EU Further Violates Freedom of Conscience

Workers' Daily Internet Edition: Article Index :

Adding to the "Terrorist" List:
EU Further Violates Freedom of Conscience
For Your Information:
The EU Decision
The European Union Is Giving Total Support To Fascism
Thousands Enthusiastically Celebrate May Day in Turkey

EU Commissioners Attack German Workers’ Strike

London’s UNISON Local Government Workers to Strike

Newcastle University Teach-In:
Eyewitness Report from Palestine

Jews for Justice for Palestinians Take Stand
Aid Groups Demand Action against Israeli War Crimes
Palestinian and Israeli Women Address the UN Security Council
Palestinian and Israeli Women Demand Immediate End to Occupation

The EU Committee of Representatives (COREPER) published in the official gazette of the EU on May 3 its decision taken the day before on who it was adding to the EU's list of "terrorist" organisations and "terrorists". The list contained names of a total of 23 organisations and 36 individuals. The list of organisations added to this list included the DHKP-C, the PKK, the People's Mojahedin of Iran, Japan's Aum Shinrikyo, Islami Jemaat from Egypt, and from India, Baba Khalsa, Lesker-i Tayyibe and the International Sikh Youth Federation. Organisations from Peru and Colombia were also included on the list. Names which were already included on the list are those of the IRA, Spain's ETA as well as some associations connected to it, and the Greek November 17 and Revolutionary People's Struggle organisations, as well as Islamic Jihad from Palestine.

These organisations have been added in the context of the "war against terrorism". In outlawing such organisations, the EU is further violating freedom of conscience. It is classing these organisations as illegitimate and "terrorist", while the state terrorism of US imperialism and Israeli Zionism, as well as the actions of the British government, are carried out with impunity.

WDIE condemns the further criminalising, and indiscriminately labelling as "terrorist", organisations which have come into being in opposition to imperialism and for the liberation of peoples. The problem of terrorism stems from imperialist domination and its drive to fascism and annexation. Rather than heeding this situation, the EU is contributing to the dangerous situation facing the people, under which political activists can be condemned and prosecuted as criminals.

"Brussels, 3 May 2002 8549/02 (Presse 121) DECISION ADOPTED BY WRITTEN PROCEDURE FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM - updated list

"On 2 May 2002, the Council adopted, by written procedure, two acts updating the texts adopted on 27 December 2001 in the wake of the events of 11 September which implement UN Security Council Resolution 1373. The acts adopted extend the list of persons, groups and entities involved in terrorist acts whose assets are frozen."

The Brussels Information Bureau of Devrimci Halk Kurtulus Cephesi released the following on May 3, 2002

On May 3 the European Union issued a statement that the DHKP-C (Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front) was one of 23 organisations declared to be "terrorist", and that it was banned. But against whom does the DHKP-C struggle, and how does it do it? We can answer this immediately. The DHKP-C continues its struggle against the fascist state in Turkey and its imperialist masters. By paying a price and by behaving heroically and courageously, it gives hope to the suffering peoples of Anatolia and the Middle East. The DHKP-C's struggle is a struggle for independence, democracy and socialism. Its special characteristic is that it does not reach agreements with imperialism and its collaborators, its roots grow out of Anatolia's history and it aims for people's power by raising the flag of rebellion against tyranny.

The truth is obvious. If there are terrorists in the world, they are the USA first of all, then European imperialism, their guard dog for the Middle East Israel, and all their collaborators. They are the CIA, MOSSAD, the Gladios in Europe, MIT and the contra-guerrillas in Turkey. They have tortured the people, they have shot people from behind on the open streets, they have abducted people in the middle of the night, they have sprayed with bullets or bombed babies, young girls, children, grandfathers, grandmothers. Behind the four walls of a jail, prisoners were burned to death. Millions of people have been killed in camps, gas chambers, crematoria, millions turned into ashes by atom bombs or napalm, old civilisations utterly destroyed and their people enslaved. In the 30 years of the DHKP-C's existence it has done none of these things. It has not oppressed the people, its struggle comes from the people, with the people and is on the side of the people.

We address all Europeans, including the British:

You have experienced a good deal of tyranny in your history. You were governed by people like Hitler, Mussolini and Franco who murdered millions. You experienced the worst horrors of fascism. These horrors should never be forgotten. But despite all this, Heider in Austria, Le Pen in France, Griffin and the BNP and neo-Nazis in Germany have all emerged again. The parliament of Turkey's state is full of MHP (Nationalist Movement Party) fascist murderers. You have said of fascism, "NEVER AGAIN'. If you are sincere about this, you will have to be on our side opposing the ban on the DHKP-C.

The European Union's ban was a decision and a preference that was utterly arbitrary and political. The EU prefers fascism in Turkey. We know that the people of Europe, above all Britain, will not have such a preference. They will be on the side of those who struggle against fascism and imperialism in the places where fascism's tyranny is being experienced.

Even though we are banned, we will continue to expose the inhuman regime that exists in Turkey. If it is necessary to pay a price for being on the side of democracy, socialism, justice and socialism, we will not shrink from paying this price. We are also ready to go to prison if that is the price for being against isolation cells, torture and disappearances. But there is no force, no arbitrary ban that can prevent us from pursuing our struggle against fascism or obscure our legitimacy.

The struggle against fascism is legitimate and an obligation. It is a crime against humanity to collaborate with fascism and is itself terrorism.

Banning the DHKP-C Means Banning Freedom of Thought! Banning the DHKP-C Means Supporting Fascism! The DHKP-C Is A Legitimate Revolutionary Movement and Cannot Be Banned!

On May Day, bans were on the agenda this year, just like every year in Turkey. In places where such celebrations were not banned, thousands of people took an enthusiastic part in marking May Day. In Istanbul the first action was in Taksim. At the Kazanci Slope, there was a moment of silence in honour of those who lost their lives on May Day 1977, and red carnations were left at the spot.

From the early hours of the morning, thousands began gathering in Perpa and Caglayan in order to attend a meeting in Istanbul's Sisli Abide-I Hurriyet (Freedom Monument) Square. The trade union federations KESK and DISK got their contingents into position at about 11.30, the union federations Turk-Is and Hak-Is started the march at Caglaya Square in the direction of Sisli, shouting slogans in unison. Thousands of people were at the Sisli Abide-I Hurriyet Square. Speeches were made from a podium in the name of the organising committee. The chairman of the organising committee, Musa Cam, said, "We are here for the sake of peace and a free life. On May 1, workers are raising their voices everywhere against injustice. We want a government directed by the people and the workers, in which there is no exploitation, where there is democracy in every area of life and weapons are silent. We want Turkey to be a country where there are no violations of human rights, and people are not thrown into prison to experience isolation and death. This is what we must struggle for, because we must protect the future of our children. We will continue to march powerfully along the road we have already marched along for years. The flag of the freedom of labour that could not be freely carried will be left to our children."

At the May Day rallies, thousands of people shouted slogans against the compulsory removal of the right to compensation for length of work service, against the compulsory liquidation of any savings funds that have accumulated and against the wage freeze. Demands were also expressed for collective bargaining agreements with trade unions and for laws giving job security. Besides the demands and the problems of workers, another subject raised at the rallies was the prisons. Banners were unfurled and slogans shouted calling for the lifting of isolation in the F-Type prisons and for the "three doors, three locks" proposal. Once again, thousands of people shouted slogans in unison expressing solidarity with the Palestinians. To sum up, the rally's main theme was "a human way of life".

In Ankara, a rally took place in Tandogan Square. In that city, various groups which had assembled at different points headed for Tandogan Square. During the march and the rally, the following slogans were shouted: "Long live the First of May", "Long live labour and our struggle for bread and freedom", and "An independent Turkey, down with the IMF". There were also slogans shouted against the F-Type prisons and in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

In Siirt, Diyarbakir and Mersin, May Day actions were banned. In Dersim, Diyarbakir and Mardin fighting broke out when police attacked demonstrators. More than 50 people were detained.

(Taken from website of Halkin Sesi (Voice of the People) TV, May 1, 2002)

IG Metall, the German engineering trade union, has aroused the opposition of the EU Commission over the wave of strike action against the engineering employers.

The union has reinstated its original 6.5% claim, replacing a compromise figure of 4%, because the employers have threatened a lockout. The employers are offering 3%. For the last week IG Metall workers have been taking strike action in the Baden-Wuerttemberg region, with stoppages of 60,000 workers hitting companies like DaimlerChrysler AG and Porsche AG. More than 10,000 workers in the Berlin-Brandenburg region will be called out on Monday at 25 plants.

The Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Pedro Solbes has led the EU’s attack on the strike. He said: "We have always said that the evolution of wages has to be consistent with the evolution of inflation and productivity."

"If it became a widespread phenomenon in Europe it would be disruptive for European growth," the chairman of the European Commission’s economic and financial committee, Johnny Akerholm, said.

The EU Commission has called on the workers to return to work, and for the employers not to pay "excessive" wage rises. This is in line with the neo-liberal agenda of speeding up production, holding down wages, deregulating the economy, and an all-round programme of privatisation of state-owned sectors of the economy.

The increased anti-social offensive throughout the EU shows the depth of the capitalist crisis, and also indicates the increased contradictions between the big powers of the EU, as well as the growing contradictions between the EU as a bloc and US imperialism and other capitalist blocs, as signalled by the US duties on imported steel, including that from the EU.

In these circumstances, workers in Germany, Britain and throughout the EU are increasingly coming into confrontation not only with their employers and the big monopolies and financiers, but with their governments and Brussels, as they fight not only against all the attempts to increase their exploitation but to push through the whole neo-liberal agenda of deregulation and for the rich to make the whole of society, including social programmes, a source of maximum capitalist profit.

The movement of workers to defend their wages and working conditions is growing, and the workers are also becoming conscious of the need to take the lead in and support the struggles against the neo-liberal agenda and globalisation as a whole, uniting the broad masses of the people against this agenda and to fight for their sovereignty, their guaranteed right to a livelihood, a planned economy and a society which will meet all their claims on it.

Local government workers employed by the capital’s 32 London boroughs have voted to strike on May 14 in defence of their claim for a single rate of £4,000 London Weighting. In a 32% turnout, 70% of the union members voted in favour of the action. The employers have rejected public sector union UNISON’s claim for a single rate, refused to consider an increase in current allowances and even argue that there is no case for continuing across-the-board London Weighting payments at all.

London Weighting is paid to many of London’s public sector workers to address the cost of living and working in London. Neither have local government workers' annual pay rises kept pace with the official inflation rate. Indeed the three local government unions – UNISON, GMB and Transport and General Workers’ Union – may ballot workers to take strike in support of a national 6% pay increase.

Talking about the London-wide dispute, UNISON’s Chair of Local Government in London, Dave Eggmore, pointed out: "All our members in London local government are asking for is to be treated fairly and paid a decent salary, so they can afford a decent living. London is the most expensive capital city in Europe and vital public service workers are leaving, resulting in many jobs going unfilled and services on the brink of collapse.

"From classroom assistants to social workers, from school meals workers to home helps, UNISON’s London members provide the services which are the very fabric of a decent society. It is high time they were rewarded and poverty pay was removed from local government in London."

Dave Eggmore is referring to local government workers facing the problem of providing services with the threats to their livelihoods caused by the New Labour agenda that the state has no responsibility for the well being of society’s members. This agenda translates into local government workers paying through privatisation, the mantra of profitability, Public Private Partnerships, Private Finance Initiatives, and externalisation of services – all the themes that have been imposed on local government services by successive governments.

According to UNISON General Secretary Dave Prentis: "UNISON’s local government members in London have spoken out against low pay in the capital. If councils are serious about delivering world class public services in London they must pay decent wages to their staff. A growing number of public service workers are being forced to leave London because it is so expensive – how much further do essential services have to decline before the government is prepared to do something about it? It is ridiculous that investment in our public services should somehow be divorced from investment in the very people who deliver them."

In this way, local government workers are being made to experience central government’s offensive of saving costs, cutting finances and reducing funding for social programmes. Downgrading the conditions of workers is part of this.

WDIE fully supports the claim of the local government workers for increased London Weighting. We support all their efforts to set their own agenda, defend the social programmes which they deliver and fight for their interests in opposition to the anti-social offensive, including their right to a livelihood.

UNISON in London have announced a march for Tuesday 14 May leaving from Temple Tube Station at 12 noon to TUC headquarters at Congress House on Great Russell Street for a rally with speakers.

By Workers’ Weekly Youth Group correspondent

A teach-in was held in the debating chamber of Newcastle University Students' Union on Wednesday, May 8. It was organised by the student Stop the War coalition in the university.

The leading talk was an eyewitness account given by John McSweeney from Salford, who was part of an international delegation of 60 people to Bethlehem during the recent siege.

The purpose of the delegation, John explained, was to protest against Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and to show solidarity with the Palestinian people.

While they were there, they were informed that Israel was likely to invade Bethlehem at any time. They planned to try to use their immunity as internationals to challenge the Israeli military.

Through peaceful protests, they let the Israeli forces know that internationals were on the ground, making it more difficult for Israel to attack that area.

They met up with delegations from France, Belgium and Italy. The Italian delegation, said John, in particular brought the spirit of Genoa with them. About 50 Palestinians also joined them in their protests.

They aimed to march onto a refugee camp that had very recently been invaded. However, shrapnel and debris injured eight of their people when an Israeli soldier machine-gunned the floor a metre or so in front of where they stood. One, from Manchester, was seriously injured and had to be operated on that night when she received bullets in her stomach. According to John, these bullets were "dum dum" bullets, banned in 1933 by the Geneva Convention. They are softened to create more tissue damage.

This was a real eye-opener, said John, that Israel was willing to "punish" internationals.

Describing the camp, he said that 1,500 people were crammed into 150 square metres. During their visit, they were shown pictures of the kind of destruction that had been taking place.

He went on to say that Israel has been justifying its actions in the name of "fighting terrorism". "In my opinion, it is nothing but state terror," he said.

He spoke about the media bias, saying that the situation is presented as a conflict between two equal forces, two irrational peoples killing each other. The reality, on the contrary, is that the Israeli forces are destroying the Palestinian people. According to John, they have been using rounds of depleted uranium against these people.

He described how a woman was made to kneel down, while an Israeli soldier stepped a few paces back behind her and fired live rounds into the air. This was instigating sheer terror, he said, though allegedly they were "just doing it for security reasons".

However, he went on, the Palestinians have got hope because of people showing solidarity. He spoke about the huge demonstrations around the world: millions in Morocco, hundreds of thousands in Egypt, tens of thousands in the US, Europe and elsewhere.

The US is planning to attack Iraq, and people are resisting, he said. These plans are also justified as "fighting terrorism".

He finished by saying three things that the Palestinians he had met wished him to say to forums like this one that they want: Freedom, Justice and Peace.

Peace is clear, he said, but without freedom and justice, they will not get peace.

Second, Ben Ricketts, a biology student at the university, gave his own analysis of the situation. He spoke on the themes of the origins of the conflict and looked at the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) and Hamas. He called for a practical approach, based on the situation as it exists today.

Pablo Mukherjee, a lecturer in English, spoke next, giving a detailed analysis of the situation and compared it to other confrontations in the world at this time, such as in India and Nepal. He said that a common theme running throughout these examples is, firstly, a legitimacy given through the "war on terror" and, secondly, that "cleansing" appears as a way of getting "security". He also spoke about the tagging-on of representations to a particular community, such as saying that Muslims have a "tendency" to terror they can't live with others, and such like.

Speaking about the global importance of solidarity, he said that an unqualified support of the Palestinians and of their shaking-off of the occupation is necessary. Palestine is a "test case", he said are we going to stand by or stand up to what is happening, and are we going to critically examine the term "terror"?

The final speaker was Michael Haslem, a representative of the local church. He began by "globe-trotting", as he put it, giving an overview of the world situation and the conflicts that go largely unreported.

He gave the story of a Palestinian Christian priest, who has been forced from his land and cannot return. He spoke about Nelson Mandela, and the method of political action and political violence, which took a course from peaceful protest to guerrilla warfare and finally open revolution, while never targeting civilians. And he adapted a quote from Archbishop Desmond Tutu, saying that "there will be no freedom for Israelis unless there is freedom for Palestinians". He said that, as a Christian, he is criticised for using the word "hate", but he said that he does hate something – dehumanisation.

Following the speakers was a lively discussion, with everyone giving their views on the Palestinian situation.

About 500 Jewish campaigners gathered on Monday, May 6, to protest against the Sharon government, calling for an end to the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. They carried placards saying: "Sharon does not speak for us", and "Dismantle the settlements". Julia Bard, of Jews for Justice for Palestinians, said: "What Israel is doing in the occupied territories is an abuse of human rights."

The members of Jews for Justice stood their ground, keeping a silent vigil on the steps of St Martin in the Fields, while tens of thousands of supporters of Israel converged on Trafalgar Square in what organisers called the "greatest rally of Anglo-Jewry in Britain's history". The event was addressed by former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as former Northern Ireland minister Peter Mandelson.

Meanwhile about 300 pro-Palestinian protesters also mounted a counter-demonstration. They shouted "Victory to the Intifada". Waving Palestinian flags, they were surrounded by police who kept them penned in near Admiralty Arch until the main rally had dispersed. The protesters – most of them British Muslims – carried banners describing Sharon as a "childkiller" and Israel as a "fascist state".

Humanitarian organisations Medical Aid for Palestine (MAP), Pakistan Foundation and Islamic Aid organised a joint lobby of MPs on Tuesday, May 7, to demand action against Israeli war crimes.

MAP explained that they were lobbying MPs to put pressure on Israel to comply with the Fourth Geneva Convention. They supported the call made by the International Committee of the Red Cross that Israel respect its obligations under international humanitarian law. The organisations called on Britain to stop selling arms to Israel and impose economic sanctions.

MAP said on Tuesday: "The principal concern of this Lobby is the way in which the Israeli re-occupation has been carried out and the resulting crisis for the Palestinian civilian population. The UN has described it as ‘a humanitarian crisis without precedent in its destructive impact on the Palestinian people and its institutions’.

"In a statement, the UN Human Rights Commission accuses Israel of committing ‘gross violations of humanitarian law’. By imposing a media blackout and declaring parts of the West Bank, including Ramallah and Bethlehem, ‘closed military zones’, the Israelis have ensured that their activities in these areas have remained cloaked in secrecy.

"However, eyewitness accounts and physical evidence reveal widespread destruction of property and infrastructure, massive death and injury caused to a civilian population, and the utter obliteration of security or hope for Palestinians."

MAP stated: "Throughout the West Bank, thousands of Palestinian civilians have been confined to their homes. There has been wanton destruction of civilian infrastructure. According to the Oxfam report, damage to water lines and pumps has left approximately 400,000 people in Ramallah, Nablus, Qalqilya, Bethlehem and Tulkarem without access to running water.

"In the period of the al-Aqsa Intifada, which began on 29 September 2000, up to 22 April 2002, 916 Palestinian civilians have been killed by Israeli security forces in the occupied territories, including 203 under the age of 18." MAP adds: "In the words of UNICEF (5 April 2002), as many as 600,000 children are vulnerable in the ongoing violence. Children in areas under curfew and attack have been unable to go to school and have ‘experienced days or weeks of terror and physical and psychological distress, with long-term consequences’ (Penny Johnson of Birzeit University)."

The objectives of the lobby, according to MAP, were as follows:
– We call on all High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, to comply with their obligations under article 146 by searching for, investigating and bringing to trial perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity, under universal jurisdiction and through a War Crimes Tribunal, and call for an end to all acts by member states aiding and abetting the perpetration of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including by ending supply of all arms used to perpetrate such crimes.
– We support the call made by the International Committee of the Red Cross to the international community to pressure Israel to endure its respect for its obligations under international law, and to enable the ICRC and Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) to carry out their duties.
– We call for the imposition of effective measures, including economic sanctions, to ensure Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law, and the immediate deployment of an international protection presence.

On May 7, the United Nations Security Council held an Arria Formula meeting requested by Equality Now, an international women's rights organisation, with Palestinian Maha Abu-Dayyeh Shamas and Israeli Terry Greenblatt. The women urged the immediate deployment of an international peacekeeping force to the region and called for a greater inclusion of women, as well as civil society as a whole, in peace negotiations.

Chairing the closed session, the Norwegian Ambassador to the United Nations, Ole Peter Kolby, welcomed the initiative, noting that in their extensive recent discussions on the Middle East this was the first opportunity the Security Council had had to hear the views of women from the region.

Equality Now requested this meeting of the Security Council in an effort to bring meaning to Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women and Peace and Security, adopted in October 2000. Resolution 1325 affirms the importance of equal participation and the full involvement of women in all efforts in the maintenance of peace. Maha Abu-Dayyeh Shamas and Terry Greenblatt called for equal (50%) representation of women on all sides in the planned upcoming peace negotiations organised by the so-called Quartet (the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Russia). The women also urged the Security Council to take the next step and rise to the challenge of creating a means through which women can contribute formally and integrally to Middle East conflict resolution efforts, for example by creating a women's commission of peace activists from both countries and third parties.

"You need us," said Ms. Greenblatt speaking on the role of women, "because we have developed a process that keeps authentic and productive dialogue moving forward, even as the violence escalates and both sides continue to terrorise one another. We have developed the courage to cross the lines of difference drawn between us." Ms. Abu-Dayyeh Shamas urged the Security Council not to give up on the region despite all the setbacks experienced lately. "Peace is made between peoples and not between leaders," she said. "The participation of women in any future peace process is essential. If we leave it only to men we get Israeli generals and Palestinians who will not be defeated and there is no room to negotiate." Following the meeting, upon learning of the latest suicide bombing that day in Israel, the two women underlined the urgency of their plea, noting that incidents of violence accelerate the need for dialogue and must not be allowed to stop efforts for peace from moving forward.

Maha Abu-Dayyeh Shamas is the Palestinian Founder and Director of Women's Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling (WCLAC), in East Jerusalem. She is also on the Board of The Jerusalem Centre for Women. Terry Greenblatt is Director of Bat Shalom, an Israeli women's peace organisation. Bat Shalom, together with The Jerusalem Centre for Women, a Palestinian women's peace organisation, comprise The Jerusalem Link, an organisation of Israeli and Palestinian women working for peace.

Equality Now is an international human rights organisation dedicated to the protection and promotion of women's rights. With more than 25,000 members in over 100 countries, Equality Now mobilises public opinion to take action against all forms of violence and discrimination against women and girls, to promote equal access to health, education, employment, and political participation.

Bat Shalom & Jerusalem Centre for Women Joint Declaration, published April 2002 in Israel and in Palestine

Israel has launched a war against defenceless Palestinian communities. The terrorisation of innocent civilians, the unlawful killings and arrests, the siege imposed upon President Arafat, and the destruction of property, infrastructures and institutions, can only lead to further escalation, prolonging the sufferings of both nations and destroying any prospects for peace. The climate of fear and the obsession with reprisals that grips our two peoples obscure the true cause of this cycle of violence – the continued and unlawful Israeli occupation of the Palestinian people and their land.

It is our role, women on both sides, to speak out loudly against the humanitarian crimes committed in order to permanently subjugate an entire nation. Right now, in the face of uncontrolled military turmoil, we jointly ask the international community of states to accept its duty and mandate by international humanitarian law to prevent abuses of an occupying power, by officially intervening to protect the Palestinian people.

Beyond the immediate crisis, we know that there is one future for us both. The deliberate harming of innocent civilians, Palestinian or Israeli, must not be condoned. By working together we improve our chances for a better future. We believe that women can develop an alternative voice promoting effective peace initiatives and sound approaches. We undertake to work for this goal together.

Women have already begun to give substance to the recognition that a just peace is a peace between equals. When we call for a Palestinian state (on the territories occupied on 4th of June 1967) alongside the state of Israel, we envision true sovereignty for each state, including control over land and natural resources. We envision a settlement based on international law, which would endorse sharing the whole city of Jerusalem, the dismantling of the settlements, and a just solution to the question of refugees according to relevant UN resolutions. In continuing our joint work together, we want not only to achieve an end to the occupation; we want to help create the conditions for a life of security and dignity for both peoples.

We call upon all women and men, young and old, to join us in our sincere quest to preserve life, human dignity and freedom in our region. Dehumanisation, hatred, revenge, and oppression contribute nothing to the resolution of a century of conflict. Mutual recognition and respect of each other's individual and collective rights will pave the way for peace making.