infrastructure and other public investments that most poor countries, and I would emphasize China's still a poor country in the large scheme of things, have a great deal of difficulty funding." The Chinese banks are still state banks, despite the rampant privatization, and the government can use Banking reserves to finance public infrastructure and investments, which would be virtually impossible with private banks. That doesn't matter, everything must be privatized, says the economist: "Economic liberalization: What about underlying labor and structural barriers to opening up more to trade, and more rapidly? I think they're very real, and they're represented in the different viewpoints." Isn't protecting labor and workers an obstacle to free trade? Of course, responds the American Chamber of Commerce in China during the discussion on the draft labor law proposed last Spring. An interview with the head of the National Labor Committee explains: protecting young girls who produce toys is against free trade. And aren't the state enterprises with a monopoly "structural barriers" to "economic liberalization"? "And finally, political liberalization: What is the best path and pace for broadening political participation in China? And one of the ideal goals of a political system is that is it representation for representation's sake, or is it for sustainable increases in the standard of living, for safety, good health care, the choice of workplace, marriage partner, home location; you continue on and on." These big democrats have arguments similar to those "theoreticians" of the labor camps: the Chinese people are not ready to elect representatives: "I think one of the risks that people say well, what are the risks of China going forward; I emphasize the risks of liberalizing too fast, particularly in the financial sector, in the economic-international sphere, and I would also add, therefore, in the political sphere," he specifies. In any case, it is the question of the rhythms of the different liberalizations that is at the center of the political battles between Hu Jintao and the partisans of Jiang Zbemin and Zhen Qinghong, he adds. ----- Document: Concerning the toys produced in China There are about 8,000 factories in China dedicated specifically to producing toys, which employ more than 3 million super-exploited workers, mostly young women and girls. Here are excerpts from a radio interview of Democracy Now in the United States, on October 30, 2007, with the director of the National Labor Committee This is a Barbie Pet Doctor set, made in China. And it was made in a factory called Xin Yi by young women forced to work fourteen-and-a-half hours a day, six days a week, at a minimum. Sometimes they work until midnight, sixteen-and-a-half-hour shifts. They're at the factory eighty-seven hours a week, paid fifty-three cents an hour as their wage and then cheated of their overtime wage. And it's a big factory, like 5,000 workers there. All the workers are temporary workers, so they have zero rights. When they hire them, they hire them on ten-day contracts or twenty-four-day contracts. The ultimate would be three months. And then the company just renews them. So if the workers were there a year working full-time, they're always temporary workers, which means they have no legal rights. So right from the beginning, they've got zero rights. The workers can be fired if they're inattentive at work. They can be fired if they're seen speaking to each other during working hours. They can be fired if they don't reach their production goal. The workers tell us they're sweating all day; the factory is incredibly hot. They have to sit on hard wooden benches with no backs. They say after a few hours-they're prohibited from standing up; after a few hours, their legs go numb, their arms hurt, their backs hurt. They have no right. The supervisors will yell and scream at them to go faster. You're not allowed to answer back or even look at the supervisor, or you'll be fired. Their housed in primitive dormitories. It's a sweatshop of enormous abuse. The workers are cheated of about two days' wages every single week. The interesting part about this toy is it sells for $29.99. We purchased it at Toys "R" Us, $29.99. We have the customs shipping documents with this toy entering the United States with a landed customs value of just $9. The landed customs value is the total cost of production. So the packaging, the materials, the accessories, the direct labor-indirect labor, profit to the factory in China, the total cost of production is $9. So that means Mattel and the other companies are marking this up by $20.99. That's a 233% markup. This is astonishing, because why are they producing toxic toys when it would only cost ten cents per toy to check all the toys, screen all the toys, for hazards or toxic chemicals? They could screen every toy for ten cents. So why aren't they doing it, when the markup is $20.99? Why are they paying the workers such pitifully low wages and then cheating them of their wages, cheating them two days of wages every single week. It doesn't have to be this way. This toy is marked up 233%. As a matter of fact, Mattel has spent about $200-about $2 billion over the last three years in advertising. So we know that Mattel spent $3.45 to advertise this toy. You know what they paid the workers to make it? Less than nineteen cents. So Mattel spends eighteen times more to advertise the toy than it pays the workers to make it. The system's out of control. Mattel-you know, it's a funny thing. I actually thought Mattel was a pretty good company, because they repeat it over and over again. I mean, if you listen to them, you think they're the Jesuits, you know, and they're traveling around the world, they're going to help develop poor countries. And then I started looking at some of their own audits. They read like a nightmare, horrifying. Mattel won't even give you the names and addresses of the factories they use in China. They've got forty to fifty contractors in China. They will not give you the name and/or address of those factories. They don't want the American people to know. But they do their own audits, and they number the factories: 15, 16, 18. I looked at the audit for factory number eighteen: seven-day workweeks, eighty hours a week, shifts up to seventeen hours, excessive noise in the factory, hearing loss on the part of the workers, filthy water, disgusting bathrooms. I mean, it was like-it read like a nightmare. And this is Mattel's own audits. Turns out, you know, when Mattel-the vice president of Mattel apologized to China in this incredible scene: the vice president of Mattel in China, sitting across from a Chinese official, and the Chinese official lectures Mattel and says to them, "Don't you realize that a very large portion of your profits come from our manufacturers in China? Don't you realize that your cooperation with us, with the government of China, is critical?" And Mattel apologized to China for the recall, saying that it was too excessive, it shouldn't have been that big, and it gave, you know, a bad image to China. You know what the cooperation they were talking about? Mattel was getting waivers from the government of China to pay below the legal minimum wage in China, as pitiful as it is. Mattel got waivers right through 2005 to pay less than the minimum wage. And even today, Mattel has waivers so that they can foster workers to work seventy-two hours a week, including thirty-two hours of overtime, which exceeds China's legal limit by about 285%. In other words, it's a scam from beginning to end. (Š) Mattel has legal protections for Barbie. But when you say to Mattel, "Can't we have similar laws to protect the rights of the sixteen-year-old girl in China who made this toy?" they say, "No, that would be an impediment to free trade." **************************
A country crushed by the genocide of 1993, the pillage of its natural resources, and the collapse of its standard of living: The IMF orders "the privatization of all sectors" An Interview with Paul Nkunzimana, activist of the ILC ILC: Can you explain the reasons for the institutional crisis in Burundi and its consequences? PN: General elections took place in 2005. The CNDD-FDD party that won the elections built a government along "ethnic" lines. This has a relationship with the Arusha agreement, which is called the "peace and reconciliation" agreement in Burundi. This repartition according to "ethnicity" is an operation that serves the interests of finance capital because, in this agreement, it is codified that the processes of privatization and foreign debt payment must continue. The governments set up since 2005 have been denounced for not responding to the spirit of the Constitution inspired by the Arusha agreement. The president of the CNDD-FDD, Hussein Radjabu, accused of an attack on the state, was kicked out of his post by Congress in February 2007 and replaced by Jérémie Ngendakumana. Then he was put in prison. The 20 MPs of the CNDD-FDD that followed Radjabu left the majority, as did the MPs of the Frodebu (Front for Democracy in Burundi, which won the general elections in 1993) and Uprona (the former single party) that received more than 5% of votes in the 2005 legislative elections. With the regime no longer having the majority in the National Assembly, it was necessary to set up a new government with Frodebu and Uprona. The new Nkurunziza-Sahinguvu government, the 6th since 2005, was set up on November 16. But the crisis continues to deepen, as a result of the contradiction between the institutions and the aspirations of the people. The situation of the workers and people has gotten worse. ILC: In what way has the situation gotten worse? PN: While the peace and reconciliation agreement was supposed to bring peace, criminality has risen. Assassinations take place throughout the whole country. There is not a single day without a new murder. Armed robberies multiply. The President of the Republic has not held to his promise to raise the public sector worker's wages by 34%. Between the months of May and November, the price of some basic food goods rose from 200% to 300%. For example, the price of beans, the basic staple in Burundi, has gone from 300 to more than 800 Francs-Bu per kilo. The water and electricity rates have similarly risen. The price of oil and transportation has risen several times. Today, the situation is unlivable for the people. There is also the continuation of the privatization of the public services. Thus, the administrative council of the Sosumo State (sugar company of Moso), decided to raise the price of sugar. It is the prelude to the privatization of this enterprise. ILC: Why? PN: A head of the IMF, Paul Mathieu, in Burundi in November 2007, explained that "it was necessary to privatize all sectors." The government approved these declarations. The Minister of Finances, for his part, argued that in order to pay the wages of the public sector workers, it would be necessary to privatize everything, to find the money. These privatizations, part of the offensive destroying the country, are an attack against the whole population. The public sector workers can no longer live off their wages. For example, a high-placed worker in the public functioning today earns 40,000 Francs-BU (less than 30 Euros). With this, it is not even possible to pay rent. There are also problems linked to the food crisis that has afflicted our country for several years. In this untenable situation, the leadership of the Cosybu (la Confédération de syndicats du Burundi) and the CSB (Centrale syndicale du Burundi), pushed by the movement of workers, were constrained to call a general strike for a rise in wages and for a new statute for public sector workers. ILC: When did the strike take place? PN: The general strike took place on December 2. The problem is the division of the trade unions. The Conapes union did not want to join the movement. The general strike continues to this day (December 14, 2007) and has been largely followed (by more than 80%, according to the president of Cosybu). ILC: We hear about the plan to send troops from Burundi to Somalia. What is the opinion of the public concerning this idea? PN: The government wants to send more than 1,700 troops to Somalia, under the pretext of helping "the international community," which supposedly helped Burundi leave its crisis and war. Of course, the people pose questions. While criminality rises every day, why send troops elsewhere? In fact, American troops were kicked out of Somalia in the 1990s. Today, the Bush administration has called on a whole series of African countries, particularly Uganda, Nigeria, Burundi, etc. to have them fill in for American troops. We know that the American government has called on the African troops to protect its pillage, through the American multinational corporations, of the oil and natural gas in Somalia. I should also note that in July, the head of the NATO forces, an American, declared that sending troops from Burundi to Somalia was a excellent thing and that the Bujumbura government would receive financial support and logistical help. ILC: What are the activities of the activists linked to the ILC? PN: There exists, in Burundi, activists and workers who are against privatizations, against the payment of the debt, for the renationalization of the privatized public services, for democratic rights, for trade union independence, for peace and reconstruction, and for national sovereignty. We are setting up a political regroupments to help the workers and youth realize their own emancipation in this particularly hard national and international context. ----- Burundi is situated in the center of the African continent. It has a population of 8 million, many of whom immigrate to Congo, Rwanda, and Tanzania. Its capital is Bujumbura. Burundi was plunged into a genocidal war of decomposition in 1993, which killed more than 300,000 civilians, particularly among the Tutsis and the "moderate" Hutus. Under the aegis of the "international community" (U.N., World Bank, the IMF) and the imperialist powers, negotiations took place between the rebels and the government. The peace and reconciliation agreement in Burundi, called the Arusha agreement, signed on August 28, 2000 under the watch of Bill Clinton, gave the share of Ministerial and diplomatic posts along the following lines: 60% for Hutus and 40% for Ttusis. Together, 30% of posts were reserved for women. **************************
The Romanian trade union leader, Miron Cozma, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for having organized a protest of thousands of mineworkers in 1999 was freed on December 2, 2007. Shortly after his release, Cozma addressed the press through the communiqué we are reprinting below. Communiqué by Miron Cozma Dear Journalists, Let me allow myself to address you through the form of a communiqué to lessen the constant pressure on myself and my family by certain representatives of the media. I am surprised by this level of interest of the press, particularly because this was not manifest during the period while I was imprisoned, during which I had a lot to say. Only a few television channels were interested in my situation, but these interviews were usually presented in a hostile manner. In general, these interviews were accompanied by the images of the events of June 1990, event in which, as you know, Miron Cozma has no responsibility. The press demonstrated no interest, for example, in the campaign for my liberation and of the other imprisoned mineworkers, a campaign lead by numerous international organizations. The press has shown no interest in the fact that in Romania, which is today in the European union, there are still three imprisoned trade union leaders - Constantin Cretan, Dorin Lois and Vasile Lupu - all of whom have serious health problems. The press has not shown the least interest in the fact that a union leader, Ionel Ciontu, died in prison, from unknown causes. Foreign organization, led by the International Liaison Committee of Workers and Peoples, continue the struggle to find out the truth about my deceased colleague. The press has not shown the least interest in the fact that one year after the death of Ionel Ciontu, the results of the autopsy have still not been made public. I bring the attention of the representatives of the press that I am willing to speak for quite a while about these subjects if the press would like to discuss them, not only the questions of my family life, which is a private question that I ask they respect. Respectfully, ----- The Fund was constituted a workers' conference in Berlin in February 2006. It is administered by Henning Frey, unionist, Germany; Jacques Girod, unionist, France; Jacim Milunovic, unionist, Serbia; Yannick Sybelin, syndicaliste, France; Dominique Vincenot, ILC. Three payments of 500 Euros to each family have already been made. To contribute: In France, you can send your checks (CMO) to Fonds de solidarité (Roumanie), c/o Entente internationale, 87, rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis, 75 010 Paris. In other countries, you can make a contribution by bank transfer: Please inform the ILC of your contribution by writing to eit.ilc@fr.oleane.com (or via fax, + 33 1 48 01 88 36) if you would like a receipt or if you would like to regularly receive the informational bulletin.
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Open World Conference of Workers