ILC august the 02 of 2006 :
A dossier of weekly information published by the International
Liaison Committee of Workers and Peoples
Issue 194
August 2, 2006
Price 0.50 Euros
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INTRODUCTION:
In this issue we are continuing with the re****t on the Geneva ILC
Conference, which took place last June 11, 2006. You will find the
speeches
of Tolé Sagnon (Burkina Faso) and Jean-Charles Marquiset (France).
We are also continuing with the publication of the preparatory do***ents
for
the International Tribunal on Katrina, which will take place in New
Orleans.
We are publi****ng below an interview with Kali Akuno, one of the event's
organizers.
GREAT BRITAIN: On the eve of the TUC and Labour Party congresses, many
initiatives have been taken to demand that Blair and his policies must go.
MEXICO: We are publi****ng an interview about the struggle against the
electoral fraud.
BOLIVIA: You will find below an article on stakes of the Constituent
Assembly, which will begin in Bolivia in the city of Sucre, on August 6.
PALESTINE: We are publi****ng a new letter from Louisa Hanoune to the
Dialogue Editorial Board in relation to the preparation of the
International
Conference in Solidarity with Palestinian Women.
***************************
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1: Introduction
p. 2: ILC Geneva Conference
p. 3: United States: Tribunal on Katrina
p. 4-5: Great Britain: On the eve of the Labour Party and TUC congresses
p. 7: Mexico: Interview with R.A. Brindis, candidate of the PTDI
p. 7: Bolivia: On the eve of the Constituent Assembly
p. 8: Preparation for the International Conference in Solidarity with
Palestinian Women
*************************
Contact:
Informations internationales
Entente internationale des travailleurs et des peuples,
87, rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis -75010 Paris -- France
Tel: (33 1) 48 01 88 28 E.mail: eit.ilc@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
--
Site: www.eit-ilc.org
*************************
13TH CONFERENCE IN DEFENSE OF THE ILO CONVENTIONS AND TRADE UNION
INDEPENDENCE
Tolé Sagnon (Burkina Faso)
National Secretary of the General Confederation of Labor of Burkina Faso
(CGTB)
I am the National Secretary of the General Confederation of Labor of
Burkina
Faso. I would like to speak about the life and struggle of the workers of
Burkina. The situation in my country is not very different from the
majority
of African countries.
Our countries are subjected to the Structural Adjustment Plans (SAP),
which
are presented as "strategic frameworks in the struggle against poverty."
The results of these plans and frameworks are clear: Billions of dollars
are
funneled into these programs, which only spread more and more misery among
the people.
In Burkina, for example, the percentage of the population living under the
poverty line rose from 43% in 1998 to over 46% in 2003, according to the
official statistics.
There is a small minority of the population who have become millionaires
--
particularly the government officials and their lackeys -- by enriching
themselves through the misery of the great majority. The people get poorer
and poorer. In these conditions, social and popular struggles naturally
arise.
Initiated by the CGTB, in the framework of the workers´ movement, we have
reached unity in trade union actions around all the very concrete social
demands concerning better wages, pensions, advancements, lower prices for
oil, water, electricity, grain, the end of the liquidation of the public
enterprises, and the distribution of unemployment benefits.
All these struggles resulted in powerful struggles in 2005 and 2006. The
government faced stronger and stronger mobilizations against a reform of
the
labor code, which would restrict the right to strike.
It is a restrictive definition even in comparison with the Constitution of
Burkina Faso. It would only allow strikes for professional demands that
were
rejected by the bosses.
Thus, the trade union regroupment decided to mobilize the workers for a
strike to defend the right to strike; we have the right and the duty to
strike to fight for trade union liberties. We organized the mobilization.
Last May 23 and 24, the trade union movement organized a general strike
and,
yesterday, June 10, while we were here, the workers were in the streets
fighting for their demands.
That is why we registered a complaint to the Committee on Trade Union
Liberties of the ILO, for the violation of Convention 87.
I mention all this to explain that that the point raised in the
introduction
concerning the drive to destroy confederations seems very pertinent to me.
In the proposed reform, a confederation would not be able to call on all
its
members to fight for a demand presented to the government. The employer
says, for example, in relation to our demand for lower taxes on oil, that
it
cannot fulfill this demand because the demand is addressed to the
government.
Thus the possibility for the confederations to exercise their rights and
duties as trade union organizations and regroupments.
We are still struggling today, and we think that international trade union
solidarity -- like we are trying to develop here today -- can allow us to
advance in the defense of our trade unions, which allow the working class
to
defend some of its demands. And the defense of union rights is an integral
part of our struggles. We are certain that this is the path needed to
impose
the independence of the trade union movement.
------
Jean-Charles Marquiset (France)
Trade Unionist
Today, the norms and conventions of the ILO are being attacked. These
conventions, 20 to 30 years ago, were far below the gains that had been
won
by workers in their own countries.
Today, however, with all the counter-reforms passed in various countries,
we
see that even in the countries with a more favorable situation, the norms
and conventions of the ILO are an im****tant point of leverage to conserve
rights for the whole working class of the concerned countries.
What is the root of this offensive aiming to integrate the trade unions?
The
root is the resistance of the working class, which exists everywhere.
Without a doubt, in all countries there are im****tant struggles taking
place. We recently saw this in France, where the workers with their trade
unions smashed the attempts to destroy their collective guarantees.
There is this offensive, but things are not simple. For example, in
France,
there is a clear difference in perspectives between the confederate
leader****p of the CGT and the mid-level cadres, who called for the NO vote
in the referendum of May 29 on the European Constitution. But the National
Confederal Committee, as well as the ETUC -- an apparatus of the European
Union -- had already called for the YES and organized forums in France for
the YES. But the workers said NO, and the trade unionists mandated the CGT
leader****p to reject the Constitution.
Concerning the question of the new international, we should not be tricked
by words. This is not a new trade union international. It is a framework
like the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). In my opinion, the
ETUC
is not a trade union confederation. It does not defend the interests of
workers. It co-legislates with the European Union the destruction in all
countries of our collective guarantees. It is not a trade union
organization.
When we read the draft statues of the "world confederation" it becomes
clear
that it will participate in the framework of the "new governance", under
the
aegis of the U.N., with regional divisions in Asia, Europe, America, and
Africa, based on the U.N. zones.
This organization will not have the mandate to defend the ILO conventions
or
any of the conquests won by the workers.
In his last declaration, Bernald Thibault, the General Secretary of the
CGT,
said: "All the discussions in the trade union movement take place in the
context of the emergence of a diverse international social movement that
brings together trade unions, environmental movements, womens´ movements,
anti-globalization movements, and NGOs." This is not the role of a trade
union organization, which must defend the specific interests of the
workers
movement.
Trade unionists exist to defend the interests and rights of the wage
earners
they represent -- that is, class interests, which are in contradiction
with
the capitalists' interests.
Thus, a real discussion exists. I agree that we need a large discussion in
all the trade unions, to discuss how to defend our collective guarantees.
A comrade told me that another CGT federation, the energy federation, will
hold its congress in a few months, at a moment when the government is
trying
to privatize electricity, gas, etc. There is a proposal to modify the
federation´s statutes. There is a proposal to replace the phrase
"collective
guarantees are the base of the federation" with the phrase "collective
guarantees were the base of the federation." In other words, it is not
necessary to continue to defend collective guarantees. This drive is
against
the existence of trade unions and collective guarantees. The framework of
a
trade union is to defend the specific interests of the class.
Thus, in all countries we should discuss the draft statutes of this "world
federation" on all levels. This is not a task for specialists. This
concerns
all those who see what the ETUC is doing today, who are angry about the
damage done against our rights by this organization in all countries. This
is what is on the agenda.
The CGT in France must take a position on this theme on September 27. I
hope
that, just as occurred in relation to May 29, the majority will oblige the
leaders to reject participating in this world organization, which is only
being built to destroy the workers, their rights, and the trade unions in
all countries.
**************************
UNITED STATES
International Tribunal on Katrina
We are publi****ng an interview, sent to us by a correspondent from the
United States, with Kali Akuno, Outreach Coordinator for the Peoples
Hurricane Relief Fund and Oversight Coalition (PHRF-OC), which is based in
New Orleans.
QUESTION: August 29, 2006 marks the one-year anniversary of Hurricane
Katrina. There will be a big official celebration at the time, organized
by
New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin. Tell us about this celebration.
KALI AKUNO: There are three aspects to this celebration that needed to be
pointed out: (1) the overall intent, (2) the financing of the celebration,
and (3) the logistics.
The intent of Mayor Nagin and his financial backers is to demonstrate to
the
world that New Orleans, the Big Easy, is back in business as a hot spot
for
tourists.
And the message to the Black majority and the poor is that we need only a
small fraction of you to service the tourist industry -- mainly the Black
performers and musicians, to show that the legacy of Black culture (jazz,
blues, Creole culture) is still alive in the Big Easy. The rest of you are
not needed.
What they're saying is that they can operate the city for the tourists
based
on ethnic cleansing, and using Latino immigrant labor, whose undo***ented
status leaves them wide open to super-exploitation. The Black majority has
been excluded totally from the multi-billion dollar reconstruction effort.
No-bid contracts to Bush's cronies and the elimination of affirmative
action, labor and environmental requirements are the order of the day.
This
is what they call "reconstruction." It is based on the total exclusion of
the Black majority.
Everywhere you look there are immigrant workers, mainly from Central
America, who've been dumped on the streets as day laborers, working on a
project-by-project basis, with no rights and less-than-minimum wages. They
sleep under trees or in tents throughout the city. And if these workers
protest their horrible working conditions and wages, they are detained,
jailed, and de****ted.
In fact, anyone who resists this "reconstruction" scam is detained. The
National Guard's main job is containment and repression of the Black
majority in the city -- at quite a cost to the public, I should add:
$500,000 per day. Last month the rate of incarceration was three times
higher than at any time before Katrina.
QUESTION: You mentioned the financing of the official celebration. ...
K.A.: The financing tells the whole story. The platinum sponsor is
Harrah's
Casino. The next-level sponsor is Coca-Cola. The whole thing is a
cor****ate
bash aimed at telling the world that New Orleans is back as a hot spot for
tourism.
There will be a big event August 29 at the Convention Center with Wynton
Marsalis, among others. It's a high-ticket affair. All the main
restaurants
will have booths. And then they'll place a wreath at one of the canals,
but
they're not saying which, as they know there will be a massive protest by
the Black community wherever they go.
Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco, a Democrat like Nagin, is one of the
official celebration sponsors. She has invited President Bush to come to
Louisiana to attend the festivities and lead the nation in a National Day
of
Prayer for New Orleans. Talk about rubbing salt into the gaping wound!
They
will be stuffing their faces and "praying" for New Orleans while they
continue to rob and pillage the people.
All the politicians, Democrats and Republicans, are behind this operation.
Even elements in the Congressional Black Caucus are behind it.
QUESTION: What is the status of the people who've been displaced from
their
homes and have been unable to return?
K.A.: Mayor Nagin and the City Council have told these folks they must
have
their properties gutted out and boarded up by August 29, an arbitrary
date -- or else their properties will be seized under eminent domain.
There
are upward of 60,000 properties targeted.
But how can folks return to their homes and businesses, how can they fix
up
their properties, if they have no resources? Their insurance claims have
not
been awarded. Their FEMA grants have not come through. Government funding
has dried up. It's highway robbery. It's ethnic cleansing, pure and
simple.
QUESTION: Tell us about the International Tribunal on Katrina and what it
will be doing to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Katrina.
K.A.: The Tribunal emerged from the Survivors Assembly, held last December
in Jackson, Mississippi. It was the first major event organized by the
survivors -- with more than 5,000 in attendance -- to make their voices
heard.
The idea that grew out of the Assembly was to hold the Tribunal at the end
of August 2006, but time was too short to organize it properly. It now has
been called for March 2007. But as a building block to the Tribunal, we
are
organizing an International Commission of Inquiry that will travel to New
Orleans and the Gulf Coast region from August 25 to September 3 to survey
the region one year later and to gather evidence that will serve as a
preliminary *****sment and will re****t to the Tribunal next March.
The Commission of Inquiry will include high-profile unionists, activists,
human rights advocates, engineers and others from the United States,
Azania
(South Africa), Venezuela, Algeria, Brazil, France, and countries in the
Caribbean.
Their presence in New Orleans will coincide with a commemoration protest
organized by the PHRF and many other organizations involved in building a
genuine Reconstruction movement rooted in the movement of the survivors
themselves. There will be all sorts of meetings and actions from August 25
to 29 involving the survivors, many of whom will be returning from all
across the country for the first time since they were forced to flee.
Immediately prior to August 25, we have issued a Call for a Week of
Return -- for people to come home, reclaim their properties and stop the
land grab. The fight for the Right to Return is at the heart of the
Reconstruction movement.
QUESTION: In a recent article on "The Struggle for Reconstruction in the
Gulf Coast of the U.S. South," Brother Saladin Muhammad, also a leader of
PHRF-OC, argues that the Reconstruction movement that is being built in
the
Gulf Coast needs a political arm -- a Reconstruction Party -- if the Black
m***** in the Gulf Coast and throughout the U.S. South are to achieve
self-determination.
Brother Muhammad argues that a precondition for this is to break with, and
become independent of, the Democrats and Republicans. "The Democratic
Party," he argues, "is clearly trying to co-opt the Gulf Coast struggle to
rebuild its base throughout the African American community, especially in
the South."
And he continues: "A Reconstruction movement must not be subordinated to
the
priorities of the cor****ate-controlled Democratic and Republican parties
or
even to more progressive organizations like the Green Party. An
independent
Reconstruction Party is needed as the political arm of the Reconstruction
movement."
What do you think of this proposal, and do you think it will be possible
to
run independent Black candidates on a Reconstruction platform in the local
and state elections in 2007 to get the ball rolling for this
Reconstruction
Party?
K.A.: I sup****t this perspective of a Reconstruction Party wholeheartedly.
It might be possible, in fact, to begin this process before 2007. There
are
folks in the Reconstruction movement who are seriously considering running
for the state legislature in November 2006 on a clear Reconstruction
platform. The idea, still at the discussion stage, is to use this arena --
coming on the heels of the commemoration protests and Commission of
Inquiry -- as a preliminary poll for our Reconstruction platform. This may
not be possible given the short time before this election and all the
legal
requirements to get on the ballot.
But our aim is to develop this Radical Reconstruction platform and party
--
with our own independent candidates -- within the next year or so. This is
a
political necessity for the movement. It must have its political arm to
challenge all the parties and politicians that are financing or otherwise
sup****ting the ethnic cleansing of the Black majority in New Orleans and
the
Gulf Coast.
QUESTION: Is there anything else you would like to add?
K.A.: Yes. This struggle needs broad national and international sup****t.
It
needs human resources -- that is, volunteers willing to offer their
expertise, time and energy. And it desperately needs financial resources.
We urge all unionists and activists across the United States to start a
Survivors Solidarity Committee in your city. This can be done
internationally as well. We also need unions and community-based
organizations nationally and internationally to endorse the
International Tribunal on Katrina and sup****t its efforts. We need
everyone's sup****t urgently.
Funds for PHRF-OC can be sent to us care of the Vanguard Foundation, 383
Rhode Island St. #301, San Francisco, CA 94103. Checks should be made
payable to PHRF-OC.
***************************
GREAT BRITAIN
Blair Must Go NOW!
His policies must go with him!
In Great Britain, July is traditionally a month of intense political
activity. The national unions just held their annual congress, in
preparation for the two im****tant congresses of the month of September:
the
national congress of the Trade Unions Congress (TUC) followed, fifteen
days
later, by that of the Labour Party. Let's look at the major developments
in
the political situation.
In a context marked by the sale of seats to the House of Lords by Blair to
the heads of enterprises that benefited from the privatization of public
services, the situation is above all marked by the general strike, on last
March 28, against the reform of the pensions that the European Union wants
to impose. A millions workers struck, on the appeal of their unions, to
say
no to the extension of the retirement age.
This strike, the most massive since the 1926 general strike, concentrated
the anger ac***ulated in relation to the unprecedented measures imposed by
the British Labour Party government headed by Tony Blair.
Through this strike, the British working class showed that it doesn't
accept
the the systematic privatisation of all public services, the handing over
of
the education system to private companies, faith groups and NGO's, over
the
recent invitation to big companies to take hold of the NHS, the systematic
attacks on pensions whereas over two million pensioners live below the
poverty line, and the delocation of all major industries with the active
help of the European Union.
This unprecedented offensive to destroy all the gains won by the British
labour movement was launched by the government that was put in place by
the
working class.
Meanwhile, the government -- under the pressure of the EU -- is determined
to go further and faster through the agenda drawn up by Brussels.
When cabinet minister Hilary Armstrong explains that they intend to attack
pensions again she predicted that "the unions would accuse the government
of
reneging on the deal struck on pensions by the former minister." She
wrote:
"I have no doubt that this measure will be unpopular with the civil
service
trade unions and there is a risk of industrial action."
Everybody is conscious of where these policies are leading the Labour
Party
and the country.
Most of the trade unions in their national conferences either demanded
Blair
to quit now or demanded that a date be set for his departure.
According to a recent poll two thirds of the Labour Party members want
Blair
to step down now.
-----
The members of the Labour Party and unionists who publish the bulletin The
Link have launched an appeal
On the eve of the TUC and Labour Party congresses, the national trade
unions
have just made public their proposals to save the country and the party.
They are right! They express the powerful and profound will of the whole
British working class.
In this situation of intense mobilization, the comrades of The Link have
published an appeal titled "Blair must go and his policies must go with
him!"
We are publi****ng below a summary of the demands of the national trade
unions.
GMB members said "take back what is ours, return the water system to the
public sector."The rail workers said "the railways should be
renationalised."Teachers and parents said education must be public:
private
sector, church groups, charities must remain out of schools!
Most of the trade unions in their national conferences either demanded
Blair
to quit now or demanded that a date be set for his departure.
According to a recent poll two thirds of the Labour Party members want
Blair
to step down now.
Yes, definitely, Blair must go and his policies must go with him.
We are now only a few weeks from the Labour Party conference .
Who will stand up and say enough is enough, it is not acceptable any
longer,
the course must be reversed?
Meanwhile, the government -- under the pressure of the EU -- is determined
to go further and faster through the agenda drawn up by Brussels.
When cabinet minister Hilary Armstrong explains that they intend to attack
pensions again she predicted that "the unions would accuse the government
of
reneging on the deal struck on pensions by the former minister." She
wrote:
"I have no doubt that this measure will be unpopular with the civil
service
trade unions and there is a risk of industrial action."
Everybody is conscious of where these policies are heading the Labour
Party
and the country.
Former New Labour minister Michael Meacher declared "the Party has reached
a
watershed with members, trade unions and MP's clamouring for a change of
direction. There is a widespread feeling in the Party -- which I share --
that if we continue like this we are not going to win the next elections."
Amicus general secretary Derek Simpson warned that, "Labour will lose
unless
it recognises the deep concern of its core sup****ters." He added: "Without
a
serious change in direction, drawing away from the business agenda toward
an
agenda that recognises people's desire to be safe and secure and to be
able
to have a good quality of life, we will definitively lose."
UNISON's general secretary, Dave Prentis declared recently: "I give a
message to those waiting in the wings to succeed Prime Minister Tony
Blair;
do not take this union' sup****t for granted; you'll have to earn it." A
new
party leader will need to to abandon the ideological attacks on public
services I do not want the Tories back I want a labour government, a real
labour government but Labour will not be re elected unless it changes
direction, restores trust and reconnects with his core voters."
They are right, that is what the population of this country is expecting.
The trade union national conferences spell out what should be done to save
the Party.
GMB members said "take back what is ours, return the water system to the
public sector." The rail workers said "the railways should be
renationalised."
Teachers and parents said education must be public: private sector, church
groups, charities must remain out of schools!
Students and parents say no to tuition fees.
The T&GWU said trade union rights should be restored in compliance with
ILO
conventions.
At UCATT's conference, the president warned "that elements within Labour
are
intent on breaking the link between trade unions and the party."
He added: "Trade unions are intrinsically connected to the Labour Party,
were are affiliates, were are part of the structure, were part of the of
the
rules. The Labour Party traditionally is the voice of the working class
movement and if you take all the trade union away from the Labour Party,
we
have nothing."
Who will make a stand and take take up these words along with Tony
Woodley's
warning that " the link between the Labour Party and the Union is not up
for
negotiation?."
Who will take up their responsibilities and say "I am a candidate to
replace
Blair and to campaign in this direction, to take up the mandate of the
trade
unions to act in favour of people's interests for peace, sovereignty and
democracy?."
That's what people are waiting for. Who will take the responsibility for
this campaign? They are right. This is what is needed to get " a real
labour
government that restores trust and reconnects with his core voters."
This is the only way to reconnect our Party with its core voters. This is
the mandate the Labour Party should receive from the unions.
Who will stand up to say "I stand up to defend what has been built by our
predecessors, to reconquer all the 1945 gains which have been destroyed
and
return to the public sector what has been privatised. I stand up for
genuine
Labour government policies?"
Derek Simpson said that "The argument that a flexible labour market
attracts
greater employment and investment is pie in the sky." He is right.
Who will stand up to say that this "pie in the sky" is caused everyday by
European Union directives that must be implemented by every government?
TGWU general secretary Tony Woodley issues an open plea for direct
government intervention to sup****t Britain's remaining industry. He said
that the government should "face their responsibility."
Who will stand up to say "that it is high time this country and its
government ceases to be shackled by the European Union institutions, it is
high time its sovereignty was restored?."
UCATT's conference was absolutely right to denounce "the European Union
service directive which makes it possible to hire foreign workers under
the
social conditions of their country of origin."UCATT'S President added that
"This directive will create and empty social Europe."
UCATT's conference pointed out -- and rightly so -- that "health and
safety
provisions must apply on all building sites and that all workers must be
hired without undermining national term conditions agreements."
That is a clear position of defence of the unity of the working class. One
of the delegates said it was a "disgrace that the Labour government should
be sup****ting the country of origin principle." The general secretary
added
that, "the directive is part of an offensive against labour across the
EU."
This is again absolutely right. With the European directives, which can
replace the decisions taken by the national elected Parliament, the basic
principles of political democracy, of Parliamentary sovereignty, here in
Britain are under threat.
Who will stand up to say "that the role of the European institutions, as
they have been built by the Maastricht treaty is precisely to destroy all
the institutions of political democracy, to destroy national sovereignty,
in
Britain as well as in other countries?"
Who will stand up and put the trade unions and the Labour Party back on
the
road of sovereignty and independence, which implies to break the ties with
the policies dictated by the European Union?
Millions of workers and their unions say stop the war against Iraq.Who
will
stand up and say the troops will be withdrawn now?
The Link's appeal concludes: "Who will stand up and say let's take the
mandate of the unions and change course?"
This is what millions of unionists and Labour voters are waiting for.
------
More statements
Former New Labour minister Michael Meacher declared "the Party has reached
a
watershed with members, trade unions and MP's clamouring for a change of
direction. There is a widespread feeling in the Party -- which I share --
that if we continue like this we are not going to win the next elections."
Amicus general secretary Derek Simpson warned that, "Labour will lose
unless
it recognises the deep concern of its core sup****ters." He added: "Without
a
serious change in direction, drawing away from the business agenda toward
an
agenda that recognises people's desire to be safe and secure and to be
able
to have a good quality of life, we will definitively lose."
UNISON's general secretary, Dave Prentis declared recently: "I give a
message to those waiting in the wings to succeed Prime Minister Tony
Blair;
do not take this union' sup****t for granted; you'll have to earn it." A
new
party leader will need to to abandon the ideological attacks on public
services I do not want the Tories back I want a labour government, a real
labour government but Labour will not be re elected unless it changes
direction, restores trust and reconnects with his core voters."
They are right, that is what the population of this country is expecting.
***************************
MEXICO
Lopez Obrador President! Respect the People's Vote!
Three million workers and youth, from all over Mexico, demonstrated on
July
30 in the heart of the capital of Mexico, in the immense Zocalo plaza,
where
the government is located. The popular mobilization does not cease to
grow.
After several days of imbroglio, the right-wing candidate finally declared
himself winner, with less than a 1% lead over his left-wing opponent,
Lopez
Obrador, of the PRD.
The demonstrators demand a recount, ballot by ballot, voting place by
voting
place. They demand the respect of popular sovereignty. The electoral
board,
after having rejected the accusations, for the first time, admitted that
hundreds of thousands of ballots were abandoned. There is no doubt that
there was fraud.
The regime, used to receiving the sup****t of the U.S. Embassy, often
resorts
to these types of practices. Considering himself to be the legitimate
president, Obrador called on the three millions citizens assembled on July
30 to continue the mobilization: "We should take the initiative and
develop
our capacity for self-organization."
The activists of the Independent Democratic Workers Party (PTDI) have
called
for the response to this appeal to take the form of the creation in all
neighborhoods, towns, and workplaces, of "committees against the electoral
fraud, for the respect of the popular will."
The defense of the popular will and the people's vote, is the defense of
the
nation, its unity, and its conquests. The struggle for the vote recount,
is
the struggle to defend PEMEX, public education, and to break with NAFTA,"
states the declaration of the July 31 PTDI declaration.
On the eve of this powerful mobilization, we interviewed Rusel Aguilar
Brindis, the candidate of the PTDI in the elections for governor in the
State of Chiapas, which will take place next August 20.
----
Interview
IO: What is the objective of the PDTI's decision to run a candidate for
governor?
Russel Aguilar Brindis: This decision was made May 27, 2006 during a
national meeting where workers from 12 different active sections were
present. This was decided in order to build the party on a national level.
The main axis that describes our electoral position is the defense of our
nation's sovereignty and the defense of workers' and young people's
rights.
In addition to dozens of meetings that we have organized in the state, we
also scheduled a national tour in which I took part, which started in
Mexicali in Baja California, 2,000 miles from Tuxtla Gutierrez, the
capital
of the state of Chiapas. The tour will go through Mexico City, which will
host a central meeting, as well as other cities. We also went to the state
of Tabasco.
This was done to present the necessity of defending our nation to the
people, who have already expressed themselves on a national level to give
a
mandate to Lopez Obrador to stop the destruction of the country. They have
voted to break with NAFTA [North American Free Trade Agreement between the
United States, Mexico and Canada- Ed. Note], to defend national
enterprises,
such as the oil and electricity industries, which were nationalized in
1938
by a decision by then President Lázaro Cardenas.
In this campaign we are trying to build committees for the PDTI in all the
municipal districts within the state, but also at the national level. At
the
same time, we are building local committees against the fraud, for the
movement that sup****ts Lopez Obrador's election, for the defense and the
respect of the popular vote and for the defense of our nation's natural
resources.
PEMEX must belong to the Mexican people, just like the oil industries in
Bolivia and Venezuela. It is in this direction that the PDTI is building
itself all 365 days of the year, to help the people of Mexico in this
fight
when they chant "Basta el fraude"; it is for this fight that we went to
the
north of the country, to Mexicali.
IO: With the situation in Mexico as we know it today, how are workers who
meet in Chiapas's cities and villages where you organize meetings
approaching the question of building a party?
RAB: I have been a political and union militant for 25 years in the
teachers' union.
Recently, during a 23-day strike by state healthcare workers, the workers
realized that the militants from the PT (Workers' Party) and from the PRD
(Democratic Revolution Party), were collaborating with the government and
could not therefore represent their interests.
We were able to demonstrate the validity of this approach during a meeting
that took place in Jaltenango on July 19, where 15 workers were present.
When these workers heard that the PDTI was ready to represent their
interests, that it was against having Mexico pay the foreign debt, that it
was for breaking with NAFTA - all of which would enable people to have a
dignified and good-paying job - nine of them decided to join us.
These workers went to meet PRD militants, who are mobilizing against
electoral fraud everywhere in the country, and we held a joint meeting for
the coming mobilization on July 30 for the respect of the will of the
people
as it was expressed in the past elections on July 2.
These workers understood that their actions could not be constrained
within
their own electoral district (CECYTECH number 12), but they had to look
for
and meet with as many workers who voted for Lopez Obrador as possible. We
have said that the people have voted for Lopez Obrador because he said
that
he wants to defend the country, that he wants a change for the people, and
has declared that PEMEX would not be privatized. This discussion also
allowed us to get in contact with peasants and militants from the PRD base
who agree with our position and our struggle.
The PDTI contributed in introducing the notion of class in the struggle
for
the defense of our nation, and this was concretized in Jaltenango. It is
also what we must do in all 32 states of the country.
IO: Do you have any message you would like to transmit to the readers of
Informations Ouvrieres?
RAB: First, I believe that the workers' victory in May 2005 in voting
against the European Constitution was a starting point for all militants,
and for workers regardless of their country. Second, I want to add that
the
widely known struggle of the French youth against the CPE (Contract for
the
First Employment) and work precarity has shown to workers of the world
that
"si se puede" (yes, it can be done)!
(July 26, 2006, in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas Mexico)
-----
Rusel Aguilar Brindis is a middle-school teacher in Chiapas, a union
member
of Section 7 of the National Teaching Workers Union (SNTE).
**************************
BOLIVIA
On the eve of the Constituent Assembly: For a Sovereign Constituent
Assembly! No to Autonomies!
On August 6, the new Constituent Assembly will meet in Sucre (Bolivia), in
a
context marked by the overwhelming rejection of the autonomies in a recent
referendum.
All the organizations are discussing the offensive to break up the nation
and the nature and powers of the upcoming Constituent Assembly
The right wing, which was once again defeated in the recent election,
demands that the powers of this Constituent Assembly be limited to a
simple
"constitutional revision" and that it give autonomy to the regions where
the
YES was victorious. This would in clear violation of the national will
manifested in the NO vote which won the majority on a national level.
Inside the MAS, the party of President Evo Morales, which will have the
majority in the Constituent Assembly, the discussion is more and more
heated. While the Vice President Lineras (ex-guerrilla, today spokesman
for
alterglobalization) has multiplied his declarations aiming to limit the
powers of the constituents, numerous voices -- including in the summit of
the MAS -- are calling for full sovereignty to be given to this
Constituent
Assembly.
"The MAS group in the Constituent Assembly will seek to have the
Constituent
Assembly have more powers than the state S According to the MAS
constituent
Raul Prada, the strategy of his group will be to declare the Constituent
Assembly sovereign, in agreement with the law that convened it: 'This
means
that we will declare that the Constituent Assembly should rule above all
the
existing powers. This means that all the powers will be subordinate to the
decisions of the Constituent Assembly.'"
For the Bolivian people, the sovereignty of the Constituent Assembly
concretely means the defense of the unity and integrity of the nation, the
rejection of any attempt to deny the results of the national referendum of
July, the defense of the decree on the nationalization of the
hydrocarbons,
the land to the peasants, etc.
It was in this context that La Chispa, the sympathizing section of the
Fourth International in Bolivia, took the initiative to collect signatures
in mass around an Open Letter to the Members of the Constituent Assembly,
which we are reproducing below.
-----
Open Letter to the Members of the Constituent Assembly and the Workers´
and
Popular Organizations
On the initiative of La Chispa
The people have spoken. On July 2, the workers, people, and youth of
Bolivia
said NO to the destruction of the Bolivian nation.
In the national referendum on autonomies, despite all the lies,
intimidation, and pressure of the oligarchies and imperialism, the vast
majority of the nation said NO to the division of the country for the
benefit of the multinationals.
The mandate of the people is clear. By majoritarily voting for the NO, the
people said: yes to the sovereignty and unity of Bolivia, yes to the
nationalization of the hydrocarbons, yes to the agrarian reform and yes to
the Agenda of October. (1)
Any attempt to impose the "autonomies" in violation of the popular will,
would be an illegal attack against democracy and national sovereignty.
The duty of the government and the members of the Constituent Assembly in
particular is to completely respect the majority decision. It is the duty
of
the workers´, peasants´, and peoples´ organizations, with the COB at the
head, to mobilize in defense of the majority decision of the nation.
For the Constituent Assembly to really have sovereign power (as the
President Evo Morales and the MAS constituents have declared), the members
of the Constituent Assembly who defend the unity of the nation should not
cede to the pressure of the regional oligarchies.
The members of the Constituent Assembly should respect the majority
decision, refuse to hand over the natural resources, education, and health
care over to the regional oligarchies.
The riches, particularly the oil and the gas, belong to all Bolivians and
must go toward the development of the country.
For a Sovereign Constituent Assembly! No to the autonomies!
This struggle for the unity of the country is inseparable from the
struggle
for a free and sovereign Bolivia that owns and controls all its natural
resources.
In this context, we call on all the members of the Constituent Assembly
who
aim to defend the interests of the people, to respect the NO vote in the
Constituent Assembly.
We call on all the organizations linked to the interest of the nation to
organize a press conference on the basis of a declaration of unity.
The NO won! For the unity and sovereignty of Bolivia! The gas, oil, land,
and all the natural resources belong to the Bolivian people!
The Agenda of October are demands raised during the first popular
uprising,
in October 2003, particularly the nationalization of the hydrocarbons, the
renationalization of the mines, and the unity of the nation. These demands
were raised again in the May-June 2005 uprising. This was the mandate
given
to the new president, Evo Morales.
**************************
PREPARATION FOR THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE IN SOLIDARITY WITH
PALESTINIAN
WOMEN
The Editorial Board of Dialogue publishes herewith Letter No. 2 by the
Algerian legislator Louisa Hanoune to prepare for the International
Conference in Solidarity with the Palestinian Women. We remind everyone
that
in her first letter, the National Popular Assembly deputy from Algeria and
General Secretary of the Workers Party of Algeria, put forth the idea of
calling this conference in Algeria this coming November 2006.
The most recent events, the massacre of the tiny village of Cana causing
54
deaths, of which 37 were children and 17 were women, the incredible
suffering inflicted upon the Palestinian and Lebanese people and all the
people of the region, show more than ever that the issue of peace and
democracy demand the recognition of equal rights for everyone.
The Appeal of the Palestinian Women of Nazareth (published at the end of
this text, with an endorsement coupon which we ask you to fill out and
return to us as soon as possible) places this demand on center stage when
they proclaim, "They stole our land, and now they steal our jobs!" and
when
one worker signed the appeal, he added his outrage with "And today, they
want to steal our lives!"
Dialogue: For more information, write to Dialogue, 87, rue du
Faubourg-Saint-Denis, 75 010 Paris.
------
Letter from Louisa Hanoune to the Editorial Board of Dialogue
Algiers, July 29, 2006
Dear friends,
On July 3, 2006, the Palestinian women workers who protested for the third
time in Nazareth against the Wisconsin Plan carried a sign that read, "The
stole our land, and now, they want our jobs!" The jobs are the bread and
milk for the children. The photo of the gathering was distributed by
Dialogue Review. A signer of the appeal for the Palestinian women, who
brings her sup****t to the international conference that is being prepared
in
Algeria, in solidarity with them, says in anger, "And, today, they want to
steal our lives!"
Who can deny that this is a war of extermination and total destruction
that
the Israeli government launched against the Palestinian and Lebanese
people,
provoking apocalyptic chaos?
More than 300 bombs and missiles were launched by the Israeli Army during
a
single day on July 28 on the Lebanese villages and towns. Since July 13,
more than 600 civilians, many of whom were children, were killed -- and
nearly 800,000 persons were forced to flee. Meanwhile in Gaza, the bombing
continues, killing 31 people in three days.
The Algerian daily newspaper El Watan re****ts:
"As for the dead, according to the same sources, their bodies, hit by
pieces
of shrapnel from tanks and from air to ground rockets, were torn to pieces
and burnt to ashes. An elderly 75-year-old woman was among the victims who
fell on Thursday along with a 12-year-old child who was hit in the head
with
a bullet and died during the retreat of the Israeli troops during the
early
hours of yesterday. These forces left behind them the dead and wounded,
and
the devastated farm lands, irrigation canals torn to pieces, wells
destroyed, asphalt turned over S this is the Israeli summer rain, repeated
crimes, both bloody and deadly."
Don't we have the right to call this a crime against humanity? Who could
say
otherwise?An Israeli military official stated, "We sent Lebanon back to
where it was 10 years ago."
But does the Israeli government and those who justify their aggression
know
that they have opened a Pandora's Box? Because, beyond these true aims of
this war, in the future to be known by all, the fire is intentionally
being
turned into a powder keg.
A correspondent for Dialogue writes us that the Palestinian refugee camps
in
southern Lebanon are specifically targeted by the Israeli bombardments --
and the 400,000 Palestinian refugees who live there have no place to go.
Already, the do***ents from the organizations of Palestinian women that
have
reached me for the preparation of the international conference establish
that the Palestinian women, whether they are those inside the 1948
borders,
like those of Nazareth, or in Gaza and on the West Bank, or inside the
refugee camps, have in common the same living conditions that are
unbearable
and intolerable for any human being.
And these are the human conditions that are being added to the barbaric
aggression, which the Israeli government has been preparing, according to
the daily newspaper San Francisco Chronicle, in reality since the year
2000.
It also shows the responsibility by the Americans about one year ago.
"Tell them to stop the bombardments, the massacres and the destruction!",
cried the Lebanese women and the Palestinian refugees during the meeting
organized this past July 26 in Algeria by four parties, including my own
party, and the main trade union federation, in solidarity with the people
of
Palestine and Lebanon.
Facing the immensity of this disaster, the demonstrations of anger and the
expressions of solidarity are multiplying on all continents.
The leader****p of the General Union of Algerian Workers (UGTA), whose
General Secretary is a signer of the appeal of the Palestinian women, and
the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), made public,
on July 26, 2006, a common statement with the World Federation of Trade
Unions (WFTU), demanding, "The slaughter must stop right now!"
For its part, a delegation from the International Federation of Arab Trade
Unions (CISA) and the union for the workers in North Africa (STMA) met in
Lebanon on Thursday, July 27, to show the sup****t of the workers of the
region to the Lebanese workers.
I would also like to bring to your attention the position of the Israeli
filmmakers who have taken up the appeal for a cease-fire launched by the
Arab filmmakers, this Friday, July 28, as well as the protests organized
in
Tel-Aviv, Haifa and Galilee -- and also the appeal by the Jewish and Arab
activists against this war started by the Israeli government in Lebanon
and
Gaza. These Jewish protests denounce the discrimination that hits the
Palestinian Arabs, deprived of shelter and alarm sirens and the basic
means
necessary for their survival.
It is precisely because this horrible war is confirming, as if it was
still
necessary, that for 60 years, discrimination, injustice and inequality are
systematic and that the initiative taken by the international conference
in
Algeria, in solidarity with the Palestinian women, is having a very large
effect.
The magazine Dialogue records the uninterrupted messages from women, men
and
their organizations, which, beyond their political opinions, want to
associate themselves with this initiative and contribute to its success.
And yes, is not the first priority for all people an immediate halt to the
Israeli bombing and the lifting of the blockade? And as we fight for this,
precisely in orderßß to put a lasting end to this human tragedy, is it not
necessary to open the discussion among democratic people, so that the
international conference in Algeria can be the starting point for thinking
and searching together, with mutual respect, for a solution to put an end
to
all the discrimination and to establish equality and therefore lay the
foundation for true peace and democracy?
Send your contributions to Dialogue,
Warmest greetings,
Louisa Hanoune
General Secretary of the Workers Party of Algeria
Deputy to the National Popular Assembly of Algeria
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