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A dossier of weekly information published by the Introduction Cynthia McKinney has been formally nominated as candidate of the coalition "Power to the People" in the presidential elections of November 2008 in the United States. Lybon Mabasa, a leader of the Socialist Party of Azania (Azania/South Africa), greeted her nomination in a letter that we are publishing and gives the reasons for the support that African militants are giving to Cynthia McKinney. We also are publishing, on the eve of the U.S. presidential election, a statement by the Front of Mexicans Living Abroad (FME), at a moment when tens of thousands of immigrant workers in the United States are facing a wave of brutal police raids. From Bolivia, we are publishing the statement of "La Chispa" after the referendum of August 10, which saw more than 60% of voters confirm the mandate of President Evo Morales. Paul Paternoga, a trade unionist and member of IG Metal (Germany), explains under what conditions the international delegation of labor activists to the European Commission for the withdrawal of the judgments of the European Court of Justice is being prepared in Germany. Lastly, we draw the attention of our readers to two solidarity campaigns undertaken by the ILC: - Pakistan: Appeal against repression against the strikers and their APTUF union in the Naveena Textile factory. - Korea: Appeal against the arrests and arrest warrants issued for the leaders of the KCTU union confederation. Subscribe to the ILC International Newsletter! ----- Table of Contents p. 1: Presentation. ----- Contact Informations internationales ******************************
To Sister Cynthia McKinney The people of Africa and Azania better known as South Africa are greatly heartened by the fact that it is not in your character and style to keep quiet or turn a blind eye to the challenges that face you. You have consciously taken sides a long time ago and have been outspoken about countries such as Zimbabwe long before other people discovered where they were on the world map. Sister McKinney, your message has been unequivocal on the question
of the place and state of Black people in the United States and elsewhere
in the Diaspora but you have been much stronger on Africa and the plans
that have always been afoot to destroy the continent and its people.
It could have been much easier for you, like so many others, to fall
into the trap of mistaking the evil consequences of the policies of
imperialism, most particularly western imperialism led by the UK and
the US as causes like in the case of Zimbabwe. We contend that the crises in Zimbabwe was at the very beginning orchestrated and organized by western imperialism, most particularly Britain and the US when Mugabe justly implemented an agrarian reform program that was long overdue, indeed it should have happened in the very period of liberation, that is, taking land from white people who in the first place acquired it through the dishonorable means of colonization, giving it to Black people who rightly owned it. Mugabe had stirred a hornet's nest and for this he could not be forgiven by the west, who considered him an arrogant and unthankful African leader whom they have failed to put in his rightful place like others. What we today call the 'crisis in Zimbabwe' is the direct consequence of what imperialism has done and continues to do in Zimbabwe and elsewhere in Africa. In large measure, the crisis is due to the failure of Britain to honour their financial obligations made as part of the Lancaster Agreements. Since that period imperialism has progressively charted a course designed to promote instability in Zimbabwe and the region, which has ranged from threats of economic and military sanctions, sanctions of all forms and finally a threat and possibility of military invasion. George Bush referred to Zimbabwe as a component part of his 'Axis of Evil.' We thank for your great insight into these matters lest we be informed by our enemies who our friends are. Malcolm X once remarked: "If you are not careful, the newspapers (media, be it electronic or print) will have you hating the people who are being oppressed (Africans), and loving the people who are doing the oppressing (west)." Indeed we had said for some time now that Africa is looking and hoping
for someone who will stand in the forums and platforms of one of the
world's leading nations and declare that people of Africa deserve to
live and that the continent and its people must survive. Africa should
not be pushed to the back of beyond where it will be left to die from
crippling poverty, disease, wars, dislocation and destabilization. The
countries of Africa are wealthy, they produce rich minerals, oil, gold,
diamonds and a host of other things which the world can ill afford to
live without but yet they are the poorest in the world. Africa is being
destroyed for its wealth. We believe we have found in you that person
and that voice. We needed a voice that will be politically independent
and will break in a definite sense from the two American parties of
capital and big business, the Republicans and the Democrats that have
authored so much hardship for Africa and its people. We are writing this piece when freedom fighters like Mumia Abu-Jamal
have spent more than a quarter of a century in death row. Black youth
remain the largest population group in American prisons though their
people are just 12% of the entire population. America needs a Black
leader who will not shun away from these things. The world needs a leader,
a Black American leader, who will bravely confront the horrors facing
Black people in the US but who will be brave enough to raise the issues
of Africa. The current elections cannot be contested without a focus
on the devastation of Hurricane Katrina which brought back the memories
of Slavery and how Black lives were still regarded as valueless. We
believe that the 'Power to the people' campaign seeks to bring power
back to American people, that power which presently reside with the
murderous bureaucrats of the two parties who are waging unending wars
in many fronts of the world. People have to fight and wrest this power
for their own salvation. It is much clearer than ever before that we
are our own liberators and our destiny lies in our own hands. You cannot turn a blind eye to what is today happening to Black people in the US. Their lot is not in any way different from that of Black people in the African continent. The 2008 report by the Black AIDS Institute in US says "More black Americans are living with the AIDS virus than the infected populations in Botswana (once number one in the world), Ethiopia, Guyana, Haiti, Namibia, Rwanda or Vietnam". It further says "If black America were a country, it would rank 16th in the world in the number of people living with the AIDS virus." "Power to the people" should also mean the power to break with the conditions that have made our people victims everywhere in the world. The present rulers have not shown any interest in dealing with this pandemic in the US. The same report observes despite the fact that the US administration spends billions of US dollars anti AIDS programs in other countries but "America itself has no strategic plan to combat its own epidemic" also that "American policy makers behave as if AIDS exists 'elsewhere' - as if the AIDS problem has been effectively solved in this country." How can we turn a blind eye when our people are dying in their millions? The political accounts that were first opened by slavery, colonisation
and today the debilitating foreign debt remain not close. So whether
you are in Johannesburg, New York or Abidjan you face the same problems,
Africa needs the total and unconditional cancellation of the debt including
the Apartheid Debt, Black people in the US are calling for Reparations
but more the destruction of the carnivorous system that is underpinned
by private ownership of the means of production. In conclusion, we cannot complete this without mentioning the work
that lies ahead in building the Reconstruction Party that will take
forward the struggles of Black people. It is important to build a party
that will provide for Black people a reflective chance, to see indeed
how far they have gone in the country that has been built through their
back-breaking labour in the cotton fields, a country they gave blood
for in the many wars but most particularly the war for independence.
Black people should not allow any programs that seek to expel them from
the work and product of their labour. Anything, including freedom, paid
for by blood is very important. Black people deserve better than what
is the offing for them because they have given so much blood. Sister McKinney, and your running partner Sister Rosa Clemente, we wish you well in these difficult times of struggle, we who believe it is possible to fight on the side of the workers and the poor need to join hands and assure one another of our unflinching support and undying love. The Reconstruction Party, an independent Black party based on the will and collective experiences of Black people in the US will indeed and in time link up with the struggle to build the labour party that should unite all the poor and working people of the US. For our part let us not kill hope! Yours in struggle
The U.S. government is accelerating its brutal, racist offensive against undocumented immigrants. A May 12 raid at a Postville, Iowa slaughterhouse resulted in the unprecedented arrest of nearly over 390 workers - but this was only one of dozens of similar raids that are taking place every week. The facts speak for themselves. In 2007 alone, 276,912 U.S. residents were deported. From 2002 to 2006, arrests of undocumented workers increased by 750% (Boston Globe, 3/20/07). Since 2004, more than 1 million immigrants have been detained. The only "crime" committed by undocumented immigrants is to work hard to support their families. The real criminal is the U.S. government and its Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which is terrorizing and splitting up families across this country. The raids are a crucial component of the reactionary drive to scapegoat immigrants for the problems caused by the crisis-ridden, profit-driven capitalist system: rising poverty, job losses, deepening inequality, and lower wages. In this political climate, on July 12, in Shenandoah, Pa., 25-year old immigrant Luis Ramírez was beaten to death by a group of high-school students who yelled at him to "go back to Mexico." According to the FBI, violence against Latinos has risen by 35% since 2003. But according to various polls, the vast majority of Americans is opposed to the ICE raids and support legalization of undocumented immigrants.
The Bolivian people said "Yes" to the unity and integrity of the nation and "Yes" to the continuation of nationalizations On August 10, again the majority of the people of Bolivia have expressed their desire to build a sovereign, free and united nation, and deepen the process of change for the benefit of the exploited and oppressed, rejecting the separatist pro-imperialist oligarchies who traitors the homeland. This is the meaning of the vote of 67% for Evo Morales to confirm his position as president, surpassing by more than 10% the electoral result of December 2005. This majority feeling of the Bolivian people is the foundation of democracy that must be respected. Insofar as the secessionists prefects were able to remain, there is talk today of "a tie"; the OAS (Organization of American States) and the Government of the USA call for "coming together". But including in the departments of the East (Media Luna), the electoral result for Evo Morales rose to 50% in Pando and Tarija despite pressure from local oligarchies and acts of vandalism of the Union the Youth of Santa Cruz (a para-military organization.) Evo Morales, at the Plaza Murillo (La Paz) said: "We will continue the consolidation of nationalizations, the recovery of our natural resources and state enterprises. " Yes, it is necessary to move forward in carrying out the October agenda. That is what the people expect; it is what it expressed in the support for the President against the right. On the other hand, Costas, the "governor" of Santa Cruz, says he will implement his status "autonomic" secessionists and Manfred Reyes, like Pepe Lucho who was beaten in La Paz, said he would not accepted the outcome of the election and would remain in the prefecture of Cochabamba. This is not the first time that the arrogance of these people manifests itself, these people who are trying to bring Bolivia to chaos to defend the privileges of the landowners and capitalists at the service of Yankee imperialism. We will not hear their tired song first spread after the referendum in 2007, when they lost on a national level, yet began implementing their "autonomy" through illegal referendums. In the current situation, this would overrule the sovereign will of the Bolivian people, ignore the existence of a national government, and lead to the division of the country. Thus, the basis for any dialogue between the president and prefects requires respect for the sovereign will of the people and implies the rejection of the division of the country codified in the regional statutes. Therefore, there must be no concession to the secessionists who, for example, demand jurisdiction over the IDH (taxes on hydrocarbons) as a precondition for dialogue. At the same time, Santa Cruz perseveres with its illegal autonomy. The situation remains dangerous because the enemies of working people and a free, united and sovereign Bolivia, continue their provocations and chaos, aiming to stop the needed transformation such as a genuine land reform and the deepening of nationalizations. That is why the truth must come out concerning the death of two mineworkers at Cahihuasi during a demonstration for the Pensions Act proposed by the COB, August 5. Those responsible must be punished. The suspension of the new Pensions Act and the fact that on August 8, the government and the COB agreed to form a commission to draft a pensions bill on the basis of a solidarity-based and universal system of distribution, rather than individual payments, demonstrates that it is possible to move forward in unity to take back everything that was privatized. This shows that it is possible and necessary to further the unity of all exploited and oppressed sectors, with their organizations, the COB, the MAS, to respond to the provocations and the chaos that secessionists want to create in Bolivia. Defend the unity and sovereignty of the nation; advance in the implementation of the popular demands that led Evo Morales to the presidency! Long live united and sovereign Bolivia! The Chispa, August 12, 2008 **************************
The delegation to the European Commission in Brussels is being prepared Paul Paternoga, a member of IG-Metall, staff representative and chairman of the SPD workers committee in Siegburg, explains why he will participate in the delegation. ILC : You will participate in the delegation to the European Commission (Brussels) for the repeal of the judgments of the European Court of Justice. You were delegated in the spring by the National Conference of Workers' Commissions of the SPD, which has made the same demand. Can you explain to us why? PP : At the time of the conference, in April, only a few comrades took part in the discussion. Only a small number of them were aware of machinations of the European Commission, whose guidelines were followed by the European Court of Justice at the expense of workers. It was only on this occasion that many took note of the Rüffert, Laval and Viking Line judgments. With these judgments, corporate interests are put above the right to strike. In the Federal Republic, the right to strike has constitutional standing. The basic law is in contradiction with the rights of companies registered in EU treaties. The European Union was created by and for capital, it is not reformable. ILC : You are also mandated from the metallurgy sector. What significance in this sector is the demand for the repeal of the EU judgments? PP : In Germany, temporary contracts without limit and the wages of misery pushed by Hartz IV (arrangements put in place by the previous government Schroeder, under European directives, against the unemployed, for widespread precarious labor) exert considerable pressure on temporary workers for them to accept a low-wage job. And it affects all wages earners. ILC : In Germany, some link the battle for the repeal of judgments to the ratification of Convention 94 of ILO, according to which workers employed within the framework of public contracts cannot be subjected to different working conditions that those prevalent in the same sector and for the same work. This was the view expressed by the president of DGB, Sommer, in front of the general meeting of the ILO in June. Others, within the leadership of the union, say it would be better to do nothing because Convention 94 of the ILO is in contradiction with EU legislation and that a campaign for its ratification in Germany could lead those countries that have ratified it to reverse their decision. What do you think? PP : The convention must be ratified. The DGB and its unions all have to fight for its ratification. The argument that laws already voted on could be repealed is the same as that of bosses who threaten to lay-off workers because, they say, social agreements are too high. On such a basis, unions could also negotiate reductions in wages so that the gap with countries with low wages would not become too great. If there is a way forward, it is a common struggle in all countries. **************************
Last week we published an APTUF appeal against anti-union repression: Urgent-Urgent-Urgent-Urgent-Urgent- Police Harshly Beat and Arrest Workers in Naveena Textile Naveena Textile Factory located 8 kilometer Raiwind Road, Lahore 800 workers work in harsh condition in Naveena Textile, having no appointment letters, getting less than minimum wage, working 10-12 hours, forced overtime, factory management is violating labor laws and not giving their very basic right, violating ILO Conventions. On July 30, 2008 workers held a protest in front of factory gate under the banner of All Pakistan Trade Union Federation/and Communist Mazdoor Kisaan party in which more than 500 workers participated. The police charged in with batons. Those arrested were initially transferred to an unknown location and could not be found until several hours later in a police station. The APTUF held an emergency meeting to organize a delegation to the
authorities, demanding to meet with detainees, and to demand their release. Our demands: - Immediately Reinstate all workers - Release all arrested office bearers and workers - Increase Minimum Wage - Implement labor laws
We demand the immediate release of imprisoned textile workers. We must demand respect for freedom of association. We demand respect for the rights of workers. For Travayé é Péyizan ----- Democratic Workers Party Bujumbura, 07/8/2008. To Mr. Salman Taseer Mr. Governor, The PTD has just learned of the arrest of workers of the Textile Naveena who were exercising their union rights for the satisfaction of their demands concerning working conditions including the minimum wage, working hours, forced overtime work, etc. The PTD, committed to democracy and human and workers rights, urges you to: - Reinstate all workers at their jobs; For the PTD, ***********************
The campaign of the ILC against repression on KCTU strikers Many messages of solidarity demanding the release of imprisoned were sent to the authorities. The ILC published last week the call by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) concerning the repression against the leaders of the union. Here the facts: "Following the protest movements for the renegotiation of the Protocol of April 18, 2008 on imports of beef and beef U.S., the KCTU has made the decision to call a general strike on July 2, 2008 to defend the people's right to health, for the renegotiation of the Protocol of April 18 on the import of beef, against privatization and marketing of public services, against the construction of the Grand Canal of Korea, in favor measures be taken to curb rising prices. (Š) The Minister of Justice of Korea has issued arrest warrants against the leaders of the KCTU, the KMWU (Federation of metallurgy - ED) and its section Hyundai factories for "obstructing the freedom to work" pursuant to paragraph 314 of the Penal Code." In less than a week, many statements, including from trade unions worldwide, were sent to the Korean authorities, such as: -- Guadeloupe: the General Union of Workers of Guadeloupe (UGTG). -- Brazil: the United Workers Central (CUT); following the national conference (PlenCUT) held last week, a delegation asked to be received at the embassy. -- Sri Lanka: Jayaratna Maliyagoda, president of the union Lanka General Services Union. -- Bangladesh: Rafiqujjaman, Zakir Hossain, Sanzeed Hossain Chowdhury
Mohammab Badruddoja, Mojibor Rahman, Shamimara, Kabir Ahmed, Shariat
Ullah, Harun, Mr. Rafik, Nasrin Akter, Mr. Taher, Masud Rana, Khandaker
Sayedul Islam, Tanzeena Hussain, members the leadership of the National
Federation of Workers of Bangladesh (Bangladesh Jatiyo Sramik Federation).
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