The decision of the Indonesian parliament at the end of May to censure President Abdurrahman Wahid for a third time opens the way for his removal. The massive vote for censure showed that the alliance that had brought him to power had completely disintegrated.
Algeria: discontent swells in Kabylie
The "Berber Spring" has returned to haunt the Algerian state. 20 years after the famous uprising of the Berber people in Algeria to assert their legitimate cultural aspirations, the streets of Kabylie have once again become a theatre of confrontation and opposition to Algeria’s bonapartist regime.
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Slovakia: statement on the solidarity campaign for Mario Bango
The case of Mario Bango has already attracted attention both in Slovakia and internationally. As it is already known Mario Bango – a 18-year old Roma in Slovakia– defended his brother Edo when he was attacked by a Nazi-Skinhead. Weeks later the Nazi died of the injuries sustained in the fight in which he was the aggressor. Since then Mario has been in prison and is now threatened with a sentence of up to 15 years. Now a debate has broken out within the solidarity campaign about his action.
Canada: anti-capitalists break through FTAA ring of steel
The ring of steel has been breached! Six kilometres of chained fence set upon concrete slabs could not keep the anti-capitalists out. Tooled up and determined, it was difficult to tell the riot police from those who came to make their feelings felt!
Palestine: Zionist provocateurs attack left demo in Haifa
A Jewish-Arab demonstration in the memory of the Palestinian holocaust (El-Nakba) and against the current occupation of West bank and Gaza Strip was attacked by Zionist Arab provocateurs. The provocateurs called for police intervention; the CPI refused to participate in the demonstration.
France: strike wave hits bosses
Less than a month after the local elections which dealt a severe blow to Jospin’s "Gauche Plurielle" government, French workers are turning to a far more sharper instrument to express their discontent with the government – strike action.
Germany: nuclear protests reveal true face of Greens
The struggle against the nuclear waste storage facility in Gorleben was one of the foundation stones of the green movement and the Green Party in Germany. Twenty years ago, most of the ministers of the current government were non-violent (and sometimes not so non-violent) anti-nuclear protesters – including SPD members in the cabinet like chancellor Schröder and all the Green ministers.
USA: Bush surrenders to big business over Kyoto
Exxon oil company is one of the USA’s biggest multinationals and polluters. It led US business resistance to the Kyoto climate change agreement. It also helped bankroll President George W Bush’s election campaign last year. So no surprise that it is pay back time. Bush has given his oil business backers what they wanted: tearing up the agreement on cutting carbon dioxide emissions.
Germany: union merger the way forward?
On 16 March, five German trade unions merged, to found the "Vereinigte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft" (ver.di = United Public Sector Union, the largest trade union inside the DGB (German TU congress) . The founding congress was held in the largest five star hotel in Berlin. It was a media event with little politics and even less debate.
Europe: foot and mouth crisis caused by capitalism
Foot and mouth disease is global. But in Europe a new outbreak has casued a crisis. Why? It does not kill you, nor the animal infected, which usually recovers. But tens of thousands of animals are being burned because while they have the disease they cannot be fattened or moved, badly effecting profits.
France: far left make gains in municipal elections
The most decisive lesson of the first round was the confirmation of the collapse of the Communist Party (PCF) and the growth in support for far-left candidates, principally Lutte Ouvrière, but also the LCR and even the Lambertist PT.
Australia: let's make Mayday massive! All out on 1 May
In November last year the M1 Alliance was formed out of the S11 Alliance, which had organised protests against the World Economic Forum in Melbourne. It aims to bring the spirit of Seattle and S11 to the traditional international Workers' Day: May Day. We aim to bring the new layers of young activists to the labour movement, and bring the labour movement to the anti-corporate globalisation activists.
Mexico: Zapatistas take their struggle to the capital
Tens of thousands of Mexicans, backed by supporters from across the world, greeted the Zapatistas’ March for Indigenous Dignity, which arrived in Mexico City on 11 March.
Indonesia: army and police collude in massacre of Madurese
A week of horrific ethnic clashes occurred in the Indonesian province of Kalimantan at the end of February. Indigenous Dayaks turned on immigrant settlers from Madura killing at least 400 with spears and machetes.
Ukraine: down with the reactionary Kuchma government!
Over the last couple of months Ukraine has been engulfed in a deepening political crisis. The disappearance and murder of the independent progressive journalist Georgiy Gongadze last year led to a scandal which implicated president Leonid Kuchma in his death. But what should socialist do in the face of a broad protest movement that embraces both the far left and fascists? Here we publish a 22 February joint statement by the LRCI and RV-MRM of Ukraine
Ukraine: how to fight the bourgeoisie: a critique of the platform "Ukraine without bourgeosie and fascists"
In general the formation of the united front of a number of left-wing organsations in Ukraine is an important step forward. It offers the workers movement the possibility to bring its weight into the severest political crisis since the independence of Ukraine. Nevertheless it contains a number of important political weaknesses which – as we are convinced – could lead to serious failures of the workers movement. Therefore we – the RV-MRM and LRCI – see an urgency to present a Marxist critique of this platform.
Italy: left-wing inside Rifondazione Comunista splits
A split has occurred in Progetto Comunista, the left-wing opposition tendency in Rifondazione Comunista (RC). FalceMartello (FM), a group making reference to the tradition of Ted Grant and Alan Woods, presented a motion at the recent National Political Committee of RC which was in opposition to the one presented by Progetto Comunista. The latter claims that this means that FM has objectively placed itself outside the opposition tendency
Colombia: talks resume but civil war continues
Manuel Marulanda, leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) agreed to resume “peace talks” with the government aimed at resolving the decades long civil war between the state's forces and the guerrilla army. In return President Pastrana agreed to extend the FARC's control over its enclave for a further eight months.
Indonesia: Wahid fights for his survival
President Abdurrahman Wahid's position was shaken after the Indonesian Parliament voted 393 to four to censure him for his involvement in two corruption scandals. Wahid's own party, the National Awakening Party (PKB), walked out before the vote. A censure motion could be the first step to impeachment and dismissal.
Davos: state of siege can't stop protests
In Zurich on Saturday 27 January about 1,500 protestors against the World Economic Forum – then opening in Davos – were forbidden to demonstrate. They were subjected to violent arbitrary arrests, encircled by military and police force
USA: auto jobs massacre aimed at boosting shares
The bosses response to the slowdown in car sales continued when DaimlerChrysler announced this Monday that one in five jobs were to be cut from the Chrysler payroll in the United States and Canada, with further swingeing job cuts and plant closures in Latin America.
Brazil: World Social Forum meets to debate effects of globalisation
Up to 10,000 anti-globalisation supporters have met in Porto Allegre in southern Brazil, to debate stratgeies for fighting corporate power and the anti-democratic practices of the WTO/IMF and World Bank.
Davos: thieves kitchen of world capitalism
Thousands of the arrogantly self-styled “movers and shakers” of the world economy are gathering in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos. But just as in Seattle, Washington, Melbourne, Prague and Nice they meet under the threat of a militant counter demonstration, challenging their right to decide the fate of millions.
France: mass demos rock employers
Around 300,000 workers marched against the plans of the MEDEF bosses' organisation to increase the retirement age on 25 January. In an unprecedented movement that many observers are describing as similar to November-December 1995, all the union federations united in calling on private sector workers to come out on strike to defend their pensions.
Mexico: Nike workers strike against company abuses
All 800 workers at a Mexico plant on strike on 9 January in a factory producing Nike goods. They were forced to act on a whole series of abuses. Some went directly against the code of conduct Nike has adopted under pressure from campaigners, such as forced overtime and failure to give benefits like maternity leave (most of the workers are women).it
Palestine: no return to the Oslo process
In three months of heroic resistance to Israeli missiles and bullets around 300, mainly young, Palestinians have died fighting to expel Zionist forces occupying their homeland. Despite the Palestinians having justice and courage on their side the international labour movement has been woeful in its response. Taking their cue from the US and EU governments, the official leaders of social democracy and the trade unions in the west have done nothing to condemn Israel’s violence.
Britain: GM slashes jobs as auto crisis deepens
General Motors (GM), the world's largest auto manufacturer, has announced plans to cut production capacity in Europe and North America by ten per cent. The most dramatic proposal is the ending of motor manufacture at GM's Vauxhall plant in Luton, England, directly shedding 2,200 jobs.
Ukraine: students protest against new fees in the Crimea
In the last weeks a student movement against the introduction of university fees has taken to the streets. If the reactionary Kuchma government succeeds in its plans, it would be a terrible setback for many students who can not afford it. Education again would become a privilege of the bourgeoisie and wealthy middle layers.
Chile: Pinochet arrested for mass murder
General Pinochet has been charged in Chile with involvement in over 70 abductions and murders carried out by a military squad known as the "Caravan of Death", after he came to power in a 1973 coup
Russia: 1 December action against the reactionary Labour Code
The All-Russia Campaign in Defence of the Present Labour Code want international solidarity from workers around the world, individually and through their unions or other progressive organisations in ther fight against Putin;s new Labor Code.
AIDS: Africa is dying from AIDS and corporate greed
AIDS is back in the headlines – briefly. 1 December was international AIDS day and this year the situation facing millions in Africa is grimmer than ever. In 1999 there were 34.3 million people living with HIV/AIDS, including 1.3 million children and 2.8 million HIV/AIDS-related deaths.
Treatment is available but denied the victims in Africa because the drug companies insist on profits first.
Climate conference: talks collapse as corporations get their way
Ministers and bureaucrats from over 180 countries left the climate change conference in the Hague without an agreement. The big corporate polluters behind the US negotiation team just would not accept that they had to cut their emissions. Only a mass movement will make them change their mind.
US elections: as Bush nears the White House prepare for struggle
Florida has declared Bush the winner of the state and the electoral college even though Gore won a majority of the popular vote. The courts will drag it out for some weeks more but the working class better start preparing for the battles to come
US elections: Nader's challenge fails to impress working class
Ralph Nader’s presidential candidacy was widely regarded as the most serious “left-wing” challenge to the Democratic/Republican duopoly in US politics since Henry Wallace stood for the presidency in 1948.
Germany: anti-racists march as NPD faces ban
More than 100,000 marched through the streets of Berlin on 9 November against racism following the call of all the parties represented in the German parliament, to demonstrate for “humanity and tolerance”.
Ivory Coast: people power at work
People power works!. First there was Serbia, where the masses ousted Milosevic following his obvious defeat at the polls, then in the Ivory Coast, the same electoral process gave rise to mass demonstrations, forcing the dictator General GuiÎ.
Palestine: solidarity with the intifada!
The influence of Zionism inside the western labour movement has meant that the mass slaughter of Palestinians since 28 September by Israel has met with a muted response from the workers' movement and left. There is an urgent need to respond to those Palkestinians in the firing line.
Ireland: where now for the peace process?
On Saturday 27 October, at a UUP Council meeting, David Trimble, fearing a defeat at the hands of No Unionists around Jeffrey Donaldson, banned Sinn Fein ministers from attending the North-South ministerial meeting, part of the Belfast agreement, planned for early November. So where does this leave the "peace process"?
