Issue
230
25th Aug 05
GUNS OFF OUR STREETS
Increasingly desperate attempts to justify the police execution of Jean Charles de Menezes in Stockwell tube station are unravelling daily.
by Ken Ferguson
In
point after point, the tales told by the Metropolitan Police to
explain away the killing are contradicted by the emerging truth.
n
He didn’t run away from police and vault the barrier into Stockwell
station - he walked, used his travel pass and, like any other
commuter, picked up his free Metro.
n
He wasn’t wearing a bulky, bomb-concealing jacket.
n
Specialist military personnel drawn from the elite Special Reconnaissance
Unit - drawn from units with years of experience in such matters
in
The
entire event now has the character of a desperate
Perhaps
one of the most distasteful of these attempts was Sir Ian’s attempt
to minimise the police execution with appeals to remember those
killed in the bombs.
He ignores
the fact that those expressing concern over the De Menezes
shooting universally condemned the
They
acted as part of a disciplined force armed not just with automatic
pistols bur with a shoot to kill policy.
“Scottish
Police forces will deal with terrorist threats in the same way
as our colleagues in
In a
letter to police dated 29 July, SACC wrote:
“We
note with alarm that Metropolitan Police officers are ready to
shoot in situations where a clear and visible threat does not
exist, and where the cause for suspicion appears to be a belief
- perhaps based upon intelligence - held by the officers concerned.
We note that intelligence is fallible and can rarely be assessed
by the officers on the spot.
Unethical
“We
believe that the combination of ‘shoot-to-kill’ and ‘shoot-on-suspicion’
is a cocktail that will prove fatal to responsible, effective
policing. It is unwise, unethical and probably illegal.”
The
rising tide of leaks around the event makes these concerns particularly
pertinent.
The
British state has a long history of deploying shoot to kill policies
from the
Perhaps
it will take years and, undoubtedly, a fully independent, public
enquiry to uncover them.
But
it is fairly clear that major priority after the event was largely
involved in a campaign of whitewash and cover up.
Shortly
after the new facts about the shooting were passed to the press,
Harriet Wistrich and Gareth Peirce, the lawyers for the De Menezes
family, wrote:
“It
is inconceivable that the true facts as revealed yesterday, were
not made known to senior police and ministers immediately; for
any to have made comments publicly without first informing themselves
of the true facts would have been entirely reckless and wrong.
—page two—
news
Gate Gourmet bosses dish out hate cuisine
by Ken Ferguson
“Dedication
- it is not to be found is any training manual, but it’s in
our employees’ blood. Gate Gourmet people thrive on pace and
meeting tough demands.”
This
piece of corporate speak wisdom is displayed on the hard-nosed
union buster’s website.
It
contrasts sharply with the year long Heathrow plot to provoke
strike action, sack workers and to replace them with cut price
replacements.
They
did calculate that solidarity action might happen but clearly
did not expect the magnificent stoppage by BA’s baggage handlers,
which paralysed the airline and cost the firm £40 million.
Solidarity
It
also showed the potential of solidarity action and why the bosses
- backed by the pro-business groupies of New Labour - want to
keep it illegal.
Solidarity
is now building both across the
As
the Voice goes to press, Gate Gourmet bosses had walked out
of talks with the TGWU, insisting that they would not reinstate
the whole workforce.
The
solidarity action of the baggage handlers won widespread support
across the trade union movement and catapulted the Gate Gourmet
dispute - and the management’s dirty tactics - to international
prominence.
Illegal
The
irony is that their solidarity is illegal under anti-union laws
- set up by Thatcher's government and now maintained by New
Labour - while it was perfectly legal for Gate Gourmet to sack
their entire workforce without notice.
However,
the TGWU distanced itself from the magnificent action taken
by the baggage handlers, clearly fearing legal consequences
under the current laws
There
is talk now of finding a compromise, but the trade union movement
now faces a hard reality.
For
Gate Gourmet workers to win, the anti-union laws will need to
be defied and large scale solidarity fought for. Nothing less
will do.
As
the old saying has it - you can peel an onion layer by layer
but you can’t skin a tiger claw by claw.
Protest
Messages of support for the Gate Gourmet workers and
in protest at their sacking have rolled in to the labourstart
website, at one point as many as 30 a minute.
The website passes the messages on to the workers, and to Gate
Gourmet
n To email your protest to the company
go to www.labourstart.org and click on: Gate Gourmet reinstate sacked workers now.
CHIEF LAPS UP PROFITS
Wage
and job slashing Gate Gourmet bosses who think a top wage of
£16,000 is too high for its
Inevitably
job cuts and slashed wages are among their tools to achieve
this.
It
certainly works for Mr Bonderman who
has amassed an estimated £6 billion personal fortune with his
sackings and slashings approach.
Despite
owning a catering concern, Bonderman
appears not to have heard the saying about what is sauce for
the goose being sauce for the gander.
Just
a month after TPG snapped up Gate Gourmet out of administration
for $675 million in 2002, Mr Bonderman
celebrated his 60th birthday with a high profile bash in
What
is known is that the gathering was entertained by wrinkly rockers
the Rolling Stones, who did a 40 minute set.
They
were paid £4.4 million for their services while man-of-many
faces, comic actor Robin Williams, acted as warm up man for
a mere £600,000.
However
as the champagne corks popped in Las Vegas, a different fate
was being planned for the West London work force of Gate Gourmet.
The
company is run by Bonderman’s
Gate’s
response was to place the burden on the workers, seek pay cuts
and provoke a strike to enable them to sack them.
They
were supposed to be replaced by lower paid workers specially
recruited and trained as a shadow work force in a tactic as
old as capitalism.
However
the big miscalculation was that workers at the Heathrow complex
were all employed by BA when it was state owned. More importantly
they are all unionised, largely in the TGWU, as a legacy of
that period.
Gate
are now finding that they are up against a determined
work force with solid support in the local communities around
Heathrow.
Media get knives out for multiculturalism
by Eddie Truman
The
tidal wave of anti Muslim racism continues to engulf the
The
effect of the programme was clearly designed to promote the
idea that there is no such thing as a moderate Muslim.
This
is not the first contentious Panorama programme that Ware has
been centrally involved in.
In
July 2003 he was the writer and presenter of another Panorama
Special, in this case dealing with alleged abuse of the asylum
system.
On
the day of the broadcast, Ware published an article in the Daily
Mail (23 July 2003) based on and publicising his programme.
It
was headlined: “For years the Mail has been attacked for its
refusal to be silent on the asylum crisis. Tonight’s Panorama
says we were utterly justified.”
It
is increasingly clear that the ‘liberal media’, like The Observer,
are the target of a sustained campaign to plant anti-Muslim
scare stories.
Scare stories
Presumably
the old favourite of the security services, the Daily Telegraph,
is deemed to have a readership that is already racist and xenophobic
and it is the liberal middle class readership of The Observer
that needs to be terrorised with scare stories about Muslims.
And
if Muslims in Scotland thought that things really couldn’t get
any worse, in stepped the Moderator of the Church of Scotland
to prove them wrong.
Interviewed
in a Sunday broadsheet, the Reverend Lacy used the same language
as the racist press and right wing purveyors of hate like the
BNP.
The
Reverend Lacy said extremist Muslim clerics should leave the
country, and branded them “hypocrites” who treat their neighbours
as “enemies”.
Church
of Scotland Moderator, Rev David Lacy, also accused radical
Islamists of speaking out “against us from within” while receiving
“heart operations and care on our system”.
The
problem for the Reverend Lacy was that the Muslim cleric the
Scottish press subsequently latched onto to back up his call,
Yaqub Zaki, was born in
The
sudden death of Labour MP Robin Cook, who resigned his cabinet
post over the
The
Scottish Socialist Party will select a candidate to contest
this by election, whenever it is called, on Wednesday 31 August.
Colin
Fox, SSP convenor and MSP for Lothian, has said:
“We’ll
approach this campaign with verve and passion taking our anti-poverty
message and the campaign against attacks on our civil liberties
onto the streets of
Public meeting
Defend our Fire Service
Wednesday
7 September, 7pm, Craigsfarm Campus,
Craigshill
Speakers: Colin Fox, SSP Convenor
Tommy Sheridan MSP
David Melrose, Fire Reforms Action Group
—page three—
news
Support grows for suspended MSPs
The campaign
to reverse the suspensions and £30,000 fine placed on SSP
MSPs is gathering pace.
The
online petition calling for the reinstatement of the four,
who protested in the Parliament in defence of the right to
march at Gleneagles, has so far collected nearly 1900 signatures
from all over the world, from Bolivia to, believe it or not,
Antarctica.
Rallies
are planned for all over
Here
are some of the messages of support our MSPs have received.
Of course
I support your cause.
Tony
Benn
The right
to dissent and to disrupt proceedings have always been part
of the labour movement’s parliamentary armour.
From
the time of Jimmy Maxton’s expulsion from the Commons through
to Scotland United’s disruption
in the Chamber, breaking the parliamentary rules has been
one way of loosening the establishment’s control of business
and forcing important issues to the centre of political debate.
The
absurd parliamentary pomposity of the likes of George Reid
and the vindictive attack on the SSP members and their staff
serve only to show that the mainstream members of our Parliament
have little idea about what the real business of democracy
is.
John
McAllion, former Labour MSP
The SSP
MSPs were right to defend democracy
by protesting in what is supposed to be the home of democracy
in
New Labour
are nothing if not predictable, as soon as an outbreak of
democracy occurs, the first thing they do is fine and banish
it.
Mark
Thomas, Comedian and campaigner
This is
why people need trade unions. To ensure procedures are in
place which guarantee transparency, representation and natural
justice, all of which are sadly lacking in this case. The
Scottish Parliament should not hide behind the Scotland Act
in attempt to deny individuals these rights - it is essential
this ad hoc punishment is challenged.
Paul
Holleran, National
The actions
of the four SSP MSPs were entirely
justified as a protest against actions of the Scottish Parliament
which would have completely denied a previous decision.
The
form of the protest may be open to debate, however the important
thing now is to clear up the disproportionality
of the Parliament’s response. It sets both a poor precedent
and standards which are not the most appropriate for the future.
Margo
Macdonald MSP
This is
not only a barbaric attack on the SSP and its staff financially,
but also on the democratic process. When the Scottish Socialist
Party MSPs were expelled then, quite
frankly, the working class and the most vulnerable people
in our society do not have a voice in the Parliament.
Alex
Brownridge, Secretary CWU Scotland
No2 Branch
Defend civil liberties, defend the right to peaceful protest
Tuesday 6 September
Edinburgh: St George’s West Church, Shandwick Place, Speakers: Colin Fox MSP, Margo Macdonald MSP, Alex Brownridge CWU, Gate Gourmet striker and De Menezes family campaign
Alloa: venue tbc, Speakers: Campbell Martin MSP and others tbc
Wednesday 7 September
Thursday 8 September
Others with date and venue to be confirmed include Kintyre and in Orkney, check the Voice for details
—page four—
One World
Twenty years after bombing, Rainbow Warrior battles on
by Wullie McGartland
Twenty
years ago, on 10 July 1985, the French secret service sunk
the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior off the coast of
The
ship was in
The
pair were sentenced to ten years,
but were released after only a year to return to
However
a recent report published in the paper Le Monde by Admiral Pierre Lacoste
- former head of the secret service - claimed not only had
Mitterrand known about the bombing, he had sanctioned it.
Despite
the criminal acts of the Mitterrand government, Greenpeace
have continued campaigning and have grown since the 1985 bombing.
The Rainbow Warrior II carries on the work of her predecessor,
while the original ship, fittingly, serves as a dive wreck
and fish sanctuary.
The
20th anniversary of the bombing was marked by demonstrations
and rallies in
Navajo nation calls halt to uranium mining ‘genocide’
by Ken Ferguson
Action
by the Navajo Nation in the
The
Navajo Nation encompasses a big part of
HCI,
a subsidiary of Dallas-based Uranium Resources, has been seeking
federal permits for the last decade to begin uranium mining
southwest and east of
Both
are part of the Navajo Nation. Around 15,000 people live in
the Church Rock-Crownpoint region.
More
than 1,200 uranium mines operated on the Navajo Nation from
the 1940s through the 1980s, mining more than 13 million tons
of uranium ore.
Large
numbers of miners died of lung cancer associated with breathing
radioactive dust.
The
“I
don’t want to subject any more of my people to exposure to
uranium and the cancers that it causes,” said Navajo Nation
president Joe Shirley Jr as he signed
the anti-mining law.
The
Diné Natural Resources Protection
Act bans the mining and processing of uranium on Navajo land.
“As
long as there are no answers to cancer, we shouldn’t have
uranium mining on the Navajo Nation,” he added.
“I
believe the powers that be committed genocide on Navajo land
by allowing uranium mining.”
The
act states, “No person shall engage in uranium mining and
processing on any sites within Navajo Indian Country.”
The
widespread opposition to new uranium mining was reflected
in thousands of Navajos signing petitions against it.
Many
organisations on the Navajo Nation are opposing attempts to
restart uranium mining.
For
many years uranium miners and their families have been fighting
for compensation for the medical costs for lung cancers from
mining uranium.
In
1990 the US Congress passed the Radiation Compensation Act,
which was amended in 2000 under the
—page five—
your voice
Divided
Colm
Breathnach’s piece on Sinn Fein and the current situation in the six
counties in last week’s Voice (229) lacked historical analysis of the
armed struggle and its roots.
Whilst correct
in stating that the PIRA emerged from a split in the Irish Republican
movement back in 1969, he offers no reason as to why the split took
place.
By the late
1960s the system of apartheid against the Catholic/nationalist working
class in the six counties - discriminated against in housing, employment,
social services, and policing, etc. - spawned the formation of the civil
rights movement. Inspired by the black civil rights movement in the
What followed
was nothing less than organised terror, unleashed by a loyalist militia
masquerading as a police force, backed up by gangs of loyalist thugs.
Not content
with attacking the protesters and beating them down, they entered nationalist
communities and began burning people out of their homes.
This was a
pogrom by any other name, responsible in the summer of 1969 for the
largest displacement of civilians at that time since the Second World
War. The Official IRA,
The notion
that the PIRA and the armed struggle split the working class is, frankly,
ludicrous. The poison of sectarian hatred had played a part in the political,
social and cultural life of the six counties for generations before
the Troubles began.
The PIRA’s
strategy throughout the armed struggle was to target the state apparatus.
Nowhere in their literature or statements will you ever find anything
so much as hinting at sectarianism. Yes, innocent civilians were killed
by both sides, but in the case of loyalist paramilitaries, they were
killed as part of a concerted terror campaign waged against Catholics.
The PIRA flirted
with many political doctrines throughout their existence - socialism,
federalism, nationalism - but that in no way undermines their legitimacy
as defenders of nationalist communities from the
The ending
of the armed struggle is to be welcomed. However, by embracing the partitionist
political institutions of the British government the leadership of Sinn
Fein have led the nationalist people down a political cul de sac.
Until there
is a complete British withdrawal from the province - militarily, politically
and economically - sectarianism will continue to poison relations between
the Catholic and Protestant working class.
In the words
of the great James Connolly: “There can be no socialism without national
liberation. There can be no national liberation without socialism.”
John Wight,
Edinburgh
For anybody interested in reading an alternative view of Sinn Fein, see the article in the current issue of Scottish Left Review, ‘Forgotten Socialists’ by Mark Hirst - available online at - www.scottishleftreview.org
Chris
Guthrie,
Support
at any cost?
Regarding
Omar Ibrahim’s letter in Voice 229. I agree that no-one should
be prevented by the state from voicing an opinion no matter what they
say, right, left or whatever - today it might be Hizb-ut-tahrir, tomorrow
it might be us - but these dangerous flirtations with political Islam
by the Left are going to be the rock we perish on.
Hizb-ut-tahrir
are an example of a natural enemy of socialism
- they are anathema to almost everything we stand for. For somebody
who purports to be a socialist to applaud the insidious views of organisations
such as these is almost beyond belief. If we lived in a society governed
by such groups, Omar’s letter wouldn’t have been printed because there
would be no SSV, no SSP, no political parties or groups whatsoever,
all would be banned. Organisations like Hizb-ut-tahrir want to destroy
things like the advancements made in women’s rights, freedom of expression,
gay rights, secularism - things people have fought for, died for, been
incarcerated for decades for - and set up a world bound by superstition.
Just because
you see these groups as “anti-imperialist” isn’t a reason to lend them
any credibility or support. They may be against imperialism as we know
it but they advocate ummah, the forced global proliferation of Islam
and sharia law. This may not be economic imperialism but is religious
imperialism really any better?
John Patrick,
Glasgow
More
from
The educational
on Saturday morning will go down in history as one of the most inspiring,
thought-provoking meetings to take place in the SSY. Absolutely no topic
was left uncovered: the family, Live 8, consumerism, New Labour, unjust
law, corruption, smashing McDonald’s windows...
those three hours, if I’d had any doubts before, would have turned me
over to socialism instantaneously.
Following
the educational, the rest of the discussions were from a choice of three.
Saturday afternoon’s were tremendously difficult to choose from: Music,
Radical Media and Knife Crime. I went for Radical Media, after much
deliberation. Some impressive ideas about the media’s role in the struggle,
and how we can improve Leftfield and the SSY website, were thrown back
and forth.
Sunday was
just as productive.
I went for
the
This meeting
was just as inspiring as Saturday’s educational, covering everything
from consumerism to public transport, nuclear power to GM crops. Sunday
was also the day when female comrades put up a big middle finger to
any opposition, and started an SSY Women’s Group. Hopefully, this group
has a big future ahead of it, and next year, Camp Secret Squirrel’s
men may not outnumber the women to such a massive scale.
I can honestly
say that I learnt more in one weekend at Camp Secret Squirrel than in
the past five years at a Scottish high school, not only through the
workshops, but in campsite banter and debates over the fire.
This weekend
has left me more positive and full of hope than I’ve ever been. The
world is ours.
We can make
a difference.
Charlotte
Cameron, 17, Castle
Rebel correspondence
Message
from The Irrepressible Wing of
We
the IW of the SFZ have renamed
—centre pages—
Land of the free?
Cindy Sheehan
spent over a week camped outside of George Bush’s
As I write
this, the number of American military servicemen and women killed in
It’s a huge price to pay for a war that’s supposed to be over, and public
support for Bush’s occupation is crumbling. A recent survey found only 43
per cent of Americans predict a victory in Iraq - terrible news for Bush
considering he already declared victory, over two years ago.
As negotiations resumed last Thursday over the new Iraqi constitution, at
least 43 Iraqis were slaughtered when car bombs exploded near a
On the same day, a Pennsylvanian firefighter was one of four American part
time soldiers to be sent home in a flag-draped coffin.
They were killed on the streets of
It’s now noted for 70 per cent unemployment amongst men aged 18 to 35 and
as a site of fierce post-occupation violence.
Is it any wonder that increasing numbers of Americans are asking themselves
what this is all for? Perhaps none more so that the soldiers themselves.
As in
The GI Rights Hotline took 32,000 calls last year, and another 3000 every
month, from soldiers who want out or who have been made ill by their experience.
Sergeant Kevin Benderman has spent ten years as a mechanic in the
He served one tour of duty in
But, when ordered to return to
His partner Monica explains that, on his first tour, “Kevin went with the
mistaken but committed belief that he could keep the soldiers he served
with safe. He did not deploy to ‘kill terrorists’.
“During his time there, Kevin learned that he could not keep everyone safe.
“A Lieutenant in his unit lost his life, and scouts sent on the mission
with him were injured when two Bradleys [armoured infantry fighting vehicles]
failed, and there was nothing to defend these soldiers against hidden insurgents.”
At home, the image of a little girl by the side of an Iraqi road, her arm
badly burnt and blistered, stayed with Kevin.
“Kevin is someone who wants to do everything he can to help those in need,”
says Monica, “and when his command would not stop to help this girl saying
that they could not give up their medical supplies, Kevin offered his.
“They still would not stop. Kevin will live with this forever.”
In the midst of a war zone, Kevin is the kind of guy who still managed to
make friends with the locals. That played a substantial part in his changing
view of the wrongs of the invasion. “He was taken by their strength and
warmth in spite of the fact that he was there as a member of the opposing
forces. They would bring drinks and ice to the American soldiers in his
camp, and often invited the soldiers to their house for meals.
“Kevin learned a lot from this compassion from those who were being occupied.
He became friends with some and learned some of the history of their country
as well as some of their personal stories.
“After being taken in trust like that, it became even more difficult for
Kevin to believe that he should be there as part of an invading force.
“He watched people like his friends using mud puddles for drinking water,
and for their toileting needs. He saw them washing clothes in the rivers,
and in the desert heat he saw them continue to live in spite of the fact
that their electricity was gone, and their basic necessities were not being
met.
“Kevin thought about all of this for the year after he returned home, and
I believe that as his home became more comfortable to him, and he felt cared
for again, he came to realise that what he had was all anyone really wanted.
“He also came to realise that he had no right to decide how another person
should live their life, nor could he force anyone to be anything they weren’t
supposed to be.
“This all played a part in his decision to file for Conscientious Objector
status.”
So that’s what he did. He first asked to be placed in a non-combat role,
and then in September last year was one of the many thousands who contacted
the GI Rights Hotline to get the information he needed to apply for Conscientious
Objector status. But his commanding officer returned the form saying he
was recommending disapproval.
The weekend before he was due to deploy, another soldier in Kevin’s unit
attempted suicide.
On the following Monday, Kevin reported for duty at a unit that would remain
in the
“No-one said anything to him about potential charges. As a matter of fact
they assigned him regular duties and actually allowed him to go to the inspector
general’s office to report problems on behalf of the soldier who had attempted
suicide.
“There were two other flights leaving for
Still, two weeks later, he was summoned before his command and charged with
desertion.
With Kevin now seeing out his 15 month sentence behind bars in military
prison. Amnesty International has taken up his case.
Monica is determined that their campaign goes on, not just for Kevin’s freedom
but against what they believe is a cruelly unnecessary war.
“Most soldiers enlist to defend their country, and they trust that their
leaders will not take them into war without just cause,” says Monica.
“We have received support from people all over the world who understand
why Kevin has taken the stand that he has, and who are doing what they can
to help spread the word of his message...
“Many of the veterans, and the people who have served in this war and are
now out understand that Kevin is standing for them. They know what combat
is like, and they don’t want anyone to have to face it.
“There are families who still have loved ones in
“The soldiers are being abused now, and the longer the abuse is allowed
to continue, the greater the chance for violence to continue in
“If we don’t get our soldiers out, if we don’t get them home to their families,
if we don’t take the stress of combat away, they will only see more people
in
Across the
This Sunday, 28 August, there’s a vigil for three more ‘prisoners of conscience’
held in
The Centre for Conscience and War, a Christian group involved in the GI
Rights Hotline, say recruits are commonly told by recruiters that they will
not have to go to war if they sign up. When confronted by reality, they
find it very difficult to get access to the information they need to get
out.
Other military personnel, like Carl Webb who is currently AWOL from the
National Guard, find themselves trapped by the ‘stop loss programme’ - which
forces soldiers to stay on after the end of their contracts.
“This policy is practically an unofficial draft,” says Carl.
“It is conscription against a person’s will.”
But his protest is not just against this policy, which he describes as “unethical
and illegal” - it’s against “unethical and illegal
His seven month sentence finished in February this year, and he remains
a leading figure in the
“It truly is a scary thing to say no to the military,” writes Camilo on
his website, www.freecamilo.org .
“Realising our opposition to war, as members of the armed forces, is only
the beginning of a long road to resistance, a road that in the end many
choose not to follow.
“Many service men and women strongly oppose the war but choose to take their
chances in combat because they’re that afraid to stand up to military authority
and say ‘I will not fight this war’. My heart goes out to those military
personnel, especially to those who decide to speak out once they’re back
from the war.
“But, I must say, as long as there are people who for one reason or other
continue to fight, there will be war.”
The
But many are refusing anyway.
Official Pentagon figures currently list 5000 troops as missing from duty,
but campaigning groups say the figure could be more like 8000.
The bravery of Camilo, Carl, Kevin and all those who speak out is a powerful
weapon in the
“We miss each other,” Monica tells me. “We are very close, and we fight
our battles together. It is not easy being apart, it is not easy being unable
to share ideas and thoughts.”
But they’re kept strong by supporters - including Iraqis who held a special
day of prayers for Kevin on 5 August in over 100 mosques throughout Iraq
- and the bigger picture, the peace they are fighting for.
“We will get through this because we understand that Kevin’s stand, and
my opportunity to speak about it is important, beyond just us.”
n To contact Kevin and Monica with messages of support, see www.bendermandefense.org
Iraqi unions face legal threat to independence
by Ken Ferguson
The rising
tempo of union organisation in occupied
The Iraqi government is attempting to control trade union activity by overturning
an agreement that allowed unions to operate without any undue interference
or harassment from the state.
A new decree adopted by the Iraqi Council of Ministers stated that the government
would be “taking control of all monies belonging to the trade unions to
prevent them from dispensing any such monies”.
Ominously the decree also says that new proposals on how trade unions should
function, operate and organise will be prepared.
The proposals have drawn protests from
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber has written to both the Iraqi embassy
and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw opposing the move.
“If the government of
Attack
UNISON
general secretary Dave Prentis told Straw that the decree represents a major
attack on the ability of independent and democratic trade unions to organise.
“I am concerned that this decree, and especially the measures relating to
trade union financial assets, is an attempt to curb the growth of free trade
unions in
Train drivers have faced a number of attacks and ASLEF leader Keith Norman
said:
“ASLEF demands no less for Iraqi workers and their trade unions than it
does for British workers.
“That is to be able to elect their leaders, control their funds, be free
of government interference and enjoy the rights laid down by the International
Labour Organisation.”
It seems likely that this will produce restrictions on union activity as
the drive to privatise and marketise the country gathers pace. The moves
to restrict union activity come against a background of continuing growth
in union membership. There been attacks on numerous trade union members,
including a number of train drivers.
This process of
organisation is being assisted by
Strike
One example
of the growing union activity saw health care workers in the hospital and
medical centres in
“After two and
half years of the downfall of the former regime, we the health care workers
who are considered the most important part of the society do not enjoy our
most basic rights.
“However, the
ministry, instead of appreciating our work, issued a resolution to decrease
our pay that we earned through years of struggle.
“
Dangers
And the dangers faced by trade unionists were highlighted last
week when a US military helicopter attacked workers gathered in Alawi Al-Hilla
district in Baghdad on 15 August 2005, where the Transport and Communication
Workers’ Union has its head office, injuring 26 workers who were taken to
hospital.
Unions have protested
about the attack to the Iraqi authorities.
—page eight—
holyrood news
SNP to change prescription charge stance
Call is for ‘phase out’
- not support for SSP’s bill for abolition
A dramatic shift in SNP party policy over the abolition of NHS prescription
charges has just been flagged up by their health spokeswoman, Shona Robinson MSP.
She has tabled a motion for the SNP autumn conference seeking to ‘phase
out’ the charges. Up to now the SNP has not supported scrapping the charges.
Scottish Socialist Party MSP Colin Fox has a private members bill going
through the Holyrood Parliament calling for the
charges to be scrapped, which no member of the SNP has supported. He believes
the change of heart is an admission that their current policy has failed.
“Shona Robinson has paid the Scottish Campaign
to Remove Prescription charges [SCRAP] a huge complement here. She will
have seen that the overwhelming majority of submissions to the Health Committee
of the Parliament demand complete abolition of this hated tax on the sick.
“This policy change is their response to the overwhelming case put by the
many health professionals, patients associations, community campaigns and
anti-poverty groups across
“Public support for scrapping the charges is now enormous. However, typically,
the timid SNP, having conceded the case for abolition, lack the political
courage to scrap the £6.50 charge. Instead they opt for a prolonged ‘phasing
out’ of this health inequality.
“But their new position actually makes no more sense than their old one.
According to them it is ok for tens of thousands of patients to continue
to go without the medicines they need until such times as the SNP get round
to abolishing the charge.
“The SNP’s new stance is identical to the Lib Dems. Both parties apparently now accept the case for abolition
but don’t support my Bill because they want to wait until after the 2007
election and introduce one of their own.
“Patients across
“The New Labour Scottish Executive has responded to the unsustainable status
quo in their time honoured fashion - they launched a review!
“They actually favour extending the crazy exemption categories rather than
abolition, saying the cost is too great.”
All this jockeying for position by the SNP, Lib Dems and Labour makes for an interesting autumn. The evidence
taking sessions of the Health Committee of the Parliament will begin in
November and a full debate in the chamber is scheduled for early January
2006.
Meanwhile the Scottish Campaign to Remove All Prescription charges [SCRAP]
will continue piling on the pressure and harnessing the growing support
for the Bill over the next few critical months.
n Keep up with all the latest news or download
resources by visiting the SCRAP website at www.scrapthecharges.org.uk
SSP’s Service Tax shown to be better than we thought!
by Pam Currie
Scottish Socialist Party
Glasgow MSP Tommy Sheridan’s Bill to abolish the Council Tax and replace
it with a fairer alternative received a boost last week, when independent
figures produced by Scottish Parliament researchers revealed an even bigger
percentage of the population would be better off under the proposals.
Research for the
SSP by academics at Paisley University estimated that across Scotland, 77
per cent of the population would be better off, including the thousands
of low paid workers hardest hit by the current Council Tax arrangements.
Better off
But new
research has suggested that in
Glasgow’s problems
go back to the mid-90s local government reorganisation and the abolition
of Strathclyde Region.
Under the Region,
wealthy areas such as Eastwood and Bearsden paid rates - and later the Poll
Tax - into the same pot as Easterhouse and Pollok.
But under the
current arrangements, low paid workers living in
The tax would
be set nationally and would be based on income, not the size or value of
your home. Those earning less than £10,000 a year - most pensioners, students
and many part time workers - would pay nothing at all.
Most ordinary
workers would be better off under the scheme - 235,000 households in fact
- while just 38,000 would pay more, including the likes of Jack and Bridget
McConnell, who would pay 20 per cent on earnings over £90,000.
The Scottish Service
Tax Bill will go before Holyrood’s Local Government committee in September.
—page nine—
cultural resistance
Willie Gallacher
A
Life of Struggle - Willie Gallacher exhibition, at
Inspirational
Red Clydesider Willie Gallacher is being commemorated at a special
exhibition in his hometown of
Marking the 40th anniversary of his death,
Among the artefacts on display are photographs, newspaper cuttings,
trade union banners, pamphlets, documents, a tribute by leading
Scots poet Hugh McDiarmid, Willie’s old battered suitcase from his
travels worldwide, and a bust of Gallacher presented by friends
in the former
Born on Xmas Day 1881, Gallacher later became
The trial and imprisonment of the CPGB leadership was seen as no
mere coincidence. It was widely regarded as a ploy by the Conservative
government to dispose of a serious political obstacle to their widely
anticipated anti-trades union and wage- cutting policies.
Gallacher would’ve been jailed a total of five times had one George
Bernard Shaw not stepped in to pay his £200 bail on one occasion.
To mark the opening of the exhibition, which runs until 9 October,
almost a hundred folk packed into the museum to hear speakers sharing
their stories of Gallacher. In opening the meeting, National Secretary
for the Communist Party of Scotland Eric Canning said:
“If Willie was alive today and was a witness to the war in
Tommy Sheridan added:
“It is important for young people to learn of the bravery of people
like Willie Gallacher and his friend and comrade John Maclean. In
the most difficult times when the capitalists were beginning to
take the threat of socialism more seriously, Gallacher and Maclean
stood up against the jingoism of the 1914 War and later they set
up the Clyde Workers Committee.
“In 1916 there were strikes on the
“Willie firmly believed in fighting for peace and socialism and
in learning the lessons of the Russian Revolution and applying them
to
“If we agree on 80 per cent then we should not allow ourselves to
be divided by the 20 per cent.”
John Close, long standing friend and comrade of Gallacher said Willie
left school at twelve years old and went into full-time work: “He
was self taught and never had a formal education. But he was able
to debate with Lenin and was fully conversant with all aspects of
social affairs.
His death
in August 1965 was marked by the biggest funeral in Paisley’s history,
with 7000 mourners from across the world forming a mile-long cortege
through the
This here music mash up the nation
by Simon Whittle
In
spring 2004, a challenge was posted on web forum Get Your Bootleg
On: remix a track from The Clash’s London Calling. Songs were posted
back from all across the globe.
Mostly
mash ups (music from one artist’s song, mixed with another artist’s
vocals) and others that feature the odd sample from the classic
1979 LP, London Booted is London Calling for the 22nd century.
CultureDeluxe.co.uk
made the album available as a download-only album for about a year
(if you donated to War Child,
“There’s
a really interesting thing out there called London Booted. Apparently,
it took them 20 hours from the minute they asked to get a full listing
of every song.
“There
are a couple of genres that I’ve never heard of. Have you come across
electro-glitch? It’s cool though.”
Some bits
are fantastic. Eve Massacre’s The Power of Rebelution Can’t Fail
(Madonna/others vs The Clash’s Rudie Can’t Fail) has to be the stand-out
track for me.
Outkast
are mixed into a cut-up Spanish Bombs to make Spanish Bombs (Over
Baghdad), as Instamatic’s Tim Bearcub explains:
“When
I first got involved in London Booted, I was a big fan of Joe Strummer,
his politics especially, and wanted to make sure whatever I did
retained that.
“Unfortunately
events overtook me as on the day I finally kicked myself enough
to start work on it, the bombs in
“I thought
‘fuck it’ and decided to bite the bullet and make the track overtly
topical by using Outkast’s Bombs Over Baghdad - yes an obvious over-used
’pella but it worked really well.”
French
bootleggers Loo & Placido’s What About Brixton? is yet another
bastardo
fantastico.
Aberdeen
mixmob E-Jitz rework I’m Not Down (Hold Your Head Up).
And Pop
Razors (also from
n Pre-order
E-Jitz’s Mickey Duff on creating I’m Not Down (Hold Your Head Up)
We
So ah
starts off wi the guitars at the beginning and got them doon tae
a nice loop. Ma wee brither Malky put his heid roond the door, “See
that? Ye wanna get tha fuckin’ Beach Boys on there, eh?”
Aye, fuckin’
right ah do. Bastarts wi their nae baws high voices. After aboot
an hoor o’ their whinin’ I gave up.
Just afore
ah sent this off tae Sandy for a shotty I got the boy fa plays drums
in Franz Ferd tae come doon and play some drums fer me, on account
o’ the fact ah ken him cos ma sister’s best mate’s boyfriend’s mum’s
hairdresser’s mate once said “Hi” tae him in the street. Sweet drums
them.
Sent it
aff tae
—page ten—
BLOOD ON THE COAL FUELS CHINA’S DASH FOR GROWTH
by Ken Ferguson
Six
thousand Chinese miners died in 3,629 reported accidents last
year, an average of more than 16 deaths a day.
Union
activists suspect the real annual death toll in China’s coal mines
might be two or three times higher, because many incidents are
believed to go unreported.
Mining
deaths are now among the worst in the world and are part of the
growing human cost of the decisions of China’s ruling elite to
take the capitalist road whilst describing it as ‘Socialism with
Chinese characteristics’.
Social
provision has been weakened and thousands have become migrant
workers in their own country as China strides down a path of development
which matches the brutalities of rapid growth described vividly
by Marx and Engels in the 19th century.
Just
as their predecessors did in Victorian times, today’s capitalists
and free market pundits heap praise on China’s ‘economic miracle’
and scramble to grab a slice of billions being generated by the
boom.
Workers
facing growing insecurity and low wages are the motor of the burgeoning
production of goods of every type at a fraction of European costs
which is rapidly turning China into the workshop of the world.
And
of course with this growth comes an almost insatiable demand for
energy - in particular coal, which is frantically excavated by
miners often working in appalling conditions.
Hideous
deaths
Official
figures show that in the first six months of this year 3,393 miners
died in accidents, with major disasters an almost weekly affair.
Miners
have suffered unimaginably hideous deaths in gas explosions, roof
collapses and drownings through mine flooding in private mines,
both legal and illegal, as well as government-operated pits.
The
four months to the end of July saw a sharp increase in the rate
of deaths and the frequency of accidents. April began with 21
miners dying in an explosion at the Xinfeng mine near Yuzhou city
in China’s Henan province.
This
tragedy was followed by the deaths of 31 miners in two separate
mines only hours apart in Jixi City in Heilongjiang province.
In one single serious accident in June 115 men were killed and
24 injured in a gas explosion in the government-owned Jixi Coal
Mine in Jixi City.
Official
figures show that, in July, 126 mine accidents claimed 329 lives.
However,
the official statistics are widely thought to understate the real
death toll, which some unofficial estimates put at almost twice
the reported level.
Officials
at both national and local levels, many with direct financial
interests in the hazardous mines, do everything possible to hide
the actual number of fatalities.
The
only media allowed at mining disasters are the closely-controlled
government press and television. Overseas reporters are kept away,
normally with the excuse of protecting their safety.
According
to an increasing number of reports, mine owners, often with the
aid and knowledge of local officials, are going to even greater
lengths to cover up deaths at their enterprises.
One
such attempt occurred on May 4, following an explosion and flooding
that trapped 21 miners in an unlicensed coal mine at Hejin City,
in Shanix province.
Rather
than begin a rescue operation, the mine owner spent his time destroying
miners’ employment records and covering over scorch marks from
the blast. The owner finally reported the accident to the local
authorities on May 12 but failed to tell them that miners were
still trapped in the shaft. When a rescue operation was finally
mounted, all 21 men were found dead.
Subsequent
investigations found that most of the victims had not died from
drowning following the blast as was first thought, but perished
either from lack of food and water or asphyxiation.
The
miners could most probably have been saved had a timely rescue
attempt taken place.
Most
of the mining disasters are a direct result of the refusal of
the government and private owners to provide proper safety equipment.
Many
mines in some of China’s most gaseous regions lack proper ventilation,
making methane gas explosions, with their accompanying high death
toll, a forgone conclusion.
The
government blames the unsafe conditions in mainly small or illegal
unregulated mines for the escalating death rate, but increasing
numbers of miners are being killed in large state-owned mines,
which authorities claim have high safety standards.
For
example, the government-owned Jixi City mine where the 115 miners
died received an official award for safety shortly before the
disaster.
Unsafe
conditions
An
interview conducted by the China Labour Bulletin with the widow
of one of the victims revealed that workers were deeply concerned
about unsafe working conditions.
Her
husband told her that management cared nothing about safety. “They
care just for a bit more money and the miners lost their lives
for that,” she said.
“Even
working so hard and risking their lives, the miners don’t earn
much.
“My
husband used to make 700 to 800 yuan a month (about US$100) but
now he has lost his life for it.”
She
accused the mine officials of being “pretty corrupt”.
Coal
provides over 70 per cent of the country’s energy.
Many
small mines were closed in a government drive but the resultant
leap in coal prices has led to the owners of hundreds of illegal
and small coal operations reopening their mines to cash in on
the bonanza, despite running the risk of prosecution.
Managers
in the state owned mines have also begun to put pressure on safety
in order to push up production to take advantage of the domestic
price increase and opportunities that have opened up internationally.
According
to one recent report, Chinese coal now fetches up to US$23 per
tonne on the world market and is beginning to challenge major
producers such as Australia for supply to South Korea and Japan.
The
appearance of millions of tonnes of cheap Chinese coal on global
markets will inevitably have the sharpest consequences for miners
worldwide as companies in other coal producing countries move
to cut jobs and weaken working conditions in a drive to remain
competitive and profitable.
Latin American TV network to challenge imperialist vision
by Jack Ferguson
Venezuela
and other Latin American countries have taken another huge step
towards integration with the launch of Telesur, a new international
TV network for the Americas.
The
Spanish language channel - funded by the governments of
Over
the coming months it will be broadcasting an exciting range of
programmes to the Americas, Western Europe and North Africa. The
editorial board includes veteran activist Tariq Ali, Uruguayan
writer and historian Eduardo Galeano, US activist and actor Danny
Glover and singer Harry Belafonte. Telesur’s director Aram Aharonian
said:
“Today
we begin to see ourselves with our own eyes.”
Telesur’s
new president Andres Izarra, who resigned as Venezuela’s Minister
of Information & Communication to prevent a conflict of interest,
said Telesur “is an initiative against cultural imperialism and
against imperialism in any of its expressions”.
Tariq
Ali drew a parallel with Arab TV station Al Jazeera, and the role
it had played in getting real news to those living under Arab
dictatorships.
Telesur
has announced talks on a strategic alliance with Al Jazeera on
exchange of news and programming. Other speakers highlighted the
role that the corporate owned TV networks played in supporting
and co-ordinating the coup against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez
in 2002.
The
new channel has already drawn the wrath of the US, with Republican
Representative Connie Mack from Florida introducing an amendment
calling for the US to fund its own broadcasts to Venezuela in
the model of the anti-Cuban propaganda channels, TV and Radio
Marti.
Part
of this proposal was passed but the full wording was not. The
unpassed section called for a Venezuelan security zone to isolate
Chavez “and limit his ability to destabilise Latin America”.
Hugo
Chavez said:
“We
should not be surprised by any actions the US government takes.
If the Bush administration were to implement [Mack’s] amendment,
our government would have to respond. Any counter-revolutionary
actions will be responded with a deepening of the revolution.
We are preparing to counteract the technological superiority of
the United States, because Telesur’s signal will reach there as
well.”
—page eleven—
Miami Five win retrial
by Jack Ferguson
Five Cuban
anti-terrorist agents imprisoned in the