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People’s Voice July 1-31, 2016
Volume 24 – Number 11 $1
1) FREELAND CONFRONTS ANGER OVER TPP IN HER RIDING
2) SAVE PUBLIC EDUCATION - REJECT THE B.C. LIBERAL TWO-TIER
SCHOOL AGENDA
3) LATIN AMERICA: CIVIL SOCIETY CAMPAIGNS AGAINST TRANS-PACIFIC
PARTNERSHIP
4) NO CANADIAN TROOPS IN THE BALTICS! - Editorial
5) PENSION BATTLE ENTERS NEXT ROUND - Editorial
6) CUBA: PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY IN A ONE-PARTY SYSTEM
7) AN INJURY TO ONE IS AN INJURY TO ALL! - Pride 2016
Statement
8) A VICTORY FOR POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY - DEFEAT FOR EU-IMF-NATO
AXIS
9) WHY THE MORNING STAR URGED A “LEAVE” VOTE
10) THE INFAMY OF DYING IN PRISON
11) HISTORIC LABOUR STRUGGLE ROCKS FRANCE
12) MUSIC NOTES, by Wally Brooker
PEOPLE'S VOICE JULY
1-31, 2016 (pdf)
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People's Voice deadlines: August 1-31 September 1-15 Send submissions to PV Editorial Office, |
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People's Voice finds many "Global Class Struggle" reports at the "Labour Start" website, http://www.labourstart.org/. We urge our readers to check it out! |
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(The articles
below are from the July 1-31, 2016, issue of People's
1) FREELAND CONFRONTS ANGER OVER TPP IN HER RIDING
By Drew Garvie, reprinted from http://rebelyouth-magazine.blogspot.ca/
On June 16, Chrystia Freeland, the Liberal Minister
of International Trade visited her own riding of University-Rosedale in
downtown Toronto in order to “listen” to the public as part of her promised consultation tour on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
The message Freeland heard was a clear and resounding “No to the
TPP”.
It was a close to capacity crowd with hundreds in attendance at the
Inside, the Honourable Minister kicked off the
meeting with an introduction talking vaguely about the importance of these
consultations and with some painful pandering to University-Rosedale
constituents. Jerry Dias, President of Unifor, opened
the discussion focussing on the loss of jobs in the
auto and manufacturing sector that will be a result of the TPP.
Michael Geist, a Law Professor at the University of
Ottawa, spoke about how the TPP will bolster copyright laws that will limit
works in the public domain, attack net neutrality, restrict any possible future
pharmacare program, and of course threaten
sovereignty and democracy through the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS)
mechanisms. ISDS means that corporations have increased rights to sue
governments.
The only proponent of the TPP on the panel was Daniel
Schwanen, Vice President of Research
at the C.D. Howe Institute, a public policy think-tank tied to
For
the next 90 minutes there were questions and comments from the floor. The
meeting went 45 minutes overtime and heard from just under
40 people. My tally sheet results were: 34 strongly against the TPP, 3 in favour, and 2 somewhere in the middle.
Some speakers urged rejection because of the dangers the TPP posed in
particular areas. A health care professional urged rejection because of the
increased powers the monopoly pharmaceutical industry would have in driving up
drug costs, which will mean the provinces may chose to forgo buying expensive
drugs such as those used to treat hepatitis C, which affects hundreds of
thousands of Canadians.
Climate change activists demanded urgent action on curbing carbon emissions
from
A representative of the Canadian Association of Research Libraries warned that
an extension of copyright laws, adding an additional 20 years to the current 50
after an author’s death, will mean a reduction in publicly available
literature, knowledge, art and culture.
An Indigenous woman associated with the UofT’s law
program directed a plea at Freeland not to sign the TPP if the government is
serious about their pledge to build a nation-to-nation relationship with
Indigenous peoples. She placed the TPP in the context of the struggle of
Indigenous peoples and their right to exist saying that “the TPP is an act of
aggression against Indigenous peoples.” She noted that the right to free and
informed consent to development affecting Indigenous communities comes into
conflict with corporate rights under the TPP.
A prevalent theme in the points raised from the floor was skepticism for the
Liberals’ consultation process. It has been very unclear what the government is
looking for, and what response it will take in order for them to reject the
deal.
In fact, the consultation process has been called a sham by many, including the Council of Canadians and the Communist Party of
But the question remains: is the government committed to consultations only in
so far as they provide a veneer of democracy to their firm commitment to
pro-corporate trade deals? Certainly many presenters felt that way and said so.
A 93 year-old sister stood up and asked Freeland to clarify the process, “issue me a ballpark figure. How many roundtables will you need
to scrap the TPP?"
Another
brother made the comment that, "in these
consultations you’re made to feel like a serf pleading to the king." I
would argue that the meeting had more of a peasant revolt vibe at times. Here
are some memorable comments, all from different speakers:
"I don't trust you. Is Trudeau just a pretty face and a marketing person?
Big business runs the country and I'm tired of it!"
"The TPP really stands for Treasonous Privatization
Plot."
"The solution to our Plutocrat Problem is not the TPP [Freeland wrote a
book about plutocrats]. We need to take our democracy back from the greedy
bastards who stole it. The only solution is to tell the plutocrats
enough!"
From a Unifor sister: "This is a free trade
agreement. It's free for the corporations and free-fall for the Canadian
working class."
"If you pass the TPP, I'll leave the Liberal Party. I worked hard to get
the corporate agenda of the Tories gone, and I hope it is."
“You do not have a mandate to commit
treason!!!"
These comments, and many more like these, prompted the most applause from the
audience. They also prompted a comment in the wrap-up speeches from the
ex-banker and C.D. Howe representative that discussions on trade agreements
were a lightning rod for those who were disenchanted with the political and
economic system more generally. This caused a lot of eye-rolling and a
“nationalize the banks” shout from the audience. However, the more general
comments talking about the TPP as part of the broader austerity agenda of
privatization and the corporate drive to boost profits is exactly what the TPP
is about.
So what about the lonely three who spoke out in favour
of the TPP? One was a representative of a food exporter association, one was an
independent researcher on the TPP, and one was a representative of beef
producers. So in short, all were most likely being paid to be there. Another
sister pointed out that the TPP might be good for agribusiness, but that does
not mean it is good for farmers, food safety and food sovereignty.
After the overwhelming rejection of the TPP by the rabble in the audience, the
tone switched back to polite policy discussion with short closing statements
from each of the panelists and Freeland. Jerry Dias, President of Unifor, who again reiterated his union’s opposition to the
TPP, tried to strike a more conciliatory tone than the many voices from the
floor. He disagreed with the speaker from the floor who said she did not trust
the Liberals. Dias said he “trusted the government to make the right decision”
and pointed to the fact that these consultations would not have happened under
the Harper Conservatives.
Dias’
willingness to work with the Liberals was foreshadowed in a bizarre
exchange at the start of the meeting where he and Freeland both said
that Dias should join “Team Canada”, a tri-partite negotiating
team created by the Liberals to get better
terms for corporate Canada in free trade negotiations.
The labour movement should be concerned that the
leader of the largest private sector union in the country is confused about the
nature of the Liberal government and free trade, to such an extent that he
thinks his role is by their side in negotiating corporate trade agreements. Politely
rejecting a bad deal, and pledging to work on a better one, is a losing
strategy.
One of the last speakers from the floor put forward a winning strategy: learn
from the workers of
Freeland concluded the meeting with a few patronizing remarks, warning the
audience not to “drown out minority voices” and making sure meetings are not
“just an echo chamber.” She said she was taking heat from the press and the
Conservatives about having too much consultation, but that this experience had
reinforced “the importance of listening to Canadians.” Freeland shied away from
making a final push for the TPP, but did say that she was very proud of the
CETA deal, which had been partially renegotiated after the Liberal government
was formed. This is keeping with an emerging government narrative that, “the
TPP is the fault of the Conservatives, but we have to go through with it”.
Throughout the meeting a handful of people raised the point of view that the
TPP is dead on arrival. Trump is against it. Clinton, originally for it, is
against it. So why is
The TPP is designed to isolate
The more people learn about it, the more opposition grows, and we have defeated
free trade deals like the FTAA and the MAI in recent history. This event was a
good start and it certainly showed that we do not have to put
misplaced trust in Freeland, Trudeau, Trump or
2) SAVE PUBLIC
EDUCATION - REJECT THE B.C. LIBERAL TWO-TIER SCHOOL AGENDA
Statement from the Communist Party-BC, June 27, 2016
With less than a year before the May 2017 election in
Under the BC Liberals since 2001, the percentage of
Despite the government’s claims that public education is well-funded, the
annual amount per student spent by the BC government is a shocking $1000 below
the Canadian average, and spending on public education has fallen from about
20% of the provincial budget, to just 15%. The Liberals’ first term in office
included the illegal tearing-up of collective bargaining agreements for
teachers and health care workers, with the aim of weakening labour
resistance to right-wing austerity policies. This attack was accompanied by
huge tax breaks for the wealthy and the corporations, taking over $2 billion
annually out of provincial revenues. Their “create a crisis” strategy helped
set the stage for repeated cuts to education, health care, social programs, and
people on disability and social assistance.
Teachers, education workers, students and parents fought back courageously
against the impact of this corporate agenda on public schools. Progressive
school trustees, in Vancouver and elsewhere, worked hard to help mount a broad
and sustained fightback, and to minimize the impact
of funding cuts on schools in low-income neighbourhoods,
and on students those with special needs, Aboriginal students, ESL and
immigrant students, LGBTQ+ students, etc.
Unfortunately, while the NDP opposition has criticized the government, it did
not mobilize its supporters to build these grassroots struggles, or to demand
full restoration of education funding. Putting its narrow electoral ambitions
first, the NDP tried to appear “reasonable,” and failed to challenge the
underlying rationale for the Liberal austerity drive - the Fraser Institute lie
that transferring billions of dollars from the working class to the rich and
the corporations will somehow “improve the economy”.
Now, the government’s education strategy has become fully apparent, as more and
more British Columbians put the pieces together. The Premier’s claim to appear
“fiscally responsible” by imposing an arbitrary “95% capacity” rule for larger
urban school districts, forcing Boards to close schools in order to receive
seismic upgrading funds, has been widely condemned as a threat to students,
teachers and staff who would suffer the consequences of a massive earthquake.
The so-called “family friendly Premier” is in reality a cynical hostage taker,
willing to risk thousands of human lives for the sake of protecting tax breaks
for the wealthiest citizens and corporations. Faced with a growing public
revolt, the Premier engaged in a last-minute PR stunt, offering funds to keep a
handful of schools in (mainly) Liberal ridings open, a move which further
angered trustees, parents, teachers and students, since it came too late in the
2016-17 budget process to make any real difference.
This political fiasco has led to a closer examination of the real state of
education funding in
As the truth about this massive scam comes to light, demands are rising across
The Communist Party of BC demands:
- return $2 billion annually to provincial revenues by
reversing the Liberal tax breaks for the rich and the corporations;
- end every form of public financial support for private and
religious schools;
- restore the billions of dollars in education cuts under
the BC Liberals to the public school system;
- work closely with the BCTF, BCCPAC, and other partners in
the public education system to make immediate and substantial improvements in
teaching and learning conditions, especially for the most vulnerable students,
families and communities.
3)
Civil society organisations from
The agreement, signed in
The treaty will enter into effect two months after it has been ratified by all
the signatories, or if six or more countries, which together represent at least
85 percent of the total GDP of the 12 partners, have ratified it within two
years.
"We are seeking a dialogue with like-minded parliamentary groups that
defend national interests, and we provide them with information. We want to use
the parliaments as hubs, and we also want dialogues with organisations
from the United States, Canada and the Asian countries," Carlos Bedoya, a Peruvian activist with the Latin American Network
on Debt, Development and Rights (LATINDADD), told IPS.
Civil society groups in
With similar initiatives, "A Better
The activists complain that the intellectual property chapter of the agreement
stipulates a minimum of five years of data protection for clinical trials for
These barriers delay cheaper, generic versions of drugs from entering the
market for a longer period of time.
Another aspect criticised by activists is that the
member countries must submit disputes over investments to extraterritorial
bodies, like the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes
(ICSID).
The alliances against the TPP also criticise the
provisions for Internet service providers to oversee content on the web in
order to control the distribution of material that violates copyright laws.
Latin American activists complain as well about the
The TPP emerged from the expansion of an alliance signed in 2006 by
The agreement encompasses areas like customs, textiles, investment,
telecommunications, e-commerce, dispute settlement, and labour
and environmental issues.
The TPP "has negative effects on health and economic development. It won't
benefit our countries. But there will be a lengthy debate, because it contains
issues that generate conflict," Carlos Figueroa, a Chilean activist with
his country's coalition against the treaty, which encompasses 99 organisations, prominent individuals and five
parliamentarians, told IPS.
Among its actions, the "A Better Chile without TPP" organises mass email campaigns to petition the government
against the accord, promotes campaigns over the social networks, holds public
demonstrations and is lobbying in parliament to block approval of the treaty.
In Mexico, conservative President Enrique Pena Nieto has enough votes in the
Senate, which is responsible for ratifying international accords, to approve
the treaty, with the votes from the governing Institutional Revolutionary
Party, its ally the Green Party, and the opposition right-wing National Action
Party.
In
And in
Despite attempts by governments of the countries in the bloc to promote the
positive impacts of the TPP, recent reports call the supposed benefits into
question.
"Global Economic Prospects; Potential Macroeconomic Implications of the
Trans-Pacific Partnership", a report published in January by the World
Bank, projected that the treaty could boost the GDP of its members by 1.1
percent and their trade by 11 percent a year on average by 2030.
In the case of
And for
Economists from
"Trading Down: Unemployment, Inequality and Other Risks of the
Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement", a study by the Global Development
and Environment Institute at Tufts University, estimates that the TPP would lead
to employment loss in all member countries, with a total loss of 771,000 jobs,
including 448,000 in the United States alone. In
The authors estimate that by 2025, Mexican exports will grow 6.2 percent and
GDP one percent;
For its part, the US International Trade Commission stated May 18, in its report
"Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement: Likely Impact on the US Economy and
on Specific Industry Sectors", that by 2032 the TPP would boost the US
economy by an average of 0.01 percent a year and employment by 0.07 percent.
Enrique Dussel, coordinator of the China/Mexico
Studies Center at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, questions
"There has been a 20-year learning process to know what works and what
doesn't," he told IPS. "TPP partners without free trade agreements
represent one percent of trade with
NGOs in Latin America are hoping the
"That gives us a little time to fight against ratification. It will be a
long battle," said Bedoya.
Dussel anticipated three possible scenarios. "In
two years it goes into effect; there will be no TPP; or in the
4) NO CANADIAN TROOPS
IN THE BALTICS!
People’s Voice Editorial
As NATO continues its 21st century version of the Cold War, the
Trudeau government is being asked to help create a new NATO force in the Baltic
region. Allegedly to “deter Russian aggression,” the real purpose of this force
is to further encircle
NATO’s relentless military push was on the agenda at a June 14 meeting in
Two years ago, following Crimea’s vote to rejoin
The new proposal would include four battalions - one composed of Canadian
troops - rotating through bases in eastern Europe and
the Baltics, backed by NATO's highly mobile,
40,000-strong rapid reaction force. The justification for putting more NATO
troops on
Yet there is nothing “unpredictable” about
We urge Canadians to speak out against NATO’s new Baltic military force. This
geo-political game can only increase military tensions and create new dangers
for peace in
5) PENSION
People’s Voice Editorial
The federal government’s decision to proceed with expanding the
For one thing, as CUPE points out, while some business and financial sector
figures who opposed expanding the CPP now support the need to grow the
public, not-for-profit, pension system, they also want to keep any expansion of
the CPP extremely narrow and limited. These forces include many Chambers of
Commerce, financial industry lobby groups, and the Canadian Life and Health
Insurance Association, who argue that a “modest” CPP expansion should only
apply to some middle-income workers, and not to
low-income workers at all. They also want to compel higher-income earners to
rely only upon for-profit private pensions.
These “carve-outs” would make it more complicated and costly to operate the
CPP. Even worse, this approach would encourage employers to game the system by
offering only lower-wage, lower-hours jobs, and to split full-time jobs into
precarious part-time positions.
In other words, labour and its allies cannot sit back
and celebrate this victory. A stronger fight against the retirement profiteers
is needed, to stop the carve-outs, and to demand a much higher CPP for
low-income people, so that all Canadian seniors can retire with dignity and a liveable income.
6)
By Nino Pagliccia, June 2016
Canadian author Arnold August wrote a thorough comparative investigation of the
practice of democracy in the US, Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador in his book, “
During the initial years after 1959, plebiscites would take place in
Since the adoption of Cuban constitution by referendum on 15 February 1976,
which was approved by 97.7% of voters, Cubans have had many opportunities of
providing popular input on major decisions.
We are just witnessing this kind of participatory democracy in
Let’s remember how
In 2010
Over a three-month period (December 2010 through February 2011) Cubans debated
the Guidelines in 163,079 meetings with 8,913,838 participants. Some 3,019,471
comments were made, which were grouped in 781,644 areas of opinion. All were
analyzed in detail, and as a result, 94 guidelines (32%) were maintained as
proposed; 197 were modified or incorporated into others (68%); and 36 new
guidelines were added. The resulting 311 were first discussed at the provincial
level, and later in Congress sessions by delegates and invited experts.
Eighty-six guidelines were modified at that time (28%) and two new ones
approved. Thus the definitive 313 Economic and Social Policy Guidelines were
written, as a genuine expression of people’s will, reaffirmed with acceptance
by the 6th Party Congress of 2011.[5]
This document constituted the guiding plan for the Cuban government during the
following five years until the Seventh Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba
in April 16-19, 2016 when an evaluation of progress in the updating of the
country’s socio-economic model occurred.
The 7th Party Congress of this year discussed six important documents:
1. The evaluation of the national
economy’s performance during the five year period, 2011-2015
2. The progress in the implementation of guidelines
3. The updating of the guidelines for 2016-2021
4. The conceptualization of
5. The Economic Development Program through 2030, and
6. The evaluation of the implementation status of the First
National Conference’s objectives of 2012.[6]
Documents 4 and 5 are both focussed on the vision of
the country that Cubans want, and constitute an expression of the nation’s
economic and social strategy based on what had been discussed and submitted for
consultation to all Party members and the people.
During the 7th Congress of the Communist Party of
There is no doubt that participation is fully open to all Cubans who are
willing to give their opinion. The invitation is based on a broad notion of a
sovereign, independent, socialist, democratic, prosperous and sustainable
society. No one is excluded. Even opposition to the word “socialist” does not
justify self-exclusion.
It has been noted that the documents to be analyzed are complex. That may be
the case but their grasp is not beyond that of a population that is well
educated and generally experienced in this type of socio-political analyses and
debates from a young age.
The expected outcome of this mass participation is improved documents that will
be proposed to the Central Committee next December and then voted on and
implemented by the National Assembly of People’s Power.
Democracy in a one-party system is always possible when there is honest
political will. Democracy is independent of the number of parties in a country.
The
In a more extreme example, there is the recent case of
In my long-time observation of
[1] http://www.democracycuba.com
[2] http://en.granma.cu/cuba/2016-06-15/debate-on-cubas-future-underway
[5] http://en.granma.cu/cuba/2016-03-28/party-congress-less-than-a-month-away
[6] http://www.granma.cu/granmad/secciones/1ra-conferencia-pcc/objetivos.html
[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_Brazil
7) AN INJURY TO ONE
IS AN INJURY TO ALL!
Unite to
Defend and Strengthen LGBTQ2SI Rights! - Pride 2016 Statement from the
Communist Party of
The massacre in
In the Queer community, a gay-bar is often the one place Queer folk feel safe
and able to be ourselves. Pride marks the anniversary of a riot of resistance -
Stonewall - defending gay-bars from police attacks. Pride marches and events
have grown into global movement to assert human rights. Pride’s political
significance cannot be forgotten.
The Orlando shootings, the victims of which were mainly Latinx
and Black members of the LGBTQ2SI community, must be seen within the context of
the well-organized backlash by, in particular fundamentalist Christian, right
wing groups against the gains made by the Queer movement. In the
Presenting the Orlando massacre as another tragedy brought on by the problem of
“Islamic extremism” ignores the fact that North America has a history of mass
shootings and terrorist acts committed by those that grow up here in a racist,
patriarchal, homophobic and transphobic culture that
breeds these acts of extreme violence, which are most often committed by
non-Muslims. The corporate media’s drive to use this homophobic hate crime to
fuel the “War on Terror”, which has already cost between 1-2 million lives,
also fails to seriously address the root causes of homophobia and transphobia here at home.
Opposing homophobia and Islamophobia are part of the
same struggle. Today, the economic crisis, the “
Homophobia and transphobia seek to entrench the
heterosexual, patriarchal family which is necessary for capitalism to police
and maintain the gendered division of labour, and
increase the rate of profits. The Communist Party of
US and Canadian imperialism back the right wing forces
that are intent on reversing the gains made by progressive governments in
Prime Minister Trudeau says he is feminist and pro-LGBTQ2SI yet his government,
alongside the
The defeat of the Federal Conservatives last year, was a victory for the
LGBTQ2SI movement, and may finally guarantee legal and human rights protection
to trans and gender variant people across
Bill C-16 would update the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code to
include the terms 'gender identity' and 'gender expression." If passed,
the legislation would make it illegal to discriminate on the basis of gender
identity or expression. It would also extend hate speech laws to include the
two terms. Criminal laws would also be updated to make it a hate crime when
someone is targeted because of their gender identity or gender expression,
meaning judges would have to consider it as an aggravating factor in deciding
what sentence to impose.
There is still much work to be done on this front, as the reactionary
Conservative dominated Senate could still block the legislation. With the
recent passing of
The new Federal Liberal government, despite its more progressive social agenda,
continues with the corporate-driven “austerity” cuts, and the attacks on labour, civil and democratic rights such as the security
state laws (Bill C-51), introduced by previous Liberal and Tory governments.
The Liberals are a party of big business and are continuing policies (such as
the Trans Pacific Partnership) that negatively impact LGBTQ2SI people, women,
Aboriginal peoples, and racialized groups, and
undercut equality gains. Provincial governments - almost
without exception – also continuing to drive the austerity agenda. The
most marginalized members of the LGBTQ2SI community, including trans, two-spirited, racialized
queers and young people, are those hardest-hit by the social program cutbacks.
We believe that “an injury to one is an injury to all.” Adopting full legal and
political protections for sexual orientation and gender expression, and gender
identity, and respect for the bodily diversity of intersex people, is urgently
needed to strengthen working class unity.
This unity is a vital element of the broad labour,
democratic and social movement to put people’s needs before corporate greed,
austerity and war. Our LGBTQ2SI community must be a key player in a efforts to
build a “People’s Coalition” of labour, Aboriginal
peoples, youth and students, women, seniors, farmers, immigrant and racialized communities, environmentalists, peace activists
and many other allies.
Mass resistance in our communities and workplaces, in the streets and at the
ballot box, can defeat the parties of big business and open the door to a
“people not profits” government. The goal of the Communist Party is to win
genuine people’s power in a socialist
This historic advance will make it possible to eradicate the interweaving forms
of exploitation and oppression which threaten our world today. We urge you to
join the Communist Party and the Young Communist League to achieve a liberated
society in which, as Karl Marx said, “the freedom of
each is the condition for the freedom of all.”
The Communist Party and the Young Communist League demand:
· Strengthen and enforce hate crime legislation, no to all
forms of transphobia, homophobia, sexism, Islamophobia, racism, and xenophobia;
·Strengthen solidarity with trans
people in
· Struggle to expand trans rights
including the explicit protection from discrimination on the basis of gender
identity and expression in all Provincial and Territorial laws and human rights
codes;
· Make “conversion therapy”, a pseudo-psychiatric or
religious practice that tries to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender
identity, illegal in all provinces;
· Expand the rights of LGBTQ2SI youth: end the two-tiered
age of consent laws for queer youth and protect Intersex minors from
non-consensual surgery respecting bodily diversity;
· End the homophobic and unscientific blood ban for gay men
donating blood;
· Increase social services and housing support to meet the
needs of the 25-40% of homeless youth that identify as LGBTQ;
· End the Federal and Provincial governments’ drive towards
austerity, and big business’ move towards precarious part-time employment,
which disproportionately affect LGBTQ2SI peoples who are amongst the hardest
hit by social program cutbacks.
· Stop imperialism’s support of reactionary forces around
the world. No to the coup in
8) A VICTORY FOR
POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY - DEFEAT FOR EU-IMF-NATO AXIS
Statement from
the Communist Party of
The referendum result represents a huge and potentially disorientating blow to
the ruling capitalist class in
The people have spoken and popular sovereignty now demands that the
But it is clear that the Cameron-Osborne government has lost the confidence of
the electorate and cannot be trusted with the responsibility of negotiating
The Communist Party also has no confidence that a Tory government led by other
pro-big business, pro-imperialist and pro-neoliberal MPs such as Boris Johnson,
Michael Gove, Liam Fox and Iain Duncan Smith would withstand the pressures from
the City of London, big business, the US and NATO to prevent Britain's exit
from the EU.
If no alternative government can command a majority in the House of Commons, a
General Election must therefore be called without delay.
This makes it all the more important that the Labour
Party leadership immediately pledges to respect and implement fully the
referendum decision. Moreover, it should make clear its determination to
negotiate exit terms and future treaties with the EU and other countries on the
basis of new arrangements that put the interests of working people here and
internationally before those of big business and the capitalist 'free market'.
In any event, it will also be vital to counteract the upsurge of xenophobia and
racism unleashed by leading forces on both sides of the referendum campaign.
The unity and mobilisation of progressive and labour movement forces is essential in order to explain the
benefits of immigration and counter the divisive and anti-working class appeal
of UKIP and other right-wing and far-right parties.
We now need to fight to ensure that a Britain outside 'Fortress Europe' uses
its freedom to welcome people to work, study and live here from around the
world and leads Europe in providing a safe haven for asylum seekers and
refugees.
9) WHY THE MORNING
STAR URGED A “LEAVE” VOTE
This commentary from the Morning
Star, published on June 22, explains why the world’s only English-language
daily socialist newspaper backed a “Leave” vote in
Tomorrow we decide whether or not
We decide in a referendum called by the right, the accidental result of David
Cameron’s botched attempt to appease his own backbenchers with a proposal he
thought he’d never have to carry out. And we decide after a campaign dominated
by the right, with rival Tory visions of the future drowning out left
perspectives in the mass media.
That’s why the Morning Star sought a full and frank debate on this question
from a socialist perspective, in which the leaders of the Labour
Party and TUC, trade unionists and activists have all taken part.
And now it’s decision time. When we were last asked this question in 1975, the
Morning Star was the only national daily paper to campaign to Leave.
The suspicions we had then, that the Common Market would increase the power of
corporations and reduce that of our elected representatives,
have been borne out by everything the European Union has done since.
Its treaties taken together make, as Tony Benn once said, the “only
constitution in the world committed to capitalism.” They place serious
restrictions on public ownership, committing member states to open up public
services to competition.
A Labour government determined to take our railways
and postal services back into public hands would soon run into trouble with the
EU. To his credit, Jeremy Corbyn has indicated that
this is a fight he would not shy away from. But it is undeniable that taking
back what’s ours would be easier if we were not subject to the EU treaties,
which can only be altered by unanimous agreement among all 28 member states.
As well as being anti-socialist, the EU is undemocratic, in that its elected
parliament is toothless, lacking even the formal power to initiate legislation;
the orders are issued by the unelected Commission and the Central Bank.
But worse, it is actively anti-democratic. It overrides democracy. Commission
chief Jean-Claude Juncker said when the people of
Those who argue that austerity is a choice being made at a national level should
ask why it is then that governments ostensibly on the left in France and Italy
are attacking workers’ rights and public spending just as viciously as
governments of the right. Seemingly it doesn’t matter who we Europeans elect
any more: austerity is what we get.
Some imply that a dislike of the EU is a peculiarly British phenomenon. But the
reality is that few of
The French rejected the EU Constitution, so it was incorporated into the
Most on the left agree that the EU’s treatment of
Unfortunately, no plausible strategy for doing so has been put forward. The EU
is designed to resist reform: hence the requirement for unanimity among member
states before any treaty is altered.
Acts of mass popular resistance, such as the millions-strong cross-border
petition against TTIP, are simply ruled out of order
by the Commission.
Even so, a large number of socialists and trade unionists are convinced that a
vote to Remain is the lesser of two evils. Some say leaving would cost us
skilled jobs, pointing to threats from major manufacturers that they might
relocate if we withdraw from the EU.
But those threats should be seen for what they are — blackmail by the bosses.
When the super rich whinge that they will flee
Giant corporations support membership of the EU because big business benefits
from it. But membership can hardly have been good for British manufacturing,
which has been decimated over the last four decades.
EU bans on state aid to industry actually hinder efforts to protect our
productive economy.
Others say that we face a bonfire of our rights by the Tories if we leave the
EU with them in charge.
But we’re facing a bonfire of our rights now. Since 2010 the Tories have
slapped the Gagging Act and the Trade Union Act on our labour
movement, have introduced massive fees for accessing employment tribunals, have vowed to “kill off the health and safety culture for
good.”
The EU hasn’t lifted a finger.
Remainers who say the NHS isn’t safe with Michael
Gove or Boris Johnson are absolutely right. But the NHS isn’t safe with Cameron
either, as the Health and Social Care Act showed. And it certainly isn’t safe
with TTIP, the secretive treaty being negotiated by the EU with the
The third and gravest point made by socialists for Remain is that a Leave
victory would fuel racism, anti-immigrant bigotry and far-right violence.
An obsession with immigration by the right-wing leaders of the Leave campaign
has given this some weight. But we should be careful. The far right is on the
march across Europe, in
Falling wages, mass unemployment and battered public services are feeding the
resentment that gives birth to fascism. And the EU’s commitment to endless
austerity contributes to that.
Nor is the EU’s record on racism good. A deal with
There is no evidence that a Remain vote would help defeat the far right. The
struggle against racism and intolerance is one we will have to wage either way.
Since the beginning of the neoliberal era in the 1980s, we have seen corporate
power strengthened at the expense of democracy again and again. The “big bang”
deregulated the banks, putting big finance beyond our control. Independence for
the Bank of
The EU is part and parcel of all this. A vote to Leave today will not bring
about socialism. But it would be a step towards restoring democratic control of
our economy, and would remove an obstacle to progress.
The Morning Star advises you to take
that step.
10)
THE INFAMY OF DYING IN PRISON
Homage to the
communist militant Francisco Luis Correa Gallego, by Liliany Obando
Translator’s note: Author Liliany Obando was a political
prisoner in
I’ve always thought that there’s nothing sadder and more outrageous than to die
alone and sick in a prison. That’s why I couldn’t hold back tears when, as I
was reading an article on the subject of prisons, I learned that my friend and
comrade Francisco Luis Correa Gallego had died this
past May 10 from an illness he acquired in prison and that was inadequately
treated, just as are many such cases.
Francisco was one of thousands of political prisoners who maintain their
principles and revolutionary morale with stoicism. Like them, he was waiting
with great anticipation to have his freedom restored through a Law of Amnesty
and Pardon that has to be one result of the current peace process between the
After his detention some four years ago, he was transferred from one prison
establishment to another. He was in the Garzón prison
in Huila, Rivera prison in
As happens with many others who are deprived of their freedom, the time after
Francisco’s capture went by without any direct contact with members of his
nuclear family who lived far away, in Caquetá. This was because of the National
Penitentiary and Prison Institute’s (INPEC) reliance on improvisation and the
methods used for penitentiary–type punishment. Understandably, he was so glad
when he received an occasional solidarity visit.
I remember that at one of those visits, this one with a group of young student
volunteers with the Solidarity Committee for Political Prisoners, Francisco
introduced himself at the right time with a generous smile and warmth of a
comrade and went into a rich historical recounting of the people’s
revolutionary struggles in our country. He tried to establish the precise
moment when he first began to be part of all this. Perhaps his histories were a
bit unfocused for the younger generations, but as happens with grandparents’
stories, they never fail to captivate their listeners.
He joined the revolutionary struggle way back and would never renounce it until
the end of his days. He was brought into the ranks of the Colombian Communist
Party in the region of the lower
Committed to peace in his time, he supported the negotiating process underway
at La Uribe, which ended up incubating the Patriotic
Union political movement (UP). And he was a municipal council member for the
Patriotic
In 1988 he was promoted to fill a post for the UP in the first people’s mayoral
office in the
Of peasant origin, Francisco was always worrying about strengthening his
ideological, political, and cultural formation through persistent reading, a
concern that continued in prison also.
In the region where he grew up, Francisco did survive the paramilitaries who
tried to make him pay for his communist militancy. But he didn’t succeed in
overcoming the bars the state imposes on those who dare challenge its power.
Prison is a place for testing revolutionary character, and Francisco was up to
meeting that challenge. In a pair of letters, one he wrote me that I save with
special love and another directed to a political audience, he openly expresses
his deep pride on being a communist.
[Referring to UP and Communist Party members who were assassinated, he writes:]
“I cannot forget the comrades: Manuel Cepeda Vargas,
José Antequera, Jaime Pardo
Leal, Bernardo Jaramillo Ossa, and Henry Millán Gonzáles. They are the ones who made me into a disciple of
political revolution and who linked me up with being part of that army
exploited by capitalism.”
He also gave vent to his iron convictions, demonstrating that even from prison
he felt “the urge to keep on struggling for construction of a new society
without excluding anybody.”
From the first time that I visited Francisco in the Modelo
prison I wanted to recognise his fortitude, his
mystique, his example, and I thought I would write an article about him and his
struggle. It’s better to offer our comrades in struggle the homage and
recognition they deserve while they are alive. Nevertheless, given the
harshness of conditions taken on by militants in our country, we very often run
into eventualities like this, ominous ones.
Francisco was not expecting me. I was there ready with my packet. It contained
the book “Fidel and Religion”, the “Political Constitution”, and the latest
editions of Voz - and the highlighter you asked to me
bring you at our next encounter. The one after that would be when I gave you an
embrace of welcome to freedom, after the amnesty. This wouldn’t happen now and
you can’t imagine how much it hurts.
Francisco, now it’s raining in my heart because of your absence. I can only
render you tribute by joining myself to your dreams, gathering up your flags
and your revolutionary commitment. You left us your commitment expressed in
your own handwriting:
“Comrades: I call upon all of you who are on the outside and those of us who
are [in prison,] deprived of freedom, to keep on fighting to build the
For always, dear Francisco! You are now one of the indispensable ones!
(May 29, 2016. Source: www.pacocol.org. Translated by WT Whitney Jr.)
11) HISTORIC LABOUR
STRUGGLE ROCKS
PV Vancouver Bureau, with files from the Morning Star and
other sources
One of the biggest labour struggles carried out in
decades by French workers continued through June, as the country hosted the
Euro 2016 soccer tournament. Mass strikes and protests erupted in May against
the “El Khomri law,” shutting down key sections of
the economy. Named for the Labour Minister Myriam El Khomri, the law allows
management to slash overtime pay, extend working hours, and fire employees with
less restrictions. The Socialist party government
argues that the attacks on labour rights and
conditions are required by the European Union, highlighting a key reason for
working class opposition to the EU in many countries.
The movement began several months ago, with mass occupations of the Place de la
République in
As the month of June began, CGT union federation CGT leader Philippe Martinez
warned the government to withdraw its notorious legislation, and striking
workers crippled the French railway network. Over half the country’s regional
train services were cancelled as well as 40 per cent of journeys on the
high-speed TGV network.
Three of the four unions representing staff working for the SNCF national rail
authority called open-ended walkouts. The rail strikes were accompanied by
walkouts in other sectors including oil refineries, leaving an estimated 20 per
cent of French service stations dry. Aviation workers announced plans to walk
out, putting more pressure on the government.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls and the labour minister called on the CGT to propose a solution. But
“There are articles which pose problems and that’s why we must remove the law
and renegotiate,”
Considered to be “the philosophy of the Act” and therefore indispensable,
Article 2 establishes the primacy of company-level bargaining as opposed to sectoral and nationally negotiated agreements.
On June 2, some 120,000 homes in western
But workers in
Meanwhile, striking rail workers blocked tracks at the Gare
de Lyon station in eastern
The struggle continued over the following days, against the backdrop of final
preparations for the Euro 2016 tournament. Transport Minister Alain Vidalies vowed to use scab labour
after rail workers threatened to walk out on the line serving the Stade de France in St Denis outside
On the same day, Air
Sports Minister Thierry Braillard complained that
disrupting the tournament was “just not normal.” But train driver Berenger Cernon, secretary of the
CGT union federation’s branch at the Gare de Lyon in
President Francois Hollande said he would take “all
necessary measures” to make sure the tournament goes smoothly. “Public services
will be provided,” he vowed. “The whole of
“Let us be clear, the government has no intention of withdrawing this law, or
of unravelling it,” added El Khomri.
While the tournament went ahead, thousands of demonstrators rallied in the
streets of
But by that date, the Socialist Party government had bypassed parliament to
pass the law by decree, sending it for debate in the senate.
On June 17, CGT general secretary
He added that two demonstrations set for June 23 and 28 — when senators will
vote on the legislation — would not be cancelled unless six crucial pieces of
the bill were rewritten or removed before sending it back to parliament.
A few days later, the government had to back down on plans to ban the June 23
march. Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said he
had personally ordered the ban, but then decided to allow the protest after an
emergency meeting with unions where a compromise was reached on where the rally
could be held.
Hours earlier, Paris’s police chief had said he had “no choice but to ban the
demonstration” for supposed safety reasons after the unions refused to stage
the protest in the Place de la Bastille, wanting instead to march through the
streets. Under the deal the march instead followed a one-mile loop around the
foot of the square.
This would have been the first ban on a union demonstration in
Fellow Socialist backbencher Christian Paul had earlier said Prime Minister Valls was making “a historical mistake” with the ban,
highlighting rifts within the ruling party a year ahead of presidential and
parliamentary elections.
12) MUSIC NOTES, by
Wally Brooker
Bristol Bay fight focuses on
Musicians United to Protect Bristol Bay (MUPBB) is seeking
to engage Canadian musicians in its fight to protect
Victor Jara trial in
The
trial of the former Chilean military officer accused of murdering folk singer
and activist Victor Jara began in
David Rovics' "
American indie singer-songwriter David Rovics
responded to the June 12th massacre at
Who killed all those people in
Was it YouTube videos, the way they disseminate / Was
it radical imams preaching the jihad?
Saying go
commit murder in the name of God?
Who killed all those people in
Was it hard to be an Afghan after 9-1-1 / Or
was it as a child, did he hear the politician
Who said 500,000 dead kids was still the right decision?
Who killed all those people in
When they bombed the wedding party, is that what froze his heart?
Was it a lack of mental health care that made things go
wrong
Or was there no way left to make him feel that he belonged?
Who killed all those people in
Born into the world, in his own gay skin / Did he loath himself, is
that how it all began?
And just who had taught him it was wrong to love another man?
Who killed all those people in Orlando / Why did he do it, was it the
NRA
Who made it easy for him to express himself this way
Another legally purchased weapon that fired automatic rounds
Leading to the scene with 50 bodies on the ground?
Who killed all those people in
He's just acting on free will, an individual shame
Maybe he grew up in a vacuum and carried out a senseless act
Maybe we're wrong to try to question or to ascertain the facts about
Who killed all those people in