Newspaper of the Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist)
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No to the Europe of the Monopolies! Britain Must Get Out of the European Union!
No to Military Intervention in the Balkans!
"Brown Snubs TUC Leaders: Working Class Must Demand that the Claims of All Be Recognised
Thousands March for Social Justice
Commentary: No "Middle Way" Out of Crisis of Health Service
Cardiff: Hospital Workers to Continue Strike
WAVE OF TERROR CONTINUES IN TURKEY
Taking a Stand against "Nuclear Hypocrisy"
The Pyongyang Times Condemns US over "Denuclearisation of Korean Peninsula"
| THE SIX-MONTH British Presidency of the European Union ends on June 30,
and on June 15-16 the government is hosting the meeting of the European Council
in Cardiff, attended by the EU heads of state and government.
Today, June 13, people from all over Britain and Europe will be marching
through Cardiff to protest against and condemn the European Union under the
slogans: "NO to Big Business Europe – YES to Jobs, Public Services
and Democracy!". A Counter Summit: "Reclaim Europe!" is being
held from June 12-14, while June 16 has been proclaimed a "Car Free
Day", and the organisation Cynefin y Werin (Common Ground) from June 9-12
has been raising the subjects not on the agenda of the Euro-Summit.
The European Union is a reactionary union. The monopoly capitalists and
financial oligarchy control Europe, both the EU as a whole and the individual
countries. The British government is dedicated to the enlarging and
strengthening of the EU, and has been pursuing its aim to be at the centre of
European affairs, as part of its plans to re-establish Britain as a world
power. It has followed a policy of "strong in Europe, strong with the
United States".
The working class and people can have no illusions about this Europe of the
monopolies. It is not an organisation which can in any way be utilised or
transformed by the working class to serve its interests or those of the broad
masses of the people. Not only does it stand against their interests as the
European monopolies pursue their drive for maximum profit on the one hand, and
at the same time stand against the movement of the working class to lead the
way out of the crisis and build a pro-social alternative, but it compromises
the sovereignty of all the peoples of all the European countries, and as a bloc
plays its part in contending for domination throughout the world. The EU agenda
has exacerbated the ills of the capitalist system in its member countries. Its
agenda for "adaptable labour markets" far from being designed to
tackle the scourge of mass unemployment is a device for increasing the
exploitation of the working class and facilitating the drive of the monopolies
to compete globally and against each other. The agenda for monetary union is
designed to facilitate the neo-liberal policies of the financial oligarchy, and
stands against the right of the peoples to determine their own affairs. Its
"Agenda 2000" is designed to strengthen the EU as an imperialist
bloc, while at the same time the member states as utilised by the various
monopolies continually come into contradiction as capitalist powers. The
situation is only exacerbated by the role of US imperialism, which in its drive
to try and establish a uni-polar world under its dictate, is seeking to utilise
the European Union and the European monopolies, and in particular expand NATO
in Europe and against Russia.
The working class must take a stand against the European Union, and must
vigorously oppose the policies and actions of the British government in this
regard. In fighting to achieve sovereignty and gain control over its affairs,
to end mass unemployment and work for the development and implementation of
social programmes, the working class must work for the dismantling of the
European Union, must demand that Britain withdraw from the EU, and must fight
to establish its own pro-social agenda.
|
| ON MONDAY, June 8, Robin Cook, the Foreign Secretary, announced that the EU had imposed an investment ban on Yugoslavia following increased violence in Kosova. In the last week alone Serbian repression of the Albanian population, including artillery bombardment of villages, has led to 50,000 homeless people and thousands of refugees crossing the border into neighbouring Albania. In the last three months some 250 people are reported to have lost their lives as a result of the military action of the Serbian authorities. The investment ban follows other economic sanctions which the EU and the so-called "Contact Group" countries – the US, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Russia – have imposed on Belgrade in recent weeks, allegedly to bring peace to the region. These bullying tactics have led to "peace talks" between the Yugoslav president Slobadan Milosevic and Ibrahim Rugova, one of the leaders of the Albanian population of Kosova, but have clearly not brought an end to the escalating violence, which now also involves the Kosova Liberation Army, which is fighting for the independence of Kosova. Robin Cook made it clear that Milosevic had been given "his last warning", and that the major powers would now adopt other options, whether through the UN or by some other means, a clear reference to the use of military action. It is also reported that British and US officials at the UN are already working on a resolution to allow the intervention of NATO troops. Indeed NATO defence ministers will be meeting in Brussels, and Britain will host a meeting of the G8 countries and the "Contact Group" to discuss such an option. Already the Prime Minister has met with the Russian president Boris Yeltsin, to try and put pressure on Russia, so as to make sure that all the major powers are united in their approach to the Yugoslav authorities, and can pursue military action under the auspices of the UN Security Council. The British government has been at the forefront of the attempts to use military force in the Balkans, and the Prime Minister and other government ministers have recently made a number of warmongering speeches. Tony Blair is reported to have warned that British troops may be deployed in Kosova, that "the only question that matters is whether you are prepared to use force. And we have to be." Already the government has given its support for the measures outlined in a recent NATO statement on the situation in Kosova. This called for a continuation of the international military presence in the neighbouring country of Macedonia and NATO led exercises and other NATO military activities in both Macedonia and Albania, which will allow NATO to more fully control the armed forces of both countries. At the same time, NATO will make arrangements to encourage the co-operation of Russia and the Ukraine in its activities, and make widescale preparations for further military intervention in the region if this deemed to be necessary. Britain and the other major powers are trying to justify their interference by claiming that unrest in Kosova poses a threat to the imposed "peace agreement" in Bosnia and Herzegovina, or that they are just attempting to put pressure on Belgrade for humanitarian reasons. But there can be no justification for such blatant interference and bullying in the affairs of other countries. Already a Serb spokesman has denounced any NATO intervention as "a step of straightforward multinational aggression against a state". The big powers, including Britain, whether in the guise of the UN, "Contact Group", EU or NATO have no mandate to interfere in the Balkan region, to issue military and economic threats, nor to make pronouncements about the future of Kosova, or the internal political affairs of Serbia and Macedonia. The interference of these big powers has not brought peace to the Balkan region in the past and is not now designed to do so. Indeed the violent repression of the Albanian population of Kosova has escalated, and the whole matter has become a major and dangerous international dispute. Such interference, from the beginning of this century, has exacerbated national tensions and, just as at present, has created a volatile situation which the imperialists have exploited for their own strategic advantage. The violence in Kosova is clearly escalating, but history shows that foreign intervention will not bring peace and security to the people of Kosova, or the other peoples of this region. This can only be brought about by ending foreign interference in the Balkans and leaving the people to sort out their own affairs. The imperialists who are the cause of such problems around the globe cannot be called upon to solve them. All democratic people must oppose any moves to send NATO or other troops and demand that no British armed forces be sent to this region. |
"Brown Snubs TUC Leaders":
| It is the starting point for all the demands of the working class that the claims of all on society be recognised. This means that the rights of every member of society be recognised by virtue of their being human and existing as a human person in society, and that the rights of workers, women, youth, differently abled people and other collectives within society be recognised by virtue of their objective conditions and their claims be met accordingly. Thus the working class must call on all to fight for their individual and collective interests and harmonise them with the general interests of society. It is not acceptable that the demands of the workers be limited to begging government that, please would you mind increasing the share of public spending just a shade, and that we know this is difficult because of the public spending squeeze, but we calculate that you could afford this, and anyway we are all working for a fairer society and all are keen that business should be successful. There was a time with Old Labour when the TUC leaders enjoyed the relationship that was epitomised by the catchphrase, "beer and sandwiches at No. 10". Not only does such a cosy relationship not exist any more but the whole method of seeking maximum profit through the welfare state that the capitalists were pursuing in those Old Labour days has been replaced by privatisation, "social partnership", and paying the rich from the coffers of the state in every way imaginable. It is small wonder then that when the TUC leadership went cap in hand to Gordon Brown on June 2 and suggested that the government should spend more on welfare, they got a dusty answer from the Chancellor. "Gordon Brown snubs trade union pleas for justice," is how it has been described. Yet afterwards John Monks was said to be in a conciliatory mood, saying that the TUC was not asking the Chancellor to forego his "firm prudence". It appears that the TUC has been reduced to one among many lobbying groups, and one whose bark is as limp as its bite at that. In this situation, workers should seriously consider how their interests and those of society can be upheld when the government considers that what is "fair" is that all should pull together to make business compete globally while it is somehow "unfair" for the claims of all for their needs for health care, education, welfare and other social programmes to be met as of right. They should demand as a principle that the government should end all its policies that favour the rich being paid, beginning with a moratorium on debt servicing and repaying debt to the financiers, so that investments may be made in social programmes with the perspective that a society must be built that is fit for human beings to live in. In the course of this they must also take up the banner of democratic renewal so that the archaic arrangements which ensure that governments are free to act in this way are ended. |
| BETWEEN two and three thousand people marched militantly through Central London on Saturday, May 30, from Embankment past Parliament to a rally at Central Hall, Westminster, demanding social justice and an end to the anti-social offensive of the rich and their present government against the people. In bright sunshine, the march was a sea of red and other colourful banners, and catchy slogans such as "No ifs, no buts, no education cuts!" and "They say cutback, we say fightback!" disturbed the peace of the august surroundings. The march and rally were part of a campaign centred around a People's Charter for Social Justice originally initiated by the Merseyside Dockers' Shop Stewards' Committee, who led the march. At the front of the march were also the Women of the Waterfront from Liverpool and the Justice for Hillsborough Campaign, a contingent mainly made up of women. Contingents of trade unionists from TGWU, UNISON, NUJ and other unions participated, as did various trades councils from different regions, tenants associations, single mothers' organisations, education campaigners, political parties such as SLP and youth from Reclaim the Streets. A large contingent from the Turkish community joined the protest and raised also the issue of the "Disappeared" in their country. The march was also joined by several hundred from the Kosovar community calling for a Free Kosova and an end to Serbian government oppression. Over one hundred copies of Workers' Weekly were distributed on the march, and a number of marchers expressed their appreciation of its coverage of the struggles of the workers, the women and the youth, its stands in the issue on sale against the anti-social offensive of the rich carried out by the Blair government and in support of the right of national self-determination of the Irish, the Cuban, the Kosovar and other peoples. At the rally the main speech was given by Jimmy Nolan, chair of the Merseyside Dockers' Shop Stewards' Committee. He said that there was no distinction between the Blair government and the previous Tory government. Both served the interests of capital. He said there was no democracy in industry or in the country generally. He called for all political organisations and trade unions to unite around a common agenda and the perspective of socialism. He moved a resolution calling for the working class to build its own independence in struggle, to develop a network of support, and to use the Charter for Social Justice as a basis for discussion for a common agenda. Doreen McNally of Women of the Waterfront spoke about the denial of democratic rights in the country and Sandra Stringer, whose 19-year-old son was among the 96 killed in the Hillsborough football stadium disaster, spoke movingly about the official cover-up and denial of justice in the nine years since the tragedy. The March and Rally for Social Justice were a militant expression of the developing and conscious movement against the anti-social offensive of the capitalist class being carried out by the Blair government, and of the recognition for the working class and all progressive sections to begin discussing the necessity for its own independent programme to lead society out of the crisis. |
COMMENTARY |
TODAY as the NHS approaches its 50th anniversary there is a deepening
crisis in the health service which is being acutely felt by health workers and
people alike. The Labour government is continuing the anti-social offensive of
the previous period against health care provisions whilst claiming to be
embarking on a new direction for the NHS which it is claimed will "renew
the NHS as a genuinely national service". Ministers are declaring that the
reforms are a "middle way" between the previous government's
competitive "internal market" and the old Labour Party model of
"central control and command", and like the Conservative government
before them they are claiming that their reforms will achieve a significant
"saving in bureaucracy".
Six months ago, the Department of Health set out its proposed health service
reforms in the White Paper "The New NHS – Modern, Dependable".
Tony Blair declared, "In short, I want the NHS to take a big step forward
and become a modern and dependable service that is once more the envy of the
world." But the "principles" that underlie the changes proposed
in the White Paper fall far short of principles that must underlie the building
of a modern health service.
|
Cardiff:
| Hospital workers in Cardiff have voted to continue their strike, the first in the NHS under the present Labour government. Fifty-four workers at Cardiff University Hospital began strike action last Sunday over plans to privatise the hospital’s Sterile Services Unit. Since then over 300 operations have been cancelled. The 54 workers involved prepare the equipment essential for Cardiff’s operating theatres. The workers are protesting against a £2 million privatisation deal between the hospital’s NHS Trust and the company Sterile Supplies International. The move transfers the workers to the new firm, hitting pay and conditions. The workers have rejected the new deal as unacceptable and are pledged to continue on indefinite strike until a new package of measures is agreed. Many ancillary areas such as catering or supplies are being “market tested” by NHS Trusts to see if the service can be more efficiently provided by the private sector. This “efficiency” not only affects the conditions of the workers involved, but is also not beneficial to the people’s health care, as privatisation, PFI or Public/Private Initiatives become the favoured way in the present situation of making the maximum profits for the businesses and monopolies involved. |
| THE COMMITTEE TO "STOP DISAPPEARANCES" has launched a petition
demanding of the Turkish government that the situation of
"disappearances" at the hands of the Turkish state be ended. In
particular, the Committee is demanding to know what has happened to Neslihan
Uslu, Metin Andaç, Hasan Aydogan and Mehmet Ali Mandal. The members of
the Committee also staged a continuous and alternated hunger strike beginning
on May 24 for two weeks, to show their anger that the fate of these four people
are not known and that no information is available as to their safety. On June
5, they chained themselves in front of parliament at Westminster, demanding
full details about the disappeared people.
In a press release the Committee to "Stop Disappearances" writes: The attack on the president of the Human Rights Association Akin Birdal, attacks of the police on the May Day demonstration in Istanbul, resulting in hundreds of wounded and one death, arrests of the "Saturday Mothers", the mothers of the disappeared and prisoners at their weekly meeting in Istanbul on May 9, 1998, the killing of the student Kenan Mak in Bolu on May 2, 1998 – all these events and many others bear the signature of the contra-guerrillas in Turkey, their Special Forces and "civil" fascist organisations, which by the secret order of the National Security Council (MGK) maintain the hegemony of a very few people over Turkey. Now, a new crime against humanity in Turkey has come to light: Neslihan Uslu , Hasan Aydogan, Mehmet Ali Mandal and Metin Andac have been missing since March 31, 1998. They are the latest of more than 600 disappeared people in Turkey. This method of the contra-guerrillas, to have persona non grata disappear, was originally developed in Latin America and spread to Turkey after the 1980 military coup, and its use increased from the middle of the 1990s. The most recent four who have "disappeared" were arrested by the police in Izmir on March 31, 1998. Since then, there has been no information about them. Although their arrest was witnessed, all responsible authorities, ranging from police headquarters to the prisons in Buca and Bergama (in the Izmir area) up to the Ministry of Internal Affairs deny knowing anything about their whereabouts. All four were victims of repression which went as far as receiving threats of death or disappearance. The press release states: STILL THERE IS HOPE. The petition demands: • to find out the whereabouts of Neslihan Uslu, Hasan Aydogan, Metin Andac and Mehmet Ali Mandal and to guarantee their psychological and physical integrity. • their immediate release, or in the event of an accusation, their appearance before a court of law. • to guarantee under all circumstances that they be treated according to the human rights as laid down in national and international law. Copies of the petition may be obtained by faxing: Committee to "Stop Disappearances" on 0171-254 1288. |
| A DEMONSTRATION was organised by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND)
on Saturday, June 6, outside the Ministry of Defence in Whitehall. In a
leaflet, "A nuclear-free world or a nuclear free-for-all?",
"Stop the Nuclear Hypocrisy", the CND writes: "On Friday, June
12, the G8 will be meeting to discuss what action they intend to take against
India and Pakistan for their recent nuclear tests. Yet the G8 possess almost
all of the world's 36,000 nuclear weapons, and possess most of the world's
nuclear materials and technology. It is clear that those who possess nuclear
weapons can no longer insist that nuclear weapons are 'essential for their
security' but condemn other countries for following their example and
developing their own. Beyond India and Pakistan there are up to 39 other
countries capable of developing nuclear weapons. The only sane solution is a
global ban on nuclear weapons."
In a Press Release under the heading: "Indian and Pakistani community
representatives join peace activists in call to end US-British hypocrisy on
nuclear disarmament", the Institute of Independence Studies writes:
"Indian and Pakistani community representatives joined campaigners from a
number of peace organisations in a packed meeting at London's Conway Hall last
night, Thursday, June 4, in calling for an end to US-British hypocrisy on the
nuclear disarmament question. A speaker from the CND expressed the strong
consensus of the meeting when he pointed out that it is clear that those who
possess nuclear weapons are in no position to condemn countries such as India
and Pakistan for following their example and developing their own." In a signed article distributed by e-mail, the Arab Journal, Chicago writes: "The Western theory that India and Pakistan should most importantly provide their people with adequate food, water, shelter, education and health instead of deadly bombs is well and dandy. But it is hypocritical. The sad state of world affairs, and the double standards enforced by the powerful are not conducive… This noble goal of using resources to improve the quality of life cannot be accomplished unless all countries can ensure a stable and peaceful environment free of blackmail and intimidation. We today live in a savage and cruel world in which the nuclear club, six nations including Israel to be exact, dictate the economic and political policies as well as the future of the majority. To expect developing nations to disarm, while the nuclear powers give themselves the right to covertly and overtly conduct nuclear tests and keep huge arsenals of atom bombs that can destroy the world many times over, is no longer tolerable. Nations in the South have as much right as the six nuclear powers to possess the arms needed as a deterrent." The article continues: "The thousands of Iraqis, particularly children dying of leukemia and other cancerous diseases resulting from the so-called depleted uranium used by the Americans and British during the Gulf War are a living testimony that challenges the racist claim that the poor cannot be trusted with nuclear weapons while the rich can." |
| IN A SIGNED ARTICLE, The Pyongyang Times of May 16 carried an article following Madeleine Albright's visit to China. It reads in part as follows: It was reported that during her recent visit to China, US State Secretary Albright expressed her support for the "denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula". The foreign press revealed that there was a discussion as to the GI presence in south Korea. Her statement on denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula is contradictory to the facts. Of course, the DPRK government has stated that denuclearisation of Korea is necessary and has endeavoured to put it into reality. What is important here is not where nuclear weapons are deployed, but whether or not they constitute a menace to the DPRK. The DPRK is now exposed to the constant danger of nuclear weapons, no matter where they are located. This is explained by the fact that the United States, a nuclear power, a warring party and a party of the DPRK-US Agreed Framework, is not discharging its obligations. If the US truly hopes for denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, it is necessary to discontinue nuclear threats to the DPRK, make assurances of non-use of nuclear weapons and desist from keeping south Korea under the nuclear umbrella. Otherwise, it is no more than an empty talk to support denuclearisation. |
| LONDON UNDERGROUND workers are to strike on Sunday evening for 48 hours against private firms being brought in to run part of the tube system. The strike has been called after underground workers voted in a ballot of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT). The underground workers are fighting against the Labour government's plan to privatise part of the underground system which will have serious consequences for the workers in terms of job losses and increased exploitation. In a separate ballot, 9,000 railway maintenance workers at railway maintenance companies have voted for a four-day strike from June 19 and for a seven-day strike from June 29 against "restructuring" proposals which will reduce the wages of the workers. The companies AMEC Rail, AMEY Railways, GTRM, Balfour Beatty Maintenance, Balfour Beatty Southern Track Renewals, First Engineering, Centrac, Jarvis Facilities, and Jarvis Fastline made a combined profit of £300 million last year yet want a restructuring deal under which some workers would lose up to £40 a week and have to work more unsocial hours. The railway maintenance workers involved in the strike maintain track, signals, and overhead equipment. It is reported that the move by the railway workers to vote for strike action took Railtrack and the other companies by surprise because they thought that in the present climate they could impose such measures by negotiation. |
